tag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794I Suddenly Remembered My Charlemagnelet my armies be the rocks and the trees and the birds in the skygravity.not.included2022-10-15T14:46:09Ztag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3392682Dear Yuletide Creator,2022-10-14T14:29:28Z2022-10-15T14:46:09Zpublic6It's been a while since I've done this!<br /><br /><u>Rings of Power</u> <br /><br />So if they had let me pick three separate groups of RoP characters, I would have done it. I picked two and they're stacked together. For Nori and Poppy, I would like friendship fic. Generally happy (though obviously Poppy's whole family is dead, so bittersweetness is understood). Hobbits are my absolute favourite, and the Harfoots made me so happy. For Arondir and Bronwyn???? Oh, let's imagine a happy future in Pelargir. They won't get it, but a girl can dream.<br /><br /><u>Wheel of Time</u><br /><br />I don't know anything about the books, but I loved these two so much. It's my favourite things: a long running scam and duty over love. I'm game for pretty much anything.<br /><br /><u>King Arthur Legend of the Sword<br /></u><br />Romance is entirely up to you, but any relationship must be consensual. I like the politics, and the idea that the Mage was basically like "Please control your peeps so that I can go home!" (also, Percy is my favourite, but he was not a choice). I love the style of this movie so much, and the way it makes me laugh.<br /><br />I am so excited.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3392682" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3373566Holiday Weekend2021-12-20T02:19:40Z2021-12-20T02:21:15Zpublic7Such as it is, anyway.<br /><br />+++<br /><br />The little kids were over their colds, and everyone rapid-tested negative, so we actually had an inside gift unwrapping at my sister's place. Windows open, filtration system running, masks on, eating in shift...but at least the kids go to unwrap their presents. All of my gifts were very well received, even the one for Nephew #1. He's 14 and therefore a challenge, but I got him a cookbook, and he was super into it. He likes cooking, but doesn't have "his own" anything, so I thought this might be neat, and...so did he!<br /><br />My SIL had my name in the adult draw, and based on a joke from YEARS ago, gave me like 10 pairs of nice socks. When I was poor, I never threw out ANY sock, even when it had multiple holes in it, so she saw me in some pretty terrible socks over the years. Even now, I rarely buy new ones. But now I'm going to throw out most of my crappy cheap socks and have a nice, entirely new set. I am VERY PLEASED.<br /><br />...i am now the adult who is excited about socks.<br /><br />+++<br /><br />Today is our annual LotR rewatch, except we're doing it virtually. I finished my Nutcracker cross stitch and did some Lego sets. I barely ate anything, which is weird, but I wasn't hungry. All in all, a chill, relaxing day...even though I fucking miss the G.O.D.S..<br /><br /><img src="https://grav-ity.dreamwidth.org/file/46294.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="" /><br /><br />I have some thoughts about it being the 20th anniversary, of course. At it's heart, LotR is my ur-fandom. It's definitely my most formative, and the one that lies closest to my heart. The friends, the fun, the memories...it's incredible. I saw FotR on the Friday after it opened. I think I only saw it twice in theatre (small town, baby). But when I went to college in the fall of 2002, it was LotR that took up most of my time on the internet. And I wouldn't change a thing.<br /><br />...i definitely went on the weta workshop website and bought an unreasonable number of hobbit hole models. I did want a Christmas village! And this can be used year round. And I definitely used this as justification. Again: no regrets. <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3373566" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3325119A Bad Night2020-04-11T15:11:12Z2020-04-11T15:11:12Zpublic6I mean, it was fine. I slept in my bed (five nights and counting!), and I'm not too tired now, even though I moved to the couch at 4am. But Upstairs was facetiming very late, and there was music at one point, and then someone showered at 4, which was when I gave up. I'm trying to be reasonable about it (lorde knows, this house is not BUILT to be apartments, and they're not being LOUD, they're just being AWAKE), but UGH. They're both furloughed and they're both social, so they must be bored out of their minds. It's not like I'm going anywhere, either. I'll just take a nap later.