Alexander > Recent Status Updates

OKAY I SWEAR I PICKED IT ON THE COVER ONLY. I am only JUST finding out the author's in a same-sex relationship. My bookshelf is so gay nowadays I can't seem to read a straight story to save my life, which is just objectively hilarious

When I was asked to provide a few covers of books that I liked, I thumbed through Goodreads and saw this cover and immediately submitted that as one of my favorite covers. This cover SLAPS. It slapped so hard I proceeded to get the book. I never get books based on covers, but this felt like a great time to start. Let's see if we SHOULD judge this book by its cover...

OKAY I've detoxed from my gay June. Time to get EVEN GAYER.
I've watched the movie, seen the series, and I think I read everything that stars Nick and Charlie - except the latest comic installment. Time to, at last, fix that.

Well, my previous attempt into reading straight fiction ended up into me doing exactly not that by accident, because my bookshelf turns out to be too gay. So, let's try again, and let's go Dutch this time. Back to completely traditional fantasy. Surely everyone will be heterosexual here? (I am secretly hoping a little that they're not. Just a little...)

My bookshelf is so gay that every time I try to pick up a straight book I INDUBITABLY fail which is HILARIOUS to me

(I will review everything once I have the time)

The Spider and the Stars by D.K. Mok is a cute way to end the whole anthology. Good story, pretty happy in tone. Still, though, worldbuilding comes first. 4/5

... Did I just pick up a queer book, AGAIN, but this time by accident? If so, that is hilarious.

I really didn't want to give The Lighthouse Keeper by Andrew Dana Hudson five stars, as it's just a thin plot as a vessel for lots of worldbuilding again... and yet, this time it somehow just works. Maybe because the plot is small in scale, or maybe the execution is just that good. Either way, it gets a reluctant full rating of 5/5.

Have Space Bike, Will Travel by Ingrid Garcia is Solarpunk... in SPAAAAAAACE. And I love that, and that there's a lot of queer disabled people at the forefront. But it needs just a bit too much worldbuilding before getting to the juicy bits of plot. 4/5

Lizard Skin by Lucie Lukačovičová has a great balance between plot and worldbuilding that makes both very interesting to read. Unfortunately it fizzles out a little by the end. 4/5

Drawing the Line by Gustavo Bondoni is cute, using a lovely plot as a backdrop for a utopia... that I'm not sure I agree with. 4/5

The Spiral Ranch by Sarena Ulibarri has a good, satisfying plot that doesn't just feel like something to put the worldbuilding on, which is appreciated. Still, the ending feels a little unresolved. 4/5

The Maestro of Small Things by Fransesco Verso feels like all worldbuilding, no plot, until the plot does show up - but it makes me wonder if the first few pages could've been trimmed. 3/5

Oil and Ivory is queer, it's intimate, it's got a good plot, what else can I give it but a 5/5

Anticipation of Hollowness by Renan Bernardo is small, intimate, lovely, and very good. 5/5

Sorry, had to sensitivity read, which meant this took a backseat until I'd finished that. But I have now.
Anyway. For the Snake of Power by Brenda Cooper is a great story about oppression and the differences between the rich and the poor. An enjoyable read. 4/5

YUCK! I've read so much GAY STUFF that I'm DONE now for a while! (Until the next queer book goes ahead and steals my heart, of course, which is probably sooner than later) So let's go and read a STRAIGHT book, just a good ole' fantasy, like Tolkien intended!
Because seriously, the Solarpunk short stories make my soul happy in a way that makes me think, I need some good genre fiction again.
Let's go...

The Soma Earth by Giro Faienza is a little hard to follow: it's very science-based and not all gets explained. 3/5

Orchidacae by Thomas Badlan has great worldbuilding, and that's also pretty much all this short story is, there's fairly little plot unfortunately. On top of that, it's rooted in the idea that the reason climate change exists is because of too many humans, an idea I struggle with. 3/5

Byzantine Empathy by Ken Liu required some Byzantine patience. It's long and longer than it needs to be, I feel. It makes some interesting points, but never quite wraps them up nicely. 3/5

Wasn't planning on reading queer stuff after a Pride Month full of queer YA, but my bag is full of books that are, right now, too complex for me as I'm exhausted from conning for four days, and having to rise early with a fire alarm going off late at night. So. Simple and lovely it is, and I bought this in a book shop in Berlin. Here goes nothing...

Rules for a Civilization by Jerri Jerreat is lovely. It ends a little sudden and there's a lot of description before the plot picks up, but once it does, the feelings it elicits more than make up for it. Though I may be biased, because of my profession. Strong start. 5/5

From one anthology to another! Though I intend to take my time more with this one. One short story a day, and only if I have time (busy week ahead...). Bought this at Eurocon, and decided to start with this as I'm heading home from it, mostly because the book binding and cover are of excellent quality for a fairly low price. Let's go...

The Beauty of the Beast is an interesting retelling, but desire changing a core motivation, very little actually... changes? 3/5
Review of everything - including Hair - follows when I'm home, have slept, and have the time.

Interesting retelling of Bluebeard, not one I see very often. 4/5

Postcontemporary beauty is hard to follow. Might be because I've had very little sleep and am tired of conning. I'll reread it when I'm awake, so the rating might change, but for now it's 2/5

The Princess and the F*** is better. I like stories that focus on what happens after the fairytale. A good, self-contained story, though it didn't blow me away. 4/5

Cinderella in the shoe is a fun twist on the Cinderella fairytale. It's nice and short, and yet, nothing happens during the first two pages. 3/5

Stories feels a little pointless, though the point is clear. 3/5