ghosthermione's reviews
300 reviews

Invaders: 22 Tales from the Outer Limits of Literature by W.P. Kinsella, Ben Loory, Jim Shepard, Amiri Baraka, Jacob Weisman, Max Apple, Steven Millhauser

3.0

Some very good stories in there but for the most part I would have enjoyed, firstly, a more balanced mix of male and female writers, and secondly, less stories centred around sex in crude/gross terms, and less fatphobia.

The Jewel and Her Lapidary by Fran Wilde

3.0

I felt like this could have been longer and the ending could have been more developed. Sadly feels unfinished.

The Third Bear by Jeff VanderMeer

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0

I skipped ahead a lot, I did not see a point to most of these stories.

Steampunk Reloaded by James L. Grant, Jeff VanderMeer, Gail Carriger, Ann VanderMeer, Cherie Priest, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Stephen Baxter, G.D. Falksen, Daniel Abraham, Evelyn Kriete

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

1.0

A few good stories overshadowed by a lot of boring ones and quite a few not so subtly bigoted ones. Steampunk is no reason for thinly veiled antisemitism and racist terms being bandied about, and it doesnt reflect well on the authors or editors of this book...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Minor: Racial slurs and Antisemitism

Dragon's Winter by Elizabeth A. Lynn
Did not finish book. Stopped at 11%.

Too simplistic and boring. Also I am tired of disfigured characters being villains.

Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh
Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.

This is not how space agencies work.  This is not how mental health works. This is not how you plan a mission. Let alone a 20 year nonstop mission. This is not how human (and children's) rights work either. And you don't replace your astronauts a day before the start of mission either with an untrained unhealthy kid OR an untrained adult. Or ignore 

  a death on the team 

  and give no aftercare to the kids who witnessed it before you send them off. The lack of thinking in the worldbuilding made me give up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Suicide, and Eating disorder

The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard

adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

  Thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review. 

I got taken in by the idea of lesbian space pirates when the book was first mentioned, and I was so looking forward to it! I tend to… not really read blurbs for authors I trust, so I was surprised and intrigued to find out that one half of the main couple was a mindship. Sentient spaceships are one of my favourite tropes and de Bodard’s take on it always fascinates me (I think I can say without spoilers that they’re human-spaceship hybrids, borne from a human mother) and I loved the idea of exploring what it means for one of them to have deep feelings for someone, and how that is navigated.

The romance hit all the right notes for me from the start, with all the tropes that made me go “aaaaah” and not want to put down the book (well, phone) even though it was 3am. It’s a romance born of necessity and it really added tension to the whole situation. And what does it mean to consent when the other person has so much power over you? I liked that it didn’t shy from those difficult topics. And the trauma of past relationships, and the damage it can do to the children involved.

Speaking of children, all the kids in this book! They were adorable! And aside from providing some needed levity, I love that they’re truly individuals with their own needs and feelings and not just an afterthought.

De Bodard also continues on her trend to not really have male characters. I mean, there’s one or two, but most important players, and almost all background characters, are women. And in a genre that’s still dominated by men, it’s always refreshing.

Aside from the romance, we get a mystery/political intrigue plot that was interesting enough to keep me guessing and yet did not overshadow the romance. Another thing with the Xuya universe is that there is some kind of magic to the technology – I don’t understand it, but there’s no technobabble trying to make me understand it. It’s these characters’ reality and it just IS, and I appreciate that. On the one hand, I keep wanting more explanations and context, and on the other I’m happy to leave it as is and just go with it; it’s part of what makes the universe so vivid to me, that not everything is explained away.

I was really happy to get a novel-size story in that universe, and a full-on romance novel at that, and I would heartily recommend it whether you’re familiar with this universe or completely new to it. 

The Arthritis Helpbook: A Tested Self-Management Program for Coping with Arthritis and Fibromyalgia by Kate Lorig, James F. Fries
Did not finish book. Stopped at 73%.

The self management tips were truly helpful but the fatphobia in the diet advice, the casual sexism, racism (sure nobody knows African countries unless they're a geography wizz) and casual implications that all young adults wanna get married and have babies... pass. I had a 2006 copy and feel like if there's a 7th edition they should really rethink some of their word choices!
Did get a good few exercising techniques and bits of info out of it though.

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
Did not finish book. Stopped at 14%.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Did not finish book. Stopped at 12%.

not for me/ not the right time