Remote Control

 Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor, 160 pages.

Sankofa wanders a near future rural Ghana with the power of death her only companion (aside from a little fox). Ever since she lost her name at seven years old she glows green both when threatened and at will, and the green glow has the power to kill any living thing it touches. Now, seven years later, she has become a mythic figure, the alleged goddaughter of death, who wander the country on foot and survives on fearfully provided hospitality wherever she stops, pursuing a mission that only she knows. 

I really enjoyed this book, although it wasn't quite what I was expecting. The blurb sounded more like folklore than science fiction, so I admit I went into this expecting a more literal personification of death. Which is interesting because a lot of the themes in this novella are exactly that, an examination of the power of the stories told about Sankofa, and all of the ways they are simultaneously true and untrue. Reading about her travels was simultaneously fascinating and heartbreaking, especially since Okorafor doesn't hesitate to remind us that Sankofa is, ultimately, a deeply traumatized child. I will say that it lost me a little in the events of the last chapter or so, but at 160 pages its definitely well worth the read.

Throne of the Crescent Moon

 Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed, 367 pages.

Kara just wrote about this book here for Orcs and Aliens! Her synopsis is good so there's not much more to write on that front, so instead here's a blog post with my opinions.

This book wasn't really for me I'm afraid, I found most of the prose to be unusually formal, and it made the story drag for me. It gave the impression of reading a much older book, which is an interesting effect, but I'm not sure I enjoyed it. I also, unfortunately, wasn't really interested in any of the characters, and the plot was a pretty classic formula (except for the fact that at least a third of the book was spent in downtime research, to explain using the roleplaying game parlance that it reminded me of). However! This book was something of an introduction for me to fantasy stories not based in a European tradition, and I'm definitely interested in reading more in the genre.

Honey Girl

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers, 293 pages

Grace Porter is 28 years old and has just received her doctorate in astronomy. For the past 11 years, she's been working hard for this degree, and is ready to enter the world of non-stop research and publishing. Except that her first interview goes disastrously and her graduation celebration trip to Las Vegas lands her with the last thing she was planning on: a wife whose name she doesn't remember. No matter what she does, Grace is losing control of her carefully planned life, and is also coming apart at the seams. 

For a book that starts with a very fictional premise (how many bad movies start with a drunken Las Vegas wedding?), it handles the complexities of mental health and big life changes very well. There were a few things that didn't entirely make sense to me (like the whole idea of holding sacred vows that you can't remember making to someone you'd never met before; why not just annul?), but on the whole, I enjoyed reading this book. Sometimes it was a bit too real, particularly regarding Grace's anxiety and lack of family communication, but that's just something I'll have to deal with in my own therapy sessions. I'm looking forward to seeing what Rogers comes up with next.

Son of the Storm

Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa, 487 pages

Despite his high position as a scholar, Danso is an outsider in the strict caste system of Basso. His mother was an immigrant to the city-state, his father a native healer, so he's a rare mixed-race member of the upper caste. He's also VERY curious about the world outside Basso, though information information is hard to come by. But when a skin-changing woman from the Nameless Islands (which, according to Basso sources, don't even exist any more) appears in Basso, Danso finds that what he thought he knew isn't right at all.

As the beginning of a series, this book does an excellent job of addressing a multitude of complex topics — including race, caste, propaganda, colonialism, political uprisings, and immigration — without losing any of the action and adventure. The characters are equally complex, and grow (sometimes horrifically) throughout the novel. I can't wait to see what happens next in this series!

Murder at Wedgefield Manor

Murder at Wedgefield Manor by Erica Ruth Neubauer, 282 pages

Jane Wunderly is spending a lovely holiday with her Aunt Millie at Millie's friend's English estate when the baron's mechanic dies in a car accident. Or was it? Turns out that the brake lines were cut with a knife bearing the baron's monogram. So was the baron trying to murder the mechanic, is someone trying to frame the baron, or there something else going on entirely? Luckily, Jane's friend and inspector, Redvers, happens to stop by just in time to help Jane investigate, since the local police aren't too thrilled with Jane's poking around.

