I don't wanna make you feel bad, but I've been trying hard not to talk to you (Sunflower, Vol. 6 – Harry Styles).
Okay, so I’m not 100% sure about the I don't wanna make you feel bad, but I've been trying hard not to talk to you (Sunflower, Vol. 6 – Harry Styles).
Okay, so I’m not 100% sure about the proper etiquette here, am I allowed to just go ahead and say “Hey, the author of this wonderful book gave me a free copy. Hurray!” or is there some specific wording that I have to properly get down or some secret code that lets people know where I stand before I can move on? Because if not then… hey, the author of this wonderful book gave me a free copy, hurray! Now, this kind of stuff isn’t really in my usual wheelhouse (my typical haunts are ranting about love-interests in mystery books or writing a bunch of nonsense about comics), and though I'm sad to admit it, I normally don’t go for poetry most of the time. It's been my one weakness! But it turns out that this book came to me at time where I was feeling increasingly put out with what I was reading. What’s that phrase that writers love to use? Oh yeah, reading this was like "letting out a breath I didn’t know I was holding." Sure, it’s a cliché, but I’ll be damned if they don’t hit differently when they actually apply! This book really was just what I needed at this time in my (pretentious alert) reading journey. I mean, there’s only so many mysteries you can read before they start to feel stifling rather than cozy. Sorry if I'm sounding little sarcastic, it's my natural tone of voice, but if it’s not properly coming across that I think the world of this incredibly lovely collection of poems, then I’ll just go ahead and set the record straight; I think the world of this lovely collection of poems! Emotionally vulnerable and hauntingly honest, I wouldn't dream of asking for a more fulfilling way to spend a Monday evening. Or a Tuesday morning. "I only think of you on two occasions, that's day... and night." Any time spent with this collection is time well spent. Here’s the thing, when I do happen to find myself indulging in some poetry, my favorites tend to be the deceptive kind. You know, the type of poems where I kind of just, happen across at random, and then it irrevocably changes who I am. Maybe I'm being dramatic, but there have been some poems where I could be thumbing through it all laa~di~daa only to then find a stanza so raw and powerful that before I realize it, I’m keeling over like I'm doing the Wednesday dance in the middle of Barnes & Noble. In other words, I loved this collection because of how unflinching it was in its subject matter. It doesn’t mince words about what it is, and sure, it’s about as “important” as an important story should be, but it thankfully never leans too far over into the patronizing isle by trying to teach us a lesson. In fact, I loved how it reads more like two estranged people having an uncomfortable conversation that needs to be had. It sucks at first, but after it's done, you feel like... you've let out a breath you didn't know you were holding.
Long drawn-out descriptions aside, I think what’s most impressive about this book was how relatable it managed to be despite its deeply personal and specific nature. It really does just go to show that "we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike." And it remains steadfast and true in its message despite the fact that it is rather modern in its execution. Hipster alert, but uh, I guess I have to explain why I’m not a big fan of modern poetry, huh? Well, maybe this is mostly a "me" problem, because I don't read too much of the newer stuff, but it's telling how whenever I’m doom-scrolling on Twitter and I stumble upon a few snippets of some of that new new, it's usually pretty baffling in the sense that it's not very good. No offense to those who think that new-age poetry is all the rage, because who am I to judge? Besides, I can't lie that it's always a little tempting read something that everyone else likes. I'll be like, “hey, that sounds cool! I like pretending to be Mr. Artsy-Fartsy by reading poetry, so I’d better ride this wave!” Sure, it doesn't help that they’re always called something like “My Love Explained in Tweets or “Instant Love on Instagram or whatever and that’s an ominous sign right out the gate, but who knows? I’ve been surprised by bad titles before; it could be a diamond in the rough! Then, then, then, whenever I actually get to reading the thing, it’s always pretty much just what I expected it to be. Bad. They’re always bad. I don't actually like criticizing writing quality in, but there's really no other way to put it. Anyway, I’m paraphrasing, but specifically remember one poem that was like, “He said he hated drama” and then several blank lines later: “But I was fucking Shakespeare,” and I have to say… that’s bad poetry. It’s bad! Wait, I’m thinking I’ve found the reason why I’m not a big poetry reader! This review is becoming quite the mindful journey for me! Nonetheless, I've only been talking about all this to help explain why Gravity of Love Vol. 1 felt so different to me. Of course, I’m no expert, so I hope I’m not coming across like one of those dudes who constantly derides artistic expression, saying things like, “Oh, well I fell asleep during the movie” or “Modern art is all bad because it’s too abstract" and things of the like. I still hold certain opinions about the kind of poetry that starts trying to integrate contemporary talking points (#boomer moment) in order to be relatable, but make no mistake, despite being as modern as modern can be, I can safely say that Gravity of Love Vol. 1 really is a story for the ages. Otherwise, I just think it’s a good rule of thumb in general for me to remember that art doesn’t exist to be clinically dissected, but rather some it’s okay for some of it to just be experienced as is. And even if things can get a little too out there for me to properly wrap my head around, I'm learning that that’s okay. Because even when I don’t necessarily understand all of the poetry out there, it can’t be denied that there’s always going to be a certain feeling to them. “Giving him something he can feel” and all that.
