The Hugo Awards are the most prestigious literary science fiction and
fantasy award in the English speaking world. As a member of the World
Science Fiction Society for the past 5 years I read all the finalist and
voted for the ones in each category that I liked the most.
During voting season, this page keeps track my reading progress in the
fiction categories (b&w = not read, seppia = reading, colour = read).
Afterwards it is a record of my preferences (the leftmost book in each
category was my favorite one), and a record of who was the winner.
After that I included the reviews for all Hugo (and Nebula) awards winners / finalists / long-listed work I have read over the years. Backgrounds on the Hugos, courtesy of wikipedia: The World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) gives out the Hugo Awards each year for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The Hugos are widely considered the premier award in science fiction. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, who founded the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories and who is considered one of the "fathers" of the science fiction genre. Works are eligible for an award if they were published in the prior calendar year, or translated into English in the prior calendar year. There are no written rules as to which works qualify as science fiction or fantasy, and the decision of eligibility in that regard is left up to the voters, rather than to the organizing committee. Hugo Award nominees and winners are chosen by supporting or attending members of the annual World Science Fiction Convention, or Worldcon, and the presentation evening constitutes its central event.
After that I included the reviews for all Hugo (and Nebula) awards winners / finalists / long-listed work I have read over the years. Backgrounds on the Hugos, courtesy of wikipedia: The World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) gives out the Hugo Awards each year for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The Hugos are widely considered the premier award in science fiction. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, who founded the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories and who is considered one of the "fathers" of the science fiction genre. Works are eligible for an award if they were published in the prior calendar year, or translated into English in the prior calendar year. There are no written rules as to which works qualify as science fiction or fantasy, and the decision of eligibility in that regard is left up to the voters, rather than to the organizing committee. Hugo Award nominees and winners are chosen by supporting or attending members of the annual World Science Fiction Convention, or Worldcon, and the presentation evening constitutes its central event.
2022
The 2022 Hugo awards will be presented at Chicon 8, the 80th World Science Fiction Convention in Chicago, Illinois, USA.It is currently scheduled to take place in September 2022.
Best Novel
Awarded for a science fiction or fantasy story of forty thousand (40,000) words or more.
Best Novella
Awarded for a science fiction or fantasy story of between seventeen thousand five hundred (17,500) and forty thousand (40,000) words.
Best Novelette
Awarded for a science fiction or fantasy story of between seven thousand five hundred (7,500) and seventeen thousand five hundred (17,500) words.
Best Short Story
Awarded for science fiction or fantasy story of less than seven thousand five hundred (7,500) words.
2021
The Hugo award Cerimony was held in December this year, because of the Coronavirus pandemic. It took place during DisCon III, the 79th World Science Fiction Convention in Washington, DC, USA on the evening of Saturday, December 18, 2021.
Best Novel
Awarded for a science fiction or fantasy story of forty thousand (40,000) words or more.
Best Novella
Awarded for a science fiction or fantasy story of between seventeen thousand five hundred (17,500) and forty thousand (40,000) words.
Best Novelette
Awarded for a science fiction or fantasy story of between seven thousand five hundred (7,500) and seventeen thousand five hundred (17,500) words.
Best Short Story
Awarded for science fiction or fantasy story of less than seven thousand five hundred (7,500) words.
2020
The Hugo Award Cerimony was held at the 78th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as CoNZealand, was scheduled to take place 29 July to 2 August 2020, in Wellington, New Zealand; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers announced in March 2020 that it would be a "virtual" con. It was the first virtual worldcon in history.
Best Novel
Awarded for a science fiction or fantasy story of forty thousand (40,000) words or more.
Best Novella
Awarded for a science fiction or fantasy story of between seventeen thousand five hundred (17,500) and forty thousand (40,000) words.
Best Novelette
Awarded for a science fiction or fantasy story of between seven thousand five hundred (7,500) and seventeen thousand five hundred (17,500) words.
Best Short Story
Awarded for science fiction or fantasy story of less than seven thousand five hundred (7,500) words.
2019
The Hugo Award Cerimony was held at the 77th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Calso known as "Dublin 2019: An Irish Worldcon", was held in in Dublin, Ireland from August 15 to 19, 2019.
Best Short Story
Awarded for science fiction or fantasy story of less than seven thousand five hundred (7,500) words.
Best Novelette
Awarded for a science fiction or fantasy story of between seven thousand five hundred (7,500) and seventeen thousand five hundred (17,500) words.
Best Novella
Awarded for a science fiction or fantasy story of between seventeen thousand five hundred (17,500) and forty thousand (40,000) words.
Best Novel
Awarded for a science fiction or fantasy story of forty thousand (40,000) words or more.
Reviews
The reviews of all Hugo (and Nebula) awards winners / finalists / long-listed work I have read over the years.
Lost in the Moment and Found (Wayward Children, #8)
by Seanan McGuire (2023)
by Seanan McGuire (2023)
My review:
I have read and enjoyed the previous instalments of the Wayward Children series, and I was looking forward reading this latest instalment. The latest instalment, Where the Drowned Girls Go, had set up the stage for a big final battle between the Whitethorn Institute and Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, and I as expecting this book to focus on that. Instead it is a a stand-alone novel focusing on one of the residents in the Home for Wayward Children, Antionette. Yes, in this book we learn how she ended up living with Eleanor West, but the book is NOT one of those boring "prequel" books with no interesting content that some author write to milk their successful story. This is a remarkable book in itself, more dark than average for this series, focusing on very difficult themes like grooming, gaslighting, manipulation of adult/child dynamics, etc.
The book takes us into the Shop Where the Lost Things Go. If you ever lost a sock, you’ll find it here. If you ever wondered about favorite toy from childhood... it’s probably sitting on a shelf in the back. And the headphones that you swore that this time you’d keep safe? You guessed it…
Antoinette has lost her father. Metaphorically. He’s not in the shop, and she’ll never see him again. But when Antsy finds herself lost (literally, this time), she finds that however many doors open for her, leaving the Shop for good might not be as simple as it sounds. And stepping through those doors exacts a price. Lost in the Moment and Found tells us that childhood and innocence, once lost, can never be found.
Seanan McGuire never disappoints, I am looking forward the next instalment of the series. (★★★★)
Started: Jan 30 2023 Finished: Feb 07 2023
The book takes us into the Shop Where the Lost Things Go. If you ever lost a sock, you’ll find it here. If you ever wondered about favorite toy from childhood... it’s probably sitting on a shelf in the back. And the headphones that you swore that this time you’d keep safe? You guessed it…
Antoinette has lost her father. Metaphorically. He’s not in the shop, and she’ll never see him again. But when Antsy finds herself lost (literally, this time), she finds that however many doors open for her, leaving the Shop for good might not be as simple as it sounds. And stepping through those doors exacts a price. Lost in the Moment and Found tells us that childhood and innocence, once lost, can never be found.
Seanan McGuire never disappoints, I am looking forward the next instalment of the series. (★★★★)
Started: Jan 30 2023 Finished: Feb 07 2023
Uncanny Magazine Issue 30 September/October 2019: Disabled People Destroy Fantasy! Special Issue
by Lynne M. Thomas
by Lynne M. Thomas
My review:
Lightspeed destroy was annual initiative focusing on the writings of traditionally underrepresented minorities. After three years focusing on women, LGBTIQ, and people of colour, lightspeed stopped the series. Soon after Uncanny magazine picked it up to cover differently abled authors. Disabled People Destroy Fantasy! special issue exists to relieve a brokenness in the genre that's been enabled time and time again by favoring certain voices and portrayals of particular characters. It brings forth a very diverse set of talented authors, some very well-established, and other very new from around the globe to present fantasy that explores the nuances of disability. Disabled People Destroy Fantasy! is 100% written and edited by disabled people. It features original, never-before-published short stories, plus classic reprints. It also includes an array of nonfiction articles, interviews, and personal essays from disabled people discussing their experiences as readers and writers of fantasy.
Before reading the entire issue, I had previously read "Away with the Wolves" by Sarah Gailey, a finalist of the 2020 hugo award for best novelette. (★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): May 10 2020 Finished (first time): Dec 25 2022
Before reading the entire issue, I had previously read "Away with the Wolves" by Sarah Gailey, a finalist of the 2020 hugo award for best novelette. (★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): May 10 2020 Finished (first time): Dec 25 2022
Where the Drowned Girls Go (Wayward Children, #7)
by Seanan McGuire
by Seanan McGuire
My review:
I have read and enjoyed the previous instalments of the Wayward Children series, and I was looking forward reading this latest instalment.
This book take us inside the other house for lost and found again children... the infamous Whitethorn Institute. It isn't as friendly as Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children. Their approach is much different though. They say that the first step is always admitting you need help, and you've already taken that step by requesting a transfer into the institute.
The Whitethorn Institute is not safe. When Eleanor West decided to open her school, her sanctuary, her Home for Wayward Children, she knew from the beginning that there would be children she couldn't save; when Cora decides she needs a different direction, a different fate, a different prophecy, Miss West reluctantly agrees to transfer her to the other school, where things are run very differently by Whitethorn, the Headmaster. She will soon discover that not all doors are welcoming...
The story does not disappoint, and it is less of a stand alone story than the previous ones. It seems to set the stage for something much bigger to come. (★★★★)
Started: Nov 19 2022 Finished: Nov 25 2022
This book take us inside the other house for lost and found again children... the infamous Whitethorn Institute. It isn't as friendly as Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children. Their approach is much different though. They say that the first step is always admitting you need help, and you've already taken that step by requesting a transfer into the institute.
The Whitethorn Institute is not safe. When Eleanor West decided to open her school, her sanctuary, her Home for Wayward Children, she knew from the beginning that there would be children she couldn't save; when Cora decides she needs a different direction, a different fate, a different prophecy, Miss West reluctantly agrees to transfer her to the other school, where things are run very differently by Whitethorn, the Headmaster. She will soon discover that not all doors are welcoming...
The story does not disappoint, and it is less of a stand alone story than the previous ones. It seems to set the stage for something much bigger to come. (★★★★)
Started: Nov 19 2022 Finished: Nov 25 2022
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy (Monk & Robot, #2)
by Becky Chambers (2022)
by Becky Chambers (2022)
My review:
I really like this author, and the Wayfarers series is one of my favorite series. I did not love the previous instalment of the Monk & Robot series as much as the Wayfarers' books, but still it's Becky Chambers, so you know it will be at least good if not more.
In A Prayer for the Crown-Shy Sibling Dex (a Tea Monk of some renown) and Mosscap (a robot sent on a quest to determine what humanity really needs) after touring the rural areas of Panga, turn their attention to the villages and cities of the little moon they call home. They hope to find the answers they seek, while making new friends, learning new concepts, and experiencing the entropic nature of the universe.
Becky Chambers's new series continues to ask: in a world where people have what they want, does having more even matter? They're going to need to ask it a lot. (★★★)
Started: Sep 12 2022 Finished: Sep 18 2022
In A Prayer for the Crown-Shy Sibling Dex (a Tea Monk of some renown) and Mosscap (a robot sent on a quest to determine what humanity really needs) after touring the rural areas of Panga, turn their attention to the villages and cities of the little moon they call home. They hope to find the answers they seek, while making new friends, learning new concepts, and experiencing the entropic nature of the universe.
Becky Chambers's new series continues to ask: in a world where people have what they want, does having more even matter? They're going to need to ask it a lot. (★★★)
Started: Sep 12 2022 Finished: Sep 18 2022
L'Esprit de L'Escalier
by Catherynne M. Valente (2021)
by Catherynne M. Valente (2021)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category. I am familiar with the author and I was curious to read more by her.
This is a retelling of an Greek myth: Orpheus, the musician son of Apollo and Calliope that can move stones by the power of his music, attempt to rescue his dead wife. In the original myth, he fails. In this story he does successfully rescue his wife Eurydice from Hades after her untimely death. The story focuses on what come next... and it's not as idyllic as one may want to believe at first.
