octavia_cade's reviews
2098 reviews

A Bride's Story, Vol. 12, by Kaoru Mori

lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

4.0

I'm back in Christchurch for a few months at the moment, which means that I can plunder the Christchurch public library for this series (generally, my usual small-town library does not run to stuff like this). As always, it was thoroughly enjoyable. The artwork in this series is so beautiful, and so detailed, that it's always a pleasure to look at. And I especially enjoyed the structure, which was very loosely connected chapters on the various characters, who are all separated by vast amounts of geography, but who are all experiencing moments of boredom and are finding small ways to cope with it. I think that's one of the really appealing thing about this series for me: there's such a sustained focus on daily life, where everything's important, no matter how domestic or small-scale. It's very slice-of-life, and that's fascinating to me in a historical story set in a part of the world I've never been to. 

Dinner in Audoghast, by Bruce Sterling

3.0

Nicely told historical short about a dinner party in an ancient (now destroyed) city in Africa. The speculative element comes in when a fortune-teller is persuaded to join the party. Leprous, off-putting, he gives a potted future of Audoghast that tells of its eventual destruction. There's nothing especially groundbreaking here, I don't think, but the prose is easy and gentle and has an appealing feel to it. I don't know that I've read any of Sterling before - I've come across this story in a Best of volume - and his writing style seems enjoyably undemanding, so maybe I'll look up more of him in the future. Irritating that the only named female character is a whore, though. 

Notes from the Gallows, by Julius Fuchik

dark inspiring medium-paced

4.0

This is one of those books that is somehow both terribly depressing and still has a gleam of hope in it, and that's due entirely to the somewhat demented optimism of the author. I'm calling it "demented optimism" because the bravery he shows is so appalling that it's hard to encompass. The book, written in jail and smuggled out on slips of paper supplied by a sympathetic guard, is basically the last testament of the journalist and communist Julius Fuchik, who was captured by the Gestapo after the Germans took over Prague in WW2. Fuchik, who was doing his damnedest to work against the Nazis, was imprisoned for months, tortured, and then executed. Somehow, in the last days before his death, he remained optimistic that the invaders will be defeated and a better world is round the corner for everyone. I'd call it a defense mechanism, except from the sound of it he never gives up a single one of his compatriots, no matter how badly he was hurt.

Perhaps he just believed that, all evidence to the contrary, deep down most people were as brave and loyal as he was. Perhaps that's what keeps him optimistic. I hope he died thinking that. I hope it helped. 

Regina Rising, by Wendy Toliver

adventurous fast-paced

1.0

I really enjoyed the Once Upon a Time tv series, but the few tie-in books I've read have not been spectacular, and this, unfortunately, continues that trend. It's set before the series proper, when young Regina makes a friend. Things do not go well. It's Regina, things never go well for her, so I can't say that I'm exactly surprised at the general failure of her life. I am a little surprised, however, at the streak of viciousness that she shows at the end. Now, viciousness is certainly a major part of her character, but the Young Regina of the show, before her unfortunate encounter with Snow White and the consequences thereof, was kind and sweet. Her final actions here undermines that presentation in a not particularly illuminating way, which seems a waste. The whole thing's a bit superficial really; the book's greatest advantage is that at least it's over quickly. 

Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron, by Jonathan Strahan

adventurous medium-paced

3.0

Fun collection of witch-themed stories that are nearly all directed at young adults, although the ending story, by Margo Lanagan, doesn't seem particular attuned to that audience. The stories I liked best were a little more keyed into adolescence, and there's the interesting parallel of coming into all sorts of powers at that time, or becoming aware of them, which is not perhaps blindingly original, but is still something I consistently find appealing. I don't know why, exactly - some things just resonate more than others - but I think I like the reflective possibilities, the potential explorations of maturity and consequence.

I think the story I most enjoyed here was Delia Sherman's "The Witch in the Wood," but the one that most interested me was "Barrio Girls" by Charles de Lint, which is coincidentally the only story here that swings more towards horror than fantasy. I feel as if witches should have some capacity for horror, or at least some interaction with it, and there's a casual sort of brutality to the plot that's very much red-in-tooth-and-claw in a way that I can appreciate. 

