Magic, Marvels, and Mayhem

Quick one again this week; I started more books than I did last week but I DNFed two: one for misogyny from the jump and the other for misogyny and misogynoir that I thought might resolve through character development as the plot progressed but, in fact continued to get worse, and was so bad by 80% that I noped out with less than an hour left in the book (yeah, it was that bad). I was much more upset about the later because the concept was incredible but no props for a story that puts a Black woman in a position of power just so the author can excoriate her for funsies.

But! I did finish three good ones so enough about what wasn’t and lets move on to:

Nine Tailed (Realm of Four Kingdoms, #1) by Jayci Lee (Montlake)

Nine Tailed showed up on several “What to Read After You Watch KPop Demon Hunters,” lists, especially on those that were specific to Korean and Korean-American writers so, naturally, I immediately put it on hold at the library. I didn’t even have to wait that long for it because I jumped the queue by requesting the physical version instead of the e-book or audiobook, which both had astronomical lines (I’ve noticed this works a good percentage of the time. I think the youngs often forget actual books are a thing, which is fine because it means I get what I want within a few days instead of a few weeks. Or months. Or six months).

Here are the basics: Sunny, a gumiho hiding from her past, and from her powers, and working in a crappy Las Vegas casino is suddenly set upon by that very past in the forms of both an assassin and her friend Ethan. Surviving the former, the later delivers horrific news: Ethan’s brother, to whom Sunny was also close, has been murdered. Ethan, a PI like his brother, is going after the killer and he wants Sunny’s help.

She agrees. Mayhem of both the human and supernatural kinds ensue.

I enjoyed Nine Tailed a lot. Fantasy, especially urban fantasy, that has a grounding in mythology and legend has long been a favorite sub-genre (for lack of a better term) because the setting and the source material run in such obvious opposition to each other and yet combine so beautifully to create stories that straddle what we are and what we have been, what we were and what we can become. They seem so diametrically opposed and yet modern cities have so many liminal spaces and shadows and nooks that are all spots of potential waiting to be filled, where anything could happen until someone decides what has or will. The modern world, in fact, is full of liminal spaces: borders that exist between nations because humans have drawn them but which are invisible when one is actually standing on them. Forests and mountains and caves we haven’t yet managed to “civilize.” The reflection of the moon in a lake. The world above the clouds we flash by in airplanes but never have a chance to really look at. It’s in these spaces that Lee sets her story and who are we to say there isn’t a sentient house deep in the forest on a border most people avoid at all costs? We’ve never been there. Who’s to say Las Vegas isn’t the home of magical creatures? No one actually lives on the Strip? Every being there is transient. No one really gets to know anyone. And what happens there, stays there by mutual agreement. A pact. An oath. It gave the novel this layer of “what if” that made it solid and possible, maybe even probably if one examined things from exactly the right angle. So cool.

The characters in this world so close to ours are a fascinating bunch; all different, all with their own motivations, and all very, very human. Especially the supernatural ones. I liked them and that’s important to me as a reader, especially with urban fiction, because even in a world that works, there is a certain suspension of disbelief necessary and I’m not going to make that effort for just anyone. I need to care about the people I’m doing it for. And I did care. And it is driving me absolutely bonkers that I have to wait until August 26th to read King Foretold, the second book in the series. I guess it’s a good thing it took me a minute to find the first one, or I’d have been waiting even longer.

Oh wait… let me just check… Never mind. I just got the ARC. WHEEEEEEEE!!!! Bye bye, rest of my day.

Nine Tailed: https://bookshop.org/a/56337/9781662520747

King Foretold: https://bookshop.org/a/56337/9781662520778

House of the Beast by Michelle Wong (Harper Voyager, 8/5)

In Alma’s world, you are either beloved by a god or discarded by society. She discovers, however, when her estranged father sweeps into her life when she requests his help to save her mother from a potentially fatal illness, being beloved by a god doesn’t mean being loved by your so-called family; in may, in fact, mean being despised by them all the more.

