blog tour – The Constellation of Moon

Moon Reads: Service Model

Posted on June 7, 2024

Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Rating:

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.

Disclaimer: Receiving a review copy from the publisher does not affect my opinion of the book. If you think I review it highly it is due to me knowing my taste well and therefore not requesting books I won’t enjoy. And I am not obligated to review the book if I do not like it, so you may not see bad reviews due to me preferring not to hype down a particular book. I only do reviews of books I disagreed with if I think it is worth bringing a topic or warning to light.

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Service Model. If you know nothing of me, I work in tech as an engineer, so this was right up my street.

I am sure by now you know a little about the plot. But if not, stay with me, we follow Charles as he accidentally (?) kills his master due to a fault, in a world that has made the most of robots and has them everywhere possible, even where you didn’t think it might be possible. What comes next is his journey as he tries to understand why he made that mistake and as he encounters different personalities and robots who start to show him a side of him that he didn’t expect to find.

Even before you start to read the story, the dedication and thanks had me ready for it. Including the fact it talks about the book “You look like a thing and I love you” by Janelle Shane which if you want to understand robotics and AI better, is a worthy read with an amusing way to learn.

But as soon as I saw that, I knew this was a book that would be a delight and obviously a mastery in worldbuilding and in philosophically trying to understand what makes us human (which is to me part of the core of what Adrian does through his writing by exploring everything that is NOT human). And the book did not disappoint.

I could tell you all about Charles adventures, but the thing that stuck to me from the beginning is that this is about about identity, about routine and classifying things into flows and boxes, and also about grief. It is an incredibly human book in topic even if it doesn’t seem to be as you read the story and encounter mostly non human characters. And yet… Charles is trying to understand why he is feeling the way he is feeling about his master, and about the world overall. But there is also the fact that there are things he is struggling to compute, and what do you do when you can’t easily “compute” something? When things don’t fit in a box or a neat process or flow? And how Charles approaches these challenges is utterly fascinating, including the fact that he talks about efficiency and resources, and again, shines a light on how we feel and make decisions as humans, but also about what we expect from robots and the limitations machine learning and AI have and how the unexpected can wreak havoc and chaos.

It is, as usual a masterpiece in thought, but it is also incredibly amusing and it made me laugh a few times. References to things we do or culture are there, and it pokes fun at things we may consider normal but that aren’t for a robot. And funnily enough it made me think of the books “A Psalm for the Wild Built” and it’s companion, because it hits on those questions of humanity and non humanity.

A must read for anyone who grapples with the idea of AI going too fast or taking over jobs, and also if you want a different sci-fi than the utopia of living in space and robots being perfect.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Fathomfolk

Posted on March 12, 2024

Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan

Rating:

♪ Under the sea, under the sea ♫

But not fully under the sea, but rather, in Tiankawi, the beautiful towering city that exists on the top of the slum, trying to escape the flooded situation.

Fathomfolk comes at you with the punches in a political and contrasting story that gives us two heroines, Mira who is a half-siren that most definitely does not use her siren abilities for reasons (including that the fathomfolk, or those that are not fully human, are looked down on and end up in the slums of the city) and that has been doing her best to prove that fathomfolk are not bad and can coexist and be at the same level as humans; and Nami, who is a dragon fathomfolk princess on her “I know better than my elders and everyone else” phase who is here to solve everything perfectly.

They both have the same goal, tackling the inequality and issues of Tiankawi, but their approach is polar opposites. While Mira believes there are ways to work with the system and make the system better, Nami is a firm believer in dismantling it, explosions and chaos included because the approach others are taking is not bringing the results immediately. So when things start coming to a head, they also come to a head and have to figure out what they truly want and how to achieve, and maybe cooperate on it.

I gave this four foxes because for my normal reading tastes, this a a little more political than what I like (but that is a Moon issue, not a book issue) however I still enjoyed it. The world-building is fascinating and I could see myths, legends, and stories woven through it. It was fun to find this new world and yet find “familiar” concepts that you can take and go “oh yes, that makes sense”. The city and characters all have many layers of complexity and that was refreshing to see even if at times it meant having to keep track of things. The hardest part for me was to figure out the city and where everyone was, as I kept feeling lost in locations and places, and I do wish there was some kind of “map” or a better city idea I could’ve used as a visual.

The other thing is that we have a variety of approaches and ages in our characters and the points of view we get (there are actually more characters that have a point of view, which when I first encountered them it confused me but slowly I warmed up to it). So it isn’t just a teenager in her know-it-all phase (Nami), but we also get someone who is doing her best at trying to be an adult and making life work out (Mira) including taking care of her mother, and we also have other points of view with varying ages (to avoid spoilers for now). Overall, you get many views and flavours of the city and of how things affect those groups and ages.

