C0smic Occurence

Dark Rise

For me, C.S. Pacat has been a relatively no-brainer author for me. Their works are rarely perfect, but have consistently captivated me. Some are ruthless and full of content warning-worthy topics (Captive Prince), and others are overdramatic sports comics about a bunch of queer teens in a fencing club. Dark Rise seemed like a natural book that I’d love. However, I found it extraordinarily lacking compared to Pacat’s other works, and I struggled a lot with this one.

Read if Looking For: books with stereotypical emo haircuts, evil vs good as a core motif, YA that flirts with BDSM subtext, YA fantasy tropes of the 2020s

Avoid if Looking for: books that do more than set up a sequel, female viewpoint characters who have the same main character energy as the males, well-adjusted romance plotlines

Eight Billion Genies

Wish fulfillment (and how it can go horribly wrong) has been a mainstay in storytelling for a long, long time. I, like many of my generation, remember reading and analyzing The Monkey’s Paw in high school English class. In recent years, I haven’t found myself drawn towards stories featuring wishes, as I haven’t seen new ground being broken on a thoroughly explored idea. Eight Billion Genies changed that. Charles Soule and Ryan Browne created something really special with this one, and at 275 comic book pages, it’s a quick read.

Read if Looking for: ensemble casts, stories spanning centuries, mischievous (but not evil) genies, whimsical art

Avoid if Looking for: morality lessons, stringent wish fulfillment adherence, innovative villains, genies with any relevance to their mythological origins

American Hippo

Inconsequential history facts can be a ton of fun. Apparently in the 1910s, the US government considered importing hippos as a new source of meat during food shortages. If the cocaine hippos of Columbia (and really any other invasive species) have taught us anything, it likely would have been a horrible idea with lots of downstream consequences. Thankfully, that world didn’t come to be, but it did result in a set of novellas and short stories by Sarah Gailey reimagining this possible history, blended with some Western set dressing, which was a premise too intriguing to pass up. I ended up liking River of Teeth (novella #1) quite a bit, but was mostly disappointed by Taste of Marrow (novella #2).

Read if Looking for: bloodthirsty hippos, tropey characters, criminal crews totally not breaking the law, a queernormative American history, relaxed reads

Avoid if Looking for: thought-out alternate histories, meaningful Western elements, consistent characterization

The Devils

I shouldn’t have been surprised at how controversial Joe Abercrombie’s new release would be in parts of the fantasy fandom. The Devils is a departure from Abercrombie’s reputation as a character-focused writer interested in deconstructing classic fantasy tropes, and a popular author straying from their niche invariably invites criticism. At its core, this is a misfit adventure novel with a collection of villain archetypes as major players in an ensemble class. I thought the book was fun, a great audiobook to listen to at the gym, but probably not one that’s going to get recommended by me unless it’s a unique fit to someone’s requests. Had a great time with it though.

Read if Looking For: villain of the chapter, big personalities, extended fight scenes

Avoid if Looking For: a carbon copy of First Law, historical accuracy, a book impossible to call ‘safe’

The Chromatic Fantasy

I’m all about unapologetically queer books, and The Chromatic Fantasy definitely fits that brief. This book isn’t a tour-de-force on the trans experience, but it’s an extremely fun romp a book with great art that didn’t disappoint in the slightest. I need to wait a week or two to see if this has the emotional staying power to crack my top 10 of the year, but I think it’s got a pretty good shot.

Read if Looking For: tricksters and thieves, anachronism and whimsy, more color than a chameleon at a rave

Avoid if Looking For: fully coherent plots, historical accuracy (or even consistency in the intensity of historical inaccuracies), memorable villains, books without nudity

Heartwood: Non-Binary Tales of Sylvan Fantasy

I have made the ill-advised decision to attempt to complete a second r/fantasy bingo challenge this year, this one comprised of nothing but comics and graphic novels. I’m really feeling the urge to read more kick in. Anyways, I immediately started hunting for some promising anthologies and I came across this. As with all anthologies, you’ll find some you resonate with more than others, but overall I found this collection to have a disappointing perspective and not as much editorial vision as I would have hoped.

Read if Looking for: uplifting queer vignettes, cute forest critters, a diverse range of art styles

Avoid if Looking For: introspection into what it means to be nonbinary, the dark side of nature, plenty of adult nonbinary representation

Thirsty Mermaids

Kat Leyh is a pretty huge name in middle grade comics. To my knowledge, Thirsty Mermaids is her first take on an adult story, and I found it a roaring success. The type of book I finished in a single day because I kept telling myself ‘just one more page’. Sometimes graphic novels can really push you to slow down and grapple with difficult ideas, but other times you just want a fun romp of a mermaid cracking leg jokes as she tries to figure out how they work. This book was perfect for a lazy Saturday, though I sort of wish I’d read it in the middle of summer while at the beach.

Read if Looking For: heartfelt and cartoonish adult comics, found family vibes, eldritch ocean aunties, casual queer representation

Avoid if Looking For: dense or ambitious graphic novels, innovative take on mermaids

The Route of Ice and Salt

A Mexican horror novel following a ship captain of a ship transporting vampires, playing off elements of Dracula (which I haven’t read). It’s an excellent translation, and a dip into the more Literary side of horror than I normally go for. This was a good reminder of why I was a bad English major in college, and why genre fiction is my happy place over Literature. However, I’m glad I read this, and I think it’s much better at engaging with vampires’ historic associations with queerness in interesting ways than most other queer vampire books I’ve read.

Read if Looking For: intense focus on internal monologue, dream sequences, horror of the unseen, prose like liquid silk

Avoid if Looking For: direct plot or prose, ethical gays, paranormal romance elements, cute rats, protagonists who don’t sexually harass people, vampires with major speaking roles

The Four Profound Weaves

I’d been hearing a lot of buzz about the Birdverse series, and when a book club picked up The Four Profound Weaves for November, it was time for me to take it off the shelf as well. This book hearkens back to magic as mystical, inspects the internal journeys of an elderly trans man’s late transition, and takes us on a jaunt through several different cultures. Ultimately, I was disappointed in this despite liking a lot of individual pieces, and I’m curious to see if RB Lemberg’s short fiction will capture me more than this did.

Read if Looking For: platonic bonding, characters with profound self-doubt, desert landscapes, magic carpets

Avoid if Looking For: novellas with a clear focus, nuanced villains, action scenes, happy queer stories

DNFs from September and October

Too Many Books, and Not Enough Time have led to me trying to DNF more books. In the past two months, I’ve set aside seven. Interestingly, all were audiobooks on loan from the library. This probably means I’m being too stubborn with my physical books that I spent money on … but it’s a start.