Monday, January 15, 2024

Spinning Silver

Naomi Novik

In the same vein as Uprooted, Novik has created a magical fantasy world with flavors of Polish culture. Miryam is a Jewish moneylender. She picked up the trade from her father, who was not good at it, and from her Grandfather, who was. She lives in the rural villages an is finally making enough to feel comfortable. That is when the Staryk notice her, and make a deal with her to turn silver into gold. Miryam doesn't know the rules of the Staryk world and what it means to make a deal. She is pulled into a conflict that will either destroy all humanity in her country, or save it from endless winter. Enthralling. 

3 stars (out of 4)

Tuesday, January 2, 2024

The Kaiju Preservation Society

John Scalzi

Jamie was recently layed off by his prick, tech-startup CEO boss in New York. His resulting food delivery job connects him with an old school friend who offers him a job with a large animal conservation NGO. He is pretty secretive about it and for good reason. When Jamie gets to his first travel stint, he finds that the travel is to a parallel universe earth that has evolved to support Kaiju. So fun. 

4 stars (out of 4)