Then we have the themes of the book. One that comes to mind that may not be the “obvious” one is family and the complexities of it. What we do for our families, how you get your chosen family and relationships can work, and the fragility of bonds but also the strength of them. Of course we have the impact of human choices and a view of specism/racism, and what power can do and how it can corrupt. We also encounter a lot about owning our choices and the consequences of that and sometimes we think we know best but we focus too much on our own viewpoint and sometimes it is worth looking out.

Overall the story captivated me so much that I overexcitedly wanted to scream about this book a month before I was meant to. Don’t miss out on this story!

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Bitter Crown

Posted on December 23, 2023

The Bitter Crown by Justin Lee Anderson

Rating:

Welcome to a chaotic review and blog tour post for The Bitter Crown. I somehow managed to leave my review for The Lost War in draft instead of publishing it ahead of today, so you will get the review for book 2 in the series before the review for book one which will come in the next review.

I read both books back to back, in the span of a week or so. They’re slightly chonky and remind me of old 80’s and 90’s novels in the worldbuilding and the adventures, a good fantasy specimen is what I would say. This means that if you didn’t read them one after the other immediately there’s a lot you might forget about this world and story. This brings me to probably my favourite thing in this book, which was the fact you get a “recap” as a relatively seamless part of the story.

This made for some interesting “this sounds too familiar, wait, it is a summary, a previously on” and I loved that.

Now for the actual review, it is hard to do without spoiling too much. With the end of the Lost War, there is now a lot of stake and more than anything, the truth is at stake, and it is hard when so very few actually know what is true or not. And honestly this whole concept of truth was also some of my favourite themes in the book, alongside what do you do when you have to rebuild yourself, your relationships and everything in your life now that you know the truth. Hard work, let me tell you.

The adventures continue and I still have a soft spot for Aranok, Allandria and Samily more than for the rest, I am biased because they really grew on me as the lost war happened and then even more here, particularly given the interesting new challenges presented to Aranok and Allandria (not to spoil things, but this was also a fascinating thing to read).

Overall, The Bitter Crown is a good sequel, giving a lot of adventure, more views of this world, a pinch or two of chaos and a very real and human set of characters. They aren’t perfect, they mess up, make mistakes, act crazy, and have consequences.

If you enjoy epic fantasy, a feeling like you’re walking through a Dungeons and Dragons campaign played by a bunch of adults (for the most part the ages of the main cast are varied and it goes more to older characters rather than very wet behind the ears ones, which was also refreshing to read), pick up the Eidyn Saga, it is really fun and I can’t wait for what comes next.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Hunting Moon

Posted on November 19, 2023

The Hunting Moon by Susan Dennard

Rating:

The Luminaries left me wishing for me, as you can read from my previous review of it. Since I followed the Twitter polls that started this and that were quite fun, it was natural to keep wanting more.

The slightly disjointed feeling of comparing that thread on Twitter (now X) is less evident here, mostly because by now in The Hunting Moon, it has evolved into much more of Susan Dennard’s own story rather than a choose-your-own-adventure type of thing. So in some ways, this book is more fun, and feels like the plot is unique and just smoother and to me those are winning points.

We also have Winnie questioning so much, and I found it interesting to see those doubts show up and the fight to trust and to do your best. There is so much going on, and so many ways to try to find out things, but the main things are we have the Dianas to look into (and that’s a whole thing, which damn I thought we’d get *redacted* happen in the end and we didn’t and now I await the next book) but we also have Winnie’s feelings about what being part of the Lumaries really is and if she is up for it, she sees the cracks all of a sudden that she didn’t when she was so focused on redeeming her family back in. It’s almost like “I got my goal, now what?” followed by a “Maybe this isn’t actually what I wanted but I also don’t want to be a pariah”. Small town vibes for sure.

And finally, the other part of the book that we have is Jay, who is still a whole mystery and Winnie has so many complex feelings on this alongside so much to try to discover and learn.

Overall, it is a slow pick-up to a fast-paced second half of the book where things just click. However, the werewolf mystery I knew the answer to it from the very first book. Seeing Winnie finally put the pieces together was both frustrating (like come on girl, you’ve got this) and also rewarding because she does put it together and manages to make big decisions in her own time.

If you enjoyed the first book, this is well worth the read. And if you didn’t read the first but like stories with a small town vibe, urban fantasy notes, werewolves, a bit of romance, intrigue, treason and framing, alongside some family interesting drama, that is easy to read and you’ll just won’t want to put it down, then definitely pick both books up and then join me in waiting for the next one because there’s so much* to find out still.