A good story, and a very interesting portrait of relationships and marriage. (★★★)
Started: Sep 09 2022 Finished: Sep 12 2022
This is a retelling of an Greek myth: Orpheus, the musician son of Apollo and Calliope that can move stones by the power of his music, attempt to rescue his dead wife. In the original myth, he fails. In this story he does successfully rescue his wife Eurydice from Hades after her untimely death. The story focuses on what come next... and it's not as idyllic as one may want to believe at first.
A good story, and a very interesting portrait of relationships and marriage. (★★★)
Started: Sep 09 2022 Finished: Sep 12 2022
Tangles
by Seanan McGuire (2021)
by Seanan McGuire (2021)
My review:
This review is for Tangles by Seanan McGuire.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I have previously read (and loved) many stories by this author. In particular a few years ago I read Middlegame, that I thoroughly enjoyed. As a result I was quite eager to read this piece of work... but I was disappointed. Do not get me wrong, it's not a bad story, it's just nothing special, there is nothing to set it apart or particularly remarkable. I am not clear how it ended up in the list of finalists for this year Hugo Awards. I wonder if I am missing something. I wonder if my lack of familiarity with the characters and world of Magic The Gathering this story is set in prevents me from fully understanding and enjoying the story. Either way this author is great, but do not start from here if you want to read some of her work. (★★)
Started: Sep 07 2022 Finished: Sep 08 2022
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I have previously read (and loved) many stories by this author. In particular a few years ago I read Middlegame, that I thoroughly enjoyed. As a result I was quite eager to read this piece of work... but I was disappointed. Do not get me wrong, it's not a bad story, it's just nothing special, there is nothing to set it apart or particularly remarkable. I am not clear how it ended up in the list of finalists for this year Hugo Awards. I wonder if I am missing something. I wonder if my lack of familiarity with the characters and world of Magic The Gathering this story is set in prevents me from fully understanding and enjoying the story. Either way this author is great, but do not start from here if you want to read some of her work. (★★)
Started: Sep 07 2022 Finished: Sep 08 2022
Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather
by Sarah Pinsker (2021)
by Sarah Pinsker (2021)
My review:
This review is for Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather by Sarah Pinsker.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I had previously enjoyed storied by this author, so I was looking forward reading this one.
This is a very interesting work of fiction, that uses the same technique used in Sarah Gailey's STET: it is written as a very heavily annotated text, and all the real content is in the footnotes instead of the text. While in STET Gailey's annotates the text with footnotes quoting fictional papers, Pinsker uses comments from fictional internet users. The text here is a fictional and famous old ballad, the comments are fictional internet discussions that analyze it and attempt to find its origin.
This is a great piece of work, original and enjoyable. I am not surprised it won the Hugo awards for best short story. It deserves it. (★★★★★)
Started: Sep 08 2022 Finished: Sep 08 2022
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I had previously enjoyed storied by this author, so I was looking forward reading this one.
This is a very interesting work of fiction, that uses the same technique used in Sarah Gailey's STET: it is written as a very heavily annotated text, and all the real content is in the footnotes instead of the text. While in STET Gailey's annotates the text with footnotes quoting fictional papers, Pinsker uses comments from fictional internet users. The text here is a fictional and famous old ballad, the comments are fictional internet discussions that analyze it and attempt to find its origin.
This is a great piece of work, original and enjoyable. I am not surprised it won the Hugo awards for best short story. It deserves it. (★★★★★)
Started: Sep 08 2022 Finished: Sep 08 2022
Apex Magazine Issue 121
by Jason Sizemore
by Jason Sizemore
My review:
This review is for Mr Death by Alix E. Harrow.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I have previously read (and loved) a few stories by this author, and I was eager to read more.
The story follows the life of one of the grim reapers, contracted to accompany the souls of the dead ones across the river. The 222nd soul proves to be much much harder to handle that expected.
A very cute story, but it's not my favorite by this author.
Merged review:
This review is for Mr Death by Alix E. Harrow.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I have previously read (and loved) a few stories by this author, and I was eager to read more.
The story follows the life of one of the grim reapers, contracted to accompany the souls of the dead ones across the river. The 222nd soul proves to be much much harder to handle that expected.
A very cute story, but it's not my favorite by this author. (★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I have previously read (and loved) a few stories by this author, and I was eager to read more.
The story follows the life of one of the grim reapers, contracted to accompany the souls of the dead ones across the river. The 222nd soul proves to be much much harder to handle that expected.
A very cute story, but it's not my favorite by this author.
Merged review:
This review is for Mr Death by Alix E. Harrow.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I have previously read (and loved) a few stories by this author, and I was eager to read more.
The story follows the life of one of the grim reapers, contracted to accompany the souls of the dead ones across the river. The 222nd soul proves to be much much harder to handle that expected.
A very cute story, but it's not my favorite by this author. (★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Proof by Induction
by José Pablo Iriarte (2021)
by José Pablo Iriarte (2021)
My review:
This review is for Proof by Induction by José Pablo Iriarte.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I have previously read (and loved) a short story by this author, and I was eager to read more.
The story is set in a near future where doctors are able to capture the neural state of people that are passing. This is intended to take care of practical things like "who did you have a life insurance with" and "how would you like to be buried"... but Paulie, a mathematics professor on a tenure track, it becomes something more. A chance to save his tenure and possibly the relationship with his dead father.
This was a good and enjoyable story, I am looking forward reading more by this author. (★★★★)
Started: Sep 06 2022 Finished: Sep 06 2022
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I have previously read (and loved) a short story by this author, and I was eager to read more.
The story is set in a near future where doctors are able to capture the neural state of people that are passing. This is intended to take care of practical things like "who did you have a life insurance with" and "how would you like to be buried"... but Paulie, a mathematics professor on a tenure track, it becomes something more. A chance to save his tenure and possibly the relationship with his dead father.
This was a good and enjoyable story, I am looking forward reading more by this author. (★★★★)
Started: Sep 06 2022 Finished: Sep 06 2022
Fantasy Magazine, Issue 60 - Dec. 2016: People of Colo(u)r Destroy Fantasy! Special Issue
by Daniel José Older
by Daniel José Older
My review:
Lightspeed destroy is an annual initiative focusing on the writings of traditionally underrepresented minorities. The People of Colo(u)r Destroy Fantasy special issue exists to relieve a brokenness in the genre that's been enabled time and time again by favoring certain voices and portrayals of particular characters. It brings forth a very diverse set of talented authors, some very well-established, and other very new from around the globe to present fantasy that explores the nuances of culture, race, and history. People of Colo(u)r Destroy Fantasy! is 100% written and edited by people of color. It features four original, never-before-published short stories, plus four classic reprints. It includes work by P. Djèlí Clark, N.K. Jemisin, and many others. It also includes an array of nonfiction articles, interviews, and personal essays from people of colo(u)r discussing their experiences as readers and writers of fantasy.
(★★★★)
Started: Sep 02 2022 Finished: Sep 02 2022
Started: Sep 02 2022 Finished: Sep 02 2022
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within (Wayfarers, #4)
by Becky Chambers (2021)
by Becky Chambers (2021)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category. I had read and loved the previous books in the series and other work by this author, hence I was looking forward reading this.
With no water, no air, and no native life, the planet Gora is unremarkable. The only thing it has going for it is a chance proximity to more popular worlds, making it a decent stopover for ships traveling between the wormholes that keep the Galactic Commons connected. If deep space is a highway, Gora is just your average truck stop. At the Five-Hop One-Stop, long-haul spacers can stretch their legs (if they have legs, that is), and get fuel, transit permits, and assorted supplies. The Five-Hop is run by an enterprising alien and her sometimes helpful child, who work hard to provide a little piece of home to everyone passing through. When a freak technological failure halts all traffic to and from Gora, three strangers—all different species with different aims—are thrown together at the Five-Hop. Grounded, with nothing to do but wait, the trio—an exiled artist with an appointment to keep, a cargo runner at a personal crossroads, and a mysterious individual doing her best to help those on the fringes—are compelled to confront where they’ve been, where they might go, and what they are, or could be, to each other.
While there is relatively little action, the book is hard to put down. Character building and storytelling are really good as I come to expect from the author. I am looking forward reading more by her in the future. (★★★★★)
Started: Aug 14 2022 Finished: Sep 02 2022
With no water, no air, and no native life, the planet Gora is unremarkable. The only thing it has going for it is a chance proximity to more popular worlds, making it a decent stopover for ships traveling between the wormholes that keep the Galactic Commons connected. If deep space is a highway, Gora is just your average truck stop. At the Five-Hop One-Stop, long-haul spacers can stretch their legs (if they have legs, that is), and get fuel, transit permits, and assorted supplies. The Five-Hop is run by an enterprising alien and her sometimes helpful child, who work hard to provide a little piece of home to everyone passing through. When a freak technological failure halts all traffic to and from Gora, three strangers—all different species with different aims—are thrown together at the Five-Hop. Grounded, with nothing to do but wait, the trio—an exiled artist with an appointment to keep, a cargo runner at a personal crossroads, and a mysterious individual doing her best to help those on the fringes—are compelled to confront where they’ve been, where they might go, and what they are, or could be, to each other.
While there is relatively little action, the book is hard to put down. Character building and storytelling are really good as I come to expect from the author. I am looking forward reading more by her in the future. (★★★★★)
Started: Aug 14 2022 Finished: Sep 02 2022
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 177, June 2021
by Neil Clarke (2021)
by Neil Clarke (2021)
My review:
This review is for Bots of the Lost Ark by Suzanne Palmer.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category.
This story is set in the future, in a spacecraft where humans are in induced sleep to fly across the vast distances of the universe, and everything is left to the on-board AIs and the on-board robots to take care of things... but things do not always go as planned.
This turned out to be a fun and at times even funny story, that I really enjoyed.
Merged review:
This review is for Bots of the Lost Ark by Suzanne Palmer.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category.
This story is set in the future, in a spacecraft where humans are in induced sleep to fly across the vast distances of the universe, and everything is left to the on-board AIs and the on-board robots to take care of things... but things do not always go as planned.
This turned out to be a fun and at times even funny story, that I really enjoyed. (★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category.
This story is set in the future, in a spacecraft where humans are in induced sleep to fly across the vast distances of the universe, and everything is left to the on-board AIs and the on-board robots to take care of things... but things do not always go as planned.
This turned out to be a fun and at times even funny story, that I really enjoyed.
Merged review:
This review is for Bots of the Lost Ark by Suzanne Palmer.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category.
This story is set in the future, in a spacecraft where humans are in induced sleep to fly across the vast distances of the universe, and everything is left to the on-board AIs and the on-board robots to take care of things... but things do not always go as planned.
This turned out to be a fun and at times even funny story, that I really enjoyed. (★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor, #1)
by Shelley Parker-Chan (2021)
by Shelley Parker-Chan (2021)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category. I have never read anything by this author, and I was quite intrigued about discovering something fresh and new.
In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness… In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family's eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family's clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected. When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate. After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu uses takes the chance to claim another future altogether: her brother's abandoned greatness.
What an amazing book! It's refreshing to read something not set on the usual Western settings. The characters are incredibly well rounded and unique, the story intriguing, the story telling really good (is this really a debut novel? the author has already honed their craft here!). One of my personal favorite to win this year awards. (★★★★★)
Started: May 04 2022 Finished: Aug 04 2022
In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness… In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family's eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family's clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected. When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate. After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu uses takes the chance to claim another future altogether: her brother's abandoned greatness.
What an amazing book! It's refreshing to read something not set on the usual Western settings. The characters are incredibly well rounded and unique, the story intriguing, the story telling really good (is this really a debut novel? the author has already honed their craft here!). One of my personal favorite to win this year awards. (★★★★★)
Started: May 04 2022 Finished: Aug 04 2022
Unknown Number
by Blue Neustifter (2021)
by Blue Neustifter (2021)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I have never read anything by this author, and I was quite intrigued about discovering something fresh and new.
