Feeling inspired, gone exploring…

My post from Saturday was a meme, #6degrees. Go have a look, it can be fun and, as in my case, lead to looking at books I usually wouldn‘t consider. Because I got comments, commented back and in turn looked at my commenters‘ #6degrees posts. It‘s the polite and fun thing to do, even if the mentioned books might not be in a favoured genre. Long story short, I came across Joanne Harris again. I read her Five Quarters of the Orange in 2003 (wow, 20 years ago!) and liked it very much. But I never got another of her books.

I lived in Cairo at the time and ordering books online was a hassle back then. Half of the time the parcels would get lost or half of the contents would be missing or the trip to the post office where I had to pick it up was really far out of my way. There was a pretty good bookstore in town, where I usually got my books that I didn‘t swap with friends and colleagues, but for some reason the thought of ordering books from the store never crossed my mind. Ok, I went off on a tangent again, back to Ms. Harris and 2003!

Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris — read in 2003, here is my old review:

Framboise is running a creperie in a small village in rural France. She spent her childhood years during WWII in this village, but nobody knows that. She now lives under another name, to protect a dark secret in her past. One day her nephew and his wife appear at her doorstep, to ask for the use of her name and recipes. When she refuses – to protect her true identity – she quickly realises that they will stop at nothing to get those recipes. But she is not easily defeated. And while she struggles against her nephew, she tells us her story…..
Very good book, recommended! Great storytelling. This, by the way, is the author of “Chocolat“.

I keep looking at that review and thinking about getting something else by her. However, I have that pesky goal of not wanting to buy new books, unless I read them straight away or they are part of an ongoing series, etc. Plenty of books on my shelves. Well, I looked. There is Chocolat (Chocolat, #1), obviously. It‘s been ages since I saw the movie. Probably 20 years as well. Anyway, the description didn‘t tempt me, although I don‘t really remember much from the movie.

In the small French village of Lansquenet, nothing much has changed in a hundred years. Then an exotic stranger, Vianne Rocher, blows in on the changing wind with her young daughter, and opens a chocolate boutique directly opposite the church. Soon the villagers cannot keep away, for Vianne can divine their most hidden desires.

But it’s the beginning of Lent, the season of abstinence, and Father Reynaud denounces her as a serious moral danger to his flock. Perhaps even a witch.

If Vianne’s chocolaterie is to survive, it will take kindness, courage and a little bit of magic…

Chocolat book blurb

Another of her books looks strangely familiar, but I think I might be mixing it up with something more current with a similar name: A Pocketful of Crows. Or someone mentioned it to me recently? Fantasy, fairy telling, mythology, folklore — those tags are more my thing.

Following the seasons, A Pocketful of Crows balances youth and age, wisdom and passion and draws on nature and folklore to weave a stunning modern mythology around a nameless wild girl.

Only love could draw her into the world of named, tamed things. And it seems only revenge will be powerful enough to let her escape.

Beautifully illustrated by Bonnie Helen Hawkins, this is a stunning and original modern fairytale.

Pocketful of Crows book blurb

Sounds like something that should be read and appreciated on paper. Not sure at what age range this is aimed at.

And then I came across the truly bizarre: Doctor Who: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Time Traveller. She wrote a Dr. Who story. Strange, right? Well, maybe she is a fan and had fun with this. It‘s only 50 pages… And although it‘s my favourite genre, I am not a fan. I know, blasphemy. But I never got into the TV show, never mind which Doctor it was. It always felt vaguely too silly. Sorry, don‘t kill me… 😀

PS: No, I didn‘t get any of the mentioned books, I managed not to add to my TBR pile…

Roadtrip on chicken legs into the past…

Thistlefoot
by GennaRose Nethercott 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Here is the rare event of the cover drawing me to a book. Over the years I have met Baba Yaga in various mutations. Probably first through Kate Daniels or another UF series and lastly through the Witcher. The chicken-legged hut sealed the deal. A roadtrip in a walking hut? Sounds bonkers. I had fun looking at various images of chicken-legged huts online…

It started more sweet than horrible, until the bad guy showed up for the first time. Creepy. 

