Book round-up: April 2023

[sixthlight]

 

Still on parental leave, still managing to read a decent amount (slightly less at 2am as the baby has got his middle-of-the-night feeds down to one or two max/I have learned to doze through once he’s got going). Walks to the local library are also proving to be a reliable baby sedative, and since the central library was closed for earthquake repairs our library system lets you reserve/request anything in the wider system to be delivered to your local library for free, which is incredibly helpful. 

Fiction

The Daughters of Izdihar (Hadeer Elsbai)

Secondary world feminist fantasy in Fantasy Egypt about two women - one very privileged, one not - who are both drawn to the titular feminist/suffrage group, and are caught up in more and more dangerous conflicts as the patriarchy pushes back, with a side-dose of Magic Users Are Persecuted. I was expecting this to be a standalone and didn’t realise until the last few pages it was setup for future books. It was basically…fine? I’m not that interested in straightforward “women need to win the vote” type feminist stories so I’m not the target audience. 

Furious Heaven (Kate Elliott)

Second in the Sun Chronicles, which are genderbent Alexander the Great IN SPACE. An Absolute Unit of a book (quoth its author) but I enjoyed every page of it. Alexander’s life provides ample material for rip-roaring space opera, and all the characters stand on their own merits. HUGE trigger warning for infanticide, however, which I should have expected knowing the history but did not expect would be live on page. 

Tread of Angels (Rebecca Roanhorse)

Moody little secondary world fantasy/Western novella about a woman on a mission to save her sister, who has been accused of murder. Hard to discuss my reaction without spoilers but let’s just say this is a tragedy and basically None Of These Characters Like Each Other. In terms of angel/demon/Christian theology flavoured fantasy, which this was, l much prefer Aliette de Bodard’s work. 

The Keeper's Six (Kate Elliott)

Retired Jewish grandma and professional badass multiverse traveller has to Get The Team Back Together when her adult son is kidnapped. Also, dragons (shapeshifting variety). I had a lot of fun with this one and Elliott is really first-class as a worldbuilder in any genre. 

Non-fiction

What If? 2 (Randall Munroe)

More serious scientific answers to very unserious questions (although sometimes the answer is ‘what is wrong with you’). Literally laugh out loud funny, and the kind of thing you can gently dip in and out of as the mood takes you. 

Vanishing Ice (Lynley Hargreaves)

A history of Aotearoa New Zealand’s glaciers. Did you know there are over 3000 of them? I didn’t! Did you know most of them are probably going to melt because of climate change? Well, you probably guessed. A big coffee table book with lots of beautiful pictures, and does a good job of integrating *all* of the history, not just post-colonisation history. Great companion to Nick Lowe’s Uprising, which I read a couple of years ago. 

Re-reads

Unconquerable Sun (Kate Elliott)

Had so much fun with Furious Heaven I had to go back and read the first one, which is still great, though less meaty than its sequel. Do read these books if political space opera is at all your thing.

Comments

[profiterole_reads]

I love The Daughters of Izdihar so much and I'm sad that the other two people I know who've read it didn't enjoy it as much as I did. Hopefully another reader will appear at some point. :-)