June Book Reviews
The Girl With All the Gifts (M. R. Carey)
9/10 "And then like Pandora, opening the great big box of the world and not being afraid, not even caring whether what's inside is good or bad. Because it's both. Everything is always both. But you have to open it to find that out." I loved this book and I was more surprised than anyone. I read this on a recommendation so I had no idea what the premise of this book was other than 'science fiction'. Turns out it's actually zombie story, which quickly becomes apparent, but I never would've otherwise picked it up if I knew because I'm just not a fan of zombies or apocalypses. But like the above quote says, you'll never know unless you open it and I'm really glad I did this time. The main character is a force unto herself, a worthy representative of Pandora, of Eve, of Sophia, of the myth of the first woman and her disobedience that gave birth to knowledge. The supporting cast that make up the usual 'last band of humans' is by no means bland either, with believable goals and developed personalities. Both the premise and ending was a unique and refreshing twist on the zombie genre. Anyone inclined to avoid it because of its horror tag, I strongly recommend you giving this a try.Salvation of a Saint (Keigo Higashino)
7.5/10 The second Detective Galileo I've read and it was a pretty decent one. Honestly, I don't think anything will quite match up to the setup and resolution of "The Devotion of Suspect X" but I liked reading this one too. The setting is much more mundane and the final solution is at once more commonplace as well as more fantastical than in Suspect X which is kind of strange. As a standalone story though, I really enjoyed the two main detectives especially Utsumi, as well as trying to figure out the complicated motives of the main suspect. There were some parts that surprised me a little, and other hints that I managed to catch on correctly, but nothing quite like the rollercoaster ride from Suspect X. Still, it was an enjoyable read, definitely a solid deduction style murder mystery.Death Notice (Zhao Haohui)
6/10 I picked up this book for one reason and one reason only, the summary said it was set in Chengdu, Sichuan. I almost never get to see Chengdu featured in any English media, it's usually Beijing or Shanghai or Hong Kong. So that one singular feature made me borrow this book, the first translation of a trilogy of crime thrillers that are apparently super popular in China. So imagine my letdown when, after reading the book, I found out that in the original Chinese, it hadn't been Chengdu; they only changed it to a bigger city for the English release. No wonder, because the city itself only barely featured in the story. It named some places but the ones I recognized could've been pulled from any city and the ones that were unique I couldn't recognize. Thanks for nothing. Anyway! The story itself. Unfortunately not amazing enough to soothe the disappointment. A fairly typical police suspense thriller. It started off ok, but some of the murders towards the end got a bit too convoluted and edgy/gruesome. It did keep you guessing at some parts which was nice (at least you're always thinking) but as the first of a trilogy they don't even provide the ultimate solution. Who knows if the rest of the series will even get translated? As a crime thriller, I would've given this a decent 6.5 but because the genre isn't even my cup of tea, it gets docked half a point. 不好意思.A Midsummer's Equation (Keigo Higashino)
6.5/10 Although the second novel, Salvation of a Saint, had a more mundane setting and premise, it felt more interesting than this one. This one had multiple players to keep track of and stretched across two cities, but it just made it harder to get into. Even though some parts of the resolution and the 'unrelated red herrings' gave it a Suspect X feel (there was, I think, even a small throwaway line referencing it: Yukawa knew better than anyone else how willing the truly devoted were to assume guilt in order to protect the ones they loved), ultimately it fell short. This book expanded a bit on the actual personality of Detective Galileo himself, but for me it was a bit of a mixed reception. I did enjoy his interactions with Kyohei, especially with the ending. I felt like the ultimate solution, especially in regards to the culprit, could've been expanded on but at least I was surprised by the final reveals.The Library at Mount Char (Scott Hawkins)
7.5/10 I quite liked this book! It's got a female 'protagonist', mysterious powers and eldritch horror — my favorite combo. There were some twists and turns here and there, but the ending was pretty satisfying for me. I would've like them to spend less time on Steve (even his name sounds boring) and more time on the other siblings, but overall it was a varied and interesting cast of characters. The eldritch horror was juuust unobtrusive enough not to feel confusing, or at least I took it in stride. There were parts were I didn't quite like the tone but the general narrative kept my attention and there were parts where I absolutely loved it. Still, it's got the kind of tone to it where, while I liked it, I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. If you're a fan of eldritch horror though, definitely take a look.Little Fires Everywhere (Celeste Ng)
