The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark. 5/5
An outstanding fantasy novella set in an intriguing alternate-world New Orleans, where politics, orisha, street smarts, and airships mix. The characters are written well enough to grow beyond their generic trappings (the unbelievably talented street kid, the airship captain with an exciting and mysterious past) and become compelling. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author and about these characters and this world.
Deep Roots by Ruthanna Emrys. 4/5
Ruthanna Emrys’s *Deep Roots* is the smart and nuanced sequel to her *Winter Tide*. She does a brilliant job of turning Lovecraft’s Mythos on its head through beautiful writing, great character development, and thoughtful engagement with the period.
Guardian by A. J. Hartley. 5/5.
Guardian is the third installment in A. J. Hartley’s outstanding series that began with Steeplejack. Guardian returns readers to the city-state Bar-Selehm, where protagonist Anglet Sutonga, a smart and tactically brilliant young woman, finds herself grappling with a fascist take-over of the government. Able to climb high above the city and gather information from a variety of sources on the ground, Ang works to protect her community, political leaders, and friends. Hartley’s writing is clear and exciting, and often eloquent, a rare thing in thrillers. While Guardian will get marketed as “YA,” in part for its obvious (but never pedantic) messages about racism, sexism, politics, voting, and resistance in our own world, the book–and the entire, beautifully-crafted series–should appeal to readers of all ages. Quite honestly, I’d like to put this series in the hands of everyone in the US capable of reading it.
