La hormiga que quiso ser astronauta by Félix J. Palma

La hormiga que quiso ser astronauta [The ant that wanted to be astronaut]
(Only available in Spanish)

The countdown begins. Put aside for a moment the heavy burden of that attachment to the reality that has been so hard to reach and remember when your first love was a siren, your best friend a Jedi Knight and it was snowing in Seville in the summer. When concerns were removed by chemistry-modified eels, and your lovers included a painter who was, literally, your soul mate, and an angel (well, a seraph) exiled from Heaven. When the pizza delivery boy conspired to write your unauthorized biography, and an old rigged recorder could be used to retrieve and make sense of the words spoken during a split. When Death walked the city with a list of victims that, if you were fast enough, you could alter. When ants aspired to reach the stars. Remember? Yes? Now, wake up!

La Hormiga que quiso ser Astronauta was Felix J. Palma's first novel (although not his first book), and I couldn't help but compare it to The Map of Time, which I loved. In a way, much of the things I loved on that book can be found on this one, even if in an earlier version. There is good writing, and twists and turns to the plot. Which means this will be an hard review to write without giving it all away.

And since it is not easy let's start with the basics: I liked this book. Did I love it? I'm still not sure.

What the synopsis promises, the book delivers. Yes, it is as surreal as it seems, to tell the truth, it is waaay more surreal than that at times. There are sirens and Jedi Knights, soul mates and angels (well, a seraph, to be exact). Death walks the streets and even rides the bus.

At first, this book didn't surprise me, and that is to say, it didn't overwhelm me like I was expecting. The writing was good, but I knew that it could be better (I should have reminded myself that this book was written 15 years ago, and that is enough time for an author to perfect the art). I was lost on what was happening, on the episodic fashion of this story. Because, more than a love story, this is a series of love stories.

But I got invested on the main character, on the things that happened to him, on his conquests and lovers. And I started to care about what was happening. Which brings me to the ending. Well, a bit before the ending.

This was the part that I least liked about this book, and the one that I'll probably remember the most. This is when I was almost screaming at the pages, saying "No, no, no, no, please don't go that way, please don't do that.", and this words weren't aimed at the character but at the author. This happened because what I wanted, what I expected to happen, was not what is right, what should happen. And what the author chose was the right thing and that broke my heart.

And that's when the ending came. It's not perfect, it was not what I wanted, but thinking about it, I wouldn't have it any other way. It fits the story just fine, with enough hope and possibilities for the reader to think that everything will be all right, not in the happily-ever-after way, but in the real life all-right-with-its-ups-and-downs way.

And to end this review, I'll leave you with one of my favourite quotes of this book, that is the best way to define it (without spoilers):

"And the thing is that there are women and women and men and men, and it is not enough to just shuffle and pick one card from each deck and believe that the result is a couple."

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

The All Mighty Pile - Book Fair Ins and Outs

This is a special edition of The Ins and Outs. These are the books I bought on Porto's Book Fair. Meet the pile:

Whoa!

But lets start by the beginning. Being away from home means being away from the events happening at home. Which means there was not much chance of me going to this year's book fair in my city. That is, unless I could find a good reason to go home.

Let me check: Easter? Too late. Birthday? Too Late. Off days from work? Yeah, right (actually I managed to get some of those. On Easter and my birthday). Fall of the national government and elections? Oh yeah!

So, I went home last weekend to vote. I could have done it by post, but now I had an excuse to be home and use that time to go to the book fair. I had less than 1 day and a half to do all I wanted to do.

Saturday afternoon and night were devoted to the Book Fair, to buy books and look at books and buy some more books. Also, be with friends and meet fellow bloggers. But, mostly buy books. Because, you see, I had only one day. I had to make all my purchases on one day (not really, I have a friend on duty that goes check the books on discount and buys me stuff I want). And so I did a lot of book buying.

