This is now a series on netflix and when I watched it a few months ago and discussed what I thought of the show, a friend who had read the books suggested that I try them out, too. The book is set largely in China either during the cultural revolution or in modern day. A secret military project in the 60s makes contact with an alien civilization and in the modern day we see the fall out of those actions. A bunch of the modern day stuff takes place in a video game, which gives us an interesting third setting that introduces the characters, and us, to the aliens. There is heroism, selfishness, horror, and surprise. A lot to recommend this bit of sci-fi, really.
Luke Daniels brought many of the characters in the novel to life. I enjoyed his voice acting. I also enjoyed the progress of the novel. I am on the wait list for the next two and I do believe I will check them out from the library when they come available.
Set on a small island North of the Arctic circle in Norway in the 1600s, this novel follows the lives of women in a fishing village who lose most of their men in a freak storm and then get caught up in the witch hysteria sweeping Europe. It is centered on the lives of Maren, a young girl woman from the island who lives with her mother, sister-in-law and her newborn nephew and Ursa, the Bergen born newly wed wife of the new Commissioner assigned to the town. Their relationship was an unexpected twist that I really enjoyed. Ursa is not prepared to find herself at the edge of the world in a one room house without so much as a maid and Maren is not expecting to stumble into a friendship with this helpless woman. As their friendship grows, a fever of distrust and poisonous religiosity spread through the village.
This book was compelling. I was infuriated, saddened, and touched. The ending caught me by surprise. If you like books that center women’s stories and historical fiction. I recommend you try this one!
This is the book that the netflix show is based on. A friend told me that the books were good, so I put myself on the library wait list for all three books. The first one has finally become available!
Our main character, Samantha, is an archeo-entomologist and she is on hiatus from her job at a dig site because they found human remains. Since she can’t work until the remains are identified and dealt with according to the wishes of living family or the they’re repatriated to the tribal nation to whom they belong and since she’s sublet her apartment in Arizona for six months, Sam decides to stay in North Carolina with her mother.
When she returns to her mother’s house, she finds it off. Where the things had previously been bright and cheerful, they’re now cold and sterile. And her mother seems to be more anxious than she’s ever seen her before. But, she and her mother settle into a little routine of boxed wine and British detective shows. But things get weird. And then they get weirder. And then they get weirder still. Sam ends up having to play detective on her own so she can figure out if she’s going crazy, if there is something wrong with her mother (maybe both!), or if there’s something very, very wrong with the house.
I didn’t mean to pick two books more or less in a row where an unsettling living situation was part of the plot, but I’m glad I did. This is more Southern Gothic vibes than Gothic horror, but it was still good. The chilling parts of the plot were chilly and the weird parts of the plot were indeed unexpected and weird. I really like T. Kingfisher’s novels. Something that is true about both this and Hollow Places is that they have a protagonist who is an accomplished woman who, for varying reasons, has to return home. And I liked that Sam was a Ph.D. and that her speciality was part of the plot. Insects aren’t really my jam, but its fun to see people, even fictional people, get excited about what makes them excited.
So, if you like creepy stories about family and home situations that are not quite right, I recommend this. I do have a little warning, though, if swarms of bugs are a big nope for you, there is some swarming.
It was a fun read! This was another book that I got from my local library!
Another book suggested by a friend from knitting group in what is becoming the convergence of two different trends in my life: reading books suggested by knitters and crocheters and reading actual physical books I have checked out from the library. I know nothing about this other than Grace said it was good. I can’t wait to get into it!
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas is a gothic horror delight. Set in the time after the Mexican war for independence, we follow Beatriz as she moves into in her new husband’s pulque-producing hacienda. She is the second wife of the Rodolfo, who’s previous wife died under mysterious circumstances. Everyone seems to have a different story about how his first wife died. The war was hard on Beatriz and her family, but she sees this marriage as a way to change her and her family’s fortunes. It also follows Andres, a local priest who was raised on the Hacienda but for unknown reasons has been banished. Beatriz finds the house to be fine, if neglected at first, but increasingly sinister as the novel progresses. She finds Rodolfo’s sister, an unexpected addition to the property, to be unsettling at best and actively working to undermine her at worst. She must call on the help of Andres and solve the mystery of the house before she becomes another one of its victims.