Wong’s book paints a brutal picture of childhood and adolescence for the denizens of the Dread Beast’s house and of life in the service of House Avera, especially for a bastard more skilled in magic and combat than the acknowledged heir. But how can she not be when she was taught by an incarnation of the god himself in the form of a beautiful boy named Aster, who has urged her to hide their connection, and her skills, for eight years, until the perfect moment arises for Alma to take the reins of the family in her hands and wreak vengeance on her father, and all the others who have hurt her?

There are a lot of things to love about this book. The world, seems, at first glance to be a pretty standard fantasy structure but unfolds and expands into something fascinating with details and quirks that really set it apart as something special and I’d say the same for the magic system and for the theology/mythology. There’s also some questioning of the religion and the actions of the clergy that I thought was important and also, on a personal level as someone with an academic theology degree and an inquisitive nature, enjoyed. I think the idea of individuals being chosen by the gods for special gifts but those people having to bear the burden of those gifts is fascinating; and the fact that people are willing to do so not only reflective of our society but disturbingly so. I think parent’s having unreasonable expectations (extreme in this case but reflective of the society created for the story) is a reflection of the expectations our own society has of children and adolescents and the concept so many parents have of their children owing them something for having been born and raised - a concept I find absolutely ludicrous and am glad to see presented as such here, even among gods. It’s clear that Wong put a lot of effort and care into world building and as someone who doesn’t read a ton of high fantasy, I found it to be complex and interesting without being burdensome or high handed.

Alma is definitely the most dimensional character in the book but I was glad the other characters of her generation got more development in the second half. As I mention often in reviews, I do need to feel something for the characters to stay engaged and the second half narrative definitely propped up what felt a little tropey in the first half. Their willingness to interrogate their decisions and beliefs, especially Alma, transformed them from stock characters into living, breathing, entities who were fighting back against what they had been taught and against the adults who had honed them into tools rather than caring for them as first children and then equals. It’s a good model for adolescents to learn from.

That said, I notice that House of the Beast isn’t categorized as YA on Bookshop (not sure about other places but Harper Voyager does’t usually do kids). While I don’t think kids should be sheltered from the realities of the world but this book does include pretty graphic descriptions of children being hurt and abused as well as parental illnesses, injuries, and deaths. While the MC and several important secondary characters are children and/or young adults, this is definitely a book I would urge adults to read it first to make sure that your specific kiddo is ready for the content.

House of The Beast: https://bookshop.org/a/56337/9780063446250

Slashed Beauties by A. Rushby (Berkely, 9/23)

Possessed. Anatomical. Venuses.

I know, right?

And you thought haunted dolls were bad. Or good. I mean, they can keep burning plantations down for as long as they want, though I would prefer they maybe not take 911 lines down in my state of residence while I live here again.

Out of the gate: this is a disturbing book. There is grooming, implied rape, sexual assault, medical abuse, graphic descriptions of venereal disease, other graphic medical descriptions, descriptions of nausea and vomiting, discussions of pregnancy, graphic anatomical descriptions, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, alcoholism, animal abuse, animal death, murder, and non-voluntary sex work

Why then, would you want to read it?

It is also a book about women supporting women. Finding love in darkness. Finding a future. Realizing how strong you actually are. Realizing your value. About survival. It’s about making the choice to be kind when you could allow the cruelty done to you make you cruel in turn. Learning to forgive when hating would be easier. Trusting when it is the most dangerous thing in the world.

There are also witches. Really cool witches. Crazy spells. An epic magic battle. And did I mentioned the possessed anatomical Vensues?

I like horror with something to say. That’s why I like Stephen Graham Jones and Alma Katsu and Cassandra Khaw. This is horror with something to say. Take the warnings seriously but there’s a reason for what’s in Slashed Beauties. There was one thing I found a bit gratuitous but it’s a spoiler also - HMU in DMs on social if you want to know what it is.

I did feel as though the ending was a little rushed; I would have loved a little more past/present back and forth to round the book out; but that is one hundred percent a me thing and the reveal was still fantastic and the ending was still perfect and I absolutely recommend Slashed Beauties. It’s also important to note that I read the ARC and a lot of book get another round of editing and polish after the ARC goes out so what you read on September 23rd or after may be a little different than I read (I’ve had this one waiting for a couple months).

Slashed Beauties: https://bookshop.org/a/56337/9780593954645

I should have that King Foretold review for you next time and some other stuff as well. Read on, warriors!