Hi friends,
January felt really long. January always feels like the longest month, and this one was no exception. Maybe it’s the come down after the fervor of the holidays, or the daunting prospect of a whole New Year ahead of us? In any case, I did manage to get into a few good reads this month while carving out a full week and a half to be sick. It feels like now I’m into the upper part of my 30s that I don’t just bounce back after a day or two like I did even a few years ago.
Anyway, let me know what you think about these books and if you have suggestions for further reading.
Best,
Tonya
Elsecaller/King Lopen the First by Dan Wells/ Isaac Stewart
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Recommendation: yes
Review: We picked up this collection of two short stories set in Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere at Dragonsteel Nexus in December. The stories were originally featured on the backs of tradable cards at Dragonsteel Nexus 2024, but are now compiled into a short book along with the art featured on the cards. Isaac Stewart authored the short story about Bridge Four member, Lopen’s, brief experience as King of Alethkar, which takes place during Words of Radiance. Dan Wells authored Elsecaller, which follows Jasnah Kholin during her first journey in Shadesmar, which also happens in Words of Radiance. It was neat to see other authors write in the Cosmere, although for very brief stints, and fun to see more from Jasnah’s and Lopen’s point-of-views. There’s not much more to say about these beyond the Jasnah one felt really truncated, like it wanted to be a novella and they had to cut a bunch of important character building scenes to meet the constraints of the trading card format. Whether or not you enjoy the Lopen story will depend entirely on your feelings about Sanderson’s sometimes cringe comic relief style. I like it, so I had fun with it. I’m interested to see more Cosmere stories from other authors beyond Sanderson as well.
When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows:... Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life by Steven Pinker
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Recommendation: maybe
Review: I originally gave this book four stars but bumped it down to three after a few weeks when I realised, as often happens with nonfiction books that aren’t particularly striking, that I remember almost nothing from it. That’s probably mostly on me for not reading closely enough, but regardless. In this book, Pinker explores how knowing that other people know what we know, and that they know that we know, and on and on back and forth is key to understanding human social interactions. He explains cancel culture, politics, small talk, and why so much of human communication relies on innuendos and reading between the lines. It was an interesting read, and I remember thinking about the concepts while watching Downton Abbey where so much of the drama is based on keeping track of who knows what about who else. The device does make for good TV. Beyond that, I don’t remember a ton about this book, but if you like Pinker’s writing and want an interesting read, I would recommend it.
The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings #3) by J.R.R. Tolkien
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Recommendation: yes
Review: It’s hard to write a paragraph long review about a classic like The Lord of the Rings since there’s so much that’s already been said on it. I guess my take will focus on my experience. It was wonderful to visit Middle Earth again after so long away. I was reminded about why this story is the start and standard of the whole genre of modern epic fantasy. It really is so good. I especially enjoyed that this grand story is told so much through the eyes of our hobbit friends, Sam, Pippin, and Merry. Frodo himself only gets a few point-of-view moments. The choice to center the story on the little folk makes the whole thing feel more relatable and real. Especially Sam. Oh Sam. I think Sam is now one of my top five fictional characters. He’s so good, and he’s so brave, and he just does what needs to be done even when he’s scared. He really made this book for me. I also loved seeing Merry and Pippin rise to the occasion and contribute in different but amazing ways. Eowyn and Merry vs. the Witch King is definitely the best action moment in the whole trilogy, and I even enjoyed seeing her and Faramir come together on the long downward slope. The one area that dates this book is the pacing and structure. It feels like there are two semi-climaxes and then the last 45% of the book is all falling action. The ring gets destroyed at about the 60% mark, and the story morphs from being about a grand epic fight against evil to being about rooting evil out at home. It really does feel like a novella-length post script that got added onto the end of the battle of the ring story. It’s not that the battle of the shire isn’t an enjoyable read and really showcases how far our hobbits have come since they departed on their long and perilous journey. It just feels like it should be it’s own thing. Maybe I’m wrong. I’m sure someone somewhere has written a thesis on it, but that’s my take. As always, Middle Earth was supremely cathartic and mesmerizing. I can’t wait to return again soon.
Of Darkness and Light (The Bound and the Broken #2) by Ryan Cahill
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Recommendation: yes
Review: This is book two in Cahill’s modern epic fantasy dragon riding series. There were a lot of things that I liked about this book, especially the cast of characters, the fast pacing, the magic system reveals, and the dragon parts. There was not a single character in this multi-point-of-view book that I groaned when their point-of-view started. Cahill’s world building is epic, and he perfectly leads up to a big reveal at the end of the book that feels well-earned and super satisfying while also setting us up to launch into the next book. My biggest critique is that there’s so much violence. A lot of it is human v. monster fighting, but there’s also a lot of human v. human fighting too, and so many people die that you just kind of start ignoring it. So yeah. I will definitely keep reading, and I’m hoping that there are more dragons in future installments, and also maybe a little less violence?
The Exile (The Bound and the Broken #2.5) by Ryan Cahill
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Recommendation: yes
Review: This is a novella in Cahill’s The Bound and the Broken. Unlike the main installments in the series, it focuses on one character’s point of view. I actually really enjoyed this narrowing of the focus from our broad cast of characters. First of all, Dayne is really fun to follow, and Cahill packs a lot of character growth into 180 pages. We get a highlights reel of the most significant moments from Dayne’s life and his revenge quest against the empire that destroyed his family and exiled him from his homeland. We also get to see a lot more of a wacky character from the main series, who I didn’t imagine pairing with Dayne at all, but actually ends up working out quite well. Again, my biggest complaint here is that there is so much violence that you kind of get numb to it. I think Cahill is really trying to paint his fictional fantasy world, Epheria, as a dark and dangerous place, but sometimes the darkness clashes with the tone of that the rest of the characters and story sets. In any case, I’m hooked and will definitely keep reading.
A Mouthful of Dust (The Singing Hills Cycle #6) by Nghi Vo
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Recommendation: yes
Review: I’ve read every installment in Vo’s Singing Hills series, and while I enjoy each one, none of them hit me as hard as the first one did. I am always impressed with how much story, emotion, and trauma that Vo is able to communicate in less than 100 pages. She really is a master of this story form. In this installment Cleric Chih is on assignment to visit a village that was plagued by a famine some 20 years previously to record their experiences for their abbey’s records. As always, they end up digging up more than the locals want to tell and stumbling on a mystery that needs to be solved and wrongs that need to be righted. I really like how well Vo uses the story within a story technique as most of the book is Cleric Chih gathering heart-wrenching and traumatic stories from the survivors of the famine. Reading this renewed by appreciation of never having gone hungry in my entire life from lack of access to food. I know from experience that even being a little hungry has a huge impact on my personality and attitude. I don’t want to know what I would be like if I were legitimately starving. A good author can make you think of things like that when they really transport you into the story and make you relate to the characters. I’ll definitely keep reading about the journeyings of Cleric Chi and just hope and pray that I never have to endure extreme hunger.