*One thing I did like is that there is progress here on discovering mysteries like the Whisperer, and part of the Dianas and the werewolves, so you feel progress and we discover new mysteries, rather than just feel cheated by a second book without resolving most of the threads left hanging from the first, which is also a HUGE win for me in ay sequel/series.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Bride of the Tornado

Posted on August 15, 2023

Bride of the Tornado by James Kennedy

Rating:

Bride of the Tornado surprised me. I started reading this book on a flight because I wanted to read through and I wasn’t sure how captive I would be to it. Let me tell you, I was caught hard!

The story follows our narrator, who tells of the day the “tornado” season started when things changed for her town. And in it, they are meant to wear funny clothes, meet a tornado boy who is meant to be saving them from the tornadoes building outside town. At first, it seems like a joke the adults are trying to play on everyone. But all of a sudden it becomes real, and slowly it is like they are in a cult where the tornados keep them captive and are somewhat sentient.

And then there is the boy, who for some reason fascinates our narrator. She cannot avoid him and stop trying to find out more about him, while the rest of the teenagers want to party, leave town or continue life without the weirdness of the tornadoes trapping them in this town. But not her, she needs to know more.

What comes next was fascinating, bizarre and mind-twisting for sure.

I think the reason I liked it, and that may have made others not like it as much, is that we have an unreliable narrator. Someone who is telling us the story through a very specific lens, so you question why she is doing it this way, and what the truth is. Will her truth and the real truth match? And why is everything happening?

You also get this weird mix of a cult, teenagers just wanting to be allowed to exist, our narrator who fits and doesn’t fit in and in some ways is trying to figure out where exactly does she fit and who she is. And then you have the adults who definitely have their own secrets.

It was a quick read, and I kept wanting to know more once I got hooked by all the odd action. The beginning chapters are a long setup to explain some of the things that will come next and partly because the narrator has to tell you about these things that marked her, that led her to where she goes.

Now it isn’t super scary in the gore side, but it does deal with some interesting proposals and some weirdness, so it is more uncanny and creepy than properly horrific and therefore was way more my type of read than I initially thought it would be. And it was worth giving it a chance, so I suggest you do too!

Also don’t forget to check out the other blog tour stops!

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Art of Prophecy

Posted on April 10, 2023

The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Welcome to a late blog tour entry since the post delivered this a little too late for me to make it on the actual day I was scheduled to post it. But, fear not because I still set up a picture of it and started reading the book, which quickly became a devouring the book (no, I did not stay up until way past 2 am reading, absolutely not…)

Anyway, I shall say that I adore Taishi and the relationship with Jian is full of chaos and I totally loved it.

Now onto more coherent stuff. The book reads a little like a cinematic script, not in a way to say it isn’t fleshed out, but rather that it is written so you can almost see the shots, the way the camera pans in or out, the specific angles, you can hear the voices of the characters in your head. Which leads me to absolutely insist that Michelle Yeoh play Taishi because it is a perfect cast, and in my head a version of her is totally Taishi. This whole casting in my head led to me deciding to rewatch Everything, Everywhere, All At Once (if you haven’t seen this film, stop, and go watch it, mind-blowing, each rewatch just adds extra flavour to it).

In case you hadn’t noticed, I enjoyed this book a lot, it is a fun fantasy book, with a lot going on for it. I do admit there where two things I struggled a little with. One, the Sea Grass. My brain could not for the life of me comprehend it. I would read bits and pieces about it and the scenery and think I understood it, and then a few chapters later go “wait, I thought it worked like this”. I think some of it is because of the whole cinematic style of writing that was so into shots and stuff, that the descriptions and overall way of presenting it could have been a little more cohesive, but once it did click for me, which was about half way through the book, it starts making a lot more sense, and not fully grasping it isn’t the end of the world or takes away from experiencing the book.

The second thing I will admit is that because of how fascinating, funny and everything the whole Taishi and Jian parts of the plot were, the other subplots suffered for it. For example, Sali is super interesting, but by the time she’s introduced, and this isn’t too far into the book, pretty early on, I was wanting to go back to Taishi and Jian than learn about her. And this is not exactly that her story is boring or not good, it is just a very different dynamic and paled in comparison, which felt like treason to her because she is bad ass and doing a bunch of stuff which I do not want t spoil.