“In the tradition of modern fairytales like American Gods and Spinning Silver comes a sweeping epic rich in Eastern European folklore–a debut novel about the ancestral hauntings that stalk us, and the uncanny power of story.“

Anybody interested in Eastern European folklore has probably come across Baba Yaga and her chicken-legged hut before. So colour me intrigued, when I read about the Yaga siblings, their inheritance of a house with chicken legs and a road trip. I had to go along.

The siblings come across as amicable characters, when they are introduced—a wood-working sister and her trickster-like brother. The Longshadow Man though is frightening right off the bat.

Sometimes the plot moved along nicely, sometimes dragged a bit, getting caught up in descriptive prose and inner musings. A bit more plot progression would have been my preference, although the lyrical bits had something, too.

I expected something tenser, with a stronger horror element. After the Longshadow Man showed up for the first time, I thought there would be a growing sense of dread and urgency and of being chased. But the pace remained mostly pretty sedate, with the odd more active interlude. The mystery unravelled slowly, with frequent glimpses into the past of the main characters.

Unusual, different. Not as much horror as I thought. This is not a re-telling of a haunted fairytale. It‘s more a re-telling of horrible, past events. Or a remembering. Some events need to be retold, to battle all those people out there prone to repeat history. Let‘s call it magical realism with a strong dose of folklore and a dash of history.

The defining moment of Baba Yaga is one that has been told many times over for horrific events in history, where the many take it upon themselves to murder and exterminate the few. But I guess these stories need to be told again and again, when I look at the news and experience how stupid people still are, despite everything.

Bottomline, I liked this story. I struggled a bit with the pacing. The active parts were great and well written. The lyrical parts were just that, but they dragged and sometimes they dragged so much that I put the book down and didn‘t touch it for a day. I liked Bellatine and Isaac. What a twat he was. Thistlefoot came alive beautifully. I laughed at it‘s different origin stories. Baba Yaga‘s story was mostly dreadful and the ending is a bittersweet one. Please don‘t think that this novel is only about the past, Bellatine and Isaac live in the now and so do their friends. It‘s a very magical now though.

I would pick up something else by the author, if I liked the blurb.

Author‘s website: https://www.gennarosenethercott.com

And her Traveling Poetry Emporium — What a fun idea! I enjoyed reading about it and wish that I lived on a different continent, so I could visit.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher or author through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and I was not required to give a positive review.

Currently reading…

Thistlefoot
by GennaRose Nethercott

I am about halfway with my Netgalley. I like it, but it‘s not a super fast read.

In the tradition of modern fairytales like American Gods and Spinning Silver comes a sweeping epic rich in Eastern European folklore–a debut novel about the ancestral hauntings that stalk us, and the uncanny power of story.

Anybody interested in Eastern European folklore has probably come across Baba Yaga and her chicken-legged hut before. My last encounter was when watching The Witcher. So colour me intrigued, when I read about the Yaga siblings, their inheritance of a house with chicken legs and a road trip. I had to go along.

The siblings come across as amicable characters, when they are introduced—a wood-working sister and her trickster-like brother. The Longshadow Man though is creepy right off the bat.

After starting this book and reading the first chapters, I spent some time reading up on Baba Yaga and looking at various images of her chicken-legged hut.

Author‘s website: https://www.gennarosenethercott.com

And her Traveling Poetry Emporium: https://travelingpoetryemporium.mystrikingly.com/#the-traveling-poetry — What a fun idea!

Children of Memory (Children of Time, #3)
by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Author), Mel Hudson (Narrator)

I am about 60% into the audiobook.

I am not sure if I really understood Parts I and II, there were some pretty confusing bits to it. But by Part III the narrative started to come together and paint a picture. The corvids are a truly wacky addition to this ever growing zoo of uplifted craziness.

A linear timeline. Back and forth and in parallel. Parts of the story are revealed in retrospect. Nicely done.

