October Wrap Up
Welcome back, dear readers
The first book I finished in October was Sheets by Brenna Thummler, a graphic novel about a ghost, a laundromat, and coming to terms with death. The story follows two kids, Marjorie and Wendell. Marjorie is a middle schooler who recently lost her mother and who has had to take charge of the family's laundromat business while her father is overcome with grief. There's also a very persistent man who is trying to get Marjorie to sell him the laundromat so he can build a luxury spa over the top of it. Wendell is the ghost of a young boy who drowned, like Marjorie's mother did, and who hasn't come to terms with his own death.
It's a sweet story, reader, but one that I just didn't click with. There's a lot to like about the setting. The ghost town that Wendell starts the story in is a very fun idea. The fact that these ghosts wear classic sheets with eyeholes is adorable. The places the story fell a little flat for me were pacing and the main conflict. While reading it I felt like the setup dragged and the ending was a little rushed. I was also very confused by the man pressuring Marjorie into selling the laundromat. She's thirteen, I don't think she has the legal authority to do that. And the character doesn't ask her to get her dad, he was asking her directly to promise to sell the business. The father also acts like it's her decision to sign this contract, as if a thirteen-year-old can do that. I was baffled, reader.
It's a cute story, but not one that captured my heart. It's very autumnal, however, and a quick read.
3/5 pumpkins.
Next is the horror manga Uzumaki by Junji Ito. This is the first of Ito's work that I've read and I picked it up after watching the movie adaptation of the same name. I was intrigued, I wanted to know how much the movie differed from the manga. The answer is a lot, but I'll get to that.
Uzumaki is the story of a town in Japan that's being haunted by spirals, a haunting that takes many forms. The story starts off slowly, with characters obsessed with spirals suddenly turning into a spiral shape. By the time we got to the part where people were turning into giant snails, I was utterly baffled but too curious to want to stop. I think the most horrifying part of Uzumaki was the hospital chapter where babies were turning into mushrooms. Sort of. There was a lot happening, reader. I kept thinking, this can't possibly get any wilder, right? We must have reached peak wild by now, surely. Foolish of me to underestimate Junji Ito. His wildness contains multitudes. I was confused and alarmed right up to the last page.
I'm not sure I can describe the plot in any coherent way, reader. Things just keep happening. The movie really doesn't do the surreal nature of Uzumaki justice. At least I don't think it did. I wasn't paying close attention, reader.
I want to keep reading Ito's books, but I can't say I'd rank Uzumaki as a favorite. I'm too confused by it really have any other thoughts. It wasn't frightening, though some parts were disgusting. That said, pick it up if you're looking to get into horror manga. Especially if you're looking for surreal stories with a side of body horror.
3/5 pumpkins
I Will Judge Your Bookshelf by Grant Snider was the last graphic novel I read this month. Although this is less of a novel and more of a collection of comics. I think it might be a collection of daily comics compiled from elsewhere. Either way, I was not a fan, reader.
I clicked with one page out of 136. All the other comics were just not it for me. Snider and I must be very different kinds of readers and book people because all but one of these were unrelatable at best. I went into this expecting it to be more autobiographical than it was. It just wasn't the vibe, reader.
2/5 pumpkins
The next book is one that I've been waiting anxiously for, reader. It was one of two books I pre-ordered in hardback this year: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao. I started watching Zhao's Youtube channel to see them roast that live-action Mulan movie that Disney put out. And then the strangest thing happened, reader. They announced they were publishing their first book, a YA sci-fi that was a remix of Chinese history and Pacific Rim.
Now I will drop everything to pick up anything described as 'Pacific Rim-like,' reader, and this was no exception. I have a soft spot for mecha-related things. And by soft spot I do of course mean a hyperfixation. I fully intend on reading all the Battletech novels at some point. Possibly on this blog. But I digress.
Iron Widow was indeed everything it promised to be, and more. I was so taken by the idea of mecha that I completely forgot that Zhao was going to give us a polyamorous relationship, rather than the stale love triangle we so often get. The triangle is the strongest shape, after all.
The book takes place in the future, naturally enough, and follows Wu Zetian a young woman bent on killing the Chrysalis pilot that killed her sister. Wu Zetian is a reimaging of a real historical figure of the same name and is China's only female ruler. Zhao has more information about the actual historical figure on their channel since naturally, the real Wu Zetian didn't pilot a large mech.
I loved this book dearly, reader. It was one of those stories that I wanted to read again immediately after I'd finished it. The worldbuilding is fantastic, the characters intriguing, and I keep replaying certain scenes over and over in my head. If you haven't already picked this up, reader, I suggest you do so.
