Lina Rather

The second in the series about the Sisters of St. Rita. It’s necessary to have read the first book, as this picks up after the events of that one and no time is wasted on filling in the reader on those past events. After finishing the two novellas in this series, I see a comparison with Becky Chambers’ Wayfarers series, but rather darker. There is more evil, though most characters are essentially good, and even most of the villains are depicted as redeemable, and characters find hope, or at least comfort or meaning, even in the direst of situations. Humanity is shown as capable of great evil but also great good, it’s very suspenseful near the end, but it’s ultimately a comforting read.… (mer)

Decent, if Unoriginal Scifi

I don't have a huge amount to say about this other than it is written and performed to a good standard, especially for genre fiction included in the Audible library. It's a bit of a hodge podge of various scifi concepts from other properties combined with some skill, but little originality or deep interest. I'm intrigued about the universe, but probably not enough to pick up the second book unless it is added to the catalogue or I can get it from the library.

If you were being reductive you could say, what if Shepherd Book and the rest of the crew from Firefly were all Catholic nuns on a ship from Farscape essentially doing the storyline from Serenity.… (mer)

Lina Rather packs a lot into her slim novellas, including well-drawn characters that you come to care a lot about. This is a tale of cosmic horror, the monstrous conceptions of the title, witnessed by apprentice midwife Sarah, who has been hired by architect Chistopher Wren’s wife Faith. It brought to mind The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman, but set in 1675 London rather than 1831 London. The two novels share a feminist concern with the raw deal women of little means have historically been handed, as well as malformed babies and the men who take advantage of them. The denouement moved maybe a bit too quickly—I would have really enjoyed more detail. But if Lina Rather ever decides to write a novel that’s twice the length of the two I’ve read, or even twice the length of the two of them together, I’m there for it—it will surely be magnificent.… (mer)