Ahoy me mateys! Grab your grog! Here be book 1 of the seventh installment of the 3 Bells trilogy showcase. Arrrr!!!

luna: new moon (Ian McDonald)

Damn. That was me first thought upon finishing this truly excellent book. I know this review won’t do it justice but I ended up loving this. I was instantly engrossed by the beginning of this novel and the wicked cool right-of-passage event. But then I became a tad worried because the POVs started jumping around quite a bit and there weren’t chapter breaks when the viewpoints switched. I had to backtrack a couple of times and wasn’t completely sure what was going on at first but I loved the set-up and was determined to go with the flow. It didn’t take too long and I am glad I didn’t give up.

The world-building in this novel is just exquisite. One of the first things that ye learn is that the moon is run by five corporate families that be collectively known as the Five Dragons. The Corta Hélio family is the latest addition to the bunch and is still seen as upstarts despite several moon-born generations. These corporations control every aspect of moon life where literally everything has a price. Residents have to pay for the four commodities, the Elements, that dictate the economy – air, water, carbon, and data. As one character states “Nothing tells you that you are not on Earth anymore than exhaling at one price and inhaling at another.”

But the Elements are only one intriguing (if terrifying) aspect of life on the moon. I absolutely loved the court system. The basic law is that the contract rules. Again everything has a price. The court system is kinda farcical in ideation but then also works in practice. For example ye can hire yer own judges or win cases by a fight to the death. Hard to explain and seriously weird but cool.

Other fun aspects: I loved the mixture of languages sprinkled throughout the book. Unlike in chilling effect, I could get meaning of the words through context even though there is a glossary at the back of the book for marriage customs and corporate titles. I didn’t use it but read through them at the end. I also loved how harsh life on the moon’s surface was, the different habits of the five families, the complicated and interesting politics, the different types of cities and living quarters, the diversity, the sexual freedoms, and even the weird retro fashion trends.

There were a ton of characters in this. I skipped the character list because I always be wary of spoilers but I counted after the fact and it lists 65 people by family affiliations. Though some of those listed are repeats because of marriages. Don’t worry though, there are not 65 POVs! Most of the focus is on about 9 Corta Hélio family members though there is an Earth-born employee in the mix. All of these people were very well defined and absolutely fun to follow. It be hard to pick a favourite even though I wanted to smack many of them for bad behavior or stupidity at times. Ultimately I be team Corta Hélio. I want all of them to succeed so badly despite their individual quirks and flaws.

This book also manages to do something hard – it be character driven and yet the plot be complexly written with a large scale. And it works. The build-up starts slow but is full of action, intrigue, assassination attempts, messy relationships, politics, character growth, and plot twists I didn’t see coming. In addition ye also get backstory on the company matriarch’s past and the founding of the company. The ending seriously rocked too!

The only minor gripe is that I could have done without the sex scenes but I still can’t wait to find out what happens next. Check in tomorrow for what me thinks of book two. Arrrr!

Ahoy me mateys!  Grab yer grog!  Here be book 3 of the seventh installment of the 3 Bells trilogy showcase.  While I try to post no spoilers, ye have been forewarned and continue at yer own peril . . .

luna: moon rising (Ian McDonald)

Whew!  It was certainly a rush down to the wire to finish this trilogy and write me review in time.  This review is going to be super short because of a) the time crunch and b) I can't explain much without massive spoilers.  I did think this book was much stronger than the second though still not as strong as the first.

This book  jumps right into an action sequence after a smaller time jump, which irked me.  The good news is that much of the focus is back on the characters and especially the youngest generation of the Cortas.  I was able to quickly be engrossed in how the conflict on the moon was going to turn out.  The short answer is not at all like I expected and that was awesome.  The politics were all over the place and lots of fun.  The ending in particular was lovely.  I am definitely team Corta Hélio.  I thought that it was a fantastic ending to a series that I am glad to have finally read.

While I have finished the trilogy, apparently the author has written two novellas in the same world.  One is a prequel and the other is a companion story.  I wouldn't be adverse to reading more set in this world.  I also have to check out the author's backlog.  Arrrr!

