Reading: March and April
11 May 2024 01:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
a_small_dragonI've been busy preparing for a new job and then starting the new job, so delayed reading post.
The Tyrant Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson:
A Baru story! What more can I even say, it is what it is for good and for ill. The Barhu reveal really hit. The Cancrioth stuff mostly hit. Dickinson's written themself into a bit of a corner with the end, and I wasn't sure about it. The series thus far has relied on a certain unresolved tension which has now been resolved. Perhaps it would be fair if the series ended here.
The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekra:
A man raised by his mother as an assassin to kill his father, the Perfect and Kind, moves away from his rural home into the city. He reluctantly becomes involved in a support group-turned-insurrectionary movement. A plot summary doesn't do this book justice. I read it slowly, much slower than I normally read, and it was well-served by this. This is a story about faith, eugenics, and freedom, a rather wistful and carefully paced story. There is a lovely point of view shift toward the end. Would read again.
Webnovels of note:
The Flower that Bloomed Nowhere by Lurina:
A sci-fi/existential horror/time loop mystery novel in two parts. Heavily inspired by Umineko, but certainly not limited to Umineko's interests or scope. Explores the limits of death, entropy and immortality in an actually thought-provoking way, which is difficult! Contains diegetic metafictional elements. Has a very unusual aesthetic sense and world. Such an incredible story to find on Royal Road of all places.
Have started, but been too busy to get far with Exordia. Not enough attention span to get through my labyrinth nonfiction still, despite wanting to. Onward next time! To continue Exordia, Seven of Infinities, and Junji Ito's Tomie collection.
The Tyrant Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson:
A Baru story! What more can I even say, it is what it is for good and for ill. The Barhu reveal really hit. The Cancrioth stuff mostly hit. Dickinson's written themself into a bit of a corner with the end, and I wasn't sure about it. The series thus far has relied on a certain unresolved tension which has now been resolved. Perhaps it would be fair if the series ended here.
The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekra:
A man raised by his mother as an assassin to kill his father, the Perfect and Kind, moves away from his rural home into the city. He reluctantly becomes involved in a support group-turned-insurrectionary movement. A plot summary doesn't do this book justice. I read it slowly, much slower than I normally read, and it was well-served by this. This is a story about faith, eugenics, and freedom, a rather wistful and carefully paced story. There is a lovely point of view shift toward the end. Would read again.
Webnovels of note:
The Flower that Bloomed Nowhere by Lurina:
A sci-fi/existential horror/time loop mystery novel in two parts. Heavily inspired by Umineko, but certainly not limited to Umineko's interests or scope. Explores the limits of death, entropy and immortality in an actually thought-provoking way, which is difficult! Contains diegetic metafictional elements. Has a very unusual aesthetic sense and world. Such an incredible story to find on Royal Road of all places.
Have started, but been too busy to get far with Exordia. Not enough attention span to get through my labyrinth nonfiction still, despite wanting to. Onward next time! To continue Exordia, Seven of Infinities, and Junji Ito's Tomie collection.