Weaver’s Lament has the same elements to recommend it as did its predecessor Brother’s Ruin, but it also has the weaknesses too. The premise is interesting, the world has promise, but nothing is really developed enough for the ideas to really come together. Part of what annoys me is that I’ve read some of Emma Newman’s full novels, so I know she’s capable of good world- and character building, and even if it is YA and a novella, there’s so much that left out that […]
Now that’s how you reclaim a narrative
You can’t escape Lovecraft’s influence if you, like I, read a lot of sci-fi/fantasy/horror. But until now, I had never read any of Lovecraft’s works directly just interpretations of them by authors like Neil Gaiman. I was aware that he is considered problematic due to racist beliefs that even for his time were extreme but I wasn’t sure how much of that bled into his actual work. Well, thanks to my book club I got to find out firsthand. Our assignment this month was to […]
Revisiting a true favourite at Christmas time
When Lydia Charingford was fifteen, she was seduced and ruined by an older man. She got pregnant, and it was only through the quick wits of her friend Minnie and the support of her family that not everyone in polite society found out about it. Lydia lost the baby, and tries very hard not to dwell on that part of her past. When Dr Jonas Grantham (the junior doctor present when she was being examined and her shame was exposed to her parents) returns to […]
New obsession, from a different angle
This summer I finally gave in and read the first two books of Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicles. I pretty much instantly fell in love, but I understand that there has been a significant period of time since the 2nd book was released and there is some concern about when the conclusion might be published. I try not to get too invested in stuff like that – like with Martin’s series, I really want to know how the story ends, but I can’t let myself get […]