But overall the book was really fun to read, I kept wanting to go back to it and really visualising it happening. If you want to summarise it, a lot of it is about asking yourself about your beliefs and what you’ve been brought up to believe about yourself and the culture you are steeped in. Yes, there is a lot of badass fighting, martial arts and magic and interesting prophecies, shenanigans and the lot, but to me, at the core, it explored identity once it is stripped from you and what ends up defining who you are, or how the characters figure who they are when what they thought they knew isn’t truly who they are.

It reminded me of growing up and getting to a point where I had to ask myself what I truly wanted, and if those wants were my own, of what had been planted in my mind from childhood by my parents, culture and expectations from society. It is a crucial point in your life where you truly look inside yourself and have to confront the truth, unravel the you that makes your core from the things that have been said you would do, be or accomplish.

Anyway, I got a little philosophical just from reading a book, so my review is that if you like Michelle Yeoh, Jackie Chan (particularly some more obscure films rather than the super ultra mainstream ones) and similar, you should read this book, it is really fun, and might also hit your philosophical pondering a little.

I can’t wait for the second one and I am really curious what will happen to all of them.

Also go check all the other stops for this tour:

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Luminaries

Posted on March 3, 2023

Friday Crest design by Jessica Khoury, © 2022 by Susan Dennard

Welcome to The Luminaries blog tour, in which you discover all the clans and maybe a new book to entice you into this universe.

The Luminaries by Susan Dennard

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

I remember when Susan Dennard was tweeting the follow your own adventure tweets and so when The Luminaries was announced, I was very excited for it! I wondered if it would stick to the ending and the path we had “chosen” for our characters, or if things would change, what would be kept, what would go?

As I read The Luminaries I can say that overall, it retained the same feels of that choose your own adventure twitter thread. However, it lead to character development, and to pondering choices, maybe even lengthening the story or something, and you can see hints of that. The story is the same and yet it is also, very different. This difference was at first hard to adapt to, since I was expecting the same feel of the “snippet” I had read, but a thread on Twitter is very different than a proper book and novel.

However, Winnie and Jay still are the same in their own way, and the overall feel was kept through and I loved that. Once I got past the initial oh this is a little different, I started to fall in love with this story, with how much Winnie was trying and how circumstances just seemed to be and no spoilers, but wow.

The characters were fun to read, there is a big focus on relationships, belonging and peer pressure and in part also on that small town/village feel and that closeness or otherness and what makes one part of it or not.

The ending was quite interesting and leaves a lot to find out plus a lot tied in, at least on of the main plot points that the book starts with is resolved, and the overall running one that will tie the rest of the books is there but we get some more information on it. Believe me that it is hard not to squeal about everything that happens and so the best I can say is “you need to read it!”

Book Review

Moon Reads: Alone With You In The Ether

Posted on November 26, 2022

Alone With You In The Ether by Olivie Blake

Rating:

Read before: No

Ownership: Review copy provided upon request from the publisher

If you have read This is How You Lose the Time War, then you will find this book a close and similar read, but also a completely different read all in itself.

It is in itself a story full of stories, where two people, Regan and Aldo, meet up at the Art Institute in Chicago. Partly because both are trying to find answers, and they suddenly appear to find it here.

Without spoiling much, this book deals with big topics including mental heath and other issues, as both characters have their own quirks and challenges. Regan tries to find answers in chaos and being rash and impulsive, whereas Aldo goes into routine and other ways to cope. So their whole meet up is a collision course and also, like a supernova, creates something very interesting.

If you have read Olivie’s books before, then you will be familiar with her style, but if you are not, be aware this is a character driven book, with a lot of heavy “in my own head” chapter or monologue like conversations. There is a lot of thought processing and figuring things out, which is in itself fascinating, but may not be for everyone.

As for the love story part of it, it may not be your conventional love story, which is where it reminds me a lot of This is How You Lose the Time War, even though this is not a book about time travelling or such a complex setup, in this case the complexity comes from the characters and the conversations and interactions.

Overall, an interesting read that makes you think and reflect on things and ponder a lot and very enjoyable.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Atlas Paradox Blog Tour

Posted on November 9, 2022

The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake

Rating:

Read before: No

Series: The Atlas

After that massive cliffhanger of a thing in The Atlas Six, we get finally the next one, The Atlas Paradox.

We pick up a little less into exactly the cliffhanger but more of a recap of things. I admit some of it was helpful to refresh but some of it was a little too much and I would have preferred more action and less living in the characters heads.

But then we start seeing how some alliances are being tested as we go into each of the minds of the six and how they perceive others. This was interesting as a first shot, particularly seeing Reina figure it out, but it was also slightly not as interesting as it progressed, probably because you already somewhat know what to expect. After that, we descend into chaos of a story where everyone has to decide if they are sticking with their current allies, if they are actually pro certain things, more secrets are revealed and unlikely or unexpected alliances are made.