<br /><br />++<br /><br />My hot cross buns turned out really well! I don't think I'll be able to eat them all by Sunday, but fortunately I'm not THAT superstitious. ;) <br /><br /><img src="https://grav-ity.dreamwidth.org/file/38852.jpg" width="500" height="443" alt="" /><br /><br />I know what I'll do differently next year.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3325119" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3324919A Small Victory2020-04-10T19:34:29Z2020-04-10T19:34:29Zpublic6My brother and I managed to guilt my parents into NOT driving around the countryside delivering hot cross buns this weekend, which is GOOD, except NOW I DON'T HAVE ANY, so I decided...to make some.<br /><br />I don't have raisins or currents, but I figured, what the heck.<br /><br />They're on their second rise. I am not optimistic. But they smell great!<br /><br />++<br /><br />Yesterday I read through the 5K I have already written on Space Bees, and I don't hate it. I added some stuff to my outline and then, just before bed, had the scene from the end of Part 1 appear in my head, so I wrote it out longhand (it'll change by the time I get to it, I'm sure, but at least now I know where I'm going).<br /><br />Next up: write the 18K that bridges the 5K I already have and the 2Kish I mapped out last night, giving me a 25K Part 1. Basically it'll be nine 2K chapters, or nine things, and I can think of nine things!<br /><br />Probably.<br /><br />++<br /><br />I'm watching the Samira Wiley A Night on Earth documentary on Netflix. It's okay. It's basically the night camera guys from Planet Earth gone amok, so the production values are good, and the writing and music and science are all solid. It's quite violent, I'm finding? Probably because everything happens in the dark. Also, I desperately miss David Attenborough. All his documentaries except for one have disappeared from Netflix, so I can't even rewatch them for comfort.<br /><br />++<br /><br />I think going forward, instead of waking up at 3, 4, or 5am and reading (Twitter) for a bit before sleeping until 8, I am going to get up and WRITE. I'm astonishingly clear-headed for that wake up, and it'll make me feel like I'm going outside the box. I've realized that this'll be the first book I've written in a chair since SPINDLE, and the first book I've written at home EVER, so any "cheat" will help.<br /><br />Mostly it's just nice to have a plan. And an idea. God, I've missed the WANT to write.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3324919" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3273791Book #1: The Diminished, by Kaitlyn Sage Patterson2018-01-02T21:45:02Z2018-01-02T21:45:02Zpublic0So this is one of those delightful YA fantasy-dystopias that everyone claims are a dime a dozen because they don't read them and find out how nuanced and clever they really are. Patterson's world is admittedly entirely bizarre, but she commits to it 100%, and so you as a reader never have to worry about the science behind it. You just accept it (because the storytelling is consistent), and move along with the plot.<br /><br />ANYWAY.<br /><br />I jokingly described this book as "The Parent Trap, only instead of a broken marriage, there's a broken moon", and I was...kinda right. The moon is broken. The world is ruined. Everyone is a twin, and if your twin dies, you are diminished, destined for a violent death yourself.<br /><br />I liked the characters a lot. They were...different? Part of Patterson's world-building involved gender and hierarchy, so maybe that was part of it. It was interesting from both a reader's and writer's perspective, anyway.<br /><br />I also really liked the world itself. There was only one thing that bugged me (and it's 100% personal): every single religious character was awful. Like, the actual RELIGION was awful. But there's going to be a book 2, so maybe we will see more later?<br /><br />THE DIMINISHED comes out in April<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3273791" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3273462Book #85 and Book #86: Scythe and Thunderhead, by Neal Schusterman2018-01-01T01:55:50Z2018-01-01T01:55:50Zpublic0These books are a trip.<br /><br />Basically: a future where humanity has achieved perfection, except that now we don't die, so Scythes kill people at random, and those deaths are always permanent. There's also an AI called The Thunderhead that controls pretty much everything, except separation between Scythe and State is, like, 100% solid.<br /><br />Which naturally means that the plot of the series is 100% finding loopholes and exploiting them. Because that's how we roll.