Tag: cults

The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune (Sci Fi)

Aliens (non traditional, portrayed with depth), conspiracy theories, cults, and secret government facilities populate this action packed speculative fiction story with a lovely (and at times quite steamy) gay romance slowly percolating through. Beautifully woven themes of loneliness, love, grief and recovery suffuse the narrative. This is my third Klune book — each was completely different from the others, and all were creative in the way I found old style sci-fi to be, yet firmly rooted in the character development and personal experience that draws me to fiction. He has a very natural writing style — I get hooked at the very beginning and completely forget that I’m reading a book. More like I’m sitting in a comfy room listening to a storyteller bind me with sparkly spells.

In his own words, Klune is “gay as balls” and this is clearly reflected in the books he writes. I’ve never been drawn to specifically LGBQ+ fiction as it isn’t something I’m drawn to, but I like his matter-of-fact fiction where characters are individuals that continue personal development throughout the story, and increase my exposure to human experience significantly. Some of the (quite detailed) sex scenes took me a bit by surprise but I definitely learned a lot! As a complete aside, I did enjoy the little digs at veganism. I often feel surrounded by vegans, and it’s refreshing to hear someone unashamedly express a love for bacon and the superiority of meat over a lentil stew. 🙂

My only complaint is about the pace — I found the beginning a little too slow. It felt like the characters were repeating, rather than developing. Once I hit the 35% mark, the pace stepped up to something that worked a lot better for me. In other words, skim if you have to to get to where things start really moving.

Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on February 4th, 2025

The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith (Mystery)

960 pages and I downed it in three days. Would have been less time but I literally can no longer sit still for that amount of time without massive squirming. As with her Harry Potter books, Rowling grabs your interest on sentence one, and then just refuses to release it. (Just in case you didn’t know, Robert Galbraith is a pen name for J. K. Rowling).

This is the seventh book in the Cormoran Strike series, starring the afore mentioned Strike — a one-legged military hero, with a wildly unconventional background — and Robin Ellacott — partner in the firm with a passion for psychology. All the books have been made (or are being made) into movies — I’ve seen them and they are fine but the books are infinitely better (IMHO). You won’t have to have read all the previous books — any required piece of background is restated as needed.

Her books are often dark — while things tend to work out by the end, there is a lot of darkness taking a long time to herald the dawn. In this “case,” Robin is required to go undercover into a pretty horrifying cult, with its own fully developed world view, massive organization, and fully fleshed out doctrine and practices. I had to stop reading well before bedtime lest I get too stressed…

For those up to date on the series, a little more progress on the personal side of things with a bit of an emotional cliff hanger on that front. While there were two years between previous installments, this one came a mere one year after the last so it looks like Rowling is on a roll. Maybe next fall will see volume 8? According to wikipedia, Rowling said she had plans for ten more after the third …

960 pages and I downed it in three days. Would have been less time but I literally can no longer sit still for that amount of time without massive squirming. As with her Harry Potter books, Rowling grabs your interest on sentence one, and then just refuses to release it. (Just in case you didn’t know, Robert Galbraith is a pen name for J. K. Rowling).