Paul
Objectively, this was a very good book, and I enjoyed listening to it the whole way through. The trouble for me is that it follows a few trends in YA SFF that I'm not super fond of: minimal conflict and discomfort, and a young protagonist with a super-mature emotional intelligence. I'd highly recommend this to young people looking for a fun and interesting fantasy that looks at history through an indigenous lens, because it executes that perfectly, but as someone who likes a bit of grit, and a bit more turmoil in the protagonist's personality, I was let down a bit.
But first, the good stuff: this story does an excellent job of putting a critical eye on the Settler narrative of how Europeans came to North America. It plays out the nuance of how assumptions of supremacy among the Europeans resulted in demeaning interactions at best, and genocidal interactions at the worst. Also, by framing it from the perspective of a young woman from a relatively isolated group, it has excellent commentaries on how indigenous people did not really agree that European culture was superior, and that in a lot of cases, their social structure was more healthy. At the same time, it is honest about differences in technology and bureaucracy, and how there are things the cultures could learn from each other if only they cooperated.
On the whole, I thought the lens through which this story examines Indigenous-European relations in a historical context is brilliant.
I also think the "magic system" is pretty brilliant and unique, and the number of stories within stories bely a depth in the world that hints that as far as magic and backstory, this first book is only scratching the surface of what the world has to offer.
Unfortunately, I don't think I'm willing to find out what's to come. The story felt a little too safe for my taste, and there was no sense of urgency at any point really. It has a classic boarding school structure (think Harry Potter) where it starts in the summer and ends when the school year is over, but there is no overriding story arc (think threat of Voldemort) to keep me engaged. Instead, it's 500 pages of "This happens, then this happens, then this happens." In fact, the chapters are even written in that way: They are parts of a sentence, that come together so that if you read each chapter title, you basically get a non-spoilery summary of the book, which is neat, but literally reads as "this happens then that happens...."
While that isn't a flaw in itself, and in fact might be preferable to people who don't like anxiety-inducing narratives, it makes it easy for me to forget about. I would honestly forget about the book entirely if I didn't pick it up for a few days.
I also feel like the main character falls into a trope that I've noticed in YA lately. SFF (mostly Sci-fi) used to have a problem with protagonists always being the "competent, intelligent man," and now that narrative seems to have been replaced by the "bold, emotionally intelligent woman", which is obviously an improvement, and makes for much better role models in fiction. But IMO it also sets unrealistic standards for how girls should act in situations where they are confronting big problems, and puts the onus of correcting others' flaws and, more broadly, the world's problems on them. It also is just unrealistic to expect teenage girls in stressful situations to always remain calm, be aware of others' feelings, and make mindful and well-thought out responses to all situations. The protagonist seems to always say just the right thing, and while it's nice that conflict isn't created simply from people saying the wrong thing, it's also just unrealistic that a 14 year old in a novel and hostile environment will always be in control enough to say the perfect thing.
An example of a more realistic version of this character was from Premee Mohamed in The Annual Migration of Clouds. She was also bold and emotionally intelligent, but often felt overwhelmed and unwilling to be a hero, unsure of what to say or do next, and that flet much more real.
Objectively, this was a very good book, and I enjoyed listening to it the whole way through. The trouble for me is that it follows a few trends in YA SFF that I'm not super fond of: minimal conflict and discomfort, and a young protagonist with a super-mature emotional intelligence. I'd highly recommend this to young people looking for a fun and interesting fantasy that looks at history through an indigenous lens, because it executes that perfectly, but as someone who likes a bit of grit, and a bit more turmoil in the protagonist's personality, I was let down a bit.
But first, the good stuff: this story does an excellent job of putting a critical eye on the Settler narrative of how Europeans came to North America. It plays out the nuance of how assumptions of supremacy among the Europeans resulted in demeaning interactions at best, and genocidal interactions at the worst. Also, by framing it from the perspective of a young woman from a relatively isolated group, it has excellent commentaries on how indigenous people did not really agree that European culture was superior, and that in a lot of cases, their social structure was more healthy. At the same time, it is honest about differences in technology and bureaucracy, and how there are things the cultures could learn from each other if only they cooperated.
On the whole, I thought the lens through which this story examines Indigenous-European relations in a historical context is brilliant.
I also think the "magic system" is pretty brilliant and unique, and the number of stories within stories bely a depth in the world that hints that as far as magic and backstory, this first book is only scratching the surface of what the world has to offer.
Unfortunately, I don't think I'm willing to find out what's to come. The story felt a little too safe for my taste, and there was no sense of urgency at any point really. It has a classic boarding school structure (think Harry Potter) where it starts in the summer and ends when the school year is over, but there is no overriding story arc (think threat of Voldemort) to keep me engaged. Instead, it's 500 pages of "This happens, then this happens, then this happens." In fact, the chapters are even written in that way: They are parts of a sentence, that come together so that if you read each chapter title, you basically get a non-spoilery summary of the book, which is neat, but literally reads as "this happens then that happens...."
While that isn't a flaw in itself, and in fact might be preferable to people who don't like anxiety-inducing narratives, it makes it easy for me to forget about. I would honestly forget about the book entirely if I didn't pick it up for a few days.
I also feel like the main character falls into a trope that I've noticed in YA lately. SFF (mostly Sci-fi) used to have a problem with protagonists always being the "competent, intelligent man," and now that narrative seems to have been replaced by the "bold, emotionally intelligent woman", which is obviously an improvement, and makes for much better role models in fiction. But IMO it also sets unrealistic standards for how girls should act in situations where they are confronting big problems, and puts the onus of correcting others' flaws and, more broadly, the world's problems on them. It also is just unrealistic to expect teenage girls in stressful situations to always remain calm, be aware of others' feelings, and make mindful and well-thought out responses to all situations. The protagonist seems to always say just the right thing, and while it's nice that conflict isn't created simply from people saying the wrong thing, it's also just unrealistic that a 14 year old in a novel and hostile environment will always be in control enough to say the perfect thing.
An example of a more realistic version of this character was from Premee Mohamed in The Annual Migration of Clouds. She was also bold and emotionally intelligent, but often felt overwhelmed and unwilling to be a hero, unsure of what to say or do next, and that flet much more real.
My new favourite SFF anthology. There is not a single story in here that I didn't love, and the author line-up was superb. I also feel like this is THE story collection of our time. It deals with tough subjects like inequality, AI, surveillance and tech run amok, but in ways that are often fun, cheeky or surrounded by interesting characters. And what I love about Strahan's collections is that he gets these stories from top-quality writers. I would say some of the most underappreciated writers working today have stories in here. Writers like Premee Mohamed, Ian McDonald, and Ken MacLeod are just beautiful and powerful with their prose. If they didn't write SF, NYTimes would be gushing over them. And the ideas they come up with... Cory Doctorow's story about incorporating homelessness needs to happen now! And after Lavanya Lakshminarayan's story, I just can't look at Netflix in the same way.
I don't know that I can pick a favourite, but the first story - about what happens when the National Weather Service gets taken over by private interests - comes to the front of my mind with every new natural disaster. As I write this, there are fires in LA and misinformation and delayed notifications are causing chaos among residents, and Elizabeth Bear - for better or for worse - totally anticipated this problem, as well as what's to come. It also had great characters and pacing, so I might give her the top spot.
Company Man by Shiv Ramdas made me laugh out loud, and made me think of a certain Luigi who's not a plumber. The Excommunicates by Tim MacLeod wins for vibes (runner up, McDonald's Sigh No More). But honestly, there's value in every single story... And the interview in the middle. Chris Gilliard's take on surveillance was very eye-opening.
It's a shame so few people seem to know about this book. If you know me, feel free to borrow it from me!
My new favourite SFF anthology. There is not a single story in here that I didn't love, and the author line-up was superb. I also feel like this is THE story collection of our time. It deals with tough subjects like inequality, AI, surveillance and tech run amok, but in ways that are often fun, cheeky or surrounded by interesting characters. And what I love about Strahan's collections is that he gets these stories from top-quality writers. I would say some of the most underappreciated writers working today have stories in here. Writers like Premee Mohamed, Ian McDonald, and Ken MacLeod are just beautiful and powerful with their prose. If they didn't write SF, NYTimes would be gushing over them. And the ideas they come up with... Cory Doctorow's story about incorporating homelessness needs to happen now! And after Lavanya Lakshminarayan's story, I just can't look at Netflix in the same way.
I don't know that I can pick a favourite, but the first story - about what happens when the National Weather Service gets taken over by private interests - comes to the front of my mind with every new natural disaster. As I write this, there are fires in LA and misinformation and delayed notifications are causing chaos among residents, and Elizabeth Bear - for better or for worse - totally anticipated this problem, as well as what's to come. It also had great characters and pacing, so I might give her the top spot.
Company Man by Shiv Ramdas made me laugh out loud, and made me think of a certain Luigi who's not a plumber. The Excommunicates by Tim MacLeod wins for vibes (runner up, McDonald's Sigh No More). But honestly, there's value in every single story... And the interview in the middle. Chris Gilliard's take on surveillance was very eye-opening.
It's a shame so few people seem to know about this book. If you know me, feel free to borrow it from me!
Pretty short, mostly just a bunch of shoot-outs, but a very potent and emotive story. Visually striking and really hits the point of how cruel this ultra-capitalist hellscape can be. Big fan of the anime, and I love the world this is based on, and while this was a cool snippet, that's all it was.
Pretty short, mostly just a bunch of shoot-outs, but a very potent and emotive story. Visually striking and really hits the point of how cruel this ultra-capitalist hellscape can be. Big fan of the anime, and I love the world this is based on, and while this was a cool snippet, that's all it was.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND for anyone who identifies as Canadian and thinks that history has value... So ideally, all Canadians. It's also just such a fascinating examination of how families with indigenous ancestors have to struggle for years against generations of government disregard and malevolence just to find out about their families' past.
Basically, this book is about the author, a prominent writer and former national journalist, trying to trace her indigenous roots to find out where her family came from and where her ancestors are now. She travels from James Bay to a Toronto Highway overpass to find them. Along the way, she learns the extent to which the Hudson's Bay Company (now known as HBC or The Bay) relied on slavery and thugs to keep a stranglehold on the Canadian North, the extent of the lies told to make treaties in Northern Ontario, the systematic incarcerations of indigenous children and women, and the extent to which this land is covered in unmarked graves of indigenous people that the Canadian government tried to erase from history.
She is also candid about the resistance Canadian media has to telling these stories and the skepticism, stonewalling and backlash she faces when trying to investigate and share them as a reporter, which was quite illuminating, but not so surprising in the 2024 media-scape.
It's a life changing read. It redefines what it means to be a Canadian. It cannot be overstated how important it is to read this story.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND for anyone who identifies as Canadian and thinks that history has value... So ideally, all Canadians. It's also just such a fascinating examination of how families with indigenous ancestors have to struggle for years against generations of government disregard and malevolence just to find out about their families' past.
Basically, this book is about the author, a prominent writer and former national journalist, trying to trace her indigenous roots to find out where her family came from and where her ancestors are now. She travels from James Bay to a Toronto Highway overpass to find them. Along the way, she learns the extent to which the Hudson's Bay Company (now known as HBC or The Bay) relied on slavery and thugs to keep a stranglehold on the Canadian North, the extent of the lies told to make treaties in Northern Ontario, the systematic incarcerations of indigenous children and women, and the extent to which this land is covered in unmarked graves of indigenous people that the Canadian government tried to erase from history.
She is also candid about the resistance Canadian media has to telling these stories and the skepticism, stonewalling and backlash she faces when trying to investigate and share them as a reporter, which was quite illuminating, but not so surprising in the 2024 media-scape.
It's a life changing read. It redefines what it means to be a Canadian. It cannot be overstated how important it is to read this story.
I have complicated feelings about this one. Half of me loved it and half of me was very frustrated with it. I'm giving it a four because I thoroughly enjoyed most of my time reading it, and I think that over time, parts of this book will keep coming back to me.
It has a haunting quality, and the world feels like it could be an alternate version of our own in some ways while at the same time being unlike any world I'd read before, which added to the eeriness and wonder to me. I also thought the approach to the protagonist, Fetter, was very unique and interesting. He was given a clear purpose from childhood, rebelled against it, and was then left in a bit of an existential crisis. He could live freely, but didn't know what to do with himself, and was left feeling content, but also adrift, never knowing if what he was doing was what he should be doing, which felt much more relatable than so many purpose-driven main characters.
Every character within it actually had incredible depth to them, such that I felt like he could have written an entirely different novel for each side character. There was this clear feeling that something big and important was happening for many of the characters, and those things had little if anything to do with Fetter or his story, which was quite a cool way of writing about a world, and again is very relatable. After all, in real life, most people you interact with have their own crazy stuff going on which has nothing to do with you.
Many people in the SFF world are raving about it, and for good reason. It's a very unique fantasy, beautifully written, and I'm very excited to read more from this author. This book was so obviously bursting with amazing stories and ideas, that if anything, I think he could have benefitted from reeling things in a bit.
That's the heart of what frustrated me about this book. There was so much to the world and the characters that I was left feeling like I only understood a quarter of what was going on. That seemed intentional in a way, but I found that it wasn't conducive to wanting to know what would happen to Fetter next. I had only a flimsy grasp on what was going on around Fetter, and it seemed like the story's direction kept changing and meandering without really going anywhere. Also it's kind of mean to have a super cool side story invented, and then just leave it hanging, but that happened a few times.
So if you're a fan of untraditional narratives, this might be a perfect book, but I found it equal parts fun and frustrating. I also found the end very frustrating. I get the stylistic choice for the most part, but I was really hoping for a more satisfying conclusion, I guess.
I have complicated feelings about this one. Half of me loved it and half of me was very frustrated with it. I'm giving it a four because I thoroughly enjoyed most of my time reading it, and I think that over time, parts of this book will keep coming back to me.
It has a haunting quality, and the world feels like it could be an alternate version of our own in some ways while at the same time being unlike any world I'd read before, which added to the eeriness and wonder to me. I also thought the approach to the protagonist, Fetter, was very unique and interesting. He was given a clear purpose from childhood, rebelled against it, and was then left in a bit of an existential crisis. He could live freely, but didn't know what to do with himself, and was left feeling content, but also adrift, never knowing if what he was doing was what he should be doing, which felt much more relatable than so many purpose-driven main characters.
Every character within it actually had incredible depth to them, such that I felt like he could have written an entirely different novel for each side character. There was this clear feeling that something big and important was happening for many of the characters, and those things had little if anything to do with Fetter or his story, which was quite a cool way of writing about a world, and again is very relatable. After all, in real life, most people you interact with have their own crazy stuff going on which has nothing to do with you.
Many people in the SFF world are raving about it, and for good reason. It's a very unique fantasy, beautifully written, and I'm very excited to read more from this author. This book was so obviously bursting with amazing stories and ideas, that if anything, I think he could have benefitted from reeling things in a bit.
That's the heart of what frustrated me about this book. There was so much to the world and the characters that I was left feeling like I only understood a quarter of what was going on. That seemed intentional in a way, but I found that it wasn't conducive to wanting to know what would happen to Fetter next. I had only a flimsy grasp on what was going on around Fetter, and it seemed like the story's direction kept changing and meandering without really going anywhere. Also it's kind of mean to have a super cool side story invented, and then just leave it hanging, but that happened a few times.
So if you're a fan of untraditional narratives, this might be a perfect book, but I found it equal parts fun and frustrating. I also found the end very frustrating. I get the stylistic choice for the most part, but I was really hoping for a more satisfying conclusion, I guess.
This was a hands-down spectacular read. It had a unique protagonist, a very propelling plot, a clever and cool world, and it was just non-stop engaging. This is definitely going to be a top read of 2024 for me.
Besides it being an exciting Space Opera-style adventure, it also did what all great sci-fi does and really forced us to reflect on ourselves and our society. To what extent are you who you choose to be, and to what extent are you the product of the world that made you? That's probably the central question explored in this, but it's also much more than that.
I heard in the Sword and Laser book club that many people found the main character hard to put up with, mostly because she is a very difficult character to like. Personally though, I love investigating villains and "bad people" because so often there's more to them than just their bad ideas or detestable attitude, and this story really explores that very idea in a powerful way.
I would actually recommend this book to anyone who's not immediately turned off by the idea of futuristic stories, including young people. It's exciting, provocative, gripping, and just an amazing story. But it also sneeks in examinations of governmental systems of military populism and the way propoganda can infect communities, from people willing to go all in, to conscientious objectors, and the surprising commonalities beneath them all. I think it speaks volumes that the author was a Greek scholar who largely modelled the society on Sparta. Somehow though, it seems to relate incredibly well to the state of governments today as well.
This was a hands-down spectacular read. It had a unique protagonist, a very propelling plot, a clever and cool world, and it was just non-stop engaging. This is definitely going to be a top read of 2024 for me.
Besides it being an exciting Space Opera-style adventure, it also did what all great sci-fi does and really forced us to reflect on ourselves and our society. To what extent are you who you choose to be, and to what extent are you the product of the world that made you? That's probably the central question explored in this, but it's also much more than that.
I heard in the Sword and Laser book club that many people found the main character hard to put up with, mostly because she is a very difficult character to like. Personally though, I love investigating villains and "bad people" because so often there's more to them than just their bad ideas or detestable attitude, and this story really explores that very idea in a powerful way.
I would actually recommend this book to anyone who's not immediately turned off by the idea of futuristic stories, including young people. It's exciting, provocative, gripping, and just an amazing story. But it also sneeks in examinations of governmental systems of military populism and the way propoganda can infect communities, from people willing to go all in, to conscientious objectors, and the surprising commonalities beneath them all. I think it speaks volumes that the author was a Greek scholar who largely modelled the society on Sparta. Somehow though, it seems to relate incredibly well to the state of governments today as well.