Here is the all mighty list of books:

1. The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore
   The review by Ana@Floresta de Livros made me want to read this one.
2. Escritos dos Ancestrais by Rodrigo McSilva
3. Minotauro: A Batalha do Labirinto by Gabriel García de Oro
4. Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliott
   I have the second on the series, and I'm not reading it until I read the first. But I didn't have the first. Now I do.
5. Temeraire by Naomi Novik
6. Bibbi Bokkens Magic Library by Jostein Gaarder
   I used to read a lot of books by Jostein Gaarder and then stopped altogether. This is a children's book.
7. Brasyl by Ian McDonald
   This is what you get when you don't read the synopsis properly. The name in Portuguese is Brasil. It says it's science fiction. I took the giant leap of believing it was related to the movie Brazil. It's not.
8. The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay
9. A verdadeira invasão dos marcianos by João Barreiros
   Another result of a review by Ana@Floresta de Livros
10. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
11. The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
12. The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano
13. Darwinia by Robert Charles Wilson
14. Os Ossos do Arco-Íris by David Soares
15. O Décimo Terceiro Poder by Madalena Santos
    This is a different kind of rec by Ana. I needed a 4th book for the promotion of buy 3 and take 4. I didn't know which book to choose, so she gave me this one.
16. The Black Tattoo by Sam Enthoven
    Jen@Cuidado com o Dalmata saw this one, and since there was a tattoed man on the cover she showed it to me. I decided to take the book, even though it talk about martial arts. For some reason it gave me a The Crow vibe.
17. The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Robert A. Heinlein

Yep, 17 books. And number 17 is divided in 2 volumes (2 very small volumes). So, 18 books. 18 books I had to carry around, and drag home. My hands are still a bit sore. And my hands hurt. And my TBR list has gone over the 200 mark. Should the Zombie Apocalypse come, I can always get myself and my books into a bunker and I have reading material for the following 2 or 3 years.

May Ins And Outs

INs

Bookmooch
Buffalo Gals and Other Animal Presences by Ursula K. Le Guin
I really like Ursula K. Le Guin's books, and didn't have this one. Now I do :D

Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham
This one I'm not sure how it came to be on my bookmooch wishlist, but it became available so I snagged it.

Bought
Contos Carnívoros by Bernard Quiriny [Carnivore Short Stories]
I found this one on a bookstore. I picked it up because of its title and the pretty cover. It promised surreal short stories, so I had to have it



The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna
While looking for books for SantaThing on Librarything last Christmas, I came across this one. It is supposed to be the most famous Finnish book, and quite good so I'll give it a try.





La hormiga que quiso ser astronauta by Felix J. Palma
By now I am a fan of Felix J. Palma, so I'm buying anything of his I can get my hands on.






North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
I've meaning to read this one for ages (ever since I saw the mini-series). Now I have no excuse






Plain Kate by Erin Bow
I saw the book trailer for this one aeons ago. It has been on my wishlist ever since, and now I finally bought it






The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin
Good reviews, pretty cover, cool sounding name, a lot of nominations to all kinds of awards. I had to have this one (and I still don't know what it's about.)





For Review
El derecho ambiental como instrumento de gestión del riesgo tecnológico by Paula Cerski Lavratti

Won this one in Librarything EarlyReviewers program. Something that interests me, but it's a technical book.

OUTS
El menor espectáculo del mundo by Félix J. Palma
This a collection of short stories, a bit like snapshots into everyday life, where the surreal, strange and fantastical seems to enter. A lot of the stories deal with problems of marriage, of disgruntled couples, and betrayals. Most are about problems of the heart, whether in married couples or not. A few give an outlook into the life of elders, and their solitude.

[Full Review]



Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams
This is the third on the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. I loved the first one and liked the second, but this was just kind of meh...

It's still funny, but it's just more of the same. Also there was a lot of cricket-related stuff that I'm sure went over my head. So, meh...





Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith

This one was an insistence from a friend. I'm glad that I paid some heed to my friend's constant nagging, because it was an excellent book.

[Full Review]








TBR Variation: +6 (From 185 to 191)

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith

Crown Duel

This one was an insistence from a friend. She loved it and wouldn't shut up about it kept telling me about it. Well, forcing me to get this book, and then reading (and now reviewing it). It was with some doubt that I approached it (my friend's review notwithstanding) - too many expectations can be bad.

This book is actually an omnibus of Crown Duel and Court Duel, plus an extra short story at the end, and so, I will divide the review in these 3 parts.

Crown Duel, the first part, presents us to Meliara, a countess from a troubled kingdom, where a tyrant king rules, and all the counties are heavily taxed to pay for his pleasures and his court. This kingdom is also inhabited by the Hill People, a kind of otherworld beings (a bit of a mix of elves and fairies), with whom everyone accepted a Covenant. Basically no wood is to be taken from trees, only the fallen branches can be collected. The Hill People gift families every year with Firesticks, that allow them to warm their houses and cook their food. And the tyranny of the king wouldn't be complete if he didn't mean to break this Covenant.

