#musicmonday: Battle Belongs | Phil Wickham

 

When all I see is the battle

You see my victory

#bookreview: The Friend Zone Experiment | Zen Cho

The Friend Zone Experiment by Zen Cho

Renee Goh is a successful businesswoman blazing her own trail in London, away from her patriarchal Singaporean family. Then her father offers Renee the one thing she's been hankering after: approval in the form of offering her the chance to take over the family business. But is that what she really wants? (Insert break-up drama, family feuds, old-flame reunion, plus that one skeevy ex.)

I'm trying to figure out what I feel about this one. I do quite like Zen Cho's fantasy works - and I especially love the Malaysiana she brings into her stories. She's especially deft at capturing the Malaysian Auntie Voice.

The usual "not quite my genre, bla bla" comments apply here. This is straight up realistic fiction, not a ghost or supernatural creature in sight! The style feels like a throwback to her earlier short story style, not so much her long-form fantasy style. (I haven't gotten round to Black Water Sister, which may have been the beginnings of the shift?) This isn't a bad thing. I do like that voice and I want to see more of it in fiction. However, I don't think I've read a romance (as the main plot) in a while (if I have ever! haha), so there were bits that felt a little draggy here and there, especially where everyone's keeping secrets and not telling anyone important stuff. Then again, that's also the bits I get annoyed with in all kinds media and without which there would be no story, so, eh.

MAYBE what's throwing me off is the whole, uh, sub-plot that it's wrapped around. It hits very close to real-life happenings in Malaysia. Maybe someone who isn't based here would just read it as fiction (I'm seeing a lot of K-drama references in other reviews) but I'm also going like OH THE SARAWAK REPORT. OH CLARE REWCASTLE-BROWN. OH 1MDB! ALL THE ILLEGAL LOGGING. OBVIOUSLY THEY KIDNAPPED AND KILLED HIM WHAT DID YOU THINK. Which also makes me wonder whether the stuff we read as fiction from other countries hits as hard for their readers in the same way.

Cho brings up the Malaysian/Singaporean family dynamics really, really well - which adds to the ultra-realism of this novel. The family squabbles! The expectations of marriage (and grandchildren)! The fight over who pays for dinner! All that annoying one-upmanship... ugh. Though I can't help but feel that Ket Siong is something of a wish-fulfilment fantasy - he's a little too good to be true.

There's also a lot of corporate drama (and some sexual harassment) going on, plus a heavy dose of family loyalty vs ethics considerations. Do you keep the peace in order to save your family's face/reputation? Do you let yourself love the person whose family has destroyed your own? CAN you put aside your own personal boundaries if that's going to help your family business?

It isn't quite a light read (despite "romcom" being thrown around), but it does have a Happily Ever After. I don't know the genre well enough to say if it'll be a hit for romance readers, but I'd say it's a solid rep of how Malaysian society works (even displaced as they are in London) if you're looking for that.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Pan Macmillan via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

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If you're looking for a GREAT Zen Cho book to start with, I'll always recommend The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water. (Get it here)

#bookreview: Becoming by Beholding | Lanta Davis

Becoming by Beholding: The Power of the Imagination in Spiritual Formation by Lanta Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a fascinating read - there's so much about ancient religious practices that have been lost to time that Davis has laid out here.

It's really very hard to associate art in any form with the church as it is today, especially since the church is so often the most vocal against any form of artistic expression that deviates from "standard painting" or "literary novel" (with the emphasis on must be clean and family-friendly).

I was particularly captured by the potential meaning(s) behind the weird illustrations you often see laughed at in monastic/ancient texts, and how bestiaries were used more as devotionals than actual books about strange animals! It puts a lot of things in to context. As someone who could never get through Paradise Lost, it was also interesting to see the shifts in literature and our understanding of "the seven deadly sins" as opposed to what it was originally intended/written to be.

The only downside of reading this as a digital arc was that the images never made it through, so I had to do some side googling to see what was being talked about. The image descriptions in the book did help though!

This book is potentially a great resource for Christian artists in the current day who are looking to see how other Christians have expressed their faith artistically throughout the years.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Baker Academic via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

 

Yam Seng Lah: Wait, who’s making a scene now?

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You walk into a restaurant for the Tan family reunion. There are familiar and unfamiliar faces, but on the whole you’re not quite sure who is who or how they’re related to you. Or if they even are. But you’ve been invited, and this is quite a fancy-looking place, so you might as well just make yourself at home.

There’s some drama going on in the background: cousins squabbling, so-and-so monologuing, gossip and rumours making their rounds. Nothing unusual. What’s a family reunion without a huge shouting match anyway? There are five branches of the Tan family here—really, who is that making a scene now?