This is the first book in a series, ends on a cliffhanger, and I cannot wait to read the next book. I don't want to say too much, lest I spoil the ending.
5/5 pumpkins
The next three books I picked up were rereads. After finishing Iron Widow, I wanted to pick up The Dragon Republic, but it had been a time since I'd read The Poppy War so I started with that. The Poppy War is still quite good, although please note that it deals heavily with the horrors of war, trauma, and drug use. I cannot stress enough that this is a very graphic series. I'll go into that more later, but it was a little much for me at times.
The other two rereads were Six of Crows and Axiom's End. I reread Six of Crows so that I could read Crooked Kingdom. I didn't have to, but I did want to, reader.
The sequel to Axiom's End arrived on my doorstep in October as well so I thought I should read book one before diving into Truth of the Divine.
Both Axiom's End and Six of Crows are still enjoyable. Onward to Crooked Kingdom, reader, I wish to gush.
I love Six of Crows, reader. Its plot is incredible, its characters are fantastic, its writing fabulous. I'm pleased to report that Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo is just as excellent. I want to reread this duology again right now, reader. I could read about the Crows heisting anything. I could read about them just going for a cup of coffee.
Cooked Kingdom starts immediately after the events of Six of Crows, and proceeds to raise the stakes higher than I thought possible. I was along for the ride, reader. And goodness what a wild ride it was. I predicted nothing, aside from the one plot point that I knew about in advance. The plot is just as well laid-out, the characters are all still amazing. We got Wylan's POV, reader, which I loved.
The part I love best for the sheer absurdity of it all is the moment when another highly skilled assassin shows up halfway through the story to try and kill Inej. It almost felt like that character was a reference to something or someone but if she was, I did not get it.
I liked every character arc our crew had as well. There wasn't anyone who I felt didn't get a fair shake.
5/5 pumpkins
Next up is The Dragon Republic and The Burning God by R.F. Kuang last two books in The Poppy War trilogy.
First a list of content warnings for both the series and book in general. All three books have drug abuse and addiction, but it really picks up in these last two. There are many war crimes, some committed by our main character and some by other countries within the story. There is talk of genocide, there is classism and colorism, there is racism and colonialism. There is ongoing PTSD that never gets treated, self-harm, there is suicidal ideation, attempted suicide, and actual suicide at the end of the series. There is medical experimentation and examination. There is intimate partner abuse. There is off-screen sexual assault.
Personally, reader, I'm not qualified to tell you if I think that these themes are well handled or not. They weren't outright mishandled, I will say. All of the characters in this series are shaped by the traumas they face, from war, from the people they love, from mentor figures, and from the ongoing legacy of colonialism. It's a fantasy series heavily inspired by real Chinese history and all that comes with that. It's very bleak, very raw, and deals with very heavy themes. Our main characters never get help for the things they're suffering from. They cope as best they can and all of their coping strategies are unhealthy.
This isn't to dissuade you from picking up the series, reader. I just want you to go into it with the understanding that it is going to be a rough ride.
The Dragon Republic starts off a little while after the end of The Poppy War. Rin is struggling with the memories of destroying the entire Mugen island, the voice of the ever-hungry Phoenix God, and her opium addiction. While she tries to kill the Empress Daji, she is roped into helping the Dragon Warlord conquer Nikara and set up a new republic. This is something they can only accomplish with the help of the Hesperians, the colonial white Europe analog.
The parts of this book that I liked were Rin's interactions with Su Daji. Those moments were tense and well-written.
Rin as a character is trying so hard to take control of her life and it just doesn't work out for her. She's constantly being used as a game piece by those with more power than she has. She is never given a healthy way to cope with all the things that happen to her and I think that makes her story a Tragedy. I mean that in the Classical Greek sense, hence the capitalization.
I have a pretty high tolerance for on-page gore and death. I don't enjoy reading about medical abuse, of which there is some in these books. The racism of the white characters was also really uncomfortable to read, which was the point. This is one of those places where I am not qualified to tell you if it was well handled or not. It was accurate to that era's justification of racist beliefs, that I can say. But I am not Chinese, so it's not my place to tell you if Kuang handled the Sinophobia well.
The Dragon Republic had the most politics and battle scenes of the three, which can be a little tiring to read. The book didn't drag, but it was repetitive. That and the sheer number of terrible things happening are a part of why this isn't a five-star. It's not meant to be a relaxing read. It is meant to be a fantasy version of Chinese history and it is absolutely fascinating. I almost wish Kuang had gotten more into the worldbuilding.
