Science fiction and fantasy. Astronomical Data Scientist at STScI/MAST in Baltimore. Opinions are my own. Follow me on Mastodon at mstdn.social/@VirStrakul Longer reviews on my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/
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Success! Strakul has read 17 of 12 books.
Cliopher Mdang has been appointed Viceroy of Zunidh by his beloved Radiancy, the Last Emperor, who has now left him …
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Nebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí Clark returns to his popular alternate Cairo universe …
As others have noted, this is an alternate steampunk universe set in the 1910's. A world changed by a single man piercing the veil, and bringing Djinn and magic back into our world. Since that happened about 40 years ago, the djinn have transformed Cairo with their amazing mechanical creations, including robots, flying gliders and trams, and mechanical brains in buildings.
The main character, Fatma, is a respected, if youngest female, investigator in the Ministry of Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities. She is definitely a maverick, dressing in suits, hats, and carrying a sword cane.
The descriptions of clothing and locations feed the imagination, breathing life into the world and putting it all in your mind's eye. The gradually revealing of the consequences of the mass murder in a secret brotherhood in honor of al-Jahiz, the man who brought back magic to the world, is gripping. The impostor …
As others have noted, this is an alternate steampunk universe set in the 1910's. A world changed by a single man piercing the veil, and bringing Djinn and magic back into our world. Since that happened about 40 years ago, the djinn have transformed Cairo with their amazing mechanical creations, including robots, flying gliders and trams, and mechanical brains in buildings.
The main character, Fatma, is a respected, if youngest female, investigator in the Ministry of Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities. She is definitely a maverick, dressing in suits, hats, and carrying a sword cane.
The descriptions of clothing and locations feed the imagination, breathing life into the world and putting it all in your mind's eye. The gradually revealing of the consequences of the mass murder in a secret brotherhood in honor of al-Jahiz, the man who brought back magic to the world, is gripping. The impostor who claims to be al-Jahiz has a dramatic flair that makes everything so much more cinematic. There are more than enough plot twists to keep you guessing until the end, and in the end you are left wanting more of this fantastical world and this amazing investigator.
My one criticism is, of course, Fatma has to save the world.
Again.
What does that leave her for an encore?
All said, the book is a fun romp with descriptions that you can taste and see in your mind's eye. There are multiple strong female characters, which definitely gives the book a distinct flair.
I only give 5 stars to books I think I will read again, and this fits into this category easily due to the cinematic world-building, enchangint character arcs, and gripping adventure.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, "Mistborn: Secret History" is a companion story to the original Mistborn …
An impulsive word can start a war. A timely word can stop one. A simple …
Just as good the second time around!
Before the Fall of the Empire of Astandalas, the Red Company was legendary. A dozen …
This was a good book with many familiar characters and overlapping heavily with other books in the series. The story is a personal one about reconnecting with others, accepting change, and fighting perfectionism. While I didn't find it as powerful as The Hands of the Emperor or The Return of Fitzroy Angursell, it was still very enjoyable and makes me confident the upcoming book will be excellent.
For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2022/10/book-review-redoubtable-pali-avramapul.html
Before the Fall of the Empire of Astandalas, the Red Company was legendary. A dozen …
Just learned that At the Feet of the Sun is delayed until December, so that gives me time to start this one (and maybe even reread Hands of the Emperor, too).
Before the Fall of the Empire of Astandalas, the Red Company was legendary. A dozen or so years after that …
Her city is under siege. The zombies are coming back. And all Nona wants is …
I blazed through this book after re-reading Gideon and Harrow (and I'm glad I did- there were details there that were great to have been reminded of). Overall this was a great story; Nona is an interesting mystery and trying to figure her out is part of the fun of this book. It does start off a bit slow, but towards the end it is rushing and almost too much is going on to fully follow it all. This is one I will have to re-read when the next (yes there is a fourth) book comes out.
For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2022/09/book-review-nona-ninth-by-tamsyn-muir.html
Her city is under siege. The zombies are coming back. And all Nona wants is a birthday party. In many …
Her city is under siege. The zombies are coming back. And all Nona wants is a birthday party. In many …
The fifth book in Robert Jordan's internationally bestselling epic fantasy series, THE WHEEL OF TIME, …
This is another addition to The Wheel of Time series so if you're planning to read them all you pretty much need to get it. It is, however, relatively weaker than some of the earlier novels with a bit of a slower start and some issues juggling its many plots and characters. If you're a fan of Perrin, he is completely missing from this book. You still get some Rand and Mat, but a lot of the focus is on Nynaeve. Overall, it's not bad after the initial start and introduced a lot more tension and players to the world.
For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2022/07/book-review-fires-of-heaven-by-robert.html
No, I didn't kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn't dump the body …
This is a bit of a 'flashback' novella set when Murderbot's first few weeks in Preservation. It was a neat chance to see more of how Preservation works in comparison to the Corporate Rim. As for the investigation itself, I had an inkling as to who the culprit was, but not the motive or the how and regardless it was still enjoyable.
No, I didn't kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn't dump the body in the station mall.
When …
“Someone always leaves.”
That’s what Tovo has been saying to anyone who asks him why …
This was a fun short story/novella. It follows Buru Tovo as he ponders what to do about Kip and whether he is to be a tana of the Wide Seas. Tovo is a jovial, wise character and we get to see through his eyes the sea train, the Emperor, and of course Kip. It was quite enjoyable and made me want to re-read The Hands of the Emperor!
“Someone always leaves.”
That’s what Tovo has been saying to anyone who asks him why his great-nephew Kip Mdang isn’t …
