Reading Round-Up: February 2020

Continuing the monthly summaries of what I’ve been reading and writing.

 

BOOKS

To keep my numbers consistent with what I have listed on Goodreads, I count completed magazine issues and stand-alone short stories in e-book format as “books.” I read or listened to 12 books in February: 11 in print, 1 in e-book format, and 0 in audio format. They were:

1.       Lightspeed Magazine #117 (February 2020 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams. The usual fine assortment of sf and fantasy short stories. This month’s favorites for me were Victor LaValle’s “Ark of Light,” Kij Johnson’s “Noah’s Raven,” Daniel Jose Older’s “A Stranger At the Bonchinche,” and Maria Romasco-Moore’s “Dying Light.”

2.       The Golden Key by Marian Womack. A gothic-supernatural novel that takes place mostly in a London experiencing an upswing in interest in the occult thanks to the death of Queen Victoria. Told from the points of view of three characters: a man with a mysterious past, a woman who covers her deductive abilities with a veneer of the supernatural, and a young governess in the town the man is from. Full Review Here.

3.       The Midwinter Witch (The Witch Boy Book Three) by Molly Knox Ostertag. The third in Ostertag’s tales of Aster, a boy who has a talent for witchcraft even though all of the boys in his family are supposed to be shapeshifters. This time, Aster has to decide if it’s time to show off his growing prowess at the family reunion/midwinter celebration or he should heed his protective mother’s advice and stay hidden a while longer. I love every installment of this series.

4.       The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark. Alternate history/steampunk/Afrofuturism novella that takes place in an independent New Orleans under siege by several outside forces including the Confederacy and the Union. The main character, a young girl who serves as a conduit for a powerful Orisha, must figure out how to save her city with the aid of a smuggler, the smuggler’s airship crew, a feral child and a pair of odd nuns. Full Review Here.

5.       LaGuardia (LaGuardia Vol 1) by Nnedi Okorafor, Tana Ford and James Devlin. In Okorafor’s future where aliens are immigrating to Earth, New York City’s LaGuardia Airport is still a hot mess for passengers arriving and departing. This topical piece of SF takes on immigration, acceptance vs. tolerance, and politics. The art by Ford and Devlin is realistic and expressive. Looking forward to seeing where the story goes.

6.       Arrow of God (Africa Trilogy #2) by Chinua Achebe. I set a goal to read all of Achebe’s Africa Trilogy last year after reading Things Fall Apart in 2018. I didn’t make the goal, so I set it again this year. This middle volume of the story only peripherally mentions events from the first book, but continues to focus on the conflict between local custom and new rules during the British colonization of Nigeria, this time with particular attention to religious belief. Powerful work.

7.       The Shape of Friendship (A Lumberjanes Original Graphic Novel) by Lilah Sturges and Polterink. The second Lumberjanes original graphic novel (as opposed to trade paperbacks collecting the monthly comics run) focuses on the friendship between April and Jo, and how that friendship morphs/changes with the arrival of Barney, who Jo went to came with before attending the Lumberjanes camp. April’s devotion to and protectiveness of her childhood best friend is beautiful, and the story doesn’t go in the expected/trope-y directions. This might also be the first Lumberjanes book to make explicit the fact that Jo is transgender, and it is wonderfully handled.

8.       The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle. I read this before I found out it was a response to/reworking of a specific H.P. Lovecraft story I’ve never read. It is a fantastic story on its own, with deep character work for the three main characters and plenty of both cosmic and every-day horror to go around. When compared to the very racist, very not-scary Lovecraft original, it becomes even more impressive. Longer Review coming soon.

9.       Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. One of my “To Be Read” Challenge books for 2020, this is only the second Butler I’ve read in my life. More SF than horror, it shares some similarities with Butler’s Fledgling in that the author pulls no punches and hides no trauma. I found myself intrigued by the Earthseed belief system the main character develops, and caught up in how Butler extrapolated, in the 90s, a near-future that feels even more real right now.

