This Is Doing Something To My Brain

This is doing something to my brain

There was nothing here dazzling enough to describe as magic. The spell was in the obsession, the relentless intensity.

From Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi, translated by David Boyd and Lucy North

state of the bookshelf 7/29/23

Reading

The Archive Undying (Emma Mieko Candon)

At His Countess's Pleasure (Olivia Waite)

Mycroft and Sherlock (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse)

Mystery on the Blue Train (Agatha Christie)

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows (Olivia Waite)

Carpe Juguluum, Maskerade, the Last Continent (Pratchett)

Recently finished

If Found Return to Hell (Em X Liu) - I liked it!

Ghost Talkers (Mary Robinette Kowal) - I loved it!

Death on the Nile (Agatha Christie) -> I watched part of the recent movie adaptation after finishing the book and I'm super interested in the changes that the movie makers made :O :D

Thief of Time

After the Wedding (Courtney Milan)

Have you read these books? Do you have book thoughts to share? Tell meeeeeeee

Title: High Wizardry | Author: Diane Duane | Publisher: Magic Carpet Books (2003)

The Archive Undying (thoughts in process)

I am still working my way through The Archive Undying (Emma Mieko Candon) but here are my in the middle thoughts.

Oh, and on the very off-chance that the author or a personal acquaintance of same is on this website, please don't read this post, thank you. (I posted about a recent release and then I'm 90% sure the author of that book liked the post and thought I was going to pass out. If you see something, say nothing.)

First impressions: Good gracious this book is making me work. I have completely filled the back of an envelope trying to keep track of the names of people, places, AIs, and in universe terminology.

This is NOT a book I can read before bed. Nor is it one I can read in an environment where i need to half-pay attention to my surroundings.

Due to the need to constantly take notes, I am progressing very slowly. I was like "sheesh this book is taking FOREVER" and then realized I was interrupting myself like every single page trying to keep my notes up to date.

If you have a better memory than I do, none of that might apply to you! I don't know why I've been relying so heavily on note taking while I read this year.

Characters: my personal favorite soft squishy boi got squished so that's a bummer. The protagonist and his love interest have a fucked up thing going on (I mean that in a positive way) (I'm radiating approval) (fictional fucked up relationships can be so interesting). I wish the women in the story got more time, but that's not a problem, I just think the women who are there are neat and I'd love to spend more time with them :)

World building: the world building is interesting, but it's hard for me to fully appreciate it because waves at notes I find it obfuscated by the terminology. I don't know why I can't keep the Harbor, Engines, Frags, Relics, and whatnot separate, but I can't. 😭

Writing style: the writing is good. It pulls me through and I want to keep reading. There is some playing with the person and tense for story reasons, which I enjoy.

Is it like Murderbot?: no absolutely not. Murderbot is snarky and very accessible. That series is super easy to read/jump into, and the pacing of murderbot is very fast and straightforward.

Is it like a memory called empire: also no. One thing it has in common with Memory called empire is a feeling of a big, unfamiliar world and these big political dimensions, and the physically big and intimidating spaces. Big!

Is it like the Locked Tomb 4-book-trilogy? A little? You might notice the cover quote is form Tamsyn Muir, the author of the locked tomb trilogy. But it's not similar because of the tone--the narrative voice is not snarky like Gideon the Ninth--but because if you want to know what the fuck is going on, you need to pay attention. (I myself am not good at paying attention in that way so I suffer as a result.) I guess I'll report back on whether Candon has the same... approach... to ending books as Muir.

What is it like? It's a little like ninefox gambit (Yoon Ha Lee). There's a lot of terminology and a strong sense of big things happening that aren't simply elucidated for you. The worldbuilding also reminds me a little of Ninefox Gambit because you know the author has it all in here *taps head* but only a fraction makes it onto the page.

It's a little like the fifth season (NK Jemisin) the terminology, playing with the narrative form, and a somewhat shifting cast of characters. Information about the characters is hidden from the reader in service to the story and to support an overall suspense. There is nothing wrong with that in and of itself.

Cool things list:

The opening quickly engaged my interest.

I think the world is interesting!

I love the names of the different AIs, and I think it's cool to think about how their different "personalities" shape the different cultures that spring up in their cities.

I like the characters; they have good texture and voice. The author does a great job of making me feel like I'm meeting these people at a point in their lives, like they really do have their own personal histories.

It falls into a school of 'oh hey casual queer representation' like yeah in the future no one has to explain they/them pronouns, everyone just Gets It.

It also isn't explicitly stated but, like, all the characters are POC. For real. It's like in Avatar Airbender, people don't bring it up because it's just there. And I respect that!

Also the cover art is dope.

In summary I like the book so far. It's going to take me a while to finish, but I'm willing to keep pushing.

Super quick recommendation:

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal.

I gobbled it up, cover to cover, in about 6 hours. It has everything: space, women being awesome, a lovely and supportive marriage, friendships, a historical setting with a twist, bits that make me cry, bits that make me cheer (internally), a moment where I said out loud "EAT SHIT" to the surprise of my spouse who was watching TV at the time, characters of color, Jewish characters, people learning to be compassionate to each other and support each other, solidarity, a great plot, characters who like math, and SPAAAAAAACE.

This book is GREAT and I'm glad I had time to read it. It has sequels too.

I attempt a more coherent recommendation soon but suffice to say YES go check out THE CALCULATING STARS by MARY ROBINETTE KOWAL