This was a delightful throwback to golden age British mysteries, but with a few modern twists on race and sexuality. As the second Jane Wunderly mystery, it certainly helps to have read the first one (Murder at the Mena House) for a bit of background on Jane, Millie, Redvers, and Jane's cousin Lillian, but it's definitely not required. Pick this up for an enjoyable afternoon of reading.

Early Morning Riser

Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny, 317 pages

Jane lives in a small Michigan town and works as one of the elementary school's two second grade teachers. She doesn't have many friends, she buys almost everything in her house from the thrift store, and her boyfriend, Duncan, is the woodworker who has slept with just about every woman in town. Over the course of several years, Jane settles into her life, creating a family with Duncan, his bossy ex-wife and her odd new husband, Jane's mandolin-playing best friend, and Jimmy, Duncan's mentally challenged assistant. It's an odd life, yes, and sometimes particularly challenging, but it is what it is.

This was an odd, but oddly likeable book. Basically the entire plot is spelled out in that paragraph above, but the book is so much more about the relationships between the characters, and the humor of life. A quiet novel, but a good one.

Throne of the Crescent Moon

Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed, 367 pages

Adoulla has hunted ghuls for more than 30 years and is looking forward to finally resting when he takes on a search for the ghuls that decimated a rural town. As Adoulla and his devout swordsman-assistant Raseed begin their hunt, they learn that they're in for a much larger battle — one that involves ancient magic, a shapeshifting girl, and threatens to upend the very structures of Adoulla's much-beloved home city. Oh, and there's also the Robin Hood-esque Falcon Prince attempting to rearrange the status quo too.

Full of adventure, magic, and a surprising amount of religious devotion, this book was meant to be the start of a series. But in the 9 years since it's been published, only the vaguest whisper of a second book has made it beyond the author's mind. Which is a shame, as this was a lot of fun, and I'd love to see more of Adoulla's adventures. I'm also very curious to see what the Orcs & Aliens have to say about this one on Monday night.

October totals

So we've been a bit busy with other stuff this month...

Christa 5/1742

Jan 3/1029

Kara 13/3898

Regan 10/3501

TOTAL: 31/10,170

Real Men Knit

Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson (2020) 319 pages

Kerry Fuller practically grew up in Mama Joy Strong's shop, Strong Knits. Kerry's mother wasn't that nurturing, but Mama Joy had more than enough love and nurturing for this neighborhood girl, and even fostered 4 boys whom she adopted. Everyone around Mama Joy learned to knit, including her boys. Kerry spent her youth pining for Jesse, but avoided him because he seemed only interested in short-term hook-ups.

Fast forward to the present, when Mama Joy has suddenly died. Her four sons are inclined to liquidate her shop and sell the building, but Jesse decides he wants to try to make a go at running the business. Kerry agrees to help him in her spare time. What follows is a dance of sorts, with Jesse and Kerry each attracted to the other, but not in sync.

Perhaps the outcome is predictable, but their yoyoing emotions seemed a bit much for me. Still, it was a fast, enjoyable read.

Payback's a Witch

Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper, 340 pages.

Thistle Grove is an intensely magical town that is home to four very old families of very powerful witches. But not, for the last nine years, home to Emmy Harlow, heir to the Harlow clan of witches, the least powerful family in town. She left just after high school to escape the suffocating feeling of never being more than her unimportant, unpowerful family (and maybe a little because Gareth Blackmoore, of the most powerful family in town broke her heart), and if her magic was the price for her very own life in Chicago than so be it. Now she's back to arbitrate the magic competition that determines the balance of power in Thistle Grove for the next fifty years. She soon finds out that Gareth has broken the hearts of both her best friend Linden Thorn and the gorgeous Avramov heir, Talia. The three form a pack to knock Gareth and his terrible family down a peg by making sure they lose the competition for the second time in 300 years. 

This seemed like an extremely fun revenge story, and it was! But beyond that I was surprised at the amount of love in this book. All of the core cast has such a depth of every kind of love (for friends, romantic partners, family, and the town itself) that it shines through the whole book. There was more than one scene between Emmy and Linden that made me emotional about just how much they cared about each other. As a fun bonus, terrible Gareth has almost no speaking lines in this book, really making it clear that none of this is actually about him. The setting is super cool, and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel next year. Definitely check this one out for a surprisingly wholesome fun Halloween read (a little late).