<br /><br />I really liked the first book, Scythe, a lot. The world-building is tremendous here, and I love the idea of an AI that just, like, decides to be good because why would it be evil? Also, I love a good manufactured religion with multifaceted problems and moral debates, and the Scythe provides that in SPADES.<br /><br />Book #2, THUNDERHEAD, was also really excellent, if not quite so much to my personal taste. The bad guys were too successful, basically, I could have done with them losing SOMETHING going into book three. That said, my personal dissatisfaction included, I am still REALLY REALLY REALLY in need of book three. Which won't come out until who knows when, because THUNDERHEAD doesn't even come out for a week.<br /><br />(My money is on the third book being called ELEGY, btw. We'll see how it goes.)<br /><br />++<br /><br />ANYWAY, that was 2017 in books. I am down significantly from last year, but I also didn't do NEARLY as much re-reading this year. Also, not listed are a few manuscripts I'll talk about when they are published. ;)<br /><br />I debated whether or not I would just list books in my book journal going forward, instead of recording them here, but I think I'll give 2018 a shot, just to see how it goes. I didn't read anything I didn't like this year, which was nice, and something I'm looking to continue going forward.<br /><br />In 2018, I would like to read more steadily. I have tended the past two years to not read at home, and then read 15 books in the week I go to The Woods. I'd like to level that off, if possible. Something something cutting down on screen time before bed, at least. ;)<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3273462" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3273069Book #84: Hullmetal Girls, by Emily Skrutskie2017-12-31T21:54:04Z2017-12-31T21:54:04Zpublic0This book has everything I love in a space opera: deep faith, high stakes, endless questions about humanity, and a cast that shows the best (and less-best) of what we might become. Basically, humanity is on a fleet of star ships, looking for a habitable planet. Over the decades, the fleet has stratified into seven levels, and a group called the Fractionists thinks that the ships should go apart from each other in order to better their search odds.<br /><br />On top of this are the Scela, humans who have volunteered their bodies for the fleet's police force. It's a procedure not everyone survives, as people are essentially grafted into a machine that they then co-exist with, but our MCs are both Scela, one by desperation (the pay is good), and one who just woke up in her new body with no recollection of how it came to be.<br /><br />The world-building is really, really good. Skrutskie put so much thought into how the Scela work (there's a mental component as well as a physical one), and that extends to the fleet as well as to individual characters. The in-world words flow naturally, and it was a humanity I <i>believed</i>, basically. It's been a while since I've read a space book that felt this real. I enjoyed it immensely.<br /><br />Hullmetal Girls comes out in July, but you can pre-order it. And I think you should.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3273069" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3272631Book #83: Blood and Sand, by C.V. Wyk2017-12-31T04:49:40Z2017-12-31T04:49:40Zpublic0A reimagining of history where Spartacus is a girl, Blood and Sand plays fast and loose with the historical record (it warns you first, and also: I don't care) to keep up an engaging plot with interesting characters. It's not super interested in making you like Romans (which: thank goodness, because Romans are THE WORST), but I enjoyed the main character, Attia, quite a bit. The supporting characters were also fun, and it was interesting to see them all interact, playing different parts for intrigues. There was one twist I didn't see coming (which is UNUSUAL for me, let me tell you!), and by and large I really liked it.<br /><br />I mostly left off feeling like I wanted MORE. Clearly this is going to be a series, but I selfishly wanted all of it right now. It's not even a cliffhanger. I just know vaguely where the story is going, and wanted to see how everything played out.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3272631" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3272390Book #82: Ms Marvel vol 7, Damage Per Second2017-12-30T21:05:49Z2017-12-30T21:05:49Zpublic0I love this series so much. This was the local politics storyline, with a little coda for Bruno at the end, and it was all so GOOD. I love Kamala so much, and her family and her friends are just THE BEST. The last couple volumes of this series have been weirdly heart-breaking, but I feel like this one was getting back on track. Kamala still does (and I hope always will!) make mistakes, but people spent less time dragging her in this volume, and I appreciate that so much.