Tak! commented on The Old Goat and the Alien by Veo Corva
Avari keeps to themself. They're a goat-shape cosmoran, a member of the Cleaners' Union, and …
aaaaaaaa it's here!
Reviews and Comments
I like to read
Non-bookposting: @Tak@glitch.taks.garden
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Tak! commented on Non-Player Character by Veo Corva
32-year old Tar feels like a Non-Player Character in their own life. They’ve been utterly …
As a consequence of living under capitalism, I am sometimes forced to tell people about the books I write.
Today, I want to talk about 🎲 Non-Player Character ✨
NPC is a novel about a highly anxious autistic person in their 30s who joins a tabletop role-playing group...and then all of them get transported to the world of their game.
It's cosy, it's queer, it has asexual romance, and it's very much about found family.
You might like it! You can find buy links here.
Tak! commented on Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivenor
When twelve-year-old Esther disappears on the way home from school in a small town in …
You'll never convince me that "Scrivenor" isn't a pseudonym
Tak! reviewed The Water Outlaws by S. L. Huang
In the jianghu, you break the law to make it your own.
Lin Chong is …
The Water Outlaws
4 stars
Content warning I don't have anything interesting to say without spoilers
This could have been titled The Radicalization of Lin Chong.
One thing that was striking to me was how almost all of the actors self-identified as working for the good of The Empire, but for some of them that meant the people in the Empire, and for others that meant this idealized abstract structure.
I appreciate that Lin's superhuman abilities were created/"unlocked" by a random experience she had, rather than heredity/Chosen One/etc.
Tak! reviewed Crossing the line by Karen Traviss
Shan Frankland forever abandoned the world she knew to come to the rescue of a …
Crossing the Line
4 stars
It kept very much to the themes of the original: genocide, greed, betrayal, and the sheer amount of damage a few bad-faith actors can do in a system not designed to account for them
Finished just in time for #SFFBookClub sequels month 😅
Tak! commented on Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
It was magic. In every world, it was a kind of magic. "No maids, no …
#SFFBookClub pick for April 2024
Tak! commented on Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi
Shigidi is a disgruntled and demotivated nightmare god in the Orisha spirit company, reluctantly answering …
The only novel from the Nebula finalists that wasn't already on my list
Tak! reviewed City of pearl by Karen Traviss
Three separate alien societies have claims on Cavanagh's Star. But the new arrivals -- the …
City of Pearl
3 stars
Overall good scifi and world building, with what I consider appropriate cynicism/realism around human behavior in first contact scenarios
Tak! commented on Maths: 100 Ideas in 100 Words by Katie Steckles
One of the first titles in a cutting-edge new series created in partnership with The …
Also in exciting today news: my new book is out! Coauthored with @SparksMaths@mathstodon.xyz and @sam_hartburn@mathstodon.xyz, it's called "Maths: 100 Ideas in 100 Words", and what we learned from writing it is that a) there are more than 100 ideas in maths and b) 100 is not enough words to write about them, but we did our best:
Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal. 1828. Robin Swift, …
Babel
5 stars
Content warning I don't think I can review this without some vague spoilers
Babel is a story of colonialism, racism, sexism, whiteness, Englishness, loss, betrayal, and despair. It's basically a modern parable grittily illustrating the causes and consequences of colonialism.
I love the translation magic mechanism, and I found the embedded etymology tidbits super interesting.
I also appreciate that the author had the courage to allow Bad Things to happen to major characters - not in a GRRM torture porn kind of way, but just as a kind of natural consequence of the world and the characters' interactions.
Tak! commented on At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard
Cliopher Mdang has been appointed Viceroy of Zunidh by his beloved Radiancy, the Last Emperor, …
The fediverse has broken me to the extent that I read Au'aua as awawa
Tak! commented on At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard
Cliopher Mdang has been appointed Viceroy of Zunidh by his beloved Radiancy, the Last Emperor, …
imbrangled
Tak! commented on The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard
An impulsive word can start a war. A timely word can stop one. A simple …
Content warning ending spoiler
The best possible ending to this would have been for the emperor to get hit by a bus (or the in-universe equivalent) immediately upon walking out the door
Tak! commented on The Beautiful Decay by Veo Corva
Something strange is happening in sleepy subterranean Tombtown. Necromancers are disappearing. The crypt is changing. …
Hi lovely folk,
I am surprised and delighted to say that my novel The Beautiful Decay is up for various awards at the Queer Indie Awards!
If you enjoyed it, it would mean a lot if you'd vote for it. 💙
Discoverability is incredibly difficult as a self-published author and awards can be a big help.
Voting closes 26th Jan!
Tak! reviewed How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
Beginning in 2030, a grieving archeologist arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue the work …
How High We Go in the Dark
4 stars
A series of bleak, gritty glimpses of what's in store for us over the next few decades.
The tone is lightened a bit here and there with injections of optimism, but I think it works against itself a little when the optimism feels unwarranted.
The way that the characters from the different stories are linked reminds me a bit of Cloud Atlas (although I only saw the movie (sorry)).