But you still feared, just as before, "Our timing was off", and it would hurt once more....more
Ha ha! Hey, so why is this called Tripwrecked if it doesn’t feature the characters getting shipwrecked or something of the sort? Not to make a huge deHa ha! Hey, so why is this called Tripwrecked if it doesn’t feature the characters getting shipwrecked or something of the sort? Not to make a huge deal out of something that wasn’t even an issue, but the whole time I was at the edge of my seat, waiting for them to get stranded on an island, Lord of the Flies style! I mean come on, there’s even a scene where a side-character mentions to Aiden that Finn (the love-interest) should take him out on his boat, and it’s like, “okay alright, here we go!” then they’re out there… on the boat, and then… THE CHAPTER JUST ENDS!? They just get back to land safe and sound. Not that I was wishing misfortune on these characters, but I think I was really expecting something completely different. There were so many moments where it seemed like it was setting up a Lost situation but then nothing happens. I don’t know, I gues I was just wishing for something a little more spectacular than what actually happens in this book. I was expecting gay Castaway, but instead I got gay Eat, Pray, Love, which isn’t bad per se, just not really what I was hoping for at this time. It didn’t help that the two main characters didn’t have all that much chemistry, because even though Aiden and Finn hook up together fairly early on in the book, their dialogue was never all that fun to read along with and they never had that sizzle factor. Unfortunately, it never felt like Finn really evolved from just being some dude. I will say that I love a good "character-desperately-runs-through-an-airport" scene, just as long it's the right character doing the running, and I can proudly say that this book has no issue on that front!
You know, I think outside factors affect my reading experiences more often than I realized, because it was pretty hot where I live while I was reading the majority of this book, and I have to admit that I might have appreciated and liked this a little more if it didn’t feel like I was reading this in the fires of Mordor. Anyway, I should try to say a couple nice things to say, because under different circumstances, there’s a good chance that I might have really, really, really enjoyed this. First of all, it reminded me of a couple songs, “Run Away” by HYBS and “Heather” by Conan Gray. I love them so much and music comparisons are my go-to when I want to compliment something! Another thing I liked was how there wasn’t a big sappy moral-of-the-story about forgiveness at the end. Aiden gets betrayed pretty badly by people who he should have been able to trust and I was really worried that the story would take a turn and get a little too preachy! A worse book probably would have waxed poetic about how important it is to “take the high-road” and “be the better man” and blah blah blah. So that was nice. I also thought Aiden was good Bisexual representation. I noticed that a lot of bi-folk seem to only exist in books to cast doubt and add a mystery for the main character to guess at their sexuality. So it was cool to see a bi character just exist in a story without there being too much of an emphasis on whatever labels they use. Overall, I can honestly say I had a pretty good time reading this pretty good book.
“I love you.” “Good. Because if you didn’t, this would be really awkward.” “Just say it back already.” “I love you, too.”
Merged review:
Ha ha! Hey, so why is this called Tripwrecked if it doesn’t feature the characters getting shipwrecked or something of the sort? Not to make a huge deal out of something that wasn’t even an issue, but the whole time I was at the edge of my seat, waiting for them to get stranded on an island, Lord of the Flies style! I mean come on, there’s even a scene where a side-character mentions to Aiden that Finn (the love-interest) should take him out on his boat, and it’s like, “okay alright, here we go!” then they’re out there… on the boat, and then… THE CHAPTER JUST ENDS!? They just get back to land safe and sound. Not that I was wishing misfortune on these characters, but I think I was really expecting something completely different. There were so many moments where it seemed like it was setting up a Lost situation but then nothing happens. I don’t know, I gues I was just wishing for something a little more spectacular than what actually happens in this book. I was expecting gay Castaway, but instead I got gay Eat, Pray, Love, which isn’t bad per se, just not really what I was hoping for at this time. It didn’t help that the two main characters didn’t have all that much chemistry, because even though Aiden and Finn hook up together fairly early on in the book, their dialogue was never all that fun to read along with and they never had that sizzle factor. Unfortunately, it never felt like Finn really evolved from just being some dude. I will say that I love a good "character-desperately-runs-through-an-airport" scene, just as long it's the right character doing the running, and I can proudly say that this book has no issue on that front!
