Methods of Dyeing

Title: Methods of Dyeing

Author: B. Mure

Summary: In Ismyre, on the eve of his lecture, the renowned botanist and master dyer Professor Detlef is found dead in the university gardens. As the local constabulary begin their search for the culprit, a strange detective arrives from outside the city to help solve the crime. In a place where things are never as they seem, will Mary the university custodian be able to help the mysterious investigator uncover the truth?

Rating: ★★★★★ 5/5

Review: This is the fourth book in Mure’s Ismyre series, and it’s just as good as all the others. Put simply this books is a gorgeous, quiet, and funny murder mystery.

The gorgeous part cannot be understated. I love the artwork so much. It’s both casual and precise, detailed but not overwhelming. The line work seems deceptively simple and expresses so much, while the colours are simple with a limited palette, but used so perfectly. It all comes together to make such peaceful pieces that make me feel calm. I get lost in the art.

I’m still amused by the title, which is a perfect pun, as the murder victim is a botanist and master dyer. The two main characters and mystery solvers are a detective we never learn the name of, and Mary who discovered the body. Mary is also the cutest freaking frog ever. Their partnership is wonderful and seeing Mary evolve over the course of the story is lovely.

All the books in the Ismyre series are political in one way or another, which is one of the many things I love about them. This book plays on institutional power structures, working around and within them, and individuals rocking that boat in small ways.

A fifth book in this series will be out later this year, and I’m already looking forward to it. I want to be lost in Isymre again, and again… and again.

2023 End of Year Book Survey

Holy guacamole, this little blog of mine is ten years old! Where the hell did that time go? On reading books, apparently.

As is customary by now, I’m celebrating the new year with an end of year book survey. I usually have this written and ready to go days in advance, but I plum forget about it this year, so I’ve only just managed to slap this together in time! I suppose it helps that I haven’t got an unmanageable pile of books to choose from, just an easy baker’s dozen.

Without further ado, onto the books…

2023 Reading Stats

Number of Books You Read: 13
Number of Pages: 3873
Genre You Read The Most From: Science fiction

Best in Books

Best book you read in 2023?
Several strong contenders, but I’m going to choose Cosmoknights, because just thinking about that books gets me excited, I absolutely adored it.

Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love more but didn’t?
Hmm, Acceptance. I had loved the first two books in the Southern Reach trilogy, and while I did enjoy the third one, I just didn’t love it as much. Which was sad.

Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
Square Eyes. I bought it on a whim quite a while ago and it had been sitting on my shelf since. I finally decided to read it, with no real expectations, and it was so good! A lot of thought-provoking and important themes which I hadn’t anticipated.

Book you “pushed” the most people to read?
I am still pushing people to read Frontier and Cosmoknights. Everyone needs more space gays in their life.

Best series you started in 2023? Best sequel? Best series ender of 2023?
As I’ve only recently finished it, I’ll say A Memory Called Empire as the best first in a series, mostly because it’s fresh in my mind and I’m keen to read the next book.
Best sequel has to be The Trials of Koli, still obsessed with this series and am itching to read the last book—soon.
And the only series ender I read was Acceptance, so that wins by default!

Favourite new author you discovered in 2023?
It has to be Grace Curtis. I’ve read both her books via advanced reading copy, have been eager to buy them (paperback when?), and already can’t wait for her next book.

Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
Hmm. I’ll say The Two Doctors Górski. While it was science fiction, it was more on the psychological and fantasy end of sci-fi. It was also hugely character-driven, which I enjoy but don’t read a lot of.

Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
I’ve got to go with Cosmoknights (and the sequel). Definitely action-packed and thrilling. I could easily have not put the books down and read them swiftly in one go, but I made sure I paced myself a little to savour them a bit.

Favourite cover of a book you read in 2023?
There are quite a few gorgeous covers this year, but it has to be Frontier. The colours, the negative space… give this cover a frame.

Book you read in 2023 that you would be most likely to re-read next year?
I can’t keep saying Cosmoknights, but… whenever the third in the series comes out I will likely make short work of re-reading the first two before diving in.

Most memorable character of 2023?
Bob Comet and all his friends at the senior centre from The Librarianist. I’d hang around with them any time, they’re hilarious.

