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kpopwinemomOK, we're gonna have extra February book posts (Kay, isn't this a k-pop blog...) because I have opinions and I want to talk about them.
The Ghost in Bone by Mike Carey
This irritated me! It's the first Felix book that I was annoyed by, mostly because it doesn't stand on its own AT ALL. I mean, yes, the main story of the novella is resolved IN the novella, but it mostly serves as a continuation of the series. And that's a baffling choice for a Subterranean Press limited run book, which is why I'm annoyed.
Subterranean Press does small boutique runs. Their books are pricy (this one is $40) and when I've bought from them in the past, it was for standalone novellas by known authors. Those make sense for limited run books! You can buy them by themselves and read them, without needing context. Conversely, if you're following a series, you don't need to grab one book from a limited run that's likely to be hard to buy.
This book feels essential to the Felix Castor series. It raises new questions about the world, it draws from previous books in the series. If the series actually does continue on, and I really hope it does, it will be impossible to skip this limited run novella. It's not a side story or a derail, it launches absolutely essential plot points.
That just...irritates me. It means that there is limited access to an essential part of the series, which kneecaps its accessibility overall.
This colored a lot of how I consumed this book, honestly.
Anyway, moving on to the content of the novella itself: it was immediately apparent that this book was written in 2022, thirteen years after the previous book was released. For context: I was still in high school when book 5 came out. Now I'm going back to college. It's been a long time. And the book is seemingly set in the present, which was sort of odd. The amount of time that's gone by between books wasn't really addressed, except to say Felix is now living with Trudie, Rafi is living with Pen, and Nicky has been "traveling". I'll acknowledge this is a small novella, but the choice to explicitly set this novella post 2016 and then not acknowledge that thirteen years had passed was WILD to me. What the hell have they all been doing these past thirteen years? Was there NO fall out from book 5? Really?
I did like the story. I liked Felix's little moments with Trudie (delightful...) and I liked the overall story but...honestly unless this really is Carey revisiting the series and planning to ACTUALLY publish book 6 and finish the series...skip it. Book 5 was more final then this, and having it hanging over you is frustrating.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
Yeah, so maybe I'm on a bit of a ghost kick. In my defense, this was planned, work-related reading. This was one of my most anticipated books of 2024, and it was worth it. I listened to this book on the Penguin Random House Booksellers Audiobook app, and I am so glad I did. First, on the audiobook: this is a dual narrator audiobook, and both actors did an excellent job portraying both the POV characters and the other characters in the novel. I highly recommend listening to this book, if you like to listen to books!
On to the actual book: this is maybe my favorite book ever. I am SO serious. I love it so much. I was really worried about falling into a post-Felix slump, but this was the first book I read post Felix #5, and I adored it. (I finished The Ghost in Bone AFTER this, so maybe Felix got whacked, here. And maybe being a novella didn't help him.) It was absolutely everything I want from a book.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a novel set during the Great War, told from the perspective of a pair of siblings: Laura, at the start of 1918, and Freddie, three months earlier, at the end of 1917. When Laura is told Freddie is dead, it doesn't make sense to her. So she sets out to find out what's happened to him.
This is a story about love, and loss, and trauma. It's about what you do for the people you love, and all the ways you'll do it. It's about war, and how war ruins everything it touches. It is less tragic then I am making it sound.
I loved every single character in this book. I loved seeing how their stories unfolded and then finally intersected. When things started coming together I yelled.
I am seriously trying not to say too much, because I do think it's better to go into this pretty blind but! I freaking adored it. I want to read it again. I want my own copy to highlight and flip through and love. I want someone else to read this book so they will know what I am talking about. I have not read a book that made me feel like this in a long, long time.
This month I also read Felix Castor number 5, which I liked quite a lot, and Snowglobe by Soyoung Park, translated by Joungmin Lee Comfort. I liked them both, but honestly I feel like I gave you most of my Felix Feelings in my last reading post, and also as much as I liked Snowglobe, it didn't shake my world like The Warm Hands of Ghosts did. They're both great! Whatever!
I'm looking to read something a little different for my next read because otherwise I'm just going to hold it up against The Warm Hands of Ghosts and think "well, it wasn't that".