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3272390" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3271994Book #81: Silk vol3, The Clone Conspiracy2017-12-30T09:21:43Z2017-12-30T09:21:43Zpublic0I will probably never stop being bitter that this line is cancelled, but at least they knew, and wrote an ending. I love Cindy Moon so much, and her comic has been a delight. She has the best internal monologue, and I loved her character arc a lot. This last volume requires me to like JJJ more than I actually do, but I love Cindy enough that I don't really mind.<br /><br />WHY CAN'T WE HAVE NICE THINGS???<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3271994" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3271636Book #80: Aru Shah and the End of Time, by Roshani Chokshi2017-12-29T22:38:11Z2017-12-29T22:38:11Zpublic0This book is going to be the first book in Rick Riordan's new imprint of Books He Is Too Smart To Write Himself (ie: about cultures he's not from). Rosh is a friend, so consider me officially biased, but HOLY CATS I LOVED THIS BOOK.<br /><br />Basically, Aru is a tiny, angry girl, whose mum is keeping secrets. She lies compulsively (but not harmfully...except to her own reputation), and to impress some bullies, she lights a lamp in her mum's museum, thus heralding the end of time. Shenanigans ensue, and it's WONDERFUL.<br /><br />I am not sure how it's mathematically possible, but this book is 100% Rick Riordan and 100% Roshani Chokski. The world is rock solid and the voice just flipping <i>sings</i>. The supporting cast is delightful, and the mythology is great. I loved it so deeply.<br /><br />Rosh is writing a series and there are at least four other books that I know of from the imprint (Native American, Aztec, Korean, Latinx), and WE ARE OFF TO A GOOD START.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3271636" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3271300Book #79: Top Ten, by Katie Cotugno2017-12-24T01:03:44Z2017-12-24T01:03:44Zpublic0Gods, I love Katie Cotugno. Her books are just so READABLE, and I love the way she pieces them together.<br /><br />Told out of order, TOP TEN is about two best friends who sleep together the night of high school graduation and then...like immediately panic about it, and we look back through the "top ten" moments of their friendship. <br /><br />Both of them are messy and wonderful, and their friendship/relationship is the same. Katie writes anxiety (like, the REAL kind), and brain injury and family and hopes and dreams and friends, and she writes them all AMAZINGLY WELL.<br /><br />It's a quick read, but a reassuring one, if that makes any sense. Katie's style is very comfortable and very, very good, and I love that about her books.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3271300" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3271157Book #78: The Last Jedi Visual Dictionary, by Pablo Hidalgo2017-12-22T18:49:09Z2017-12-22T18:49:09Zpublic0Equal parts random information and inside jokes, this is the book you get for the person who wants to know the names of every pilot, gambler, and bad guy in Star Wars (because they all have names). I enjoyed it immensely, even though I mostly bought it for kicks. The photo quality is really good.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3271157" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3270673Book #77: Bomber Command, by Jason Fry2017-12-22T15:57:19Z2017-12-22T15:58:15Zpublic0NO ONE TOUCH ME I AM HAVING FEELINGS<br /><br />So this is Paige Tico's account of her mission as part of Cobalt Squadron. It's part of the journal-style series that also has books about Rey, Finn, and Poe (Rey's is <i>relentless</i> and most of Poe's is from the POV of the First Order, which is actually super funny), so it includes fold-outs with maps and diagrams, and is written like a journal. It also includes one of Leia's speeches to the Galactic Senate (DON'T TOUCH ME), and a couple of technical entries from Rose, explaining the machine she built for the <i>Cobalt Squadron</i> book.<br /><br />I really like it. It covers basically the same ground as <i>Cobalt Squadron</i>, but Paige's POV makes it worth it. I would recommend reading CS first (because it actually has a plot), but it probably doesn't matter. Just, you know, bring tissues.<br /><br />(The only thing I DIDN'T love was the use of "he/him" for vague-singular. Which is made extra weird because one time, they DID use "his or her", and also THE CREW CHIEF IN QUESTION IS ACTUALLY FEMALE, so it made, like, zero sense.)