And one of Tchaikovsky‘s recurring themes: otherness, being something else and trying to bridge the gap. We have our humans, Humans, octopuses and spiders, artificial intelligence and more. And struggle and hate and wanting to help. And terraforming.

I enjoy the audio narration by Mel Hudson.

Also planned for December:

– Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures, audio, narrated by Stephen Fry, #2 of his Greek Mythology books.
– Even Though I Knew the End, Netgalley audio

And once I am done with Thistlefoot, I will return to Ship of Destiny.

Into the wood and out of the woods…

Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

A husband disappeared — or did he?

This is not a typical werewolf story. If you are looking for Urban Fantasy, this is definitely not it. It is a story by an indigenous Canadian writer, based on traditional folkore about the Rogarou (from the French word for werewolf, loup-garou) and then some. And a very real topic concerning indigenous people in Canada today.

I was a little lukewarm about this throughout, but the last third of the novel made up for it. That part was excellent and I couldn‘t put it down anymore. The changing points of view made for an exciting read and the ending and epilogue gave it a great and suspenseful finish.

Things I looked up during my read — from here on there are spoilers:

Here is an somewhat spoilerish interview with Dimaline where she describes how she came to write a novel about a Rogarou: A Native Woman Battles Neocolonialism and Werewolves in “Empire of Wild”

The novel might be adapted for the small screen: Kai Yu Wu & Cherie Dimaline Adapting Horror Novel ‘Empire Of Wild’ As Series With Fabel Entertainment

Towards the end of the novel there is a quote from a poem:

I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;
I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room.
               So how should I presume?

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. ELIOT 

Some thoughts on Joan:

Joan‘s last name, Beausoliel: is that a anglicized version of „beau soleil“, aka beautiful sun?

Joan of Arcand = Joan of Arc… as in: she is supposed to deliver her region and people from the invading mining companies, etc.?

Joan‘s red coat — a hint at Litte Red Riding Hood? Considering some events in this book, it feels like a re-telling of that fairytale, at least in parts. Intermingled with that Rogarou folkore.

“What big teeth you have,” said Little Red Riding Hood her voice quivering slightly.
“The better to eat you with, my dear,” roared the wolf…“

From the fairytale

Bottomline: Lukewarm start for me. Some good characters. Some light skipping of paragraphs. Picking up of steam and suspense with a great last part and finale.

Revenge and desperation

Uncanny Magazine Issue 32: January/February 2020
by Lynne M. Thomas (Editor),  Michael Damian Thomas (Editor)

A tenjō kudari (“ceiling hanger” yōkai) defends her theft
BY BETSY AOKI | 246 WORDS

„at night I hover above the beams you’ve hammered
between heaven and your spread silk coverlet“

https://uncannymagazine.com/article/a-tenjo-kudari-ceiling-hanger-yokai-defends-her-theft/

A poem about a yokai, a Japanese spectre/demon and her revenge. I like it. Great visuals, I can see here hovering under those rafters…

---

You Perfect, Broken Thing
BY C.L. Clark | 3930 WORDS

“When I leave the kill floor, my legs are wasted. I shuffle to the women’s locker room. I can’t stand anymore, but I know if I sit, I’ll never get back up. At least, not for another hour.“

https://uncannymagazine.com/article/you-perfect-broken-thing/

Short story. Winning a race to stay alive. And to give life to loved ones. Interesting and emotionally compelling.

Nice enough as a whole

The Night Marchers and Other Oceanian Stories
by Kel McDonald (Goodreads Author) (Editor),  Sloane Leong (Goodreads Author) (Editor),  Kate Ashwin (Editor),  Jonah Cabudol-Chalker (Contributor),  Rob Cham (Contributor),  Yiling Changues (Contributor),  Paolo Chikiamco (Goodreads Author) (Contributor),  Diigii Daguna (Contributor),  Brady Evans (Contributor),  Mark Gould (Contributor),  Gen H. (Contributor)

Middle Grade is not something I read a lot, I am pretty set on adult fiction. But this anthology looked interesting. There are some nice stories here and some that I liked less. The artwork spans various types, some of it is very simple, some very nice. The usual mixed bag. The individual stories are generally fairly short, they often also feel unfinished. 

