James Nicoll Reviews

October 2021

22 works reviewed. 12 by women (55%), 10 by men (45%), 0 by a non-binary author (0%), 0 by authors whose genders are unknown (0%), and 9 by POC (41%).

Year to Date

216 works reviewed. 117.5 by women (54%), 90.5 by men (42%), 5 by non-binary authors (2%), 3 by authors whose gender is unknown (1%), and 87 by POC (40%).

Grand Total to Date

1964 works reviewed. 1,100 by women (56%), 820 by men (42%), 26 by non-binary authors (1%), 18 by authors whose gender is unknown (1%), and 566.75 by POC (29%).

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Spear by Nicola Griffith

“Breathtaking. Nicola Griffith knows what she’s doing.” —Jo Walton / ​“Mesmerizing, epic, and immersive.” —Malka OlderA spellbinding and subversive queer recasting of Arthurian myth by the legendary author of HildThe girl knows she has a destiny before she even knows her name. She grows up in the wild, in a cave with her mother, but visions of a faraway lake come to her on the spring breeze, and when she hears a traveler speak of Artos, king of Caer Leon, she knows that her future lies at his court.And so, brimming with magic and eager to test her strength, she breaks her covenant with her mother and, with a broken hunting spear and mended armour, rides on a bony gelding to Caer Leon. On her adventures she will meet great knights and steal the hearts of beautiful women. She will fight warriors and sorcerers. And she will find her love, and the lake, and her fate.Nebula and Lambda Award-winning author Nicola Griffith returns with Spear, a glorious queer retelling of Arthurian legend, full of dazzling magic and intoxicating adventure

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Worlds of Exile and Illusion: Rocannon’s World, Planet of Exile, City of Illusions by Ursula K. le Guin

From the multi-award-winning author of The Left Hand of Darkness and the Earthsea sequence comes this single-volume omnibus of the first three Hainish novels.Intergalactic war reaches Fomalhaut II in Rocannon’s World.Born out of season, a precocious young girl visits the alien city of the farborns and the false-men in Planet of Exile.In City of Illusions a stranger wandering in the forest people’s woods is found and his health restored; now the fate of two worlds rests in this stranger’s hands … The three novels contained in this volume are the books that launched Ursula K. Le Guin’s glittering career, and are set in the same universe as her Hugo and Nebula Award-winning classics The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed. 

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Dead Silence by S. A. Barnes

Claire Kovalik is days away from being unemployed — made obsolete — when her beacon repair crew picks up a strange distress signal. With nothing to lose and no desire to return to Earth, Claire and her team decide to investigate.What they find at the other end of the signal is a shock: the Aurora, a famous luxury space-liner that vanished on its maiden tour of the solar system more than twenty years ago. A salvage claim like this could set Claire and her crew up for life. But a quick trip through the Aurora reveals something isn’t right.Whispers in the dark. Flickers of movement. Words scrawled in blood. Claire must fight to hold onto her sanity and find out what really happened on the Aurora, before she and her crew meet the same ghastly fate. 

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The Untold Story by Genevieve Cogman

Return to the world of the Invisible Library for Irene’s most perilous mission yet … Librarian Spy Irene is heading into danger. Not for the first time, but could this be her last? She’s tasked with a terrifyingly dangerous solo mission to eliminate an old enemy, which must be kept secret at all costs. But even more troubling news emerges. Multiple worlds are disappearing – and the Library may have something to do with it. Determined to uncover the truth behind the vanished worlds, Irene and her friends must descend into the unplumbed depths of the Library. And what they find will change everything they know. This may be Irene’s most dangerous assignment of her hazardous career. The Untold Story is the eighth book in the Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman. Praise for the series: ​‘I absolutely loved this’ – N. K. Jemisin, author of The Fifth Season ​‘Irene is a great heroine: fiery, resourceful and no one’s fool’ – Guardian ​‘Brilliant and so much fun. Skullduggery, Librarians and dragons – Cogman keeps upping the ante on this delightful series!’ – Charles Stross, author of the Merchant Princes series 