Now I will admit I love Reina and have curiosity about Libby and Nico, the rest are not here nor there for me and I could do without, so I avidly read their chapters and less enthusiastically the others. And I will admit as much as aI like being in the mind of characters sometimes, this book had a little too much of that, very little action and very little dialogue, becoming an exposition by thought, which more or less killed some of the greatness of it. Let me see them do what they think and act on their fears and thoughts rather than psychoanalyst themselves first then act on it. The shock or surprise was sometimes lost to this. However there was still quite a bit of fun, some interesting twists and ideas, and it once again left on an interesting cliffhanger.

I am intrigued to know how it will end and how right or wrong Atlas actually is, so my curiosity is still alive. But I am also aware that the way it shows you all of this massive plot is unusual and may be too much exposition for some. However, if you liked some or all of the characters, this is worth reading and figuring out what happens next.

Book Review, Books

Moon Reads: War of the Wind Blog Tour

Posted on September 30, 2022

War of the Wind by Victoria Williamson

Because we’re part of the blog tour, instead of a review, we’re doing a little excerpt to get a taste of the book and what it is like.

The last sound I ever heard wasn’t what I expected.
If I’d been on one of those stupid game shows risking a million pounds on the final question, I’d probably have guessed it would be the cry of gulls.
Those monsters haunted the skies above the island like pale ghosts, swooping down to steal fish from the trawlers coming home to the harbour before the teams could unload. Dive-bombing in unison, they tore at the nets bulging with fresh-caught herring, snatching the silverfish and swallowing them whole as they wheeled back into the sky for the next attack. They kept circling right up until the last crates had been loaded into the packing sheds. Then, once their bellies were full and their wings were straining to stay airborne, that’s when they started to laugh.
I could still remember that noise clearly. It was a deep throaty sound that echoed across the scrublands of Pykeman Fell all the way up the slopes of Scarpa Brae. At night I used to hear the gulls circling our clifftop house before turning inland to hunt the burns and rain-swelled backwaters for smaller prey. They were always hungry, always calling out for food with their raw, mocking cry. So if I’d had to guess the last thing I’d ever hear, the cry ofgulls would be the sound I’d have picked to answer the million pound question.
But I wasn’t on a game show when it happened. I was on my dad’s fishing boat.
It was just a training run to try out the new deckhand who’d arrived from the Scottish mainland. No way would Dad ever let me out on a real deep-sea trawl till I was old enough to help haul in the net during a storm or steer the boat through a fog whiteout if the sat-nav failed. Too dangerous, he said. The Atlantic waters were too cold and deep, and when sudden squalls rose up, the heavy boat was tossed about like a leaf on a windy day. I was a good head taller than the other boys my age on the island, but still Dad shook his head and said I was too young to be a deckhand. Back then he had hopes of bigger and better things for my future.
That day the Bay was calm, the wind whispering round the masthead like it had a secret to share. Maybe it was trying to warn me what was coming. I wished now I’d listened. The gulls were quiet for once, watching us lazily from the rocks that gaped from the entrance of the Bay like jagged teeth in the mouth of a stone giant. I turned away from the scarred cliffs, shading my eyes against the summer sun and gazing out across the open sea. Dad was leaning over the winch drum, pointing out the controls to the new guy as the trawler net disappeared below the waves.
That was when it happened.
There was a sharp crack, then a harsh whooshing noise, and the winch line suddenly went crazy. One minute it was uncoiling steadily from the drum, the next it was snaking across the deck at a million miles per hour as the heavy net was sent into freefall. Next came the high-pitched shriek of the warning siren, and the rumble of dying machinery as Angus cut the power in the engine room. Uncle Stuart came tearing down from the bridge just in time to see the broken winch cable whip across the deck, snatching at everything in its path and dragging a water pump, a twenty-litre storage barrel, and a spare net over the side with it.
The last thing the cable wrapped itself around before it disappeared below the waves was my leg. And that was when I heard it. It wasn’t the gulls or the waves or the trawler’s dying engine.
The last sound I ever heard was my dad screaming my name.
War of the wind by victoria williamson

That last line of the excerpt gets me everytime.

If that has made you want to read more and find out what happens next, you can order the book at any of these retailers (none are affiliate links, so don’t worry).

Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/9781911107507
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/191110750X
Hive.co.uk: https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Victoria-Williamson/War-of-the-Wind/27526544
Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/War-of-the-Wind-Victoria-Williamson/9781911107507
Bookshop.org: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/war-of-the-wind/9781911107507