...the Soul of Wit

Over the past year I have been steadily reading a thriller or two monthly and I think I could get used to reading more crime - if they don't involve much drama and relationship stuff. On the other hand I realized that I don't read much horror anymore but totally miss it, so I might in future up the terror dosage a little and look for books who can be placed within horror as well as crime. I need to do some research but I'm optimistic I'll find plenty books that fit the description.

But before, here are the latest short reviews of other freakness, enjoy them!

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters

Well, that was silly! For those who are unfamiliar with the concept: you take a Jane Austen text, preserve the main outline, events and characters, spread in a few supernatural elements of a popular kind, like zombies or Lovecratian sea monsters - et voilà, you have yourself a postmodern bestseller. A couple of years ago I was the lucky winner of a Heyne sweepstakes where I won the similar book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith along with two tickets for the movie of the same title. I hated the movie but love-love-loved the book! Pretty much all romance scenes were swapped by Zombie fight scenes which sometimes made for an absurd reading, but was so funny that I couldn't stop laughing throughout the whole book. Similar thing here.

Regency Era England has been marked by a phenomenon called the Alteration which "turned the creatures of the ocean against the people of the earth; which made even the tiniest darting minnow and the gentlest dolphin into aggressive, blood-thirsty predators, hardened and hateful towards our bipedal race; which had given foul birth to whole new races of man-hating, shape-shifting ocean creatures, sirens and sea witches and mermaids and mermen; which rendered the oceans of the world naught but great burbling salt-cauldrons of death."
In this utterly hostile environment Austen's famous Dashwood sisters not only deliver wisdoms and witty conversations on the nature of relationships and men, they also fearlessly battle vengeful fish, mutated crustaceans and other abominable sea creatures mentioned above.
Seriously though, this book is fun but somehow the idea of the book is more fun than the actual realization, if you know what I mean. Every time I sat down for a read I started feeling as if it is too much for me and it actually took me a long time to finish it. I had been smitten by Pride and Prejudice and Zombies before but I don't know to what degree that might have been the case because I prefer the original Pride and Prejudice to Sense and Sensibility... But anyway, it was a fun read nevertheless.

The Unspoken Name by A. K. Larkwood 

Thank you tor/pan macmillan for a copy of this book. Unfortunately, it didn't touch a chord with me. I really struggled to find enjoyment in story, universe or characters and as I'm writing this, I realize that's actually an achievement in itself.

The main problem to me was the pacing which I found unbalanced - in the beginning, the story of young Csorwei, who was meant to be a sacrifice for her religious order, but was saved by the mage Sethennei and set off with him into the world, still had me intrigued but the storyline then went all over and quickly lost its punch, dragging scenes and dialogues. New characters were somewhat interchangeable to me and their names impossible for me to retain and so I failed to develop any further interest in them.
Occasionally my hopes were raised at the mention of one of the settings being a "dying world" that this was a Dying Earth novel, but I failed to recognize any names, creatures or any other elements, so that was that.
To be fair, I am not the biggest fan of high fantasy if it borrows on European/Western folkloric elements, settings, religious elements; the mere mention of churches, for instance, draws a specific scenery in my mind's eye that I don't really find appealing. So it needs to be something seriously special for me to appreciate it and unfortunately, this wasn't it. I feel sorry about it too, because A.K. Larkwood is obviously an author who takes the trouble to write densely, elaborately pretty sentences, it just didn’t work for me on any level. 

A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine

A worthy follower and dare I say, conclusion, to the mindblowingly diplomatic A Memory Called Empire! If you haven't read the first part but intend to, please keep in mind that the mere description of events might have spoilers in store for you, so be careful even though I am not giving away any spoilers of the story in this second book. Mahit now has two companions of the imago-Yskandr-kind in her mind and returns to Lsel Station. Three Seagrass stayed behind in the Empire. Additionally we are introduced to two new characters, two new storylines, namely those of the former Emperor's clone, the sharp and attentive eleven year old Eight Antidote as well as Nine Hibiscus, an admiral of a military fleet trying to uncover a mysterious alien enemy. The stories of these four will gradually merge into a meaningful adventure, all the while exploring themes like language, culture, first contact, identity and genocide. Interestingly enough, in this second installment I really enjoyed reading Three Seagrass, which wasn't necessarily the case in the first book, and I think Mahit and her make a wonderful duo whose adventures I would love to keep on reading. I have read the two books in succession and must admit that it might have been a little too much; the writing is very dense and flowery at times, and together with my incapability to succesfully adjust to the name giving system, I think I might have enjoyed it more if I had made a pause between the two. Nevertheless very much worth your time! Don't forget the Otherland Book Club Meeting on zulip on May 14th.

 

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

You have reached the monthly thriller section. I'm really happy that this time they weren't as relationship-focused as the last few thrillers I have read, although there's some serious trouble here too!

The Guest List is about the wedding of two utterly unlikeable people on an Irish island, of all the places available... Not that I have anything against Ireland, on the contrary, but a wedding? Anyway, as we get to know the happy future-weds and their guests closer, we get pulled tighter and tighter into a web of lies, intrigues and treason, so enthralling and captivating that when the murder finally happens, you will take a deep breath of relief.

It is safe to say that I devoured this book. On a (oddly, still cold and uncomfortable) Sunday morning I casually started listening the audiobook and then obsessively could not stop the whole day until I had heard the end of it! I am still sitting here licking my fingers mentioning this delicious thriller, the best I have read this year so far. The Guest List also made me feel better about being in lockdown and not meeting any people because it reminded me how rotten most people can be. 

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
This is the second book I have read by Riley Sager and both times were good reads with genuinely surprisingly good beginnings and endings. Lock Every Door is about a young woman, Jules, who lost her job, leaves her cheater boyfriend and consequently loses the appartment she shares with him. She believes her luck is taking a new turn and is entranced with joy when she is given a position as an appartment sitter in one of Manhattan's high end buildings, the Bartholomew. But there are rules. Really, really weird rules, like never ever sleep outside the Bartholomew during your stay there or no guests at all. And yes, things keep on getting weirder when another appartment sitter Ingrid disappears and Jules starts to snoop about looking for her, which... is actually one of the rules not to do.
I thought the book sagged a little in the middle and I sometimes felt like things, like Jules' feelings, actions, and how they are rooted in her past, were a little overexplained. What I really enjoyed were the descriptions of the building and its rooms, because I really like nice houses and appartments, even if only in thought/imagination.
I also very much appreciate Sager bringing up the very important issue of homelessness, which is a constant threat for Jules and how easy it is to slip and fall if you don't have a support system of friends and family. Scary.