Most beautifully written book read in 2023?
Oh, I’m going to say The Tower in the Sea. It’s a graphic novel and the art is literally beautiful, but it’s also just the mood of the story. Beautiful in all the ways.

Most thought-provoking book of 2023?
On a personal level, I’ll say The Stranding, and on a philosophical level I’ll say A Memory Called Empire.

Book you can’t believe you waited until 2023 to finally read?
It has to be Square Eyes, simply because it’s been sitting on my shelf the longest!

Favourite passage/quote from a book you read in 2023?
Once again, I have been lax at keeping track of my favourite quotes this year, but of the ones I did share to my tumblr, my favourite would be…

“Bob had long given up on the notion of knowing anyone, or of being known. He communicated with the world partly by walking through it, but mainly by reading about it.”

Patrick deWitt – The Librarianist

Shortest & longest book you read in 2023?
Shortest: The Tower in the Sea at 97 pages
Longest: A Memory Called Empire at 462 pages

Book that shocked you the most?
Oh, it has to be Floating Hotel, because I did not see the ending coming… and I love it when that happens.

Favourite non-romantic relationship of the year?
Perhaps because it’s fresh in my mind, but I loved the close, easy friendship between Three Seagrass and Twelve Azalea in A Memory Called Empire, and how it was portrayed through the eyes on the main character, from the outside, who wished she had a friendship like that.

Favourite book you read in 2023 from an author you’ve read previously?
There are a couple of authors I’ve read multiple books by this year, but as it was the first year I’ve read them, that kind of feels like cheating. So I’ll say The Trials of Koli, mostly because I am super keen to read the next book in the series!

Best book you read in 2023 that you read based solely on a recommendation from somebody else?
A Memory Called Empire, which I read almost solely because my partner absolutely loved it.

Best world building/most vivid setting you read this year?
There were many great books doing some amazing world-building that I read this year, but my heart is saying Floating Hotel. The ease with which Curtis built not only the world inside the hotel, but the snippets of worlds on planets they passed and the worlds within each of the characters. It was exquisite.

Book that put a smile on your face/was the most fun to read?
Cosmoknights, all damn day. Such a fun read!

Book that made you cry or nearly cry in 2023?
I don’t think any made me cry this year? Which is kind of surprising, because I’ll cry at anything. But A Memory Called Empire almost made me cry.

Hidden gem of the year?
Probably The Tower in the Sea, as not as many people have read it.

Book that crushed your soul?
I’ll have to say The Stranding, because of where my mind was at during the time I read it and because it’s pretty depressing overall, I can’t lie!

Most unique book you read in 2023?
I have to say The Two Doctors Górski, because it deals with concepts and themes I haven’t often come across.

Book that made you the most mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
The Stranding… because I did not agree with choices the main character main and she made me angry.

Blogging Life

Favourite post you wrote in 2023?
I didn’t have one last year, as I’d only posted book reviews. I have the same issue this year, except I can do what I wanted to last year and say my 2022 End of Year Book Survey!

Favourite bookish related photo you took in 2023?
Scrolling through my instragram, the book photo that pleases me the most aesthetically is this one of The Trials of Koli…

Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?
Remembering that I post my end of year survey on the 1 January and scrambling to get it written and ready on the 31 December. I’m usually much more organised than this!

Best bookish discovery?
This tiktok video, because it spoke to my soul. Floppy book supremacy!

Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
I set myself a goal of 12 books. One a month. I thought it would be an easy goal. And it was, to some degree. Several of those where short and/or graphic novels. And when I met my goal I ground to a halt for a couple of months. But, with having only dragged myself out of a reading slump last year, I think I’m not doing too badly.

Looking Ahead

One book you didn’t get to in 2023 but will be your number one priority in 2023?
The final book in the Ramparts series. I was hoping to at least start it at the tail end of this year, but unfortunately I didn’t.

Series ending/a sequel you are most anticipating in 2023?
See above! Can’t wait to complete the Ramparts trilogy early next year!

One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your reading/blogging life in 2023?
No goals this year. Status quo will be good. Read and review. Anything else is a bonus.

A Memory Called Empire

Title: A Memory Called Empire

Author: Arkady Martine

Summary: In a war of lies, she seeks the truth.

