Dreadnought: Nemesis by April Daniels

Dreadnought Nemesis by April Daniels

This is a book that is likely to save someone's life. By having an openly trans heroine and her origin story, I can't help but compare it to the impact that X-men had on a lot of kids in the early days, that they could be outcasts from society or considered freaks and yet still be heroes or find acceptance for who they are. There are others who can and no doubt have delved into representation and why it matters with much more eloquence and insight than I ever could, so I don't want to focus solely on that, but it is an essential part of the protagonist's conflict.

We've all seen superhero origin stories before, and this one follows a similar pattern, but Daniels does it well enough and with enough empathy that I wasn't bothered by that. I couldn't help but feel for Danny as their home and social life collapsed around them due to a lack of acceptance and understanding. If you've ever seen the image of a survey saying essentially, "I want to protect it, I want to see it grow up and be healthy," that's the feeling that gripped me as I read through it. At some points things may have lacked subtlety, but with from the point of view of the protagonist, a relatively young outsider who is still trying to figure out how to express their true self, it's valid and feels like it fits in well in the four colored worlds of superheroes. It reminds me of the roleplaying game MASKS, in which even though the players are superpowered individuals that could jump buildings or bend steel, because they are young their personalities and characters are still in flux and in fact being heavily influenced by the adult presence in their lives.

There is a bit of freshness injected into the tried and true origin story with some discussions about legacies and essentially using child soldiers on the superpowered war on crime, and I would have liked to have spent a little more time on that. There were a few other places where things felt a little rushed, such as establishing the relationship with Danny's best friend, I don't feel like we spend enough time with them to have the impact that we should have by their behavior later on in the story. The other super characters besides Calamity and Doc Impossible end up not being explored much either. There are glimpses of deeper characterization for the side characters, but we simply don't get  time with them before things come to a head.

In the end though, there's a reason that there's a formula to superhero origin stories, and using a trope isn't a bad thing if it's done well and lets us make those cognitive shortcuts to understanding a situation without needing additional pages of explanation. Dreadnought does it well, and the focus on Danny's emotional state makes her relatable as a character even if you don't share her exact struggles. And if this lacks anything in innovation of plot, it more than makes up for it in characterization for the protagonist and strong action scenes that I could easily see as straight out of a comic. So while not perfect, it's an exciting read and with its representation of a trans superheroine, as I said earlier, it's a book that could probably save someone's life.

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

 

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

The Poppy War is a book that continued to surprise and delight me. First off, you don't need to have an understanding of Chinese history to enjoy this, but if you do, you will likely be jumping for joy every time you notice one of the people or incidents that this book draws from. A heavy dash of Eastern martial arts mixed with magic and exciting action scenes with an impressive outsider heroine in Rin that you can't help but root for mean that it can be enjoyed by its own, but the shadows of history loom large over this.

Perhaps at first, like me, you will read the beginning chapters and think to yourself, 'Aha! This is a gifted child at a School from Hell, there, I see the noble rival, and over there the smart bookish ally, and of course there is the eccentric teacher.' Perhaps you will think that this is that type of story, with that type of stakes, perhaps at the end they will graduate from this safe space, but for now-no. No, this is not that type of book, and the stakes raise from the fate of children to the fate of nations, characters fail and characters die and we learn very quickly that nobody is really safe, because the shadows of history are there and hungry.

This is a world heavily based on pre-WWII China, albeit with the things slightly adjusted, and the stand-in for Japan looms large over the story. Even as we explore the world and find the parallels to our own China, from the echos of the Opium Wars, Sun Yat Sen and the last Dowager Empress, to the Terra Cotta Army and others, both far too many to recite here, and many that I've no doubt missed. But the most important and most impactful of course is the Rape of Nanking. A pivotal moment that holds special meaning to me, as my paternal grandfather was involved in the recovery there after the war.

The book pulls no punches, and isn't afraid to show the horrors of war. The equivalent of gas attacks and military massacres are described in visceral detail, and the emotional impact on the characters, especially Rin is felt like a weight as she is pushed to the breaking point. I mentioned that characters fail and die, but they also grow, far beyond my expectations, especially in her classmates that at first I almost dismissed as schoolyard archetypes. And if the scenes described in the book are horrifying even on paper, I know that history, reality, was far worse. In another fantasy setting someone might say, 'no, this is too far, too dark, too evil even for villains' and yet, we know that these deeds were done, that there are records of Japanese soldiers laughing as they committed atrocities almost beyond comprehension. In the end, it helps us to sympathize with the cold choices that define our heroine, this is not the story where light will find some bloodless way to prevail over evil, there will be blood and sacrifice and hardship, and in the end a tough decision that in another story would alienate one from the protagonist, but here it doesn't, because the roots in reality and in history mean that people made similar choices.

It isn't perfect, the first half of the book is a bit slow, establishing characters and the school from hell. Well, we've seen this dance before many times and the the tonal shift once we leave the school can be a bit jarring. In addition, we're seeing things from a certain perspective, while it does a good job embodying a viewpoint, sometimes the nuance is lost. A final point, which is not a criticism, is that this is a book that may be difficult for some people to read, not because of its complexities or anything like that, but simply because it delves into topics that for a lot of people could be very traumatic. Abuse, trauma and atrocities are a recurring theme and one should be prepared to deal with that.

Overall though, I'm very happy to have read this book. There a vast richness of history around China and especially that period which western readers rarely encounter. There are plenty of books out there that will gleefully retell the King Arthur myth or the fall of the Roman Empire with a fantasy veneer, but there are precious few that will delve into the Opium Wars or the Rape of Nanking. The action scenes are top notch and I found the magic system quite fascinating to learn about, with mysteries still to uncover. I would recommend this as an excellent and refreshing change of pace, as long as you are okay with the content, because it doesn't pull punches.

The Reboot!

Yes, I am indeed alive. After several years of general neglect and pondering over whether to reboot this blog or simply move on, I've decided it's worth saving. So....what can you expect from the new and improved(hopefully) Maniacal Laughter. Well, more book reviews to start with. I've found the best way to motivate me to write, is to read more, and this is going to be a way for me to hold myself up to some sort of accountability. Also, my micro reviews on twitter are just not cutting it in terms of letting me fully show these books the appreciation they deserve.

While I will still occasionally have some wargaming items, I honestly don't have that much time to actually play. Same with RPG advice and stories, though I will be highlighting some games or supplements that I find especially innovative or interesting, the time and energy I have left in a week to actually play is generally lacking.