Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is the tale of two books. The first half is mediocre at best. Very repetitive, cliche and just all around boring. Yet the second half of Trail of Lightning is wonderful! It has spunk, excitement, and intrigue (Coyote is sooo interesting!).
Native American Representation
Without a doubt the best part of Trail of Lightning is Rebecca Roanhorse's use of her Indigenous culture to give us a look at what a dystopian society, based in (what was) the USA which has since been taken back by the Navajo, might look like. Roanhorse gives us a truly unique and wonderful insight into Indigenous stories and beliefs. It feels natural and cyclical that in 'the end' of society as we know it the Indigenous return to the land, protect themselves and ultimately survive. Certainly no one else in North America is likely to be able to return to the land the way someone who has grown up learning about the land could.
I loved the use of myth, magic and story here to populate the Navajo land with elements and entities that currently aren't known to the world. For this reason alone I will definitely read book 2!
Writing
While the second half is much better than the first half; the one thing that doesn't change is the writing style. Unfortunately Roanhorse's writing feels a little like an early-on, amateur writer. That's not to say that she can't improve; it's only to say that this story comes off as simple in it's use of language. I know it's strange to say anything critical of the writing from someone who has been nominated for a World Fantasy Award; but to me it just lacked the depth I'm used to from fantasy writers.
For example:
""I know you never gave me an answer on that ‘being friends’ thing, but after everything that’s happened . . . ?" He leaves it hanging."
Did we really need the "he lives it hanging" comment? I feel like other authors would have left that out and allowed the ellipses to do the work of letting the reader know our character trailed off.
Overall
Here's the thing; amazing writing or not, reading Roanhorse's own voice and having her relate Indigenous culture, tellings and lore via her characters is well worth reading book 2, Storm of Locusts. While you may find many typical or cliche dystopian pieces in Trail of Lightning; what you won't find is any deities, myths or lore you've likely encountered before. And you may pick-up some Navajo words along the way! I love when authors use another language just enough to give the book a flavour and culture that helps build the setting and characters. That is one thing Roanhorse has done perfectly, in my opinion, is incorporate a level of Indigenous culture that allowed me to learn new things but also follow along (and feel fairly comfortable) in this clever dystopian world.
If nothing else read this to learn more about Coyote. I won't say anything more as I fear spoiling even a tiny portion of the magic.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Absolutely stunning!! The biggest disappointing is that this is a short story and only 111 pages long. While a good little story Black God's Drums really feels more like the introduction to a new larger world that could have many books written it it. From airships, voodoo, southern culture, strong heroines, steampunk influences and more; there is a lot here to love.
Alternate History
While P. Djeli Clark (sorry I don't have accents accessible on this keyboard) doesn't specifically call it out by the end of the book I was fairly confident that our story was set sometime within 100 years of Napoleon having power. Given there are airships and other awesome steampunk items throughout the book; I'm going to say this is a sort of alternate history. Usually I'm not a big fan of alternate history because it's not creative enough. But that definitely cannot be said about Clark's short story. Instead I had to really think about it when little tidbits that gave hints to the timeframe and world came up. I would have been totally okay if this was a whole new fantasy world to learn. But it does work elegantly the way it is and you can apply many of our social norms to the scenarios successfully which cuts down on the explanations needed.
New Orleans
Setting is such an important part of a fantasy story and when the items around you and magic that may (or may not) manifest is dependant on the landscape it's almost a character all of it's own. Think of Game of Thrones and consider each of the major strongholds of Westeros as characters. The Eyrie, Winterfell, Harrenhal, Kings Landing, etc. all have their own tone, cultural expectations, weather and location that affect everything and everyone around them. The Black God's Drums is like that as well. Where we are and how our location(s) are being approached affects so much around them.
Ever since Sookie Stackhouse gave me some of my first 'real' introduction to Louisiana culture and history in books I have loved learning more about New Orleans (and area). I've also found myself really into blues music over the years and so that has helped with my immersion into understanding this unique area of the United States.
Heroines
As if the above wasn't enough to be engaging we also have two of the strongest and most interesting heroines I've read about. Each has their own skill sets and a spirit, magic or goddess (whatever you'd like to call it) that speaks inside their head. The struggle between each of the women and their way of dealing with the voice in their head are starkly different and represent the difference between people's approaches and reactions to similar situations. There is a wonderful Psych paper to be written somewhere in here about how people cope and handle the exact (or similar) situation differently.
Overall
I absolutely understand why The Black God's Drums was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, Locus and World Fantasy award. I'm sad it didn't win any of them! It's definitely more than deserving of any one of these prestigious awards. That said I know the competition is fierce out there these days. It has all the right elements and is elegantly put into 111 pages without feeling rushed, squished or inadequate. If Clark was trying to see what people would think of this concept he has used then I'd say he should immediately write everything possible about these two heroines, their world and it's challenges.
Clark is definitely an author to watch. I will be keeping a close eye on him and keep hoping that TOR and him have a full novel in the works! Too bad I don't know how to do voodoo, like practiced in the story, to ensure more writing is guaranteed from Clark in the future.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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Songlines by Carolyn Denman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
When you pick-up a book with a subtitle about the Eden you (probably) expect a certain amount of religion. I prepared myself for this, as Christianity and I have a tumultuous relationship (to say the least; raised Christian but follow a very different religion today). I was pleasantly surprised that the use of Eden and religion in Songlines was extremely well done.
Religion and Eden
Yes the Garden of Eden, the Bible and God are all factors in Songlines. But unlike most books with these elements, Carolyn Denman hasn't written a Christian or even overtly religious book. Instead she's taken some well known aspects of Christianity and used them to bring magic into our world. The use of religion here isn't intrusive to the story; and wasn't a problem for me at any point. It's actually a positive point of the story in that it allows our characters to easily accept many of the 'magical' things happening as it's a part of their accepted life long religion.
Cheesy YA?
For the most part Denman manages to keep things relatively non-cheesy. With one exception regarding a floating sword (all I could think of was Legend of Zelda and Link grabbing spinning swords). However there is no doubt that Songlines is YA. It has many of the typical aspects you'd expect including: awkward friendships and possible love interests, lack of authority/power over situations, and a spunky, stubborn lead gal. As I always say, you cannot complain that when you read a YA book it reads like YA; as that is the entire point.
Lead Heroine
Our leading teenage girl is fairly resilient. I like how she doesn't immediately give into believing what she is told about Eden existing and she doesn't allow herself to be manipulated by the adults or situations around her the way some YA heroines do. Denman has given us a teenage girl that is easy to cheer for and respect without ever forgetting that she is still a teenager with awkward moments, difficult thoughts and lots of confusion about everything.
Overall
I give this four stars because it is a really good read for what it is. It's the kind of book where you read the blurb and you get exactly what you are expecting. There's nothing too intense or trigger worthy that I can think of. It's a solid good ol' YA book that is well-written with a clear plot. It's hard to fault a book when all the pieces fit together so nicely. The thing that Songlines isn't is all that special or something above and beyond the average YA book; and for me that's okay but does make it only four star worthy and not five stars. It's missing that special something. I will definitely carry on in the series and read book 2 as it is a good story, I like the characters and while religion sets the basis for the book it's not preachy at all.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and BookSirens. This is an honest and unbiased review.
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