Ahoy there me mateys! This be the seventeenth book in me Ports for Plunder – 19 Books in 2019 list. The crew has been gushing over this author’s work for forever and this book won the Goodreads Choice award for fantasy in 2018. So I thought I would give it a shot. While it was nice to get back to some fantasy after a wonderful Sci-Fi Month, this wasn’t quite a five star read for me. Before ye scalawags start throwing rotten fish entrails at me, I shall explain even though me ship me rules!

I have always loved Greek and Roman myths. I had to read them a lot – basically every single time I switched schools. That’s also how I got to take Latin twice, in both sixth and eighth grades. At the beginning of every sixth grade Latin class our teacher had us recite the motto:

"Latin. Latin. Say what ye will. Is NOT over the hill!”

While I loved having to read the classics over and over again in school, the two Latin classes did not help me learn to read Latin any better. It did lead to an appreciation for the myths and legends and retellings whether it be in plays (like seeing one in the Siracusa Greek theater) or in books (like reading the Percy Jackson books with me nephew). But I majorly digress.

So I was very much looking forward to a retelling of Circe’s story from her point of view. First thing I did before reading was to go back and review some of Circe’s references in the old tales. I wanted it fresh in me noggin so I could savour the author’s choices in how she chose to tell and modify the sources.

This was the correct choice for me because I do think the author gave a stunning retelling. I thought the writing was sublime and was completely engrossed in the world and Circe’s viewpoints and feelings. I particularly loved from the beginning of the book all the way up until Odysseus leaves Circe’s island. And then the problems began with the pacing.

Personal problem was that I basically got kinda bored with the Telegonus section of him being born and growing up and all that. I get the struggle, I do. It was a little too much Circe angst and I just was ready to get back to the action. Once Telegonus comes back to the island, the book got much better though I was never again completely sucked back into the narrative. It became more of an intellectual based reading. I enjoyed it but just thought the first half was so much stronger. That said, I did think how the book ended was perfect. So despite me problems, I get the hype of the book. I just don’t completely share it.

As for the author’s other works, I have no interest in the Achilles/Patroclus love story (and no I won’t change me mind). I be interested in the short story about Galatea if the library has a copy. Have any of the crew read that one? Arrrr!

Side note: One month to go and two books left in me 19 in 2019. The end is nigh!

Ahoy there! I enjoyed the night circus and was excited for this supposed sea yarn. And I was bored mateys. Bored! I thought the set-up for the book was interesting but ultimately did not live up to its premise at all. There was some beautiful writing in places, especially in the short inner fairy tales, but I didn’t really care for most of the characters. And the only one I actually liked didn’t get nearly enough page time. I struggled to finish this one and almost abandoned it about 50 times. I would pick it up and read a chapter and put it back down. I kept reading because I thought that if the characters didn’t move me then perhaps the world building would. But no. I have absolutely no urge to visit the starless sea. Other than the cats and the Kitchen, there was no appeal. Not much of the action even takes place on the sea. The promised pirates and ships were lame. The descriptions of the world were repetitive and the parts of the starless sea itself barely explored. I also didn’t like how the story threads tied together. I thought the plot was headed that way and hoped I was wrong. The writing was also kinda choppy and fragmented and had short chapters that didn’t flow well. The majority of the book just didn’t make sense. And I basically hated the ending. I be very glad that I got this from a local library and didn’t spend me hard-earned loot on it. Disappointed for sure. Arrrr!

Side note: What in the world was the purpose of the owls?

Ahoy there me mateys! It be no secret that I adore Garth Nix. He was the first author featured in me Broadside No. 1 and I have re-read the Old Kingdom series many times over the years. So I was super happy to finally read his newest standalone book.

As always, the world-building here be fantastic. This tale takes inspiration from the Three Musketeers and the book is dedicated in part to Alexandre Dumas and to the cast and crews of the 1973 and 1974 Musketeer films (Arrrr!).

On top of the awesomeness of the swashbuckling aspects, there is an engaging magic system wherein practitioners can call on different members of a hierarchy of angelic beings via icons to perform all kinds of tasks. However the cost of the summoning is to shorten the lifespans of the user. The higher the angel in the scale, the higher the price paid by the summoner.

Another highlight of the book for me is that women play major roles in all levels of society and in the plot. One of the main characters, Liliath, is an “angel mage” who is determined to get what she wants no matter the cost. Her backstory rocked, her talents went against the grain, and she is great to root against (and begrudgingly, sometimes for). The other four main characters were fun too and showcased different aspects of life in the world-building. As the blurb says:

"It is four young Sarancians who hold her [Liliath’s] interest: Simeon, a studious doctor-in-training; Henri, a dedicated fortune hunter; Agnez, an adventurous musketeer cadet; and Dorotea, an icon-maker and scholar of angelic magic. They are the key to her quest."