*

Source: facebook.com/dabbledabblejer.co

Yam Seng Lah by Dabble Dabble Jer Collective and Curios-City was quite the experience. I attended the immersive theatre-and-dining show on Saturday evening, 27 July. Doors to The Lazy Bar opened at 6pm, creating a waiting space for those attending to check in and receive their “name cards” denoting which of the five families they were supposed to be part of: Tan, Teng, Raj, Mapon, Lee (I think?). I don’t know if I missed part of the instructions/information because I joined my group a little late, but this would’ve been a good time to set up quite a lot of expectations for the show.

At 6.30pm, we were ushered into Curios-City’s main dining hall. There was a bit of confusion—choose your tables, get snacks, wander around, look at family photos stuck on the pillars… but we were not really given enough time to do all this before things (sort of) kicked off with various family photos on the main stage, organised by individual “families” plus a whole group photo. I say sort of, because it was all terribly confusing.

Felicia Teng (Ysabel Loh) and Willy Teng (Yee Heng Yeh) threw us into the whole drama side of things after the photo with their dialogue (squabbles) about Sweet and Sour (chicken) versus Grandma’s Fried Chicken, playing up the differences between the studious girl making her way in fashion design in London and the spoiled party boy living it up and trying to assimilate in the USA. It was a great reflection on comfort food—especially for Chinese-Malaysians far from home, where just going to the nearest “Chinese” shop doesn’t actually reflect how things taste back home. Flavour profiles change in the diaspora, and I speak from experience when I agree that Chinese food overseas does not quite taste like Chinese food back home. (Also, what do you call yourself when you are a diaspora of a diaspora? Are we Chinese or Malaysian diaspora now?) We were then called to take our seats for dinner; most of the rest of the show was performed in between courses.

I am PEKASAM came next, with Darynn Mapon (Darynn Wee) bursting into the restaurant right off the plane from Sarawak carrying a tub of pekasam and an air fryer. The start of the monologue had Wee speaking as if she were the pekasam itself, which came off as a little awkward and weird, before she segued into what this traditional dish really meant for her and finding her identity as a half-Chinese, half-Bidayuh woman. Personally, I felt that the dual narrative could have been combined a little better. Trying pekasam itself was interesting (heh)—but it was much milder in taste that they made it out to be. It was also nice to have different variations of how it can be eaten!

This was followed by Sofea Lee’s (Sofea Lee) reflection in Laksa Lessons on how only one kind of laksa is true laksa for her, despite the fact that there are so many different styles of laksa throughout Malaysia that all bear the same name. This was the only piece that truly used the ensemble as a whole, with some kind of group speak going on so it felt the most “performed”. Two kinds of Northern laksa were served; I’m assuming the non-sour one was from Kedah.

Life is a Brief Khichdi was the final (main) course of the day, which involved rumours from the Raj family, a “secret” stove at the back, and a directed migration to “see what they’re hiding”. VJ Raj (Villmett Thanakody) fiddled with the stove, gave a monologue about khichdi and missing his grandmother, then made a pot of khichdi on the spot. The staging was such that since he invited us (the Raj family) to sit on the benches at the back of the stage before the others came around to kepo. Because he was mostly facing the crowd, this one fell a little flat for me. Maybe it’s because I was looking at his back? Then again, this is the third show I’ve seen Villmett in, and in all of them I have felt that his emotions were just not quite there. So there’s that.

We moved back to our seats for khichdi before being called again to a separate cooking area at the back for Love is a Plate of Kesari, where Monica Raj (Charity Yong) cooked Kesari with the help of Wee and Yee while reminiscing about her grandmother’s kesari and the last time she had it at fifteen. I couldn’t help loving this one because I originally published this creative non-fiction piece by Miriam Devaprasana as part of Nutmag 7: Inheritance in 2023. They tweaked it to fit the staging but Yong gave a delicately emotional performance to round up our dessert.

With these last two dishes also being cooked on the spot, we were offered a home-recipe version of the dish in contrast to the more modern/fusion restaurant version—the homestyle version was obviously better, despite how slapdash the cooking process looked!—which I thought was a fantastic personal touch.

*

Source: facebook.com/peopleideasculture

As a whole, Yam Seng Lah was an interesting exploration of food, memory, and culture. It offered a lot to reflect on, and a lot to taste as well! I won’t comment more on the food because I’m a picky eater, but everything was edible even with my limited palate (I was a little worried pre-show). There were some weaker spots in the performances as mentioned, but all the separate monologues mostly hung together, especially with how the separate narratives and families tied up at the end.

Where it failed for me was in how it was set up—I loved the fact that this one Tan grandma had such a multicultural extended family, but I still have no idea how the families are connected or how each character is related to each other. I don’t even know if I got all five surnames right even after scrolling through their social media for clues. Felicia and Willy at times sounded like cousins, but also felt like siblings (I’ve been told they’re cousins); I couldn’t figure out if VJ and Monica Raj were siblings or husband and wife; and if both Sofea’s and Darynn’s fathers were the ones related to this Chinese Tan family, why were their surnames Lee and Mapon respectively? I wish they’d given us a copy of the family tree along with our “family names” while we were waiting at the doors. Moving the family photos outside would also have helped with this, besides giving us more time to actually look at them.

