Libromancer's Apprentice

Bingo Love / Tee Franklin, Jenn St-Onge (ill), and Joy San (ill) I... don't even know where to start summarizing this story or reviewing beyond this: you will cry.  This story brings all of the Feels and will rip out your heart.  And you will love it all the more for it. Buy, read it, add it to your library, it's worth it. From the publisher: When Hazel Johnson and Mari McCray met at church bingo in 1963, it was love at first sight. Forced apart by their families and society, Hazel and Mari both married young men and had families. Decades later, now in their mid-’60s, Hazel and Mari reunite again at a church bingo hall. Realizing their love for each other is still alive, what these grandmothers do next takes absolute strength and courage. From TEE FRANKLIN (NAILBITER’s “THE OUTFIT,” Love is Love) and JENN ST-ONGE (Jem & The Misfits), BINGO LOVE is a touching story of love, family, and resiliency that spans over 60 years. Advance Reader Copy courtesy of I...

In this final chapter of Quenta Silmarilion, I would like to propose we rename (or subtitle) the "Quenta Silmarillion" to "Fëanor & Sons ruin everything." When Tuor and Idril sailed West they left behind their son Eärendil, who likewise heard the call of the sea.  We also know of Eärendil to some extent because of one of his sons, the so called "Half-elven" Elrond.  I'm not sure how being born of a half-elf father and an elven mother makes him a half-elf, but so be it.  So with the aid of Círdan the Shipwright , Eärendil built a shift and explored the sea, leaving his wife behind. Guess what comes next! If you guessed Fëanor's sons ruin everything, you are correct!  They go storm the castle, slaughtering the defenders and ruining Sirion.  Elrond and Eros are taken captive, but Elwing is rescued by Ulmo... yet again demonstrating that no one ever listens to the powerful figures they should.   Elwing, in the shape of a bird, reaches her hus...

Why no, I didn't completely forget to do this post... (yes, yes I did). After looking at Húrin and the fall of Doriath, we now look at his nephew and the fall of Gondor. Tuor was raised in fosterage among the Grey Elves, until they sought to make their way to the Havens of Sirion, and he was captured by the Easterlings.  There is something of a literary tradition at work here, a Hero captured and enslaved, only to escape before meeting his Fate/Doom.  After three years in thraldom he escaped and proceeded to make life a living hell for the Easterlings, until their king placed a price on his head and Ulmo called on Tuor.  And so Tuor makes his way to Belegaer the Great Sea, where he met Ulmo who bade him to seek out the hidden kingdom of Gondolin, gifting him with a cloak to hide him in shadow from his enemies, and with a message for the Elves of Gondolin. Well, what happens next falls within a bit of a pattern.  Tuor goes forth, and gives Ulmo's message/warni...

Dust  by Elizabeth Bear is one of my favorite novels, and was one of the easy selections for when I started doing this book club thing.  But while I reread Dust  with some frequency, I think I only read Chill (Jacob's Ladder #2)  once, immediately after purchasing it.  There's a good chance that my reading of it was too colored by my expectations and memories of Dust , a younger me wanting the exact same thing as before, only new and different.  Similar to  my experiences with American Gods  and  Anasazi Boys , except Chill  is a true sequel. What I remember is that this is a story of after and of pushing through.  The Jacob's Ladder is again in motion, reduced through deliberate effort and through the abuse of its rough relaunch.  Similarly, the characters are in a state of flux, challenge, and recovery.  Perceval struggles with the unwanted mantle of Captain, the cost of power and conflict, and the ghost of R...