Ambassador Mahit Dzmare is posted far from her mining station home, to the Empire’s glorious capital. Yet when she arrives, she discovers her predecessor was murdered. But no one will admit his death wasn’t accidental – and she might be next.

Mahit must navigate the capital’s deadly halls of power, while hunting the killer. She must also somehow stop the Empire from annexing her fiercely independent colony. As she sinks deeper into this seductive yet unfamiliar culture, Mahit engages in intrigues of her own. For she’s hiding an extraordinary technological secret, one which might destroy her station and its way of life. Or it might save them all from annihilation.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3/5

Review: I decided to read this book because my partner absolutely loved it. And because it’s science fiction and sounded interesting, but mostly because they raved about it and I wanted to enjoy it that much as they did. Spoiler alert: I unfortunately did not.

I did enjoy it! The plot is interesting, with the main character, Mahit, taking over the job of her predecessor while simultaneously trying the solve his murder. As an ambassador Mahit is an interesting character, walking the line between loyalty to Lsel, the mining station she comes from, and her love of things Teixcalaan—the empire. I especially loved her admiration of the poetry along with her sadness of knowing she would never be a part of that world with the ease of a true Teixcalaanli.

My favourite character was Three Seagrass. She took a while to grow on me, as she at first came across quite arrogant, but I think as the affection between her and Mahit grew, so did my affection for her. And of course, where there is affection for Three Seagrass there has to be affection for her best friend, Twelve Azalea. I liked them, even though I was also suspicious of them. Everyone is a murder suspect, at first.

There is a lot of world- and character-building in this book. A lot of it relevant later on, as the story plays out and threads weave together. But also a lot of it not so relevant. I loved the aspects that did all pull together in the final chapters—that’s always satisfying. I also loved, perhaps even more, certain character details that didn’t lead anywhere specific. Eight Antidote’s desire to travel and see the worlds, Eight Loop’s missing intentions and motivations, Five Portico’s possible uses for the faulty imago-machine. I hope these are things that get explored in the sequel.

The world building… is where I start to not love the book as much. Because there is a lot of it. And that’s not necessarily a criticism, so much as it is me, personally, not enjoying it. I struggled to get into this book initially because there was just so much to take in. I am a very active reader and I like to take note of and fully absorb everything. But it was just overwhelming for me to do that here. I had to stop. I had to read much more casually, not memorising every new word or concept or detail. Which left me wondering what the point of all this world building is, if I’m skimming and forgetting most of it?

My only other complaint is that the writing seemed overly verbose a lot of the time. I think this is partly because so much of it is happening inside Mahit’s head. Not because of the other person she has in there (that actually helped—thought process via dialogue), but because she did so much thinking and figuring things out. All the way through she is choosing who to say what to and why—she’s never fully honest with anyone. And as she is assessing things and coming to conclusions and decisions it is all happening in her mind, which feels very awkward and clunky from a writing point of view. The show-to-tell ratio fell heavy on the tell, and I didn’t vibe with that.

I did still very much enjoy the book, and will certainly be reading the sequel at some point. There are a lot of loose threads that I hope get picked up, as there are several things I want to know more about. The sunlit and how they hell they work, the aliens and what’s going on with them, and of course Mahit and Three Seagrass and how their relationship develops.

Floating Hotel

Title: Floating Hotel

Author: Grace Curtis

Summary: Welcome to the Grand Abeona, home of the finest food, the sweetest service, and the very best views the galaxy has to offer. All year round it moves from planet to planet, system to system, pampering guests across the furthest reaches of the milky way. The last word in sub-orbital luxury—and an absolute magnet for intrigue. Intrigues such as why are there love poems in the lobby inbox? How many Imperial spies are currently on board? What is the true purpose of the Problem Solver’s conference? And perhaps most pertinently—who is driving the ship?

Each guest has a secret, every member of staff a universe unto themselves. At the centre of these interweaving lives and interlocking mysteries stands Carl, one time stowaway, long-time manager, devoted caretaker to the hotel. It’s the love of his life and the only place he’s ever called home. But as forces beyond Carl’s comprehension converge on the Abeona, he has to face one final question: when is it time to let go?

Rating: ★★★★★ 5/5

Review: After loving Curtis’ first book, Frontier, of course I was going to jump at the chance to read her second one. And a book set on a hotel spaceship certainly sounded like something I would love. As the five star rating gives away: I did!