And fresh and new definitely was. The story is told on twitter, as a series of screenshots of a fictional conversation over SMS. I won't say more to avoid spoiling the story but it involves parallel universes and what ifs.
A clever, novel, interesting story. One of the strongest finalist in the category for this year Hugo. I am looking forward reading more by this author. (★★★★★)
And fresh and new definitely was. The story is told on twitter, as a series of screenshots of a fictional conversation over SMS. I won't say more to avoid spoiling the story but it involves parallel universes and what ifs.
A clever, novel, interesting story. One of the strongest finalist in the category for this year Hugo. I am looking forward reading more by this author. (★★★★★)
A Master of Djinn (Dead Djinn Universe, #1)
by P. Djèlí Clark (2021)
by P. Djèlí Clark (2021)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category. I have read and deeply loved quite a lot of books by this author (including books set in the same Dead Djinn Universe) and I was super eager to read this one.
The story is set in an alternative history Cairo, 1912. Though Fatma el-Sha'arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she's certainly not a rookie, especially after preventing the destruction of the universe last summer. So when someone murders a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz, Agent Fatma is called onto the case. Al-Jahiz transformed the world 50 years ago when he opened up the veil between the magical and mundane realms, before vanishing into the unknown. This murderer claims to be al-Jahiz, returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions. His dangerous magical abilities instigate unrest in the streets of Cairo that threaten to spill over onto the global stage. Alongside her Ministry colleagues and her clever girlfriend Siti, Agent Fatma must unravel the mystery behind this imposter to restore peace to the city - or face the possibility he could be exactly who he seems.
I loved the book and I am looking forward reading more books set in this universe! (★★★★★)
Started: Jun 30 2022 Finished: Jul 27 2022
The story is set in an alternative history Cairo, 1912. Though Fatma el-Sha'arawi is the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities, she's certainly not a rookie, especially after preventing the destruction of the universe last summer. So when someone murders a secret brotherhood dedicated to one of the most famous men in history, al-Jahiz, Agent Fatma is called onto the case. Al-Jahiz transformed the world 50 years ago when he opened up the veil between the magical and mundane realms, before vanishing into the unknown. This murderer claims to be al-Jahiz, returned to condemn the modern age for its social oppressions. His dangerous magical abilities instigate unrest in the streets of Cairo that threaten to spill over onto the global stage. Alongside her Ministry colleagues and her clever girlfriend Siti, Agent Fatma must unravel the mystery behind this imposter to restore peace to the city - or face the possibility he could be exactly who he seems.
I loved the book and I am looking forward reading more books set in this universe! (★★★★★)
Started: Jun 30 2022 Finished: Jul 27 2022
A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1)
by Becky Chambers (2021)
by Becky Chambers (2021)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novella category. I have read and deeply loved quite a lot of books by Becky Chambers and I was super eager to read this one.
The story is set here on earth, in the future. Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend. Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers' series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?
The book offers an interesting worldbuilding and well rounded, interesting characters. It does read as the beginning of a longer story, a conversation just started. I am looking forward reading the next instalments. (★★★★)
Started: Jun 17 2022 Finished: Jul 01 2022
The story is set here on earth, in the future. Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend. Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers' series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?
The book offers an interesting worldbuilding and well rounded, interesting characters. It does read as the beginning of a longer story, a conversation just started. I am looking forward reading the next instalments. (★★★★)
Started: Jun 17 2022 Finished: Jul 01 2022
Light from Uncommon Stars
by Ryka Aoki
by Ryka Aoki
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category. I had never read anything by this author so I did not know what to expect. The title and the (stunningly beautiful) cover do not give much away... I was in for an incredible treat. What an incredible story! On paper, it should not work - this book is an unusual mix of Christian fantasy and sci-fi - but somehow the author not only manages to pull it off, she waves one of the most powerful and moving story I have read in years. Every single character, even minor one, are so well rounded and incredibly faceted, original, relatable. This is a book that behind a screen of simplicity has tons to say. This is a book that despite being fiction, despite featuring demons and aliens, manages to capture one of he most realistic portrait of today's California, its soul, its bile, and its heart.
Light from Uncommon Stars is set in California's San Gabriel Valley and features cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts. Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six. When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka's ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She's found her final candidate. But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn't have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan's kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul's worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline. As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found.
This is in my opinion the strongest contender for the Hugo award for best Novel this year. I will be following this author closely, and devour all her previous novels as I can find them. (★★★★★)
Started: May 22 2022 Finished: Jun 29 2022
Light from Uncommon Stars is set in California's San Gabriel Valley and features cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts. Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six. When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka's ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She's found her final candidate. But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn't have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan's kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul's worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline. As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found.
This is in my opinion the strongest contender for the Hugo award for best Novel this year. I will be following this author closely, and devour all her previous novels as I can find them. (★★★★★)
Started: May 22 2022 Finished: Jun 29 2022
Apex Magazine, Issue 129, January 2022
by Jason Sizemore (2022)
by Jason Sizemore (2022)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novellette category. I had never read anything by this author before, so I did not know what expect. I was pleasantly surprised: this story is great. It's set in a dystopian near future, where breathable air is a luxury sold by big corporations to the public. The scariest part is that the future described here is not an unlikely future, but where we are headed. I already spent a few summers in California with windows closed, orange brown skies, and unbreathable air outside. The future described in O2 Arena... it's starting right now.
Merged review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novellette category. I had never read anything by this author before, so I did not know what expect. I was pleasantly surprised: this story is great. It's set in a dystopian near future, where breathable air is a luxury sold by big corporations to the public. The scariest part is that the future described here is not an unlikely future, but where we are headed. I already spent a few summers in California with windows closed, orange brown skies, and unbreathable air outside. The future described in O2 Arena... it's starting right now. (★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Merged review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novellette category. I had never read anything by this author before, so I did not know what expect. I was pleasantly surprised: this story is great. It's set in a dystopian near future, where breathable air is a luxury sold by big corporations to the public. The scariest part is that the future described here is not an unlikely future, but where we are headed. I already spent a few summers in California with windows closed, orange brown skies, and unbreathable air outside. The future described in O2 Arena... it's starting right now. (★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
The Past Is Red
by Catherynne M. Valente
by Catherynne M. Valente
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novella category. I was familiar with the author, and I had loved her Six-Gun Snow White, so I was quite eager to read this one.
This is the story of a girl who made two terrible mistakes: she told the truth and she dared to love the world. The future is blue. Endless blue... except for a few small places that float across the hot, drowned world left behind by long-gone fossil fuel-guzzlers. One of those patches is a magical place called Garbagetown. Tetley Abednego is the most beloved girl in Garbagetown, but she's the only one who knows it. She's the only one who knows a lot of things: that Garbagetown is the most wonderful place in the world, that it's full of hope, that you can love someone and 66% hate them all at the same time. But Earth is a terrible mess, hope is a fragile thing, and a lot of people are very angry with her. Then Tetley discovers a new friend, a terrible secret, and more to her world than she ever expected.
This book has a very remarkable world building, and I would love to see this turned into an anime or tv series. (★★★★)
Started: May 25 2022 Finished: Jun 14 2022
This is the story of a girl who made two terrible mistakes: she told the truth and she dared to love the world. The future is blue. Endless blue... except for a few small places that float across the hot, drowned world left behind by long-gone fossil fuel-guzzlers. One of those patches is a magical place called Garbagetown. Tetley Abednego is the most beloved girl in Garbagetown, but she's the only one who knows it. She's the only one who knows a lot of things: that Garbagetown is the most wonderful place in the world, that it's full of hope, that you can love someone and 66% hate them all at the same time. But Earth is a terrible mess, hope is a fragile thing, and a lot of people are very angry with her. Then Tetley discovers a new friend, a terrible secret, and more to her world than she ever expected.
This book has a very remarkable world building, and I would love to see this turned into an anime or tv series. (★★★★)
Started: May 25 2022 Finished: Jun 14 2022
A Spindle Splintered (Fractured Fables, #1)
by Alix E. Harrow
by Alix E. Harrow
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novella category. I had read a few stories by this author, and some of them were really good, hence I was looking forward reading this one.
At first I was a little nervous: the retelling of fairy tales with a modern twist has been done quite a lot and it is becoming harder to be original and interesting. Well, I should have not worried. This turns out to be very original and incredibly good. It's in my opinion the stronger contender for the Hugo in this category this year.
This is the story of Zinnia Gray. She is turning twenty-one, which is extra-special because it's the last birthday she'll ever have. When she was young, an industrial accident left Zinnia with a rare condition. Not much is known about her illness, just that no one has lived past twenty-one.
Her best friend Charm is intent on making Zinnia's last birthday special with a full sleeping beauty experience, complete with a tower and a spinning wheel. But when Zinnia pricks her finger, something strange and unexpected happens, and she finds herself falling through worlds, with another sleeping beauty, just as desperate to escape her fate. (★★★★★)
Started: May 19 2022 Finished: May 25 2022
At first I was a little nervous: the retelling of fairy tales with a modern twist has been done quite a lot and it is becoming harder to be original and interesting. Well, I should have not worried. This turns out to be very original and incredibly good. It's in my opinion the stronger contender for the Hugo in this category this year.
This is the story of Zinnia Gray. She is turning twenty-one, which is extra-special because it's the last birthday she'll ever have. When she was young, an industrial accident left Zinnia with a rare condition. Not much is known about her illness, just that no one has lived past twenty-one.
Her best friend Charm is intent on making Zinnia's last birthday special with a full sleeping beauty experience, complete with a tower and a spinning wheel. But when Zinnia pricks her finger, something strange and unexpected happens, and she finds herself falling through worlds, with another sleeping beauty, just as desperate to escape her fate. (★★★★★)
Started: May 19 2022 Finished: May 25 2022
The Sin of America
by Catherynne M. Valente (2021)
by Catherynne M. Valente (2021)
My review:
This review is for The Sin of America by Catherynne M. Valente.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I had read a few stories by this author, and some of them were good, hence I was looking forward reading this one.
The story is allegorical, it is set in a world just like ours, where somebody is chosen to bear the burden of guilt of the United States of America, to allow everyone to enjoy the riches that are available while fully ignoring all the evils that enable us to access those riches. People seems to have quite a lot of different interpretations. Quite a few see Christian symbolism, but I am reminded of Ursula K. Le Guin's The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, because the victim if not willing.
It's definitely an interesting story, but it does need a few reads to really process it at its fullest. (★★★★)
Started: May 18 2022 Finished: May 21 2022
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I had read a few stories by this author, and some of them were good, hence I was looking forward reading this one.
The story is allegorical, it is set in a world just like ours, where somebody is chosen to bear the burden of guilt of the United States of America, to allow everyone to enjoy the riches that are available while fully ignoring all the evils that enable us to access those riches. People seems to have quite a lot of different interpretations. Quite a few see Christian symbolism, but I am reminded of Ursula K. Le Guin's The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, because the victim if not willing.
It's definitely an interesting story, but it does need a few reads to really process it at its fullest. (★★★★)
Started: May 18 2022 Finished: May 21 2022
Project Hail Mary
by Andy Weir (2021)
by Andy Weir (2021)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category. I had previously read and enjoyed The Martian by this author, and I was curious to see how this book compares with that one.
This is the story of Ryland Grace, the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission. If he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company. His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, he realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Alone on this tiny ship that's been cobbled together by every government and space agency on the planet and hurled into the depths of space, it's up to him to conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. And thanks to an unexpected ally, he just might have a chance.
Project Hail Mary is an extremely enjoyable book, begging to be adapted to the silver screen. It is a good beach reading. (★★★★)
Started: May 04 2022 Finished: May 18 2022
This is the story of Ryland Grace, the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission. If he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company. His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, he realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Alone on this tiny ship that's been cobbled together by every government and space agency on the planet and hurled into the depths of space, it's up to him to conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. And thanks to an unexpected ally, he just might have a chance.