B is for Bigfoot, by Jim Butcher

adventurous fast-paced

3.0

I came across this story in a fantasy anthology, and given that I'm slowly making my way through The Dresden Files series, I thought I may as well log it here. It's a likeable story, if not an especially challenging one - it was pretty clear early on that the solution to this particular body-guarding crisis was to get the kid to stand up for himself. I feel as if it's pretty much standard-Butcher fare in that way, from the relatively few stories of his that I've read. "Sticking up for oneself" seems to be a theme in those stories, though it's nice to see Harry act more as a mentor than a wrecking ball in service of that. I'm more interested in him that way. 

Barrio Girls, by Charles de Lint

adventurous dark fast-paced

3.0

I read this in a young adult fantasy collection about witches, but honestly it comes across more of a horror story to me. Two girls, both fans of vampire media, stumble across a real vampire lurking down by a river, and are out for revenge after the vampire kills someone they know. Just how they go about this is reminiscent of an almost fairy tale sort of logic, but it's an entertaining story, and I'd like to read more of the two main characters. I think it's part of a series? It'd be worth looking that series up, I think, because both Vida and Ruby are appealingly loyal and appealingly vicious, and their community-minded monster destruction is fun to read. 

A Handful of Ashes, by Garth Nix

adventurous fast-paced

2.0

I like a lot of Nix's work, but this one just didn't do it for me I'm afraid. I enjoyed the concept, in which several poor students from a magical college are bullied by their wealthier brethren, and have to find a way to escape the curse set upon them in order to complete their education. It's a great idea, with a sympathetic protagonist and an interesting beginning, but it all fell apart in the second half for me, and I think it's down to the form. This is, I believe, a novelette, but it might have done better expanded to novella length, because there's just so much crammed in that it begins to feel as if it's less a story than a bullet point list of actions. Or if not bullet points, then an outline in story form. 

I would genuinely like to read a longer version of this, but as I said: the current length is doing this story no favours. 

Meat Cute: The Hedgehog Incident, by Gail Carriger

funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

3.0

Fun short story in which the two protagonists of The Parasol Protectorate series briefly meet, in what is a cleverly engineered introduction facilitated by a hedgehog. There's clear interest from both sides, but it's more a pre-romance titbit than an actual romance at this point, I think. It comes across as an Easter Egg type of story (appropriately, I've read it on Easter Sunday), one which basically exists as a reward for existing fans of the series, which I am. There's not enough of it to be hugely affecting, but it succeeds at being an entertaining few minutes, and reminds me that I want to go back and reread the series itself. 

Dinner with Mr. Darcy: Recipes Inspired By the Novels of Jane Austen, by Pen Vogler

informative relaxing slow-paced

3.0

I picked this up at a library sale, because I enjoy cooking and because Pride and Prejudice is one of my favourite books. It's an interesting idea... snippets of Georgian food history interspersed with examples from Austen's novels, and modernised recipes contrasted with their contemporary inspirations. (I now know what a peck of flour is, but there's no way I'm beating a sponge batter for an hour, sorry.) There are quite a few things here that I wouldn't mind making, although the terrifying marzipan hedgehog isn't one of them, and I note that the author clearly recommends that readers don't sit it in a sea of jelly, as the original cook instructed - though I'm curious to know what disaster would occur! 

One thing did irritate me a bit, which dropped the book down a half-star. The original recipes are all in this thin, handwritten font, and I understand it's a stylistic choice, but screw that: one of the reasons type has become so predominant is that it's easily readable. If a font choice slows me down, and this one does, I end up annoyed by it. Still, I suppose I never planned to try the original recipes anyway... but I've always wanted to give caudle a go. I don't know why, it strikes me as something which sounds quite revolting, sort of a boozy porridge drink for invalids, but it's just weird enough I want to try it. Not weird like the hedgehog, though. That's one disgusting marzipan step too far.