Seeing that immersive theatre isn’t quite common, it would have been helpful to have a little announcement (or reminder) when the doors opened that once we entered the hall, the actors were already in character, and we were not waiting for a traditional type “play” to start. It took a little while for me to figure out what was going on; amidst the general confusion of where to sit and herding towards snacks and photos, it was only when Loh and Yee got into their actual scripted dialogue that things really began to click for me.

Though in all honesty, part of this disconnect could have been because I know most of the cast personally. As quite a few of the scripts were written by the actors themselves about their personal experiences, there was quite a weird blurring of lines between reality and fiction. I do wonder if this affected the general visiting audience in the same way, or if they would have been a little less disoriented.

*

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Dinner concludes with a song, a dance, and the longest, loudest yam seng everyone in the room can manage. You look around and feel like you’ve gone through a journey with them, even if you still don’t know who they are. The family fight has been settled—for now—and it looks like you’ll be added into yet another WhatsApp group you’re probably going to mute immediately. But hey, that’s family, right?

You leave, sated. Thoughtful. Maybe a little nostalgic. Maybe it’s time to head for some comfort food after all that fancy restaurant stuff?

*

Despite all my quibbles, I loved what Dabble Dabble Jer Collective and Curios-City presented in Yam Seng Lah, as part of George Town Festival. It was a true celebration of our mixed, slightly confused cultures that’s coalesced into our Malaysianness. The restaurant itself was a lovely, cosy place that really set the mood. The music (Bernadine Jeanne Abeysekra) was superb and added to the vibe of the night—changing according to the culture of each piece. I guess I understand the need for the dim lighting—and the coloured lights were a nice touch—but I do like to actually look at the food I’m eating, instead of having to move the table light back and forth every time any one of us wanted a little more light!

This second show by Dabble Dabble Jer Collective, whilst quite a vast difference from their 2023 debut, Burden of Proof, is equally as stellar. It’s amazing to see the thought and care they put into each performance they craft—making it not just mindless entertainment, but something that reaches deeper into your soul.

Here’s to their next show!

Yam Seng!

Source: facebook.com/dabbledabblejer.co

#bookreview: Daisy Dunlap and the Cartoon Carnival | CO Bonham

Daisy Dunlap and the Cartoon Carnival by C.O. Bonham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What if cartoons could come alive?

Daisy Dunlap has only one goal in mind: to find out the truth about her Grandpa's cartoons so that he'll recover quickly from his stress-induced stroke and live happily ever after with her. So begins a long night in the Cartoon Carnival, accompanied by her grandfather's most famous character, Tom Greenthumb, while being chased by his terrifying nemesis, Derby Spider.

There's a lot that Daisy doesn't know about her Grandpa and late mother - and about who she really is. It's a journey of discovery, one that includes cartoons coming to life, image-jumping, and a Reality Projector. It's also a test of her smarts in outwitting Derby Spider as they race to find the mysterious sketch book that will hopefully clear her Grandpa's name.

Unlike many children's books where parents and adults are non-existent or extremely unhelpful, I love the fact that Daisy has adults to turn to when she really needs them (even though she tries to do it all on her own at first). Jerry even has a little bit of a redemption arc, allowing him to make up for an earlier mistake.

The biggest theme in the book is about family - not just natural family, but adopted family and friends close enough to be considered family. Daisy is adopted, and struggles with the rejection of always been noted as "the adopted granddaughter". Tom is searching for a true family (despite being a cartoon!) and when Grandpa is hospitalised, he doesn't need to go searching for someone to help take care of Daisy. Jerry and Sharon, having been long-time employees and close friends of the Dunlap family, immediately step in to help. It's a beautiful view of what close community and love between friends should look like.

Daisy Dunlap is a great story for children aged 8-12, though it may be a little scary if they don't like giant sinister spiders!

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the author. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

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Find the truth. Save the family legacy. Don't get eaten by the giant cartoon spider.

Reeling from the loss of her mother, twelve-year-old Daisy comforts herself with the cartoons and carnival run by her family's animation studio.

When an anonymous source accuses Grandpa of stealing his most famous character, the impish Tom Greenthumb, their family's reputation, and business, are on the line. The only thing that can clear their name? A mysterious sketch book hidden somewhere within the Cartoon Carnival.

Sneaking into the theme park at night, Daisy uncovers her family's greatest secret. Their cartoon creations are alive---and some of them are deadly.

---

C.O. Bonham is the pen name for a commonly misspelled first name. She loves stories of all kinds, but really likes the ones that are weird, and outside the norm. A certified book geek, when she isn’t writing stories of her own she is busy reading stories by others. A homeschool graduate with a degree in creative writing, her goal is to create stories that make people think, feel, and have fun.