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Along the Saltwise Sea by A. Deborah Baker

For readers of Kelly Barnhill and Cat Valente’s Fairyland books, adventure and danger lurk Along the Saltwise Sea in this new book by Seanan McGuire’s latest open pseudonym, A. Deborah Baker.Be sure to explore the myriad wonders that can be found Along the Saltwise Sea.After climbing Over the Woodward Wall and making their way across the forest, Avery and Zib found themselves acquiring some extraordinary friends in their journey through the Up-and-Under.After staying the night, uninvited, at a pirate queen’s cottage in the woods, the companions find themselves accountable to its owner, and reluctantly agree to work off their debt as her ship sets sail, bound for lands unknown. But the queen and her crew are not the only ones on board, and the monsters at sea aren’t all underwater.The friends will need to navigate the stormy seas of obligation and honor on their continuing journey along the improbable road.

Writing as A. Deborah Baker, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Seanan McGuire takes our heroes Avery and Zib (and their friends Niamh and the Crow Girl) on a high seas adventure, with pirates and queens and all the dangers of the deep as they continue their journey through the Up-and-Under on their quest for the road that will lead them home.…Welcome to a world of talking trees and sarcastic owls, of dangerous mermaids and captivating queens in this exceptional tale for readers who are young at heart in this companion book to McGuire’s critically-acclaimed Middlegame and the sequel to Over the Woodward Wall.

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September 2021

22 works reviewed. 12 by women (55%), 9 by men (41%), 1 by a non-binary author (5%), 0 by authors whose genders are unknown (0%), and 8 by POC (36%).

Year to Date

194 works reviewed. 105.5 by women (54%), 80.5 by men (42%), 5 by non-binary authors (3%), 3 by authors whose gender is unknown (2%), and 78 by POC (40%).

Grand Total to Date

1942 works reviewed. 1088 by women (56%), 810 by men (42%), 26 by non-binary authors (1%), 18 by authors whose genders are unknown (1%), and 557.75 by POC (29%).

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Autonomy by Victoria Hetherington

In a near future ravaged by illness, one woman and her AI companion enter a dangerous bubble of the superrich.In 2035, a fledging synthetic consciousness ​“wakes up” in a lab. Jenny, the lead developer, determined to nurture this synthetic being like a child, trains it for work with people at the border of the American Protectorate of Canada. She names it Julian. Two years later, Slaton, a therapist at a university, is framed by a student for arranging an illegal abortion. She follows the student to America and is detained at the border, where she meets Julian in virtual space. After a week of interviewing, he decides to stay with her, learning about the world, the human condition, and what it means to fall in love. Meanwhile, a mysterious plague is spreading across the world. Only the far-seeing and well-connected Julian can protect Slaton from the impending societal collapse. Autonomy is an ambitious, philosophical novel about the possibilities for love in a world in which human bodies are either threatened or irrelevant.

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The Liar’s Knot by M. A. Carrick

Trust is the thread that binds us … and the rope that hangs us. In Nadezra, peace is as tenuous as a single thread. The ruthless House Indestor has been destroyed, but darkness still weaves through the city’s filthy back alleys and jewel-bright gardens, seen by those who know where to look. Derossi Vargo has always known. He has sacrificed more than anyone imagines to carve himself a position of power among the nobility, hiding a will of steel behind a velvet smile. He’ll be damned if he lets anyone threaten what he’s built. Grey Serrado knows all too well. Bent under the yoke of too many burdens, he fights to protect the city’s most vulnerable. Sooner or later, that fight will demand more than he can give. And Ren, daughter of no clan, knows best of all. Caught in a knot of lies, torn between her heritage and her aristocratic masquerade, she relies on her gift for reading pattern to survive. And it shows her the web of corruption that traps her city. But all three have yet to discover just how far that web stretches. And in the end, it will take more than knives to cut themselves free… 

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On this day, seven years and 1,928 reviews ago, James Nicoll Reviews went live. Thank you, Adrienne, for creating it, Karen for editing, all my patrons for funding it, and my readers for reading my reviews. 

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