Project Hail Mary is an extremely enjoyable book, begging to be adapted to the silver screen. It is a good beach reading. (★★★★)
Started: May 04 2022 Finished: May 18 2022
Across the Green Grass Fields (Wayward Children, #6)
by Seanan McGuire
by Seanan McGuire
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novella category. I had read quite a few books by this author, and some of them were remarkably good, hence I was looking forward reading this one.
In this latest instalment of the Wayward Children series, a young girl discovers a portal to a land filled with centaurs and unicorns, the Hooflands. The centaurs are happy to have her, even if a human arrival means something's coming. Regan loves, and is loved, though her school-friend situation has become complicated, of late. When she suddenly finds herself thrust through a doorway that asks her to "Be Sure" before swallowing her whole, Regan must learn to live in a world filled with centaurs, kelpies, and other magical equines, a world that expects its human visitors to step up and be heroes. But after embracing her time with the herd, Regan discovers that not all forms of heroism are equal, and not all quests are as they seem…
This is a great book, I strongly recommend it to everyone. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 28 2022 Finished: May 04 2022
In this latest instalment of the Wayward Children series, a young girl discovers a portal to a land filled with centaurs and unicorns, the Hooflands. The centaurs are happy to have her, even if a human arrival means something's coming. Regan loves, and is loved, though her school-friend situation has become complicated, of late. When she suddenly finds herself thrust through a doorway that asks her to "Be Sure" before swallowing her whole, Regan must learn to live in a world filled with centaurs, kelpies, and other magical equines, a world that expects its human visitors to step up and be heroes. But after embracing her time with the herd, Regan discovers that not all forms of heroism are equal, and not all quests are as they seem…
This is a great book, I strongly recommend it to everyone. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 28 2022 Finished: May 04 2022
That Story Isn’t the Story
by John Wiswell (2021)
by John Wiswell (2021)
My review:
This review is for "That Story Isn’t the Story" by John Wiswell.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category. This author was one of the finalists last year as well, and I was curious to see how his writing skills evolved in the past year. It turns out they have improved quite a lot, this story is a very strong contender for the award this year!
In this urban fantasy novel, the world looks pretty much like ours, there are predators that take advantage of the less fortunate. In this story, some of these predators are super natural ones, and the victims are young teenagers, some of them immigrants, and some of them gay. The metaphor is not subtle, but it works out remarkably well. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 27 2022 Finished: Apr 27 2022
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category. This author was one of the finalists last year as well, and I was curious to see how his writing skills evolved in the past year. It turns out they have improved quite a lot, this story is a very strong contender for the award this year!
In this urban fantasy novel, the world looks pretty much like ours, there are predators that take advantage of the less fortunate. In this story, some of these predators are super natural ones, and the victims are young teenagers, some of them immigrants, and some of them gay. The metaphor is not subtle, but it works out remarkably well. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 27 2022 Finished: Apr 27 2022
Fireheart Tiger
by Aliette de Bodard (2021)
by Aliette de Bodard (2021)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novella category. I have heard a lot of good things about this author, but I have read only some of their shorter work. I was eager to read something longer this time.
The story is set in a pre-colonial Vietnamese-esque world. Fire burns bright and has a long memory…. Quiet, thoughtful princess Thanh was sent away as a hostage to the powerful faraway country of Ephteria as a child. Now she’s returned to her mother’s imperial court, haunted not only by memories of her first romance, but by worrying magical echoes of a fire that devastated Ephteria’s royal palace. Thanh’s new role as a diplomat places her once again in the path of her first love, the powerful and magnetic Eldris of Ephteria, who knows exactly what she wants: romance from Thanh and much more from Thanh’s home. Eldris won’t take no for an answer, on either front. But the fire that burned down one palace is tempting Thanh with the possibility of making her own dangerous decisions. Can Thanh find the freedom to shape her country’s fate... and her own? (★★★★)
Started: Apr 17 2022 Finished: Apr 25 2022
The story is set in a pre-colonial Vietnamese-esque world. Fire burns bright and has a long memory…. Quiet, thoughtful princess Thanh was sent away as a hostage to the powerful faraway country of Ephteria as a child. Now she’s returned to her mother’s imperial court, haunted not only by memories of her first romance, but by worrying magical echoes of a fire that devastated Ephteria’s royal palace. Thanh’s new role as a diplomat places her once again in the path of her first love, the powerful and magnetic Eldris of Ephteria, who knows exactly what she wants: romance from Thanh and much more from Thanh’s home. Eldris won’t take no for an answer, on either front. But the fire that burned down one palace is tempting Thanh with the possibility of making her own dangerous decisions. Can Thanh find the freedom to shape her country’s fate... and her own? (★★★★)
Started: Apr 17 2022 Finished: Apr 25 2022
Unseelie Brothers, Ltd.
by Fran Wilde (2021)
by Fran Wilde (2021)
My review:
This review is for "Unseelie Brothers, Ltd." by Fran Wilde. Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category. I have read and liked other work by this author, hence I was quite happy to get to read some more of her work.
In this urban fantasy novel, the world looks pretty much like ours, but there is a mysterious shop, the Unseelie Brothers Ltd, that creates incredible dresses that can literally change the life of the debutantes wearing them. Unfortunately the store is very hard to find, and that keeps disappearing and reappearing somewhere else...
Despite not being exactly my usual cup of tea, it's a good story, and really well written. This year Hugo finalists are all quite strong, it's going to be very difficult to rank them. (★★★)
Started: Apr 16 2022 Finished: Apr 17 2022
In this urban fantasy novel, the world looks pretty much like ours, but there is a mysterious shop, the Unseelie Brothers Ltd, that creates incredible dresses that can literally change the life of the debutantes wearing them. Unfortunately the store is very hard to find, and that keeps disappearing and reappearing somewhere else...
Despite not being exactly my usual cup of tea, it's a good story, and really well written. This year Hugo finalists are all quite strong, it's going to be very difficult to rank them. (★★★)
Started: Apr 16 2022 Finished: Apr 17 2022
Elder Race
by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2021)
by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2021)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novella category. I had never read anything by this author, but I heard a lot of great things about this and her previous book, hence I was quite excited to pick this one up.
In Elder Race a junior anthropologist on a distant planet must help the locals he has sworn to study to save a planet from an unbeatable foe. Lynesse is the lowly Fourth Daughter of the queen, and always getting in the way. But a demon is terrorizing the land, and now she’s an adult (albeit barely) and although she still gets in the way, she understands that the only way to save her people is to invoke the pact between her family and the Elder sorcerer who has inhabited the local tower for as long as her people have lived here (though none in living memory has approached it). But Elder Nyr isn’t a sorcerer, and he is forbidden to help, for his knowledge of science tells him the threat cannot possibly be a demon…
I enjoyed the story quite a bit, Hugo's finalist are always a treat to read. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 09 2022 Finished: Apr 16 2022
In Elder Race a junior anthropologist on a distant planet must help the locals he has sworn to study to save a planet from an unbeatable foe. Lynesse is the lowly Fourth Daughter of the queen, and always getting in the way. But a demon is terrorizing the land, and now she’s an adult (albeit barely) and although she still gets in the way, she understands that the only way to save her people is to invoke the pact between her family and the Elder sorcerer who has inhabited the local tower for as long as her people have lived here (though none in living memory has approached it). But Elder Nyr isn’t a sorcerer, and he is forbidden to help, for his knowledge of science tells him the threat cannot possibly be a demon…
I enjoyed the story quite a bit, Hugo's finalist are always a treat to read. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 09 2022 Finished: Apr 16 2022
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking
by T. Kingfisher (2020)
by T. Kingfisher (2020)
My review:
Once in a while I do read YA books, and the title of this one intrigued me. When I saw it won the Lodestar Award (i.e. the Hugo award for YA) I decided to finally read it. It was very enjoyable!
The book follows fourteen-year-old Mona, a very young wizard. She isn’t like the wizards charged with defending the city. She can't control lightning or speak to water. Her familiar is a sourdough starter and her magic only works on bread. She has a comfortable life in her aunt's bakery making gingerbread men dance. But Mona's life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body on the bakery floor. An assassin is stalking the streets of Mona's city, preying on magic folk, and it appears that Mona is his next target. And in an embattled city suddenly bereft of wizards, the assassin may be the least of Mona's worries…
The book did not blow me away, but it was very enjoyable and funny. This is a perfect read for a beach vacation or to destress at the end of a long work day. (★★★★)
Started: Mar 02 2022 Finished: Mar 20 2022
The book follows fourteen-year-old Mona, a very young wizard. She isn’t like the wizards charged with defending the city. She can't control lightning or speak to water. Her familiar is a sourdough starter and her magic only works on bread. She has a comfortable life in her aunt's bakery making gingerbread men dance. But Mona's life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body on the bakery floor. An assassin is stalking the streets of Mona's city, preying on magic folk, and it appears that Mona is his next target. And in an embattled city suddenly bereft of wizards, the assassin may be the least of Mona's worries…
The book did not blow me away, but it was very enjoyable and funny. This is a perfect read for a beach vacation or to destress at the end of a long work day. (★★★★)
Started: Mar 02 2022 Finished: Mar 20 2022
Piranesi
by Susanna Clarke (2020)
by Susanna Clarke (2020)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category. I had never read anything by this author, but I heard a lot of great things about this and her previous book, hence I was quite excited to pick this one up. I had no idea what to expect, the cover did give very little away. I got one of the most weirdly original book I got to read in a long while. I definitely want to read more by this author, and it is one of the strongest contender to the Hugo this year. It definitely left a deep impression, it got me thinking about it long after I was done reading it.
I want to mention one negative thing though: the narrator makes quite a few statement across the book that come across as homophobic. I am not the only one to be disturbed by this: another commented on tor wrote The villain’s gayness is brought up constantly, often in the same sentence as his evil. His depravity is linked to his gayness. He falls into the predatory gay man stereotype, preying on his students. All of the main characters are straight and so is Clarke. It’s not that gay characters can never be villains but the way he is handled is very homophobic. . I have to agree with the commenter I am quoting. Masterpieces can have their flaws, but I am deeply saddened by this.
This is the story of Piranesi. His house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house. There is one other person in the house, a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known. (★★★★)
Started: Dec 30 2021 Finished: Jan 02 2022
I want to mention one negative thing though: the narrator makes quite a few statement across the book that come across as homophobic. I am not the only one to be disturbed by this: another commented on tor wrote The villain’s gayness is brought up constantly, often in the same sentence as his evil. His depravity is linked to his gayness. He falls into the predatory gay man stereotype, preying on his students. All of the main characters are straight and so is Clarke. It’s not that gay characters can never be villains but the way he is handled is very homophobic. . I have to agree with the commenter I am quoting. Masterpieces can have their flaws, but I am deeply saddened by this.
This is the story of Piranesi. His house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house. There is one other person in the house, a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known. (★★★★)
Started: Dec 30 2021 Finished: Jan 02 2022
Amara's Giraffe
by Mary Robinette Kowal (2018)
by Mary Robinette Kowal (2018)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This year the lady astronaut series, the series this short story is part of, was a finalist for the "Best Series" award. While I usually skip that particular category, since I had already read all the previous instalment of the series, and utterly loved some of them (in particular The Calculating Stars and The Lady Astronaut of Mars) I decided to go ahead and read all the remaining instalments that I had not previously read.
