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Reading Wednesday
Apr. 17th, 2024 07:09 amJust finished: Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee. Well, I immediately picked up the sequel, so that probably tells you what you need to know about that. :)
Currently reading: To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose. Almost done this one. I mean it's definitely going to not resolve by the end and it just came out so I will be anxiously awaiting the sequel.
Interestingly, I was conditioned to expect a residential school allegory, but it is very much not that. It's much more along the lines of a send up of magic boarding school novels, like the shitty wizard series, only with a critical, anti-colonial lens. There are decent people in these institutions, and while the main purpose is to reproduce ruling class connections and values, some actual education goes on as well, even if the institution itself is fundamentally toxic and corrupt.
About 4/5 through the novel we figure out, along with the main character, how magic works, and it was brilliant. The fact that the author holds off that long to explain her magic system is exactly what elevates her above most YA fantasy authors I've read.
Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee. Now possessed by Jedao after the events of Ninefox Gambit, Cheris has taken over the fleet of General Kel Khiruev, which is trying to stop an invasion by the enemy Hafn. We get the story largely from the point of view of Brezan, another weird Kel. I'm only a few chapters in but the flashback to him being a cadet is an absolute delight.
Moby Dick by Herman Melville. No whale this week :( :( :(
Currently reading: To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose. Almost done this one. I mean it's definitely going to not resolve by the end and it just came out so I will be anxiously awaiting the sequel.
Interestingly, I was conditioned to expect a residential school allegory, but it is very much not that. It's much more along the lines of a send up of magic boarding school novels, like the shitty wizard series, only with a critical, anti-colonial lens. There are decent people in these institutions, and while the main purpose is to reproduce ruling class connections and values, some actual education goes on as well, even if the institution itself is fundamentally toxic and corrupt.
About 4/5 through the novel we figure out, along with the main character, how magic works, and it was brilliant. The fact that the author holds off that long to explain her magic system is exactly what elevates her above most YA fantasy authors I've read.
Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee. Now possessed by Jedao after the events of Ninefox Gambit, Cheris has taken over the fleet of General Kel Khiruev, which is trying to stop an invasion by the enemy Hafn. We get the story largely from the point of view of Brezan, another weird Kel. I'm only a few chapters in but the flashback to him being a cadet is an absolute delight.
Moby Dick by Herman Melville. No whale this week :( :( :(