Her debut novel Runaway Lyrics, a steampunk fantasy retelling of Snow White and Rose Red, released in 2021.

Website | Facebook | Amazon | Goodreads | Instagram

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 Happy release day, Cathrine!!

Get your copy of Daisy Dunlap and the Cartoon Carnival now! (affiliate link)

#bookreview: These Deathless Shores | P.H. Low

These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

These Deathless Shores is a Captain Hook origin story, where Peter Pan isn't the bright, happy, beloved kid you remember from the Disney movie. No, something incredibly sinister lurks behind that childish smile. It's darker than I expected it to be; it deals with, amongst others, addiction, eating disorders, childhood trauma, codependency, suicide ideation, gender dysphoria (? well, at least some discussion on gender) and extremely bloodthirsty revenge.

Because that last bit is Jordan's whole motivation, isn't it? To return to the island and to take her revenge on Peter Pan. Everything else is incidental, something to be utilised to serve her end goal of stealing Tinkerbell from Peter. If Low were to have focused only on Jordan, that would have made for a very boring story.

Fortunately, it's the cast of supporting characters that add colour to the story. Baron - whose love for Jordan makes him do difficult things. Tier - who's still trying to become his own man. Chay - who has somehow managed to stay on the Island past adulthood.

For a novel that the author touts as Malaysian-inspired (which was really what interested me, though it's not actually on the blurb), there's nothing that really screams "Malaysia" to me. For obvious reasons, the bulk of the book is spent on the Island, which is that magical-mystical Neverland brought to somewhere on the physical plane instead of up in the sky (and conceptually feels more Bermuda Triangle). The parts and flashbacks to Jordan & Baron's original home of Burima/Hanwa (I'm still not sure if Hanwa is a place or a language or both?) has a more generic Southeast Asia vibe in a Raya and the Last Dragon kind of way. Case in point: the opening fight scene feels more Muay Thai (Thailand); I do not know that I'd be able to find something similar in Malaysia.

Anyway, setting aside, if you're into dark fairy tale retellings, this might be of interest to you!

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Orbit via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. 

View all my reviews

Book review: The Light Between Us | Elaine Chiew

The Light Between Us by Elaine Chiew

As books go, I went in to this warily because I tend not to like WW2 (and adjacent) stories. But I also wanted to read this to support a SEA writer! So ok la #cubatry.

Excellent points:
I loved the writing and the language, the fluidity of moving between English and Malay and Chinese (of various dialects). I felt that it represented us so well. I am pretty much a banana, so I skimmed some of the Chinese phrases (note: I didn't realise there was a glossary at the end until I finished, since I was reading a digital arc), but I felt that Chiew was deft enough in her writing that you could pick up on what it was supposed to mean.

The only confusion I had was probably because of my own muddled language proficiency, where koon sah is apparently a TYPE of old Chinese dressing? I always thought it just meant pyjamas (i.e. koon = sleep, sah = clothes) HAHHAHAH. Also, Tangki as the Chinese (can't recall which dialect) term for the medium being possessed just kept me thinking of the Malay word "tangki", which is like a water tank, but that also makes sense because it's like a vessel kan. LOL

Content warning:
Slight implication of incest because of extended familial relationships, even though they're not blood related.

The setting and plot:
Yeah okay, so one of the reasons I figured I might give it a try is because there is a dual timeline of Charlie in the current day somehow reaching across the past to connect with Tian Wei in the 1920s. Which, I mean, is a cool concept. I liked it in Agnes Ong's Skyping Back in Time. But here...

So everything for Charlie is happening in the span of a few days, and at the longest stretch, maybe a month? But it's happening for Tian Wei over months and years (there's some fancy mathematical theory for this) which... I guess as a reader, I wasn't convinced their rather sporadic letters were enough for them to fall in love. It felt like first one or two letters were like hello who are you what's going on, then bam, oh the numerical-stars-are-aligned instalove.

And then there's a pretty long jump in time for Tian Wei, which (ugh) brings him to the 1940s and WW2, which YEAH. no. But this is a me thing, and also why I haven't read any TTE books (#sorrynotsorry).

Verdict:
If you're a historical fiction fan, especially around SEA WW2 stories, you'll probably love this! If you're a camera & photography nerd, you'll probably also love this! If you bangga Singapura and Malaysia (because come on, they were the same country back in those days) and you love codemixing, you'll also love this!

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Neem Tree Press via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

Cover reveal: Daisy Dunlap and the Cartoon Carnival | C.O. Bonham

Today, I have the privilege of sharing the cover reveal for C.O. Bonham's new book, Daisy Dunlap and the Cartoon Carnival. What makes it extra extra exciting is the fact that the cover designer is also my friend! 

