Within the Sanctuary of Wings by Marie Brennan

Within the Sanctuary of Wings by Marie Brennan is the fifth and final volume in the Memoirs of Lady Trent series. It is a marvellous conclusion to that series and I highly recommend readers that began the series persist until its conclusion. I picked this book up as soon as I finished the fourth instalment, In the Labyrinth of Drakes, and I devoured it in a day. This review contains minor spoilers for the earlier books in the series.

After nearly five decades (and, indeed, the same number of volumes), one might think they were well-acquainted with the Lady Isabella Trent--dragon naturalist, scandalous explorer, and perhaps as infamous for her company and feats of daring as she is famous for her discoveries and additions to the scientific field.

And yet--after her initial adventure in the mountains of Vystrana, and her exploits in the depths of war-torn Eriga, to the high seas aboard The Basilisk, and then to the inhospitable deserts of Akhia--the Lady Trent has captivated hearts along with fierce minds. This concluding volume will finally reveal the truths behind her most notorious adventure--scaling the tallest peak in the world, buried behind the territory of Scirland's enemies--and what she discovered there, within the Sanctuary of Wings.

What was really interesting, and clear from the beginning of this book, is that this series does not only tell the story of Isabella's life and dragon studies. It also tells the story of how the world changed over the course of her life and how she was a catalyst for a surprising amount of that change. From Isabella and friends' accidental discovery of dragon bone preservation in the first book, the world has come a long way to airships made of that substance. Not to mention the other events on the world stage that were set in motion from that discovery and the theft thereof. These events more than the elder memoirist's reminiscences of the state of the world at that time (in between the main events) highlights just how much the world — and Isabella herself, who is now 40 or so — has changed.

Within the Sanctuary of Wings starts similarly to the other books in the series, with Isabella presented with a draconic lure and planning a trip to the other side of the world. The story appears to progress along a similar template to her other adventures, this time as they travel to the not-Himalayas, but the usual progression of things is turned upside down earlier than expected. I have no intention of spoiling this book, but the discoveries made in this one are of world-shaking significance and, quite frankly, I am impressed that memoirist Isabella didn't even hint at them in the earlier books. Especially since she's writing from a future where the knowledge she has discovered has become commonplace. I applaud Brennan for resisting the urge to drop any hints earlier (or if she did, I didn't notice them until Isabella of the story did).

Overall, this was an excellent conclusion to a delightful series. I would not be surprised if I ended up rereading it in a few years and it will certainly go down as one of my favourite series. The combination of worldbuilding, the narrator's voice, and the very scientific way in which dragons were studied was the perfect combination for me. I feel like there should be a subgenre describing this kind of science-minded fantasy, but alas "science fantasy" conjures up magic in space rather than dragon scientists.

Within the Sanctuary of Wings was a brilliant read and I highly recommend it to anyone who has read the preceding books in the series. I said in my last review that these books are fairly self-contained. While that is more or less true, I definitely do not recommend reading Within the Sanctuary of Wings without having read the earlier four volumes. The marvel of it depends a lot upon knowledge of the previous books and would be significantly lessened without that buildup. Read it, but read the prequels first, starting with A Natural History of Dragons.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2017, Tor Books
Series: The Memoirs of Lady Trent book 5 of 5
Format read: ePub
Source: Purchased from iBooks/Apple Books

#ReadShortStories about stories. Sort of. (131 to 135)

A small departure from Mother of Invention stories in this batch, mainly to mix things up a bit and partly because I was feeling behind on my Uncanny subscription. An interesting batch here, but none that jumped out at me as favourites.

