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Fly Trap by Francis Hardinge
Mar. 7th, 2021 02:54 pmFly Trap
4/5. Sequel to Fly by Night, though I read that years ago and had no trouble picking this up. Further adventures of a furious (and furiously smart) little girl and her pet goose (also furious, because goose) and her conman sorta mentor (not so much furious as quietly bewildered that he gives a damn) in a fantasy city strictly regulated by what your time of birth says about you.
Wonderful. Do I even need to say that? I will anyway. This is a very serious story about chance and privilege and survival told with real lightness and humor. There are a few visual gags here that felt very Pixar to me, like the goose died temporarily green for reasons, and extended scenes of street chases of multiple sets of people in those animal costumes where someone is the head and someone is the butt, also for reasons. I like Hardinge best in this mode (it's not that I dislike her less comedic books, but she's too good at everything she does, and I don't always have the gumption for, say, Cuckoo Song).
Thank goodness she is still putting out books, because I am running out of her catalog and that makes me sad.
4/5. Sequel to Fly by Night, though I read that years ago and had no trouble picking this up. Further adventures of a furious (and furiously smart) little girl and her pet goose (also furious, because goose) and her conman sorta mentor (not so much furious as quietly bewildered that he gives a damn) in a fantasy city strictly regulated by what your time of birth says about you.
Wonderful. Do I even need to say that? I will anyway. This is a very serious story about chance and privilege and survival told with real lightness and humor. There are a few visual gags here that felt very Pixar to me, like the goose died temporarily green for reasons, and extended scenes of street chases of multiple sets of people in those animal costumes where someone is the head and someone is the butt, also for reasons. I like Hardinge best in this mode (it's not that I dislike her less comedic books, but she's too good at everything she does, and I don't always have the gumption for, say, Cuckoo Song).
Thank goodness she is still putting out books, because I am running out of her catalog and that makes me sad.
