Another month has gone, and I have now been crushed beneath an avalanche of chocolate eggs. Before all that though, I read a few books during the month of March. As ever, not as many as I’d hoped. My reading targets were knocked off kilter a little bit by the unexpected arrival of Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I had to readjust to fit this in and I’m glad I did as it was probably my favorite book of the month.
Here be Dragons
Running Alien Clay a close second was The Dragons a Deepwood Fen by Bradley P. Beaulieu. A book I started in February, finished in March, and am now reviewing in April! This took a bit of growing into. There is a lot of exposition in the opening 300 pages. We’re in a fantasy world, with an innovative magic system, complex political machinations, and a history full of prejudice and oppression. There are also dragons, which have their own traits, abilities, hierarchies, and ecological likes and dislikes. All this is explained in a “tell” rather than “show” fashion, that threatens to derail the novel.
I’m so glad it didn’t, as had I given up, I would have missed out on a rich layered story with heaps of innovation and a multi-part conspiracy. The final hundred pages had me gripped and reading furiously to the end! Webs are woven within webs amongst the political machinations of Deepwood Fen. After a strong first book in the trilogy, with the world-building largely out of the way, I can’t wait to see where an unencumbered second installment will take us. I’m fully invested now, and I think the dragons in the rest of the series will soar!
If you want to check out The Dragons of Deepwood Fen you can do so here in the US. I read the UK edition published by Head of Zeus.
Jumpnauts by Hao Jingfang, another book published by Head of Zeus over here (And by S&S/ Saga in the US), is about alien first contact.
The book is set in the near-ish future when the Earth is split along two Industrial-Military blocs; the Pacific League and the Atlantic Alliance. The futuristic Cold War sparring takes a back seat, however, as the story centers around 3 people in central China. The trio form something of triangle, with Yun Fan, a historian, at its apex, with the other two vying, if not for romance, then at least her attention. Her potential suitors are Jiang Liu, an irreverent son of Chinese billionaire oligarchs, and Qi Fei, an important cog in the Chinese secret police.
The museum where Yun Fan works is the subject of some peculiar goings on. There is evidence of extra-terrestrial influence going back centuries. The three embark upon a journey that will take them into the Solar System where they will be the first modern humans to meet an alien civilization.
Jumpnauts is a fascinating first contact scenario; with some great science fiction set pieces and ideas centered around the novel’s alien race. It also acts as a wider political novel, examining the nature of the surveillance state, the problems of overly-powerful billionaires, and the likely botch-job nation-states would make of aliens turning up on the doorstep.
Crammed full of ideas, and refreshingly different from Western sci-fi, I recommend Jumpnauts for its creativity and reflective tone. A shout also, to Ken Liu’s translation which will guide you through some linguistic gymnastics and, with Google by your side, down some interesting historical and mythical avenues.
Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky contains more first-contact shenanigans and trumps even Jumpnauts for creativity. Adrian Tchaikovsky has a brain the size of a planet and everything he does is fresh and imaginative, if often quite bewildering. You can check out my full review here.
Children’s Reviews
I read two children’s books in March. First up was Piu Dasgupta’s Secrets of The Snakestone. Set in fin-de-siecle Paris, the novel reminded me of the Alice Eclaire novels. Central character Zélie is not, however, a Parisienne pâtissière, but an Indian immigrant sent to work as a scullery maid in a large Paris household.
The novel centers around the eponymous Snake Stone, a magical artifact that promotes health and longevity to the wearer, whilst condemning those that they love to tremendous misfortune. The stone, long missing, has allegedly reappeared in Paris. Zélie then discovers a locket that belonged to her father in the Paris gutters, which is strange, as he is supposed to be 1000s of miles away, in India.
Sure that something is deeply wrong, Zélie with the help of a newfound friend Jules, tries to solve the mystery of the stone and discover the whereabouts of her father.
The story rushes along featuring “Le Cirque Fantastique” and a host of memorable characters including some rogue academics. The plot is fast-paced and innovative, marred by only one bizarre action from a minor character that took me out of the adventure. I suspect this event would probably pass its intended audience by, but it left me with the impression that the denouement was clumsier than I would have liked.
Nevertheless, there is much in Secrets of the Snake Stone to enjoy and with a second installment promised back in India I’m looking forward to seeing what Zélie gets up to next.
Spectacular Spectacular!
I wasn’t sure about Jodie Garnish’s The Spectaculars: The Wild Song Contest, particularly as this is the second book of a series that I haven’t read before. I would definitely recommend checking out The Four Curses before reading this volume. It’s hard to play catch up with the author explaining the events of the first book, but based on the strength of The Wild Song Contest, book one should be an excellent read.
The books center around a traveling performing arts school, filled with magic and theatrical wonder. (Not only is it a traveling school, but it also travels on a train! What’s not to like?) The novel’s obvious tagline is “Harry Potter meets The Greatest Showman.” The Wild Song Contest is a classic children’s tale of friendship and overcoming the odds, alongside some self-exploration too. The set pieces are fab, and author Jodie Garnish is obviously having tremendous fun, drawing on her background in the performing arts. The book was stuffed full of ideas, with characters as bright and full as verve as its cover. There’s some great wordplay in the book too, adding another facet of entertainment.
The Wild Song Contest was most enjoyable and, with a returning dastardly villain, a third volume is on the way!
My final book is probably the first book of the year I have not enjoyed. Waterstone’s science fiction book of the month for January was Ascension by Martin McInness.
3/4 of this book is excellent. Another first contact themed novel, with some deep-rooted science thrown in, and a side of marine biology. I was very much enjoying it, but I thought it came off the rails at the end.
We were building to an interesting conclusion, when the author ducked the payoff. Nothing really resolved as the novel limped to a close. Ascension has been much read in the UK (it’s consistently been in the bestsellers) and was a leading UK bookseller’s book of 2023, so perhaps I missed something. I was left feeling Ascension could have been a classic of science fiction literature but ended up being a whole bag of nothing.
So that’s it for me for March. Look out for my April reads preview soon, and another set of reviews at the end of the month. Until then, happy reading!
I was sent some of the books in this piece by the publisher to review. Links to Bookshop.org are affiliate links.