Like Frontier, this book is heavily character driven. We meet a new character each chapter, dipping into their world and their story. While it was the main character’s journey that helped string the previous book’s chapters together, in this book it is the hotel, Abeona. Each chapter gives insights not only into the characters, but the hotel. You could argue the hotel is the main character.

All the characters are great, in that I loved learning about them, but did not love everything about them. They were flawed, and that made them so real. Every member of staff ended up stuck there by accident and chose to stay on purpose. Their love for the hotel and each other was beautiful and, like each of them, imperfect. I wanted to see more of characters who didn’t get their own chapters, too. Reggie, Mataz… Nina.

The non-staff characters were more hit and miss for me. Some I warmed to while others I didn’t. Though they all had something to add to the bigger plot weaving between the chapters, it was the staff and their connections to the hotel and each other that I enjoyed the most.

Talking of the plot. It was slow at first. Small hints at something. Then several somethings cropping up. Not all of which mattered to the main thread, but all fed into it. It was the last 100 pages or so where things really got going, and only the last 25 where all the threads pulled together. I love the part of a story when everything comes together.

The end was extremely bittersweet. I knew things weren’t as simple as they seemed and that my man Carl was working some kind of ploy. The outcome for Abeona and her staff wasn’t as safe and happy as I had hoped, but it wasn’t as dire and bleak as I had feared, either. It was sad and hopeful and perfect. I want to follow the hotel and join it on its next adventure.

Acceptance

Title: Acceptance

Author: Jeff VanderMeer

Summary: The Southern Reach trilogy draws to a close and it is winter in Area X.

One last, desperate team embarks across the border, determined to reach a remote island that may hold the answers they’ve been seeking. As they press deeper into the unknown, the threat to the outside world becomes only more daunting.

The mysteries of Area X may have been solved, but their consequences and implications are no less profound – or terrifying.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3/5

Review: I was excited to be finishing this trilogy. To discover what other secrets Area X and the Southern Reach held. But… I didn’t find it as compelling as the first two books in the Southern Reach series. Annihilation and Authority followed single characters navigating new and increasingly bizarre situations. This books followed several characters and was less about the strangeness around them, and more about them as individuals. Each chapter felt like a character-driven vignette loosely strung together with the .

This wasn’t a bad thing, necessarily. But it wasn’t what I had expected. I enjoyed meeting characters we had only really heard about and barely met, and seeing more of their motivations and feelings. Saul, the lighthouse keeper, was most definitely my favourite, and his chapters were always a delight. They were also bittersweet, as we already know where his story ends. Seeing him get there was heart-wrenching.

The Director was, in some ways, the most interesting. Her story bridges the gap between the first two books in a lot of ways. The illicit trip she took into Area X, the repercussions of that for her, for Whitby, and for the Souther Reach as a whole. How that informed her and drove the decisions she made ahead of the expedition into Area X we follow in the first book. The things she still didn’t understand and what she left behind, which were found by her successor in the second book. And, of course, her connection to the Forgotten Coast and her relationship with Saul. It was so interesting seeing her as a child in his story, and as a adult her in own. They felt like two different characters, again connecting different parts of the same story.

Control and Ghost Bird I cared much less about. The innocent and the wise, their characters fumbling their way through Area X with no clear intention. Their role in the greater story simply seemed to be showing us more of Area X, a lot of which was not new or surprising. I was shocked none of the characters had picked up on the fact that time moves differently in Area X, there was so many clues to that. Meeting the Crawler—seeing what had become of Saul—I had been looking forward to, but felt underwhelming. The most interesting of their chapters was finding out what had happened to the Biologist. That felt fitting and right and I hope she is content as she is now.

There are so many links and chains and circles in this trilogy, and I think this book brings many of them to light in a fascinating way. Parts of the narrative starting as others end, people’s stories ending only also to begin. Themes and motifs running through and so many questions begged with so precious few answers given.

I think that is, at the core of it, what I love and dislike about this book in equal measure. There is so much to consider and ways to connect things to draw meaning from them, but never any real concrete answers to help gauge how close or far you may be to the truth.

