Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente

Author: Catherynne M. Valente
Title: Deathless
Themes: love, power, humanity, war, death

Plot: From Amazon

Twentieth-century Russian history provides a background for Valente's lush reimagining of folkloric villain Koschei the Deathless and his dalliance with Marya Morevna, a clever but troubled young woman. After Koschei sweeps Marya away from her family's home in St. Petersburg-Petrograd-Leningrad, Baba Yaga assigns her three tasks that will make her worthy of marrying Koschei. As she spends more time in Koschei's Country of Life, Marya starts to become too much like her unearthly lover, until naïve Ivan Nikolayevich helps her regain her humanity (as well as the sympathy of the reader). Valente's lush language and imagery add to the magic and fundamentally Russian nature of the story, drawing pointed parallels between the Soviet Union's turmoil and the endless war between Koschei and his brother, Viy. Readers used to the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault will find this tale peculiar but enchanting.

My Thoughts: Reading Deathless was a revelation for me. It was my first Valente (certainly not my last) and it shocked me. I devoured this disturbing, sensual, and beautiful re-imagined folktale. I can't say that there is a single likable character in the whole novel...with a cast ranging from humans, spirits, demi-gods (??), and seasons. But they are compelling. The imagery alone is fantastic-Marya lives in a human world full of twelve mothers, red scarves, and house spirits. Then she is transported (it's a long trip including trials and feasts which is an unnerving and delightful sequence in itself) to the land of Life which is populated by spirits, living architecture, and the unending struggle against Death and his kingdom.

In addition to the bold and bizarre world-building, Marya enters into marriage with Life, who puts on skin to please her. The exploration of an open marriage and bdsm is intriguing though certainly not the main focus of the novel. This melding of Russian folklore is truly about war and loss and that all things End. I'm still not sure if I want to read all the fantastic elements of the story as an escapist fantasy from the realities of starving during a crumbling regime in mid-century Russia or as a wonderful surrealist dark fiction.

Rating: ****1/2
The only reason this doesn't have five stars is because I know this dark magical realism thing doesn't appeal to everyone. 

Similar Books: Amazon recommends Gregory Maguire and Neil Gaiman and similar authors...but I am forced to disagree. Neither gets as grimy, dirty, dark, and transcendent as Valente does in Deathless. With that said, I really can't think of any similar reads off the top of my head. Oops.

Best of 2015

God I'm inconsistent.
Well here's a list. I do enjoy lists.

Best Books of 2015
1. Annihilation/Authority/Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer (is it overthetop to say lifechanging? these books haunt me. I was consumed by them when I read them in January...and am still obsessed now).
2. Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz (enjoyed every step of the way)
3. Vicious by V. E. Schwab (loved this spin on heroes/villains and the nemesis!)
4. Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente (Valente has stolen my heart this year, can't wait to read more)

 


Honorable Mentions
1. Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan (so good. Did do a mini review of this!)
2. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin (Why did I only discover Le Guin this year?)
3. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (unexpected love but how could I resist a friendship/love story between a clay golem and a trapped jinni as immigrants during turn of the century New York?)
4. Skullcrack City by Jeremy Robert Johnson (surreal New Weird madness. Love)
5. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley (fun read!)

* I did read Station Eleven and Ready Player One this year but found them just okay-good books but after the hype machine I was underwhelmed. I would recommend Station Eleven. Ready Player One only if you love the 1980s.

Notable Media
Music
1. Rediscovered the music of my high school years...why hello My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, and Panic! At the Disco...I do still love you.
2. Rock bands with female vocalists-Halestorm, In This Moment, and The Pretty Reckless. 
3. Gin Wigmore and July Talk. I don't know why...but loving those raspy vocals.

Movies
1. The Song of the Sea. Amazing. I cried.

Television
1. Once Upon a Time. For real this time.
2. The X Files. Holy shit I'm ready for you January.

Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan

I really question the YA branding of Tender Morsels. That thought aside: brilliant, heartbreaking, beautiful, bittersweet re-imagining of Snow White and Rose Red, though the beginning also hints at some Donkeyskin themes (incest, rape) and the ending hints at a more Sleeping Beauty Evil Queen theme (a mother's jealousy). I wouldn't say this is an easy read, but it is certainly powerful and lyrical.

