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Because my wednesdays are vr busy.
Currently Reading: Wolf Hall audiobook, plus slowly through some hard-copy books
Recently Finished: This update finally catches up the backlog that accrued in January.
Lundy Bancroft, Why does he do that, which was enlightening and has all the problems the internet told me to expect, and I don't wish to review it but it was vr useful.
The Regular by Ken Liu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a short story/novella found in Forever Magazine vol 1, which is available for free. I picked it up because it was nominated for the Nebula - not that I make a habit of reading the Hugo/Nebula nominee list, but I do make a habit of reading any Ken Liu that crosses my path (mostly through Lightspeed and Strange Horizons).
It's a really *interesting* story. The question of to whom the title refers - the client who is murdering a select group of high-class escorts, or the detective chasing him, is an ongoing mystery to unravel alongside the conventional detective plot. The sci-fi feature, that of cyborg implants from cameras in eyes (recoverable only upon death or major surgery) to improved muscles to emotional regulators, is deftly woven in with the detective plot, and the story's exploration of how those options might be used, abused and resorted to by people with different kinds of desperate needs... interesting.
More Than Two: A practical guide to ethical polyamory by Franklin Veaux
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was engaging, and in several respects more practical than 'The Ethical Slut'. There's a lot of good stuff here on breaking down one's wants, needs and desires; there is a more balanced emphasis than in the Ethical Slut on being able to expect others to step up and accomodate one's needs. However, there's also the common failure mode of all books in this genre: they exhort you to practice trust, to trust that your partners will want what's best for you, and so on. Well what if they don't? Rickert and Veaux do note that ending relationships may be the most productive recourse, but... well, distinguishing between points where the onus is on you to deal with your own shit and cases where you're not being treated properly is *hard* and they dither back and forth on it. Likewise they note the possibility of abuse as a separate case distinct from practicing healthy communication, as if no one ever tries to communicate clearly with an abuser, or as if abusive people are not at times excellent at imitating or manipulating best practice principles for communication.
Also, for a book written by a bisexual woman and a man who dates bisexual women, it is *startlingly* heteronormative, and gives a painfully simplistic/outdated definition of bisexuality in its glossary, and aside from one paragraph speculating on why bi and trans folk are more often found in poly groups than in non-monogamous gay or lesbian circles, ignores trans people entirely. There weren't many points where I thought 'hey this advice doesn't APPLY if you're bi', but still. Could've been executed better.
Sam Starbuck, The City War: a re-read, super fun and cute and not historically distressing!
Pulling Leather by L.C. Chase
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This one was better than #2! It did not suffer from the don't-say-bi problem, except incidentally (#2's hero appeared a few times, and i suppose someone could have explained the concept of bisexuality to our self-loathing gay protag. It might have done him some good, broadened his mind a bit more). Chase did a good job in characterising Scott, a man struggling to come to terms with the fact that he's totally gay and also a homophobic arse with a history of beating up gay men. And it was handled pretty well, including Scott's troubling-to-him attraction to a rather fem guy.
What I really liked was that compared to Eric's POV in book 2, Chase seems to have mastered writing angst and indicating how the character's past contributes to his current fear without giving you super unrealistic internal monologue. Scott has angst up to his ears, and a complex set of fears, and these are obvious in small reactions and choices, so long explanation is less necessary.
The Burnt Toast B&B by Heidi Belleau
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Oh now *this* was adorable. An out-of-work logger is trying to run his parents B&B, which he's kind of crap at, not least because he's never questioned that it's girls work and he totally doesn't do girls' work because he's a manly man, right? Enter a chirpy, in-your-face guest who is both macho (professional stuntman) and rather camp, and also trans. Our manly man Derek knoweth not what to do or how to be a reasonable human under such duress, especially when pink frilly aprons are involved.
I was very pleased with the substantial weight given to Derek's ex, 'an aging twink', who is an all-round good human and as much part of Derek's getting-a-clue as is cute young Ginsberg. What bugged me, even to the end, was that Ginsberg *knows* it's a bad idea to get into a relationship with someone who hasn't fixed their toxic shit, especially if that impacts closely on him. And I was really not convinced by the final scenes which are supposed to prove to us that Derek has completely changed and thought not one thought about toxic masculinity for months! Nah, that's not how this works.
Up Next: Given current trends, it would be surprising if I get through the next two weeks without buying and reading another Riptide book. I mean, I know I could find m/m romance of probably better quality and certainly better worldbuilding on the A03, but sometimes entirely new canon is fun.