You know, I think outside factors affect my reading experiences more often than I realized, because it was pretty hot where I live while I was reading the majority of this book, and I have to admit that I might have appreciated and liked this a little more if it didn’t feel like I was reading this in the fires of Mordor. Anyway, I should try to say a couple nice things to say, because under different circumstances, there’s a good chance that I might have really, really, really enjoyed this. First of all, it reminded me of a couple songs, “Run Away” by HYBS and “Heather” by Conan Gray. I love them so much and music comparisons are my go-to when I want to compliment something! Another thing I liked was how there wasn’t a big sappy moral-of-the-story about forgiveness at the end. Aiden gets betrayed pretty badly by people who he should have been able to trust and I was really worried that the story would take a turn and get a little too preachy! A worse book probably would have waxed poetic about how important it is to “take the high-road” and “be the better man” and blah blah blah. So that was nice. I also thought Aiden was good Bisexual representation. I noticed that a lot of bi-folk seem to only exist in books to cast doubt and add a mystery for the main character to guess at their sexuality. So it was cool to see a bi character just exist in a story without there being too much of an emphasis on whatever labels they use. Overall, I can honestly say I had a pretty good time reading this pretty good book.
“I love you.” “Good. Because if you didn’t, this would be really awkward.” “Just say it back already.” “I love you, too.”...more
Hello, I have some bad news. This book was written in 2015 and is called Sebastian (Family of Lies #1). Number one. As in, the first in what I assumedHello, I have some bad news. This book was written in 2015 and is called Sebastian (Family of Lies #1). Number one. As in, the first in what I assumed of several! Only, there are no other books that I can find! Guess they really are a family of lies (ha ha). Now, the good news is that I had a great time reading this and at least it feels long enough to be several books taped together. Going into this, I really thought that it’d be more of an edgy, “takes itself too seriously,” affair (I mean, look at that cover, hello Mr. Early 2010’s!), but the tone remained surprisingly light for the duration. So, after adjusting my expectations and getting used to the world, this book became a breeze to read through! Though, I think I’ll talk about a couple minor issues I had with it first. A lot of the times the writing would gloss over details to the point where it was a little jarring. It seriously felt like there were paragraphs missing at several points. Also, new and crucial information was doled out seemingly at random, like it was made up on the spot. Every now and then I’d have to stop and wonder if what I read was something the book told me beforehand! For example, sometimes I’d be like, “oh Sebastian is a wizard,” or “oh, I guess he’ll also live for hundreds of years.” Don’t you think we should know this stuff from the start and not in a couple throwaway lines!? I felt like I was constantly playing catch up! This blasé approach to world building did lend itself to (what I found) funny situations as new siblings of Sebastian would keep showing up throughout the story like clowns coming out of a tiny little clown car. Which actually leads me to my favorite part of the book: the sibling dynamics! They’d bicker constantly, but at the end of the day they had each other’s backs. It was great!
There isn’t much in the way of lore in this fantasy world (I had no sense of where anything was, or what anyone could do!), and I’m pretty sure we’re mostly meant to go into this book with a lot of preconceived notions about generic fantasy worlds (wizards, trolls, elves, you know the drill). While this was bit frustrating at first, I think I enjoyed this a lot more when I realized it was more Shrek than Game of Thrones. That may seem like an insult, but really… there’s no greater praise I can give this book! Moving onto the characters, I loved them all! I really got the sense of family that the narrative was going for; the good and the bad. Sebastian is the youngest sibling and has a sarcastic and quippy cadence that makes his interactions with literally any character a delight to read through and Prince Turren has all the qualities of a fairy-tale prince; he’s kind, brave, and honorable! But personally, I think his most defining characteristic it that he's… down bad for Sebastian. Down really, really, really bad. Anyway, I feel like I’m rambling now, so I’ll just conclude by saying that this book is a lot of fun! It’s not too concerned with its own plot, to the point where it almost feels like an anthology at points, but it has a lot of heart in the places that count. And sure, maybe there are a few eye-roll moments with Sebastian’s characterization. Like in how the prince is too in love with him, or how he hides his face because he’s too beautiful, or how he hides away his magic because he’s too powerful! I mean, he basically won the fantasy character lottery. But if I’m being honest? I kind of liked that aspect of the book. I’ll probably always prefer grounded fantasy, but this is a genre where you can do anything, the only limit being your imagination, so might as well go all out. Why not have a little fun, you know?
