LRRC Week 52
Annnnnnnnd here we are. Week 52. I have officially met my goal and read two books every week this year.
I, like everyone else, had no idea what this year would bring when I started this “challenge,” and boy, it’s been a doozy. And, somehow, being in and out of lockdown due to pandemic did not actually help me read any faster. Funny how that works.
I’m still trying to figure out precisely what I want to do for 2021 - I like reading and plan to continue reading a lot, but trying to make sure I read two books every single week became a little overwhelming. So changes to this space may be incoming.
In the meantime, woo! 104 books!!!
#103: HENCH by Natalie Zina Walschots
Oh, what a fascinating, timely book.
HENCH is the story of Anna, a temp doing hench jobs in a world where superheroes (and supervillains) are the norm. After an injury on the job, she begins looking into the collateral damage caused by superheroes and begins the long journey to try and bring attention to it.
I’m not always interested in what I would call the “dark realistic superhero” genre (e.g. Watchmen), but this book actually really worked for me. I’ve long wanted to read more stories about hench people, and while this book didn’t quite scratch that itch perfectly, I still really liked it.
I liked Anna as a character, and I liked her unique outlook on how precisely to address her problems: numbers. Working half for revenge, half for justice, the moves that she makes are always very sensible and sympathetic. Even when she does things morally wrong, her motivations make sense, and the way she goes about it is entertaining to read.
The book never directly draws the parallel to real life, though I felt the shadow of this year’s (and previous years’) discussion around the role of law enforcement looming large over the whole novel. It also had a good balance of critiquing superhero stories without, in my opinion, shaming people for enjoying them (as I myself do).
Honestly, though, I found the ending a little unsatisfying, and I’m interested if the author plans to write more in this ‘verse - it certainly seems rife with possibilities. The ending seems almost intentionally unsatisfying, as though it’s making a point about vengeance and violence.
Also, CW for maybe the worst body horror I’ve seen this year? It was well-written and made complete sense in the narrative but holy crap.
#104: FEVER KING by Victoria Lee
SO I DIDN’T REALIZE THIS BOOK INVOLVED A DEADLY VIRUS
What a book to end the year with. Jesus H. Christ.
CW for frequent discussions of genocide, suicide, and sexual abuse. Also, as noted, deadly virus.
FEVER KING follows Noam, a teenager living in a future in which a magical plague has split apart the United States as we know it, and has led to the people living in fear. When he contracts the virus, and develops magic in response, he is thrown into a world of political intrigue he never imagined.
Let’s start with the things I liked. First, I thought the magic system was fascinating. You don’t often see magic and science so intertwined, and this was done really masterfully. Both in terms of the magic virus, and in terms of the way the magic expands after the characters acquire it. Also, the main character is a technopath, which I don’t see very often, and which is used in really fun ways in the narrative.
I also liked the attempt, at least, of reckoning with a different-but-similar system of government, one in which refugees are turned away and there is a growing level of unrest about their civil rights. Furthermore, I though the character and the unwinding mystery of Minister Lehrer was interesting.
As for the rest: I’m not sure that the plot completely came together for me. I didn’t feel like I had a good enough grasp of the politics, or the potential options available to the characters, to really invest in the stakes. I didn’t completely buy the relationships building between the characters, either, which made it harder as well to be invested (Noam’s love interest has a love declaration close to the end that felt ENTIRELY unearned).
I also found the way that information was given to the reader to be a little odd and a little confusing. We’re given pieces of information about Lehrer that don’t, in my opinion, add much to the narrative; I would prefer that we stay with Noam in his experience of the people around him.
I’m interested enough to read the next part of this series, to see where things go from here and what becomes of the characters. Still, I found myself reaching the end of this feeling a little disappointed, which is sad to me as the last book of 2020.