It's Certainly not Styx

Keith Yatsuhashi “Kojiki” (Angry Robot, 2016)

Normally I am not a fan of the secret heritage trope.  You know the one.  It’s usually a character who upon “coming of age” finds out that they are secretly the heir to the throne/chosen one/whatever.

But this is the exception that proves the rule.  The reason is that the world of Kojiki is so unlike any fantasy world that I have previously experienced.  It’s important to say that I know next to nothing about Japanese mythology.  The world of Kojiki gives the feel of a world that is based heavily on Japanese mythology.  It is in fact? I have no idea. But it is complex and very different from the bog standard fantasy world.  Having this familiar trope (& plot structure) gave me something to hang onto while trying to make sense of this strange world.

Does it all work? I think that for me, at least, the results were mixed.  I found myself struggling more than I enjoy.  I honestly don’t know how much was me, & how much was the book.  But regardless, it was difficult for me to make sense of things at times.  At other times, I enjoyed the uniqueness and originality of this book. 

Don't Think About How They Make the Sausage

Christopher Farnsworth “Killfile” (Bonnier Zaffre, 2016)

Is Christopher Farnsworth a genre writer? Or does he just write genre adjacent work? I know that he has a whole series about a vampire who is also a government agent.  

And here is a thriller about a former CIA agent who can read minds.

The mini version of the plot is this: John Smith takes an industrial espionage job, only to have the Tech Billionaire try to kill him & then use his mad computer skillz to put Smith on the run.

Up front I want to say this:  this was a very fun read.  It was fast & action packed. It read like a crazy action espionage movie.

But man, it was really kind of stupid.  Here’s some high level stupidity:

Why did the CIA have Smith interrogating terrorists? Wouldn’t he have been used to read the mind of high level people like generals or world leaders? Or during trade negotiations? It seemed like a choice used to just make him more “regular guy” and badass (at the same time).

How could the tech guy wipe him out digitally in moments? I mean, that’s just not how that works.

Of course he’s paired up with a hot young woman.  And of course she eventually wants to sleep with him.

This is a fun summer read that you shouldn’t think about too much. The more you think about it, the less you’ll like it.