I have not much to say about this instalment: it is super short to qualify as "flash fiction", more a vignette than a story. I like the mixture of hard science and human emotions but... I wish it was longer. (★★)
Started: Dec 30 2021 Finished: Dec 30 2021
I have not much to say about this instalment: it is super short to qualify as "flash fiction", more a vignette than a story. I like the mixture of hard science and human emotions but... I wish it was longer. (★★)
Started: Dec 30 2021 Finished: Dec 30 2021
Rocket's Red (Lady Astronaut Universe, #4.4)
by Mary Robinette Kowal (2018)
by Mary Robinette Kowal (2018)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This year the lady astronaut series, the series this short story is part of, was a finalist for the "Best Series" award. While I usually skip that particular category, since I had already read all the previous instalment of the series, and utterly loved some of them (in particular The Calculating Stars and The Lady Astronaut of Mars) I decided to go ahead and read all the remaining instalments that I had not previously read.
Rocket's Red is a nice exploration of intergenerational family relations and aging, set of a backdrop of planetary colonization. For the 20th anniversary from the Mars colony foundation it has been decided to have a fireworks show. The latest owner of an Earth based fireworks family own business wins the bid and decides to bring up to Mars the previous owner, his mum.
The resulting story us touching and moving, and a little nice addition to this long running series. It can be read as stand alone, and it does not contain spoilers. (★★★)
Started: Dec 30 2021 Finished: Dec 30 2021
Rocket's Red is a nice exploration of intergenerational family relations and aging, set of a backdrop of planetary colonization. For the 20th anniversary from the Mars colony foundation it has been decided to have a fireworks show. The latest owner of an Earth based fireworks family own business wins the bid and decides to bring up to Mars the previous owner, his mum.
The resulting story us touching and moving, and a little nice addition to this long running series. It can be read as stand alone, and it does not contain spoilers. (★★★)
Started: Dec 30 2021 Finished: Dec 30 2021
The Relentless Moon (Lady Astronaut Universe #3)
by Mary Robinette Kowal (2020)
by Mary Robinette Kowal (2020)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category. I had read all the previous instalment of the series, I liked all of them, and utterly loved some of them (in particular The Calculating Stars and The Lady Astronaut of Mars). I was a little nervous about this book: while I loved the series, the previous instalment, i.e. The Fated Sky while good was not as mind-blowingly good as the previous ones and I was concerned that we may have reached a point in a series where the quality starts going down... well I should have not been concerned, this book was great: action packed, fascinating, impossible to put down, and full of very interesting characters.
The Relentless Moon takes place while the First Mars Expedition is underway, so it's a parallel novel to The Fated Sky and focuses on Nicole Wargin and Myrtle Lindholm in the Lunar colony. You can expect everything from space travels to church services, from bridge parties to self-sustaining colonies construction, which all become more complicated in low gravity. And then a saboteur strikes...
An excellent book and one of the strongest contender for the Hugo this year. I think in a regular year it would have easily won, but the finalist this year are one stronger than the other. What a treat! I really need to read more by this author, she is really an excellent writer. (★★★★★)
Started: Nov 29 2021 Finished: Dec 29 2021
The Relentless Moon takes place while the First Mars Expedition is underway, so it's a parallel novel to The Fated Sky and focuses on Nicole Wargin and Myrtle Lindholm in the Lunar colony. You can expect everything from space travels to church services, from bridge parties to self-sustaining colonies construction, which all become more complicated in low gravity. And then a saboteur strikes...
An excellent book and one of the strongest contender for the Hugo this year. I think in a regular year it would have easily won, but the finalist this year are one stronger than the other. What a treat! I really need to read more by this author, she is really an excellent writer. (★★★★★)
Started: Nov 29 2021 Finished: Dec 29 2021
The Phobos Experience
by Mary Robinette Kowal (2018)
by Mary Robinette Kowal (2018)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This year the lady astronaut series, the series this short story is part of, was a finalist for the "Best Series" award. While I usually skip that particular category, since I had already read all the previous instalment of the series, and utterly loved some of them (in particular The Calculating Stars and The Lady Astronaut of Mars) I decided to go ahead and read all the remaining instalments that I had not previously read.
The story is centered around a jaunt to the surface of Phobos, from the Mars colony, that yields surprising results... I will not say more to avoid spoilers.
The Phobos Experience turns out to be a nice mix of action, intrigue, history and science.
Its short length is not conducive to much character exploration, but there were some interesting and realistic takes on politics and human nature. A nice read that can be enjoyed as a stand-alone. (★★★★)
Started: Dec 29 2021 Finished: Dec 29 2021
The story is centered around a jaunt to the surface of Phobos, from the Mars colony, that yields surprising results... I will not say more to avoid spoilers.
The Phobos Experience turns out to be a nice mix of action, intrigue, history and science.
Its short length is not conducive to much character exploration, but there were some interesting and realistic takes on politics and human nature. A nice read that can be enjoyed as a stand-alone. (★★★★)
Started: Dec 29 2021 Finished: Dec 29 2021
Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries #5)
by Martha Wells
by Martha Wells
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category. I had read and loved the previous (shorter) instalments of the series, and I was looking forward reading this one. I ended up liking it even more than I expected it. No surprise it ended up winning the award.
Murderbot's "human associates" (not friends, never friends) are captured and another not-friend from its past requires urgent assistance, SecUnit must choose between inertia and drastic action. And as you can guess... Drastic action it is, then.
This story is action packed, fast paced, funny, and touching at times. It is also a not so veiled criticism to the extremes that unrestrained unregulated capitalism can lead to.
A fun and very enjoyable read, that I do recommend to everyone. (★★★★★)
Started: Sep 28 2021 Finished: Dec 26 2021
Murderbot's "human associates" (not friends, never friends) are captured and another not-friend from its past requires urgent assistance, SecUnit must choose between inertia and drastic action. And as you can guess... Drastic action it is, then.
This story is action packed, fast paced, funny, and touching at times. It is also a not so veiled criticism to the extremes that unrestrained unregulated capitalism can lead to.
A fun and very enjoyable read, that I do recommend to everyone. (★★★★★)
Started: Sep 28 2021 Finished: Dec 26 2021
The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle, #1)
by Nghi Vo
by Nghi Vo
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novella category. I never read anything from this author before, and I was very eager to try. The book turns out to be a utter delight, very hard to put down.
A generation ago, a young royal from the far north is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully. Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor's lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for.
One generation later a monk is the first, along with rabbit, now an old woman, to reach the palace after it has become accessible again. His duty will be to reconstruct the history of what happened.
This is a beautiful fantasy, with an Ancient China flavor that makes it unique to a Western reader. I really loved the political intrigue, the fairy tale atmosphere, and the all to real depiction of what life during Monarchy was like. (★★★★★)
Started: Nov 26 2021 Finished: Nov 29 2021
A generation ago, a young royal from the far north is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully. Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor's lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for.
One generation later a monk is the first, along with rabbit, now an old woman, to reach the palace after it has become accessible again. His duty will be to reconstruct the history of what happened.
This is a beautiful fantasy, with an Ancient China flavor that makes it unique to a Western reader. I really loved the political intrigue, the fairy tale atmosphere, and the all to real depiction of what life during Monarchy was like. (★★★★★)
Started: Nov 26 2021 Finished: Nov 29 2021
We Interrupt This Broadcast
by Mary Robinette Kowal (2014)
by Mary Robinette Kowal (2014)
My review:
I was thrilled to discover a new short story set in The Lady Astronaut universe, a series I am really enjoying so far. This story originally appeared in 2013 in The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination.
This is a very short story, so short that it is hard to say much without spoiling it. It will suffice to say that it takes place prior to The Calculating Stars, and it is a prequel of sort to it. We will learn that there is more behind the meteor impact that we knew before.
While the story is quite good, it suffers from its short length: there is not really enough space to get to know the characters or relating to them. If you are reading the lady astronaut series, I would suggest skipping this one, and read it after some of the main novels. (★★★)
Started: Nov 29 2021 Finished: Nov 29 2021
This is a very short story, so short that it is hard to say much without spoiling it. It will suffice to say that it takes place prior to The Calculating Stars, and it is a prequel of sort to it. We will learn that there is more behind the meteor impact that we knew before.
While the story is quite good, it suffers from its short length: there is not really enough space to get to know the characters or relating to them. If you are reading the lady astronaut series, I would suggest skipping this one, and read it after some of the main novels. (★★★)
Started: Nov 29 2021 Finished: Nov 29 2021
Riot Baby
by Tochi Onyebuchi (2020)
by Tochi Onyebuchi (2020)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novella category. I read a lot of enthusiastic reviews of this book and I was eager to read it. I was not disappointed.
This is the story of Ella and Kev, brother and sister, both gifted with extraordinary power. Their childhoods are defined and destroyed by structural racism and brutality. Their futures might alter the world. When Kev is incarcerated for the crime of being a young black man in America, Ella, through visits both mundane and supernatural, tries to show him the way to a revolution that could burn it all down. A great book that helps us understand more deeply the past, the present, and the likely future of this country. (★★★★★)
Started: Oct 23 2021 Finished: Nov 26 2021
This is the story of Ella and Kev, brother and sister, both gifted with extraordinary power. Their childhoods are defined and destroyed by structural racism and brutality. Their futures might alter the world. When Kev is incarcerated for the crime of being a young black man in America, Ella, through visits both mundane and supernatural, tries to show him the way to a revolution that could burn it all down. A great book that helps us understand more deeply the past, the present, and the likely future of this country. (★★★★★)
Started: Oct 23 2021 Finished: Nov 26 2021
Finna (LitenVerse, #1)
by Nino Cipri (2020)
by Nino Cipri (2020)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novella category. I previously read and deeply loved The Shape of My Name by this author, and I was eager to read their latest work.
The story is set in our world, in our time, in a fictional big box furniture store that is really similar to a real Ikea. When an elderly customer wondering around the store slips through a portal to another dimension, it's up to two minimum-wage employees to track her across the multiverse and protect their company's bottom line. Multi-dimensional swashbuckling would be hard enough, but our two unfortunate souls broke up a week ago. Can friendship blossom from the ashes of a relationship? In infinite dimensions, all things are possible.
The story is good and very enjoyable. The target audience is young adults, and while the finale is satisfying, it is also open and a set up for a series of sequels. These facts limit a little the book appeal to me, but I will read the sequel(s) for sure! (★★★★)
Started: Oct 17 2021 Finished: Oct 23 2021
The story is set in our world, in our time, in a fictional big box furniture store that is really similar to a real Ikea. When an elderly customer wondering around the store slips through a portal to another dimension, it's up to two minimum-wage employees to track her across the multiverse and protect their company's bottom line. Multi-dimensional swashbuckling would be hard enough, but our two unfortunate souls broke up a week ago. Can friendship blossom from the ashes of a relationship? In infinite dimensions, all things are possible.
The story is good and very enjoyable. The target audience is young adults, and while the finale is satisfying, it is also open and a set up for a series of sequels. These facts limit a little the book appeal to me, but I will read the sequel(s) for sure! (★★★★)
Started: Oct 17 2021 Finished: Oct 23 2021
The City We Became (Great Cities, #1)
by N.K. Jemisin (2020)
by N.K. Jemisin (2020)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category. I am a big fan of this author, and the short story that inspired this trilogy has intrigued me so... I was quite eager to read it.
The story is set in this planet, and in this era. We soon learn that as city grows they are eventually born into human like avatars of great power, and now it's New York time to be birthed.
Five New Yorkers must come together in order to defend their city. Every city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She's got five. But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs beneath the earth, threatening to destroy the city and her five protectors unless they can come together and stop it once and for all.
An interesting book that quote and subverts Lovecraftian's tropes. Where in Lovecraft's work the horror originated by xenophobic fear of immigrants, in here the horror originates from the horror of xenophobia itself.
I am looking forward reading the next instalments of the series. (★★★★★)
Started: May 18 2021 Finished: Oct 17 2021
The story is set in this planet, and in this era. We soon learn that as city grows they are eventually born into human like avatars of great power, and now it's New York time to be birthed.
Five New Yorkers must come together in order to defend their city. Every city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She's got five. But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs beneath the earth, threatening to destroy the city and her five protectors unless they can come together and stop it once and for all.
An interesting book that quote and subverts Lovecraftian's tropes. Where in Lovecraft's work the horror originated by xenophobic fear of immigrants, in here the horror originates from the horror of xenophobia itself.
