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David McK (3623 KP) rated The Aeronaut's Windlass in Books

Dec 20, 2023  
The Aeronaut's Windlass
The Aeronaut's Windlass
Jim Butcher | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
6
8.6 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
The first book in Jim Butcher's new series: Cinder Spires series, if I'm honest I was a little unsure what to make of this at the start: it's not 'traditional' fantasy (that would be his 'Codex Alera' series); nor is it the urban fantasy (his - still ongoing - 'Dresden Files' series).

Rather, this is probably best described as Steampunk, which is a genre I previously had little exploration in, and which Google defines as:

"...a subgenre of science fiction and sometimes fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.".

Reading that description, this definitely fits right into that bracket!

To my mind, it also falls more towards the fantasy aspect of Steampunk: after all, we have a new magic system, airships, the ability to communicate with animals (cats), and monsters from the ground all within the pages of this story even if (for my money), it never quite gripped me as much as a Harry Dresden book.
  
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Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Wake of Vultures in Books

Apr 27, 2018  
Wake of Vultures
Wake of Vultures
Lila Bowen | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Wake of Vultures was an exciting, fast paced, interesting read. It was fun and different for me. It wasn’t phenomenal. I would probably read the next one in the series, but I wouldn’t spend money on it.

The biggest problem I had with the story was I felt that it tried to deal with too many things at once. Racism, sexism, sexual identity, slavery, nudity, and religion are all important and heavy topics. All of them together in one YA urban fantasy novel? It’s a bit excessive. Even though I of all people understand that sometimes when a story comes to you, as an author, you can’t change your character! That’s just who they are! And don’t get me wrong, the story was great and I enjoyed listening to it, and I was totally caught up in it. But there were times when I would listen and something would come up and I’d be like “this is too much. this is ridiculous.” It felt like overkill.

That aside, I enjoyed the book and look forward to the sequel.
  
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graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Rosemary and Rue (October Daye, #1) in Books

Feb 15, 2019  
RA
Rosemary and Rue (October Daye, #1)
Seanan Mcguire | 2009 | Fiction & Poetry
10
7.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Wow. That's about all I can think of to sum up my thoughts. <u>Rosemary and Rue</u> is a knock-out debut of what looks to be a fantastic series. The protagonist, October (Toby), is interesting, tough yet still fragile, sympathetic, and her character as a whole seems so realistic. The plot and mystery held my interest and I never fully grasped the truth, I pretty much found out when Toby did, and I respect an author who can do that without everything coming out of left field. The ending was melancholy, but perfectly done. The more I think about this book, the more impressed I am; there isn't one thing I would change (although I would like to know where I could get a rose goblin ;P). This secret world of faeries is well-developed, completely fascinating, and very different from other urban fantasy series, I can barely wait to see what the next book brings.

An aside: I appreciate the pronunciation guide at the front, it came in handy whenever I forgot how Cait or Luidgaeg were pronounced.