Find the truth. Save the family legacy. Don't get eaten by the giant cartoon spider.

Reeling from the loss of her mother, twelve-year-old Daisy comforts herself with the cartoons and carnival run by her family's animation studio.

When an anonymous source accuses Grandpa of stealing his most famous character, the impish Tom Greenthumb, their family's reputation and business are on the line. The only thing that can clear their name? A mysterious sketch book hidden somewhere within the Cartoon Carnival.

Sneaking into the theme park at night, Daisy uncovers her family's greatest secret. Their cartoon creations are alive—and some of them are deadly.

PREORDER

Add to Goodreads

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About the author:

C.O. Bonham is the pen name for a commonly misspelled first name. She loves stories of all kinds, but really likes the ones that are weird, and outside the norm. A certified book geek, when she isn’t writing stories of her own she is busy reading stories by others. A homeschool graduate with a degree in creative writing, her goal is to create stories that make people think, feel, and have fun.

Her debut novel, Runaway Lyrics, a steampunk fantasy retelling of Snow White and Rose Red, released in 2021.

Website | Facebook group | Facebook page | Amazon page | Goodreads | Instagram

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About the artist:

Chew Yuin-Y is an artist and an educator. Her recent notable projects include the brand identities for Malaysian swing jazz band The Frankie Sixes and the KLSwing Fest lindy hop international community event in 2023. She was also a contributing illustrator to the 2020 Penang-based anthology “Home Groan” and has exhibited at Lukis Tulis Malaysia 2019, a community art festival at Jaya One.

While she primarily produces digital work, she also uses other traditional media such as watercolours and ink. She believes art should be both pleasing to the eye and mind, and endeavours to infuse elegance and harmony into her work. Among her artistic influences are American mid-century modern graphic styles, Nyonya batik, the bold simple ink paintings of China and the patterns of Japan.

Yuin-Y is from Penang and is currently based in Kuala Lumpur.

Instagram | linktr.ee

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PREORDER

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Teaser: The Making of a Jurusihir

 Releasing this month with Bookiut!

Book review: Wishing on a Supervillain | HL Burke (and a kickstarter)

Wishing on a Supervillain by H.L. Burke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What do you do when the first wish you're asked to grant in your brand new Superhero wish-granting project is a wish to meet a Supervillain? What would your boss even say? Nixie decides to do it anyway. Or try to. It all depends on whether Switch will agree to take time off from villaining to help her grant a sick kid's wish.

Wishing on a Supervillain is a fun read with unexpectedly touching moments. It's part of the Romance series, so it's pretty obvious that they're going to fall for each other. But it's a very clean romance - nothing beyond a kiss - mostly because Nixie is such a goody-two-shoes church girl from a sheltered family that... this is her first everything. If Burke hadn't explicitly stated she's in her early twenties (22?), I would put her at a very naive 19 or so (I mean, she's working as a superheroine, she's probably not under-18).

Choice - and the lack of good ones - feels like a core theme in this story. Why did Switch go down the road of villainy? Why does Oliver choose to meet a supervillain when he could have his pick of superheroes to meet? Why does Nixie keep giving Switch second chances when her boss, Vibes, is adamant that villains never change? Can villains change?

Also, the name Vibes is a Choice.

All in all, a great read.

View all my reviews

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I MOSTLY posted this today (instead of the other book I read) because Burke has a kickstarter for Tales from the SVR Universe: Superhero Anthology and I figured that I'd boost that at the same time! 

Back H.L. Burke's new DOSA Anthology! 

Book review: Queen of None | Natania Barron

Queen of None by Natania Barron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's been a while since I've read any Arthurian legends. I picked this up because the author's name sounded somewhat familiar - it seems I've stumbled across some of her Twitter threads on medieval clothes (?) or something of that sort. Besides, I'd never heard of Anna Pendragon before.

Queen of None is the story of the powerless women in King Arthur's court. They seem to have titles, prestige, and honour, but their lives are orchestrated and ordered by the men around them. In Anna's case, her brother King Arthur and his advisor, Merlin. It is a powerlessness that the men around them do not - and sometimes cannot - understand. For them, there is always a choice, always a decision they can make and unmake to shape their destinies. Anna's eldest, Gawain, keeps failing to grasp this lesson.

Where the legends of Arthur that I recall reading/watching make out Merlin to be a benevolent sage, the Merlin here is much darker. There is a menacing tone to his watching and meddling, the idea that he is evil in his machinations.

Anna Pendragon herself has a tragic life - because Arthur listens to Merlin over the happiness of his own sister. Arthur tries to make amends, but it is always too little, too late. I do not like the Arthur in this; then again, I do not think I am meant to like him. It is not his story.