<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3270673" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3270584Book #76: Ice Wolves, by Amie Kaufman2017-12-21T13:32:40Z2017-12-21T13:32:40Zpublic0Serving as Kaufman's MG and solo debut, ICE WOLVES is a fantasy adventure set in a world where people can change into elementals. Every region of the planet has their own, but where the story takes place, your options are: wolves (used as the local militia), and dragons (exiled "bad" guys). It is impossible for families to contain both lines.<br /><br />So I will let you guess what happens in this book about a sister and brother. ;)<br /><br />ANYWAY, I really liked it. It did at times feel like "half a book" (once the sister goes missing, you only get the brother's POV, and you can FEEL the parts where the sister's story would be useful), but I found it was a benefit to the story itself, not a lack. It forces the brother to confront his prejudices on his own, rather than having his sister walk him through it (and the reader gets to understand both sides), and I really liked that part.<br /><br />Also I really liked the ending.<br /><br />On a personal note, I loved reading Kaufman on her own. She's a delight, and she loves this book, and it was fun to read.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3270584" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3270268Book #75: Buried Heart, by Kate Elliot2017-12-19T23:02:40Z2017-12-19T23:02:40Zpublic0The conclusion to the COURT OF FIVES trilogy, BURIED HEART was absolutely incredible...and completely exhausting. Elliot did an amazing job with these books. They're compelling and the characters are great, and she clearly did her homework with regard to imperialism and colonization, which is always nice to see in SFF. I liked how everything tied up, and even if there were no real surprises, it was in the <i>good</i> way. Everything in the book made sense, and there was no, like, DRAMATIC TURN because REASONS, which is a thing I deeply dislike.<br /><br />I'm happy for series like this one, because I love reading them in YA. I want them to do well because I want to read more of them (Susan Dennard's Witchlands series fits here too: she's going to get five books, at least!). I have zero interest in writing one, but, so help me, the YA series are so much more FUN than the adult ones. I want more of them on the shelves.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3270268" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3269899Book #74: Siege of Shadows, by Sarah Raughley2017-12-18T14:47:20Z2017-12-18T14:47:20Zpublic0A follow up to last fall's FATE OF FLAMES, Raughley goes back into her SUPREMELY messed up world of chosen ones, government agencies, monsters from other dimensions, and the bizarre intersections of fame. Her world-building remains intricate and fascinating, and while I (personally) long for teamwork, I love how ANTAGONISTIC each of her four chosen ones are. Because destiny chose them, but, like, THEY HAD OTHER PLANS.<br /><br />Anyway, a LOT goes down in this book, and it's quite dense for an action-adventure story, which was kinda nice, tbh. Raughley lets you think your own way through it, which is cool, and develops the mythology and a breakneck pace that is also oddly comforting.<br /><br />And then she cliffhangers you real hard at the end, but manages to close off several of the plotlines before she does it, so it's more of a "see you in Book #3!" then, like, evil cackling. It was balanced, is what I am saying.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3269899" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3269848Book #73: The Legends of Luke Skywalker, by Ken Liu2017-12-17T18:34:27Z2017-12-17T18:34:27Zpublic0I was really excited about this one.<br /><br />Basically the idea of the book is that all these kids are on a freighter bound for Canto Bight (they are, uh, not paid employees, so while they're not <i>quite</i> slaves, they are, at best, being hugely taken advantage of. This is discussed on the page), and they find themselves all telling stories about the legendary Luke Skywalker. The whole thing has a very campfire-feel, even though the kids are engaged in their own secondary adventure for most of the book, which I liked a lot.<br /><br />The Legends range from laugh-out-loud funny to deeply profound and moving. I straight up cried at the end (surprise!), because it was just so <i>Star Wars</i>. Ken Liu did a fabulous job mixing myth and mayhem, and the end result was entirely delightful.<br /><br />There are several movie Easter eggs, of course. This book came out in the fall, so you were meant to read it before you see the film, but I don't think it really matters. Highly read-aloud-able, too. I loved it a lot.