Fantasy book review: Light from uncommon stars

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki (2021) falls between genres: with lovely, crisp prose and a deepness that sticks with you for long after you put it down, I would definitely classify this book as Literature. At the same time, the casualness with which demons and spaceships and the real magic of music are sprinkled throughout the narrative make this book a sci-fi lover's dream.

A writing group friend who loves space books was the first person to recommend this book to me, followed by a work friend who prefers books with serious sociological questions. I'm glad I listened to them both. This book is beautiful. I especially loved how seamlessly the sci-fi elements were woven in with the pockets of gut-punching feeling. Aoki uses relatively short scenes to do this, utilizing page breaks to move the reader from donut-shop-space-ship to the house you grew up in to thoughts on what it means to have a place you belong and back to sprinkles and the meaning of fresh-baked donuts.

From a craft perspective, this book felt like a lesson in having it all: characters that inspire deep empathy, a horror at the way the world is and an endless hope--and space ships.

Comments

Fall writing update - 2

When I last wrote in September I was working on a zero draft of the Wedding Crown, getting my Monster Girls ready for Pitchwars, and trying to find any sort of enthusiasm for my Brigadoon re-write. I ended up giving up on Brigadoon. At least for now, the story just wasn't sitting well with me. Maybe I tried to push too many drafts too soon. Instead, I focused on the Monster Girls. I did one full pass of the manuscript, cleaning up the emotional details, making sure the tone was as consistent as I could get it. I felt pretty good about it going into the Pitchwars submission. Then I spent a weekend hard-core workshopping the first chapter and query with my writing group. And the effort was worth it! I ended up getting one request for a partial, which I was thrilled by. That was my goal this year--if I could get at least a request, I would be happy. That ended up being as far as I went--and for good reason. After the extensive workshopping, I re-read my next few chapters before...

Reading as a Writer: Children of Time

A coworker challenged me to read Children of Time as part of our 2-person sci-fi book club. My heart sank when I opened the cover to read the first line: I'd tried to read this book before as an audiobook on a road trip with my husband the year before. He adored this book and was excited to share it with me, and I couldn't get through a half-chapter without falling asleep. But, since I'd committed to reading it before realizing which book it was, I sat down to finally read it. And just like my husband suggested, I flew through it. Of course, it did take three mediums to read this--I read the first third in the physical book, then switched to audio book on another road trip, then finished it on e-book during an unexpected train delay. Separate from the experience of reading the book, I felt very lucky to have access to so many different library resources to get me through the finish line! I probably would not have picked this book up if not for the joint cajoling of my hus...

The baby steps do matter

Last week I posted about finishing my first draft of Beekeeper. Over 79 days, I wrote 57,00 words. What I didn't say was that drafting Beekeeper was the first time in nearly a year where I was drafting something completely new. I'd spent so long revising Predacide that even last year's full draft was largely cobbled together from old scenes, with a handful of new ones scattered in; and unlike in years past I hadn't managed to draft my August short-story. And surprising no one, writing is hard. When I first started drafting in January, it felt like pulling teeth to write 100 words. I'd push myself to write 100, then 200, and wonder at how I ever managed a whole month of Nano sessions. And as much as I hate to say it, every day it got a little easier. Each morning I wrote a little bit more than I did the day before. There were some stops and starts, of course. We went to Vegas to see the Killers, and then certain executive orders began sending shockwaves through m...

Audely Bensen Writes

Search This Blog