The Grand IllusionBecause of Covid-19 and because I’m not travelling, since I do most of my fiction reading while on the road, I haven’t read as much fiction recently. The most striking book, to me, was Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Gods of Jade and Shadow, with a very different Mexican take on magic. The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel was a dismal and depressing tale told exceedingly well, one which is mostly mainstream, except for the ghosts that haunt one of the main characters. I didn’t really like any of the characters, and I knew where the book was going early on, but still found myself intrigued. I finally got around to reading Witchmark, which won the World Fantasy Award last year. It’s a well-told tale with an interesting magic system and some truly despicable aristocrats. The House of Sundering Flames [Aliette de Bodard] is another dark and strong novel in her alternate Paris series. On a much lighter vein, I found Caroline Stevemer’s The Glass Magician utterly charming. As usual, there were also other books that I found far less captivating.
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Thank you for the update on your reading; I’m always glad to hear your book recommendations. In other circumstances, I’d be interested in trying “The Glass Hotel,” but I’d rather not read something depressing just now, so instead “The Glass Magician” sounds tempting. Thank you.
Seconded, Mary. The whole comment.
I so appreciate your sharing the highlights of your reading journey with us. Thank you.
I’ve been reading and re-reading your books for years. Thx for making that possible.
After reading a book or two by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, I found myself captivated and read all the rest of hers too. My two favorites were probably Gods of Jade and Shadow and Velvet is the Nigh.
Whoops, I didn’t mean “Velvet is the Nigh” or even “Velvet Was the Night,” which is the book’s actual title – I meant “Certain Dark Things.” Totally different book.