Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki's Conjecture (Light Novel) vol. 4 by Mikage Sawamura: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki's Conjecture vol. 4 by Mikage Sawamura

This series has become a comfort reading of mine, and I read the latest volume in one sitting. In my defence, these light novels aren’t very long. Volume 4 has a subtitle Thus, the Gates to the Spirit Realm Open, which describes the contents fairly well.

It’s April and Naoya Fukamachi has begun the second year of his studies at the university in Tokyo where he studies folklore with Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki. They’ve spent most of the spring break travelling together, but Naoya is still slightly anxious that Akira won’t need his help anymore in investigating supernatural incidents. He shouldn’t have worried.

There are only two—long—chapters. In the first one, a popular story to frighten children surfaces at a workplace. In it, one summons a hag or a curse or enters another dimension if they perform required things on April 4th at 4:44—number four being ominous, as it’s pronounced like death. Four people at the workplace have performed the summons and bad things have started to happen to them.

It doesn’t take Akira long to unravel the mystery, which once again turns out to have a mundane origin. But the case proves important to Naoya, because he meets another person like him who can hear lies due to similar events as his. Having someone with whom to talk about it makes a great impact on him. He also makes an effort to become more sociable, even if it’s only with one friend.

In the second chapter, Akira’s uncle comes to visit, and Naoya learns a lot about Akira and his past—although the reader doesn’t find out until during the extra chapter at the end. He’s the only family member who cares about Akira, and he’s relieved to learn that there are people looking after his nephew.

Together with Ken-Ken, the four travel to a seaside town where fishermen claim to have seen mermaids. It appears to be a hoax, until they meet a little boy who tells them that his mother has become a mermaid and returned to the sea. Dismissing it as a story first, they soon learn that things might be more complicated than they believed. And for the first time, they may have encountered a being who isn’t quite human.

In the extra story, we learn about Akira’s youth in England with his uncle. It’s a slightly sad story, revealing sides of Akira the reader hasn’t known before, but hopeful too, as Akira heals from his trauma with the help of his uncle and his found family. We still don’t learn more about the being inside Akira, or what happened to him when he was abducted, but it’s becoming certain that the mystery is supernatural in origin. I’m eager to read more.

A Bitter Taste by Josh Reynolds: review

3/5 stars on Goodreads

Bitter Taste by Josh Reynolds

A Bitter Taste is the fifth book in Daidoji Shin Mystery series set in the Rokugan Empire of the Legend of Five Rings game world. It’s an Asia inspired historical world divided in clans where honour is important, but women are equal and powerful, and same sex relationships are allowed. No knowledge of the game is needed, but the series, especially this book, builds on the previous books, so don’t start here.

This has been a favourite mystery series of mine, and I was eager to read the latest addition. And it delivered—up until the very end. The ending is one of the worst reader betrayals I’ve experienced in a while and it made me want to give the book one star instead of four it would’ve otherwise got. The three stars I gave is a grudging compromise. The following contains spoilers, so if you’re planning to read the book, skip the review.

The beginning of the book finds Daidoji Shin, the Crane Clan representative in the City of the Rich Frog, sulking, because his grandfather has ordered him to marry. He’s not eager to do so and doesn’t have a candidate in mind, let alone feelings for anyone—important to remember at the end—but the order is absolute.

His day turns to worse, when he learns that the auditor his grandfather had sent to put him to rights has been murdered and Shin is the only suspect.

It’s only the start of Shin’s troubles. His cousin has arrived to town, ready to drag him back home in chains if necessary. The only thing stopping him is the murder investigator, someone with whom Shin has had a very personal relationship. Since it didn’t end well, he doesn’t have high hopes for a fair investigation. He needs to solve the murder himself.

What starts as a straightforward murder case turns more and more complicated at every step. Shin realises there’s been a conspiracy against him from the moment he arrived to town, the roots of which stem from long before. As he unravels it, he learns that people close to him he has trusted absolutely weren’t who he thought they were, and that they have betrayed him. Unable to believe it, he allows himself to be lured into a trap to expose the people responsible, no matter what it means to him personally. After some tense scenes, everything ends in a very satisfying manner.