The Fifties by David Halberstam

An epic book that hopes to cover the whole of the American experience during the 1950s. Topics range from integration in schools/sports/etc. to Marilyn Monroe to Kennedy and Nixon's televised debate to the A bomb to Westinghouse commercials. I won't lie, this has taken me about 6 months to finish because it is not a book to sit and devour. I did find it a nice general overview of the period, obviously it could never go too in depth due to its scope. It was interesting and well written.

Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross

I read this for the promise of a "fairy tale mash up" and was happy to find Bluebeard as the main story. It's YA so of course insta-love ensues (must be hard to fall FOR SERIOUS in love successively with two guys, who happen to be brothers, within a week....) as well as really illogical decisions. While it was a quick read and it wasn't overly offending, I probably won't read any further books in the series just because of the sheer stupidity of ALL the characters...is this was kids these days are reading?

Salt & Storm by Kendall Kulper

I found this to be a nice middle ground between Tender Morsels and Kill Me Softly....more YA then Tender Morsels with a dash of that instalove and completely illogical decision making, but also bittersweet, brutal, and lyrical. I immediately thought of Margo Lanagan's The Brides of Rollrock Island. The alliance between a Pacific Islander harpoon boy and a sea witch in the 1860s turns to romance which leads to tragedy. Quite good.

Best Reads of 2014

2014 was a new low for me, with only 71 books completed. However, I can still do a Top (10? 5?) Eight List!

1. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
2. Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin
3. The Magician King by Lev Grossman
4. Throne of Glass & Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
5. Dr. Mutter's Marvels by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
6. The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
7. Jackaby by William Ritter
8. Cards of Grief by Jane Yolen

2014 Speedy Reviews 1

The Tyrant's Daughter by J.C. Carleson

From Amazon:  THERE: In an unnamed Middle Eastern country, fifteen-year-old Laila has always lived like royalty. Her father is a dictator of sorts, though she knows him as King—just as his father was, and just as her little brother Bastien will be one day. Then everything changes: Laila's father is killed in a coup.

HERE: As war surges, Laila flees to a life of exile in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Overnight she becomes a nobody. Even as she adjusts to a new school and new friends, she is haunted by the past. Was her father really a dictator like the American newspapers say? What was the cost of her family's privilege?

Far from feeling guilty, her mother is determined to regain their position of power. So she's engineering a power play—conspiring with CIA operatives and rebel factions to gain a foothold to the throne. Laila can't bear to stand still as yet another international crisis takes shape around her. But how can one girl stop a conflict that spans generations?

My Thoughts: I enjoyed this more unique storyline aimed at younger readers. I also appreciated how Laila is still a relate-able and human character despite the very "hot topic" storyline. Overall I thought this book was "ok," I enjoyed the topic and the potential for discussion-starting but it didn't knock me off my feet. ** 1/2



Seige and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

From Amazon:  Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can't outrun her past or her destiny for long.
The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling's game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

My Thoughts: Meh. I heard such glowing recommendations of this series but I struggled to even finish this book, much less read more of the series. It's just ok... nothing really interested me at all about it. There were some really interesting elements to the story, but I never really connected to any characters or really cared about the outcome of their "oncoming storm." * 1/2

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

From Amazon: Betrayal, ardor, war, and prophecies--in The Song of Achilles, author Madeline Miller brings together everything I love about The Iliad without the labor of epic poetry. In this new twist on the Trojan War story, Patroclus and Achilles are the quintessential mismatched pair--a mortal underdog exiled in shame and a glorious demigod revered by all--but what would a novel of ancient Greece be without star-crossed love? Miller includes other good tragic bits--foreknowledge of death, ruthless choices that pit pride and reputation against the lives of innocents, the folly of men and gods--and through her beautiful writing my spine chilled in the presence of Achilles’ mother, the sea goddess Thetis, and I became a bystander in the battlefield of Troy awash with blood, exaltation, and despair. The Song of Achilles infuses the essence of Homer with modern storytelling in a combination that is utterly absorbing and gratifying--I can’t wait to see what Miller tackles next. --Seira Wilson