But back to Meliara, the heroine of our story. She is a countess but knows nothing of niceties and curtsies. She runs barefoot with all the other kids, mingles with servants and peasants, and, in fact, thinks nothing of difference of status. Nor does her brother.

When both of them find out that the king intends to break the Covenant they decide it's time for him to be gone, and they start to plan their revolt, trying to harness supporters among the other counties to go to war. Only, war comes to them and they are alone on this strife.

This was quite a nice start. Intrigue, plots for revolution and war, overthrowing tyrants, a hint of fantasy here and there. I liked to discover the customs of this new world, the dances and songs, the festivities, the fact that everyone worked for the same goal (at least at Meliara's house).

This is the story of Meliara, and as so, we follow all of her exploits. And also, keep her company for almost 500 pages. She is quite a spunky kid, not used to lying, actually, very bad at it, but that is no matter because she would much rather be honest. And blunt. But she was also rather oblivious and obstinate. Not a good combination, and as this book progressed (and well into the second part), I started to get the urge to slap some sense into this girl.

Storywise, it was a good first part. Not very surprising, beyond a few twists here and there, but nicely written. And most authors would have made of this first part a standalone book (save from a less open ending, and a few other minor changes).

Which brings us to the second part, Court Duel. This is what made the Crown Duel (as a whole) an amazing read. The first part was about war, and overthrowing a king. This second part, however, dealt with the court and all its intricacies.

I kept imagining the court of Remalna has something out of 18th century France, with parties and balls, and secret silent languages. Discovering all the intrigues, who's friend and who's foe, who to trust, that was all part of the fun. Meliara's ignorance (and also extreme dislike) of the Court life was the perfect excuse for me, the reader, to learn all about it, and I loved every part of it.

Of course the desire to slap Mel until she saw reason persisted, but at least in this part she was aware she needed some slapping.

Another thing that I liked, well, loved, were the letters. Secret admirers can be so fun in a book. There is something about it that takes you back to being 12, but there is also so much that can be done with it. People are more sincere with letters, especially if the other person doesn't know who are. And then there is the mystery of the entire thing. Of course I knew who the writer was, part because of comments from my friend, and part because it was rather obvious. But this is one of the cases that is not so much who the culprit is, but how you find out. Also, you are about 99% sure you have the right answer to the mystery, but just want to be proven right in the off 1% chance you are wrong.

This second part was what made me surrender to this book. If the first part was read languidly, alternating with other books, this second one was a rush to read more and more about the Court, wondering when Mel would see some sense, and see an ending to the kingdom's troubles.

The ending was quite good, I liked how it was done, and where the story stopped. And that leads to the final short story.

I understand that it was a gift for the fans of the book (and of Meliara's love story), but it was completely unnecessary. Especially because it was not as well written as the rest of the book. It was a bit of silliness I could have done without.

But, despite this short story, I liked this book. There a few things that surprised me, and that I loved, for example that there you were as likely to find women in the army as you were to find men. And that some of the ladies of court were very keen on competing in horse racing and on sword fighting. It was refreshing.

I'm glad that I paid some heed to my friend's constant nagging, because it was an excellent book.


Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Other Reviews: Cuidado com o Dalmata |

This Book on: LibraryThing | GoodReads | BookDepository UK | Book Depository US | Amazon UK| Amazon US| Gam.co

El menor espectáculo del mundo by Félix J. Palma

El menor espectáculo del mundo [The smallest show in the world]
This book is only available in Spanish

This a collection of short stories, a bit like snapshots into everyday life, where the surreal, strange and fantastical seems to enter. A lot of the stories deal with problems of marriage, of disgruntled couples, and betrayals. Most are about problems of the heart, whether in married couples or not. A few give an outlook into the life of elders, and their solitude.

I liked a lot of this stories, some I even loved. The first one El País de las Muñecas [The Country of the Dolls] opens us to a world not of not exactly magic, but magical nonetheless, exploring the father-daughter relationship. It's ending surprised me for its brutality and, even if part of me thinks it's a bit out of place, I don't think I could have it any other way.

Margabarismos starts off with a brilliant description of Veronica, the neighbourhood bar, and it's toilet. It's a strange story at first, and I wasn't much impressed, but as surreal things started to happen, I became more and more invested on the story. In a way, I'll say it makes sense. As far as a story where a dead uncle communicates with his nephew through messages written on a bathroom door of a shabby bar can make sense.

