#bannerless

[oshaviolater]

some books i read last year idk

[chaspelin]

Started reading this book months ago as a selection for a mystery book club. BANNERLESS by Carrie Vaughn. It’s more of a novel about life in a dystopian near future than it is a mystery. I’d actually forgot the mystery aspect until the murder was mentioned after a few chapters. Easy read, but nothing that compelled me to want to finish it. I did finish it though and the mystery was solved, but far to easily, in my opinion. 3 stars on Goodreads, more for the dystopian aspect than for the mystery. I’ve been reading more with audiobooks lately so it was nice to hold a physical book again. #bannerless #carrievaughn @goodreads #mystery #bookclub #dystopian #reading #book #3stars https://www.instagram.com/p/BykZWKIl_ns/?igshid=1c6ur6hxctrx9

[psychosynchrony]

The Wild Dead

Title & Author: The Wild Dead by Carrie Vaughn

Rating: 3/5

Thoughts: The Bannerless Saga holds the distinction of being a uniquely optimistic post-apocalypse setting. (It’s marketed as a dystopia, but I still don’t agree with that classification.) Having rebuilt some form of civilization after the Fall, the Coast Road communities operate under strict meritocracy and resource management, with disputes settled preferentially by the local committee. In the event that a dispute is too much for a town to resolve, Investigators (think law enforcement) can be dispatched to make a decision. Enid of Haven and her new partner Teeg are sent to the Estuary to investigate a failing house, only to stumble into a murder investigation. The victim appears to be from outside the Coast Road communities, raising questions of responsibility and jurisdiction. Like the last book, this one is a pastoral murder mystery, but this time Enid is the experienced one on the team. Enid straddles the line between hoping for the best of human nature while being prepared for them to disappoint her. Her rookie partner Teeg, on the other hand, is inexperienced and impulsive (dangerous combo). Teeg drove me up the wall. He’s pretty much there to be a counter-argument for Enid, and along the way he makes a lot of stupid (and dangerous) decisions. He pushes for the easy solutions: either the murder victim isn’t their problem, or the first person to behave oddly must be the murderer. (Vaughn has things to say about irresponsible law enforcement.) Enid’s not thrilled about the delay in getting home--where her household is expecting their first child--but her sense of duty and justice overrules her desire to just get things over with. It’s slow, but not overly so; the build-up and pacing are fairly suitable for a book of this length. The themes can be a little-heavy handed at times, and--like the last installment--the ‘whodunnit’ plot doesn’t quite manage to surprise the reader, but it’s a short and enjoyable read nonetheless.

[elena1701a]

Books I Have Read

Amaryllis and Other Stories by Carrie Vaughn

A short story collection from one of my favourite authors. Carrie Vaughn is probably most famous for writing the Kitty Norville urban fantasy series (Kitty is a werewolf who hosts a talk radio show), but has written several other books and lots of short stories, and this book collects several of her short stories together.

I'd read some of them before online, but others were completely new to me. It's a real range of genres - science fiction, fantasy, and a ghost story. Some of them should be cliches - girl sacrificed to a dragon, space exploration, a ghost story - but they're fresh and new ways of telling these stories.

The last three stories are set in the post-apocalyptic future of her latest books (Bannerless and The Wild Dead), which is a less grim setting than most post-apocalyptic fiction.

I really enjoyed this short story collection, and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to try out a new sf & fantasy author.

[projectmetalmusic]

Axegressor: Bannerless Album Review

Axegressor: Bannerless Album Review

Axegressor are a Progressive Thrash Metal band Turku, Finland. The band consists of Johnny Nuclear Winter – throat,  Seba Forma – lead & rhythm guitar,  Aki Paulamäki – bass & backing vocals and Atte Mäkelä – drums.

When I received the Bannerless album from Axegressor, I wondered what it would sound like, as the band hails from Finland, and Finland is famed for the more extreme end of the Metal…

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[psychosynchrony]

Bannerless

Title & Author: Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn

Rating: 3/5

Thoughts: Based on the summary, I went into this expecting some dystopian commentary on population control.

That's very much not what it is.

For starters, it's not really a dystopia, or if it is, it's not the kind of dystopia that we've come to associate with the term.

Post-collapse (or "after The Fall"), society along the west coast of the United States has organized into carefully-managed agrarian communities. From the number of fields to the number of babies, Resource Management is the theme of the day, as each community works to expand only at a sustainable rate. (Aided by conveniently retained birth control, despite the loss of most other advanced science).

Our protagonist is an Investigator--think cop, or possibly travelling sheriff. That's worth noting, I think, because settings like these often use powerless or dissatisfied narrators. Enid, on the other hand, truly believes in her society. She has a keen sense of responsibility, and an innate understanding of the ways in which one person's actions affect the people around them. 

The narrative alternates between her investigation of a suspicious death, and her younger years travelling up and down the Coast Road with her lover. The latter is interesting mostly because it fleshes out the world in which she lives. Without it, the needed level of exposition would have been ridiculous. With it, it kind of reminded me of Station Eleven, which everyone but me seemed to love. (I liked it better here, which may very well be a timing/mood issue).

As for the murder-plot, it's a bit lackluster. And at the end of it, Enid isn't "questioning the foundations of her society," so much as realizing that even the best societies still fall prey to many of the same faults. Still, the ending is optimistic: build as best you can, and deal with the rest as it comes.

Strong emphasis on personal and community responsibility, lots of "succeed together/fail together" themes, and recognition that humans are flawed beings all wrapped up in good writing despite a predictable plot... solid 3 stars.

[psychosynchrony]

Bannerless

Title & Author: Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn Rating: 3/5

Thoughts: Based on the summary, I went into this expecting some dystopian commentary on population control.

That's very much not what it is.

For starters, it's not really a dystopia, or if it is, it's not the kind of dystopia that we've come to associate with the term.

Post-collapse (or "after The Fall"), society along the west coast of the United States has organized into carefully-managed agrarian communities. From the number of fields to the number of babies, Resource Management is the theme of the day, as each community works to expand only at a sustainable rate. (Aided by conveniently retained birth control, despite the loss of most other advanced science).

Our protagonist is an Investigator--think cop, or possibly travelling sheriff. That's worth noting, I think, because settings like these often use powerless or dissatisfied narrators. Enid, on the other hand, truly believes in her society. She has a keen sense of responsibility, and an innate understanding of the ways in which one person's actions affect the people around them. 

The narrative alternates between her investigation of a supicious death, and her younger years travelling up and down the Coast Road with her lover. The latter is interesting mostly because it fleshes out the world in which she lives. Without it, the needed level of exposition would have been ridiculous. With it, it kind of reminded me of Station Eleven, which everyone but me seemed to love. (I liked it better here, which may very well be a timing/mood issue).

As for the murder-plot, it's a bit lackluster. And at the end of it, Enid isn't "questioning the foundations of her society," so much as realizing that even the best societies still fall prey to many of the same faults. Still, the ending is optimistic: build as best you can, and deal with the rest as it comes.

Strong emphasis on personal and community responsibility, lots of "succeed together/fail together" themes, and recognition that humans are flawed beings all wrapped up in good writing despite a predictable plot... solid 3 stars.

[hmhbooks]

Get Carrie Vaughn’s BANNERLESS for $2.99!

A mysterious murder in a dystopian future leads a novice investigator to question what she’s learned about the foundation of her population-controlled society.

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