Just like No Gods, No Monsters, We Are the Crisis is a hard book to describe. There is a war going on in the shadows between two secret societies of monsters and magic users. But the people we’re following are on the fringes and outskirts, affiliated with no organization, and find themselves caught up in this cosmic war. We follow our friendly neighborhood pack of anarchist werewolves, a child who escaped a secret society, and other characters who are monsters or humans in the co-operative mutual aid networks of Boston and St Thomas. Plus, the mysterious narrator who is observing all these characters from another universe. None of the characters have anywhere near the answers that they want, but they are trying to piece together a way for humans and monsters to live in the open together, against the interests of anti-monster extremists, or the wishes of hierarchical secret societies.

I love the representation of co-operative networks and the ways that the different storylines converge towards the end of the book. There are direct connections to the Black Panther Party, and the politics of the US Virgin Islands. The story is told in a very fragmented way, where we follow certain characters in their own sections, piecing together more information and seeing how their stories intersect. I kind of wish I had read this with less of a gap after reading No Gods, No Monsters. It was hard for me to remember characters by name, and there were a lot of explanations for moments from the first book that took me a second to piece together.

The way the story is told is also unique in a way that really serves the story, but can be frustrating at times. It feels like you are wrestling with the narrator, trying to stay focused on the parts where we might learn more information. For example, there are scenes where the characters find something horrifying, but instead of describing what it is, the chapter ends with the characters leaving, and then later in the book, you get an answer as to what they found.

There is also this distance that the story maintains between the narration and any one character we follow. At first, it felt frustrating, but then I remembered that that is because the narrator is in fact, his own character who is peering in on the thoughts of the characters we follow. I think this is a masterful stylistic choice, and it is so unique and perfect for the book. There is also such a sense of awe that comes along with the presence of gods in the story that is just incredible. I found myself so invested in the characters, and I’m so excited to read the next book, which will be the conclusion to the Convergence Saga.

This was such an addictive murder mystery. I loved how all the characters are flawed and terrible to each other, but also are all midlist authors who have been let down or actively betrayed by the publishing industry in one way or another. The set up is classic for a murder mystery: a remote island, a countdown, and 2 million dollars on the line. So many of the characters have suspicious actions or behaviors, and the book moves fast.

It took me a few chapters to get into the writing style and everything, but then I was hooked. The form of the book is so interesting. In the first part, you get chapters from multiple people’s perspectives, and in the second part, you switch to primarily following one person’s perspective until a point. I read this book on a camping trip, and finished it in two days. I was telling my group about it, and I ended up reading parts of it out loud around a campfire, which was a beautiful experience.

The ending of the book is shocking, but also makes perfect sense. I am glad that I went into this not knowing very much about it, so I won’t give much away, but I think it was a brilliant critique of the publishing industry on every level. I’m kind of surprised that a publishing house even published this, and I think that is at least partially due to a big name author like VE Schwab teaming up with Cat Clarke to write this. It was so well done, and I was truly just on the edge of my seat. I had a great reading experience, and this murder mystery really has something to say.

In the last year or so, I have started reading through Ursula K Le Guin’s Hainish Cycle series. I am a big fan of her writing and anthropological style of sci-fi. I have also been getting back into reading more anthologies and short story collections, so I was so excited to hear that this collection exists.

All the writers in this anthology have connections to both Ursula K Le Guin and Portland, Oregon. I was so interested by the focus on a specific place, and I loved the different ways that writers took inspiration from Ursula K Le Guin. There is a series of stories written as folk tales set in the world of The Left Hand of Darkness. I also loved the stories centered around animal perspectives. Becoming Human and Bee, Keeper were two of my favorites. I also loved Fonda Lee’s short story about reincarnation, and the short story Let it Die. There is such a wide range of styles and topics, and I got exactly what I want out of anthologies.

Je suis heureux que j’ai pu continuer avec le séries L’Arabe du Futur. Malheureusement, je ne peux pas accéder aux autres tomes, donc je ne sais pas si je pourrai continuer plus. Mais, j’ai bien aimé l’histoire dans ce tome. Comme dans le premier, il y a une forte exploration des idéologies en Syrie et en France aussi de la perspective d’un enfant. J’aime bien l’utilisation des couleurs, et les références au premier tome. Je continue à me demander comment l’auteur peut se rappeler les détails si spécifiques et représentatifs. J’imagine qu’il y a un aspect de la liberté créative, mais je crois que c’est aussi possible que l’auteur a fait des entretiens avec les membres de sa famille pour reconstruire les événements compliqués. C’est une bande dessinée non fictive incroyable.