Recent reads

[incognitajones]

September was a great month for books! I read a lot of solid stuff, some of which are definite contenders for Yuletide nominations/requests.

I discovered that one short story a day at lunchtime is a good way to get some reading in at work, so I'm currently making my way through Orange World.

I fell in love with Jasmine Guillory as soon as I read The Wedding Party; it was such a pleasure to read a charming contemporary romance with diverse & realistic characters that didn't insult my intelligence or lean on outdated gender roles/stereotypes. The Proposal was even better (also, I need a Rogue One fan to read it and tell me whether my suspicion the hero owes something to a certain Mexican actor is plausible).

I'd been eagerly waiting for The Iron Dragon's Mother since I heard it was coming out, and it was marvellous if a bit episodic in nature. Swanwick's surreal vision of "industrialized" Faerie is one of the most original and immersive fantasy worlds I've ever encountered.

On a completely opposite note, I've been on a streak of excellent but emotionally harrowing non-fiction lately. What You Have Heard is True is Carolyn Forché's memoir of friendship with an El Salvadoran activist. Stunning prose, as you'd expect from a poet, precise and carefully controlled in its brutality. Midnight in Chernobyl, on the other hand, was blandly written but the narrative is unbelievably tense and gripping.

Next up: Kill Creek, a good old-fashioned haunted house story for Hallowe'en.

Comments

[maplemood]

Literally my first thought when I saw the title The Iron Dragon's Mother was "Is that a sequel to The Iron Dragon's Daughter?!" Which, my gosh. I remember checking that book out years ago! I was probably 11-12ish, so honestly way too young for it, and I don't remember actually finishing the book, but I do remember the really weird, industrialized modern Faerie. I can't believe there's finally a companion/sequel.

[incognitajones]

I love The Iron Dragon's Daughter to pieces - it's one of the very few books I own a personal copy of - and this was nearly as good. Swanwick writes women really well, imo, even if some of the magic in his books is weirdly gender essentialist.