At this point I have written two different reviews for this book and I just can't summon the energy to start over yet again.

The Handmaid's Tale is amazing and horrifying, even as a reread after thirty years.

The Testaments is also amazing and horrifying, but where the first was a cautionary tale the second is the product of a different perspective. There is agency and volition about some of the ways women of different ages, classes, and circumstances can find to rebel against an oppressive regime.

The Testaments is a rallying cry, and really, just what I needed this year.

Library copy

     The Glamourist Histories start with an extremely well-done Jane Austen sort of Regency  romance with magic as an art form. Then with each subsequent book Kowal makes great leaps in the development of the art, development of the characters within their marriage, the opportunity to take her couple places Austen never went like the Napoleonic wars and the slave trade, while always managing to maintain the Austen tone.

It's kind of astounding even though Novik does essentially the same thing with the Forester/O'Brien tradition of naval war novels.

And now I'm off to read, because writing this up I realized that I skipped the second book in the series entirely. I knew my September was rough, but, wow, that's a pretty huge error to make.

Library copy

  It would be five stars if the Flora novels weren't so good. Same universe, some of the same characters. I love the framing : these are fragments being discussed by a future historian, there are sources cited, and judgment of the veracity of the stories.

Library copy 

  Watching Flora in adulthood is fascinating: it feels a bit like watching a child grow up. Flora Segunda was inventive and fun and a bit like watching Hermione get the lead role. I particularly enjoyed the world -building, but also the way each book 's focus shifts as Flora grows up. 

Vague discomfort with the way indigenous cultures are treated, but no fully formed opinions yet. Maybe later.

Library copy

Better than the first. It's got most of the same elements, but instead of the noir mystery aspect this one has hardcore politics. And a non-stereotypical female main character who has agency to spare. And another non-stereotypical female main character who has nothing in common with the other one. A diverse cast and while intimate relationships aren't the focus, they are used to good effect to make the characters and the culture well-rounded.

I can't hardly wait to read the third one.

Library copy