I am disappointed in the choice of settings. Mostly the stories originate from the Philippines, there are a few from Hawaii and one story from Fiji — I had hoped for more variety. Do the Philippines even count a belonging to Oceania? And why is New Zealand mentioned in the blurb? There is no story from New Zealand.

I liked The Legend of Apolaki and Mayari by Kim Miranda. What a pretty story with nice sketches! Brother and sister end up fighting each other, a Filipino folkloric story.

Also pretty good was Nanuae the Sharkboy by Gen H. Set in Hawaii. There is shapeshifting (yay!), sharks (yay!) and the story is told a lot through images instead of text, which was done well. The ending was a bit abrupt.

The Legend of the Coconut Tree by Yiling Changues was that singular story from Fiji. Beautiful artwork. I would call it illustrated poetry? Very pretty, although I am not sure if I understood the ending correctly.

Nice enough as a whole. I would probably recommend this to friends.

I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

Fiji and Norderney

The Night Marchers and Other Oceanian Stories by Kel McDonald (Editor) 

Last night I read The Legend of the Coconut Tree by Yiling Changues. Finally something from a different place, Fiji! Beautiful artwork. I would call this illustrated poetry? Very pretty, although I am not sure if I understood the ending correctly.

In other news you probably won‘t hear from me every day for the next few days, as I am on holiday. Not on Fiji, sadly, but on one of the Friesian islands off the German coast…

• 

• 

• 

More cautionary tales…

The Night Marchers and Other Oceanian Stories
by Kel McDonald

More cautionary tales…

The Night Marchers by Jonah Cabudol-Chalker (illustrator, Hawaii) & Kate Ashwin (writer, UK) ★★★☆☆

A positive ghost story. Nice page layouts. Very short.

The Legend of Apolaki and Mayari by Kim Miranda ★★★★☆

What a pretty story with nice sketches! Brother and sister end up fighting each other… Philippines again. Very simple, but I really liked the artwork.

Nanuae the Sharkboy by Gen H. ★★★★☆

And Hawaii… good story! There is shapeshifting (yay!), sharks (yay!) and the story is told a lot through images instead of text, which was done well. The ending was a bit abrupt.

Thousand Eyes by Paolo Chikiamco & Tintin Pantoja ★★★★☆

And the Philippines again… about a girl that seems to be lazy and gives her mother some trouble. Of the stories included here, this looks the most like a comic. Another good one, with a sci-fi twist this time.

I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

Netgalley said yes…

The Night Marchers and Other Oceanian Stories (Paperback)
by Kel McDonald

Middle Grade is not something I read a lot, I am pretty set on adult fiction. But this looked good. It‘s an anthology, so I will read this in installments. I am reading so many things at the same time right now, it‘s a little silly. Never mind. I will post updates, as I make my way through this…

Tabi po, A Filipino Story, by Iole Marie Rabor

This one is about paying respect to Philippine folkloric spirits and taking that home to another place. Nicely done, very short. The artwork is very simple black and white lines.

Pele and Poliahu, A Tale of Fire and Ice, by DJ Keawekane

Hawaiian story about a sled race down a mountain. That is the superficial part of it anyway, but anything else would give away too much. A little heavy on the explaining.

The Dancing Princess by Mariel Maranan

Philippines again, this time with a Muslim character. Two girls on an excursion, talking options and meeting mysterious figures. The story was a little allover the place.

I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

Top Ten Tuesday and what made me want to read those books…

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

http://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/top-ten-tuesday/

 This week‘s topic / August 3: Titles or Covers That Made Want to Read/Buy the Book

Tricky. I mainly pick up books that are recommended to me by my reading buddies. Or books by favourite authors, never mind the cover or title. But I will have a look at my want-to-read list and see if I can recall what triggered my interest.