Dorotea was me favourite because of her outlook on life and how she interacted with everyone. And even though I loved the five main perspectives, I absolutely adored the female Rochefort as a side character. I wouldn’t mind a spin-off of her earlier story and rise to power. The female d’Artagnan was also great even though she didn’t get a lot of page time.

I also appreciated how men and women were able to have non-normative relationships and casual sex. The juxtaposition of the more modern feeling sexual relationships with the 1600s religious and political environments was kinda fascinating. Even though sex is discussed a bit in the book it isn’t really explicit.

Even though the quest plot was great and the writing was as lovely as ever, it was the small details that made love this one. I absolutely loved everything about the religious icons – how they were made, how they were used, their limitations, etc. I loved the magic, particularly the horrible consequences on the lowest caste called Refusers who are unable to use angel magic.

This book completely worked as a standalone but I have to admit that I want more. More about the four Sarancians and what happens next or even just another tale just set in this world. The world building be too exquisite to only have this one little foray. If ye have never read any Garth Nix, I would still suggest starting with the Sabriel books. But if ye already be a Garth Nix fan then pick this one up soon! Arrrrr!

Ahoy me mateys! Grab your grog! Well, all ye scalawags should be familiar with Matey Sarah’s blog and wonderful book reviews. But some of ye may not be aware that she also be a writer. (What be wrong with ye wretches?) When the first book was published years ago in 2017, I bought me a copy. And then bought the next two in the trilogy as each was released. But shame on me, I didn’t read them right away. So with this Sci-Fi Month celebration, I thought I would finally give Matey’s Sarah’s work the time it deserves in return for all those sparkly treasures she be constantly adding to me ports for plunder list.

This novel follows Lizzy Wright whose dream has always been to join the naval officer training program. She serves on the merchant freighter, the Shooting Star under the command of her hard-nosed Captain who just happens to be her dad. But life in space is proving different from what she imagined so she and a group of friends decide to ditch their chaperones and sneak off the ship to visit the space station. What should be a fun little adventure turns into a big ol’ mess.

I have to admit that I was hesitant at first because ye get tossed right into the action on the station with little explanation and where insta-lust makes an appearance. It was a little hard to get me bearings and insta-lust tends to be a major turnoff. At the same time, I was quickly intrigued by the four girls’ situation and wanted to know what they were doing. Being naive, making a massive mistake, and getting caught is what.

Once the women are back on the ship, I began to get thoroughly engaged in Lizzy, life on the ship, and the craziness of the plot. I ended up growing to really like Lizzy. The plot be full of twists and turns and I was surprised over and over again. Plus the insta-lust actually evolved into a rather lovely romance with many unexpected consequences. Lizzy doesn’t always fight for what she wants and let’s others steamroll over her but her personal growth ends up being wonderful by the end of the novel. I am looking forward to seeing what happens with her next.

The two things I loved best about this book were the ship culture and the ship’s language. I can’t help but love ship life (Arrrr!). The ship’s crew are descended from the British empire. Space life is hard and has taken a toll on fertility, especially that of women. Being fertile is valued but women who can have children are treated as fragile and precious creatures to the detriment of their personal wants and needs. Rules, chaperones, and lack of agency abound. Of course Lizzy can have children but doesn’t want to. The shipboard politics of this issue was fascinating. The delight was increased when ye get to meet more of the fleet and see how other ships be run.

I can’t do the language of the ship justice but I will try. There is just enough slang in the language that it feels like English has evolved and speech patterns have changed. Yet ye still can guess what the words were derived from. Add in a bit of ship jargon and it made the language fun while still being understandable. I approve.

The minor negative for me is how some family abuse is handled. It isn’t explicit and makes sense in the context of the story but I was rather uncomfortable. I didn’t like how Lizzy treated her guilt over it. The story is still ongoing so it wasn’t a deal breaker for me. I don’t know if, or how, it will dealt with in future books.

That aside, by the end I was very much wanting to know the future for Lizzy. She has matured and the set up for the next section be intriguing. Arrrr!