ronpayne's reviews
1206 reviews

The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe, Gene Wolfe

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A collection of three interconnected novellas set in the far future on a pair of binary worlds. The first about young man coming of age and learning his heredity, the second a story purportedly told to an anthropologist by aboriginals, and the third a set of documents about an expedition and the imprisonment of the same anthropologist. I enjoyed reading this but can’t say I really understood it, which means, as usual with Wolfe, I need to reread it.

The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

challenging informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

A series of essays written in the form of a letters to an English class the author taught. They follow the author’s evolving relationship with journalistic ethics through the lens of his upbringing as a black man in America and experiences as a reporter, and fiction and nonfiction author. This book is really good at showing who gets to tell the stories we are told.

The Book of Witches by Jonathan Strahan

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

An anthology of short stories and poems featuring a wide variety of types of witches. I enjoyed the project of this book even though quite a few of the stories didn’t really work for me. The high points in here were very high, though. My favorites were The Liar by Darcie Little Badger, As Wayward Sisters, Hand in Hand by Indrapramit Das, The Unexpected Excursion of the Mystery Writing Witches by Garth Nix, and Night Riding by Usman T. Malik.

The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer

emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

A history of the Native People of the United States that tells their collective story from first contact with Europeans to the present. A book that seeks to, and succeeds at recontextualizing this as the story of modern peoples who have adapted and persisted in the face of pandemics, genocidal policies, land grabs, war, government corruption and mismanagement, to emerge poised to remain an important part of the future of the United States.

The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A novella about a disgraced woman Knight who tries to mend her reputation by recovering a legendary sword from the cave of an infamous dragon. If you are looking for a story where knights do battle with dragons, this is the book for you. The story is told with a couple of timelines, and with in-world historical vignettes about knights encountering dragons that I liked better than the main story, which despite have a pretty good twist didn’t land for me.

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A spectacular first book in a new fantasy mystery series set in a world where society exists on the basis of the military being able to stop giant sea monsters from rampaging across the land, but also relies on biological technology based off those monsters. We follow a young assistant to a erratic, shut-in detective who uses his enhanced perfect memory to report on crime scenes. A rare book that handles both the fantasy and mystery equally well.

Blackheart Man by Nalo Hopkinson

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A Caribbean-inspired epic fantasy about a scholar who’s individualistic, hero complex, causes more trouble than good while he tries save his island nation from a colonial threat. Sort of an anti-Hero’s Journey (not to be confused with an antihero’s journey, this ain’t grimdark) in which the protagonist finds a better way to help in cooperation with his people. A little confusing at first but I found this to be a skillfully crafted novel with a rich setting.

Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A historical fiction that imagines a world where the Mound People of the Midwest weren’t wiped out by disease and held onto their land into the 1920s when they are part of the U.S. Written as a noir detective story, we follow a half native/black policeman who is gilding through life without being part of either community. The book hits all the noir beats extremely well while using the mystery to reveal amazing worldbuilding and resistance to colonialism.

The City in Glass by Nghi Vo

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A very short fantasy novel about a demon who is happily participating in and guiding the development of a city over centuries when a group of angels destroy it. Before they leave, she attacks one with a part of herself causing him to be cast out, and tied to her. What follows is a fascinating character interaction as the demon begins to rebuild and the angel tries to appease her enough to be freed. And when I tell you that you won’t guess the ending, believe me.