Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Daggerbound by T. Kingfisher

Daggerbound is a follow-up to Swordheart that came out in 2018, and while I didn’t read it until later, the wait has been long enough that I believed Swordheart would end up being a stand-alone. It’s part of the World of the White Rat world that began with Clockwork Boys in 2017. That book introduced Learned Edmund. Already back then I wished he’d get his own book, and finally, he’s the protagonist here.

Learned Edmund is a scholar of the Many-faced God’s temple, but he’s had enough of their ways and inability to change. So, without telling anyone, he’s accepted his last mission, to deliver some books and a sword that can’t be pulled out of the scabbard, and then he won’t return. Even if it means he’s also stealing his favourite mule, Sweetheart.

But soon after leaving, he’s attacked by bandits. He ends up pulling the sword that can’t be pulled, and a man with daggers and silver etchings on his face emerges. No-Longer-Learned Edmund believes he’s an angel. He turns out to be a former mercenary, The Dervish, who’s been trapped inside the sword with magic for a long time, dead but not quite, forced to protect his wielder. That is now Edmund.

The two set out to deliver the books, and maybe the sword, because Edmund has learned that it might be possible to break the curse on The Dervish. But they meet misfortune after another, bandits and a dragon even. They make friends too, a gnole and a giant sentient pillbug. There’s a great deal of attraction between Edmund and The Dervish, a great flirt who believes in his good looks. But Edmund is shy and The Dervish is badly traumatised, and so nothing seems to come of it. Also, it’s difficult to start a romance when you’re in constant peril.

But the existence of the sword isn’t a secret. The followers of the original wonderworker who made the sword want it back. And they’ll do anything to get it. Even hurting Edmund. But they underestimate the sword’s need to protect its wielder—especially if he’s fallen in love for the first time.

This was such a good book, a return to form after The Paladin’s Faith, which I found disappointing. The whimsy and delight were back—and gnoles! Edmund and The Dervish were both great characters with their own issues to go through, though Edmund was having easier time with his decision to leave the temple. The yearning was well done and kept the reader hooked the whole time. Dog Flower the gnole and Large Francis the pillbug were both wonderful additions with proper roles in the story. Some old faces featured too.

The ending was satisfying. The Dervish still has his trauma, but he’ll have centuries to work on them. Edmund emerged from his shell. They made a great pair despite their differences, one attentive and the other sympathetic. Together, they’ll be stronger, and I’m sure Edmund will find a way to solve the problem of the swords. The long wait for Learned Edmund’s book was definitely worth it.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Little Mushroom (Novel) Vol. 1 by Yi Shi Si Zhou: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Little Mushroom vol. 1 by Yi Shi Si Zhou

Back when Peach Flower House publishing went bust, I couldn’t get my hands on Little Mushroom: Judgement Day. The publisher had a print on demand publishing model and the books disappeared instantly. I have the second volume, Revelations, but what fun is that when I couldn’t read the first book. But luckily, Seven Seas bought the rights and now the first volume is available again, as an ebook too, with a new translation and illustrations.

Little Mushroom is set in far future where humanity has faced several extinction events that began with magnetic poles disappearing, followed by natural disasters, radiation sicknesses, and finally wild mutations that instantly change a human. Only two human bases are left of four there originally were, those protecting the new artificial poles, one in China and one in the US. Everything outside the bases is left for mutations, but some people risk their lives venturing out to forage materials for the bases.

An Zhe is a mushroom living in the Abyss, the worst contamination area. A human, An Ze, has come to his cave, badly injured, and in his attempt to heal him, An Zhe absorbs An Ze’s entire DNA and memories. Eventually, he’s able to take the man’s form too. When An Ze dies, An Zhe decides to head to the human base. His objective is to find his spore that humans have taken from him. An Ze has warned him not to go there, because humans kill all mutations at sight. The worst of the humans is The Judge who is able to detect mutations others don’t see.

When An Zhe finally reaches the base, after memorable events where the humans helping him either mutate to huge insects or get eaten by those, he comes face to face with the Judge himself, Colonel Lu Feng. But instead of killing him instantly, Lu Feng is unable to decide for the first time and takes An Zhe to be tested, only for the results show that An Zhe is human.

