HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD? The characters in Naomi Alderman’s crisp near-future technothriller have a lot of ideas—some of them on a collision course with others. Action and deft satire blend in this high-energy yet thoughtful read. A MINUS
#BookReview Boy Parts by Eliza Clark
Read on audio, performed by the author
Influx Press
2020
After reading a run of classics I was looking for something different and this certainly fit the bill!
Irina’s a bartender/artist from Newcastle who graduated with an MA from The Royal College of Art and is in an awkward phase where she’s partying but also wants to be taken seriously as an artist. Her style of photography lands her in tricky situations as she scouts teenage boys and men to photograph. Talented, beautiful and manipulative, she uses her power to persuade them to bend to her demands, with her explicit photos being bought by wealthy private collectors who’re into fetish art. She attracted praise as a student including a profile in Vice and has 1000s of Instagram followers who she couldn’t care less about.
We follow Irina as she prepares for a group show in London; she’s looking through her archive for her best images and reminisces, resulting in some memories she’d prefer not to drag back into her consciousness.
I’m surprised I had the stomach for this book but that’s down to the clever writing which makes you weirdly relate to Irina. Her life just seems chaotic, details begin to be drip fed into the narrative and by that time you’re hooked!
There’s some great writing about the pretensions of art school students and feeling shunned as a ‘northern’ artist. And plenty of messy nights at house parties, with a cocktail of drink, drugs and vomiting.
In a similar way to the protagonist in I’m A Fan the author’s created a unique voice and pushes behaviour to the extreme. Just be warned that here these extremes include self harm, mental illness, sexual abuse and violence.
I was impressed how Eliza Clark explores a certain kind of modern art which is celebrated as edgy but which makes you wonder about consent and the twisted mind of the artist; playing with this in complex and surprising ways. #Bookstodon@bookstodon
I reviewed Twilight of the Gods by Scott Oden for Grimdark Magazine! This is the second book in the dark historical fantasy Grimnir Saga, about the last living orc in medieval Scandinavia. Book 3 arrives later this month!
SHARP PRIVATE EYE thriller follows a detective and his childhood best friend, now an investigative reporter, to Mexico on the trail of a seasoned criminal. Lots of relatable characters and some great descriptions. SOLID B
SHIMMERING, GORGEOUS, WISTFUL meditation on life, love, art, and loss set against the surreal cityscape of New York in the 2020 COVID lockdown. Everything is vivid, everything feels deeply true. A MINUS
A BIZARRE, CULTISH COMMUNE, centered around some extreme psychoanalytic theories, hiding in plain sight in Manhattan brownstones, with adherents as famous as Judy Collins and Jackson Pollock. Intensive research and interviews tell a wild story. A MINUS
Today's release: Aaron Frale's queer LitRPG fantasy: My Three-Year-Old is a Barbarian and Other Parenting Problems.
Necromantic rituals, murderous ogres, battle-scarred rangers: not a typical Saturday detention for unsuspecting teaching assistant, Petra, and her delinquent teen charges. The Beaverton High School Breakfast Club...
Today's review! Barnabas Bopwright Saves the City by J. Marshall Freeman:
"Excellent writing, believable, relatable characters, a delightful coming-of-age story... Filled with adventure and angst, and a lovely cast of characters who were relatable, believable, and very charming."
I recently finished "All hell breaks loose" the prequel book about Skullduggery Pleasant. A Y/A supernatural mystery series of books.
It started a bit slow but towards the end I started to it's potential. I always prefer a series that gets better and better the deeper I get into it.
My review of Conan - Lord of the Mount is up at Grimdark Magazine! It wasn’t quite the caliber of story I was hoping for given Stephen Graham Jones as author, but I think it was valuable as an experiment.
Today's review! Jake Monroe & the Case of the Missing Mermaid by Arthur Griffin:
"Well written. The trials and tribulations of being a PI, especially one with a paranormal caseload, are vividly portrayed. Recommended for romance readers who like their mysteries spiced with a little paranormal."