“I’m not dreaming. You’re safe?” “Yes, you brash fool, I’m safe.” “It’s only brash if I fail. I succeeded, so it’s bravery.”
Merged review:
Hello, I have some bad news. This book was written in 2015 and is called Sebastian (Family of Lies #1). Number one. As in, the first in what I assumed of several! Only, there are no other books that I can find! Guess they really are a family of lies (ha ha). Now, the good news is that I had a great time reading this and at least it feels long enough to be several books taped together. Going into this, I really thought that it’d be more of an edgy, “takes itself too seriously,” affair (I mean, look at that cover, hello Mr. Early 2010’s!), but the tone remained surprisingly light for the duration. So, after adjusting my expectations and getting used to the world, this book became a breeze to read through! Though, I think I’ll talk about a couple minor issues I had with it first. A lot of the times the writing would gloss over details to the point where it was a little jarring. It seriously felt like there were paragraphs missing at several points. Also, new and crucial information was doled out seemingly at random, like it was made up on the spot. Every now and then I’d have to stop and wonder if what I read was something the book told me beforehand! For example, sometimes I’d be like, “oh Sebastian is a wizard,” or “oh, I guess he’ll also live for hundreds of years.” Don’t you think we should know this stuff from the start and not in a couple throwaway lines!? I felt like I was constantly playing catch up! This blasé approach to world building did lend itself to (what I found) funny situations as new siblings of Sebastian would keep showing up throughout the story like clowns coming out of a tiny little clown car. Which actually leads me to my favorite part of the book: the sibling dynamics! They’d bicker constantly, but at the end of the day they had each other’s backs. It was great!
There isn’t much in the way of lore in this fantasy world (I had no sense of where anything was, or what anyone could do!), and I’m pretty sure we’re mostly meant to go into this book with a lot of preconceived notions about generic fantasy worlds (wizards, trolls, elves, you know the drill). While this was bit frustrating at first, I think I enjoyed this a lot more when I realized it was more Shrek than Game of Thrones. That may seem like an insult, but really… there’s no greater praise I can give this book! Moving onto the characters, I loved them all! I really got the sense of family that the narrative was going for; the good and the bad. Sebastian is the youngest sibling and has a sarcastic and quippy cadence that makes his interactions with literally any character a delight to read through and Prince Turren has all the qualities of a fairy-tale prince; he’s kind, brave, and honorable! But personally, I think his most defining characteristic it that he's… down bad for Sebastian. Down really, really, really bad. Anyway, I feel like I’m rambling now, so I’ll just conclude by saying that this book is a lot of fun! It’s not too concerned with its own plot, to the point where it almost feels like an anthology at points, but it has a lot of heart in the places that count. And sure, maybe there are a few eye-roll moments with Sebastian’s characterization. Like in how the prince is too in love with him, or how he hides his face because he’s too beautiful, or how he hides away his magic because he’s too powerful! I mean, he basically won the fantasy character lottery. But if I’m being honest? I kind of liked that aspect of the book. I’ll probably always prefer grounded fantasy, but this is a genre where you can do anything, the only limit being your imagination, so might as well go all out. Why not have a little fun, you know?
“I’m not dreaming. You’re safe?” “Yes, you brash fool, I’m safe.” “It’s only brash if I fail. I succeeded, so it’s bravery.”...more
I picked this up in a desperation because I wanted to read more Halloween themed books this October and this looked like an easy-breezy read. Besides,I picked this up in a desperation because I wanted to read more Halloween themed books this October and this looked like an easy-breezy read. Besides, Josh Lanyon books post 2009 usually don’t disappoint. Not all that spooky but it’s quite an atmospheric vampire/mystery and accomplishes a lot in a small amount of time. The mystery aspect is fairly simple and maybe not as satisfying as it could be, but because of the stylish noir coating, I’d say this was a hit with me. I’d write more, but at only forty pages, I’m at risk of making this review longer than the story itself.