Cosmoknights Book Two

Title: Cosmoknights Book Two

Author: Hannah Templer

Summary: Plucky mechanic Pan has finally escaped her dead-end planet, building a new sort of family with the rebel gladiators, Bee & Cass and the mysterious hacktivist Kate. They’ve even rescued a princess… but what if this process has her own ideas? Whatever happened to Pan’s childhood friend Tara? And if they become galactic fugitives, will the pressure of life on the run threaten to tear them apart, just in time for the biggest heist of their lives?

Rating: ★★★★★ 5/5

Review: I absolutely loved the first book in this series and was itching to buy and read the second. I wanted to finish my previous book before starting this one, but every time I thought about this book I made a grabby hands motion and got very excited. It was just as amazing as the first, if not better.

This book starts off where the last one ended and I was so ready to get back into the story. The focus was heavily on the characters’ relationships and development. Having agreed to work together, they need to figure out what that looks like—what their goals are and how to achieve them. Cass, sill my favourite character, is resistant to change while her wife, Bee, is in desperate need of it. The mysteriously cool Kate has her own angle on their shared agenda (and I still have my suspicions about her past). Pan is the most passionate and empathic, wanting to do the best by everyone. And newest addition Scottie has to reassess her own views and place in the world.

Seeing this group of women with different histories, different priorities, and different views come together to become a family and work together was a delight. I love them all. While the story and what they’re fighting for is important and driving the plot, it is them as people that drives the heart of the story.

And the art. The art. It is just as bright and colourful and fun as the last book. The way the tones and colours change with the mood of the scene. The use of text outside of speech. The exquisite composition and showcasing of negative space. The comical faces in brawls and shocking moments. Pan’s sparkly rainbow jumpsuit! Scottie’s freckles!! I could look at these pages for ages without even paying attention to the plot.

The fact that book three won’t be out for a while yet pains me, but I understand the work involved, and I will savour the wait. Because it’s going to be incredible.

The Librarianist

Title: The Librarianist

Author: Patrick deWitt

Summary: Bob Comet is a retired librarian passing his solitary days surrounded by books in a mint-coloured house in Portland, Oregon. One morning on his daily walk he encounters a confused elderly woman lost in a market and returns her to the senior centre that is her home. Hoping to fill the void he’s known since retiring, he begins volunteering at the centre. Here, as a community of strange peers gathers around Bob, and following a happenstance brush with a painful complication from his past, the events of his life and the details of his character are revealed.

Behind Bob Comet’s straight man facade is the story of an unhappy child’s runaway adventure during the last days of the Second World War, of true love won and stolen away, of the purpose and pride found in the librarian’s vocation, and the pleasures of a life lived to the side of the masses. Comet’s experiences are imbued with melancholy but also a bright, sustained comedy; he has a talent for locating bizarre and outsized players to welcome onto the stage of his life.

With his inimitable verve, skewed humour, and compassion for the outcast, Patrick deWitt has written a wide-ranging and ambitious document of the introvert’s condition. The Librarianist celebrates the extraordinary in the so-called ordinary life, and depicts beautifully the turbulence that sometimes exists beneath a surface of serenity.

Rating: ★★★★★ 5/5

Review: I was offered an advanced copy of this book from Bloomsbury and immediately started reading. Every deWitt novel is unique in genre and setting, but consistent in exploring the human condition and I am obsessed. This—this—is how you write character-driven stories.

The story focuses on Bob Comet at various points in his life. As an old man making friends with residents of a care home, as a young man getting married and having his heart broken, as a young boy running away from home and going on an adventure. Bob is a quiet, unassuming man with a simple, straightforward life. Yet still he has a life full of stories.

“Do you know what a vignette is?”

“No.”

“It’s a story that’s too small to be called a story, so you call it a vignette. By pretending you’ve made it small on purpose, you avoid the shame that accompanies culpability.”

My favourite was runaway Bob. Eleven years old, sneaking onto public transport, making friends with an eccentric Thespian couple and their dogs, and learning to play a drum roll. Every character was fun and loveable and I wanted Bob to stay with them, growing up amongst so much life, creativity, and joy. Knowing he didn’t made that section of the story bittersweet.

I struggled most with young, married man Bob. Again, knowing how the story ended made reading it painful. And it hurt because the connection and relationships Bob has with Ethan and Connie were clearly so genuine and deep, and we’re seeing those develop while also seeing the pieces of how it all falls apart slip into place. It was exquisite storytelling that broke my own heart along with Bob’s.