No, this is the story of Anna finding her hidden strength, discovering the magic that runs through her mother's blood, and uncovering the battle between her mother's line and Merlin that has scattered her half-sisters and her aunts and twisted prophecies to their own ends. And in this, with her prophecy to be forgotten, Anna finds the chance to change history - if she can manage to make the magic work for her.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Solaris/Rebellion Publishing via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

Book Review: Court of Wanderers | Rin Chupeco

Court of Wanderers by Rin Chupeco


Had a rocky start because I couldn't remember how Silver Under Nightfall ended (And then couldn't find where that ARC (i think it was an ARC anyway? It was definitely an ebook, but it wasn't in my Kindle) went so I couldn't re-read the last few chapters to catch up on events).

So yes, Court of Wanderers throws you in the deep end, on the assumption that you'll remember what happened in the earlier book. Like it just starts in the middle of a scene and I'm like, who, what? Anyway, I just went off the vibes that I could remember from my previous review, except...the mood seems to have changed quite a bit.

But also, disclaimer upfront like for the first book (if you're following my reviews for clean-ish content): There are a lot of sexy times in this book (and not the fade-to-black kind), so if that is not for you, this book is not for you. Like really, really not. Also, since this is book 2 (and thus not a spoiler anymore), the main characters are in a polyamorous relationship with uh, kinky undertones. Which is also normalised in vampire Court etiquette.

Court of Wanderers as a whole feels a lot darker, and much more political. There's a lot of backstory being covered, and secrets being revealed, and a lot of talking heads going on about politics. And betrayal. And chunks and chunks of dialogue about what happened in the past, which should have worked, except that sometimes by the end of each paragraph I'd already forgotten who was talking to who. ACTUALLY, I think I have to note that a major part of the plot and everything that happens in this one is because of...backstory. Which maybe should have come up a bit more in the first book? Or maybe should be a book on its own so that this one would flow much better? idk

I loved the inclusion of Filipino mythology, the idea that there are various strands of vampires and that one of them, stemming from the First, had left the First Court and established their own colony in the Whispering Isles. Peacefully with the humans. Until the colonialists brought war, of course.

You can't avoid that bit of anti/post/whatever-colonialism.

But anyway, I loved Remy's exploration of his mother's heritage, and what that means to him after being brought up denying it.

There's less science in this one. Also I think less rompy sex, but more sad? emotional? omg-you-almost-died events. Just a lot more politics and politics. And twists because of secrets and manipulations. Have I mentioned politics? A side thought is that maybe this would also have worked better as two books instead of one, even though I have no idea how they'd do that. But it would make it feel less dense, in a way.

Overall, this is an interesting read if you want to finish the series.

Note: I received a digital review copy from S&S/Saga Press via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

View all my reviews

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HAPPY RELEASE DAY! 

Court of Wanderers released on 2 April. Get your copy on Amazon now. I also suggest getting Silver Under Nightfall first, so you're not completely lost. (Affiliate links)

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Read my review of Silver Under Nightfall here.

Book Review: In Defence of Doubt | Val Webb

In Defence of Doubt by Val Webb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Everything you hear from the modern church seems so cut-and-dried. This Truth is the absolute, the Bible is the literal answer to everything; you have to believe in every word it says, or you are not a true Christian. But is that really true?

Val Webb reveals a long history of doubt in the church and how that has moved the understanding of faith and belief-as well as church practices, norms, and culture-forward in many different ways. It's important to note that the protestant church, in its current form, would not be in existence without the many saints who moved in and worked through their doubt and stood up against the church of their day to bring fresh revelation and revival. There are no easy solutions.

Reading In Defence of Doubt is liberating. It gives you freedom to address the doubts and questions that you have about God, faith, and the church even as you discover that this is nothing new. Noted (notable?) Christians over the centuries have struggled over these same questions, and having them being downplayed, glossed over, or left unaddressed is a disservice to everyone.

My only concern (and a wavering one at that) is the last chapter on Interfaith Dialogue. In one sense, I agree with everything she says, but as a whole... I don't know. Maybe I'm not there yet. There are many things in the preceding chapters that, if I read this when I was younger, I would have utterly rejected. So maybe in the future I might end up agreeing with Webb's stance fully, or maybe I'll end up shelving it as one of the things that's not really important to me in the grand scheme of things.

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Book Review: Say Hello to My Little Friend | Jennine Capó Crucet

Say Hello to My Little Friend by Jennine Capo Crucet
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'd put this at about 3.5 stars, to balance out personal enjoyment and more writing/research needs.

Right. So I picked this up from Edelweiss because I've been looking at ways different people write about their own experiences and places in fiction. Call it semi-research. The description sounded interesting enough, so why not?

Personally, I kind of got a little bored midway through because Izzy is dumb (Though, if he isn't, where's the story?) and Lolita... well, the orca never gets anywhere. It meanders a lot in a way that doesn't really interest me; it's not a plot or type of book I'd normally be raring to read. The ending was weird (what's with the letter? lol), but what caught me was the bit before the end. The resolution for Izzy's search for his past, the repressed memories, the way it all unfolds. Also, it's very magical realism in the sense that you never quite know what's real or not at some places.