Merged review:
I picked this up in a desperation because I wanted to read more Halloween themed books this October and this looked like an easy-breezy read. Besides, Josh Lanyon books post 2009 usually don’t disappoint. Not all that spooky but it’s quite an atmospheric vampire/mystery and accomplishes a lot in a small amount of time. The mystery aspect is fairly simple and maybe not as satisfying as it could be, but because of the stylish noir coating, I’d say this was a hit with me. I’d write more, but at only forty pages, I’m at risk of making this review longer than the story itself....more
Despite its fun and whimsical set-up, I think this is a case where the story tries to do too many things; featuring too many love stories, while also Despite its fun and whimsical set-up, I think this is a case where the story tries to do too many things; featuring too many love stories, while also being too short to garner any real emotions out of me. We start with a man named Jolyon Everett, who ends up writing and sending two letters: one, a sexy letter to his part-time lover, Percy, and another, more innocent one to… his tailor. As these things tend to happen, the letters get mixed up and Jolyon’s life is in for quite the upheaval. Oops! But perhaps it was for the best, as it’s more than likely that a new romance will blossom from this accident! This was definitely a “one-sitting” read (even though I read it through several sittings), and because of that, it’s pretty low-stakes in its premise. The low key, matter-of-fact approach to storytelling gives it a quaint and intimate atmosphere, and made it feel like a passing, momentary glimpse into a chapter of these people’s lives. The simple, yet effective prose helped Twelve Letters serve as a perfect love letter to stories that feature quirky mishaps that can bloom into something else entirely. Maybe even something beautiful! All in all, I can’t argue that this was a charming enough romance story and I enjoyed my time reading about these fools who fooled around and fell in love.
As above so below, I don't know how I'm gonna go / But with angels by my side, I'm gonna get on my horse and ride (Good Time Blues, An Outlaw’s LamentAs above so below, I don't know how I'm gonna go / But with angels by my side, I'm gonna get on my horse and ride (Good Time Blues, An Outlaw’s Lament – Hurray for the Riff Raff).
This review will seem a bit weird because I’ll probably be all over the place. I’ll be out here saying it’s really good in one sentence, and then in the same breath I’ll be talking about something that felt off to me. All I can really say is that at the end of the day, I think this is a great book, and any negativity on my end is more to just explain the context as to where I’m coming from as a reader. Like I said, objectively, I think The Nightland Express is wonderful. Anyway, can I be real with you for a second and say that I’m fake as hell because the only reason why I picked this book up was because I didn’t want to leave the Cannon Beach book store empty handed and the cover was pretty. Well, it’s nice to be rewarded for half-ass-ing everything every now and then because sometimes you'll find yourself reading an absolute gem! A diamond in the rough, if you will. Seriously, I really can’t stress enough how much I didn’t know about this book going into it! I didn’t even realize it was a fantasy until some wild stuff started happening and I was like, “Wait a minute… what’s all this here…” If it wasn't obvious by now, it takes a little while for me to catch up to basic concepts. I’m not joking when I tell you that I thought empaths were, like, a real thing while I was reading The Infinite Noise by Lauren Shippen! Hm, I'm realizing that that’s an embarrassing thing to admit in writing, isn’t it? Moving on though, while I thought this book was at its best when it stayed more grounded in reality, as it did take some time for me to get used to the genre shift from Western to Magical Realism, I was still able to appreciate the effort the author put into making a historical-fiction novel infused with fantasy that also manages to tackle racism, gender roles, queer awakenings, trans awakenings, climate change, and colonization, all within a sensitive and cohesive narrative. It’s actually kind of a miracle that this book works at all, given the many pratfalls it could have gotten itself into. This comes as a surprise, well, to me, because it’s not always the easiest thing to do a story set during this time without tripping up when it comes to exploring its specific social issues and how they relate to the social issues of our time. Nonetheless, I’d say that when done right, I think Westerns as a genre will always be entertaining for me. Well, maybe “entertaining” is the wrong word because of all the awfulness happening during the time (slavery and genocide, among other things), but it’s interesting to see how Westerns have shifted in the cultural zeitgeist as these movies about machismo, freedom, and “man taking justice into his own hands,” into a genre that’s now more interested in exploring themes of the hypocrisy of said freedom and the cultural unrest of the time. Oh, by the way, I think this is a good thing. These things should evolve and if you keep making the same story with the same ideals forever, then you’ll fail to realize that audience sentiments are constantly changing and won't hesitate to move on without you... much like how Westerns often feature stories about society moving too fast for the stoic, wandering main character. Just ask Kevin Costner! Dances with Wolves man with his newest shitty Western that bombed because nobody wanted to watch it except him. What I’m getting at is that I don’t blame this book for almost immediately abandoning the well-known iconography of the genre and going down a different path entirely. Still, I think that J.M. Lee manages to imbue The Nightland Express with just enough of a deep-seated feeling of wanderlust that I can’t help but feel like this book remains profoundly… Western.
