Found Family – Marked for Plot

Novella Readathon #16: Brimstone Slipstream

I underestimated Brimstone Slipstream, and for that I think I owe Matt Weber an apology. I looked at the cover of this novella and assumed it would be a high-octane dragon racing story; Nascar meets Fantasy. I would have enjoyed this of course, otherwise I wouldn’t have bought the book. Instead I got a delightful epistolary novel masquerading as a long-form news story, one whose political undertones are far more interesting and serious than my expectations. In fact, it looks like book 2 in the series, a full-length novel, is going to be more traditionally structured and plotted. Goodness knows I’ll find out before too long, because this kind of knocked my socks off. Finished the whole thing after driving for 5 hours, when I should have been asleep and bone tired. At ~50 pages, this is probably more a novelette than novella proper, and it is well worth the time. Plus, it works well as a standalone, not requiring sequels for the story here to feel like a complete product. Plus it only has five ratings on goodreads. Be a trendsetter! Dragon lovers unite!

The Premise:
Zaya and Kiriki are the rising stars of Brimstone Slipstream. Notably, their success hinges on a whip-smart ground crew and their mastery of psionics. Anyone can become empaths, but the skill comes more naturally to their ethnic group, who form the majority of the working class but almost never the financially stable. This report chronicles moments from their rise to fame and success, their support team which is akin to family, and the history of both the city and dragon racing.

Read If Looking For: narrative reporting, the brutal exhaustion of a culture without maternity leave, evocative infodumps, transparent portrayals of well-meaning people with biases

Avoid If Looking For: flashy dragon racing sequences, fully explained worldbuilding, books that follow the laws of physics

Novella Readathon #8: Party of Fools

When I saw that one of the bingo squares for this year’s bingo focused on food, I knew that I would be reading Party of Fools for this readathon. What a better choice for the Feast Your Eyes on This than a series called Empire of Eats? This book is marketed as a comedy, but come expecting silly rather than a full-on comedy. It had a surprising amount of anti-imperialist content than I was expecting. This is not a farce with food; it’s something more akin to how Discworld uses comedy to explore real issues – though stylistically the two are different styles of comedic fantasy. The blurb says ‘Make sure you have some good food on hand, because you’re bound to get hungry along the way‘ and truer words have never been written.

I came looking for a light read after Autobiography of Red, and I left with some of the most fun I’ve had in ages.

The Premise:
Reed and Gladys are retired from their day jobs. Now the Bard and Barbarian moonlight as members of the Resistance, which makes it quite the coincidence when the Immortal Emperor walks into the bar that Gladys’ son runs. Vallora is looking for a break from the life of nobility and to try good food, her chief guard Andromeda is frantically searching the city for her, and the two rebels see an opportunity to strike a blow against the empire. But first, we must eat!

Read If Looking For: charcuterie boards, autistic viewpoint characters, breezy prose, D&D misadventure vibes

Avoid If Looking For: books that demand attention to understand, trope-free stories, realistic dialogue

Novella Readathon #5: If Found Return to Hell

I didn’t know a ton about If Found Return to Hell coming into the first page, but I had assumed it would be a fairly standard horror story featuring a possession. Look at the cover! It’s actually a lot more like Penric’s Demon, though a bit goofier: this book is a big marshmallow with a gooey center. It finds a better balance in tone than a lot of cozy fantasy does, however, which made me like it a lot more than one of the many Legends and Lattes clones. However, I was kind of hoping this would be a nice accompaniment to The Haunting of Hill House, which my partner forced me to watch (though I’m now largely a fan). The second book of this readathon to underdeliver horror yet provide great cozy vibes, which is odd considering this is only the fifth book I’ve read for the challenge.

The Premise:
Wen works for One Wizard, a megacorporation to solve all of your wizarding needs! Unfortunately, they mostly answer phones, listen to complaints, and transfer customers to other departments. When a young man calls in with a massive sigil on his wall and no memories of what happens, Wen gets clearance to investigate. Soon, they end up playing host to a man possessed by a Prince of Hell, and Wen doesn’t know what to do about that.

