Reseña: The Litany of Earth (Innsmouth 0)

The Litany of Earth (The Innsmouth Legacy 0)

by  

Ruthanna Emrys

32 pages

Published May 14th 2014 by Tor Books

ISBN:1466868945 (ISBN13: 9781466868946)

Edition Language:English

 BLURB: The state took Aphra away from Innsmouth. They took her history, her home, her family, her god. They tried to take the sea. Now, years later, when she is just beginning to rebuild a life, an agent of that government intrudes on her life again, with an offer she wishes she could refuse. "The Litany of Earth" is a dark fantasy story inspired by the Lovecraft mythos.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My shelves: dark-urban-fantasy, short-story, novelette-short, situ-1940s

Recommended for: Cthulhu fans

The people of the water are born in shadow on the land, but what they make beneath the waves will live in glory till the dying sun burns away their last shelter.

Aphra Marsh is a survivor of interment camp. Her old town was Innsmouth.

For you, o not versed, Innsmouth is a fictional place of Lovecraftian horror. ( The Shadow Over Innsmouth )

More than a short story this is a sneek peak into the book of this author - Winter Tide . Takes place in the 1940s, after the war. Emrys (really??) narrate with Aphra, the other side of the people persecuted and stripped of family, legacy and religion. She is an Old Deep hybrid, with head down she lives following lost threads when able. Her tranquility is once more shattered when one man, Spector, ask her help with ... other people. Now, she is bitter, but then curious.

I'm not really sure how I feel about the comparation between the religion persecuted and culture persecuted and ... I don't know ...satanist? aliens pagans with human sacrifices? Actually, I do mind. But it's interesting.

The ending of this story -see here -is a bit weak. But I'm curious enough to look for the book.

URL

http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/05/the-litany-of-earth-ruthanna-emrys

Reseña: Monstress #9 (singular issue)

Monstress #9 (singular issue)

by 

Marjorie M. Liu

Art by Sana Takeda 

28 pages

Published December 28th 2016 by Image

ASIN.B01M1KUSNM

Edition Language:English

BLURB: A terrible force rises from the heart of the sea, intent on consuming Maika-and the monster inside her.

 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Almost forget how oustanding is the art in the series. Almost.

What a wolf teach her pups but teeth and hunger?

And I didn't get before the 'relatives'. Let me say: Wow, and 'poor Maiko' /SPOILER--->mommies issues doesn't cover all<---SPOILER/

 [ mommies issues doesn't cover all (hide spoiler)]

How many monsters are in this serie anyway?

And the journey continues...

Reseña: An Unnatural Vice (Sins of the Cities #2)

+Digital Arc gently provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review+

An Unnatural Vice (Sins of the Cities #2)

by  

K.J. Charles

250 pages

Published June 6th 2017 by Loveswept

ISBN13: 9780399593970

Edition Language:English

BLURB: In the sordid streets of Victorian London, unwanted desire flares between two bitter enemies brought together by a deadly secret.

Crusading journalist Nathaniel Roy is determined to expose spiritualists who exploit the grief of bereaved and vulnerable people. First on his list is the so-called Seer of London, Justin Lazarus. Nathaniel expects him to be a cheap, heartless fr fraud. He doesn’t expect to meet a man with a sinful smile and the eyes of a fallen angel—or that a shameless swindler will spark his desires for the first time in years.

Justin feels no remorse for the lies he spins during his séances. His gullible clients simply bore him. Hostile, disbelieving, utterly irresistible Nathaniel is a fascinating challenge. And as their battle of wills and wits heats up, Justin finds he can’t stop thinking about the man who’s determined to ruin him.But Justin and Nathaniel are linked by more than their fast-growing obsession with one another. They are both caught up in an aristocratic family’s secrets, and Justin holds information that could be lethal. As killers, fanatics, and fog close in, Nathaniel is the only man Justin can trust—and, perhaps, the only man he could love.

My rating:2.5 the spiritual-guide was out the building stars

My bookshelves: historical-fiction, m-m, mxm-historical-romance, netgalley, situ-1870s, w_con-man-or-grifter, w_journalist

Not as I was expecting. Seriously tempted to put just 2 stars to this book.

Journalist seeks to unmask a medium in Victorian London, the plot is complicated in a tangle of questioning for an inheritance.

Strangely, during the narration of the séance, I keep thinking in Houdini and his own obsession with spiritualism.

My problem with this book is that Nathaniel Roy -the journalist and former lawyer- is an uncharitable character, from a priveleged upbringing , he has never suffered hunger or despair to do everything to survive, but he feels with the right to judge others. In another hand, Justin Lazarus, the subject that deceives those who 'want to be deceived', is a character of gray morality, much more understandable; and I could sympathize with him.

The vision of London wrapped in a tangible fog where Justin manages to navigate is not very subtle, but convincing. I think they are not the type of couple that you expect to stay together for a long time, not with the way Nathaniel thinks.