Let me just set the scene. When I did realize that this book would mostly be a fantasy, my eye-brow did do an involuntary twitch. Not that it really matters in the grand scheme of things, but I guess this is the part where I say that I’m Native American. Dun dun dunn~nn! And I don’t mean it in a “My great-great-great-great-great grandma is a Cherokee princess” kind of way, but like… in a “Hey, my mom is Native so I’m Native” kind of way. It’s actually not something I usually advertise about myself, and even looking at that “I’m Native American” bit up there like it’s some kind of important declaration makes me cringe a little, but whenever I let people know, they can sometimes get kind of weird about it. Things get a little too “Send Me on My Way” by Rusted Root for my taste. I’m only letting you in on the secret for added context! Anyway, the truth is that I’m always a bit skeptical whenever there’s a story that includes both Native Americans and has a “the magic of the land” vibe to it. I’m always like, gee, I wonder what vaguely offensive thing the author will imply about Native’s inherent connection to nature this time around. Not that I don’t think environmentalism is a very important thing to write about, but when you characterize Native peoples with this fantasy, “elf-like,” quality that adheres so strictly to some kind of lofty idea of “the old ways,” it kind of creates this imagery where the Native peoples are an ancient society that’s only duty left here is to pass the torch onto newer societies. Portraying them as some kind of willingly sacrificial people, rather than victims of genocide. Sorry to let the cat out the bag, but hey, we’re still here! My point here is that I was worried that this book would be another one of those ones, but thankfully, I think it made great strides into alleviating a lot of the fears I had going into it. The narrative goes out of its way to address and feature the kinds of people that a Western genre story always seems to forget, and I appreciate that. But I will say that it was interesting how Natives are often brought up by the characters, but aren’t often seen or given a voice within the actual story. This isn’t really a criticism, but it’s funny how in a book that’s so dead-set on breaking the wheel, it still delegates Native Americans to being tertiary characters in a story that, in many ways, should be about them. It’s almost like it’s another example of Native peoples again merely being used as set-dressing in a genre story rather than a respectful portrayal outright. Wow, this went off the rails, huh? I usually just keep writing until I arrive at some kind of point. Because who knows, maybe it’s not that deep? But if a story opens up a dialogue about issues that are important to me, then I’ll always take that opportunity and run with it! Sorry. I mean, it’s prevalent even in the way that the fantasy aspect of the novel often felt at odds with the setting, because the whole story is about the Fae and their connection to the land, but I thought something felt off because I’m not really sure if Fae fantasy really fits in a story taking place in 19th century North America. Again, I’m not really sure what I'm trying to say here, but maybe I would have liked this book better if there were more connections to Native religions or something.
So, here’s the thing about doing a Western genre thing in this day and age and why most people don’t bother… it’s because you can’t just do a simple cowboy story anymore (why don't we ask Kevin Costner). Meaning, a writer can’t just ignore the issues of the time anymore. I mean, you can, but not if you want the story to be honest and true. Remember that thing about audience taste’s growing and changing? Yeah, that part. Again, I think this is a good thing, because otherwise the genre becomes stale and derivative, and art should always try to reflect important social change, no matter how difficult it can be to talk about. But because a lot of people would rather to avoid hard topics, in order to get around talking about them in Westerns specifically, I’ve noticed that writers like to add a designated “POC” character to give the audience the okay, a kind of buffer that let's us know that “it’s alright, everyone! Our main characters aren’t racist!” The thing is, I’m afraid I don’t have one example of this! …I have five. In Bone Tomahawk, the main characters have to go into a cavern to kill off the savage, dangerous, and cannibalistic natives that are threatening the town. Sounds pretty racist, doesn’t it? Don’t worry, they’ve got a native dude that tells Kurt Russell before he sets out on this journey that these monsters aren’t “real” Native Americans and it’s totally cool to get rid of them. Cool, thanks man! In Cowboys & Aliens, Harrison Ford plays a guy who used to literally hunt Natives, and while that sounds like an objectively bad thing, it’s all good, his character now has a Native friend that tells the audience that he’s a good man. Even cooler! In the newer Magnificent Seven, the evil group’s turncoat Native dude is offset by the hero’s good guy Native dude who gives us permission to cheer when turncoat Native gets killed! Yes! Wooo! Mass Effect: Andromeda is a sci-fi video game about the races of the Milky Way Galaxy traveling to the Andromeda Galaxy in order to “colonize a new frontier!” Hold up, yuck, actually. It’s fine though, in order to side-step the weird “manifest destiny” vibes, the story reveals that the Natives of the Andromeda galaxy are actually under attack by other evil invaders. See, the Milky Way travelers are the “good” kind of colonizer! Phew, really dodged a bullet there guys! In The Nightland Express, the narrative likes to wax poetic about the terrible treatment of the Native Americans, but only features one Native character in the whole novel. And even then, they’re really only there to offer sage advice about the land and "the old ways" to our main characters before they dip. My point, if I have one, is that Native Americans are always going to be ever present in any kind of Western, as it’s literally a part of our history, but if there’s going to be a story with us in it, I’d like our role to be a bit more substantial than the “offers you a life lesson about nature and mysticism”-guy. Regardless, I hope this review didn’t come across like I thought this book was offensive or uninteresting, because I did like it. Quite a bit, actually. It’s a story for the downtrodden, the marginalized and forgotten, and finishing it felt like saying goodbye to an old friend.
