The second half of 2021 is moving just as fast as the first and there are many things to look forward to. Adaptations, new books, awards, and hopefully a return to something resembling normal.
Quickie News
- Good Omens is getting a second season on Amazon Prime and we can all look forward to more of our favorite angel and demon combo as David Tennant and Michael Sheen are reprising their roles as Crowley and Aziraphale. And Neil Gaiman will be co-writing the season, so we’re definitely in for a treat. What more is there to say than YAY?
line - The Wheel of Time TV show has a publication date. Well, publication month. The first season of the long awaited show is set to air in November 2021 on Amazon Prime. The series has already been renewed for a second season.
To prepare, I have finally started reading the first book. I would like to experience this huge epic story in book format first before I dive into the TV show.
line - A new Dune trailer is out and it looks pretty damn great. I am excited, everyone is excited. That’s all there is to say.
- The writing machine that is Brandon Sanderson has published a new Audible exclusive Reckoners novel (no knowledge of the trilogy required) titled Lux. You can listen to the first chapters on Sanderson’s Youtube channel.
Scott Lynch and a Thorn of Emberlain Update (Sort Of)
Scott Lynch has always been transparent about his battle with depression and the resulting delay in publishing further books in the Gentleman Bastard series. When The Republich of Thieves came out years after the previous volume, me and the other Locke Lamora fans were happy and excited and hopeful that the series would continue soon. In 2019, Lynch mentioned that the next instalment, The Thorn of Emberlain, was as good as finished. It had a cover and everything. But as of 2021, the book hasn’t been published yet.
Scott has recently posted an update about his struggle with anxiety and his difficulties letting go of his work (handing it in to the publisher, making posts public, etc.). I found the post both brave and educating. I am no stranger to anxiety but it can take so many shapes and forms and not all of them are well-known. Scott is now taking medication to help him and as far as comments on the internet go, I think we all agree that we wish him the best! Whether the next book comes out soon or not isn’t even a point of discussion. We just want Scott to be okay.
In a time when fans can be very demanding, even going so far as to harrass authors whose work they feel they are entitled to (spoiler: we’re not!), I find it heartening that an author opening up about why he’s not publishing more works or not publishing faster can lead to such positive reactions.
Scott is one of the few authors I’ve actually met at a convention and we had a lovely chat in which he apologized for killing some of my favorite characters 🙂 . I wish him all the best so that he can continue to write stories and kill off characters to his heart’s desire.
The World Fantasy Award Finalists Have Been Announced
And much like all other SFF award finalists this year, they look amazing! There is some overlap with other awards but there are also books here that didn’t make other awards list (some to great bafflement). I am particularly happy to see Alaya Dawn Johnson on this list as well as Mexican Gothic which I loved and The Only Good Indians which has been on my TBR forever. I think October will be just right to pick up this hopefully creepy horror novel.
- Silvia Moreno Garcia – Mexican Gothic
- Alaya Dawn Johnson – Trouble the Saints
- C. L. Polk – The Midnight Bargain
- Stephen Graham Jones – The Only Good Indians
- Susanna Clarke – Piranesi
Congratulations to the amazing finalists!!!
Exciting August Publications
August for the win! Okay, so there may not be a ton of publications that I am hyped for but the ones that are coming out in August are suuuuper exciting.
JORDAN IFUEKO – REDEMPTOR (August 17th)
IT’S FINALLY COMING!!! The second and final part in the Raybearer Duology will arrive in August and I am stoked! Raybearer was such a surprise for me, a debut I unabashadely loved with characters that defy all YA tropes and world building that would work just as well in an adult Epic Fantasy. Plus, Jordan Ifueko is the most adorable person on Instagram and I want to be best friends with her.
The hotly anticipated sequel to the instant New York Times bestselling YA fantasy about Tarisai’s quest to change her fate
For the first time, an Empress Redemptor sits on Aritsar’s throne. To appease the sinister spirits of the dead, Tarisai must now anoint a council of her own, coming into her full power as a Raybearer. She must then descend into the Underworld, a sacrifice to end all future atrocities.
Tarisai is determined to survive. Or at least, that’s what she tells her increasingly distant circle of friends. Months into her shaky reign as empress, child spirits haunt her, demanding that she pay for past sins of the empire.
With the lives of her loved ones on the line, assassination attempts from unknown quarters, and a handsome new stranger she can’t quite trust . . . Tarisai fears the pressure may consume her. But in this finale to the Raybearer duology, Tarisai must learn whether to die for justice . . . or to live for it.