Currently Reading: Wolf Hall audiobook, plus slowly through some hard-copy books
Recently Finished: This update finally catches up the backlog that accrued in January.
Lundy Bancroft, Why does he do that, which was enlightening and has all the problems the internet told me to expect, and I don't wish to review it but it was vr useful.
The Regular by Ken LiuMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a short story/novella found in Forever Magazine vol 1, which is available for free. I picked it up because it was nominated for the Nebula - not that I make a habit of reading the Hugo/Nebula nominee list, but I do make a habit of reading any Ken Liu that crosses my path (mostly through Lightspeed and Strange Horizons).
It's a really *interesting* story. The question of to whom the title refers - the client who is murdering a select group of high-class escorts, or the detective chasing him, is an ongoing mystery to unravel alongside the conventional detective plot. The sci-fi feature, that of cyborg implants from cameras in eyes (recoverable only upon death or major surgery) to improved muscles to emotional regulators, is deftly woven in with the detective plot, and the story's exploration of how those options might be used, abused and resorted to by people with different kinds of desperate needs... interesting.
More Than Two: A practical guide to ethical polyamory by Franklin VeauxMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was engaging, and in several respects more practical than 'The Ethical Slut'. There's a lot of good stuff here on breaking down one's wants, needs and desires; there is a more balanced emphasis than in the Ethical Slut on being able to expect others to step up and accomodate one's needs. However, there's also the common failure mode of all books in this genre: they exhort you to practice trust, to trust that your partners will want what's best for you, and so on. Well what if they don't? Rickert and Veaux do note that ending relationships may be the most productive recourse, but... well, distinguishing between points where the onus is on you to deal with your own shit and cases where you're not being treated properly is *hard* and they dither back and forth on it. Likewise they note the possibility of abuse as a separate case distinct from practicing healthy communication, as if no one ever tries to communicate clearly with an abuser, or as if abusive people are not at times excellent at imitating or manipulating best practice principles for communication.
Also, for a book written by a bisexual woman and a man who dates bisexual women, it is *startlingly* heteronormative, and gives a painfully simplistic/outdated definition of bisexuality in its glossary, and aside from one paragraph speculating on why bi and trans folk are more often found in poly groups than in non-monogamous gay or lesbian circles, ignores trans people entirely. There weren't many points where I thought 'hey this advice doesn't APPLY if you're bi', but still. Could've been executed better.
Sam Starbuck, The City War: a re-read, super fun and cute and not historically distressing!
Pulling Leather by L.C. ChaseMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This one was better than #2! It did not suffer from the don't-say-bi problem, except incidentally (#2's hero appeared a few times, and i suppose someone could have explained the concept of bisexuality to our self-loathing gay protag. It might have done him some good, broadened his mind a bit more). Chase did a good job in characterising Scott, a man struggling to come to terms with the fact that he's totally gay and also a homophobic arse with a history of beating up gay men. And it was handled pretty well, including Scott's troubling-to-him attraction to a rather fem guy.
What I really liked was that compared to Eric's POV in book 2, Chase seems to have mastered writing angst and indicating how the character's past contributes to his current fear without giving you super unrealistic internal monologue. Scott has angst up to his ears, and a complex set of fears, and these are obvious in small reactions and choices, so long explanation is less necessary.
The Burnt Toast B&B by Heidi BelleauMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Oh now *this* was adorable. An out-of-work logger is trying to run his parents B&B, which he's kind of crap at, not least because he's never questioned that it's girls work and he totally doesn't do girls' work because he's a manly man, right? Enter a chirpy, in-your-face guest who is both macho (professional stuntman) and rather camp, and also trans. Our manly man Derek knoweth not what to do or how to be a reasonable human under such duress, especially when pink frilly aprons are involved.
I was very pleased with the substantial weight given to Derek's ex, 'an aging twink', who is an all-round good human and as much part of Derek's getting-a-clue as is cute young Ginsberg. What bugged me, even to the end, was that Ginsberg *knows* it's a bad idea to get into a relationship with someone who hasn't fixed their toxic shit, especially if that impacts closely on him. And I was really not convinced by the final scenes which are supposed to prove to us that Derek has completely changed and thought not one thought about toxic masculinity for months! Nah, that's not how this works.
Up Next: Given current trends, it would be surprising if I get through the next two weeks without buying and reading another Riptide book. I mean, I know I could find m/m romance of probably better quality and certainly better worldbuilding on the A03, but sometimes entirely new canon is fun.