“I have to go. But I’ll be back… I want to know everything.” We have all of time, she said...more
Oh boy… this’ll be a long one. For starters, I’m a little frustrated because I thought I’d love this, but I only liked it. I guess that’s still a goodOh boy… this’ll be a long one. For starters, I’m a little frustrated because I thought I’d love this, but I only liked it. I guess that’s still a good thing. I GUESS! We follow master thief and all-around scoundrel, Mouse, as he’s hired by some fancy-pants noble to rescue Lord Garron, another lord whose pants are just as fancy, as he’s captured in a rival noble house’s tower, Rapunzel style. I thought that this had such a banger opening chapter and the rest of the story closely follows suit… until about the last third of the story. Character motivations started to baffle me, exposition is thrown about left and right, and the ending still somehow felt rushed, even though this book took me a million years to finish! Moving on to happy thoughts though, I really enjoyed the setting. it reminded me a little of a low-budget movie (this is a good thing), in that you get the sense that there’s a grand, complicated fantasy world out there, but the plot is a fairly simple rescue mission where Mouse has to use every single tool at his disposal. That part was where the novel really shined, as it exemplified how action-packed, exciting, and incredibly frenetic the pacing could be when it was at its best. Speaking of Mouse, I was a little worried he’d be a little too cool for school and so~oo talented with his particular set of skills that I’d be totally bored with the conflict in the story, but this didn’t actually turn out to be a huge issue in the long-run. He was a little like Kaz from the Six of Crows books in how they’re both the best of the best of the best, but the story throws several insurmountable problems at them to make things interesting. Besides, even if Mouse’s journey was a cake-walk (it wasn’t), I guess every now and then, there’s nothing all that wrong with reading about characters who are good at everything. Some people just have the Midas Touch, you know?
So basically, I thought that this book showed considerable restraint in regards to Mouse as a character, and on how the plot focuses on one specific mission without making everything feel bloated with needless details about the fantasy world the characters inhabit. Where it also had restraint was not having Garron exclaim at any point to Mouse, “are we there yet!?” I mean, he'd already exhausted every other phrase in the "unhelpful, entitled jerk" lexicon, so that came as a surprise. This is my way of saying that he was really annoying. Okay look, part of me enjoyed Garron and his role in the story as the perfect foil to Mouse’s morally ambiguous ways, but then a more honest, true part of me thought he was incredibly naïve and irritating. He’s been imprisoned by this rival lord for three weeks, Mouse and him are stuck in enemy territory, surrounded by guards who wouldn’t hesitate for a second to skewer them both, and he thinks he has the luxury to have hang-ups about killing!? Like, hey pal, you just blow in from Stupid Town? Get with the picture, there’s a time and a place! Every few pages he’d get all weepy and offer “helpful” platitudes in the same vein as, “Ah, but if we kill, we’re the same as them!” man, shut up. He could have easily been made less annoying if Mouse simply argued back with him! Their bickering relationship was already established from their first meeting, so continue it on with some quality banter, please. But no~oo for some weird reason every time Garron climbs up to the moral high-ground, all of a sudden Mouse has no retort. I don’t know, it just seemed jarring considering Mouse’s earlier displayed sarcastic and cynical nature. Wouldn’t he say something back?