I am looking forward reading the next instalments of the series. (★★★★★)
Started: May 18 2021 Finished: Oct 17 2021
Big Girl
by Meg Elison
by Meg Elison
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novellette category. I had previously read another short story by this author, and really liked the world building and writing style. I was quite curious to read this one.
The story is set in a near future, when a new experimental drug is created, to give everyone a perfect lean body. Unfortunately 1 out of 10 patients die in the slimming process.
This is a searing analysis of how society perceive obesity and how it impacts the perceived value of an individual. It's one of my favorites in this category, and it would be a well deserved win. (★★★★★)
Started: Oct 17 2021 Finished: Oct 17 2021
The story is set in a near future, when a new experimental drug is created, to give everyone a perfect lean body. Unfortunately 1 out of 10 patients die in the slimming process.
This is a searing analysis of how society perceive obesity and how it impacts the perceived value of an individual. It's one of my favorites in this category, and it would be a well deserved win. (★★★★★)
Started: Oct 17 2021 Finished: Oct 17 2021
Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky, #1)
by Rebecca Roanhorse
by Rebecca Roanhorse
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category. I had read and liked other work by this author, but she dramatically improved her skill even further.
This is a fast paced, fun book inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas and woven into a tale of celestial prophecies, political intrigue, and forbidden magic. Incredible world building with a depth that surpass the one of A Song of Ice and Fire.
In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man's mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain.
I really enjoyed this book, and I can't wait to read the rest of the series! (★★★★★)
Started: Jun 08 2021 Finished: Aug 04 2021
This is a fast paced, fun book inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas and woven into a tale of celestial prophecies, political intrigue, and forbidden magic. Incredible world building with a depth that surpass the one of A Song of Ice and Fire.
In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man's mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain.
I really enjoyed this book, and I can't wait to read the rest of the series! (★★★★★)
Started: Jun 08 2021 Finished: Aug 04 2021
Ring Shout
by P. Djèlí Clark
by P. Djèlí Clark
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novella category. I have read some other books by this author before, including A Dead Djinn in Cairo that I loved, hence I was looking forward reading this one. I was not disappointed.
Ring Shout a dark fantasy historical novella that gives a supernatural twist to the Ku Klux Klan's reign of terror: it turns the real horrors of the time into supernatural ones.
D. W. Griffith is a sorcerer, and The Birth of a Nation is a spell that drew upon the darkest thoughts and wishes from the heart of America. Now, rising in power and prominence, the Klan has a plot to unleash Hell on Earth. Luckily, Maryse Boudreaux has a magic sword and a head full of tales. When she's not running bootleg whiskey through Prohibition Georgia, she's fighting monsters she calls "Ku Kluxes." She's good at it, too. But to confront this ongoing evil, she must journey between worlds to face nightmares made flesh... and her own demons. Together with a foul-mouthed sharpshooter and a Harlem Hellfighter, Maryse sets out to save a world from the hate that would consume it.
A great read, in my opinion one of the strongest contenders in the Novella category for the year. (★★★★★)
Started: May 28 2021 Finished: Jun 06 2021
Ring Shout a dark fantasy historical novella that gives a supernatural twist to the Ku Klux Klan's reign of terror: it turns the real horrors of the time into supernatural ones.
D. W. Griffith is a sorcerer, and The Birth of a Nation is a spell that drew upon the darkest thoughts and wishes from the heart of America. Now, rising in power and prominence, the Klan has a plot to unleash Hell on Earth. Luckily, Maryse Boudreaux has a magic sword and a head full of tales. When she's not running bootleg whiskey through Prohibition Georgia, she's fighting monsters she calls "Ku Kluxes." She's good at it, too. But to confront this ongoing evil, she must journey between worlds to face nightmares made flesh... and her own demons. Together with a foul-mouthed sharpshooter and a Harlem Hellfighter, Maryse sets out to save a world from the hate that would consume it.
A great read, in my opinion one of the strongest contenders in the Novella category for the year. (★★★★★)
Started: May 28 2021 Finished: Jun 06 2021
Upright Women Wanted
by Sarah Gailey
by Sarah Gailey
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novella category. I have read some other books by this author before, and while their book have almost always a Western backdrop (a genre that I am not very fond off), I nevertheless really like them. I had high expectations, but I was blown away anyway: this book is really remarkable. It reminds me a little of The Handmaid's Tale, but with a queer Western spin.
Upright Women Wanted is the story of Esther, a stowaway. She has hidden herself away in the Librarian's book wagon in an attempt to escape the marriage her father has arranged for her... a marriage to the man who was previously engaged to her best friend. Her best friend who she was in love with. Her best friend who was just executed for possession of resistance propaganda. The future American Southwest is full of bandits, fascists, and queer librarian spies on horseback trying to do the right thing.
Wonderfully written, one of the strongest contenders for the Hugo awards this year. (★★★★★)
Started: May 11 2021 Finished: May 27 2021
Upright Women Wanted is the story of Esther, a stowaway. She has hidden herself away in the Librarian's book wagon in an attempt to escape the marriage her father has arranged for her... a marriage to the man who was previously engaged to her best friend. Her best friend who she was in love with. Her best friend who was just executed for possession of resistance propaganda. The future American Southwest is full of bandits, fascists, and queer librarian spies on horseback trying to do the right thing.
Wonderfully written, one of the strongest contenders for the Hugo awards this year. (★★★★★)
Started: May 11 2021 Finished: May 27 2021
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 160, January 2020
by Neil Clarke (2020)
by Neil Clarke (2020)
My review:
This "review" is for two of the stories in this issue.
Helicopter Story by Isabel Fall.
I have a small group of friends that share similar taste in books. We often discuss books and once in a while, when one of us discover a great book, we share recommendations with each others. Last month one of them sent a link to this story, telling us how good it was. I was very busy with work and I could not jump on it right away, but one after the other, each friend that read it started commenting how good it was. I confess I initially recoiled when I saw the title (that employs a common transphobic meme), but I was reassured that the author actually own the meme and turned it on its head. This said a big controversy erupted around this story: some people read it as transphobic trolling, while other read it as an attempt to reclaim and own a transphobic meme on its head. It may sound strange, but I do see how people can perceive the same story in such opposite ways, since the author is subtle in messaging the moral of the story. I am really sorry that after working so hard, the author ended up requesting the story to be unpublished, and I am really sorry that people got hurt by the discussion around this story. I hope the controversy did not scared her away from writing, because Isabel is incredibly talented, and I really hope to read more from her.
Monster by Naomi Kritzer
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category. I have read some short fiction by this author before, and I was looking forward reading this story.
The story is told via alternating timelines: the "present", where a scientist devoted to genetics is traveling to China on a mission to locate a childhood friend, and (via flashbacks) a near past, when the narrator and her friends met and grow together. I do not want to say more to avoid spoiling the story.
I will say though, that it is tremendously enjoyable, and one of my favorites for the Hugo in this category for the year.
(★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): Jan 18 2020 Finished (first time): Feb 01 2020
Helicopter Story by Isabel Fall.
I have a small group of friends that share similar taste in books. We often discuss books and once in a while, when one of us discover a great book, we share recommendations with each others. Last month one of them sent a link to this story, telling us how good it was. I was very busy with work and I could not jump on it right away, but one after the other, each friend that read it started commenting how good it was. I confess I initially recoiled when I saw the title (that employs a common transphobic meme), but I was reassured that the author actually own the meme and turned it on its head. This said a big controversy erupted around this story: some people read it as transphobic trolling, while other read it as an attempt to reclaim and own a transphobic meme on its head. It may sound strange, but I do see how people can perceive the same story in such opposite ways, since the author is subtle in messaging the moral of the story. I am really sorry that after working so hard, the author ended up requesting the story to be unpublished, and I am really sorry that people got hurt by the discussion around this story. I hope the controversy did not scared her away from writing, because Isabel is incredibly talented, and I really hope to read more from her.
Monster by Naomi Kritzer
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category. I have read some short fiction by this author before, and I was looking forward reading this story.
The story is told via alternating timelines: the "present", where a scientist devoted to genetics is traveling to China on a mission to locate a childhood friend, and (via flashbacks) a near past, when the narrator and her friends met and grow together. I do not want to say more to avoid spoiling the story.
I will say though, that it is tremendously enjoyable, and one of my favorites for the Hugo in this category for the year.
(★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): Jan 18 2020 Finished (first time): Feb 01 2020
Uncanny Magazine Issue 35: July/August 2020
by Lynne M. Thomas (2020)
by Lynne M. Thomas (2020)
My review:
This review is for "The Inaccessibility of Heaven" by Aliette De Bodard.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category. I have read some short fiction by this author before, and I was looking forward reading this story.
The story is set in a near future / alternative reality where rebel angels have been cast down to Earth by god, and they live mixed in with humans while longing to go back to the heavens.
It's a very enjoyable story, even if the deux ex-machina at the end ruins it a little. (★★★★)
Started: May 09 2021 Finished: May 16 2021
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category. I have read some short fiction by this author before, and I was looking forward reading this story.
The story is set in a near future / alternative reality where rebel angels have been cast down to Earth by god, and they live mixed in with humans while longing to go back to the heavens.
It's a very enjoyable story, even if the deux ex-machina at the end ruins it a little. (★★★★)
Started: May 09 2021 Finished: May 16 2021
Uncanny Magazine Issue 34: May/June 2020
by Lynne M. Thomas (2020)
by Lynne M. Thomas (2020)
My review:
This review is for Burn, or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super by A.T. Greenblatt.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category. I have not read any work by this author before, and I was eager to discover a new author.
This is the story of Sam, an accountant that has discovered a super ability: he can set himself on fire. This happened by accident in a bar, and led to loss of his friends and boyfriend. The incident makes the news, and Sam receives an application to the local Super organization. After a humiliating interview, he is accepted... to work as an accountant.
With his ability to set himself on fire, it doesn’t look like he'll be doing a lot of rescuing people, even though that's what he dreams of. More accurately, he dreams of impressing the people who dumped him when they learned he had a super power.
This is a story about accepting us for what we are, that evokes coming out stories in the real world.
This novellette is very well written, intriguing, and very enjoyable; definitely a strong contender for the award.
(★★★★)
Started: May 08 2021 Finished: May 09 2021
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category. I have not read any work by this author before, and I was eager to discover a new author.
This is the story of Sam, an accountant that has discovered a super ability: he can set himself on fire. This happened by accident in a bar, and led to loss of his friends and boyfriend. The incident makes the news, and Sam receives an application to the local Super organization. After a humiliating interview, he is accepted... to work as an accountant.
With his ability to set himself on fire, it doesn’t look like he'll be doing a lot of rescuing people, even though that's what he dreams of. More accurately, he dreams of impressing the people who dumped him when they learned he had a super power.
This is a story about accepting us for what we are, that evokes coming out stories in the real world.
This novellette is very well written, intriguing, and very enjoyable; definitely a strong contender for the award.
(★★★★)
Started: May 08 2021 Finished: May 09 2021
Two Truths and a Lie
by Sarah Pinsker (2020)
by Sarah Pinsker (2020)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category. I had previously read and enjoyed short fiction by this author, and I was looking forward reading this one.
This is the story of Stella, connecting with some of the friends of her childhood while visiting her parents. While talking she makes something up, or at least she thinks she made up a lie on the spot, asking her childhood friend if he remembered the strange public broadcast TV show with the unsettling host she and all the neighborhood kids appeared on years ago. But he does remember. And so does her mom. So why doesn't Stella? The more she investigates the show and the grip it has on her hometown, the eerier the mystery grows.
