Navigating Solutions and Darkness

Skyward was a wild ride, a coming of age story for a stubborn, determined and special girl, and an imaginative science fiction endeavour. I do really love a happy ending. I also love Sanderson's ability to write great, engaging characters, and the fact that so many of his books feature amazing female protagonists.

The Blackcoat Rebellion  continues with its characteristic incompetence and worthlessness. Boredom, predictability, and frustration ensues.

Title: Captive Author:  Aimee Carter Year of Publication: 2014 Series:  The Blackcoat Rebellion Series #: 2 Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 3.77 Goodreads Rating (Mine): 2 Spoilers Plot Description:  Kitty is supposed to continue pretending to be Lila Hart, but her rebelliousness gives Daxton Hart, the Prime Minister, reason to publicly disown her and send her Elsewhere. In  Captive,  Kitty navigates survival in Elsewhere and continues her efforts to further the Blackcoat Rebellion. The word Blackcoat is unnecessarily grandiose and superficial, just like everything in this book. I mentioned in my review of  Pawn  (Book 1 in this series) that the story could easily have been wrapped up by the end of that book. But Carter sacrifices good writing in favour of world building (and the mandatory YA trilogy) and  Captive  suffers the brunt of that choice. In a word,  Captive is as superficial and redundant as the name Blackcoat ...

Title:  Dawn of Wonder Author:  Jonathan Renshaw Year of Publication:  2015 Series:  The Wakening Series #:  1 Goodreads Rating (Avg.):  4.35 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  4 Synopsis:  Aedan’s carefree life at the Badgerfield farm is rudely disrupted when Lekrau pirates attack, and kidnap his best friend Kalry. Rumours about his involvement in the attack force his family to leave their home and journey to the mighty city of Castath. Once there, he catches the eye of the great general Osric, and joins a group of students training to be Marshals of the kingdom. All the while, mysterious happenings unfold inside and outside the city, and Aedan nurses his desire for revenge against the Lekrau. Good writing shows. It is unhurried, and care is given to the placing of every word. It is difficult to attain that balance between humour and gravity, but Renshaw manages it by quietly slipping it into even the most mundane of sentences, making the reading ...

Title:  The Autobiography of a Sex Worker  Author:  Nalini Jameela Year of Publication:  2005 Series:  NA Series #:  NA Goodreads Rating (Avg.):  3.19 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  5 Synopsis:  An autobiographical work by a sex worker and activist from Thrissur, Kerala. I read the revised edition translated into English (it would have taken me forever and a giant dictionary to read it in the original Malayalam.) Autobiography of a Sex Worker  is in one word, mind blowing. The author’s narrative voice is strong and dispersed with wry humour. She comes across as well aware that her matter-of-fact narrative holds up an uncomfortable mirror to society. It’s hard to review such a book. Any recommendation I can give pales in comparison, when the book speaks for itself so assertively. It is revolutionary on countless planes and for numerous reasons, for Kerala boasts an extremely conservative culture. Keralite women from well off, up...

Cover Image: The Annihilation of Caste by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Crossposted from  Feminist Quill , written May 6, 2019 I do not care for the credit which every progressive society must give to its rebels. I shall be satisfied if I make the Hindus realize that they are the sick men of India and that their sickness is causing danger to the health and happiness of other Indians. It is with these words that Dr. Ambedkar begins the second edition of his famous  Annihilation of Caste,  a book that began life as a speech. For entirely unsurprising reasons that are detailed in this edition of the book, Dr. Ambedkar’s speech never actually came to be given. He was uninvited by the organization that had originally called him to speak, and he printed the speech at his own expense in the end. I say unsurprising because Dr. Ambedkar was a man far ahead of his time, and one who has made significant and extensive contributions to resolving the problem of the Indian caste system. ...

Crossposted from Feminist Quill , dated June 4, 2017. Title: Silver Shadows Author:  Richelle Mead Year of Publication:  2014 Series: Bloodlines #: 5 Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.37 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  4 I Don't Do Spoiler Free Reviews Plot Description: Sydney has been kidnapped by the Alchemists, the human organization she works for. Their methods for dealing with rogue Alchemists involve imprisonment, torture and brainwashing designed to make their victims more pliable towards their objectives and methods. While she attempts to navigate the various pitfalls of "re-education," Adrian, Jill, Eddie and the rest desperately search for her. Silver Shadows is all action. The only scenes that seem to slow the pace down are - predictably - the ones that involve Adrian's depression following Sydney's kidnapping. Even as she spends months in the dark, resisting torture, Adrian falls off the wagon, spending his days depressed and disoriented. In ord...

Written June 4, 2017, at Feminist Quill Title: The Fiery Heart Author:  Richelle Mead Year of Publication:  2013 Series: Bloodlines #: 4 Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.41 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  4 Spoiler Alert Plot Description:  As Sydney's sister Zoe is assigned as her partner on the Palm Springs assignment, Sydney finds her instinct to bond with her sister warring with her need to keep her new relationship with Adrian a secret. She continues to work towards finding a magical means of breaking the bond of compulsion used by the Alchemists on all their agents, and must keep from making any mistakes that might end with her sent back to Alchemist 're-education'. Although Mead meant for this series to have two narrators from the start, The Fiery Heart  is the first book to actually implement that plan. The first chapter takes place from Adrian's POV, and the POVs alternate between the two protagonists after that. For someone who'...

Written January 13, 2016, posted on Feminist Quill Title: The Indigo Spell Author:  Richelle Mead Year of Publication:  2013 Series: Bloodlines #: 3 Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.43 Goodreads Rating (Mine): 4 Spoiler Warning Plot Description:  Having kissed Adrian once, Sydney is now struggling with the realization that she might perhaps return his feelings, even as she continues to follow up on leads that hint towards corruption within her organization, the Alchemists. She also finds herself in danger thanks to a mysterious serial killer witch who is tracking down young magic users and draining them of life and power. The Indigo Spell  begins on a hilarious note: This wasn't the first time I'd been pulled out of bed for a crucial mission. It was, however, the first time I'd been subjected to such a personal line of questioning. "Are you a virgin?" "Huh?" I rubbed my sleepy eyes, just in case this was all some sort of bizarre dream t...

Posted on Feminist Quill , on December 19, 2015 Title: Bloodlines Author:  Richelle Mead Year of Publication:  2011 Series: Bloodlines ( Series sequel to the  Vampire Academy series) #:  1 Goodreads Rating (Avg.): 4.22 Goodreads Rating (Mine):  3 Insert the Usual and Mandatory Spoiler Warning Here Plot Description:  In this series sequel to Mead's  Vampire Academy  series, we revisit the world of dhampirs and Moroi - and the much overlooked human component of this world, the Alchemists. We're following the continued story of Sydney Sage, a minor but favourite VA  character who made her first appearance in  Blood Promise , the fourth book of that series. We're also following complete fan favourite Adrian Ivashkov, who, broken hearted and looking for meaning in life, is drawn to Sydney as the two of them work on a new assignment together. I have to admit, when I first heard of the idea of Adrian and Sydney gettin...