The Ghost in Bone by Mike Carey
This irritated me! It's the first Felix book that I was annoyed by, mostly because it doesn't stand on its own AT ALL. I mean, yes, the main story of the novella is resolved IN the novella, but it mostly serves as a continuation of the series. And that's a baffling choice for a Subterranean Press limited run book, which is why I'm annoyed.
Subterranean Press does small boutique runs. Their books are pricy (this one is $40) and when I've bought from them in the past, it was for standalone novellas by known authors. Those make sense for limited run books! You can buy them by themselves and read them, without needing context. Conversely, if you're following a series, you don't need to grab one book from a limited run that's likely to be hard to buy.
This book feels essential to the Felix Castor series. It raises new questions about the world, it draws from previous books in the series. If the series actually does continue on, and I really hope it does, it will be impossible to skip this limited run novella. It's not a side story or a derail, it launches absolutely essential plot points.
That just...irritates me. It means that there is limited access to an essential part of the series, which kneecaps its accessibility overall.
This colored a lot of how I consumed this book, honestly.
Anyway, moving on to the content of the novella itself: it was immediately apparent that this book was written in 2022, thirteen years after the previous book was released. For context: I was still in high school when book 5 came out. Now I'm going back to college. It's been a long time. And the book is seemingly set in the present, which was sort of odd. The amount of time that's gone by between books wasn't really addressed, except to say Felix is now living with Trudie, Rafi is living with Pen, and Nicky has been "traveling". I'll acknowledge this is a small novella, but the choice to explicitly set this novella post 2016 and then not acknowledge that thirteen years had passed was WILD to me. What the hell have they all been doing these past thirteen years? Was there NO fall out from book 5? Really?
I did like the story. I liked Felix's little moments with Trudie (delightful...) and I liked the overall story but...honestly unless this really is Carey revisiting the series and planning to ACTUALLY publish book 6 and finish the series...skip it. Book 5 was more final then this, and having it hanging over you is frustrating.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
Yeah, so maybe I'm on a bit of a ghost kick. In my defense, this was planned, work-related reading. This was one of my most anticipated books of 2024, and it was worth it. I listened to this book on the Penguin Random House Booksellers Audiobook app, and I am so glad I did. First, on the audiobook: this is a dual narrator audiobook, and both actors did an excellent job portraying both the POV characters and the other characters in the novel. I highly recommend listening to this book, if you like to listen to books!
On to the actual book: this is maybe my favorite book ever. I am SO serious. I love it so much. I was really worried about falling into a post-Felix slump, but this was the first book I read post Felix #5, and I adored it. (I finished The Ghost in Bone AFTER this, so maybe Felix got whacked, here. And maybe being a novella didn't help him.) It was absolutely everything I want from a book.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a novel set during the Great War, told from the perspective of a pair of siblings: Laura, at the start of 1918, and Freddie, three months earlier, at the end of 1917. When Laura is told Freddie is dead, it doesn't make sense to her. So she sets out to find out what's happened to him.
This is a story about love, and loss, and trauma. It's about what you do for the people you love, and all the ways you'll do it. It's about war, and how war ruins everything it touches. It is less tragic then I am making it sound.
I loved every single character in this book. I loved seeing how their stories unfolded and then finally intersected. When things started coming together I yelled.
I am seriously trying not to say too much, because I do think it's better to go into this pretty blind but! I freaking adored it. I want to read it again. I want my own copy to highlight and flip through and love. I want someone else to read this book so they will know what I am talking about. I have not read a book that made me feel like this in a long, long time.
This month I also read Felix Castor number 5, which I liked quite a lot, and Snowglobe by Soyoung Park, translated by Joungmin Lee Comfort. I liked them both, but honestly I feel like I gave you most of my Felix Feelings in my last reading post, and also as much as I liked Snowglobe, it didn't shake my world like The Warm Hands of Ghosts did. They're both great! Whatever!
I'm looking to read something a little different for my next read because otherwise I'm just going to hold it up against The Warm Hands of Ghosts and think "well, it wasn't that".
no subject
Date: 2024-02-10 07:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-11 12:33 am (UTC)I have heard of it but I haven't read it, I'll check it out!
no subject
Date: 2024-02-11 12:53 pm (UTC)For me, having waited over 10 years, anything Felix related was a blessing 🤣
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Date: 2024-02-12 10:50 am (UTC)