Reseña: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (poesia)

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner 

by 

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

22 pages

(first published 1798)

BLURB: The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner is a hauntingly beautiful work, acclaimed both for the lyrical quality of its language and for the ghostly atmosphere it evokes. Samuel Taylor Coleridge's masterpiece related the tale of a sailor who shoots a lucky albatross and is condemned to wander the sea in search of redemption, burdened with guilt over his deed and the resulting deaths of his shipmates.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An orphan's curse would drag to hell
A spirit from on high;
But oh! more horrible than that
Is the curse in a dead man's eye!

La balada del viejo marinero es un clásico poema con una métrica que cuesta un tanto seguir. En esta época los viajes largos por barco era cuestión de suerte si llegabas o no a casa, y si no te encontrabas con mal tiempo, sin brisa y detenido , y plagas y canibalismo iban a la orden del día. Muchos horrores que no resultan demasiado inventados , pero que son explicados de forma imaginativa y supersticiosa por los protagonistas.

Es un clásico, asi que supongo que en algún momento habria que leerlo.

Reseña: Christabel (poesia)

Christabel 

by 

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

 

5 pages

(first published 1816)

BLURB:  Christabel is a long narrative poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in two parts.

The story of Christabel concerns a central female character of the same name and her encounter with a stranger called Geraldine, who claims to have been abducted from her home by a band of rough men. Christabel pities her and takes her home with her; supernatural signs seem to indicate that not all is well.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Donde Christabel encuentra en el bosque después de medianoche a una extraña mujer, y no encuentra nada mejor que invitarla a su lecho.

And Christabel awoke and spied
The same who lay down by her side—
O rather say, the same whom she
Raised up beneath the old oak tree!
Nay, fairer yet! and yet more fair!
For she belike hath drunken deep
Of all the blessedness of sleep!

Con conatos de vampirismo lésbico o meramente de un espiritu maléfico y donde se entrecruzan elementos de cuento de hada y cuento admonitorio buscando redimir la virtud , el final es especulativo porque el Sr. Coleridge nunca llegó a concluirlo. Hay menciones de espiritus en pena, de traspaso de un umbral de hierro (¿contra las hadas?) aunque puede concluirse como eso de que los vampiros no pueden entrar solos a un hogar. Un amor perdido, y una mujer/espiritu/demonio seductor. Cosas compelidas a no decirse y ojos de serpiente.

Interesante.

Y anterior a Carmilla pues fue escrito en 1797.

(Me recuerda un poco a lo que hace Gaiman en "Nieve, cristal y manzanas".)

Reseña: Pyromantic (Firebug 2)

Pyromantic 

by  

Lish McBride

 336 pages

Published March 21st 2017 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

ISBN:0805098631 (ISBN13: 9780805098631)

Edition Language:English

Series:Firebug #2

BLURB: Ava is having a rough time. Getting rid of Venus didn’t set her free—she’s still part of the magical mafia called the Coterie. Her new boss seems like an improvement, but who knows if he’ll stay that way—the Coterie life changes people. And since Ava’s currently avoiding her friends after (disastrously) turning down a date with Lock, well, everything kind of sucks. And that’s not even taking into account the feelings she might have for him.

But when a mysterious illness starts to affect magical beings, it’s up to Ava and her team to stop its spread…or else one of them might be next.

My rating: 2.75 melting stars

Realmente queria que este libro me gustara mucho más, pero Ava, la prota, lo intenta demasiado. Trata demasiado de ser graciosa, de no caer en sentimentalismos, pero igual termina interactuando de modo forzado. 

La trama es interesante, y se lee bastante rápido.

Reseña: Army of Darkness / Xena, Warrior Princess: Forever and a Day (comic)

+Digital-copy gently provided by Netgalley in exchange for a honest review+

Army of Darkness / Xena, Warrior Princess: Forever and a Day 

by  

Scott Lobdell

146 pages

Expected publication: July 25th 2017 by Dynamite Entertainment

ISBN:1524103519 (ISBN13: 9781524103514)

Edition Language:English

 

My rating: 3.3 loopy stars

bookshelves: netgalley, fantasy, graphic-novel, media-tie-in, adventure, necromancy, tv-serie-based,  x-over, from-movie-to-graphic-novel

Follows the weird and silly fashion of some episodes of Xena. This is an adventure starting with a major event -Gabrielle and Xena in big trouble- and asking the help of Ash Williams (from Army of Darkness).

Reseña: Maneki Neko

Maneki Neko 

by  

Bruce Sterling

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When freeware network seems to put people really nervous.

Tsuyoshi Shimizu is living content with his pregnant wife and small business , when a errand takes a twist .

Tsuyoshi blinked. “I’m just living my life.”
“Well, your network gift economy is undermining the lawful, government approved, regulated economy!”
“Well,” Tsuyoshi said gently, “maybe my economy is better than your economy.”
“Says who?” she scoffed. “Why would anyone think that?”
“It’s better because we’re happier than you are. What’s wrong with acts of kindness? Everyone likes gifts.

