Alas, Not For Me: Another Round of DNFs

Posted 23rd April 2021 by Sia in Fantasy Reviews, Queer Lit, Reviews / 0 Comments

I’ve had another fibromyalgia flare-up, which is why it’s been quiet around here. Take heart; I have been reading many brilliant books during my convalescence, and fully intend to write reviews for many of them! These are just some quick thoughts on my most recent rounds of DNFs.

The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox
ISBN: 0593296737
Goodreads

Taryn Cornick believes that the past--her sister's violent death, and her own ill-conceived revenge--is behind her, and she can get on with her life. She has written a successful book about the things that threaten libraries: insects, damp, light, fire, carelessness and uncaring . . . but not all of the attention it brings her is good.

A policeman, Jacob Berger, questions her about a cold case. Then there are questions about a fire in the library at her grandparents' house and an ancient scroll box known as the Firestarter, as well as threatening phone calls and a mysterious illness. Finally a shadowy young man named Shift appears, forcing Taryn and Jacob toward a reckoning felt in more than one world.

The Absolute Book is epic, action-packed fantasy in which hidden treasures are recovered, wicked things resurface, birds can talk, and dead sisters are a living force. It is a book of journeys and returns, from contemporary England to Auckland, New Zealand; from a magical fairyland to Purgatory. Above all, it is a declaration of love for stories and the ways in which they shape our worlds and create gods out of morals.

I have tried to read this four times now, and I keep DNF-ing it. You know the books they make you read in school, the ones you didn’t enjoy – or the books that I kind of want to call White Literature, where college professors have affairs with their students and ponder the meaningless of life in the most dull and pretentious way? (Is there a name for those???) That’s what the beginning of The Absolute Book reads like to me. Taryn’s sister is killed/murdered, she never gets over it, she allows the killer to be killed, there are many flashbacks to her childhood, she never opens up to her husband about any of it… This is the first 15% or so of the book. But this time, I did actually struggle my way through the beginning, and make it to the point where the fantasy elements start being introduced…and they’re good, is the thing! They were worth the wait! I forgave this book for its beginning the moment Huginn and Muninn were revealed to be lady-crows, okay?

But there is just something about this book that numbs my brain and puts me to sleep. Literally, I have fallen asleep while reading this book. And I don’t know why! I love the premise, set-up, and the magic; I applaud the wry tone of the more ‘mundane’ characters; I enjoy the careful precision of Knox’s writing. I have loved all of her other books! But I can’t read this one.

I consider it a personal failing. And I will probably give it a fifth attempt at some point in the future, because I’m stubborn like that.

Sweet & Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley
Genres: Fantasy, Queer Protagonists
Representation: F/F, queernorm world
ISBN: 1534453857
Goodreads

In this charming debut fantasy perfect for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and Girls of Paper and Fire, a witch cursed to never love meets a girl hiding her own dangerous magic, and the two strike a dangerous bargain to save their queendom.

Tamsin is the most powerful witch of her generation. But after committing the worst magical sin, she’s exiled by the ruling Coven and cursed with the inability to love. The only way she can get those feelings back—even for just a little while—is to steal love from others.

Wren is a source—a rare kind of person who is made of magic, despite being unable to use it herself. Sources are required to train with the Coven as soon as they discover their abilities, but Wren—the only caretaker to her ailing father—has spent her life hiding her secret.

When a magical plague ravages the queendom, Wren’s father falls victim. To save him, Wren proposes a bargain: if Tamsin will help her catch the dark witch responsible for creating the plague, then Wren will give Tamsin her love for her father.

Of course, love bargains are a tricky thing, and these two have a long, perilous journey ahead of them—that is, if they don't kill each other first..

I really, really, really approve of what this story does with its character arcs, and especially with Wren’s personal growth and the struggle that is learning to be healthily selfish. But after the first few chapters – which were lovely and languid – when things started Happening, I got bored. The prose is pretty by YA standards, I guess, but Tooley is no Sarah McCarry, so it wasn’t enough to hold my interest when every plot bump felt overly simplified, too easy. I get that the action is not really intended to be the focus here, but it irritated me, and the prose wasn’t lovely enough to overcome that.

For me. I don’t think this is a bad book; it was just a bad fit for me personally. I encourage you to pick it up if you’re looking for a quietly subversive, sapphic story with nicer-than-usual prose, because in that case it will be an excellent fit for you.

Stars Without Brightness (Heaven Moves Without You #1) Genres: Fantasy
Representation: Filipino cast
Goodreads

War erupts, and the Archipelago boils. In the midst of it all is a group of young warriors whose destinies have been inextricably intertwined.

When young warrior Nami offers to help Bitoon in the final step of their training as a spirit medium, they must survive a forest that harbors something more dangerous than steel and sorcery: the sins of their fathers.

When the Insane Child Patak is accused of killing the one that took care of him, the peerless swordsman Pak-an Gabii and the last survivor of the Butchering of Datu Warayrito's village, Inday, are told to hunt him down to finish the job. Soon they will find themselves in doubt of their orders, and of their lives.

STARS WITHOUT BRIGHTNESS is a Fantasy novel set in a setting inspired by Late Porcelain Period Philippines mired in war, and follows a skilled spirit medium, a hotheaded warrior, a rebellious prince, a princess turned flesh-eater, a revived swordsman, and a passionate monster in their quest to fulfill orders and duty, facing the truth of war and violence.

This novel is the first book in the HEAVEN MOVES WITHOUT YOU Fantasy series.

This is another personal failing, because I know damn well that one of the reasons I struggled with this book was the use of Filipino terms and names. I would like to defend myself by pointing out that I can’t handle faux-Medieval-Europe fantasy that drowns me in fantasy-terms and unfamiliar-sounding-to-me names in the opening pages either…and that’s true. But. I still feel like I shouldn’t have struggled as much as I did.

That aside, I did feel that there was a lot of info-dumping/telling-not-showing going on, and the dialogue sounded very stilted (but something about it makes me think that’s deliberate, that it might be something to do with the rules of Filipino courtesy, so I don’t know). I also wasn’t expecting the violence to be that graphic, but that’s a personal taste issue, not a flaw of the book. What was a flaw was that the description sometimes got pretty muddled, so that I didn’t know what I was supposed to be picturing as I read.

I think books like this desperately need to be written, and I hope this one gets read by many, many people. I’m picky as hell and I struggle with foreign languages (I have studied seven languages and failed my exams in all of them, okay?) Don’t take my inability to enjoy it as proof that you won’t either. It is for sale here (not an affiliate link), and if you’re looking for a unique fantasy, please consider giving it a go.

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