LINDEN A. LEWIS – THE SECOND REBEL (August 24th)
And here’s another sequel I am excited about. The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis sure had its flaws but it’s a space opera that has stuck with me since I read it. Sadly, it went a little under the radar and I didn’t see many reviews. Hopefully, I can nudge some of you to try the first book. 🙂
I highly recommend going with the audiobook version in which the nonbinary protagonsit (one of three) is actually read by a nonbinary narrator.
Linden A. Lewis returns with this next installment of The First Sister Trilogy, perfect for fans of Red Rising, The Handmaid’s Tale, and The Expanse.
Astrid has reclaimed her name and her voice, and now seeks to bring down the Sisterhood from within. Throwing herself into the lioness’ den, Astrid must confront and challenge the Aunts who run the Gean religious institution, but she quickly discovers that the business of politics is far deadlier than she ever expected.
Meanwhile, on an outlaw colony station deep in space, Hiro val Akira seeks to bring a dangerous ally into the rebellion. Whispers of a digital woman fuel Hiro’s search, but they are not the only person looking for this link to the mysterious race of Synthetics.
Lito sol Lucious continues to grow into his role as a lead revolutionary and is tasked with rescuing an Aster operative from deep within an Icarii prison. With danger around every corner, Lito, his partner Ofiera, and the newly freed operative must flee in order to keep dangerous secrets out of enemy hands.
Back on Venus, Lito’s sister Lucinia must carry on after her brother’s disappearance and accusation of treason by Icarii authorities. Despite being under the thumb of Souji val Akira, Lucinia manages to keep her nose clean…that is until an Aster revolutionary shows up with news about her brother’s fate, and an opportunity to join the fight.
This captivating, spellbinding second installment to The First Sister series picks up right where The First Sister left off and is a must-read for science fiction fans everywhere.
TORI BOVALINO – THE DEVIL MAKES THREE (August 10th)
This is my wild card pick for the month. This is a debut novel whose cover normally wouldn’t speak to me. But it’s about libraries and evil books and two people who have to team up unwillingly (do I see bickering coming my way? I think I do!), so it simply has too many buzzwords for me to ignore. Dark Academia, here I come.
Tess Matheson only wants three things: time to practice her cello, for her sister to be happy, and for everyone else to leave her alone.
Instead, Tess finds herself working all summer at her boarding school library, shelving books and dealing with the intolerable patrons. The worst of them is Eliot Birch: snide, privileged, and constantly requesting forbidden grimoires. After a bargain with Eliot leads to the discovery of an ancient book in the library’s grimoire collection, the pair accidentally unleash a book-bound demon.
The demon will stop at nothing to stay free, manipulating ink to threaten those Tess loves and dismantling Eliot’s strange magic. Tess is plagued by terrible dreams of the devil and haunting memories of a boy who wears Eliot’s face. All she knows is to stay free, the demon needs her… and he’ll have her, dead or alive.
SILVIA MORENO-GARCIA – VELVET WAS THE NIGHT (August 17th)
Ever since Mexican Gothic I have jumped on the Silvia Moreno-Garcia hype train with the rest of you. Looking at that cover and reading that synopsis makes this book a no-brainer. Of course I’m going to buy it. How could I not?
From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic comes a “delicious, twisted treat for lovers of noir” about a daydreaming secretary, a lonesome enforcer, and the mystery of a missing woman they’re both desperate to find.
1970s, Mexico City. Maite is a secretary who lives for one thing: the latest issue of Secret Romance. While student protests and political unrest consume the city, Maite escapes into stories of passion and danger.
Her next-door neighbor, Leonora, a beautiful art student, seems to live a life of intrigue and romance that Maite envies. When Leonora disappears under suspicious circumstances, Maite finds herself searching for the missing woman—and journeying deeper into Leonora’s secret life of student radicals and dissidents.
Meanwhile, someone else is also looking for Leonora at the behest of his boss, a shadowy figure who commands goon squads dedicated to squashing political activists. Elvis is an eccentric criminal who longs to escape his own life: He loathes violence and loves old movies and rock ’n’ roll. But as Elvis searches for the missing woman, he comes to observe Maite from a distance—and grows more and more obsessed with this woman who shares his love of music and the unspoken loneliness of his heart.
Now as Maite and Elvis come closer to discovering the truth behind Leonora’s disappearance, they can no longer escape the danger that threatens to consume their lives, with hitmen, government agents, and Russian spies all aiming to protect Leonora’s secrets—at gunpoint.
Velvet Was the Night is an edgy, simmering historical novel for lovers of smoky noirs and anti-heroes.