And then the aftermath ruins it.

The series has always focused on the mysteries. Shin starts as a gambler and someone who likes the company of women, but the mysteries always take precedence, and during the course of the series there’s been no romances. There have been a couple of characters that could’ve become the romantic interest, but nothing serious. I didn’t mind. I never liked the one mainstay possibility, and Shin’s never indicated any romantic interest in them anyway.

This was bound to change here because of the order to marry. And the appearance of the old flame was interesting. They were given their own POV chapters and proved themself to be a great potential partner to Shin. I was looking forward to it even.

And then, in the aftermath, they’re sent away without so much as a token of reminiscing and what ifs. Instead Shin, in an act of complete character reversal, betrays not only his own principles but those of his world in general by deciding that he needs to save the person who’s betrayed not only their clan but Shin too from hanging. Apparently, the only solution is to marry them. Out of the blue—because the reader has insight into Shin’s thoughts and there’s been nothing—romantic feelings are expressed. Reader is to believe they’re genuine.

I was so disgusted I would’ve thrown the book away if I hadn’t been reading on my tablet. What was the author thinking, ruining the character like this? I understand that a writer of mysteries isn’t necessarily familiar with romantic tropes, but someone who has shown they’re not worth the trust of the main character is not chosen as the romantic partner. Even if they’re about to hang. If you don’t want them to hang, then you don’t make them the traitor in the first place, because that came out of the blue too, even if I always disliked them and found it satisfying that my suspicions proved right. The character has zero redeeming qualities as is, and since there hasn’t been a romance between them before, they can go. Shin would’ve mourned a while, which would’ve made for a good start for the next book, and then he would’ve moved on. Making him a completely different person for this unworthy character was infuriating to say the least. That there was a better option available, dangled in front of the reader—unlike the other character—adds insult to injury.

Before the aftermath, I was anxious that this would be the last book in the series. Now, I don’t care. I don’t want to read about Shin who’s ready to betray his principles for a traitor, and I definitely don’t want to read about him with that person.

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

Gravity Lost by L.M. Sagas: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Gravity Lost by L.M. Sagas

Gravity Lost is the second book in Ambit’s Run sci-fi series that began with Cascade Failure. The series is set in fairly far future in a space-faring world ruled by the Trust and the Union for profit, with the neutral Guild keeping peace between them with its rangers.

Ambit’s crew, Guild rangers Eoan the AI captain, Nash the mechanic/doctor and Saint the XO have spent months on a space station waiting for Jal, the former ranger they rescued in the previous book, to recover and connect with his family. They’re preparing to leave, when someone abducts Jal’s sister, Regan, sending the crew on a rescue mission.

Someone wants Dresdyn, the agitator the crew captured in the previous book, and so the crew has no choice than to break him free from prison, making them fugitives in Guild’s eyes. But the abductor evades them at every corner, luring the crew into a trap. They have unexpected help though: Dresdyn wants the abductor dead as badly as the crew wants to free Regan. And it turns out, the enemy is someone closer to them than any of them could’ve imagined.

This was a good book, but not quite as exciting as the first one. The entire universe wasn’t at stake, the action was more limited, and the death-defying situations were smaller, although more personal. While it was easy to sympathise with Jal’s need to find his sister, it didn’t give the reader a similar sense of urgency, and while there was a very personal betrayal again, the reader wasn’t connected with them the same way than in the previous book, where there were chapters from the traitor’s point of view even. And we didn’t learn anything new about the main characters.

Nevertheless, the world remained interesting, the characters were as loveable as before, and the narrative was rich and good. While the characters didn’t have similar arcs as in the previous book, the reader cared for them and rooted for each of them, even Dresdyn. The ending was good and left the crew in a new place. I’m interested in reading more about their adventures.

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

Thousand Autumns Vol. 5 by Meng Xi Shi: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Thousand Autumns vol 5 by Meng Xi Shi

Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu has ended with the fifth volume. It ended like it began, more focused on the politics of the empire and the cultivation world (called jianghu in this series, “rivers and lakes”, like the author explains in the afterword), and on the questions of morality and human nature than on the romance.