A Robot Like Me by Lee Cope — An agender AI programmer makes an AI in their image. A lovely and slightly bittersweet story about gender. I liked it. Source: Mother of Invention edited by Rivqa Rafael and Tansy Rayner Roberts

Girls Who Read Austen by Tansy Rayner Roberts — A cute story about the main character’s failure to get agreeable college roommates. Short and sweet. Source: Tansy Rayner Roberts’ Patreon

Restore the Heart into Love by John Chu — In a future with space flint and high tensions/war between China and Taiwan, a Taiwanese-American computer scientist works to preserve traditional Chinese text. An interesting take, but not my favourite Chu. (It was not helped by the baffling way Uncanny rendered the Chinese characters which did not play nice with Pocket and definitely affected my reading experience.) Source: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/restore-the-heart-into-love-2/

New Berth by Elizabeth Fitzgerald — A futuristic take on regency romance that put me in mind if Austen in tone. However, I found it a bit confusing to keep track of characters and motivations and it didn’t really work for me for that reason. I expect some readers will enjoy it more than I did. Source: Mother of Invention edited by Rivqa Rafael and Tansy Rayner Roberts

Blessings by Naomi Novik — An short and amusing story. I liked the premise and the execution wasn’t bad, but I kind of expected it to be funnier (the premise of drunk fairies fighting over blessings for a child lends itself to humour, in my opinion). Source: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/blessings/

In the Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan

In the Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan is the third book in the five-book Memoirs of Lady Trent series. I have previously reviewed all the earlier books in the series: A Natural History of Dragons, The Tropic of Serpents, and Voyage of the Basilisk. This is a series I've been enjoying a lot and this fourth instalment does not deviate from that trend.

The thrilling new book in the acclaimed fantasy series from Marie Brennan, as the glamorous Lady Trent takes her adventurous explorations to the deserts of Akhia.

Even those who take no interest in the field of dragon naturalism have heard of Lady Trent's expedition to the inhospitable deserts of Akhia. Her discoveries there are the stuff of romantic legend, catapulting her from scholarly obscurity to worldwide fame. The details of her personal life during that time are hardly less private, having provided fodder for gossips in several countries.

As is so often the case in the career of this illustrious woman, the public story is far from complete. In this, the fourth volume of her memoirs, Lady Trent relates how she acquired her position with the Royal Scirling Army; how foreign saboteurs imperilled both her work and her well-being; and how her determined pursuit of knowledge took her into the deepest reaches of the Labyrinth of Drakes, where the chance action of a dragon set the stage for her greatest achievement yet.

I imagine it will come as no surprise to readers of this blog when I say that I found this book quite delightful, as I have the earlier instalments. This book sees Isabella and Tom sent off to Akhia to help the Scirling Army develop a dragon breeding programme. Isabella's brother, who joined the army at some point, features quite a lot in this one, and it was nice to get to know him better after having only met him in their youth in the first book (also, his presence turned out to be very convenient for several plot reasons). Since the book is set mostly Akhia, the homeland of a certain character we met in the previous book, I was suspicious of every Akhian we met, waiting for him to inevitably show up. Your mileage may vary.

One of the things I've liked most about this series is the very scientific approach to the study of dragons. I think I commented in one of my earlier reviews that they're showing a very 19th century approach to science too. The studies in this one follow the scientific method rather more rigorously than the previous books. Isabella and Tom aren't wandering around in the wilderness hoping to encounter dragons, but rather have a supply (more or less) of dragons that they are trying to study. I found it made quite compelling reading — and don't worry, there are still ill-advised jaunts out into the desert to observe dragons in their natural habitat.

I highly recommend this book to readers who have enjoyed the previous books. If the idea of scientific studies of dragons interests you, definitely give these books a go. While I wouldn't go so far as to say these books stand alone, their are more self-contained than other series often are and probably could be read out of order. That's not to say that I recommend doing so, since the story progresses quite nicely in chronological order, building on earlier events and discoveries. I intend to read the next book immediately, and only paused between books to write this review.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2016, Tor Books
Series: The Memoirs of Lady Trent book 4 of 5
Format read: ePub
Source: Purchased on iBooks

Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen — the Vorkosigan Saga Project

Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen is the latest and very last novel in our Vorkosigan Saga Project! This novel follows Cordelia and Oliver Jole — who has previously only been a minor side character — and takes place after Cryoburn, currently serving as the chronological end of the series.

You can read Katharine’s review of Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen here, and Tsana’s review here.

Tsana: To me this book is a bittersweet ending to the series. The characters all get happy endings, but it’s not one of my favourites. There’s not enough action or comedy (either would do) for my liking.

Katharine: It certainly is a slightly odd addition as one of the more recent books. But it also such a nice balance to have Cordelia’s story at both the start and the end of the series.