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3269848" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3269563Book #72: Star Wars Cobalt Squadron, by Elizabeth Wein2017-12-16T21:26:57Z2017-12-16T21:26:57Zpublic0A tie-in to The Last Jedi, Cobalt Squadron ends, like, ten minutes before the movie starts and stars Rose and Paige Tico and <i>my emotions, my emotions</i>.<br /><br />Basically it's a character piece with some background ship talk, set up in a way I really liked. Rose and Paige (and their pilot, other gunner, and bombardier), are doing reconnaissance on a planet they think the First Order is pillaging (before TFA, so they have to be secretive about it), and then they try to supply the resistance force on that planet.<br /><br />I love Rose and Paige so much, and this is Rose's "little push out the door" story, and it was really, really good. I would say you could read it either before or after the movie, but definitely read it.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3269563" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3269262Book #71: Poe Dameron vol3, LEGEND LOST, by Charles Soule2017-12-16T01:08:36Z2017-12-16T01:08:36Zpublic0OH GOD<br /><br />so this one starts off with a funeral and Poe gives this beautiful eulogy and then Leia lands the emotional payoff and I was not at all okay. It was amazing.<br /><br />I continue to love this run a lot. It's super fun.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3269262" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3269095Book #70: Poe Dameron vol2, The Gathering Storm, by Charles Soule2017-11-26T19:49:10Z2017-11-26T19:49:10Zpublic0This comic follows Poe in his search for Lor San Tekka, in the lead-up to The Force Awakens. This volume kind of went into the weeds a bit, as Poe squared off against his nemesis for this comic storyline, a dude named Terex. We get a lot of Terex's backstory, which is fine because he's a jerk and his backstory pays off with a couple of other Resistance storylines. It does mean that he's 100% alive, though, despite how the comic ends. ;)<br /><br />ANYWAY<br /><br />Kind of a quiet read. Poe is worried there's a spy in Black Squadron, but that doesn't really factor into the story much in terms of Poe's development. Threepio gets to be hilarious, which is Threepio at his best. There's a return of an old character that I was VERY PLEASED with (I found out about it in a freight elevator in New York in 2016, so it was a nice payoff!). Mostly, this serves to set up Volume 3, which is already out, so that's handy. Mine should be here this week, and it's going on the December reading list.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3269095" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3268808Book #69: Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland2017-11-24T20:11:05Z2017-11-24T20:11:05Zpublic1I do not like zombies.<br /><br />Like, not at all.<br /><br />So for me to read a zombie book, it either has to be an accident (which happens), or I have to REALLY, REALLY like the author. In the case of Dread Nation, it's firmly the latter. Justina is one of the best people I know.<br /><br />ANYWAY<br /><br />So the premise is that after the battle of Gettysburg, the dead rose up and started roaming around the US (and other places. Europe is mentioned a couple of times, but nothing is said of Mexico or Canada, which is fine: the book has other things to do). The US government responded by forcing First Nation and newly freed black people to go to school and learn to fight the dead...so that white people wouldn't be at risk.<br /><br />Anyway, the dead keep coming and our narrator, Jane, is about to graduate, when she gets involved in a conspiracy and life gets complicated, quickly.<br /><br />Justina's book is amazing. Her writing style is vicious and her plotting, characters, and settings are staggering familiar. Jane is mean and smart and talented and stubborn, and I loved her to bits. Katherine, one of the secondary characters, was my favourite for reasons that will be immediately apparent when you read the book.<br /><br />DREAD NATION comes out in April (I fiiiiiiiiiinally got an ARC), but if you want a sample of Justina's work, you can buy THREE SIDES OF A HEART. It's an anthology, and her story is set in the Dead Nation world (full disclosure: I also have a short story in the anthology). THREE SIDES comes out on December 19.