I’m maybe a little jaded about epic fantasy, because I’ve read so much of it. Finnikin of the Rock is a delight, though - despite its retreading of a familiar formula, the characters are interesting people, and the journey they take to reach an inevitable conclusion was not at all what I expected. Even when Finnikin is behaving like an idiot (which he does - he is, after all, under a lot of pressure), and Evanjelin seems to have completely lost her mind, I wanted to know what was going to happen to them. If you’re not as jaded as I am, I suspect this journey will be a particularly memorable one.
Elizabeth Bear’s elevator pitch for this series was
"Amber:Gormenghast::Upstairs:Downstairs, in SPAAAAAAAAAACE!"
It is. But better.
Respect the Spindle: Spin Infinite Yarns With One Amazing Tool
by Abby Franquemont Interweave Pr
Our Price: $22.95
Abby Franquemont inspired me to keep a drop spindle packed up in my purse. Yeah, I spin on a wheel, but have a spindle handy and you’ll never have to waste time standing in line again. If you want to make fine yarn in strange fibers, spindles are excellent; if you want to make reliable, sturdy yarn for knitting, they’re good for that too. If you’re into showing off your fiber-arts chops, spindles lend themselves to stupid spinner tricks in a way wheels don’t. This book is an incredible wealth of information on the practicalities of an extraordinarily ancient technology. Every time I get frustrated about the yarn I’m making, her writing about learning to spin as a child puts matters back into perspective. Her explanations of techniques, and willingness to accept many methods of reaching a particular result, make these instructions as useful as one on one demonstration.
I can’t decide which of Charlie Stross’s books to recommend. They’re all eye-opening, world-changing, brilliantly imagined and rooted in the very strangest reality has to offer. So, since there’s a new volume in this series slated for release this year, for now let’s talk about The Atrocity Archive. Bob Howard is a computer geek, and due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, he’s also dealing with occult horrors from other dimensions & saving the world as we know it. Stross has combined the best elements of spy thrillers and Lovecraftian horror. I don’t know how he does it, but I’m thrilled that it’s there to read.
Franny Billingsley, bookseller extraordinare, recommended this to me back when it first came out. She was never wrong - even when she told me to wait to read it. (Don't give it to a fourteen year old who thinks romance is a dirty word.)
Owl Tycho is a shape-shifter, and she's in love with her science teacher. Kindl hits all the right notes in the know-it-all teenager in the midst of her first crush, and Owl's pragmatic view of her own nature is delightful. Owl's parents are charming, anachronistic, and wiser than most; despite being the ultimate outsider, Owl finally does make some friends, and learn a number of lessons about love and the dangers of making assumptions.
Bet you didn't think mad cow disease was funny, did you? It is. Really. It could've been just another teenage drama - slacker boy gets terminal illness, goes on quest to find meaning of life in what short time he's got left - but a road trip across the US with an angry dwarf, the Norse god Balder incarnated as a lawn gnome, and a punk angel named Dulcie is never going to be just another anything. Also, seriously, it's hilarious.
