Book round-up: May 2020

[sixthlight]

I worked out this month that the only way to break my new fiction block was to read fiction that was exactly and precisely to my tastes - so thank you, KJ Charles and Martha Wells, a new romance and a new Murderbot were what I needed. And spoilers for June: it's still working and I'm even getting into some fiction books that AREN'T exactly to my taste! amazing.

Network Effect (Martha Wells)
Murderbot! A whole novel of Murderbot! Somehow the security bot who just wants to watch media but keeps having to get into fights for INCONVENIENT HUMANS who they refuse to think of as friends is even MORE relatable in this nightmare year than they were in 2019. If you haven't read any of this series, start with the first novella (All Systems Red) but DO start because these are as charming and weird and furious and hopeful as you could want right now.

Slippery Creatures (KJ Charles)
The start of a new m/m romance trilogy set in the 1920s. Warnings: it does discuss the 1918 flu pandemic (it was written last year, and...yeah. *thousand-yard stare*. If that's not a deal-breaker, this is great pulpy fun with conspiracies and two main characters on a dual-pet-sociopath enemies-to-lovers merry-go-round which doesn't give us a Happily Ever After in this book but frankly is doing the right thing in that - and I am completely hooked for the next two.

The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy (Mackenzi Lee)
Probably lots of fun; I DNF'd hard a couple of chapters in because it's set in Georgian England but...badly, and the main character has a very serious case of Modern Feminist In A Big Skirt - her fight against the Patriarchy doesn't work because it requires her to fundamentally be ignorant of the society she actually lives in. Nothing against the writing, which is fine - the description sounded like a good queer adventure and if you're not a historical pedant like me I expect it's not bad.

The Science of Fate (Henriette Caworth)
For book club; asserts to be about whether we have free will but does not really get that far, instead focusing on genetic research. Aimed at...I don't know, an audience of people who are interested in this topic but literally never read, because almost every scientific anecdote was one I knew well (the marshmallow experiment, the Stanford experiment, etc.) Also barely stops to skim over the sexist and racist history of genetics, not an excusable choice in 2019/2020. The author has a doctorate in neurobiology but honestly the whole thing was a bit lazy and definitely relied too heavily on My Friend, Rowan Williams (yes, the Archbishop.) Would have been a compelling talk or essay; not weighty enough for a book.

The New Zealand Wars | Ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa (Vincent O'Malley)
If The Great War For New Zealand is a bit much for you, try this; it's a very accessible overview of the New Zealand Wars from 1840-1872, and their aftermath. The kind of history that we need to get to grips with to do anything right as a nation, and by 'we' I mean Pākehā (and non-Māori immigrants). Plus lots of handy maps and pictures. Worth more than every colonial statue in the country.

Band Sinister (KJ Charles)(
Immediately after Slippery Creatures I decided I needed the fuzzy happy queer Regency romance and this delivers on all fronts every time I re-read it (which is, er, I think twice since beginning to blog my reading.) IDK what to tell you, it's so good.

Calling on Dragons and Talking to Dragons (Patricia C Wrede)
The second half of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. I'd completely forgotten most of the content of these two and my brain was doing the right thing, because the fourth was actually written first and the third therefore has to frantically try and connect the two now quite divergent stories and does not stick the landing. There's a whole long author's note about how hard this was in the edition of Calling I read, which unfortunately just made me go "yes, you have correctly identified all the major problems that still exist in your finished book!". Anyway, give me the AU where Cimorene goes to fight wizards with a baby in tow and we see Morwen's gardening contest.

Comments

[eight_of_cups]

I was given KJC's Think of England as a gift intended as distraction, and it was very good for that purpose. Pretty good m/m romance -- I guess you couldn't call them bodice-rippers, but "codpiece-rippers" sounds a little too...something. Whatever it is, you've just reminded me that there are more such distractions to be had....

[fitzcamel]

If you liked Think of England, you may also enjoy Proper English, the Pat-and-Fen-prequel novel that came out a few months back.

[eight_of_cups]

As a matter of fact, I did purchase Proper English, and enjoyed it very much!