Incredibly well written, Saran Pinsker clearly knows how to write a gripping, impossible to put down story. I was a little disappointed by the ending, but I won't say anything to avoid spoiling the fun. (★★★★)
Started: May 04 2021 Finished: May 05 2021
This is the story of Stella, connecting with some of the friends of her childhood while visiting her parents. While talking she makes something up, or at least she thinks she made up a lie on the spot, asking her childhood friend if he remembered the strange public broadcast TV show with the unsettling host she and all the neighborhood kids appeared on years ago. But he does remember. And so does her mom. So why doesn't Stella? The more she investigates the show and the grip it has on her hometown, the eerier the mystery grows.
Incredibly well written, Saran Pinsker clearly knows how to write a gripping, impossible to put down story. I was a little disappointed by the ending, but I won't say anything to avoid spoiling the fun. (★★★★)
Started: May 04 2021 Finished: May 05 2021
Open House on Haunted Hill
by John Wiswell (2020)
by John Wiswell (2020)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I had never anything by this author before, and I was quite happy to discover somebody new.
The author tells us that this story was born at the World Fantasy Convention in 2018. He went to dinner with some people and they ended up talking about Horror. While the author consumes a lot of Horror media, he very rarely writes anything of that genre. Instead he tends to put Horror-y things back out as humorous stories or heartwarming stories. Off the top of his head he gave them the example that if he ever wrote a haunted house story, it wouldn't be like Haunting of Hill House... it would be about a haunted house that was lonely and desperately wanted someone to live in it. One of his fellow authors reached across the table, grabbed him by the hand, and said, "Please write this". On the train ride home, he did. And that's how this story came to be.
It's a good story, with heart and feelings in it. (★★★)
Started: May 03 2021 Finished: May 03 2021
The author tells us that this story was born at the World Fantasy Convention in 2018. He went to dinner with some people and they ended up talking about Horror. While the author consumes a lot of Horror media, he very rarely writes anything of that genre. Instead he tends to put Horror-y things back out as humorous stories or heartwarming stories. Off the top of his head he gave them the example that if he ever wrote a haunted house story, it wouldn't be like Haunting of Hill House... it would be about a haunted house that was lonely and desperately wanted someone to live in it. One of his fellow authors reached across the table, grabbed him by the hand, and said, "Please write this". On the train ride home, he did. And that's how this story came to be.
It's a good story, with heart and feelings in it. (★★★)
Started: May 03 2021 Finished: May 03 2021
A Guide For Working Breeds
by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (2020)
by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (2020)
My review:
This review is for A Guide For Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category.
100 years after Karel Capek coined the word, "robots" are an everyday idea, and the inspiration for countless stories in books, film, TV and games. They are often among the least privileged, most unfairly used of us, and the more robots are like humans, the more interesting they become. This collection of stories is where robots stand in for us, where both we and they are disadvantaged, and where hope and optimism shines through.
I loved this story, it is deeply funny yet it has some depth and some sweetness in it. I strongly recommend it. It's definitely one of my favorites in this category. (★★★★★)
Started: May 01 2021 Finished: May 02 2021
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category.
100 years after Karel Capek coined the word, "robots" are an everyday idea, and the inspiration for countless stories in books, film, TV and games. They are often among the least privileged, most unfairly used of us, and the more robots are like humans, the more interesting they become. This collection of stories is where robots stand in for us, where both we and they are disadvantaged, and where hope and optimism shines through.
I loved this story, it is deeply funny yet it has some depth and some sweetness in it. I strongly recommend it. It's definitely one of my favorites in this category. (★★★★★)
Started: May 01 2021 Finished: May 02 2021
Uncanny Magazine Issue 36: September/October 2020
by Lynne M. Thomas
by Lynne M. Thomas
My review:
This review is for Metal Like Blood in the Dark by T. Kingfisher (a.k.a. Ursula Vernon).
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I previously read and liked some work by Ursula Vernon, but not as much written by her under the "Kingfisher" pen name (she uses that name for her non YA work).
This story was inspired by the classic fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel, but has very little left of the inspiration. It is the story of two sentient robot, raised in an abandoned and isolated elderly robotic genius parent, that has sought to shelter and protect them from the darker sides of humanity. But the time comes when the elderly parents need to leave them to get medical attention...
Very enjoyable and fun. (★★★★)
Started: May 02 2021 Finished: May 02 2021
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I previously read and liked some work by Ursula Vernon, but not as much written by her under the "Kingfisher" pen name (she uses that name for her non YA work).
This story was inspired by the classic fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel, but has very little left of the inspiration. It is the story of two sentient robot, raised in an abandoned and isolated elderly robotic genius parent, that has sought to shelter and protect them from the darker sides of humanity. But the time comes when the elderly parents need to leave them to get medical attention...
Very enjoyable and fun. (★★★★)
Started: May 02 2021 Finished: May 02 2021
Little Free Library
by Naomi Kritzer (2020)
by Naomi Kritzer (2020)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category.
I had read and enjoyed the Hugo award winner Cat pictures Please, and I was looking forard this story.
This is the story of Meigan that decides to set up a small "Little Free Library" outside her house. Books take a lot of space and since she is not planning to re-read many of them (even if she loved them), she decides to share the stories she loved with her neighbors. That is one of the most magical forms of connection there is. But then something strange starts to happen... and she develops an unexpected friendship with a mysterious borrower of books from her Little Free Library.
The story is great, well-written, interesting, and hard-to-put-down. I was a little disappointed by the ending. I was left with a feeling I had just read the first chapter of a book, and I was left wanting more. (★★★★)
Started: May 02 2021 Finished: May 02 2021
I had read and enjoyed the Hugo award winner Cat pictures Please, and I was looking forard this story.
This is the story of Meigan that decides to set up a small "Little Free Library" outside her house. Books take a lot of space and since she is not planning to re-read many of them (even if she loved them), she decides to share the stories she loved with her neighbors. That is one of the most magical forms of connection there is. But then something strange starts to happen... and she develops an unexpected friendship with a mysterious borrower of books from her Little Free Library.
The story is great, well-written, interesting, and hard-to-put-down. I was a little disappointed by the ending. I was left with a feeling I had just read the first chapter of a book, and I was left wanting more. (★★★★)
Started: May 02 2021 Finished: May 02 2021
Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #298, Special Double-Issue for BCS Science-Fantasy Month 5
by Scott H. Andrews
by Scott H. Andrews
My review:
This review is for "The Mermaid Astronaut" by Yoon Ha Lee.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I had previously read and deeply loved previous work by this author, including the Ninefox Gambit series. I had downloaded The Mermaid Astronaut on my eReader even before learning it was one of the Hugo finalists, and the nomination made me even more eager to read the story. I was not disappointed.
This is a re-telling of the The Little Mermaid, but instead of being a tragic story of a young woman sacrificing everything because of an infatuation for a man she barely saw from a distance, it's a story that focuses on the difficult balance between following your passions and family. It is the story of an emigrant, supported by her family to succeed in reaching out for the star, and the struggle to reconciliate that with the deep love that roots her where her family is.
Well deserved Hugo nomination. (★★★★)
Started: Apr 30 2021 Finished: May 01 2021
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I had previously read and deeply loved previous work by this author, including the Ninefox Gambit series. I had downloaded The Mermaid Astronaut on my eReader even before learning it was one of the Hugo finalists, and the nomination made me even more eager to read the story. I was not disappointed.
This is a re-telling of the The Little Mermaid, but instead of being a tragic story of a young woman sacrificing everything because of an infatuation for a man she barely saw from a distance, it's a story that focuses on the difficult balance between following your passions and family. It is the story of an emigrant, supported by her family to succeed in reaching out for the star, and the struggle to reconciliate that with the deep love that roots her where her family is.
Well deserved Hugo nomination. (★★★★)
Started: Apr 30 2021 Finished: May 01 2021
Uncanny Magazine Issue 32: January/February 2020
by Lynne M. Thomas (2020)
by Lynne M. Thomas (2020)
My review:
This review is for "Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse" by Rae Carson.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I had previously read and enjoyed her The Wine in Dreams in the Star Wars' Canto Bight and I was looking forward reading more by the same author. The story is excellent, I really need to follow this author more closely.
This is the story of Brit and Marisol surviving along with Brit's mother Eileen and other women the Zombie apocalypse. Resources are scarce, but they make do. Brit is about giving birth which makes the Zombies restless: they smell blood and a newborn will cause a rampage. That's why Brit and Marisol have to leave the enclave and go to a safe haven in form of a shipping container...
The story is extremely fast paced, full of excitement and emotions. I particularly loved the implicit criticism to the misogynistic tropes of survival stories, that often cast an often only male or predominantly male set of characters, and where women, and mothers in particular are often portrayed as frail, dimwitted, and hysterical. This story features a full cast of kick-ass mothers doing an amazing job at fighting zombies.
(★★★★★)
Started: Apr 30 2021 Finished: Apr 30 2021
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Story category. I had previously read and enjoyed her The Wine in Dreams in the Star Wars' Canto Bight and I was looking forward reading more by the same author. The story is excellent, I really need to follow this author more closely.
This is the story of Brit and Marisol surviving along with Brit's mother Eileen and other women the Zombie apocalypse. Resources are scarce, but they make do. Brit is about giving birth which makes the Zombies restless: they smell blood and a newborn will cause a rampage. That's why Brit and Marisol have to leave the enclave and go to a safe haven in form of a shipping container...
The story is extremely fast paced, full of excitement and emotions. I particularly loved the implicit criticism to the misogynistic tropes of survival stories, that often cast an often only male or predominantly male set of characters, and where women, and mothers in particular are often portrayed as frail, dimwitted, and hysterical. This story features a full cast of kick-ass mothers doing an amazing job at fighting zombies.
(★★★★★)
Started: Apr 30 2021 Finished: Apr 30 2021
Middlegame (Alchemical Journeys, #1)
by Seanan McGuire (2019)
by Seanan McGuire (2019)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category.
I confess I judged the book by its cover: while the cover is quite nice and very appropriate for the book, somehow I was not intrigued by it. I started reading it and... I was blown away. This book is really really good!
This is the story of Roger and Dodger. Roger, is skilled with words, and languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story. Dodger is his twin. Numbers are her world, her obsession, her everything. All she understands, she does so through the power of math. Roger and Dodger aren't exactly human, though they don't realize it. They aren't exactly gods, either. Not entirely. Not yet.
This is the story of Reed, skilled in the alchemical arts like his progenitor before him. Reed created Dodger and her brother. He's not their father. Not quite. But he has a plan: to raise the twins to the highest power, to ascend with them and claim their authority as his own. Godhood is attainable. Pray it isn't attained, at least not by him.
What's not to like? This book has everything: a great world building, interesting characters, very original plot. It does not hurt that it is set in the place where I lived half my life so far.
Two small critiques: (1) while you can walk easily to the Sutro's bath ruins, you do not need to climb down as they do in the book. (2) while the world building is detailed and deep, some aspects are a little glossed over.
Definitely one of the best finalist for this year Hugo award, and a strong contender to the title. (★★★★★)
Started: Aug 11 2020 Finished: Aug 28 2020
I confess I judged the book by its cover: while the cover is quite nice and very appropriate for the book, somehow I was not intrigued by it. I started reading it and... I was blown away. This book is really really good!
This is the story of Roger and Dodger. Roger, is skilled with words, and languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story. Dodger is his twin. Numbers are her world, her obsession, her everything. All she understands, she does so through the power of math. Roger and Dodger aren't exactly human, though they don't realize it. They aren't exactly gods, either. Not entirely. Not yet.
This is the story of Reed, skilled in the alchemical arts like his progenitor before him. Reed created Dodger and her brother. He's not their father. Not quite. But he has a plan: to raise the twins to the highest power, to ascend with them and claim their authority as his own. Godhood is attainable. Pray it isn't attained, at least not by him.
What's not to like? This book has everything: a great world building, interesting characters, very original plot. It does not hurt that it is set in the place where I lived half my life so far.
Two small critiques: (1) while you can walk easily to the Sutro's bath ruins, you do not need to climb down as they do in the book. (2) while the world building is detailed and deep, some aspects are a little glossed over.