But as a study in voice and in not pandering to monolithic, imagined white reader, I love it. I may not understand all the Spanish (?) that punctuates the narrative and the dialogue, but it holds the attention, it captures me, it makes me want to know more. Though I'll do without the iguanas and alligators.

In conclusion, if you're Cuban-American this might resonate with you more. Or, I guess, if you live in Miami.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Simon & Schuster via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Hair the Dragon

In conjunction with the year of the dragon and Chinese New Year, here's a short story I wrote and performed at the Butterworth Fringe Fest with Readings@Tanjong last year. 

HAIR THE DRAGON

They say that the tunnels under George Town are where the dragons used to live. I don’t know about that. It’s 2023, for God’s sake. What dragons? Have you ever seen a dragon? They’ve probably been hounded—or hunted—to extinction by now. It’s not like we’ve seen any in recent decades. Centuries, even. The stories still stick around, though. 

Like the one my uncle’s uncle’s uncle once told my uncle’s uncle, who told my uncle who told me about this dragon that he used to know. Yeah, but unlike the song, it wasn’t a breakup. It wasn’t even a romance. More like a…threat?

Anyway, back in ye olden days, we used to have wells. There’s one at Kuan Im Teng—The Goddess of Mercy Temple—if you want to know what a well looks like, though no one uses it anymore. It’s like this deep hole that’s all dried up and probably filled with rubbish, but that’s where people used to get fresh water and stuff in the past, no kidding. They didn’t twisty-turny or pushy-pully, yay clean water! You had to work for it by going out to the garden, to the well, and pull up a bucket of water on a chain. Then boil it or something so you don’t die. The water, not the bucket. You reuse the bucket. 

If I lived back then, I would have lots of muscles. Or I would be dead of dehydration. Probably dead.   

So, there’s this network of wells, and obviously they’re connected by tunnels, all the way from Fort Cornwallis through to Masjid Kapitan Keling. Or not so obviously because they’re hidden underground. I haven’t seen them myself and I don’t plan to. I don’t think half of them are even accessible now, so I really don’t think we have dragons living in Penang anymore. Where would they even stay? 

Source: https://atap.org.my/maps/ 

I’ve been trying to imagine this, but the best I can come up with is like the underground sewer network, which eww, why would a dragon live there? Aren’t they supposed to be majestic creatures of death and destruction and all that? 

But lots of the old stories say that dragons like caves, so I suppose this was maybe what they were used to. I dunno, I thought they’d hoard enough money to buy themselves a mansion or two. Maybe dragons are just weird that way.

This dragon that my uncle’s uncle’s uncle used to know was called Hair. Not because he had a lot of hair—dragons don’t have hair, they have scales. I definitely have the intonation wrong, but it’s something like the Hokkien word for prawn? Ha, He, Heh, Her, Haaaaiiir. ANYWAY. It probably means something else and may not even be Hokkien so who knows what his name is actually supposed to be? Hair is easier to say for a banana like me. 

Right. Back to the story. 

Hair is an ancient dragon, because all dragons are ancient, and my uncle’s uncle’s uncle was ancient, so everyone I’m talking about is very old right now and mostly dead. Except the dragon, because dragons don’t die, and my uncle, because well, he’s only seventy-ish. He still has a strong heart and he’d be here telling you this story except he doesn’t speak much English and he says his legs get tired, but I know that’s a lie because he always goes for these long walks to the apartment on the next road to see his mistress. (Who he thinks we know nothing about.) Now, if there were tunnels in Butterworth, I’m sure he’d be all for using them so that no one could follow him to her place.

I wonder where I can find that info...

I met Hair once. Or at least, I think it was him. My uncle wasn’t really clear in the introduction, but I think my Chinese was passable enough to understand that he said, “This is Hair the Dragon,” instead of “This is Prawn the Loan Shark.” Which is what I hate about Chinese languages, you know? Everything could be another word if you say it wrong and it should be so pretty and witty and poetic but really it’s not. Plus, I can’t really tell the difference between Mandarin and Hokkien and Cantonese and whatever else. So, who knows what my uncle really said?

The guy I met is now a Facebook friend, which is kind of cool, assuming I met the dragon and not the loan shark. If they even are the same person. He looked like a human, which is a thing I’m told dragons can do. Maybe you should prod your neighbour and see if they’re really human. They could be a dragon in disguise. 

Anyway, next year is the year of the dragon, which is Hair’s year. He hates it, apparently, and says it’s supposed to be mine. Because Rats and Dragons get along or something like that. Don’t ask me the specifics, it’s not like I believe in it anyway, but I believe in knowing stuff. Knowing stuff is always helpful. Maybe that’s why Hair likes me. I know a lot of stuff. 