What brings the story—Bob’s life—together, though, is the present day sections that bookend the others. The lessons learnt in his life, how they brought him to where he is now, gave him the ability to embrace the people and the opportunities crossing his path. How to let himself be happy.

Every person we meet, even the ones that only appear briefly and have only a few lines, have an immense amount of character. Everyone feels so unapologetically themselves, and I just flipping adore that so much. I feel it’s what deWitt truly excels at, and the thing that makes me want to live inside one of his books.

There were a couple of moments in the book that literally brought me to tears. A couple more that made me gasp in shock. But overwhelmingly this book made me laugh. I laughed so much, out loud, and without shame. Undoubtedly, the biggest laugh I had came at the very end of the book, leaving me cackling with joy and cementing the five stars I gave it.

The Two Doctors Górski

Title: The Two Doctors Górski

Author: Isaac Fellman

Summary: Annae, a brilliant graduate student in psychiatric magic and survivor of academic abuse, can’t stop reading people’s minds. This is how she protects herself, by using her abilities to know exactly how her colleagues view her. This is how she escapes the torturous experience of her own existence.

When Annae moves to England to rebuild her life and finish her studies under the seminal magician Marec Górski—infamous for bringing to life a homunculus made from his unwanted better self—she sees, inside his head, a man who is both a destructive force to everyone around him, and her mirror image. For Annae to survive, she’ll need to break free of a lifetime of conditioning to embody her own self and forge her own path.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 4/5

Review: This is a book that I’ll be thinking about for a while. For a short book it sure packs a lot in. Not all my thoughts on it are positive, but they are interesting to consider. I adore books that get me thinking!

The most interesting aspect for me were the title characters. Marec Górski and his homunculus, Ariel. The idea of syphoning off the parts of yourself you dislike to make a new person, and the profound conflict that creates was morbidly compelling. Marec hated those aspects of himself so much he gave them away, but then leant heavily on Ariel emotionally. Is it easier to accept those parts of yourself when they are no longer actually a part of you? It’s a fascinating psychological concept and I could speculate and theorise on it all day.

We learn about both Górskis through Annae, who interacts with them both but also reads both their minds. Annae is another character I could analyse for a while. On the surface she seems fairly simple to understand, but there is depth to her. It’s a complex and murky depth that I think she herself is reluctant to explore. Instead, she reaches out into others’ minds to discover what they make of her. It leaves her much more focused on everyone’s thoughts and feelings but her own.

That’s where my biggest issue lies—with Annae, as the sole woman in the book, occupied with and managing the emotions of all the men around her. Quite literally, in one stand out moment. I do believe it’s an intentional part of the book and is making its own point. For that I respect it, but it doesn’t make it any less frustrating to read.

The short length of the book works perfectly in its favour. Though that might be my own preferences showing. I love short stories and books not inflated by unnecessary descriptions or filler. This book gives us exactly the right amount of information to paint the story it’s telling. It didn’t feel short—there is so much to take in, digest, and enjoy. And none of it is given to you too easily, either. The pieces of the story and the concepts it’s exploring fall into place as you read, gradually adding more to think about.

I loved the ending. It leaves just enough unspecified for plenty of room for speculation, but also lets us know where the characters are a little further down the line. What place they are in compared to where they were during the events in the story. And what I particularly loved was the ultimate correlation between Marec and Annae—those that can’t do…

Overall the book was wonderfully written. So many vivid descriptions and memorable turns of phrase. It was a pleasure to read, regardless of what was happening in the story. Fellman certainly has a beautiful way with words, and I would happily read more of them.

The Trials of Koli

Title: The Trials of Koli

Author: M R Carey

Summary: Koli has been cast from his village and into the strange and deadly forest beyond. But he heard a story, once. A story about lost London, and the mysterious tech of the old times that was there. And if Koli can find it, there may be a way for him to redeem himself–by saving what’s left of humanity.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.5/5

Review: This is the second book in the Rampart series, and I had absolutely loved the first, The Book of Koli. A worthy sequel, I loved this one too. It picks up where the first book left off, wiith Koli and co making their way towards London, following a signal from the mysterious Sword of Albion.

