Everyone’s the hero of their own story … but that usually means they’re the villain of someone else’s. S. A. Chakraborty ramps up the moral ambiguity and political tensions in book 2 of The Daevabad Trilogy, The Kingdom of Copper. Just over a year ago, I reviewed book 1, The City of Brass, after it impressed me with its intricate world-building and nuanced characters. Now those characters are back and they have to make increasingly tough decisions about where they stand and whose side they’re on in a millennia-old conflict between factions of the djinn society, and between the djinn and magical forces even older and more powerful. Continue reading The Kingdom of Copper Review–Heroes and Villains
Gothic Residences
It’s just so much easier to write a Gothic novel, when you’re writing it from inside a castle, right? Well, several of the earliest writers of Gothic fiction thought so. I’ve touched before on the inextricable ties that link the Gothic genre of literature to the style of architecture with which it shares a name. The term “Gothic” first began to be applied to a specific medieval style of architecture after it had fallen out of favor in the 1500s. As the Renaissance spread through Europe, many new designers found the ribbed vaults, flying buttresses, and towering spires of the earlier style to be excessive and barbaric, thus naming them after the Gothic “barbarians” who had destroyed Rome. But after another couple of centuries, public opinion came around again and prominent members of European society began to show renewed interest in the medieval era, and especially medieval architecture. One of the most influential of those figures was Horace Walpole. Continue reading Gothic Residences
Review of Peeps–Unsexy Vampires
These days, we have a tendency to want a scientific explanation for everything—even in our most outlandish fantasy stories. Writers of vampire fiction, in particular, have come up with myriad explanations for how vampires come into existence, whether it’s a genetic mutation or some blood-borne disease. In Peeps, Scott Westerfeld has a particularly unsexy explanation: parasites. Through the eyes of teenage protagonist Cal, Peeps gives us the scoop on being a vampire, including the good, the bad, the awkward, and the gross. Continue reading Review of Peeps–Unsexy Vampires
Books I’m Excited for in 2019
New year, new books! It’s time to continue my annual tradition of taking stock of books being released in the coming year. What better way to spend New Year’s Eve than refining my TBR pile? Here are a few of the books that I am most excited for: Continue reading Books I’m Excited for in 2019
My 2018 Reading Challenge Recap
It’s time for my annual recap! Each year in January, I set a goal for the number of books that I want to read over the next twelve months as part of the Goodreads Reading Challenge. I learned my lesson last year about being too ambitious with my numerical goal, and set my sights a little lower. But it looks like this year I might still fall just a bit short.
Beneath the Sugar Sky—A Colorful Tale of Resurrecting the Dead
A real-life Candy Land may seem like paradise, but all the sugar in the world can’t cover up the taste of corruption, war, and murder…. Beneath the Sugar Sky is the third book in Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series. Last year, I reviewed Every Heart a Doorway, in which McGuire introduces the boarding school full of misfit children who have returned from various fantasy lands. I also reviewed Down Among the Sticks and Bones, a prequel of sorts that depicts the adventures of twin sisters Jack and Jill in a land of vampires and mad scientists. With the third book in the series, which came out back at the beginning of 2018, McGuire shifts gears rather dramatically. Continue reading Beneath the Sugar Sky—A Colorful Tale of Resurrecting the Dead
Christmas Ghost Stories
It’s the spookiest time of the year. No, not Halloween … Christmas! In centuries past, one of the most popular traditions of this holiday season was the telling of ghost stories. If you think about it, it makes sense—what better way to spend the longest, coldest nights of the year than to get your blood pumping with some tales of terror? It’s unclear how long this custom has been around, but it saw a significant resurgence during the Victorian era, due in large part to Charles Dickens and his famous ghost story, A Christmas Carol (1843). In this British classic, the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come, which scare him into changing his selfish ways. In the wake of Dickens, may other authors picked up their pens to write tales of seasonal ghosts. Below are a few of my favorites:
Melmoth: Literary Fiction Meets the Gothic
It’s not often you hear that a classic Gothic novel (other than Frankenstein or Dracula) is getting freshly reimagined by a modern author. That’s why it immediately caught my eye when I saw that a novel called Melmoth just came out in October. Melmoth is the newest book by British writer Sarah Perry (author of The Essex Serpent). As the title suggests, Melmoth borrows heavily from Charles Maturin’s 1820 novel Melmoth the Wanderer, but Perry’s version is not a straightforward re-telling. Instead, stylistic and story elements of the classic Gothic work are woven into a new, original story to create a unique hybrid of genres. Continue reading Melmoth: Literary Fiction Meets the Gothic
Review of The Spectral City—A New Generation of Gothic Heroines
Nothing gets me more excited than learning that my favorite author is starting a brand new series. That’s right, Leanna Renee Hieber is back with more Gothic gaslamp fantasy! The first book that I ever reviewed on this blog over three years ago was Leanna’s Darker Still, a thrilling love story about a young woman named Natalie who saves the dashing Lord Denbury from demonic forces. Now, nineteen years after their happily ever after, it’s time for the next generation to join the fight against evil. The Spectral City is the first book in a new series starring Eve Whitby, Natalie and Lord Denbury’s daughter. The book comes out tomorrow, November 27. If you’re in the area, join me at the Spectral City Launch Party at WORD bookstore in Brooklyn on November 29! Continue reading Review of The Spectral City—A New Generation of Gothic Heroines
Is Steampunk Just Goth with Gears?
“Steampunk is what happens when goths discover brown.” This quote, attributed to the writer Jess Nevins, has been floating around the internet for some time now. However, I find the quote to be misleading and a rather reductive view of both subcultures. First of all, I am a goth. I have discovered steampunk and the color brown, and still find black to be a vastly superior color for expressing the darkness of my soul. But more importantly, these subcultures are about so much more than just the colors they wear. Continue reading Is Steampunk Just Goth with Gears?