-------------------

Relato corto que terminó sorprendiéndome de manera agradable.

No soy nada de fan de los famosos 'gatitos de la suerte' (que dan nombre a esta historia) y que empezaron a proliferar hace unos años, desplazando al elefante, asi que esto me dio cierto resquemor. Pero la imagen es sólo una forma de aunar todo un movimiento que actua en una suerte de cadena de favores.

Primer cyberpunk que leo que no contiene el pesimismo y truculencia que caracteriza en gran parte el género, asi que hasta vacilo en calificarlo como tal.

Lo pueden leer aqui

View all my reviews

Reseña: Prophets of the Ghost Ants (Antasy #1)

+Digital copy gently provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review+

BILINGUAL REVIEW/Reseña Bilingue

Prophets of the Ghost Ants (Antasy #1)

by 

Clark Thomas Carlton

608 pages

Published January 24th 2017 by Harper Voyager Impulse (first published June 17th 2011)

ISBN:0062429752 (ISBN13: 9780062429759)

Languaje: English

BLURB: Both familiar and fantastic, Clark T. Carlton’s Prophets of the Ghost Ants explores a world in which food, weapons, clothing, art—even religious beliefs—are derived from Humankind’s profound intertwining with the insect world. 
In a savage landscape where humans have evolved to the size of insects, they cannot hope to dominate. Ceaselessly, humans are stalked by night wasps, lair spiders, and marauder fleas. And just as sinister, men are still men. Corrupt elites ruthlessly enforce a rigid caste system. Duplicitous clergymen and power-mongering royalty wage pointless wars for their own glory. Fantasies of a better life and a better world serve only to torment those who dare to dream. 

One so tormented is a half-breed slave named Anand, a dung-collector who has known nothing but squalor and abuse. Anand wants to lead his people against a genocidal army who fight atop fearsome, translucent Ghost Ants. But to his horror, Anand learns this merciless enemy is led by someone from his own family: a religious zealot bent on the conversion of all non-believers . . . or their extermination.
 
A mix of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Shadow of the Apt, Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor, and Phillip Pullman’s Golden Compass, this is a powerful new addition to the genre.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

{Note: If you are squeamish about bugs and eating bugs, this is so not your book ;P}

Este es uno de esos libros que resulta algo dificil de encasillar dentro de un sólo género, parte diciendo que un meteorito cayó en la tierra y desaparecio la civilización, dejando sólo bichos gigantes y los humanos se achicaron. No. No es broma. Ahora si dejamos de lado la parte en que hay que creer que todos los mamiferos desaparecieron dejando solamente seres humanos ... es bastante entretenido. Por eso es que a algunas personas les parece que esto tal vez tendria mayor sentido si fuera en un planeta ajeno a la tierra. Y claro, después en lo que avanza la historia nos encontramos con una fantasía heroica en la que sólo esta ausente la magia.

Bueno, los diminutos humanos han sobrevivido atando sus vidas a los grandes insectos organizados. Relación simbiótica, domesticación, parasitismo todo ello cabe aqui.

Los humanos han establecido todo un panteon de dioses: hormiga, abeja, cucaracha, mantis, langosta, termita, etc. Su cultura esta entrelazada y basado en sus vidas, y una estratificación social rígida con reinas , sacerdotes, soldados y esclavos. No hay tecnologia, y la sociedad es una suerte de despotismo/hierocracia . La casta alta son de piel 'clara y amarilla'.

Anand , el protagonista, es un muchacho de la casta más baja dentro de los Slopeites, y es fácil identificarlo con la casta de los intocables que continua cargando excrementos hoy en dia. Esta 'contaminado' y , horror, su piel es oscura. Su cultura adora a la Reina Hormiga de los cortadores de hojas.

Reseña: Battlestar Galactica: Folly of the Gods (Novela Grafica)

+Digital copy gently provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review+

Battlestar Galactica: Folly of the Gods 

by  

Cullen Bunn

Alex  Sanchez

Expected publication: May 23rd 2017 by Dynamite Entertainment

ISBN: 1524103144 (ISBN13: 9781524103149)

Edition Language: English

BLURB; An all-new adventure set in the continuity of the classic 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series!

The Galactica's search for sanctuary takes them beyond the limits of known reality and into a cosmic mystery where the hunters become the hunted, ruin and despair dot the skies, and Adama goes where friend and family can't follow.

My rating: 2,5 deep space stars.

Shelves ciencia-ficcion, comics, graphic-novel, media-tie-in, netgalley, space-opera, tv-serie-based

This is a 'Classical Battlestar Galactica' adventure (1978), where the Galactica is thrown into a spatial divergence -and can we say spatial cliche here- a black hole. The bumpy travel of the starship have cost some problems, and Adama is unsconcious.

Apollo, Starbuck and Sheba goes to explore some planet with a ring of debris were found a few surprises. Not the pleasant kind.