Summer Reading 2019

I hope that all y’all had a good summer. Between working full-time and my thesis I did not write as many reviews as I had hoped to despite reading several books. So here’s a compilation of what I read this summer. 

Her Silhouette Drawn In Water – Vylar Kaftan 

I initially picked up this novella since Ann Leckie blurbed it. It didn’t appeal to my personal tastes despite being very queer. I think my issue with it is that it feels too short to properly do all that it is doing with its plot. Kaftan has several layers of “reality” within the story which is an interesting concept. However, the “reality” I found the most interesting isn’t the main focus. If you like telepathic lesbians then give this one a try. The one lesbian is coded as a trans lady which is pretty awesome!

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 – P. Djèlí Clark

I really enjoyed this novella. The Black God’s Drums really hooked me with the alternative history and Djeli Clark does not disappoint with an alternate Cairo. The Haunting of Tram Car 015 intersects my interests in Middle East and North African (MENA) history and science fiction. The worldbuilding is lush and I just love all the details that Djeli Clark puts such as the food. I could go on and on about the setting. The story is really tightly written full of interesting characters and captures a changing time clearly. I highly recommend this book for people who want to read steampunk that is not imperialistic or focused on Britain. 

New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color – Edited by Nisi Shawl

This is a stellar anthology. I was originally going to wait for my library to get it but when I saw it and the table of contents at the bookstore I knew I had to have my own copy. The stories are absolutely fabulous and it is a good introduction to contemporary SFF writers of color. My favorite story was a lesbian mermaid story set in Malaysia featuring bobbit worms. It just was completely up my alley. There was only one story that I did not finish. The author’s writing style was too heavy for my brain to focus on which was a pity because I really, really wanted to finish it! But when I can’t concentrate on something due to style it’s pretty much futile. 

The Outside – Ada Hoffmann

Since I heard the premise of The Outside, I have been really excited to get my hands on it. My friend and I went to the bookstore on its release date so I could grab a copy. I didn’t even have to ask the bookstore employees to look in the back to see if the copies had arrived like in the past with other books. I will try to write something that isn’t just screaming in excitement because I just cannot convey how much I loved The Outside in a comprehensible manner. It is one of my top five books of 2019 so far. 

The Outside’s characters are so real and relatable. I haven’t seen any science fiction novel before fully capture the dynamics in academia between a student and their adviser. The Outside basically caters to everything I want in science fiction — a cute wlw romance, academia done right, religion, and a heavy dose of eldritch. One of the biggest things about this novel is that it’s the first science fiction novel I have read with a female autistic protagonist. It’s just so well done. I really loved the religion system and the cybernetic angels. Like that part was just so cool! I am hoping that there will be a sequel or short stories set in the world of The Outside since I absolutely adore Yasira. 

Please read this book. It is amazing. 

Storm of Locusts – Rebecca Roanhorse 

Having previously enjoyed Trail of Lightning, I was excited for Storm of Locusts. I was not disappointed at all by the novel. It continues to have the Mad Max vibes and expands the setting outside of Walls of Dinetah. There are viscerally horrifying things that Maggie and her friends encounter on the quest to find Kai who has been taken in by a cult. The addition of Ben was absolutely delightful and added further character depth to Maggie. Storm of Locusts explores issues within the Native American community that I am not qualified to talk on besides being a satisfying adventure novel.

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Review: Trail of Lightning

Trail of Lightning is an Own Voices novel that I’ve been seeing pop up a lot on twitter and I got my hands on from the library. I absolutely ate this novel up. I don’t know how to describe it besides Mad Max meets Terminator 2 meets Navajo culture. I highly recommend it.

Publisher’s Blurb:

While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters.

Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last—and best—hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much larger and more terrifying than anything she could imagine.

Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel to the rez to unravel clues from ancient legends, trade favors with tricksters, and battle dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology.

As Maggie discovers the truth behind the disappearances, she will have to confront her past—if she wants to survive.

My Thoughts:

I have never read a science fiction or fantasy story written by a Native American writer before. Most of my experience with stories that have Native American or First Nations characters were written by white men and women in the 1970s and 1980s since that’s what my library had and I tore through the science fiction section in middle school and high school. Sure, I have a soft spot for Andre Norton’s work, but how accurate and culturally appropriate were the books really? When I saw Trail of Lightning was an Own Voices book I jumped on it right away. In my grad program, I’m surrounded by anthropologists working with Native American tribes so I know a little bit — but not much (even though I work with biological collections, I still have to know about NAGPRA etc.). I didn’t set out to read this with the idea that I would be educated and whatnot.

Maggie is the action hero I want. I grew up on action movies and good female leads with depth were few and far in between. Maggie is 1) very attractive (I am too gay sometimes), 2) emotionally complex, 3) the badass fighter type character I love. I love her prickliness and her awkwardness with friendship. She might not be dealing well with her trauma or her relationship with her teacher, but she has friends and people in her life that support her. Speaking of friends, I enjoyed Kai’s character. I didn’t see the plot twist coming with his powers. I like how he subverts the playboy type of character. Kai is very suave and flirty at first, but he respects Maggie and respects her boundaries. He’s the voice of reason for part of the book, calling out the misconceptions that Maggie thinks about herself. Their dynamic was fun and natural. Plus I had a little geek out moment when Kai talked about visiting archives.

The plot is quick moving and fast. The book is full of gore, bloody fights, and body horror. Further content warnings are at the end of the review. None of the gore or body horror felt gratuitous. It was all there for a reason. The setting is brutal and yet, there is hope and comfort in it such as Kai’s grandfather who considers Maggie his daughter.  Roanhorse paints a vivid world through her descriptions of the shanty towns, trailer parks, and arid lands of Dinétah . My favorite scene is when Maggie and Kai come close to Dinétah ’s wall that serves as a shield against the rest of the drowned former United States. Part of the wall is vivid turquoise and Maggie calls it beautiful. It’s wonderfully subversive in the current political climate. Not only that but some of the locations in Dinétah  are familiar to me because of my curation project at the museum. Every time Black Mesa is mentioned I go ah, yes, I know where that is because of the collection localities that I have been transcribing.

As I said earlier, I went into Trail of Lightning not expecting to be educated or to understand everything. Even, being unfamiliar with Navajo culture, I was able to follow the novel. You do not need to know the stories surrounding Navajo gods or spirits to follow the plot. I really liked the usage of Navajo in the story as well. I loved the why the spirits and gods are treated when they appear to Maggie and other characters. They take forms that the characters are familiar with from movies or history. It felt much more immersive than any of the other stories I’ve read that feature Native American/First Nation characters.

I’m going to end up shoving Trail of Lightning at half my cohort in the fall when they get back from field work and internships because it’s so good. I can’t wait for the next book in the series! I want to see more of Dinétah and Maggie.

Content Warnings: Cannibalism, Body Horror, Gore, Assault, Graphic Death, Police Brutality