I’m of two minds on Underground Airlines. On the one hand, judging it strictly on its own merits, it’s an thought-provoking and interesting book. The basic premise is that the Civil War never happened, and slavery was never abolished. It still exists in the United States in four southern states (the “Hard Four”). The story centers around Victor, an escaped slave who was caught by the government and now works for them as a sort of bounty hunter, tracking down other escaped slaves. In Underground […]
Did she say yes to the dress?
This is the first Jo Walton book that I have read and only heard about her through reading Cannonball Read reviews (thanks, guys!). Although this isn’t the Walton title that I was looking for at the library (Among Others), it sounded interesting and landed in my TBR pile. I was truly captivated by the first 2/3. The last 1/3? Not so much. A woman suffering from dementia, and now confined to a nursing home, reflects on her life. Pretty straight forward, BUT, she “remembers” two […]
Every time I see you falling, I get down on my knees and pray
I wanted to like this book so much more than I actually did. On paper, there’s lots to love. It’s an alternate history set in present day Canada (or maybe a notch in the future) where the British Empire didn’t fall and instead the monarchy made much more humane and multicultural decisions about how to incorporate the subjects of their colonies into the Empire as a whole. There’s still a royal family but over the years the royals have made strategic marriage alliances with their […]
What a strange, lovely little book.
I’m a little torn on this one, honestly! I thought it was a bit slow for my tastes, mostly at the beginning, and I would have appreciated a bit more wallowing in emotions, but I also understand this is a book designed in part to ape Victorian conventions and mores, so perhaps I was never going to get the version of this book that would have pleased me best. And what a strange little book it was! This is an alternate history/speculative take on quite […]