I enjoyed the setting of this immensely. I know a little bit about Mexico’s history and I loved the idea and the execution of a story with the foreboding home, mysterious husband, a first wife, etc. set in this period of post-war turmoil. This is set in a period of Mexican history where there were a lot of different factions and uncertainties, which was perfect for setting up the characters. It gave the typical elements of gothic horror another layer where we were also looking at the horrors of colonialism. Cañas is a Mexican-American author and says in an author’s note that she picked this time period and wrote these characters in part to fill a gap that she had found in this genre. She had never read stories about women like her. In that same author’s note, she also recommends history readings, in case you are further interested in the time period. I very much appreciate that.
This was really good and if you like gothic horror/romance elements, then I recommend this! Another great find at my local library!
I did not mean to start another series. But, I reached the top of the waiting list at my local library as I was finishing The Starless Seaand I don’t always remember what something is or why I put myself on the wait-list when it comes time to check things out. So, here we are.
Shiori’anma is a princess, the only princess, in the kingdom of Kiata and she does not want to get married. She wants to hang out with her bros and live her life. But, of course, that isn’t what she gets. Following a disastrous failure of a betrothal ceremony, Shiori ends up without an engagement and having to sew an apology tapestry under the watchful eye of her stepmother, Raikama. This turns out to be extra bad news because Shiori is hiding magic in a kingdom that has forbidden magic and Raikama has a secret; she is a sorceress. When Shiori discovers her stepmother’s secret, Raikama banishes her and transforms her six brothers into cranes. Shiori wakes on the other side of the kingdom unable to use her voice, with no money and no identity. She must find a way to survive, reunite with her brothers and return to the capital before something even more terrible than the King losing his heirs can happen. Shiori, of course, finds help along the way.
This was a fun read. I enjoyed Shiori’s arc and the supporting cast of characters are also very fun. There were some unexpected twists that I really enjoyed. I’m interested in what happens next so I’ve added myself to the wait list of the second book. If you like a mix of fairy tale elements, women coming into their power and kicking ass, and slow burn romance, this is for you.
This is another one from my local public library and it was suggested by a friend. Set in the 1840s, Nena, a daughter of a rancher, must fight to help save her family’s ranch from both encroaching Anglos but also from other more sinister threats. Something is hunting the vaqueros, other ranch workers, and the cattle. Something that leaves them either with a terrible sickness that looks like death or leaves them dry husks.
Néstor is Nena’s childhood best friend. Following an encounter with the mysterious monsters one night, he believes Nena is dead and he flees the ranch, ashamed that he could not save her.
When the United States invades Mexico, Nena’s father and the other ranchers come together to send young men to fight as auxiliary support for Mexico. Nena, who has been learning to be a curandero, volunteers to go with the men to help with the wounded. Her father agrees under one condition, that she agree to get married to a man of his choosing once they return.
Néstor returns at the request of his uncle to join the auxiliary cavalry. Nena and Néstor are reunited after a near decade apart and at the worst possible time. Can they survive the war? Can they survive the monsters? Can they forgive the past? And what about Nena’s promise to her father?
I loved the cowboys and monsters of this. The vampires were the scary kind and not the sexy kind. Nena and Néstor were both likable characters and there interactions were fun. The novel was reasonably fast-paced and it painted a picture of 1840s from a perspective I haven’t got to read, that of the Mexicans coming into contact with white Americans as Texas became a republic and then a state. Nateras and Gonzales did an excellent job switching off narrating chapters from either Néstor’s or Nena’s perspective. I would definitely recommend this one!
2 Women, So Many Books 