Tag: Asia

Apr 07 2018

Raven Stratagem (The Machineries of Empire #2) by Yoon Ha Lee

If you’re new to the Machineries Of Empire series, start with my review here. So when I first began reading this I thought, “Wait, what, my memory must really be going because this is totally different from what I remembered of the ending of Ninefox Gambit.” Then I got through over half of the book …

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Permanent link to this article: http://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/04/07/raven-stratagem-the-machineries-of-empire-2-by-yoon-ha-lee/

Mar 31 2018

Brick Lane by Monica Ali

This powerful book about a woman discovering her own agency through the lens of the Bangladeshi immigrant experience surprised me at how timeless it felt even though it’s set at the turn of the 21st century. It’s very much in the tradition of classics by Thomas Hardy and Willa Cather, documenting with a fine eye …

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Permanent link to this article: http://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/03/31/brick-lane-by-monica-ali/

Feb 07 2018

Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire, #1) by Yoon Ha Lee

Whoo, jeez, this was one hell of a read! So you know that bromide, that any scientific technology, advanced enough, is indistinguishable from magic? To a very large extent, one can apply that to science fiction, where if we follow theoretical math and physics to their natural conclusions, the results are indistinguishable from fantasy. Because, …

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Permanent link to this article: http://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/02/07/ninefox-gambit-the-machineries-of-empire-1-by-yoon-ha-lee/

Jan 26 2018

An Excess Male by Maggie Shen King

4.5 stars It feels a bit mean to criticize such a thoughtful book, but I did have very long stretches of not understanding how Wei Guo could possibly be as awesome as he is given his surroundings and upbringing. Then I remind myself that he’s 44 years old and has spent that time learning how …

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Permanent link to this article: http://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/01/26/an-excess-male-by-maggie-shen-king/

Jan 17 2018

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (Rise of the Empress #1) by Julie C. Dao

I fucking devoured this book. It is dark and brutal and cruel and one of the most honest portrayals of what it means to be a woman with ambition when everyone around you automatically assumes you lack agency because of your youth and beauty OR views you as a threat simply because of those last …

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Permanent link to this article: http://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2018/01/17/forest-of-a-thousand-lanterns-rise-of-the-empress-1-by-julie-c-dao/

Dec 30 2017

Rich People Problems (Crazy Rich Asians #3) by Kevin Kwan

The third book in the series felt like the weakest, and tho Kevin Kwan tried to make a point about how the old guard are mostly a bunch of racist elitists who are insecure because they inherited everything instead of making their own fortunes, I really felt like that one scene was just a ham-handed …

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Permanent link to this article: http://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2017/12/30/rich-people-problems-crazy-rich-asians-3-by-kevin-kwan/

Dec 26 2017

China Rich Girlfriend (Crazy Rich Asians, #2) by Kevin Kwan

I think the thing I found most infuriating about this book was how it was taken as a matter of course that everyone would be so incredibly disrespectful of their parents. I mean, I’m not terribly close to my own parents and have gone my quietly rebellious way from what they had in mind for …

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Permanent link to this article: http://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2017/12/26/china-rich-girlfriend-crazy-rich-asians-2-by-kevin-kwan/

Dec 23 2017

Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians #1) by Kevin Kwan

I really liked this book, with one huge exception, which I’ll get to in a minute. It’s a very accurate depiction of life among the jetset in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, which I grew up lifestyle-adjacent to as an upper middle-class kid in Malaysia. Much has been written about how South and Southeast Asia …

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Permanent link to this article: http://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2017/12/23/crazy-rich-asians-crazy-rich-asians-1-by-kevin-kwan/