Tsana:  I agree. It’s nice that Cordelia gets a happy ending and I certainly understand why Cordelia likes her new life, etc but it didn’t make for as exciting reading as most of the other Vorkosigan books. I remember the first time I read it I kept waiting for something “exciting” to happen — by the standards of the series — and so many disasters just utterly failed to come to pass.

Katharine: Especially with how much the party was built up, and then described scene by scene… and then while something did happen he was literally able to sit up and watch the fireworks later… but this is jumping ahead by quite a bit… Basically, I agree. But it was still interesting.

Tsana: I’m going to list all the things that didn’t happen as soon as the spoiler shield is up. But before we get to that, let’s talk a little bit about Jole. He’s mentioned in passing in some of the other books, but this is the first one in which he’s a main character. Not that there’s anything wrong with introducing a new character in the last book. And his presence does shine a light on events that happened in parallel with a lot of Miles’s stories but which Miles was entirely unaware of.

Katharine: Which means now I want to read back in the previous books to see if there were any hints to his importance in Aral and Cordelia’s life.

Tsana: He was definitely mentioned a few times as being in places and saying a few words to Miles or whatever. But I barely remember him from The Vor Game, even though that’s the most exciting event from his early career that gets brought up a lot on Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen. Of course, this is partly because we saw events The Vor Game from Miles’s point of view and Jole was hanging out with Aral at the time...

Katharine: Ah yes, I’ve just re-read that bit. Miles ‘sighed in hopeless jealousy every time he ran across him’. I really like Jole - there’s something about people who are ridiculously capable.

Tsana:  Wait, which bit is that from? Why is Miles sighing and jealous of Jole?

Katharine: The bit about Jole in The Vor Game. I looked it up to see if there were any hints, and Miles’ sighing is amusing.

So Oliver Jole is Admiral, Sergyar Fleet and the other person almost in charge on Sergyar along with Cordelia, who is currently Vicereine. Aral passed away three years ago now and their jobs have kept them both incredibly busy.

Tsana: Compared with before Aral’s death, when they weren’t busy at all /sarcasm. But yes, they’ve been busy and sad enough that they haven’t hung out much except for work. Which is a bit of a departure from their lives before Aral’s death.

Katharine: Time for spoiler shield?

Tsana: Before we get into details, yes. But I think it’s relevant to mention that Cordelia, Aral and Jole were in a polyamorous relationship before Aral went and died on them.

<spoiler shield up!>

Edge of Time by Thalia Kalkipsakis

Edge of Time by Thalia Kalkipsakis is the third and final book in the Lifespan of Starlight trilogy. It brings a long-awaited conclusion to the story that I started reading two years ago, with Lifespan of Starlight and the second book Split Infinity. After the cliffhanger at the end of the second book, two years was a long time to wait for the third book. Now that they're all out, I highly recommend reading them all in a row. Because it's an excellent series.

On the run from the government, Scout's decades-long disappearance is about to catch up with her …

When Scout returns from her longest time-jump yet, she finds that nothing has gone to plan. Her friends have been captured by the authoritarian regime, Mason is nowhere to be found, and something strange is happening each time she skips.

Then, deep in the city, a citizen is discovered whose chip exactly matches the first ever time-skipper. Who is she? How did she learn to time-skip? And could she hold the key to travelling backwards in time?

Uncovering the truth could offer Scout a chance to shape a new future – if she can let go of her past.

It took me a little while to orient myself at the start of this book after the gap in time (lol) since I read the previous book. The opening of Edge of Time is not overly burdened with reminders of the earlier books, but there were enough that I was able to get my bearings. I think I would have been sucked into the story more quickly if I had not had to wait so long before reading it. On the other hand, that's pretty much my biggest criticism of this book.

After Scout jumps into an unfamiliar future, the world is not magically a better place, alas. Instead, the dystopian future she started out in only keeps getting worse. (Poor future-Melbourne.) Also, all the plans laid by her and her friends go awry one way or another, leaving Scout dissatisfied with the world she's living in, when she has time to not be terrified of whatever the latest disaster is.

One aspect I found really interesting about the narrative structure is that there were several possibilities presented for how the book could end, but none which would simultaneously satisfy Scout and make a good ending for the series, right up until the actual ending started happening. Which was delightful. After a bit of uncertainty on my part that the ending would do the series justice, I was really pleased with how Kalkipsakis brought the book to a close.