Una palabra tuya [One word from you] is quite dramatic, but an excellent story. It draws on the idea that sometimes kids think their parents are superheroes and that parents will try to prove them that they can indeed be heroes. This is a story that gets better and better as you go along, each shenanigan making you more in love with the main character. The ending on this one was perfect.

Maullidos [Meows] is, in itself, a love story. Only you just discover it in the end. It could have been longer, I'm sure, maybe then it would be more memorable, but it was pretty good this way as well.

Un ascenso a los infiernos [An ascent to hell]. This is a sad story, but also one of extreme courage. We are faced with 3 elders, who like to spend their days sitting by the Ambulance's entrance of an hospital, taking bets on what ails the people who come in. Among this we learn that there is no age limitation on failing in love, that disillusion can be fatal, and that anyone can be a hero, if they so wish to.

El síndome de Karenina [Karenina's syndrome] is a great story. There is a certain mystery to it, and you can't help but have your head whirling, trying to find the solution. The answer to this mystery is not surprising, but not obvious either. But what makes this story even better is its conclusion, a way to show that not all love stories end like we think, without it being a bad thing. 

El valiente anestesista [The valiant anesthetist] shocked me profundly and I have to say I didn't like it. It was a bit confusing, but more than that I didn't like the idea of a mother telling her daughter what kind of bastard her father was, in the guise of a fairytale. I understand completely the way of this story, and I do agree that life is not a fairytale but, damn, I still want to be told it is.

Las siete vidas (o así) de Sebastián Mingorance [The seven lives (or so) of Sebastián Mingorance] adds quantum physics to fantasy, a combination that is always sure to please me. The idea of this story and, in part, its execution, was extremely good. The main character, however, I didn't quite like, none of his incarnations.

And the best way to end a book of short stories, is to end with the best one, and the most bittersweet one. At least it was in this book's case. Biblelot [Trinket] gives us a peek into the solitude of old age, and what people do, sometimes in the spur of the moment, to lighten that weight and give some joy where there seems to be none.

In general, I loved this book. But it was not so much for the stories (although there are some really good ones), but for the writing style. In The Map of Time I realized that Félix Palma has a gift with language, and this book was no different. It didn't matter what it was about, the way it was told made want to keep reading. I kept thinking, it's just words, the same words every other author uses, but Palma is like a magician and these same words are transformed into a text that you can't help but marvel at. Even if this text is describing a pretty gross bathroom.


Rating: 4.5 out of 5


This Book on: LibraryThing | GoodReads | BookDepository UK | Book Depository US | Amazon UK| Amazon US

Varjak Paw by SF Said

Varjak Paw
Varjak is a Mesoptamian Blue, the most noble of cat races. But he is not a true one, as his brother likes to remind him. His eyes are the wrong colour, the colour of danger, instead of green like the rest of his family.

They all live in the countess house, but things have been different for a while, they never see the countess, she is always in her room. When a strange gentleman with 2 black cats appears only Varjak and his grandfather sense the danger. Varjak's grandfather gives him the mission of finding help. It means going outside the wall that surrounds the house, and finding a dog. Varjak has never left home, and the only help from his gradfather is the Way, and even that is an incomplete knowledge. Varjak has to face the city, while learning the Way by himself.

Varjak Paw is a kid's book - it is a good story, with nice messages, fun parts and a lot of action. Yet, it's a kid's book, so it's a simple story, a kind of Karate Kid, with cats. You read it fast, you are amused, but you are not amazed and it's easy to get on with your next read.

For the little ones, it's a very nice book. But it loses its charm with older people. But this is just the story.

Now let's talk illustrations. Because the illustrations alone are the reason I'll keep this book. Unsurprisingly, they are of cats. But they are really good, and give a new dimension to the story. Dave McKean is a great illustrator, I knew that from other books, and this one is no exception.


Rating: 3.5 out of 5

This Book on: LibraryThing | GoodReads | BookDepository UK | Book Depository US | Amazon UK| Amazon US| Gam.co

Quigui Writes

This post was meant for last week, but blogger started to misbehave so I couldn't do it then. As this is about a new blog of mine, and after the meltdown it was sent to limbo, I decided to wait until blogger returned it to me.

Blogger didn't return it to me. (although it has finally returned my missing comment) After a week I decided to re-register the name (because it was as if the blog had never existed) and just hope that the Universe wouldn't implode as a result of that. But since it's rapture judgement day, I can blame it on that.

