The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani
Set in modern Tokyo, think of a revisionist pulp fiction novel that blends Kill Bill and The Bodyguard. Our main protagonist is Yoriko Shindo, who is kidnapped by the Yakuza after a street display of blinding fast and effective martial arts against members of the gang. After being spared, she’s assigned to bodyguard duties for the Yakuza boss’ doll-like daughter, Shoko. From the outset, the entitled Shoko proves she has a mind of her own, and does feel special as an only child of Naiki, the mob boss, and the object of fantasy for many of Naiki’s men. Ultra violent, fast-paced, and thrilling, the novel unpeels the relationship that evolves between the two, Shindo and Shoko. Interspersed is what seems to be the parallel narrative strand of Yoshiko, the mother of Shoko and Naiki’s wife, who dared to leave Naiki.
She ran away with Masa, a trusted Yakuza enforcer; and when the first Yoshiko section appears, it would seem like we’re following their story, a decade on, of this couple perpetually on the run, as Yakuza bosses hate losing face, and will have nothing but revenge on their minds. This is the kind of novel you can finish in two sittings at the most, as you get drawn into the story, it moves quickly, and you’re eager to know what happens next. That Shindo becomes very devoted and protective towards her sheltered ward, Shoko, may not be an unexpected development. But what that leads to and what it results in, we may not all see coming. Full of drama and some big surprises, Otani is certainly a writer to watch out for, as she also writes about gender identity, and how fluid it can be.
The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
A winner of the Crawford Award 2024, and a Nebula New Novel Prize, author Chandrasekera hails from Sri Lanka. This novel’s main protagonist is Fetter, a man with powers who is raised to kill by his mother. His ultimate mission is to execute his own father, seen as a religious big man in the area. But the training he gets from his mother is one steeped in Fantasy, and of another order. First, she steals his shadow, unmooring him from this Earth, able to float and hang upside down. But it’s when he travels to this imagined big city of Luriat does the story elevate to a different magnitude of world-building. Of special interest in Luriat are the bright doors that exist, portals to a different dimension, and parallel worlds.
As for the City of Luriat, it considers itself an independent political entity, with the quirk of two Presidents and two corresponding Prime Ministers. There are pogroms and plagues, and the Bright Doors are seen as special attractions of Luriat. It’s a complex structure that Chandrasekera conjures up to add texture and detail to his mythical world. This complexity is matched by his creating the enigma that is Fetter. Fighting against his destiny and the upbringing of his mother, Fetter seeks a different future than that that had been pre-ordained for him.
At once surreal and clever, I would venture to add that what the critics and award-giving bodies were most likely impressed by would be his deft blending of the mundane and the mythic in the Luriat world he’s conjured up.
The Ballad of Smallhope & Pennyroyal by Jodi Taylor
Here’s a standalone from Jodi Taylor that brings back two of her iconic ‘recovery agents,’ Lady Amelia Smallhope and Pennyroyal. The first part of the book is an origins story of Lady Amelia, and there’s something of a modern Dickens/Enola Holmes, and elements of graphic novels, in the presentation. Entertaining, with a sly grin perpetually plastered on her face, one can imagine Taylor having so much fun writing this section, as it’s a tribute to all the clever misfits/independent young women of the world. And when Pennyroyal makes his appearance, it’s like we’ve paired a roguish, young Indiana Jones with a budding Lara Croft - as Amelia is 17 years of age in the start of this adventure. And then, there’s the time travel pod, and we enter classic Jodi Taylor territory.
There are timeline adventures, our meeting with the Time Police, and getting hints of how time travel is being abused and used for personal gain. We continue the Smallhope family saga, as we follow Amelia’s father and her brother George - with George as hear to the family seat being ensnared by a wife with nothing but taking advantage of her mind. It’s this woman, Caroline, who becomes the personal nemesis of Amelia throughout this tale. As for Pennyroyal, it’s nice to have his back story, and the tragic life of his sister become part of us understanding why he’s wired the way he is. This is a great companion piece to the Time Police series and the Chronicles of St. Mary novels, part of the enjoyable universe-building that we all know Taylor is so capable of.