I suppose I was just wishing the romance would be more organic and less abrupt. One moment Mouse and Garron are sharing a tavern bed (I’m rolling my eyes right now), and the next they’re both professing their undying love for each other. They start off pretty much hating each other and what each person represents, but no real discussion or heart-to-heart is had between the two. I also had a bit of an issue with what the book’s message was, in that… I didn’t know what the book’s message was. It seemed like it wanted to add a little flavor to the mix by having a central theme of class inequality shown through the differences between both Mouse and Garron's respective outlooks on life, but it doesn’t end up having anything of substance to offer to the plate other than, “well, some nobles are good people, actually!” ahhh, okay then? What an astute observation. Normally, I wouldn’t make too big a deal out of this, but it’s a conversation that the book itself invites us to have, so I think criticism on its lackluster examination of the issue is fair game. Also, I’m not a big fan of (view spoiler)[secret royalty (hide spoiler)] plots. It just seems like a “Get Out of Jail Free card” and makes the resolution to the conflict too easy, and thus, less interesting. Anyway, I’ve been talking way too much, so I’ll just say that overall, I did enjoy this book and I liked Mouse and the ragtag group of outlaws he meets along the way were a lot of fun. And even if Mouse was a bit of a wish fulfillment character, I’m a-okay with that. Consider my wish fulfilled!
”Bold and cheeky. Impertinence is something you’re accused of frequently, I’d wager.” ”The least of my crimes, I assure you.”...more
Germolene, disinfect the scene, my love, my love, love, love / But please don't go, I love you so, my lovely (Breezeblocks – alt-J).
Hi, I like listeniGermolene, disinfect the scene, my love, my love, love, love / But please don't go, I love you so, my lovely (Breezeblocks – alt-J).
Hi, I like listening to music when I read. Sure, it makes the whole process take way longer than it needs to and I often find myself going back a few pages when I realize I’ve just been gliding through the sentences without actually reading the words, but it’s sometimes fun to create imaginary soundtracks to literature. Music is how I relate to things, and sometimes the most random and disconnected songs could feel deeply related to whatever it is I’m reading at the moment. I mean, I grew up watching AMV’s on YouTube (where people would put random songs over Anime clips), so I used to be there sitting on a Tuesday afternoon crying my eyes out over Dragon Ball Z clips set to the tune of “Bring me to Life” by Evanescence! I guess old habits die hard, because while Ten Count is actually a lot more emotional and earnest than I was expecting, it probably wasn’t the Song of Achilles-esque, “bawl-my-eyes-out” ordeal my brain was treating it like just because I was listening to “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” by Nina Simone while reading it. It’s a cliché, but “running in the rain” scenes will always get me in my feelings. Yeah, so anyway, I’m liking this series a lot! Despite the sexy man on the cover, it’s actually rather mellow and lowkey. And while, yes, I do enjoy the covers as much as any shallow so-and-so, I also appreciated how this manga took on a more naturalistic style and focused on developing Shirotani and Kurose’s relationship before diving straight into the not so straight stuff. Otherwise, it was great how this is a love story where the love doesn’t “cure” the main character, which is something that always drives me crazy (I’m totally not side-eying The Silver Linings Playbook right now). This is all basically to say that it understood the line between feeling too much like simple exploitative schlock, and being a super sweet, “cinnamon roll that’s too pure for this world,” instruction manual. I know it seems outlandish that something would perfectly manage the delicate balance of these two opposing views, but here we are. Besides, I’m just relieved that it did accomplish the impossible, because now I don’t have to pick a lane. Yay! What can I say? I’m bisexual, I like things both ways....more
The setting was great, the use of magic was great, Jack and Wilhelm were both great (and I remembered their names after putting the book down)! So, itThe setting was great, the use of magic was great, Jack and Wilhelm were both great (and I remembered their names after putting the book down)! So, it’s a shame that so much of the novel’s pages are devoted to Teddy; whose one-note villainy is tiresome at best and genuinely uncomfortable at worst. I just think there’s a better book here without him in it. Also, it seems like most of the book is just waiting to get to the third act, which, I’ll admit was quite spectacular. Otherwise, Shaun David Hutchinson is definitely one of the more inventive voices in YA lit, and his books never disappoint.
(We don’t talk about The State of Us.)
Merged review:
The setting was great, the use of magic was great, Jack and Wilhelm were both great (and I remembered their names after putting the book down)! So, it’s a shame that so much of the novel’s pages are devoted to Teddy; whose one-note villainy is tiresome at best and genuinely uncomfortable at worst. I just think there’s a better book here without him in it. Also, it seems like most of the book is just waiting to get to the third act, which, I’ll admit was quite spectacular. Otherwise, Shaun David Hutchinson is definitely one of the more inventive voices in YA lit, and his books never disappoint.
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