Read If You Like: found family, late stage capitalism + magic, cozy fantasy that doesn’t overplay itself, developed platonic relationships

Avoid If You Dislike: second person narration, asshole parents, stories with relatively low stake

Comparable Media: House on the Cerulean Sea, Penric’s Demon

The Disco at the End of the World – Too Much Boogie!

Nathan Tavares has more or less cemented himself as an instabuy author for me, and Disco at the End of the World continues placing him near the top of my favorite author’s list. The early reviews for Disco had me hesitant: several readers I trust DNFd, and a 3.5 rating on Goodreads typically indicates that a book has some fairly major flaws. Like with most of Tavares work, I think my love for it is going to be higher than most people’s. He speaks to my soul in a way that few authors do. This book has some significant rough patches, but it also filled a void that I’ve been searching for: speculative fiction that seriously engages with historical underground queer spaces in America. If that isn’t something that immediately gets you excited though, there probably isn’t enough here for me to recommend it to the average reader.

The Premise:
Mitch is a member of the Spaceguard, which has replaced Nasa in this version of the Cold War with more of a military emphasis than exploratory. He works on the moon base, where he’s known as a queer who doesn’t get a hard time only because he also smuggles contraband in for everybody else. He gets reported for morality breaches and is sent back to Earth, where he and his fellow servicewoman Gloria (not that most soldiers used that name for her) helped open an underground Disco outside Hollywood. Strange things are happening to Mitch however, and he ends up being a contact point for Aliens who are threatening to destroy Earth, unless he, Gloria, and his new family can bougie hard enough to change history.

Read If You Like: portrayals of underground gay culture, alternate space-race history, queer acid trips, disco ball spaceships

Avoid If You Dislike: characters facing homophobia, long stretches without speculative elements, the power of LOVE, intense tonal shifts

Comparable Media: Welcome to Forever, Exit Stage Left: Snagglepuss Chronicles, Disco Witches of Fire Island

Beyond Redemption – Addictive and Epic Grimdark

Historically, Grimdark hasn’t really been my speed. Plenty of books I’ve enjoyed, but the hopelessness and gore kept me from picking up the sequels. Beyond Redemption has convinced me that, as with my Horror journey – I might not dislike Grimdark as much as I thought. Certainly it’s reminded me that I need to read more by Fletcher, because I adored The Storm Beneath the World. Beyond Redemption is quick moving, intense, and dark without going too far. The mix won’t be right for everyone, but it worked for me.

The Premise:
Belief defines reality, which makes the delusional very dangerous indeed. This book follows two main groups within this world: a theocratic ruler with manipulation powers trying to build himself a god, and a trio of criminals who (eventually) get it into their head to kidnap the little boy being groomed to become god. You’ve got gruff veteran soldiers with more scarred skin than smooth, a man turning himself into the greatest swordsman in the world, scientists who try to bring about delusionists with torture, doppelganger trying to take the place of their creator, and a pyromaniac who can light a city ablaze with a thought.

Read If You: like an innovative premise executed to its fullest potential, don’t mind a little backstabbing or cannibalism, enjoy dry humor that doesn’t overdo itself

Avoid If You: want heroics, characters who have their shit together, positive representation of … pretty much anything.

Comparable Media: The Storm Beneath the World, First Law, Angels Before Man

Wynd – A Casual and Delightful Middle Grade Adventure

I picked up the first book in this series as I collected books for a class on Queer Comics and Cartoons. It didn’t end up making the cut as a whole-class read, but it quickly found its way into my classroom library and has become quite popular. While the series isn’t quite finished – final book is releasing this year! – I figured finishing book 4 was enough to write a review about the series more generally. It won’t tickle the fancy of anyone looking for serious or deeply thematic fare, but it’s fun and quick and a truly delightful kids book that I think many adults would enjoy as a casual read.