I really enjoyed this series and I highly recommend it to fans of any combination of YA, dystopias and time travel. (Also, the covers are really pretty.) I recommend starting with the first book, Lifespan of Starlight, however, since this series is very much one continuous story (with cliffhangers) and not at all standalone chunks. It's three acts of the same story that don't work without the proceeding parts. I will be keeping an eye on any (YA) SF that Kalkipsakis writes in the future.

5 / 5 stars

First published: June 2018, Hardie Grant Egmont
Series: Lifespand of Starlight book 3 of 3
Format read: ePub
Source: Purchased from Kobo

#ReadShortStories about feminist robots (126-130)

Not a huge amount of variety in this batch of short stories as I continue reading Mother of Invention, the anthology edited by Rivqa Rafael and Tansy Rayner Roberts. On the one hand, that does mean that this post is just presenting a chunk of anthology stories. On the other hand, clearly I'm enjoying Mother of Invention enough that I'm not feeling the need to seek out other stories to break up the theme.

This was a solid batch of stories that I enjoyed fairly consistently. That said, my favourite was the last in this batch, "Sexy Robot Heroes" by Sandra McDonald, which was delightful and thoughtful and a consistently interesting read. A bit surprisingly, this is also the only story in this batch by a new-to-me author. Hmm.

Junkyard Kraken by DK Mok — A roboticist builds an ocean-exploration robot after failing to get funding for it. A fun story, especially thanks to the inclusion of other AI robots, such that it can be forgiving for being a bit unrealistic. Source: Mother of Invention edited by Rivqa Rafael and Tansy Rayner Roberts

An Errant Holy Spark by Bogi Takács — A Jewish AI growing up, learning, and trying to talk to aliens. Written in the unique style I’ve come to expect from this author, the inner voice of the AI was very different to conventional (robot/AI) tropes. An interesting story and premise, with baffling aliens. Source: Mother of Invention edited by Rivqa Rafael and Tansy Rayner Roberts

The Goose Hair of One Thousand Miles by Stephanie Lai — A story written in the form of an annotated translation of a wuxia story. The story itself is particularly bizarre, to my eye, because of the way the robots are included and thanks to the aspects the commentary focuses on. Even so, it engages with ideas of colonialism well. Source: Mother of Invention edited by Rivqa Rafael and Tansy Rayner Roberts

The Art of Broken Things by Joanne Anderton — An eerie story based on a really interesting premise/theme. I liked the idea and the way different aspects of the story meshed together, but at the same time it creeped me out a bit (mostly in a good way). Source: Mother of Invention edited by Rivqa Rafael and Tansy Rayner Roberts

Sexy Robot Heroes by Sandra McDonald — I really liked this story. It featured a trans girl mechanic, a whole barge of girl mechanics, and androids bound to serve them. It was the right mix of sentimental and sensible. Source: Mother of Invention edited by Rivqa Rafael and Tansy Rayner Roberts

City of Lies by Sam Hawke

City of Lies by Sam Hawke is a debut novel and the first in a new fantasy series by the Australian author. I picked it up mainly for its Australian-ness: to show support and because I’ve historically enjoyed many big fat fantasy (BFF) books written by Australian women.

Jovan wears two faces. Outwardly, he is the lifelong friend of the Chancellor’s charming, irresponsible Heir. Quiet. Forgettable. In secret, Jovan is a master of poisons and chemicals, trained to protect the Chancellor’s family from treachery.

His sister, Kalina, hides her frustrations behind a mask of calm. While other women of the city hold positions of power and responsibility, her own path is one of secrets and lies— hidden even from her own brother.

When the Chancellor succumbs to an unknown poison and a revolutionary army lays siege to the city, Jovan and Kalina’s structured world unravels. Trapped and desperate, they soon discover their civilized country also has two faces; behind the beauty and sophistication is an ugly past built on oppression and treachery…

City of Lies takes place in a capital city that sits in the middle of the country, surrounded by estates with farms and a few other cities closer to the foreign borders. The city is run by a chancellor and a council and out protagonists are the legal children (actually nephew and niece) of the Chancellor’s most trusted advisor. The story is told through their (first person) points of view in alternating chapters.

