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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwzFwuJVQZg?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]
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Tensorate: The Black Tides of Heaven – J.Y. Yang
Mokoya and Akeha, the twin children of the Protector, were sold to the Grand Monastery as children. While Mokoya developed her strange prophetic gift, Akeha was always the one who could see the strings that moved adults to action. While his sister received visions of what would be, Akeha realized what could be. What’s more, he saw the sickness at the heart of his mother’s Protectorate.
A rebellion is growing. The Machinists discover new levers to move the world every day, while the Tensors fight to put them down and preserve the power of the state. Unwilling to continue to play a pawn in his mother’s twisted schemes, Akeha leaves the Tensorate behind and falls in with the rebels. But every step Akeha takes towards the Machinists is a step away from his sister Mokoya. Can Akeha find peace without shattering the bond he shares with his twin sister?
I read this because the cover, by Yuko Shimizu, is really cool. Also the reviews are mostly 5 or 4 stars. My reaction echoes that of those who gave fewer stars.
This is a highly original novella that presented a world that works on nature magic to power technology, where people are genderless until they confirm their chosen gender and where matriarchy is the norm. The story follows the twins, Mokoya and Akeha from childhood, teens to adulthood. The twins were sent to a monastery as bargaining chips by their mother, the Protector. They learned to use the Slack, the magic system of the Tensorate world, which is probably similar to qi. Mokoya then revealed her prophetic gift and the twins were soon returned to the Protectorate palace. When they were almost 17, Mokoya confirmed she was a girl and the issue of gender identity was explored.This is the part of the story that was interesting and well-developed.
The second half of the story follows Akeha as he struck out on his own and got entangled with the Machinists. Here, things happened but I didn’t really care much about them because they just sort of happened and not elaborated upon. Generally, I felt the story had a lot of interesting ideas and plot threads but lacked details or follow up. I love the authenticity of having an Asian author create an Asian-based world and this book could have been up there with the great ones had the entire Tensorate world been more fleshed out.
Rating
3 Stars – not exactly setting my world on fire but I liked it
Soundtrack: Star Sign
Artist: Teenage Fanclub
Album: Bandwagonesque(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33099588-the-black-tides-of-heaven)
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Children bleed as easy as anyone else, don’t they? Why would they be spared? A child is nothing but a future enemy.
Brian McClellan -
[spotify id=”spotify%3Atrack%3A72TuqZybG4W29mQtL1cCq1&view=coverart” width=”540″ height=”620″ /]Soundtrack to Tensorate: The Black Tides of Heaven by J.Y. Yang
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Amadare no Koro – Momoko Suika
Suguru and Yoshiichi were neighbors who were always together until the day Suguru decides to move away. When they entered junior high, as promised, Suguru came back. But he was unable to transition into their high school, so he is thinking of taking exams for other schools. Yoshiichi’s image of the Suguru who’s always by his side shatters a bit. He became upset, lonely and jealous. Even when his heart swells so much and all he can think of is him…On top of Amadare no Koro, we’ve included an epilogue of their story, titled “Engage Key Holder” and a side story of Suguru’s friend’s love story titled “Haru no Iki”.
I feel like the artwork is messy and not easy on the eyes. The story is that familiar jr high school to high school (or high school to uni) separation anxiety between two people who are close.
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REVIEW: Irregulars by Nicole Kimberling, Josh Lanyon, Ginn Hale, & Astrid Amara
Irregulars – Nicole Kimberling, Josh Lanyon, Ginn Hale, and Astrid Amara
It’s a secret international organization operating in cities on every continent. It polices relations between the earthly realm and those beyond this world, enforcing immigration laws, the transfers of magical artifacts, and crimes against humanity.
The agents who work for the NATO Irregular Affairs Division can’t tell anyone what they do, or how hard they work to keep us safe. It brings a colorful collection of men together:
Agent Henry Falk, the undead bum. Agent Keith Curry, former carnivore chef turned vegetarian; Agent Rake, Babylonian demon with a penchant for easy living; and Agent Silas August, uncompromising jerk.
Four cities, four mysteries, four times the romance. Is your security clearance high enough to read on?
Cherries Worth Getting by N. Kimberling – made me glad I am a vegetarian. Former chef Keith Curry and trans-goblin Gunther Heartman investigate contraband food items while trying in vain to keep it professional between the two of them. Nicole Kimberling sets up a world where extra-humans exists side by side with regular people and the Secrecy Act is in place. Extra-humans being vampires, goblins, fae folks and other mythical creatures from all over the world. Foodies might get an extra kick with the gourmet part.
Green Glass Beads by Josh Lanyon – a fluffy faery-demon romance that’s also a heist and an obsessive quest for family heirlooms. Sidhe politics and history were mentioned but not elaborated upon. Archer, our half faery-half human protagonist, is an intelligence but impulsive ex-terrorist and Rake is the Irregular agent tasked to investigate him. This is my first Josh Lanyon story which, I’m glad, didn’t disappoint. It’s character-driven with demon action, magic and some heartwarming moments.
No Life But This by Astrid Amara – Aztaw history and culture is fascinating and terrifying in equal measures. For a moment, I bought the whole Aztaw thing as a real Mexican mythology until I tried googling it. Silas August is a jerk who wears designer suits. Deven is both a childlike man and skilled assassin, a combination that has its own ironic appeal. This is my favorite of the bunch since it was dark, bloody and dangerous with slow build romance simmering underneath.
Things Unseen and Deadly by Ginn Hale – another sidhe story involving Half-dead Henry who was almost a century old and Jason Shamir, a young man struggling with what he thought were hallucinations. I like how this is connected with the first story and a good wrap-up of the series.
Rating:
Cherries Worth Getting – 3.5 stars
Green Glass Beads – 3.5 stars
No Life But This – 4 stars
Things Unseen and Deadly – 3 stars
Overall: 4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets
Artist: Queens of the Stone Age
Album: Rated R(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12759444-irregulars)
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The dead are selfish:
They make us cry, and they don’t care,
They stay quiet in the most inconvenient places,
They refuse to walk, and we have to carry them
On our backs to the tomb…Angel Gonzalez -
[spotify id=”spotify%3Atrack%3A1RwDsaft1szD0FO3DVEtaT&view=coverart” width=”540″ height=”620″ /]Soundtrack to Irregulars by Nicole Kimberling, Josh Lanyon, Ginn Hale & Astrid Amara
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Koiike – Shisito Karari
Omoigabuchi, a pond with a legend attached: “If two people go in together, they will be bound to each other for life.” The story of three couples who get dragged into this love pond.
While it’s highly unlikely that school boys would care about love ponds, this is still a moderately good volume of interconnected stories. The first couple was the most interesting one for me because it had the potential to be hilarious but the author chose to focus on the boring third pair.
