Tag Archives: B.R. Sanders

Resistance

Book Review of Resistance, by B R. Sanders

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I bought a copy of B. R. Sanders‘ Resistance.

Description from Goodreads:
Resistance has many faces, and one of them is Shandolin’s. When she finds her friend brutally murdered, Shandolin decides to fight instead of run–but her only hope of survival is a takeover of the City government. Shandolin draws everyone she loves into the fray with her: her assassin lover, Rivna; her mentor, Moshel; and her best friend, Kel. Apart, they are weak, but together Shandolin and her friends, lovers and fellows may be just strong enough to save their skins and the skins of the other elves in the City. 

Review:
Another winner from Sanders. The world-building here is fabulous. Though I’ve read several stories in this world, I think you get a pretty good idea of its complexity here in condensed form.

The main character Shandolin (Doe) is likable as are the side characters. But what’s really great is that you get diversity in the cast, both in the racial divisions of the elves, Qin, satyrs, humans, etc (though not all of them play a big part in this book), but also in sexuality, gender orientation, body types, and relationship styles. And all of it is just part of who they are, no need to make it the conflict on which the story hinges.

The infant social revolt that the story does hinge on is sketched out fairly faintly. Much of it depends on connections Doe made before the beginning of the story. But there is certainly enough to follow and believe it. I did feel the end was a bit rushed. Though I liked the ending just fine, it did seem to come about quite easily.

As an aside, and I’m really not sure as it’s been over a year since I read Ariah, but I think some of these might be side characters from the middle of that book. I’m not sure, as I said, but they all felt so familiar but I’m not certain on the names. Can anyone give me a yes or no on that idea? I see another review that said this is a whole new cast. So, now I’m doubting myself.

What I’m drinking: I swear I have been sick more times this year than in entire decades combined. I seem to have caught another cold. So, I’m supping on a some Celestial Seasons Honey Vanilla Chamomile tea. (And I’m sure there is some sort of irony in doing it out of a cup with the queen of a notorious empire-building nation on the front while reading a book about trying to overthrow the outsider government. But that was wholly accidental.)

The Oddly Satisfying Exercise in Futility Challenge

Renamed: The Oddly Satisfying Exercise in Futility Challenge

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Every now and again, out of boredom or necessity or pure whimsy, I set myself odd little reading challenges. That’s part of the joy of having a book blog; I can do that. And I’ve done it again.

I have a book-hoarding problem. I just do. Usually, I can limit it to ebooks so that it’s not too disruptive. But at the moment, my physical bookshelves are stacked two deep and literally overflowing. My office is becoming a bit of a death trap. So, I have to read some of them.

The problem is that my Kindle is so easy to schlep around. Plus, I’ve promised myself that once a book is read, I won’t keep it unless it is signed or an absolute favorite. So, though I always want to read, I sometimes don’t want to do the thing that means I have to give the book away afterward. I know, it’s weird. But I keep bringing books into the house, so now I have to set some free.

I mean, that was part of the point of building a Little Free Library in my front yard. Well, that and it’s just cool. I have no excuse not to fill it with finished books.

This brings me to my challenge. I went through and pulled out all the itty-bitty books. I don’t usually pick up novellas, but I have several. And I know reading them won’t clear as much space as reading some bigger books. But I figure each of them should only take a couple of hours to read, so it’s a good way to do a bit of a clear-out without committing weeks to the task. (Nope, I’m not rationalizing this at all.)

There are 18 little books there. Most, though not all, I won, and it’s a pretty diverse pile. There’s some Bizzaro in there, as well as some inspirational stuff, a memoir, some non-fiction, humor, short story collections, horror, poetry, lit fic, political satire, and even a freakin’ play. I figure I can finish one a day for the next few weeks, along with my normal reading, and feel like I’ve accomplished something significant. (Hush, that’s what I’m going with.)

In case you can’t read all the titles, the stack includes:

Anyhow, between these, the book bundle I’m currently reading (Carole Cumming’s Wolf’s-Own), the bundle I’m listening to (Sarah Noffke’s Vagabond Circus), and the Netgalley books I’ve committed to for the next couple of months, not to mention I need to read review request book, I ought to be kept busy in the near future.

I think I’ll start with B. R. Sanders’s book because I’ve loved everything I’ve read by them so far. But beyond that, I’m open to suggestions on what I should move up or down the pile.

