{"id":1278,"date":"2021-05-31T15:12:55","date_gmt":"2021-05-31T14:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/?p=1278"},"modified":"2021-09-22T02:02:18","modified_gmt":"2021-09-22T01:02:18","slug":"monday-minis-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/index.php\/2021\/05\/31\/monday-minis-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Monday Minis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>And welcome to another week of Monday Minis! This one is called Fab tries to catch up to NetGalley&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-container-2 wp-block-gallery-1 wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/seventh-640x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1296\" data-link=\"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/?attachment_id=1296\" class=\"wp-image-1296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/seventh-640x1024.jpg 640w, https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/seventh-188x300.jpg 188w, https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/seventh.jpg 740w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"317\" height=\"475\" src=\"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/the-star-host.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1314\" data-link=\"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/?attachment_id=1314\" class=\"wp-image-1314\" srcset=\"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/the-star-host.jpg 317w, https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/the-star-host-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 317px) 100vw, 317px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"312\" height=\"475\" src=\"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/witherward.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1315\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/witherward.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/?attachment_id=1315\" class=\"wp-image-1315\" srcset=\"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/witherward.jpg 312w, https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/witherward-197x300.jpg 197w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 312px) 100vw, 312px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/49247320-the-seventh-perfection?ac=1&amp;from_search=true&amp;qid=z23U2FaLdy&amp;rank=1\">The Seventh Perfection <\/a><\/em>by Daniel Polansky is a Tor.com Publishing novella about a woman with perfect memory setting out to be a God-King&#8217;s Amanuensis. To become the God-King&#8217;s Amanuensis, Manet had to master all seven perfections, developing her body and mind to the peak of human performance. She remembers everything that has happened to her, in absolute clarity, a gift that will surely drive her mad. But before she goes, Manet must unravel a secret which threatens not only the carefully prepared myths of the God-King&#8217;s ascent, but her own identity and the nature of truth itself. However, it was written in a very experimental form, closer to highbrow literary fiction than what readers of speculative genre fiction are more used to. I struggled to connect with the story, especially due to its fragmented, second-person narrative, and so this ended up really not being a book for me. I have been realising more and more that, with a few exceptions, I am really more of a straight-forward narrative type if I get the choice. I prefer stories that are experimental in content rather than form, if that makes sense. But I can totally see how this would be brilliant for readers who appreciate authors playing with form, and who are more avant-garde than I am. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/27830154-the-star-host?from_search=true&amp;from_srp=true&amp;qid=AhU0oVGGlV&amp;rank=1\">The Star Host<\/a> <\/em>by F.T. Lukens has been on my TBR for far too long (I&#8217;m so sorry!). This is a sci-fi adventure in which young Ren discovers that he has technopath powers &#8211; which he&#8217;d not even known were a possibility. Because of this, he ends up a prisoner, as he is deemed too dangerous to be left free. Desperate to escape confinement and avoid being used, he bonds with his cell-neighbour Asher, and they hatch an escape plan, making the second half of the book a traditional sci-fi romp through space. It is a fun read, compelling and I loved the tender slow-burn relationship between Ren and Asher. But it also doesn&#8217;t really do anything new, and I felt like I&#8217;ve read this before. Thus, it ended up not really standing out for me, even though I enjoyed my reading experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last, but not least,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/49356509-witherward?ac=1&amp;from_search=true&amp;qid=5an1U6roH3&amp;rank=1\"> <em>Witherward<\/em><\/a><em> <\/em>by Hannah Mathewson (this was by far my favourite out of this batch). This is a YA\/crossover portal fantasy set in London &#8211; which I loved because I&#8217;ve been to many of the places mentioned. Ilsa, seventeen, is a foundling with shapeshifting powers, making a living as a pickpocket when she finds out about a whole other London, the family that abandoned her and much more. This is a really intriguing debut, well-written with interesting characters. I didn&#8217;t quite fall in love with it &#8211; I&#8217;d rate it a solid 3.5 stars &#8211; but it&#8217;s certainly a book to look out for, and an author to watch. I am curious where the story will take this next, and this is the kind of book that can scratch your itch for a comfortable, escapist fantasy read. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>And welcome to another week of Monday Minis! This one is called Fab tries to catch up to NetGalley&#8230; The Seventh Perfection by Daniel Polansky is a Tor.com Publishing novella about a woman with perfect memory setting out to be a God-King&#8217;s Amanuensis. To become the God-King&#8217;s Amanuensis, Manet had to master all seven perfections, developing her body and mind to the peak of human performance. She remembers everything that has happened to her, in absolute clarity, a gift that will surely drive her mad. But before she goes, Manet must unravel a secret which threatens not only the carefully prepared myths of the God-King&#8217;s ascent, but her own identity and the nature of truth itself. However, it was written in a very experimental form, closer to highbrow literary fiction than what readers of speculative genre fiction are more used to. I struggled to connect with the story, especially due to its fragmented, second-person narrative, and so this ended up really not being a book for me. I have been realising more and more that, with a few exceptions, I am really more of a straight-forward narrative type if I get the choice. I prefer stories that are experimental in content rather than form, if that makes sense. But I can totally see how this would be brilliant for readers who appreciate authors playing with form, and who are more avant-garde than I am. The Star Host by F.T. Lukens has been on my TBR for far too long (I&#8217;m so sorry!). This is a sci-fi adventure in which young Ren discovers that he has technopath powers &#8211; which he&#8217;d not even known were a possibility. Because of this, he ends up a prisoner, as he is deemed too dangerous to be left free. Desperate to escape confinement and avoid being used, he bonds with his cell-neighbour Asher, and they hatch an escape plan, making the second half of the book a traditional sci-fi romp through space. It is a fun read, compelling and I loved the tender slow-burn relationship between Ren and Asher. But it also doesn&#8217;t really do anything new, and I felt like I&#8217;ve read this before. Thus, it ended up not really standing out for me, even though I enjoyed my reading experience. Last, but not least, Witherward by Hannah Mathewson (this was by far my favourite out of this batch). This is a YA\/crossover portal fantasy set in London &#8211; which I loved because I&#8217;ve been to many of the places mentioned. Ilsa, seventeen, is a foundling with shapeshifting powers, making a living as a pickpocket when she finds out about a whole other London, the family that abandoned her and much more. This is a really intriguing debut, well-written with interesting characters. I didn&#8217;t quite fall in love with it &#8211; I&#8217;d rate it a solid 3.5 stars &#8211; but it&#8217;s certainly a book to look out for, and an author to watch. I am curious where the story will take this next, and this is the kind of book that can scratch your itch for a comfortable, escapist fantasy read.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[88],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1278"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1278"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1316,"href":"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1278\/revisions\/1316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libridraconis.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}