Simon Jimenez’s The Vanished Birds is one hell of a debut novel.
In my notes, I wrote that that “this is a weird book; not much of anything happens for the first two-thirds and then there is plot all over the place,” which pretty much does explain the pacing.
I loved this book so much. And while I tried to make it last, I read it incredibly quickly and then was very sad when there was no more book, even as I was sobbing like an actual baby at the end.
Ahem. Ryka Aoki’s Light from Uncommon Stars is pretty stellar.
In which I enthuse about Fonda Lee’s Jade City.
Margaret Killjoy’s A Country of Ghosts is a work of beautifully crafted utopian fiction that reminded me of nothing so much as Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Dispossessed–except in a country called Hron where there is enough for everyone, as opposed to LeGuin’s moon Anarres, where there are precious few resources.
Highly recommended.
Well, it's a review of the first three books. A look at Goodreads shows that there's at least one additional novel and a number of shorter works. And, to be honest, after reading these three--The Silent Tower, The Silicon Mage, and Dog Wizard, I have no desire to ever read anything in this setting ever again. I wanted to like these books, I really did....
I write about books, culture, disability, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I have many opinions.
I am a two-time Hugo Award finalist, in 2017 for Best Fan Writer and in 2021 for my essay “George R.R. Martin Can Fuck Off Into the Sun, Or: The 2020 Hugo Awards Ceremony (Rageblog Edition)” in the Best Related Work category.
Please do not offer me medical advice. I have something like 10 doctors and it’s already pretty challenging to keep up with what they want me to do. I do not have the bandwidth to process any advice that doesn’t come from one of my doctors, no matter how well meant the advice may be. Thank you!
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