Not pictured, but added to the challenge after the fact (because I keep getting more books):

Edit May 5, 2018: I set this challenge, and then it quickly fell off my radar. If anything, the stack has grown, as I’ve added to it. (See the 8 unpictured books.) So, I’m starting again, recommitting to finishing it. Below is the new stack (what’s left of the first and what I’ve added to it since, but not read before the second picture). The vertical ones, I’ve pulled out because it turns out that they’re all poetry.

I won’t re-list anything above, and the few that I read before taking this second picture will have to do without visual evidence of their existence. But here are the additions.

Edit July 22, 2019: Don’t laugh, but in a marked departure from what I’d intended to do (and, in fact, have been doing), I’m updating this again. Several books I’ve bought or won, read, and reviewed recently (such as Take a Chance on Me, Kill Me Now,  The 5th Gender, Silver Moon, Persepolis, Spring, The Nose from Jupiter, The Long Walk to Water, and Diamond Fire) would have fit this challenge, and I could have added them. But after the third edit, I told myself I wasn’t allowed to add to the stack anymore, or it really would never ever get done. However, I ordered new bookshelves, which will be delivered today. 

This means that I’ll finally have more room for my books. The shelves, most of which are double-lined, will finally be reduced to a single row. I’ll actually be able to see what I own. So, in preparation for the larger task of reorganizing my books (I have wanted to do this for SO LONG), I’ve started pulling and categorizing books. And in and amongst all of this, I decided I might as well grab all the new smallish books out and add them to the existing small-book stack (which may become a small-book shelf. (I mean, giving this challenge up might be easier, but I’m a stubborn cow when I want to be.)

So, here’s the new list of small books. The left-hand pile is the carryover, the middle is poetry, and the right-hand stack is what I just added.

As mentioned above, I won’t re-list anything that already is, and I can’t guarantee that once I really get into the meat of moving books, I won’t add more. But as of right now, this is it. 

Several of these are actually sequels in series. So, I imagine I’ll have to find and read the first books before I get to them. But, as has been the case for about two years now, these are the lists of books I intend to read. If you remember, I initially set them aside because I thought I could get them read quickly. That had turned out to be a joke. But I’m committed now. Wish me luck

Ariah

Book Review of Ariah by, B. R. Sanders

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AriahI borrowed a copy of Ariah (by B. R. Sanders) from my local library.

Description from Goodreads:
Ariah’s magical training has been interrupted. Forced to rely on a mentor, Dirva, who is not who he claims to be, and a teacher who is foreign and powerful, Ariah is drawn into a culture wholly different from the elven one that raised him. 

As his friendship with Dirva’s brother blossoms into a surprising romance, and he slowly learns how to control the dangerous magic in his blood, life finally appears to be coming together for Ariah—but love and security are cut short by a tyrannical military empire bent on expanding its borders. 

War, betrayal, passion, and confusion follow Ariah as his perilous journey leads him beyond the walls of the Empire, and into unfamiliar territory within himself. Along the way, he’ll discover just how much he’s willing to give up to find his place in the world, and he’ll learn what it means to sacrifice himself for freedom—and for love. 

Review:
I was a little wary picking this book up. Several people I know have read and raved about it. I think I’m a little more critical of such books, for fear I’ll get swept away with the fervor and just unthinkingly agree with the masses. But even being extra vigilant of my own feelings about the novel, I can say with certainty that I absolutely loved it.

It was not an immediate love. It took a while to settle in. The book is separated into sections in a way I find disruptive to reading. It presented characters I fell in love with and then it moved away from them. It was slow at times and I had trouble keeping track of all the ethnicities. But by the end, I genuinely, tearfully loved it.

Someone else claimed it is the queerest thing they ever read and I have to agree whole-heartedly. Not because it has male/male or female/female pairing. Not because it allowed for bi sexuality. Not because it includes gender fluidity. Not because it presented polyamory and platonic love, but because it allowed for all of it and more. Several types of identity, relationships and types of love are presented as functional, acceptable and un-exotic, along with the implicit understanding that there could be more besides; all without ever deteriorating into any kind of indictment of modern Western mores or feeling like it was just going down a laundry list of minority statuses.

The sense of inclusiveness in this book is palpable. This I think is one of the core threads of the book. It’s about Ariah, the experiences of his life and how they contributed to his becoming the man he became. But in telling his tale he invites the reader to consider those same experiences and share in some of the changes they inspired in him. I was moved by it.

In the course of this book I laughed, I cried sadly, I was anxious and angry and I ended in happy tears. OMG, please tell me Sanders has written more books. I think I need them all.