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I always mean to write a little about the books I've read, but I wait until I think I have enough to make a good post, and then I feel I have too many to write about. . . . So this time, I'm just going to write about the last two I read.
Octavia Butler, Dawn: This is the first book of the Xenogenesis trilogy, also known as Lilith's Brood. How did I never read this book before? Lilith Iyapo wakes up in a cell. She remembers waking before. She doesn't know where she is or who is holding her; she remembers seeing what seemed like the end of the world. The book was published in 1987, but I’ll put in a cut before I say more, in case you’re like me. I went in knowing only that I thought Butler’s Kindred and some of her short stories were outstanding. I won't spoil the whole thing! But feel free to discuss fully in comments, because I'd love to talk about it more if others have read it.
Lilith has been rescued by aliens, and they are truly alien. She finds them physically repulsive at first, and even after she becomes mostly accustomed to their appearance, she has trouble comprehending some aspects of their lives and thought—and they hers. But she's dependent upon them, and they want things from her. They've chosen her to help repopulate earth with humans centuries after human life on earth did indeed end, as she thought.
Dawn made me think about sex and gender; what we need, what we're willing to give up, and what we won't compromise to remain ourselves. It's brilliant. Butler preceded N.K. Jemisin and Ann Leckie, and I can only imagine she had some influence on them: the world-building is so thorough, so willing to reconsider basic premises of human life and society.
If you haven't read it, please do! I want to talk about it!
Joyce Lionarons, The Eyes of the Dying: Matthew Cordwainer Book 12. Joyce is a fellow medievalist, and I know her as a colleague and friend. The Cordwainer books are meticulously researched but use that learning just to ; the setting is beautifully integrated with, I think, sufficient explanation for non-specialists without hitting anyone over the head. She also doesn't idealize the Middle Ages; we see a lot of prejudice, violence, and just plain nastiness. And some of that is from Matthew Cordwainer! He's a grumpy old man who sometimes learns better and sometimes doesn't, but I love him anyway (even though I'm very frustrated with him at time.)
I recommend all these books for people who like historical mysteries. They're set in York, mostly in the 1270s. This one starts with a view of the killer, so the suspense is in how Matthew and his associates unravel the mystery, not so much in the who or why. Matthew's physician friend Stefan takes more of a role in this than the previous ones, which I enjoyed, largely because Matthew is stymied by church authorities who assert the freedom of the church from secular officials, including King's Coroner Cordwainer. Matthew is also still having trouble adjusting to his relatively new servant Jarvis, and Jarvis is a teenager having trouble adjusting to his new life. One major figure is an anchorite with a terrible past. I read the whole book yesterday (mostly during a platelet donation, which takes a couple of hours) and was sorry to see it end so soon!
Octavia Butler, Dawn: This is the first book of the Xenogenesis trilogy, also known as Lilith's Brood. How did I never read this book before? Lilith Iyapo wakes up in a cell. She remembers waking before. She doesn't know where she is or who is holding her; she remembers seeing what seemed like the end of the world. The book was published in 1987, but I’ll put in a cut before I say more, in case you’re like me. I went in knowing only that I thought Butler’s Kindred and some of her short stories were outstanding. I won't spoil the whole thing! But feel free to discuss fully in comments, because I'd love to talk about it more if others have read it.
Lilith has been rescued by aliens, and they are truly alien. She finds them physically repulsive at first, and even after she becomes mostly accustomed to their appearance, she has trouble comprehending some aspects of their lives and thought—and they hers. But she's dependent upon them, and they want things from her. They've chosen her to help repopulate earth with humans centuries after human life on earth did indeed end, as she thought.
Dawn made me think about sex and gender; what we need, what we're willing to give up, and what we won't compromise to remain ourselves. It's brilliant. Butler preceded N.K. Jemisin and Ann Leckie, and I can only imagine she had some influence on them: the world-building is so thorough, so willing to reconsider basic premises of human life and society.
If you haven't read it, please do! I want to talk about it!
Joyce Lionarons, The Eyes of the Dying: Matthew Cordwainer Book 12. Joyce is a fellow medievalist, and I know her as a colleague and friend. The Cordwainer books are meticulously researched but use that learning just to ; the setting is beautifully integrated with, I think, sufficient explanation for non-specialists without hitting anyone over the head. She also doesn't idealize the Middle Ages; we see a lot of prejudice, violence, and just plain nastiness. And some of that is from Matthew Cordwainer! He's a grumpy old man who sometimes learns better and sometimes doesn't, but I love him anyway (even though I'm very frustrated with him at time.)
I recommend all these books for people who like historical mysteries. They're set in York, mostly in the 1270s. This one starts with a view of the killer, so the suspense is in how Matthew and his associates unravel the mystery, not so much in the who or why. Matthew's physician friend Stefan takes more of a role in this than the previous ones, which I enjoyed, largely because Matthew is stymied by church authorities who assert the freedom of the church from secular officials, including King's Coroner Cordwainer. Matthew is also still having trouble adjusting to his relatively new servant Jarvis, and Jarvis is a teenager having trouble adjusting to his new life. One major figure is an anchorite with a terrible past. I read the whole book yesterday (mostly during a platelet donation, which takes a couple of hours) and was sorry to see it end so soon!
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