Series: Rivers of London (#9.5) Characters: Kimberley Reynolds Format: 211 pages, Hardcover Published: June 8, 2023 by Orion ISBN: 9781473224377 (ISBN10: 1473224373)
Description
When retired FBI Agent Patrick Henderson calls in an ‘X-Ray Sierra India’ incident, the operator doesn’t understand. He tells them to pass it up the chain till someone does.
That person is FBI Special Agent Kimberley Reynolds. Leaving Quantico for snowbound Northern Wisconsin, she finds that a tornado has flattened half the town – and there’s no sign of Henderson.
Things soon go from weird to worse, as neighbours report unsettling sightings, key evidence goes missing, and the snow keeps rising – cutting off the town, with no way in or out…
Something terrible is awakening. As the clues lead to the coldest of cold cases – a cursed expedition into the frozen wilderness – Reynolds follows a trail from the start of the American nightmare, to the horror that still lives on today…
My Review
A novella from last year that’s been sat on my TBR pile for a while! I’ve been prompted to read it by the arrival of the latest Rivers of London novella. I thought I’d better get up to date.
Kimberley Reynolds is sent to the Great Lakes in the middle of winter to deal with an incident with unusual characteristics, and is snowed in almost immediately. Stuck without back-up, and her contact missing, she must discover what’s going on, what it has to do with an exhibition by the Virginia Gentlemen in 1848 and where Henderson in. Unfortunately, she’s not the only one looking into things, and it gets complicated when the local meteorologist takes her out to the site of the 1848 winter camp. Malevolent forces are at work, a teenage genius loci comes to the rescue, and Kimberly falls in love.
Kimberley Reynolds is a character that pops up in some of the novels but to be honest, she never struck me as a interesting character, or one I’d taken much note of. However, this novella gives the reader more information about her background and develops her character. I enjoy these novellas because they allow Aaronovitch to explore characters and locations without a full novel focused on Peter. He does make an appearance, over the phone and in her head, but it’s mainly about Kimberley and her slowly blossoming romance with William, while investigating both modern and historical crimes.
Format: 182 pages, Hardcover Published: September 5, 2024 by Orion Publishing Co ISBN: 9781398723887 (ISBN10: 1398723886)
Description
New York City, New York.
Meet Augustus Berrycloth-Young – fop, flaneur, and Englishman abroad – as he chronicles the Jazz Age from his perch atop the city that never sleeps.
That is, until his old friend Thomas Nightingale arrives, pursuing a rather mysterious affair concerning an old saxophone – which will take Gussie from his warm bed, to the cold shores of Long Island, and down to the jazz clubs where music, magic, and madness haunt the shadows…
My Review
A fun novella set in jazz-age New York, with a queer cast and inter-racial love. Nightingale turns up unexpectedly, and Gussie must help him rescue a fae. Interrupting things in the US, and upsetting lots of politicians, businessmen and mobsters, and people of a magical persuasion, events culminate at a drag ball, with policemen amusingly debagged, and explosions on lonely roads.
Aaronovitch conjures the air of excitement and danger that pervades New York in the 1920s and 30s, as jazz clubs and bathtub gin fill the need for escape after the horrors of war, and chronicle a forgotten period of cultural explosion, particularly exemplified by the Harlem Renaissance, in which Black culture and Queer culture flourished, before being appropriated and repressed after the second world war. He also captures the culture of corruption in the city, from police shakedowns for personal gain to gang violence. I loved the inclusion of the drag ball. I’ve heard about them, and how popular they were, but I don’t think they’re particularly well known outside of people interested in Queer history.
Gussie and Lucy are adorable, and I was sure Beauregard is some species of fae, although he might just be a practitioner with connections. I hope Lucy, Gussie and the gang all have long and fun lives, although I think they’d be old before their relationship becomes legal.
I enjoyed the ‘Jeeves and Wooster’ tone of the narrative, and Gussie is a funny narrator. He’s self-deprecating and observant, and astute enough to know when and when not to be himself, even if he has a low opinion of his own intelligence. The references to golden age crime fiction made me laugh – especially when Gussie decides to be a detective for a minute.
Enjoyable novella that introduces new aspects of the Rivers of London universe. Highly recommended.
Did you know you can generate AI art images on WordPress? I didn’t but I wanted an image for this post, because Maria takes their investigation down to the planet of Aurox.