My biggest criticism of the book is that is was a little slow to get going. Travelling, camping, contemplating. Not bad things, per se, but not exactly an enticing start, either. And then it introduces a second point of view, which the first book didn’t do. Spinner remains back at Mythen Rood and her first chapter recounts what happened in the first book, which felt unnecessarily repetitive. Even learning more about Spinner as a character and having the story from her point of view didn’t quite bring enough, in my opinion.

Once Koli and co reach Birmagen the story actually starts to pick up. It follows them on a months-long, several seasons journey, and while I got a genuine sense of time passing as things happened and characters evolved, it didn’t drag. Seeing more of this world as well as what’s left behind of the old one was fascinating. More tech and threats posed by people from other places, streets of bones and decayed buildings. I couldn’t get enough.

The characters are what truly drive Koli’s story. Koli himself is so naive in many ways yet so unintentionally wise in others. He is the perfect narrator for this story. Cup, with her energy and untapped intelligence, but also trauma and dysphoria—I adore this book and Carey for not shying away from Cup being trans, along with the struggles and triumphs that come along with that. I loved the gradually developing and begrudging relationship between Ursula, the older-but-not-always-wiser, and Monono, the dead girl who was never really alive. How much more they understand about the world and now little they see eye-to-eye on it.

While Koli’s story is very much a group effort, with each character bringing something to their journey and goals. Spinner’s story, however, is very much a one-woman show.

Spinner is all but alone while learning the secrets of the Ramparts and their tech back in Mythen Rood. Despite it all being new to her, she asks the right questions and has the right kind of intelligence to get results. I love the guarded respect Catrin and Spinner have for each other, and the unspoken games they are playing. Seeing the pieces fall into place and Spinner managing to take advantage of them was very satisfying.

The end of both stories left me desperate for more. Spinner riding back to Mythen Rood a champion and setting her sights on the future of the town. Koli and co setting out to the sea over a flooded London and sailing straight into The Sword of Albion.

It won’t be long until I’m picking up the third book in the series!

Square Eyes

Title: Square Eyes

Author: Anna Mill & Luke Jones

Summary: Look – anyone who invents something really great has a moment where they think it’s going to destroy the world.

For the first time in her life, Fin is off the network. A few months ago, she was the inventor of a programme so powerful, so unusual that she was untouchable.

Until she wasn’t.

Now she is locked out of the virtual systems that control society. Another woman is living in her apartment. And she can’t remember how any of this happened.

Meanwhile, people have started disappearing from the streets of the city and the technology she created might be implicated.

Square Eyes is a graphic novel about a future where the boundaries between memory, dreams and the digital world start to blur. It’s a kaleidoscopic mystery story which asks: in a city built on digital illusion, who really holds the power? What is weakness? And when is it most dangerous?

Rating: ★★★★☆ 4/5

Review: Graphic novels are the only books I will buy on a whim. If the story sounds interesting and I like the art style, I will often buy it without looking up reviews. I find impulsive comic purchases a much safer bet than written books. And Square Eyes was one of my random finds. It’s been sitting on my shelf for a while, but whim took over again and I finally decided to pick it up to read.

Square Eyes is set in a world where everyone is connected to one network and everything is controlled digitally. You can’t pay, travel, live, or work without being online. The main character is Fin, a programmer who created something new and unheard of… before having a breakdown and losing access to the network entirely.

The story explores ideas around identity, reality, memory, and freedom. As the back of the book itself says: In a city built on digital illusion, who really holds the power? In some ways these concepts are thrown at the reader so obviously and clearly, but it’s also open enough that the reader needs to do some work themself to put more subtle pieces together and consider what life in a world like this would genuinely be like (spoiler: it’s not good).

While the story and concepts are interesting, it is truly the art that brings them to life. It’s outstanding. The level of detail, use of colour, the overlaying of reality with the digital world, the digital interfaces, the use of negative space. Every page, every frame, is an entire piece of art worthy of being framed and hung. I took my time reading this book in order to fully soak up the art and I never got tired of looking at the pages.

The book itself is large, hardback, and somewhat cumbersome, but it is worth it. The pages should be large to fully display the artwork. The cover should be solid because this book would make an excellent coffee table book. …If only I had a coffee table.