Anyway, Quigui Writes is my new baby blog. It will be a place for everything that I write. It will be mostly fantasy, and mostly works in progress that might never see an ending. Up until now much of what I wrote has only been read by me (and one other person who is to blame for inciting me to post), and the things posted there are totally unedited and unpolished. This means that a lot of the things I rant about in this blog, I will be guilty of in that one.

So far there is a short story there, and the explanation of a longer one that I'll be posting weekly. If you feel curious about it, you can check it at QuiguiWrites.blogspot.com

Top Ten Tuesday - Minor Characters

Look! An update! Since the craziness of Friday 13, with blogger crashing, and things suddenly missing, I was waiting for things to go back to normal. They haven’t (I’m still missing a comment and a blog. And wanted to do a post about that new blog, but since he doesn’t exist anymore. yet. whatever. it would be really silly do that post.).

Anyway, since misery likes company, Friday 13 wouldn’t have been complete without me managing to wreck the thumb drive that had the only copy of my next review. Just peachy.

So, since this week’s Top Ten Tuesday Theme actually interests me, I will join the meme again. Minor characters, be it sidekicks/supporting roles or just dead person #4. I always liked the underdog, the unappreciated, the one that stays in the shadow. So it should be easy to think of 10, right?

Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Minor Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week a theme for a list is suggested. This week's theme is Minor Characters.









Let’s start with Juliet Marillier’s characters, because she writes great characters, main or minor.

Faolan by MaevesChild

Faolan in Dark Mirror (The Chronicles of Bridei) – Faolan is made of awesome, pure awesome. He is so awesome that although he is a minor character in the first book of this series he manages to highjack it in such a way that the entire thing should be called The Chronicles of Faolan. Because by the third book you are almost asking “Bridei, who?”

Ciarán from the Sevenwaters Series – Ciarán is always in the background, but so far he is one of the few characters that managed to make an appearance in every. single. book. of the series. Sure, in Daughter of the Forest he is just mentioned, but he is there. He is a great character, and sometimes you are not sure in which side of the struggle he will be (but hope against hope that it will be with the good guys!). He is almost as awesome as Faolan!

Padriac from the Sevenwaters Series – Ahhh, Padriac! He is the Hippy brother. He is easy going, he loves animals, he helps everyone. He even manages to get sour faced Colum to smile. And then he turns sailor/pirate and has a parrot! A parrot! There is a short story where he is the hero and I’m sure it is full of more amazing things about Padriac. Unfortunately it was published in an anthology only available in Australia, and I haven’t read it. Yet.


And now, for the non-Juliet characters!

Raffin and Bann in Graceling by Kristin Cashore – Raffin is Katsa’s cousin, a prince, and the medieval equivalent of a Mad Scientist. He tests his own concoctions on himself (turning his hair blue in the process, a very princely colour), and is extremely funny. Bann is his sidekick, lab-minion and friend (and maybe companion, but that could be just me getting the vibes wrong).

Bale by bitayamoka

Bale from Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver (first appears in Spirit Walker) – Bale is the cousin of Torak, and those two don’t get along at first, because Bale is older and thinks it entitles him to order Torak around. I hate that kind of character! But as I got to know Bale, I realised he was a very sensible boy, very loyal, and the one person I would want to have by my side if I needed help. He became one of my favourite characters in the entire series (he soooo deserved a better fate).

Which brings me to…


Dark from Ghost Hunter by Michelle Paver (Chronicles of Ancient Darkness) – I felt a bit cheated with Dark. Surely such a great character wouldn’t appear only on the final chapters of the last book? Surely? But that’s what happened. Dark is abandoned by all at a young based on his colouring, and that doesn’t bring him down. Sure, he might not be the sanest of persons, but he manages not only to survive but to help others as well.

Mel from Sunshine by Robin McKinley – Mel is Rae’s boyfriend, a biker-turned-chef. His inclusion in this list is more for his mystery than his awesomeness. Oh, don’t get me wrong, he is awesome, he is like a pillar that would survive the apocalypse, reliable, and above all, he doesn’t ask for anything. But I want to know more about him, about his past and about those tattoos of his. Because I just can’t resist a man with tattoos.

And speaking of tattoos…

Conory in The Mark of the Horse Lord – In a book where everyone had their skin decorated it was hard to pick just one character to like. By all rights it should be the main one, a red-headed gladiator, but Conory, the one person that could foil the plan of making said red-head king, took the first spot. Let’s see why. He shows his unyielding support to someone who a) has no right to be King and b) is actually taking a kingship that should be his. He is described as having a curious face and lopsided eyes and being beautiful. Extremely beautiful. If he can be beautiful with lopsided eyes he has to be the awesomest person alive, right? Wait, there is more, something that will top everything else. He has a wild cat as pet. Not a cat. A Wild Cat. And he regularly uses this cat as a scarf! You can’t get any better than this.

