the rest of the lodestars

[cahn]

So I spent the last month on three different trips, about which more later. Our family has now returned from the third of these trips, and very shortly thereafter got sick with covid (felt quite rotten for a day or two, not so bad now but still falling asleep at weird intervals) but also managed to read the rest of the Lodestar books.

A Snake Falls to Earth (Darcie Little Badger) - 3-/5. About Nina, a Lipan girl in a Texas much like ours, and Oli, a cottonmouth-person living in the Reflecting World connected to Nina's. I had high hopes for this book, having found Elatsoe charming, but this book didn't work well for me. Nina's sections were great, but the Oli sections just didn't work for me. The worldbuilding didn't seem coherent enough for me to understand when Oli and his compatriots would act like people in this world and when they would act like animals (as opposed, say, to LeGuin's "Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight" where it makes more intuitive sense to me, which I know is a flawed comparison for a host of reasons, but again, once I'm comparing you to Le Guin, you've probably lost the war), and, perhaps as a result, I never really felt like I connected with any of the Reflecting World characters (except, weirdly, Ami, who never says anything but whom I loved). I was looking forward to the Nina and Oli sections coming together, but it had the opposite effect from what I had hoped -- then the Nina sections also became less interesting to me, because there were all these characters I hadn't formed connections to.

Redemptor (Ifueko) - 3(-,+)/5. Sequel to Raybearer, in which Tarisai must deal with her Empire, uniting a bunch of countries, bring justice to the downtrodden, and make a journey into the Underworld. So -- the second half of this is pretty good! Ifueko has grown as a writer and doesn't fall into some of the writing traps that she did in her first book, although the integration of the subplots is occasionally still a bit rough, and the whole Underworld timing had the air of "eh, I said it would be a couple of years before Tar goes into the Underworld, but I ran out of plot hooks early, so we'll just get this over with early." But there's a lot that's good here -- the end of the Crocodile and what it meant for Tar, for instance; and her solution to the Underworld problem (probably predictable for someone who was paying more attention than I was, but still immensely satisfying). And the new minor character Adukeh is awesome in her little bits of on-page time :D Relatedly, one of my favorite elements is the chants and songs and stories that pepper the narrative, which I felt were integrated better into this book than Raybearer, or maybe I was more used to them? Anyway, I liked them a lot.

This is, however, Ifueko's first "second book," and the first half was such a slog for me because there is a real art to re-introducing characters and plotlines readers haven't thought about for a year, and Ifueko hasn't quite figured it out yet, and I was mostly both confused and bored a lot. However, I'm glad I pushed through because overall I think it was good. Anyway, I will chalk this up as a flawed but compelling outing, and I look forward to more Ifueko.

Lodestar voting:
Last Graduate >> Chaos > Redemptor > Victories > Iron > Snake

Comments

[brainwane]

Condolences on the COVID!

[cahn]

Thanks! Feeling mostly better now, though still sometimes more tired than I expect.

[isis]

Yeah, I felt like Redemptor was two book ideas half-assedly squished into one. The first half seemed like a completely different plotline, and then the actual Underworld section was unsatisfying to me - not the solution, that was good, but the fact that it was so short and I was expecting a more elaborate hero's journey.

[cahn]

I was expecting it to be three books! I was honestly pretty surprised that she actually went into the underworld in this book. But I definitely got the impression she ran out of things to do.

[cenozoicsynapsid]

Condolences on the COVID. I've had a lot of friends get it lately, especially those who traveled. I hope there are no long-term consequences.

I thought much the same as you about Snake... it was cute, but not amazing. Still, I will keep looking out for Little Badger's future books. Have you read Luckenbooth, by Jenni Fagan? I just finished it and it seems like the sort of thing you might enjoy: the story of an Edinburgh tenement under a curse, somewhere on the edge between magical realism and "new weird" genre fiction. Content warnings for sex, violence, sexual violence and drug use though.

[cahn]

Thanks, I hope so too! I imagine we have as good odds as anyone, being vaxxed and with reasonably strong immune systems due to constant testing by small people bringing home germs (tbh I was getting careless because I couldn't believe we hadn't been exposed already), but I suppose one never knows with this virus.

Yes, I will also keep looking for Little Badger's future books! Ohh, I haven't even heard of Luckenbooth! I've put a hold on it at the library :D Thanks for the content notes -- I don't have triggers for the most part, but I do like to have an idea of the kinds of things I'm getting into :)

[hamsterwoman]

Sorry to hear Covid got you -- I hope everyone is recovered by now.

I started reading Redemptor and the beginning wasn't grabbing me (which was disappointing, as I'd liked Raybearer a lot and was hoping to also like the sequel), but that's good to know that the second half worked better for you; maybe I'll go back and give it another shot.

[cahn]

Mostly recovered! Still pretty tired sometimes.

I would never have gotten through the beginning had I not been reading for the Hugos *and* liked the first book -- it was pretty dire. It might be worth just skipping the first quarter or third and see if that works any better.

[skygiants]

Hah, I had the opposite reaction to Snake in a way -- the Oli sections really worked for me and the Nina sections I felt like I was flipping through to get back to Oli's, but either way I wished I had felt more about them coming together.

[cahn]

Oh interesting! I'm glad you liked the Oli sections, that means it was probably just me :) But interesting that for you too them coming together didn't feel as interesting as it was supposed to! Hm.

[genarti]

No, it was me too! Becca and I had absolutely opposite reactions -- I loved Nina and kept wanting to be grabbed by the Oli sections and never quite managing it. They just felt a little too superficial and easy, somehow, even with all the hardships and life-threatening moments he runs into? (Except for Ami, who was absolutely the best, yes.) Whereas I was deeply invested in Nina and her grandmother.

Oli and the animal people in general did work for me better once the sections came together, but all the same, the book never quite gelled for me as much as Elatsoe (which I loved).

[cahn]

Haha, I am glad to know I am not alone! Yes! I think I sort of felt like the animal people acted like animals or humans to further the plot more than because I really believed it was their nature to act like an animal or a human at that particular instant. But yes, I loved Elatsoe a lot more.

[luzula]

Hope you get no long-term covid symptoms! <3

[cahn]

Me too! :) I think we've got as good a chance as anyone, being vaxxed and with pretty strong immune systems due to the kids bringing all sorts of lovely crud home, but who knows with this virus.