ELAYNE AUDREY BECKER – FORESTBORN (August 31st)
I’m not sure about this one. Magical illness, shapeshifter with a dark past that has to do with the forest? Okay, why not. But “obstinate prince” is what did it for me. Even if the rest of the book isn’t that good, if it has a good bickering couple, I’m sold.
TO BE BORN OF THE FOREST IS A GIFT AND A CURSE.
Rora is a shifter, as magical as all those born in the wilderness–and as feared. She uses her abilities to spy for the king, traveling under different guises and listening for signs of trouble.
When a magical illness surfaces across the kingdom, Rora uncovers a devastating truth: Finley, the young prince and her best friend, has caught it, too. His only hope is stardust, the rarest of magical elements, found deep in the wilderness where Rora grew up–and to which she swore never to return.
But for her only friend, Rora will face her past and brave the dark, magical wood, journeying with her brother and the obstinate, older prince who insists on coming. Together, they must survive sentient forests and creatures unknown, battling an ever-changing landscape while escaping human pursuers who want them dead. With illness gripping the kingdom and war on the horizon, Finley’s is not the only life that hangs in the balance.
News from the blog
I managed to read much more in July than I had thought. With the Hugo nominated graphic novels, my numbers look kind of inflated, but I had a few big prose novels in there as well. Also, the fact that I’m listening to shorter audiobooks again helps a lot.
What I read:
- Rebecca Roanhorse – Black Sun
epic fantasy set in the pre-Columbian Americas – great characters – interesting world but could use more depth – unsatisfying ending – great series-starter – will definitely read the sequel - Seanan McGuire – An Artifical Night
October Day #3 – about the Wild Hunt – slow beginning, action-packed rest – - Brandon Sanderson – Oathbringer
re-read – it really is the weakest of the first three books – still super epic and exciting – I’m ready for Rhythm of War now - Seanan McGuire, Takeshi Miyazawa – Ghost-Spider Vol. 1: Dog Days Are Over
fun comic book – snappy dialogue – introduction to Gwen from a parallel universe – lots of set-up, no finished story arc – good but didn’t make me want to continue the series - Kieron Gillen, Stephanie Hans – Die Vol. 2: Split the Party
cool artwork – should have read the first book again – still very dark – it’s got the Bronte siblings! – missing that spark (maybe if I’d read both volumes in one go I would have liked it more?) - Tamsyn Muir – Harrow the Ninth
absolutely batshit crazy – nothing makes sense for most of the book – then almost everything makes sense – difficult read but I really liked it - Octavia Butler, Damian Duffy – Parable of the Sower: The Graphic Novel Adaptation
amazing adaptation – art is not pretty but striking – as dark as the novel – recommended - G. Willow Wilson, Christian Ward – Invisible Kingdom #1-2
re-read the first, red the second – space opera meets religion – cool art – fighting against big corporations – great characters – LGBTQIA rep - Rivers Solomon – Sorrowland
tough to read – explores gender and sexuality – religious cult – body horror – personal but science-fictiony at the same time - John Crowley – Little, Big
I finally finished this – very little plot – beautifully written – atmospheric, dense, mysterious – little plot pay-off – probably brilliant but I think I need to re-read this when I’m older - Ava Reid – The Wolf and the Woodsman
messy plot – great folklore and mythology – slow-burn romance – debut mistakes – showing, then telling
Currently reading:
- Robert Jordan – The Eye of the World
- P. DjèlĂ Clark – A Master of Djinn
- Mary Robinette Kowal – The Fated Sky
I’m doing it! I’m reading the freaking Wheel of Time!! And it’s just as much of a Tolkien knock-off as everyone said. I’m not letting that keep me from it, however. I’m determined to give the first three books a shot and if, by then, I don’t feel the series is interesting enough or has its own story to tell, I’ll drop it. So far, I’m having fun although the Lord of the Rings parallels are truly ridiculous, the characters are pretty bland, and the plot is dragging. But in between sloggy bits are glimpses of cool world building and ideas tha I want to learn more about. I hope the characters and plot will improve in the second book. We’ll see how it goes.
Clark’s first full-length djinn novel is delightful, although it doesn’t quite seem to know what it wants to do plot-wise. And Mary Robinette Kowal managed to suck me in super fast into the Lady Astronaut’s second book. I’m glad the Hugos made me pick this up because as much as I hate the sexism, racism, and many other -isms that protagonist Elma is confronted with, these books are also just really, really good!
Until next month: Stay safe, stay kind, and keep reading. 🙂
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