Review of Angel Maker

Angel Maker by Elizabeth Bear

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Elizabeth Bear is a prolific writer of fantasy and science fiction. Angel Maker is the third in a series of steampunk / alternate history novels set in the 1870s in an alternate version of Seattle. Don't let the series tag scare you - this book can be read as a standalone novel.

The narrator, Karen Memery, is a former prostitute who, with her girlfriend Priya, has bought a small ranch outside of town. Money is tight, so when the two of them get an opportunity to work as crew on a silent movie, they jump at it. What they don't know is that the movie crew isn't in town for the weather (which is typical Pacific Northwest rainy).

The novel is both a mystery and and action thriller, told by and containing engaging characters. Well worth your time.



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Charlie Kirk

I don't approve of people being shot over what they say. It's morally wrong and as a practical matter ineffective at best, destructive of society at worst.

Having said that, the best defense I can offer for Kirk's speech is a lackluster "he had a right to say it." His opinions were directly hurtful to other people, such as his last rant on transexuals. Many (see my previous sentence) were flat lies. Some of them (such as his flip-flop on immigration) appeared to be sops to popularity, not principled decisions.

I find it irritating that I'm supposed to mourn Charlie Kirk yet not talk about the thousands of kids shot in our schools and churches. To use Kirk's own words, these deaths are "the price we must pay for the 2nd Amendment." I would point out, as have others, that the idea of citizens grabbing their guns and rising up against oppression means everybody gets to decide on their own when to do that and who's the oppressor.

I've been told that Kirk's death will be used as an excuse by MAGA for some kind of crackdown. But they have shown no problem acting on made-up bullshit - I remember the "illegal immigrants are eating cats and dogs" circus of a few months ago. So, I suspect nobody in MAGA needs to wait for mere reality to react to something.

In short, this, the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, is just another day that ends in -y.