Jovan is the closest friend, advisor and protector of the Chancellor’s heir. His main ancestral job is to check the heir’s food for poison. Not because he’s a disposable food taster, but because he’s been trained to detect poison in even small amounts of food and is immune (or at least resistant to) many poisons, and always has antidotes on hand. Coincidentally, he also has something like OCD (it’s not named in the context of the fantasy world), which stops some people from taking him seriously and, to some degree, hampers his political career. It’s also just something he has to work around. From his point of view we see a lot of the inner politics and problems of the city, as he sticks pretty close to Tain, the heir.

Jovan’s sister, Kalina, is the other point of view character. Having been barred from the family profession due to ill health (in this fantasy world where men and women are treated equally), Kalina still finds ways to help her brother and Tain. Most people dismiss her because they see her as physically weak and hence consequential, but she’s smart and has hidden reserves of determination that not even her brother realised were there. Kalina is written as a very convincing example of chronic illness and the way it’s perceived and engaged with by society. She comes from a privileged family, so has the benefit of the best available medical care (in a pre-industrial society) but still has to contend with people underestimating her. Basically, not only is she a well written character but she kicks arse (but not literally) and I really enjoyed reading the story from her point of view. I highly recommend this book for the disability/chronic illness representation alone.

Of course, there’s more to City of Lies than just good characterisation. The story itself is gripping and kept me interested the whole way. It opens with poisoning throwing the young main characters (who I guessed to be in their 20s maybe?) into the spotlight and positions of power and quickly moves on to a siege of the city. As well as the practical wartime concerns of defence and food distribution, the traitor in their midst hangs over their heads, lowering their trust in everyone else.

I have to say, I was impressed with how this book didn’t drop too many hints as to the source of the treachery. I didn’t see the reveal coming, which is unusual for me these days. And the answer to the question of why the city was being attacked was meted out gradually so that we didn’t understand the whole picture until near the very end of the book. I found it an effective way to keep my interest up through this long tome. (All those short stories I’ve been reading just emphasised the length of this novel, lol.)

This was an excellent read and I highly recommend it to fans of fantasy (especially BFF) and to specific fans who are interested in seeing a society with gender equality with some disability/chronic illness representation thrown into the mix. (Note that the society is, of course, not perfect. If nothing else, there has to be a reason for the war at the heart of the plot.) I’m told there’s a sequel coming, and I look forward to reading more about these characters. On the other hand, the story in this first book is self-contained with no cliffhangers at the end. The overarching problems aren’t resolved at the end, but most of the open plot threads are tied up, making me keen, but not desperate, for the next book.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: July 2018, Tor (US) and August 2018, Transworld/Penguin Random House (UKANZ)
Series: Yes. Book 1 of Poison Wars series
Format read: ePub ARC
Source: (US) publisher via NetGalley

Lumberjanes: Bonus Tracks

Lumberjanes: Bonus Tracks is the collected volume of Lumberjanes one-shot special issues. I didn't really know what to expect when I picked this book up. I bought it because it (and Volume 4 of the main story) were what was available in the comic book shop. I'm glad I did grab this book, though, as it exceeded my expectations.

The Lumberjanes short stories collected for the first time in paperback!

Join April, Jo, Mal, Molly and Ripley as they explore their all-girls camp. From ghost ponies to strange plants, these Lumberjanes are ready to take on anything that comes their way as long as they have each other.

Once I overcame the slight weirdness of seeing different artists draw familiar characters in slightly different ways — exacerbated by the fact that I had just read one of the regular volumes — I really enjoyed the short stories presented here. This volume contains five stories written and illustrated by different creators. Each is a self-contained story and they don't require very much prior knowledge of the series except for the general setting. I think there were a couple of very minor references to events in Lumberjanes issues I haven't read, but the plot certainly didn't hinge on them.

It's not a terrible sampler to get an idea of whether you want to read more Lumberjanes, even if the writers are not the regulars. That said, I think readers will get a little bit more enjoyment out of Bonus Tracks if they've read a bit of Lumberjanes before, since these stories do none of the work of establishing setting or character (which makes sense, given the context). I don't want to say much about the content of the stories since they're so short it would feel like spoilers; I think the blurb says enough. However, I will note that my favourite story was the one written by Holly Black, "Faire and Square", but it was a very close race between all of them.