Cinna by Ravengirl5111

Cinna in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – Cinna is one of those characters that you can not help but love. Or at least I can not help it. He is supporting, part father figure, part best friend. And he tries to fight the system within the system, in the most unusual way. He does it as what he does best, by fashion and by making people believe someone is something they are not, on looks alone. He knows the faults of Humanity, and exploits to their benefit.

Luis in Valiant by Holly Black – Luis has a personality that doesn’t make you want to be friends with him. He is rude and snaps back at you, and he doesn’t care what you think. He is also extremely loyal to family and those few (kind-of) friends that he manages not to drive away.

(I see I managed to make an all-male list. It wasn’t intentional, in fact there are 2 female characters in the runner-ups: Yolande from Sunshine, Daneca from White Cat)

Why I like Fantasy, or, Location, Location, Location

...or why Urban Fantasy makes me cringe.

Looking at book blurbs made me realize something. When looking at fantasy (in broad sense) books, if I see the mention of a known city (and by known I mean our world) or nationality, I immediately skip that book. Unless I know and like the author. Or a lot of people keep telling me I should read it. Why does that happen?

I tend not to delve into the realms of urban fantasy. But there are lots of great books that are urban fantasy. I even love some of those. Part is because I like my dragons, and they don't go well with the huff-huff of city life. But part is that by being in a city, it tends to be a real city.

True, this mostly happens with young adult books. True, that sometimes is great to imagine something magical happening where you live. But here comes part of my pickle. It never happens where I live. I need to go into historical fiction to get that, and even there it is very rare.

Doesn't it seem like a good place for Fantasy?
Photo (c) Clara Vale

Furthermore, it seems to happen all on the other side of the ocean. And I've never been there. I know a fair bit of American geography because, well, if I want to understand the majority of geographical references in films and books, I need to know that, for instance, Washington in not in Washington (it took me awhile to get that). That there are 2 big rivers going from north to south. That it takes a freaking long time to drive from one place to another. But the layout of the cities? That I don't have to know.

I always get my kicks when the action takes place in a city I've been to. Because suddenly I can visualize what the author meant. But I think that even if I can do it, there is surely someone who can't, and isn't enjoying it as I am.

In (regular, high, epic) Fantasy, on the other hand everyone stands in the same foot - it's an unfamiliar place, and the author has to show us how it is. Not always done brilliantly, I admit, but at least there is a certain democracy to it. It could be just a map, it could be the slowly unravelling of details and places during the story. But every reader learns at the same time that there is a shop at the end of the street. There isn't an instance where some know, and some don't.

Also, I get a bit of the feeling that setting it in our world is the easy way out – the world is already built, no need to elaborate on that, no need to construct anything. Again, this certainly can be true in some books, where the author tells you is set in New York and assumes you know what the city is all about, but there are lots of others that take the time to characterize the place, so the reader at least has a feeling of what it is like to be there.

And I can use the books I've read to explain my point. In White Cat, it takes place in the States. There are a bunch of locations that are known to me and some that aren't. Are them north or south in relation to the ones I know? No idea. Is it near the ocean or the mountains? I don't know. I know their names and that the character goes there. And that's it.

As an example of urban fantasy in a complete new city I'm going to use China Mieville's Perdido Street Station. There is a map at the beginning, because this is a huge city. I had to refer to it quite a few times. But I started to get a sense of the city as I kept reading. Salacus Fields as the bohemian quarter. The scientific district of Brock Marsh. The places you ought to go, the ones you better stay away from.

And last we have Sunshine. Sunshine made it to this list because while being urban fantasy, and set in an alternate America, it takes place in a fantasy city - New Arcadia. Also because discovering the city and getting to know it is part of the narrative - we are discovering the city at the pace the character needs us to. How a place evolved to what it is. What lies beyond that park. Why people avoid the outskirts.

There are other books that are all about the cities, real or imaginary, or good specimens of fantasy set on cities. And although I’ve realized that I really avoid this kind of books, and it’s kind of hard to find other examples, here are a few (besides those 3 up there) that come to mind:

• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
• The City & The City by China Mieville
• Valiant by Holly Black
• Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
• Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente *new*
• Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner *new*