And What Can We Offer You Tonight by Premee Mohamed

I picked up this novella on Netgalley. I honestly can‘t remember why I chose it, but assume that the cover pulled me in and then the title. Because the blurb is not grabbing me right now.

In a far future city, where you can fall to a government cull for a single mistake, And What Can We Offer You Tonight tells the story of Jewel, established courtesan in a luxurious House. Jewel’s world is shaken when her friend is murdered by a client, but somehow comes back to life. To get revenge, they will both have to confront the limits of loyalty, guilt, and justice.

Sentient by Jeff Lemire

I went looking for comics written by Jeff Lemire, because I like him and want to work on his backlist. Here the title drew me in. I like SF about AI and this title suggest that something slightly unusual might have reached sentience and that offers unusual options…

When a separatist attack kills the adults on board a colony ship in deep space, the on-board A.I. VALARIE must help the ship’s children survive the perils of space.

Nemo Vol. 1: Heart of Ice by Alan Moore

Here I was looking for comics set underwater. I have a thing for anything underwater, from documentaries about the deep sea to cheesy creature features involving Megalodon. I definitely picked this one for the title. Captain Nemo is a classic. I don‘t expect this to follow Jules Verne, but who knows.

It’s 1925, fifteen years after the death of Captain Nemo, when his daughter Janni Dakkar launches a grand Antarctic expedition to lay the old man’s burdensome legacy to rest.

Oh yes, I have a thing for cheesy creature features set in Antarctica as well. Or adventure novels. That clinched the deal.

Goldilocks by Laura Lam

Definitely the title. A planet in the Goldilocks Zone is in a distance to the sun, where conditions are just right for human habitation. So, an SF about colonization? Or finding a new home for humanity… Instant winner.

This is The Martian by way of The Handmaid’s Tale – a bold and thought-provoking new high-concept thriller

Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Granted, I added this to my list, because it‘s Adrien Tchaikovsky. But isn‘t the cover pretty? And doesn‘t the title remind you of some awesome MMORPG?

In Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Elder Race, a junior anthropologist on a distant planet must help the locals he has sworn to study to save a planet from an unbeatable foe.

Below by Ryan Lockwood

Title again. I did mention my fascination with all things underwater and creature features, right?

Now, off the coast of California, something is rising from the deep–and multiplying. Voracious, unstoppable, and migrating north, an ungodly life form trailed by a gruesome wake of corpses. 

The Audacity of Sara Grayson by Joani Elliott

Title again. I seem to be a title person. How audacious of me!

What happens when the world’s greatest literary icon dies before she finishes the final book in her best-selling series?
 
And what happens when she leaves that book in the hands of her unstable, neurotic daughter, who swears she’s not a real writer?

Sounds like fun, right?

The Night Marchers and Other Oceanian Stories by Kel McDonald

Another comic. And… yes, there‘s an ocean in the title…

Ghostly warriors, angry gods, and monstrous tyrants? That’s just the start of this collection of folklore from the Pacific, retold in comics! 

We Have Always Been Here by Lena Nguyen

This really was a recommendation by someone in my buddy reading group. The title piqued my interest and the cover sealed the deal. It‘s simple at fist glance, but very stylish. And then you notice those rock spires curving in, looking like claws. Hm…

This psychological sci-fi thriller from a debut author follows one doctor who must discover the source of her crew’s madness… or risk succumbing to it herself.

When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain (The Singing Hills Cycle, #2) by Nghi Vo

Not sure how I ended up with this one, but I imagine that the cover drew me in… plus it has a very lyrical title.

The cleric Chih finds themself and their companions at the mercy of a band of fierce tigers who ache with hunger. To stay alive until the mammoths can save them, Chih must unwind the intricate, layered story of the tiger and her scholar lover—a woman of courage, intelligence, and beauty—and discover how truth can survive becoming history.

So, that was more or less the last 10 books and comics that I added to my list and haven‘t actually read yet. Does anything here tempt you?