My Thoughts: LOVE. This novel was wonderful, heartbreaking, enthralling. I'm so glad I picked it up! I cried. High recommended. *****

Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers ed. by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

From Amazon:  A dangerously seductive collection of tales that—like the sirens themselves—are impossible to resist

Sensuality mingles with fantasy in this sultry anthology starring fairies, sphinxes, werewolves, and other beings by masterful storytellers including Joyce Carol Oates, Neil Gaiman, Jane Yolen, Ellen Kushner, and more. Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers features a vampire who falls in love with her human prey, an updated Red Riding Hood fantasy, an unsuspecting young man who innocently joins in seductive faerie revelry, and a cat goddess made human. Alluring and charismatic, this collection from master editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling will stimulate more than just your imagination

My Thoughts:  Short story collection including a Tanith Lee piece, so of course I had to read it. Not too bad, I don't really love more racy stories...but these all had such unusual twists that I ended up reading it cover to cover. Enjoyable, but certainly for older readers! ***

2014-3 Froi of the Exiles

Author: Melina Marchetta
Title: Froi of the Exiles (Lumatere Chronicles 2)
Themes: heredity, madness, duty, love

Plot: From Amazon "From master storyteller Melina Marchetta comes an exhilarating new fantasy springing from her celebrated epic, Finnikin of the Rock. Three years after the curse on Lumatere was lifted, Froi has found his home . . . or so he believes. Fiercely loyal to the Queen and Finnikin, Froi has been taken roughly and lovingly in hand by the Guard sworn to protect the royal family, and has learned to control his quick temper with a warrior's discipline. But when he is sent on a secretive mission to the kingdom of Charyn, nothing could have prepared him for what he finds in its surreal royal court. Soon he must unravel both the dark bonds of kinship and the mysteries of a half-mad princess in this barren and mysterious place. It is in Charyn that he will discover there is a song sleeping in his blood . . . and though Froi would rather not, the time has come to listen."

My Thoughts: Froi of the Exiles follows Finnikin of the Rock in the Lumatere Chronicles, but it feels like a whole new series? trilogy? Finnikin of the Rock felt like a YA fantasy romance, Froi feels like the start of an epic YA fantasy. Froi is sent to Charyn to assassinate it's king, but along the way stumbles into discovering his parentage, falls in love with the mad princess, and breaks his bonds to Queen Isaboe to protect this new family.

I was sucked into this book. I was in anguish at the end (it is a cliffhanger, just so you know) because I can't afford to buy the next book! With that said, there were a few quibbles. First, I really did not like how everytime Froi had a violent impulse or did something wrong he blamed his blood. Really? Only one kingdom in your world has violent people? only one kingdom rapes? Let's blame your Serker ancestry for your decision to do bad things! Like every other flipping page! On another note, I felt like Quintana...who has been systematically raped for the past who-knows-how-many years could suddenly enjoy sex with our main character? I don't know. I also feel like that wasn't addressed properly in the book. I do appreciate how she is called a "whore" because that is how she would be addressed in such a society....but as a reader I felt that the violence done to her wasn't addressed as straightforwardly as I would have liked.

Rating:  **1/2

2014-2 Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Author: Laini Taylor
Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Themes: family, belonging, love

Plot: From Amazon "Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?"

My Thoughts: First of all. I found Karou obnoxiously perfect....almost manic pixie dream girl status with the incredible artistic talent, blue hair, beauty, etc. But at the same time rather flat as a character. There were a few times I liked her and wanted something good to happen...but most of the time I was wondering when we would get to the cliched love triangle or love at first sight or whatever.

Taylor did a great job building the elseworld with chimera and seraphim duking it out through eternity. I felt like the little details built into that story were rather fascinating, and I adored the chimera characters who raised Karou-they were absolutely fantastic.

SPOILERS AHEAD

The love angle with Akiva was also a little flat. Taylor tried to make it less "omg love at first sight" by building into the reincarnation thing...but it just seemed a little...silly. I doubt I'll continue the trilogy (?) but this was a fast, light read.

Rating: **