I highly recommend this volume to fans of Lumberjanes. As far as I can tell, it can be inserted anywhere in your Lumberjanes journey and still be enjoyable.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2018 (for the collected volume), Boom! Studios
Series: Lumberjanes, non-series one-shots
Format read: Trade paperback
Source: Local comic book shop

Lumberjanes Vol. 4: Out of Time by Noelle Stevenson and Shannon Watters

Lumberjanes, Vol. 4: Out of Time written by Noelle Stevenson and Shannon Watters, and illustrated by Brooke Allen is, obviously, the fourth volume of collected Lumberjanes comics. Unlike some comic series, this one has rather gotten away from me with it's rapid release dates. This volume apparently came out in 2016 and volume ten is set to come out at the end of this year (according to Goodreads), which wow. Much comic.

Jen just wants a normal lesson with her cabin, teaching Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley the basic survival skills needed without any supernatural intervention. But when a blizzard hits camp, Jen finds herself separated from the girls and in more trouble than ever... until a mysterious taxidermist swoops in to save the day. Who is she and what is her relationship to Rosie? Join Jen as she finds a way back to her girls, and a way to save the day!

As you might have gathered from my intro, it's been a surprisingly long while since I read Lumberjanes Vol 3. That said, I'm glad I did read it because this volume builds a little bit on some of the events of that story. Not in a super crucial way, but I think readers coming into the story at this point might find themselves a little bit confused, especially about cats. And the forest.

In any case, like the volumes that went before it, Out of Time is a fun continuation of the Lumberjanes' story. For the first time we get a nice spotlight on Jen, the camp counsellor as she has her own adventure. We also get a bit of backstory about the history of the camp, which adds to the story. Oh, and a new character joins the team (temporarily?).

I enjoyed this volume and am looking forward to the many more volumes that await me (which I still have to go out and buy, alas). For fans of the Lumberjanes series, why wouldn't you keep reading with this volume? For readers new to the series, I suggest starting at Volume 1: Beware The Kitten Holly. They are quite quick to read, even for comic books, so you can get caught up (to, er, my level of behind-ness) in no time.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2016, Boom! Studios
Series: Lumberjanes volume 4 of ongoing series
Format read: PDF (but I also own the paperback)
Source: Humble Book Bundle: Summer Reading List by BOOM! Studios for the PDF and local comic book shop for the paperback

Fence issue 1 by CS Pacat and Johanna the Mad

Fence Issue 1 written by CS Pacat and illustrated by Johanna the Mad is the first issue in what looks to be an ongoing comic book series about fencing teenagers. I picked it up as part of a Humble Book Bundle of comics ("Summer Reading List by BOOM! Studios") and I didn't realise that this was only the first issue when I started reading. (I see now that the first collected volume isn't quite out yet, alas.)

Sixteen-year-old Nicholas Cox is an outsider to the competitive fencing world. Filled with raw talent but lacking proper training, he signs up for a competition that puts him head-to-head with fencing prodigy Seiji Katayama...and on the road to the elite all-boys school Kings Row. A chance at a real team and a place to belong awaits him—if he can make the cut!

There's not much too say about a single issue that hasn't already been summarised in the blurb, so this will be a short review. I'm not generally a sport fan, but I have previously enjoyed things like Yuri on Ice, and a few teen gymnastics shows the names of which escape me. I expect Fence will join that list if I keep reading it, which I would like to. The obvious parallel of (to be revealed but with some cues already, including the author's track record) queer characters suggests to me that this will work well for fans of Yuri on Ice.

It's hard to form a conclusive opinion in just one issue, but this one presented an interesting opening to a story I would like to see more of. As I said, the collected volume isn't out yet, but I am interested in picking it up and reading more of this story. I would particularly recommend fans of Yuri on Ice have a look at this one.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2017, Boom! Studios
Series: Fence, issue #1 of ongoing series
Format read: PDF
Source: Humble Book Bundle: Summer Reading List by BOOM! Studios