The Wolf Skinned is the first book in a series which chronicles the saga of Ulf The Wolf Skinned, a blood hungry Viking Berserker. Ulf is one of Odin’s sacred warriors known as a Ulfhednar; clothed in a wolf’s skin, he leaves a trail of death and pain wherever he goes. At the tender age of 17 he already has a fearsome reputation as his adopted father Eric Bloodaxe’s deadly hound of war. And by the end of the year 915 AD, every Saxon will know and fear the name, Ulf The Wolf Skinned. Link Here
My Review
I quite like historical fantasy, and historical fiction, especially stuff from the Anglo-Saxon period. It’s even better if some of the main characters were real, but unknown generally and going on an adventure. In this novella, Lady Ælfwynn of Mercia, daughter of Æthelflæd of Mercia and her husband Æthelred, has an adventure among the Vikings, and meets Ulf, a berserker.
Set in 915, five years after Æthelred’s death, when Edward of Wessex and Æthelflæd of Mercia continued to fight the Vikings as their father Alfred the Great, of Wessex, had done. In history, Æthelflæd died in 918, just before the Vikings of York were to kneel to her, and Ælfwynn took control of Mercia, but only for a few months. Before the end of the year she had been taken to Wessex by her uncle Edward and he took control of Mercia. His son became the first King of the English. No one knows what happened to Lady Ælfwynn. I personally think she was locked up in a nunnery so no one could object to her uncle’s theft of her throne. It wasn’t unheard of for a royal woman to become a nun, and it was unusual for a woman to rule alone.
Jack Johnson gives Lady Ælfwynn an adventure to rival the real adventures of her mother.
Lady Ælfwynn is doomed to marry a man of Northumbria that she doesn’t like, until the Vikings arrive to rescue the Berserker Ulf from captivity in Durham. Ulf and Ælfwynn run away from the fighting and head to York to join up with Ulf’s adopted father, Eric Bloodaxe. On their journey, they get to know each other and fall in love. In York, the Vikings are concerned about having Edward of Wessex’s niece in their halls as a ‘hostage’.
When the Lady of Mercia arrives with her brother and prospective son-in-law at the gates of York, it seems a battle is inevitable. Eric Bloodaxe tries to discuss terms with the Lady, but things don’t go well.
There is a battle. There is treachery. It’s very exciting.
And I want to know what happens next.
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Luckily I know the author, so I’ll get to read the next instalment before it’s published. I got to read this one in an earlier stage.
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I thought the descriptive writing was excellent and the little bits of magical reality add an enchanted element to the narrative. The Gods are certainly playing with people’s lives. It’s hinted at, subtly, that Odin is abroad in England.
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One-eye’d trouble-making git.
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I enjoyed the characterisation of Ælfwynn and Ulf, and the development of their relationship. Their relationship is loving and based on friendship and shared difficulties, before it becomes physical, which I liked.
The battles are very invigorating and exciting to read. They are written with a dreamlike reality. This is because the author sees them in his mind and writes what he sees.
If you like Bernard Cornwall’s Uhtred of Bebbenburg books or the TV series based on them, or the TV series Vikings, this novella is for you.
Ruabon Nadarl is just another low-ranking member of the scan crew, slaving away for the UFS which “liberated” his homeworld. To help pass the time during long shifts he builds secret personalities into the robots he controls. Despite his ingenuity, the UFS offers few opportunities for a better life.
Then Ruabon detects an intruder on the surface of a vital communications tower.
He could just report it and let the deadly UFS commandos take over, while Ruabon returns to obscurity.
Or he could break UFS laws and try to capture the intruder himself. For the UFS, only the outcome matters, not the method. If his custom-programmed drones can save the day, he’ll be a hero.
If you’re reading this: HELP! I’ve been kidnapped.
Me and my big sister stayed together after our parents died. We weren’t bothering anybody. But some mean government agents came anyway, and split us up.
Now I’m a prisoner on this space ship. The agents won’t even say where we’re going.
I hate them.
And things have started to get a bit weird. Nullspace is supposed to be empty, but when I look out of the skywindows I can see … something. Out there. And I think it wants to get in here. With us.
My name is Clarissa. I am ten years old.
And they will all be sorry when my big sister comes to rescue me.
This short story is told from the point of view of Dr. Mensah and follows the events in Exit Strategy. Kindle Edition, 19 pages Published April 19th 2021 by Tor (first published May 5th 2020)
My Review
I enjoy MurderBot and this short story kept me going between novels and novellas. Here we read about Dr Mensah’s reaction to being held hostage once they have returned to Preservation Station. Dr Mensah doesn’t want to admit that she’s traumatised. MurderBot doesn’t know what to do but in its own way tries to help.