But you’d think that you’d like your own year, right? I thought so too, because I always thought that if it was your year, they would favour you, right? Your greatest cable, right there. Boom! Direct connection to the gods or whatever. But he told me that having the same year as your zodiac animal was actually bad because then you would clash with them. The only way to resolve that is by signing a “peace treaty” with your “zodiac animal general”. Which is stupid. Like, we’re Chinese, we’re buddies, right? We’re Penangites, we’re buddies, right? So if you’re both dragons, you should be buddies, right? 

The problem, I was told, was that whilst Hair is a dragon, he’s not one of the dragons of the zodiac. There are five elements in the cycle, like earth, fire, wind, water, heart, by your powers—no, that’s Captain Planet. This makes me feel old, but I don’t think anyone remembers who Captain Planet is anymore. The shiny white guy with green hair? That anti-pollution campaign cartoon? Oh well. 

The five, um, Chinese elements, which I don’t remember, means there are five different dragon generals, and Hair isn’t one of them so I suppose that puts him in opposition with all of them. Unless I’m getting this wrong and all this applies only to humans and not to dragons. 

All that aside, Hair used to live in the tunnels under George Town for whatever reason. I’m actually still not convinced there are tunnels. Or that dragons lived there. Though I was told that if you visit the Pinang Peranakan Mansion—you know, that light green building where they filmed The Little Nyonya—there’s another well leading to a tunnel right there. I remember visiting once, but I can’t for the life of me remember if I saw a well. But they might have filled it in and covered it up because, well, tourists. You don’t want things falling in that might awaken something scarier than a dragon. 

SOOOOOOO...

They say the tunnels of George Town were used for other nefarious reasons in those days, besides potentially housing dragons which are not Balrogs. One of those reasons was to smuggle drugs like opium and other, um, illegal items, like guns and weapons. There was a gang war going on, after all. And a war against the British. I could be getting all the years wrong, so don't quote me on this, but anyway, another place where you’re supposed to be able to find a dragon—or THE dragon—in the tunnel network is at the Cheah Clock Tower, which was built to summon a dragon to save Penang from the Big Bad Mat Salleh. I guess it didn’t work because it's now called the Queen Victoria Memorial something or other.

So, the supposed tunnels somewhere under George Town is where my uncle’s uncle’s uncle met Hair, because dragons were honourable creatures who very much did not like smuggling going on in their homes, even if those homes were smelly old tunnels. I mean, I would be upset too, if someone were to use my house as their gang’s hideout and potentially get me into trouble. And obviously, my uncle’s uncle’s uncle was one of those involved in the smuggling. 

It was kind of how my family made their money back in ye olden days. It’s not like all the stuff they smuggled was bad, just controlled, kind of like if you bring chewing gum to Singapore now. Smuggling things like spices and tea to evade taxes was quite A Thing back then because He Who controls the Spice controls the Universe… It really was just that the British wanted to own all the things and didn’t want anyone else to have the money. And my family wanted to get in on that money, at least, until Hair frightened the living daylights out of this ancestor of mine so much so that he avoided the tunnels from then on and went back on the straight and narrow for pretty much the rest of his life. 

I’d like to say that my uncle’s uncle’s uncle never saw Hair ever again, but that’s not the truth. Hair kind of stuck around and checked in on him every once in a while to make sure he didn’t go back to smuggling things in tunnels, which is why, I guess, this story kept getting passed down through the generations. Plus, the story goes, after meeting Hair one too many times, the whole family just up and left George Town and moved to Butterworth. 

Actually, I should ask Hair whether he really lived in the tunnels of George Town or if all that was just a stupid story my uncle’s uncle’s uncle told my uncle’s uncle to entertain him, who in turn told my uncle, who in turn told me because I like knowing things and maybe I’m just gullible like that. I guess I’ll message him when I get home. He’ll probably laugh himself silly and say that everything my uncle’s uncle’s uncle said was a lie. 

He’s probably Prawn the Loan Shark anyway.

That's all, folks!

Originally written for and performed at:

#bookreview: Renegade Skyfarer | RJ Metcalf - and a #writing update

Renegade Skyfarer by R.J. Metcalf
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I... kind of regret putting this off for so long, because I really, really, really enjoyed this book! But the plus side of putting it off so long is... I supposed I can now just get all the other 3 (4?) books in this series and binge them at a go.

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I've apparently read 3 books already this year, but written 0 reviews (well, now a very short 1), mostly because I have been busy trying to write. "Trying" being the operative word here, because I'm not being as prolific as I would like. 

I'm trying to finish off edits on the Tea Novel so I can get that sent out.

But I'm also working on another novel that I want to finish drafting before CNY so... 

whelp.

Probably need to be a leeeeetle bit more consistent in sitting down and working on it!

Tea update: currently still obsessed with Empress Grey, alternating with ChaTraMue Red label.