The premise of These Violent Delights is absolute catnip for me: Romeo and Juliet, retold in 1920s Shanghai as rival gangs. So, Shakespeare influence, check; decadence of the Roaring Twenties, check; political intrigue and organized crime in pre-Revolution China—just download it straight into my brain! So the charitable analysis of how I ended up feelingContinue reading “‘Violent’ Doesn’t Quite ‘Delight’”
Tag Archives: Fiction
‘This Thing’ Brings Shivers
The first time I brought home a—uh, we’ll call it a “home assistant,” my partner scoffed and said we didn’t need anything like that and we’d never use it. The next morning, he told it to play Gregorian chants, and then interrupted the Gregorian chants to ask about the weather. Now, she’s so engrained inContinue reading “‘This Thing’ Brings Shivers”
‘Sisters’ a Novella with ‘Vast’ Thrills
This review is going to be short, because the book I want to talk about is short. Unlike my review, which will be a fine and serviceable discussion about the merits and flaws of the book, Lina Rather’s Sisters of the Vast Black is a lovely and dazzling piece of writing. On an organic spaceship sailingContinue reading “‘Sisters’ a Novella with ‘Vast’ Thrills”
‘How High’ Soars with Sorrow, Joy
There’s a lot to be said for a good story cycle. I was entranced by Julia Phillips’ Disappearing Earth, about the disappearance of two girls on a remote Russian peninsula and how that crime both rocks a community and hardly affects its petty problems at all. Sequoia Nagamatsu’s How High We Go in the DarkContinue reading “‘How High’ Soars with Sorrow, Joy”
‘Wild’ a Lovely ‘Psalm’ for the Discontent
Not to judge a book by its cover or anything, but frankly I expected more robots in Becky Chambers’ Psalm for the Wild Built. I mean, there’s one on the cover, but you don’t even hear about a single robot until halfway through. That said, once I moved past my precious expectations, I found this PsalmContinue reading “‘Wild’ a Lovely ‘Psalm’ for the Discontent”
‘The Searcher’ Finds Satisfying End
Tana French has made a name for herself with dark, brooding Irish mysteries, particularly those revolving around one shifting group of detectives (The Dublin Murder Squad). I’ve always loved her language and dedication to place, but her subtle touch in her newest mystery, The Searcher, has me enchanted in a whole new way. All CalContinue reading “‘The Searcher’ Finds Satisfying End”
‘Sisters’ Takes Sibling Closeness Too Far
Sibling relationships are such a tossup; they can be close and warm, they can be more or less indifferent, and they can be sharp and cruel. Some siblings manage to be all three at the same time. Sisters seem to magnify the intricacies of such relationships—and the heights and the depths possible within them. SoContinue reading “‘Sisters’ Takes Sibling Closeness Too Far”
‘Chouette’ is Strange, but Lingers
Claire Oshetsky’s new book, Chouette, has one of the strangest and most gripping beginnings I have ever read: “I dream I’m making tender love with an owl. The next morning, I see talon marks across my chest that trace the path of my owl lover’s embrace. Two weeks later, I learn that I’m pregnant. YouContinue reading “‘Chouette’ is Strange, but Lingers”
‘Rising’ Tension Drives ‘Malibu’
All happy families are alike, as Tolstoy says, but that’s not the case in Malibu Rising, which follows a quartet of super-close siblings who would probably describe themselves as a happy family—even if poverty, fame, and necessity have made their version of happiness looks a little more complicated than most. Nina Riva, a 25-year-old modelContinue reading “‘Rising’ Tension Drives ‘Malibu’”
‘Quiet’ has Good ‘Bones’ but Problems, too
I’ve expressed feelings about unreliable narrators before, but each new book using it seems to change my opinion just a little—usually for good but sometimes for bad. Unreliable narrators can be a huge boon or bust for a thriller. I’ve thought about it for a while now, and I’m not sure which the unreliable narratorContinue reading “‘Quiet’ has Good ‘Bones’ but Problems, too”
Ring Reads 