For most refugees, losing a spouse halfway through the journey to America would be horrible. For Chava, it is almost world-ending. Not because she loved her husband, but because she was his servant. Chava is a golem, a being sculpted from clay and given life with dark magic. Ahmad once roamed Syria like a god,…
Category: Reading Challenge
Review: The Invention of Murder
Murder has been around for thousands of years, but it was the Victorians who perfected the art of publicizing it. Every kind of murder — from disemboweling to poisoning — was fodder for journalists, authors, playwrights, and songwriters. Audiences could not get enough, and it’s been the same ever since. In The Invention of Murder:…
Review: The Iron Trial
Magic is dangerous, and will get you killed. That’s what Callum Hunt’s father has always told him. And the Magisterium — where young magicians are trained — is nothing but a pit of vipers. For other kids Callum’s age, the idea of purposely failing the Iron Trial is unthinkable; for Callum, it’s a goal. He…
Review: Sorrow’s Knot
The hamlet of Westmost sits at the edge of the world — beyond its wards, dark things creep. For many years it has been Willow’s responsibility to bind the dead, and to keep the restless spirits from harming the living. Otter, Willow’s only child, has always known that she will become a binder like her…
Review: Dirty Old London
Wherever humans congregate, so too does their refuse. Prior to the 1800s this wasn’t a huge problem — there simply weren’t enough people in a single place to cause problems. Things were different by the time the Victorian era (1837-1901) rolled around. London’s population exploded, and its ancient sewers could no longer process the tons…