I loved Naomi Novik’s previous two books, so when I heard that she was about to start a new series I made sure to order the first book right away.
Destiny is at the heart of Black Sun, the first book in a new series by Rebecca Roanhorse. It’s a fantasy series with a setting inspired by Pre-Colombian America.
October is the time for ghost stories. I’m especially partial to ghost stories where the ghost is reaching out to the living for help. Archival Quality, a graphic novel by Ivy Noelle Weir and Steenz, has one of these ghosts. It also has some very human humans.
The main character in Archival Quality is a young woman named Celeste. She had been working at a library doing a job that she enjoyed but was let go after her mental health issues got in the way. Seeking to get her life back to normal, Celeste answers an ad from the Logan Museum seeking an archival assistant.
This all hits very close to me. My job sounds very similar to Celeste’s previous one, I’ve had problems with anxiety for a long time, and working in a museum’s archive is something that I would love to do.
Maybe not at the Logan Museum, though.
There’s something . . . off . . . about it, beyond the general creepiness of the old building.
The Logan Museum staff seem to be hiding something. They also seem intimidated by the board, the mysterious group that runs the Logan.
Then there’s the mysterious disappearance of the former Chief Curator.
Celeste begins her work scanning photographs and documents into an ancient computer. She has to work in the middle of the night as to not disturb any of the Logan’s (non-existent) visitors. Celeste tries to avoid looking at the pictures at first; the Logan had been an orphanage and a sanitarium in the past, and some of the pictures are disturbing.
It’s not very hard work, and Celeste is moving along just fine. Then weird things start to happen. Strange noises and things start appearing where they shouldn’t have been. Nothing atypical in a ghost story.
At first, Celeste isn’t sure if the happenings are real or if it’s going on in her head. The more time passes, the more convinced she is that everything is real and that one of the former patients is reaching out for help. Celeste is initially alone in her search, but she eventually manages to get one of her coworkers to admit that the ghost had interacted with him, too.
The other coworker is more skeptical, but supportive, because she’s a good friend. Together they work to find the truth and maybe let the ghost rest.
Celeste’s personal ghosts play a part in the story. The unusual job put a lot of stress on her and makes the people around her worry about her. Especially her relationship with her boyfriend. He was there when she was at her lowest and doesn’t want her to return there. He wants her to take a step back and maybe return to her doctors.
Celeste wants to push forward.
It creates conflict between them, even though they really want the same thing. It’s a very real moment.
Celeste sees herself in the ghost, and helping the ghost might mean something good for her, too.
The illustrations are great. The style is not super realistic, yet not super cartoony either. My favorite thing is the clothes. Each character has several changes of clothes like a real person, and all of them are consistent throughout for what that character has in their wardrobe. The ghost is depicted in sepia tones, even when she interacts with Celeste.
The story ends on a hopeful tone for Celeste, though not a happily ever after one. She’s got a new therapist and supportive friends. I like that; the real parts of the story were so real that it would have felt off if had been more sunny.
September is Library Card Signup Month. That makes it a great time to remind everyone of the services that libraries offer. For free. The following are all accessible right from your home, so they’re great for anyone who might be stuck at home and strapped for cash. You just need to have a library card!
It’s no secret that I love The Good Place. It was a wonderful show that balanced being both silly and heartfelt and always encouraged you to be a little better than you were yesterday.
I cosplayed as Janet last year, and that was great. Now I wanted a new challenge. I’m not sure if you’d call it closet cosplay or bounding, but I put together outfits inspired by each of the six main The Good Place characters.
Sometimes books are called children’s books because the title character is a child. But, many of them are books that a person of any age should find and read.
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill is one of them. It won the 2017 Newberry Medal awarded for the “most distinguished American children’s book” but it’s much more than that. It’s a tale of love, memory, regret, self-determination, and connection.
I first read The Ghost Bride by Yangszee Choo a few years ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Recently I stumbled upon the fact that it was a series on Netflix. I gladly binged it.
The story takes place in Malacca, Malaysia in 1893. Li Lan is a young woman whose family has fallen on hard economic times. Her father announces that he’s received an offer from a wealthy associate for Li Lan to become a Ghost Bride for their recently deceased son, Tiang Ching: to enter into a symbolic marriage to ensure companionship in the afterlife. He’s reluctant to allow his daughter to spend her entire life as a widow, and Li Lan hadn’t put much thought into her future. That is until the ghost of Tian Ching starts stalking her.
He tries to convince her that the marriage would be a good thing, but Li Lan knows it won’t be. She tries everything she can to keep him at bay, even if she’s not quite sure that she really believes in ghosts. Along the way she meets a mysterious stranger named Er Lang who isn’t quite human. Li Lan can’t be sure whether to trust him or not, but she can’t help being drawn to him.
Li Lan’s soul gets separated from her body, and she finds herself wandering the Plains of the Dead. Er Lang needs her to find out who is causing problems there. When things get bad in the afterlife, it can overflow into the living world and cause disaster. Li Lan knows that Tian Ching has been bribing border officials to haunt her and that his family might be behind the problems. Li Lan and Er Lang search for the evidence to stop them.
The book’s world is so immersive. The images in both the worlds of the living and especially of the dead are so well conjured. On the Plains of the Dead, everything seems a little bit off, all composed of burned offerings from family. The food, the furniture, and animals all have a creepy artificial appearance. Even the servants are mindless puppets. It’s a very easy world to sink into.
I thought the Netflix adaptation was good for the most part. It was originally in Chinese and is dubbed in English. I probably would have preferred subtitles and hearing the tone of the dialogue even if I don’t understand it.
As usual, some things are cut or changed. Li Lan thinks that the Tian Ching in the book is a “buffoon,” but the series makes him a swaggering rock star type. It makes him more interesting especially since he becomes the main villain in the story and not a pawn in others’ schemes. Er Lang’s more acerbic edges are toned down and he and Li Lan get into some classic rom-com arguments.
The best part of the series is the costumes. They’re beautiful. They didn’t stick exactly to period, as some appear more modern than the historical setting but it works.
As usual in adaptations, I missed some of the things in the books. Li Lan’s time on the Plains of the Dead and the ghosts that she meets there could be a series in themselves.
Well, maybe that’s season two!
How’s everyone doing? Those of you out there working, thank you so much for keeping the world turning. Those of you at home, hopefully you’re finding ways to use your free time that helps you stay sane.
Every reader has a favorite thing to read when they want to relax and lose themselves in a book. For me it’s Agatha Christie’s mystery books.
The first thing that most people think of when they think of geeky crafts is fan art. It’s fun to see what parts of fandoms inspire people. Not all geeky art is specific; sometimes it’s a great new skill to learn or a new way to express yourself. That’s where Chemknits comes in.