From there, An Zhe sets to survive in the base while looking for his spore. He settles in An Ze’s home, finds himself a job, and even makes friends of sort. But all around him, mutations increase and they’ve reached the base too. And every time Lu Feng is there, killing them. But he’s always there to help An Zhe survive too, and so he decides the colonel must be a good person.

And then comes the Judgement Day. A catastrophic breach lets mutations swarm the base, and the only solution is to save a few humans and sacrifice the rest. Thanks to Lu Feng, An Zhe is among the saved. But humanity isn’t safe. Just as things are looking a bit better for An Zhe, with a new job, budding friendship with Lu Feng, and finally finding his spore, the worst happens. The artificial pole breaks and the world is about to end once more. The first volume ends with that.

This is a good story. Despite all the death, it’s fairly quiet and melancholy. An Zhe observes humans and goes about his days. He comes close to being badly hurt or tricked a few times, but always avoids those in the last moment. Lu Feng remains a distant, scary figure for most of the book, but becomes more of a real person towards the end. This really isn’t much of a romance, even with all the tropes; just a friendship that neither party really understands but which both of them need. Yet it feels like one, and the reader roots for An Zhe and Lu Feng.

At the core though, it’s a harrowing tale. The desperate struggle of humans for survival against great odds, and the sacrifices they make for it. An Zhe, coming from a species and a place where the survival of the whole requires sacrifices of the few, understands where the leaders of the base come from. But individual humans, with the voice of An Zhe’s friend Cole, argue that it’s useless to save humanity if we lose what makes us human in the process. The base isn’t a happy place, but it’s the only place. And at the end, there might not even be that anymore.

The book is fairly well written, with minor inconsistencies and repetitions. Since I haven’t read the earlier translation, I can’t tell if there are changes there. Art is good and the characters resemble those of the manhua, which keeps the visuals consistent. 

Little Mushroom Manhua vol. 1. Art by Yuchi Jinze & Maomao Tou

 

A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

A Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennet

Book 3 of the fantastical detective duo, Ana Dolabra and Din Kol, takes them to the heart of the empire, to its agricultural core where augmented cattle grow the size of wagons and whose feed is picked by small cats conditioned by a fungus to keep up with their need for food. It’s also the area where Din is from and where he hasn’t been back to since he agreed to be augmented as a scribe.

Two families rule over the area. Now the son of one family has killed the daughter of another. Ana and Din need to solve the matter before the families descend in an open warfare, as that would threaten the food supply. She’s bored already.

But from the start it becomes evident that the crime isn’t as straightforward as they believed. The manner of killing has oddities. There have been several earlier deaths in one of the ruling families. It has made the matriarch believe her family is cursed and seek out guidance from the gods of people who inhabited the empire before—and still maybe rule it. And every time the pair thinks they’ve made progress with the investigation, a twist of fate pulls the rug from under them.

To solve the case, Ana has to delve deep into the history of the area and unearth things that she’s in a unique position to know about. But some secrets of the ancients should stay hidden.

This was another great book. The manner with which the victims were killed was unique and something that is only possible in this world, which makes the mystery feel fresh. Ana was more active in the investigation than before, and her character gained a bit of depth. Din was having a personal crisis or two, one that had to do with his augmentations and another with his family that made an appearance. He wasn’t quite as promiscuous as in the previous book, but he had his moment. We were introduced to yet another interesting group of augmented people, the Osrii, who scent and taste the world to determine its state. And the mystery that is Ana came a little bit closer to solving. Maybe.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

D.N.Angel New Edition, Vol. 3 by Yukiru Sugisaki: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

D.N.Angel New Edition vol. 3 by Yukiru Sugisaki

Third volume of this new omnibus edition consists of two stories. First, the latter part of Stage 2 (vols. 6-11), where Dark gets lost in the mirror world. Daisuke goes after him, and the only way to rescue him is to find the feathers of his memories. It’s a bit hasty, confusing sequence, but Daisuke succeeds in the end. He also learns that he likes having Dark around, and wonders what will happen when he’ll eventually leave for good.