As it stands it's decent. I wish I had more books on Chinese history that I could read. For some reason, dear reader, the American education system doesn't spend much time talking about China. Tragically, I also can't read Chinese so the wealth of information they have about themselves I would need to read in translation. Or learn Chinese, I suppose. But I digress.
The Dragon Republic: gets 4/5 pumpkins
The Burning God left me with many questions.
First, though, I thought it was a fitting end to the series. I thought Rin could have had a little steadier character growth, rather than having it all pile up at the end. She did need to realize that her drive to rule and control would end with people dying by the thousands, and it makes sense that she would come to that realization where she did. I wish it was foreshadowed just a little more.
That's a very minor detail, on the whole, reader.
My main question is what on earth happened to poor Linhua? It felt like Rin forgot about her since she acts like the knowledge of Nikara shamans is dying with her. Linhua is, so far as we know, still using her healing powers back at the Coalition's base. Will she also be consumed by her powers? Will Chaghan come and either kill her or take her out of Nikara? We just don't know reader. It's kind of a shame we don't get to know much about her. All the other minor shaman characters get their moment in the sun, but Linhua just doesn't.
As a whole, the series had a lot of elements I liked and a lot of things that made me deeply uncomfortable to read about, reader. Discomfort is different from dislike, I want to note. My discomfort was the point of many of those scenes. I was not meant to feel good about a lot of the choices Rin made. Her decisions weren't framed as good or moral choices. She tried to see them as necessary evils, but even she couldn't manage that. She was a kid deeply traumatized by warfare who wanted to make things better. She tried her best.
The things that I did think were issues are all structural. The last two books start to become a variation on the 'who will betray Rin next' theme. None of them felt out of place, but it did start to feel repetitive towards the end. It doesn't affect the overall impact of the books, but I did notice it.
My recommendation, reader, is that if you're looking for a dark fantasy inspired by 20th century China, something grim, something (to use fanfiction terms) with a lot of whump, then this is a great series to pick up.
It has a lot to say about war and colonialism. Though do be sure to find a comprehensive content warning list. I wish RF Kuang had included one.
The Burning God gets 4/5 pumpkins.
Next is another book that delves into trauma, albeit with a more sci-fi bent. That would be Truth of the Divine by Lindsey Ellis. This would be the other book I pre-ordered, reader.
Truth of the Divine takes place immediately after the events of the first book, Axiom's End, and follows Cora and Ampersand dealing with their various traumas. The book is focused on coping with PTSD, something both Cora and Ampersand struggle with. We also meet Kaveh, a journalist mentioned in passing in the first book, and Enola/Nikola. Kaveh is a delight who I wish we could spend more time with. Nikola is also a delight, though in a different way. He is the answer to the question, what if extraterrestrial lifeforms could be absolute weirdos, like us. I love Nikola so dearly.
Our main characters also find themselves in a polycule where two members are human and the rest are alien. I loved it very much, reader.
Truth of the Divine is a solid mid-point in the series. We see how America reacts to the knowledge that there is life on other planets. The plot of the story revolves around whether or not the government will recognize them as people and thus grant them full protections under the law.
I enjoyed the story, reader. I desperately want to know what happens next, which is always a good sign.
4/5 pumpkins
The last book I read in October was a short story collection called Vampires Never Get Old ed by Zoraida Cordova and Natalie C. Parker. This was on a list of TBR anthologies posted on Austine Decker's blog back in March. Needless to say, I was intrigued. I do enjoy a good vampire story and I keep meaning to pick up more short story collections. Generally, I tend to gravitate towards science fiction collections, but fantasy and urban fantasy stories are always a welcome edition.
This collection has some excellent stories in it, reader. Firstly, there's "The Boys of Blood River" by Rebecca Roanhorse, the author of that stunning new fantasy series Black Sun. I have to wait until April of next year to read its sequel, alas. My other favorite story was "A Guidebook For the Newly Sired Desi Vampire" by Samira Ahmed.
I also want to see a novel-length version of "The House of Black Sapphires" by Dhonielle Clayton. The setting, the characters, the story! I would love to read more of it.
Excellent vampire antics all around, reader. I had a lovely time.
4/5 pumpkins.
Thus ends the list of books I read in October. I'm making some progress with my TBR list, though I have been slightly sidetracked. The Animal Crossing New Horizons DLC has been keeping me from my reading. I just can't resist the siren song of farming digital vegetables and designing little houses, reader. Hopefully, it won't keep me too distracted. Either way, I wish you a merry November.
Until next time, dear reader 🎃
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