10.   Docile by K.M. Szpara. As I said in the Full Review I Posted Recently, Szpara’s debut novel joins Sabrina Vourvoulias’ Ink, and Butler’s Parable of the Sower, on a shelf of near-future SF that is not only believable given our current climate but harrowing and hopeful at the same time. Be warned though: there are all kinds of sexual and emotional abuse and assault front and center throughout the book, and lots of explicit sex. This book is not for the squeamish.

11.   The Dream-Quest of Vellit Boe by Kij Johnson. Another Lovecraftian novella that builds off of and responds to a specific Lovecraft story (in this case “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath,” which I read many years ago and have some vague memories of). Johnson gives us a strong female professor setting out across the Dreamlands to find a missing student. It’s more fantasy than horror, and takes on the nature of dreams, reality, and the way the machinations of those who are more powerful affect those who have little or no power. Longer Review coming soon.

12.   Imaginary Numbers (InCryptid #9) by Seanan McGuire. The newest InCryptid novel finally places cousin Sarah Zallaby, who has been recuperating since overusing her powers in the second novel, at the front of the action, along with cousin Artie. Even having read the back-cover description, the book didn’t go where I thought it was going to, with some very pleasant surprises along the way. There’s also a bonus novella that bridges the action of the previous novel (which focused on Antimony Price) and this one.

 

 

STORIES

I have a goal of reading 366 short stories (1 per day, essentially, although it doesn’t always work out that way) this year (because it’s a Leap Year). Here’s what I read this month and where you can find them if you’re interested in reading them too. If no source is noted, the story is from the same magazine or book as the story(ies) that precede(s) it:

1.       “Ark of Light” by Victor LaValle, from Lightspeed Magazine #117 (February 2020 issue), edited by John Joseph Adams.

2.       “How We Burn” by Brenda Paynado

3.       “Dying Light” by Maria Romasco-Moore

4.       “The Gamecocks” by JT Petty

5.       “Noah’s Raven” by Kij Johnson

6.       “A Stranger at the Bochinche” by Daniel Jose Older

7.       “Toxic Destinations” Alexander Weinstein

8.       “A Statement in the Case” by Theodora Goss

9.       “All That Glitters” by Seanan McGuire, on the author’s Patreon page.

10.    “Journal” by Jim Butcher, from The Jim Butcher Mailing List, edited by Fred Hicks

11.   “Emergent” by Rob Costello, from The Dark #57 (February, 2020), edited by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Sean Wallace

12.   “Holoow” by Michael Wehunt

13.   “Ngozi Ugegbe Nwa” by Dare Segun Falowo

14.   “Live Through This” by Nadia Bulkin

15.   “The Best Horses Are Found in the Sea, and Other Horse Tales To Emerge Since The Rise” by Beth Cato, from Daily Science Fiction February 14, 2020 edited by Michele-Lee Barasso and Jonathan Laden

16.   “The Horror at Red Hook” by H.P. Lovecraft, in stand-alone ebook format, editor unknown

17.   “Follow The Lady” by Seanan McGuire, new novella published as back-matter for the novel Imaginary Numbers.

 

So that’s 17 short stories in February. Way under “1 per day,” so I’m behind for the year so far. (February 29th was the 60th day of 2020.)

 

Summary of Reading Challenges:

“To Be Read” Challenge: This month: 1 read; YTD: 2 of 14 read.

366 Short Stories Challenge: This month:  17 read; YTD: 43 of 366 read.

Graphic Novels Challenge:  This month: 3 read; YTD: 4 of 52 read.

Goodreads Challenge: This month: 12 read; YTD: 31 of 125 read.

Non-Fiction Challenge: This month: 0 read; YTD: 3 of 24 read.

Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0; YTD: 0 read/watched.

Complete the Series Challenge: This month: 1 books read; YTD: 5 of 16 read.

                                                                Series fully completed: 0 of 3 planned

Monthly Special Challenge: February was Black History Month and Women in Horror Month, so my goal was to read primarily authors from Africa or of African descent and female horror writers. Of the twelve books read in February, five were by authors from Africa or of African descent; three were horror or horror-adjacent works by female authors (Octavia E. Butler counted in both categories, but I did not count Seanan McGuire as a female horror writer because the book of hers I read this month was not part of her horror output.)

March is Women’s History Month, so my goal is to read primarily women authors across various genres and formats.