The story takes place in the holiday island where the class has travelled. Riku is still missing, so Daisuke goes to find her. Everything should be romantic, but he shies off confessing to her, mostly because of misunderstandings, and because he kind of fears she’ll like him back, which would mean Dark would go away. So Dark takes matters into his own hand.

Another confusing sequence of events follows, where Krad manifests and he and Dark fight. We learn that the magic of Krad and Dark is too much for the hosts and it corrodes the hosts until there’s nothing left, the reason there’s a limit to how long one can host them. Only, it seems Krad doesn’t care, which is why Hiwatari is always sickly.

The second story is called The Second Hand of Time, and we get the first part of it (vols. 1-4). Daisuke’s class stages a play and decides to have an all-male cast. Daisuke is chosen to play the female lead and Hiwatari is the male lead. In a confusing twist of events, a new boy (man) shows up in the class and declares himself as the producer. He changes the classic love story so that the male character is Dark, played by Hiwatari.

Turns out, the man is really after proof that Daisuke is Dark. But Daisuke manages to trick him with the help of Wiz and leave, as Dark, to steal a legendary item, The Second Hand of Time. But things go wrong for him, and he, as Daisuke, gets sucked into a dreamworld, while Dark remains in the real world. Dark goes after him, accidentally taking Riku with him. The volume ends with Hiwatari launching his own operation. But is it to save Daisuke or end him and Dark for good?

This was a great volume, even if it was a tad confusing at times. Both Daisuke’s romance with Riku, and his friendship with Hiwatari progress. I still believe that the latter is more meaningful for them both; Daisuke prevents Dark from ending Krad, because it would mean the end of Hiwatari too. The romance with Riku is childish (though in all fairness, they’re 14) and exists for trope’s sake. But I won’t be getting my wish for a BL story here.

There was a longer extra story about Risa and Riku’s childhood, and like before, excellent full colour character plates.

Full colour character plate of Hiwatari.

 

Hiwatari as Dark for the play.

 

An Unruly Summon: Volume 1 by Cathfach: review

3/5 stars on Goodreads

An Unruly Summon by Cathfach

An Unruly Summon is a fun subversion of the isekai genre. A country at war with demons is in a desperate need of a hero summoned from another world. But they’ve summoned heroes before and things haven’t gone well. Heroes don’t have a cause to fight, their unlimited magic causes trouble, they have strange ideas about slavery being bad, and they always want to invent soy sauce.

King and his council come up with a plan to carefully curate what the hero sees after summoning, so that he’ll help voluntarily. They even gather a harem for him, so that he doesn’t have to do it himself, because that always ends up happening. And they promise to send him back if he doesn’t want to stay.

The plan works well. Thomas is summoned, and unlike so often, knows immediately what is going on. What he sees and learns makes him agree to help the country. He even turns out to be extremely powerful with magic. He learns complicated spells instantly and spells he hasn’t been taught yet. Only problems are that he tends to overuse his mana and pass out, and a dragon haunts him in his dreams, trying to kill him. Oh, and Thomas has no interest in his harem, because he has a girlfriend at home where he intends to return.

Things take a bit of a turn when Thomas learns about having been led. But since the demons are a real threat, the plan remains the same. And then it’s time for the battle. Thomas faces a massive horde of demons and kills them all with a powerful spell. Problem is, demons aren’t the only things it kills. But the hero’s job is done, and it’s time to go home.

This was a good, entertaining read. It was the First Prize winner in the first-ever J-Novel Club Original LN Contest, and I’m sure it deserved to be. Thomas was a good hero, the girls had a role other than bedfellows, because he didn’t want them in his bed, and bad guys weren’t the obvious people.

It was much too long though. The bulk of the book’s almost 400 pages—massive for a light novel—is taken by Thomas’s training. He doesn’t learn about being led until beyond half-point, and the battles don’t take place until 75% mark, after which everything is crammed in a small space. This could’ve been cut to a half of its length and the story would’ve remained the same. Epilogue sets the stage for the next volume, but the events of this one conclude here. I don’t need to read more.

I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.