Booknotes 4.8

A Drop of Corruption, by Robert Jackson Bennett, published 2025, fantasy. Book two of the Shadow of the Leviathan. Locked room mystery, with the same biological bent to the worldbuilding. Earthy parts aside, I liked it — more than The Tainted Cup, I think. Looking forward to more of these.

Orbital, by Samantha Harvey, published 2023, science fiction. I say science fiction, but literary fiction in space is probably more accurate. It’s a take I wouldn’t have been terribly interested in years ago (the book is a bit scarce on plot), but I liked it, even when the prose felt perhaps a bit listy in places. Recommended. I still have zero desire to actually go into space myself.

The Game of Courts, by Victoria Goddard, published 2023, fantasy. Liked it. The books in this world seem to be largely new angles on the same events and characters (the Fall of Astandalas and the Emperor, especially), at least so far — deeper rather than broader. I don’t know if that continues to hold true, but either way, it’s an interesting way of developing a series that I haven’t seen very often.

Takeover: Hitler’s Final Rise to Power, by Timothy W. Ryback, published 2024, nonfiction. It goes up until Hitler is appointed chancellor (spoiler alert), and I will say it was somewhat disheartening and chilling to read about several parts of history that rhymed and felt all too familiar. That said, the conditions and players back then were quite different in critical ways, so it seems plausible that the outcomes will likewise diverge.