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3268808" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3268501Book #68: Not Your Villain, by C.B. Lee2017-11-23T13:55:22Z2017-11-23T13:55:36Zpublic0This is the second book in a trilogy, following up on Not Your Sidekick from last year (which I also SUPER ENJOYED), and focuses on the character of Bells. Bells is a shape-shifter, something of a rebel even <i>before</i> he learns about the massive government conspiracy (his family is also in rebelling: they believe in food freedom, and run an underground market so that people can get real food). Bells is trans.<br /><br />(This is actually the SECOND series with a trans main character who is also a superhero I've read this year, WHICH IS AWESOME. The more the merrier. I really loved both books (the other is Dreadnought/Sovereign), but VILLAIN is less...intense. I've posted about Dreadnought/Sovereign before, and Danny, the protagonist, deals with ALL KINDS of shit from her family, colleagues, the press, etc. etc. That can be difficult for trans kids to read. VILLAIN isn't like that. Bells is just trans and a superhero. I cannot stress how pleased I am that BOTH OF THESE STORIES EXIST.)<br /><br />ANYWAY, so we pick up Bells' story a little bit before the end of NOT YOUR SIDEKICK, and then follow him through Jess' adventure until his own comes to the front. This means the beginning of the book is a little choppy, but overall, I found it an effective storytelling method. I love the world CB has constructed here, and the way the superheroes work is just SO COOL (nutshell: your strength as a super is measured by how long you can sustain your power, not by what your power is. WHICH IS NEAT).<br /><br />I loved the balance of CONSPIRACY and teenage shenanigans. I love the way Bells, Jess, and Emma interact (and how they incorporate Jess's girl-friend Abby). I LOVE THE PARENTS AND SIBLINGS.<br /><br />The third book, NOT YOUR BACKUP, will be from Emma's POV, and I am pretty darn excited about it. (And not just because the book ended with her confessing that she's ace!)<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3268501" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3268264Book #67: Ship of the Dead, by Rick Riordan2017-11-23T04:48:14Z2017-11-23T04:48:14Zpublic0This series got off to a rocky start, but I think Riordan really hit stride in book 2, and I <i>adored</i> the trilogy cap. Norse mythology is bonkers (see also: Thor Ragnarock), and there's a cyclical nature to it that other mythology doesn't quite have, and I wasn't sure if it was going to work for Middle Grade, but it really, really did.<br /><br />Magnus was such a good character. I liked that his homelessness was a character trait throughout, rather than something that was shaken off as soon as he had a reliable home. I loved how Annabeth played into the story, and I <i>loved</i> the ending on that front.<br /><br />ALSO SAM. I LOVE SAM. SAM IS MY FAVOURITE. Hijab-wearing, Ramadan observing, air hug-giving, STRAIGHT UP HERO-VALKYRIE. Learns to best herself and her father (Loki) and I JUST REALLY LIKED IT.<br /><br />ALSO ALEX. Last book, I observed that Alex was being written as the love interest, and I thought that was remarkable. TURNS OUT ALEX IS THE LOVE INTEREST. Yup, genderfluid love interest in a MIDDLE GRADE book.<br /><br />The pacing was Riordan's usual breakneck speed, but I loved the geography and various monsters they fought. A neat variety of characters and a wide array of skills helped keep everything moving, and I liked how all the pieces fit together.<br /><br />It was just really good.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3268264" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2009-04-14:58794:3267989Book #66: In Other Lands, by Sara Reese Brennan2017-11-20T19:33:03Z2017-11-20T19:33:03Zpublic1I read this when it was posted online as a free serial, and I had absolutely zero qualms about shelling out actual money for it because 1. Sara is a friend, and 2. Now I have book to hit myself in the face with, out of sheer delight, and you can't really do that with a laptop.<br /><br />ANYWAY.<br /><br />In Other Lands is a portal fantasy that knows it's a portal fantasy. Elliot, the MC, is hilarious and angry, and I like him a lot. I'm not usually here for satire, for books that predicate themselves on taking apart things you love, but Sara does it in such a way that I still feel...loved? Like, sometimes I read a satire and it wants me to feel stupid for liking the thing. Sara wants me to feel like I love it, even though it has a few practical issues we should probably discuss.<br /><br />It's also funny as hell, deeply moving, sex-positive, and generally an all-around good time.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=grav_ity&ditemid=3267989" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments