City of Stairs / Robert Jackson Bennett

 

4 out of 5 stars 

I am finally finished this book! It was a very good book, but so many things got in my way as I tried to finish it. Other books, with urgent due dates. Family events which required my presence. Events which I had signed up for and truly wanted to attend. Even regular household maintenance, which requires my attention much more frequently than I desire. I have much more sympathy now for the people who complain that it takes them a long time to read a book. They are absolutely right—it is difficult to properly appreciate a novel when you can only read it in bits and snatches.

I have very much enjoyed Bennett's latest two novels and I can see where this earlier work was a training ground for their production. He is very skillful at creating original and somewhat menacing environments for his characters to navigate. City of Stairs explores the nature of colonization from both sides the question, conquerors and conquered. It poses interesting possibilities concerning divinity, it's limitations and requirements.

I recognize that this is a very good novel and my star rating matches this belief, even if I didn't actually get the full benefit of it. That is my unfortunate fault, being distracted as I was. Will I finish the trilogy? If I can find a lull in life that provides the unbroken time, I will definitely pick up the next volume.

Trace Elements / Jo Walton and Ada Palmer

 

3.77 out of 5 stars 

This is a collection of essays which I wish I could have taken more time over. But library books have due dates and I've found myself in quite a traffic jam of library books recently. Ideally I would have read one or two essays and paused to digest them before moving on. As a result, I got much more out of the first half of the volume, when my mind was fresher.

If you're a writer, you have probably thought about many of the concepts discussed in these essays, and if you're a reader, you have at least felt some of the boundaries of genre when you've rubbed up against them. Walton and Palmer discuss the author-reader contract: what we as readers expect from each genre and what the author is “contractually obliged” to give us. Fantasy gives us swords and horses, while science fiction gives us lasers and robots and mysteries produce a body, some clues, and a detective. The author may deliver a surprise that subverts the expectations or produce an extremely proficient product according to specs. ”We might compare such novels to gymnastics, in which the mystery with a deeply original structure is like a uniquely choreographed floor routine, while the formulaic mystery is like the athlete doing a specific vault, fun because we are watching a master of the art perform a set of formulaic motions with outstanding excellence."

Experienced readers of a particular genre have acquired a feel for the order of events and the pacing of that genre. When switching genres, you must adjust your expectations until you have enough experience to know what to expect and how to enjoy it. A committed romance fan may not know what to make of a hard science fiction novel, and may bounce off it, not because the SF novel is bad, but because the novice reader is unfamiliar with the conventions of SF. This is one of the reasons that reviewers of literary fiction give poor reviews to SF literature—they haven't the right reading history to be able to properly appreciate it. Once you've read a certain amount in a genre, you get a feel for which details are important and which you should not get hung up on. For example, faster-than-light space travel is often present in SF and you must accept it rather than demanding an explanation if you are to enjoy the novel it appears in.

I remember when I first began to try cozy mysteries. They have particular conventions (no gore, lots of personal details of everyday life, often a sub-plot of romance) with which I was unfamiliar as a reader of Scandinavian noir. With each cozy that I finished, I knew better what to look for and came to like the genre better. Now, many books later, I have a soft spot in my heart for a well written cozy.

The authors don't stick to SF&F. There was a chapter on manga and anime, which was a new subject to me. So far I haven't picked any flowers in that garden. However, the chapter on the romance genre was extremely well done, explaining the mechanics required of authors quite clearly. I found the concept of romances being based on economic issues particularly intriguing. The authors also point out that this genre is aimed at women, hence its denigration by the elite literary reviewer. (Just as SF&F is downgraded as being aimed at “geeks and nerds.”)

The authors have also finally provided an explanation that makes sense to me of the difference between fantasy and magical realism. One big difference between genre fantasy and magical realism is that the genre fantasy contract promises that the consequences of the fantastic element will be deep and significant, consistent through the world, while in magical realism the fantastic element will not affect the larger world and serves mainly as an allegory to help character(s) undergo character development.
If nothing else, I am glad to have this distinction cleared up!

Platform Decay / Martha Wells

 

5 out of 5 stars 

Book 8 of the 2026 Read Your Hoard Challenge

Barish-Estranza is the gift that just keeps on giving. Murderbot is on a mission to retrieve some humans being held on an enormous torus-style space station, while dodging B-E flunkies. The torus is split into lots of sections, each with its own governing corporate body and security. Murderbot and Three have a plan, but no plan survives contact with the enemy. As Murderbot says, you can't trust humans to behave in sensible ways.

We quickly learn that Murderbot has a new mental health module. This module queries regularly, asking how our bot is doing. Murderbot is also attempting to be more honest with itself and its clients. The combination of these two factors were amusing to me. Plus, Murderbot is still trying to calibrate its risk assessment module.
Risk assessment just hit the roof.
I'm not sure I like having risk assessment be more accurate. It keeps scaring the shit out of me.

The book has a familiar pace and tension to the plot. However, I felt like there was a little magic missing from the secret sauce. I haven't yet identified the change for sure, but it might have to do with Murderbot's internal dialogue. It felt like there were fewer parenthetical comments than in previous books. I also feel like Murderbot is either less angry or maybe more in touch with other emotions. It's evolving and I'm resisting change? Don't get me wrong, I still loved it, but it may take another repetition or two until I come to terms with this installment.

In the acknowledgements Wells states that “It's been another hard year,” perhaps an indication of why this book feels different. It has been three years since the last Murderbot offering, so she also thanks her audience for “still being there.” Where else would we be, Ms. Wells? You've created a beloved character. I hope this year is a better one for you.

Excellent Women / Barbara Pym

 

5 out of 5 stars 

2026 Re-Read

This was the very first Barbara Pym novel that I ever read and it completely sold me on her. I ordered as many of her books as my local bookshop had available. What a treat to revisit this delightful novel.

There were so many details that I missed on my first pass. Of course, I had no idea who Archdeacon Hoccleve was, when he appeared in Mildred's local church to give a Lenten sermon. Now I can appreciate this character from Some Tame Gazelle showing up again here.

I had also forgotten Everard Bone's mother's hatred of birds:
"I eat as many birds as possible," said Mrs. Bone when we were sitting down to roast chicken. "I have them sent from Harrod's or Fortnum's, and sometimes I go and look at them in the cold meats department. They do them up very prettily with aspic jelly and decorations. At least we can eat our enemies."
My youngest sister would thoroughly approve, having had a bird phobia all of her life and delighting in eating them!

This time, I took more notice of the number of men buzzing around Mildred, our excellent woman. First there is her clergyman friend, Julian, who takes her absolutely for granted. Then there is Rocky Napier, the downstairs neighbour, who is fighting with and separating from his wife. He is willing to be charming to get Mildred's household assistance. There is William, the civil servant and brother of Mildred's former roommate. They lunch occasionally and platonically. Plus, there is Everard Bone, the anthropologist that Mildred meets via the Napiers.

Julian's engagement to Allegra Grey startles everyone—apparently everybody in the church assumed that he would eventually marry Mildred. So the evening when Mildred finds both Julian and Rocky in her livingroom for tea, and the two men start to resent each other's claim on her attention, is hilarious. She retreats to the kitchen sink to get away from them, and when that isn't enough, she goes downstairs and washes the Napiers' dishes.

Pym was such a sharp observer of people, just as Mildred is. I love her spinster characters and feel like I am one of them.

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me / Ilona Andrews

 

4.5 out of 5 stars 

I follow the Ilona Andrews blog and I have watched this novel progress from a wishlist item to a freshly published work. If you have read the Andrews’ Hidden Legacy series, you will be aware of the Baylor family's fondness for Asian media. It reflects the interests of these authors. When they began working on Maggie, they were guided by isekai, a sub-genre of Japanese high fantasy fiction. According to Wikipedia, in isekai the main character is a person transported to another world, gaining powers or importance that they did not have in the previous world.

Maggie wakes up, cold, wet, and naked, in the world of her favourite fantasy novel. She has read it so many times that she feels somewhat at home in Kair Toren. It quickly becomes evident that she can be killed but is rapidly resurrected and soon is fine again, her new special power. Plus, she realizes that her encyclopedic knowledge of this fictional world can give her a big advantage. She plunges into action, starting to assemble the found family that Ilona Andrews heroines typically acquire.

Shame on me, to doubt the magic of the Andrews team, but when I first perused the ideas and snippets about TKWNKM on the blog, I doubted. I thought this might be a vanity project that misjudged the loyalty of the Book Devouring Horde. Boy, was I wrong! I picked the book up late in the evening, thinking I'd get a few pages in, just to see what it tasted like. At midnight I had to fight myself to put the book down and go to bed, dammit. I was well and truly hooked.

Never have I been so happy to be wrong! I adore Maggie and which woman wouldn't be delighted to have either Everard the Sleepless Duke or Lord Doran Arvel dancing attendance on her? (Honestly, I feel like Doran is an upgraded version of Arland Krahr from the Andrews' Innkeeper Chronicles.) Because I follow the authors on social media, I was prepared for a cliffhanger ending, but the nature of it was mindblowing! Book two is underway, thank the Aspects!

My first reading was a library book, but I now know that I must own a copy. This will require numerous rereadings. How wonderful.

A Ghastly Catastrophe / Deanna Raybourn

 

4 out of 5 stars 

This installment of Veronica Speedwell pleased me very much. Deanna Raybourn’s cheeky tone is perfect. Fans of her Lady Julia series will be delighted to have that woman and her Nicholas Brisbane make an appearance to help with the investigation. Veronica appears to be taken with the couple, so it seems that the two storylines may be merging.

Raybourn has previously written a gothic novel with hints of vampirism (The Dead Travel Fast). Her research from that novel serves her well as Veronica and Stoker debate whether revenants are a thing and if their current case involves one. Stoker is an emphatic NO to both questions but Veronica is more willing to entertain the possibility.

There are some grand lines. The reporter J.J. loses her job and declares, “I shall have to live on stale crusts and cheese stolen from mousetraps. I will be forced into degrading work like prostitution or standing for Parliament." (Many Canadians feel similarly about our House of Commons.)

Later, Veronica and Stoker find the body of a wealthy American after breaking into his home. Veronica explains why they must not report the murder. “Once news of Von Hilsing's death is known, the press will descend like vultures. Our British newspapers are bad enough, but just consider, dearest--"
"The Americans," he said hoarsely. His face had gone very white, and he slumped into a chair. "It will be awful. They will accuse us of terrible things and they shall do so ungrammatically."

Raybourn, as a Texan, can get away with twitting her countrymen in this fashion. The names she uses have purposeful similarities to characters in Bram Stoker's Dracula, providing another layer of amusement for fans of that novel. Thoroughly entertaining and worth the wait.

The Keeper / Tana French

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Just when Cal Hooper thinks that the village of Ardnakelty has become home, the death of a young woman changes everything. It turns out that Rachel Holohan is well liked, despite her relationship with Eugene Moynihan, the son of the local big man. Tommy Moynihan is used to running things the way he wants them and is willing to use his connections to make life miserable for those who don't cooperate.

The village is divided on many issues, but prominent is this book are those pro and con the Moynihans and on whether Rachel was a murder or a suicide. Cal is part of this community now and his background as a detective (and his role in the two previous books) means that his friends are expecting his involvement. The teenager, Trey, that he has been mentoring, is ready to poke her nose into it, determined to make Tommy pay for his role in Rachel's death.

Cal finds himself explaining to Trey and to his farmer drinking buddies that killing Tommy won't likely prevent the developers from pursuing their plans to scoop up farm land and build some enormous complex of some kind. They've got to be strategic—Tommy has to be alive and capable of scuppering these plans.

French writes a very atmospheric and tense story here. The mystery is less “who done it" and more the mystery of the human condition. Cal and Lena have different ideas of what to do and who to involve. It unexpectedly causes some emotional distance between them. Cal's immediate neighbour and frenemy, Mart, is used to being the leader of whatever is going on. Lena intensely dislikes Mart and wants nothing she knows to help him. If you've ever lived in a small community, you will recognize the undercurrents in Ardnakelty. Long standing grudges and prejudices still shape the present debates. Habitual patterns are hard to disrupt. Politicians are used to being obeyed promptly.

The ending here, while not completely happy, is at least comfortable for Cal, Lena, and Trey. French has wrapped things up to the place where I believe that she is done with Cal. It remains to be seen what she chooses to write next. Sign me up, Ms. French. I'll be waiting.