9.5/10 Domestic fiction is usually not my cup of tea. But there are some books in a genre that are so good it doesn't matter what your usual preferences are and this book was it. It was a bit slow to get started, but once it started moving, I couldn't take my eyes away from the lives of these people. They were so vivid, so complex in their wholeness, in all of their imperfections and humanity. The clashing of different people from different walks of life, not just the main characters, but the secondary plot line as well, was so well done. I loved the running theme of 'fires' and the different ways it was brought into the story. But I especially loved the ending, because that's just how life is. It doesn't always come to a perfect conclusion, instead it's tangled threads, pieces you've left behind, pieces that others have given you, the limitless possibilities of a future both good and bad, and of course, little fires everywhere.On Tyranny (Timothy Snyder)
5/10 It's a decent enough little book, talking about some of the political problems facing Europe and the United Status today. It mostly presents concepts and using examples from history, such as discussing the rise of fascism. While I get that it's supposed to be brief, I didn't like the overwhelming Western focus. There were some interesting notes on WWII but I would've preferred examples from other events as well. It's also presented in part as a guide on how to act in order to combat some of these problems. Although I agreed with what the book was saying here, I didn't really like the tone of it. It's all well and good to say that people should act this way, but realistically it seems improbable and tonally it sounds patronizing. There was one quote I did like though, even if it was a tall order (and frankly can be misused in a different light): "Stand out. Someone has to. It is easy to follow along. It can feel strange to do or say something different. But without that unease, there is no freedom."The Screaming Staircase (Jonathan Stroud)
5.5/10 It's not a bad book, but there were areas that I felt were lacking. The basic premise is fine, even if it's just that, basic. The 'rules' of the fantasy setting were well put and easy to follow along. The plot was alright, I called the ending but it was a fairly decent ending. I liked the teaser at the end hinting at the protagonist's hidden abilities. I liked the protagonist well enough, but honestly I didn't really fall in love with any of the characters. They're just alright. The plot was just alright. It wasn't anything terrible, it just didn't make a really deep impression on me.Beautiful Blue World (Suzanne LaFleur)
4.5/10 This book had potential but was way too short. It was kind of weird actually because when reading it, I didn't really feel like I was slogging through a lot of filler, but in the end I also felt like I only read the beginning of a story. I realize that because this is the first book in a series, they do need to leave something but also at least give me something to begin with. The protagonist's character also feels lacking, like I see the point of her 'special skills' but they don't seem to stand out as particularly extraordinary. The whole thing didn't really make much of an impression on me.The Wrath & the Dawn (Renee Ahdieh)
7/10 Another YA novel that I enjoyed, but not as surprising as Three Dark Crowns. I liked that one based off all the new takes they had on the genre whereas I liked this one based off all the old classic tropes of the genre. I came in with expectations of a typical 'girl falls for enemy because he isn't as bad as he seems' romance and my expectations were fully met, but not in a bad way. Yes, they fall in love with an unrealistic speed, yes many things would've been resolved had they just talked about it, yes the girl turns out to have some magical powers she never knew about. The usual suspects, although luckily they weren't too overbearing. There's also the usual pros, like the girl being the 'honest, witty' one that surprises the system of tradition, her holding her own against enemies, etc. Of course the guy is dark and brooding and yes when he gets angry only the girl can calm him down but that's what I came for. Some pleasant pluses was I liked the B couple sideplot, there was a second love interest but they didn't tease a triangle at all, and I didn't hate the protagonist (always a surprise in a YA novel nowadays). But what I liked most about it, and what I'm disappointed they didn't spend more time on, was the Arabian Nights setting and theme. Any YA setting not in a European medieval fantasy world (even if it's still royalty themed) is always worth a second glance.The Moth & the Flame (Renee Ahdieh)
2/10 A short story set before the first novel and good thing it was a short story because it added nothing to the actual story. It mainly details the B couple development, as well as some backstory. The backstory part I was fine with, it deepened the initial premise but definitely would've felt unwieldy if forced into the main book. But the large part of this story was on the girl of the B couple and first of all, an uninspired romance. Whatever, they could've worked some actual chemistry in for the main book. But the fact that they didn't actually work in the most interesting about the girl? I guess they didn't want to spoil the surprise in the sequel but damn, at least drop some meaningful hints. Maybe this short story could've been interesting then. (Also I read the summaries for some of the other short stories and they actually seem interesting but like ? why didn't they include them? It sure would've made the sudden romance and scene changes a lot easier to deal with.)
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