I enjoyed reading about events from a different perspective and this short story shows how one of the main characters is affected by event without the intermediary of MurderBot. A good addition to the canon.
No, I didn’t kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn’t dump the body in the station mall.
When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the body is (was), how they were killed (that should be relatively straightforward, at least), and why (because apparently that matters to a lot of people—who knew?)
Yes, the unthinkable is about to happen: Murderbot must voluntarily speak to humans!
Again!
Hardcover, 168 pages Published April 27th 2021 by Tor.com ISBN:1250765374 (ISBN13: 9781250765376)
My Review
I had this book on pre-order but forgot when it was due to arrive so finding it in the post pile on Tuesday afternoon as I was leaving for swimming was a great surprise and a very happy one. I read it yesterday afternoon, to relax and because I needed my sci-fi fix.
We’re back on Preservation Station with MurderBot and its human friends. There’s been a murder! So MurderBot helps the Station Security investigate. Station Security really don’t want MurderBot around and initially suspect him, but it soon becomes clear that there are other things going on that no one knew about and a local has been suborned by the Corporations.
In this novella we see an expansion of MurderBot’s relationships and the world around him as the strangeness of Preservation in comparison to Corporate space is explored. As usual events are filtered through MurderBot’s experiences and thoughts, and are told with humour and panache. The final showdown is rather explosive. I love it.
Paperback, 128 pages Published December 8th 2020 by Tordotcom ISBN:1250786134 (ISBN13: 9781250786135) The Singing Hills Cycle #2
“Dangerous, subtle, unexpected and familiar, angry and ferocious and hopeful. . . . The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a remarkable accomplishment of storytelling.”—NPR
The cleric Chih finds themself and their companions at the mercy of a band of fierce tigers who ache with hunger. To stay alive until the mammoths can save them, Chih must unwind the intricate, layered story of the tiger and her scholar lover—a woman of courage, intelligence, and beauty—and discover how truth can survive becoming history.
Nghi Vo returns to the empire of Ahn and The Singing Hills Cycle in this mesmerizing, lush standalone follow-up to The Empress of Salt and Fortune.
My Review
In The Empress of Salt and Fortune, Chih hears the stories of the Empresses life and that of her loyal companion. In this, Chih is up in the mountains, riding mammoths and being chased by tigers. Tigers who are able to turn into humans.
In order to save their life, and that of their human and mammoth companions, Chih tells a story about an earlier human Scholar who meets a tiger who can become a human. The tiger queen interrupts and corrects the story repeatedly.
This is another story within a story, although more accurately it’s two stories in a story as the tigers tell their version of events and the humans write it down for ‘correction’. And to save their lives. As Scheherazade tells stories to save her life, so Chih tells the story and listens to the tigers’ story in the hopes that the sun will rise and help will come with it.
I should have finished this a month ago but stuff got in the way and really, I rushed from reading the first book to reading this one and it was a bit too much of a change in pace and setting for me. However, this afternoon, after I walked Ezzie, had teas and then waited for the shopping delivery, I picked up this book. The last two thirds flew by in an hour. It was most inconvenient for the shopping to arrive early for a change, but I went back to the remaining pages, gripped with anticipation. How would Chih save them?
Obviously, I’m not going to tell you how, but Chih and the rest are saved, and the tigers leave. There’s a love story in the story within the story, and seeing things through the eyes of the tigers was fun, because they obviously have different priorities to humans.
I enjoyed the evocative descriptions, and the cultures and mythology of the civilisation of the books, which are clearly based on broadly east Asian, possibly more specifically Chinese and Mongolian, history, culture and mythology. I can’t wait to see what Chih gets up to next.
Paperback, 128 pages Published March 24th 2020 by Tor.com ISBN:125075030X (ISBN13: 9781250750303) Series: The Singing Hills Cycle #1
With the heart of an Atwood tale and the visuals of a classic Asian period drama, Nghi Vo’s The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a tightly and lushly written narrative about empire, storytelling, and the anger of women.
A young royal from the far north, is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully.
Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor’s lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for.
At once feminist high fantasy and an indictment of monarchy, this evocative debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She’s a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece.
![The Wolf Skinned (The Wolf Skinned Saga Book 1) by [Jack Johnson]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41HGkdfEQ1L.jpg)
Everything Is Better With Dragons 