At the beginning of the volume, Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi help Puliuru Jian to free his children from being held hostage by the emperor, and subsequently to seize the throne. It’s a fairly fast affair, compared to some in the previous volumes.

From there, the men part ways and Shen Qiao finally heads back to Xuandu Mountain to handle the traitors in his sect and to assume the leadership once again. But he’s barely done when he learns that Yan Wushi has challenged the best cultivator in the world, Hulugu of the Göktürk Khagnate, to a duel. Everyone knows it’ll be to death, and so Shen Qiao rushes to be by Yan Wushi’s side.

At this point, I thought the romance would finally bloom, but no. Only in the final paragraphs of the last chapter does Shen Qiao show some emotions towards Yan Wushi, but it isn’t until the last of the seven epilogue chapters before the men finally become a couple. Even then, they both remain true to their characters.

The story began with Yan Wushi trying to corrupt Shen Qiao to prove that everyone would put their self-interest first, a thread that prevailed over the romance throughout the story. In the end, he was forced to admit that Shen Qiao was unique, and therefore worthy of his admiration, the basis of his romantic feelings. Why Shen Qiao would love him in return was never clear, but his ability to forgive was great and Yan Wushi managed to manipulate Shen Qiao into missing him. Of the two, Yan Wushi changed more, but only with Shen Qiao. Their coming together was kind of cute, but if the reader is looking for high emotions, great declarations, and carnal relations, they’re bound to be disappointed.

The main story is followed by several short stories that show that while the men never settle down to living together, they remain a couple and always return to the other after roaming the empire. The stories aren’t very romantic or emotional either, but they show cute glimpses of the men’s lives from past and future.

Despite the lack of great romantic emotions, I was satisfied with the ending and the series as a whole. It remained true to its premise, the political plots were interesting, and as I realised early on that the romance wouldn’t be there, I wasn’t disappointed with what I got. I’m happy where the men ended up, and the lives they live seem interesting and rather carefree. After everything they went through, they deserve happiness.

An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka: review

3/5 stars on Goodreads

An Inheritance of Magic by Benedict Jacka

An Inheritance of Magic starts a new series of the same name by Jacka. It’s set in present-day London where the world of magic called drucraft is semi-hidden from ordinary humans—though I don’t see how it’s stayed hidden, considering its importance to institutions like NASA and the military.

Stephen Oakwood is in his early twenties and without a direction in life. He’s had a series of odd jobs to stay afloat after his father disappeared a couple of years earlier, and affinity to magic. But without money, he hasn’t been able to do anything he truly wants, like trying to locate his father (his mother has left when he was a baby) or improve his skills in magic.

Out of the blue, a young woman shows up and tells him he’s connected to one of the important families in the magic world he knows absolutely nothing about. She needs him as leverage in an in-house inheritance battle, but when it turns out he might be more powerful in magic than her, things turn violent. It’s the jolt he’s needed to find his focus. Abandoning everything else, he focuses on his drucraft to be able to defend himself in case her violent thugs return—which they do.

This was a mixed read. I almost abandoned it at the beginning when it took its time to get to the point. It picked up pace and became interesting, if a bit action movie cliched, when a loved one’s (cat in this case) horrific fate pushed the protagonist to action. In a true action movie fashion, Stephen decides he needs physical strength and armaments in order to take down his enemies, even though he is told that he might focus on outsmarting them instead. What follows is the classical training montage. Only, it takes the rest of the book.

There really is no proper plot, just Stephen learning drucraft. At no point is he moving the story forward to direction he needs to go (the half-hearted attempts to locate his father don’t count); he’s only reacting to events. The plot about succession battle in the House Ashworth happens behind the scenes, and the entire book is preparation to something that never comes. Stephen is given a chance to best a few thugs, followed by a slap on a wrist by the grownups, and sent to home to sulk. And that’s the end.

Nevertheless, I persisted to the end. I liked Stephen, even if he was a bit of a sulky baby in his dealings with other people, especially women. His love for his cat made up for a lot. But I disagreed with his notion about what he needed. I never root for the strongest character but the smartest, and he’s never the smart one. The magic system was interesting with its limitations, and the narrative pulled me in easily. I might read the next book too, just to see if that one actually goes anywhere.

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