The Premise:
In a city where being touched by the unnatural wilds marks you for death, young Wynd hides his ears at all costs. However, Pipetown is simmering with tension, and few realize how close the continent is to open warfare. Wynd ends up fleeing with a reluctant prince, a cute gardener, and his adoptive sister, and his adventures put him in contact with several human factions, a bug-faerie culture in the midst of its own political revolution, and a very militaristic society of vampires.

Read if: you love classic fantasy tropes, comics with vibrant illustrations are your style, faeries-as-bugs sounds fun

Avoid if: simplistic morality will bug you, you dislike chosen ones & prophecies, fantasy racism isn’t a worldbuilding trope that works for you

Comparable Media: Fablehaven, Septimus Heap, Cece Rios, Amulet

The Restored (Secret Records of Axel Font #2)

For a review of book 1 in this magitech action thriller reminiscent of Arcane, see The Effaced.

As I’m putting together my end-of-year wrap up post, The Effaced has floated around within my Top 10 reads of the year. Unless I read something mind-blowing in the next week, I think it’ll probably stay there. Begley has been pretty clear that the commercial failure of this book has hit him hard as an indie author (only 16 ratings on goodreads as of this post), which sucks because he’s doing a lot of creative things in the progression fantasy subgenre, and one of the few in that arena writing queer characters. The sequel didn’t quite live up to the hype I threw behind the original, and solidified that it should probably be read after his Journals of Evander Tailor series for the best experience .

The Premise
Book 1 set up a bunch of threats (Axel’s old owner, a mysterious demon, a shadowy cabal of ruthless capitalists with too much power), and this book more or less locks in on the demonic threat more than any others. It expands the cast to focus more equally on around 5 characters instead of staying locked-in on Axel. It also featured a rather extended battle sequence bouncing between perspectives, which formed the core of the page count in this book.

Read if Looking For: bespoke hard magic systems, demonic invasions, happy endings, the lightest sprinkle of romance in an action book

Avoid if Looking For: nuanced solutions to systemic problems, the tough side of Found Family, explicit sex scenes

The War Arts Saga

This is a series that I find myself recommending a lot recently. Epic Fantasy meets Wuxia featuring steampunk Mongols is a really attention grabbing hook, and the series lives up to that promise admirably. I finally got around to finishing book 3 (somehow despite reading more than ever I find myself reading precious few sequels), so figured I’d do a write up for the entire trilogy. I left the series with mixed feelings, but definitely enjoyed the ride.

Read if Looking For: protagonists of many skill levels & ages, beautifully written fight scenes, chosen one subversions, grumpy mentors, sassy assassins

Avoid if Looking For: series that end as strong as they start, zero to hero storylines, clear good vs evil plotlines

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.

The Premise
When Pearl, Tooth, and Eez drunkenly decide to try out being humans, they don’t have a plan on how to turn back. They find themselves stranded on land without an understanding of money, housing, or how to walk without stumbling. They’re taken in by a generous bartender, and each faces their own struggles as the trio try to find their way back home. This book is silly, emotional, and vibrant.

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

City of Strife

The City of Spires has been on my radar for a while as a great example of what ambitious queer representation can look like. It’s also gotten nods as the modern inheritor to Swordspoint, the seminal Fantasy of Manners book with pioneering queer rep in the 80s. I ended up not loving the book, but I see the appeal and am intrigued to continue at some point in the future. But if you’re looking for a queer ensemble cast, I can’t think of something better than this.

The Premise
Isandor is a city with class problems. The rich live (quite literally) above everyone, in towers connected by bridges, holding them above the world. The poor are at the whims of the games of the noble houses. And the city plays host to an embassy of an Empire intent on conquering the world. Many different characters lives intersect in this book, connecting apprentice mages with shelter owners with idealistic nobility. Each character’s agendas and concerns are different, but this book lights the match that will set the city ablaze (quite literally). There’s enough going on that focusing on any single plotline will do a disservice to describing what the book is about.

Read if Looking For: many queer identities in one book, ethically upright protagonists, sadistic villains, impassioned monologues

Avoid if Looking For: deep characterization, flashy magic, political maneuvering