Definitely one of the best finalist for this year Hugo award, and a strong contender to the title. (★★★★★)
Started: Aug 11 2020 Finished: Aug 28 2020
To Be Taught, If Fortunate
by Becky Chambers (2019)
by Becky Chambers (2019)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novella category. I was looking forward reading this story because I loved previous books by this author. I was not disappointed!
I would describe it as a hard science fiction piece, but with interesting characters. My reaction to the story was similar to Rendezvous with Rama: the science in both books is solid and wonder inspiring. This one though is also interesting because of the characters, that have depth and fell real (this is not true with Clarke's book I have to say).
The story is set in a future in which, instead of terraforming planets to sustain human life, explorers of the solar system instead transform themselves. Ariadne is one such explorer. As an astronaut on an extrasolar research vessel, she and her fellow crewmates sleep between worlds and wake up each time with different features. Her experience is one of fluid body and stable mind and of a unique perspective on the passage of time. Back on Earth, society changes dramatically from decade to decade, as it always does. Ariadne may awaken to find that support for space exploration back home has waned, or that her country of birth no longer exists, or that a cult has arisen around their cosmic findings, only to dissolve once more by the next waking. But the moods of Earth have little bearing on their mission: to explore, to study, and to send their learnings home.
I really hope the author will expand this into a full book or write a sequel. Another amazing piece of work for this year Hugo awards. (★★★★★)
Started: Aug 08 2020 Finished: Aug 11 2020
I would describe it as a hard science fiction piece, but with interesting characters. My reaction to the story was similar to Rendezvous with Rama: the science in both books is solid and wonder inspiring. This one though is also interesting because of the characters, that have depth and fell real (this is not true with Clarke's book I have to say).
The story is set in a future in which, instead of terraforming planets to sustain human life, explorers of the solar system instead transform themselves. Ariadne is one such explorer. As an astronaut on an extrasolar research vessel, she and her fellow crewmates sleep between worlds and wake up each time with different features. Her experience is one of fluid body and stable mind and of a unique perspective on the passage of time. Back on Earth, society changes dramatically from decade to decade, as it always does. Ariadne may awaken to find that support for space exploration back home has waned, or that her country of birth no longer exists, or that a cult has arisen around their cosmic findings, only to dissolve once more by the next waking. But the moods of Earth have little bearing on their mission: to explore, to study, and to send their learnings home.
I really hope the author will expand this into a full book or write a sequel. Another amazing piece of work for this year Hugo awards. (★★★★★)
Started: Aug 08 2020 Finished: Aug 11 2020
The Ten Thousand Doors of January
by Alix E. Harrow
by Alix E. Harrow
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category. I had just read and loved a short story by the same author ("Do Not Look Back, My Lion"), and I was looking forward it.
This is a fantasy portal story, that is usually not my cup of tea. Despite that, I really enjoyed the book and its subversion of the misogynistic and xenophobic tropes and themes that used to be associated with the genre.
This is the story of January Scaller, a girl with an uncommon in-between-ethnicities skin tone, living in a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place. Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own. (★★★★)
Started: Jul 24 2020 Finished: Aug 08 2020
This is a fantasy portal story, that is usually not my cup of tea. Despite that, I really enjoyed the book and its subversion of the misogynistic and xenophobic tropes and themes that used to be associated with the genre.
This is the story of January Scaller, a girl with an uncommon in-between-ethnicities skin tone, living in a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place. Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own. (★★★★)
Started: Jul 24 2020 Finished: Aug 08 2020
Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, #1)
by Tamsyn Muir
by Tamsyn Muir
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category. I was quite eager to read it, because a lot of people told me how much they loved it. I was expecting to be disappointed after setting my expectations too high, instead I REALLY LOVED it. What an incredibly fast paced, entertaining, impossible to put down book. It kept me up really late more than one night in a row because I had to see what was going to happen.
The book is set in a world were space travel is possible, and (some) people has conquered death and become the amortal Emperor and his saints. The Emperor needs necromancers. The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman. Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and cannot wait to leave the planet were she grew up. Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service. Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon's sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die. Of course, some things are better left dead...
This is definitely a strongly recommended read and most likely winners of this year Hugo award. (★★★★★)
Started: Jul 07 2020 Finished: Jul 24 2020
The book is set in a world were space travel is possible, and (some) people has conquered death and become the amortal Emperor and his saints. The Emperor needs necromancers. The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman. Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and cannot wait to leave the planet were she grew up. Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service. Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon's sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die. Of course, some things are better left dead...
This is definitely a strongly recommended read and most likely winners of this year Hugo award. (★★★★★)
Started: Jul 07 2020 Finished: Jul 24 2020
The City in the Middle of the Night
by Charlie Jane Anders
by Charlie Jane Anders
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category. I was quite eager to read it, because I have been a big fan of Charlie Jane Anders since I read her incredible short story Don't Press Charges and I Won't Sue.
This story is set in the future, when humanity had to escape Earth after destroying it, and ends up on a tidally-locked planet that they name January. Humanity clings to life on a planet divided between permanently frozen darkness on one side, and blazing endless sunshine on the other. Two cities, built long ago in the meager temperate zone, serve as the last bastions of civilization, but life inside them is just as dangerous as the uninhabitable wastelands outside. Sophie, a young student from the wrong side of Xiosphant city, is exiled into the dark after being part of a failed revolution. But she survives with the help of a mysterious savior from beneath the ice. Burdened with a dangerous, painful secret, Sophie and her ragtag group of exiles face the ultimate challenge and they are running out of time.
Another great finalist to this year Hugo Award. It will be really hard to pick the winner. (★★★★)
Started: Jun 21 2020 Finished: Jul 06 2020
This story is set in the future, when humanity had to escape Earth after destroying it, and ends up on a tidally-locked planet that they name January. Humanity clings to life on a planet divided between permanently frozen darkness on one side, and blazing endless sunshine on the other. Two cities, built long ago in the meager temperate zone, serve as the last bastions of civilization, but life inside them is just as dangerous as the uninhabitable wastelands outside. Sophie, a young student from the wrong side of Xiosphant city, is exiled into the dark after being part of a failed revolution. But she survives with the help of a mysterious savior from beneath the ice. Burdened with a dangerous, painful secret, Sophie and her ragtag group of exiles face the ultimate challenge and they are running out of time.
Another great finalist to this year Hugo Award. It will be really hard to pick the winner. (★★★★)
Started: Jun 21 2020 Finished: Jul 06 2020
The Light Brigade
by Kameron Hurley (2019)
by Kameron Hurley (2019)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novel category.
I am usually not into the military science fiction subgenre, and I had really low expectations going in, but I was quite blown away by the book. I was expecting something full of action, but with not so much depth. Instead it has tons of action AND depth.
The book is set in a future where corporations have taken more and more the role of States over time during a time of conflict. Soldiers can now be broken down into light in order to get them to the front lines on Mars. The main character believes in the cause of the war and enlists to fight.and to be counted among the heroes who give all a better world.
The Light Brigade is what soldiers fighting the war against Mars call the ones who come back… different. Grunts in the corporate corps get busted down into light to travel to and from interplanetary battlefronts. Everyone is changed by what the corps must do in order to break them down into light. Those who survive learn to stick to the mission brief, no matter what actually happens during combat. Dietz, a fresh recruit in the infantry, begins to experience combat drops that don't sync up with the platoon's. And Dietz's bad drops tell a story of the war that's not at all what the corporate brass want the soldiers to think is going on. Is Dietz really experiencing the war differently, or is it combat madness? Trying to untangle memory from mission brief and survive with sanity intact, Dietz is ready to become a hero or maybe a villain; in war it's hard to tell the difference. A worthy successor to classic stories like The Forever War, this book describes a chilling future that we are already moving towards. This is one of my favorite books of the year. (★★★★★)
Started: Jun 14 2020 Finished: Jun 21 2020
I am usually not into the military science fiction subgenre, and I had really low expectations going in, but I was quite blown away by the book. I was expecting something full of action, but with not so much depth. Instead it has tons of action AND depth.
The book is set in a future where corporations have taken more and more the role of States over time during a time of conflict. Soldiers can now be broken down into light in order to get them to the front lines on Mars. The main character believes in the cause of the war and enlists to fight.and to be counted among the heroes who give all a better world.
The Light Brigade is what soldiers fighting the war against Mars call the ones who come back… different. Grunts in the corporate corps get busted down into light to travel to and from interplanetary battlefronts. Everyone is changed by what the corps must do in order to break them down into light. Those who survive learn to stick to the mission brief, no matter what actually happens during combat. Dietz, a fresh recruit in the infantry, begins to experience combat drops that don't sync up with the platoon's. And Dietz's bad drops tell a story of the war that's not at all what the corporate brass want the soldiers to think is going on. Is Dietz really experiencing the war differently, or is it combat madness? Trying to untangle memory from mission brief and survive with sanity intact, Dietz is ready to become a hero or maybe a villain; in war it's hard to tell the difference. A worthy successor to classic stories like The Forever War, this book describes a chilling future that we are already moving towards. This is one of my favorite books of the year. (★★★★★)
Started: Jun 14 2020 Finished: Jun 21 2020
The Deep
by Rivers Solomon
by Rivers Solomon
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novela category.
The origin of this story is very interesting: it is an adaptation of a (Hugo nominated!) song produced by the rap group Clipping for the This American Life episode "We Are In The Future". The adaptation extend and revisit the original relatively thin plot, and expands it. The result is remarkably good.
In the deep the water breathing descendants of African slave women tossed overboard have built their own underwater society and must reclaim the memories of their past to shape their future. Yetu holds the memories for her people who live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly, is forgotten by everyone, save one, the historian. This demanding role has been bestowed on Yetu. Yetu remembers for everyone, and the memories, painful and wonderful, traumatic and terrible and miraculous, are destroying her. And so, she flees to the surface, escaping the memories, the expectations, and the responsibilities, and discovers a world her people left behind long ago. Yetu will learn more than she ever expected to about her own past. and about the future of her people. If they are all to survive, they'll need to reclaim the memories, reclaim their identity, and own who they really are.
(★★★★)
Started: Jun 08 2020 Finished: Jun 13 2020
The origin of this story is very interesting: it is an adaptation of a (Hugo nominated!) song produced by the rap group Clipping for the This American Life episode "We Are In The Future". The adaptation extend and revisit the original relatively thin plot, and expands it. The result is remarkably good.
In the deep the water breathing descendants of African slave women tossed overboard have built their own underwater society and must reclaim the memories of their past to shape their future. Yetu holds the memories for her people who live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly, is forgotten by everyone, save one, the historian. This demanding role has been bestowed on Yetu. Yetu remembers for everyone, and the memories, painful and wonderful, traumatic and terrible and miraculous, are destroying her. And so, she flees to the surface, escaping the memories, the expectations, and the responsibilities, and discovers a world her people left behind long ago. Yetu will learn more than she ever expected to about her own past. and about the future of her people. If they are all to survive, they'll need to reclaim the memories, reclaim their identity, and own who they really are.
(★★★★)
Started: Jun 08 2020 Finished: Jun 13 2020
This Is How You Lose the Time War
by Amal El-Mohtar (2019)
by Amal El-Mohtar (2019)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novela category. A lot of friends had read and loved this book so I was looking forward reading it. I was not disappointed.
This is the story of two time traveling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange letters... and falling in love. What began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future. Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There's still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war. That's how war works.
This is definitely a strong contender for the award!
(★★★★)
Started: Jun 07 2020 Finished: Jun 07 2020
This is the story of two time traveling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange letters... and falling in love. What began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future. Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There's still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war. That's how war works.
This is definitely a strong contender for the award!
(★★★★)
Started: Jun 07 2020 Finished: Jun 07 2020
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 (Dead Djinn Universe, #0.3)
by P. Djèlí Clark (2019)
by P. Djèlí Clark (2019)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novela category. I previously read and loved A Dead Djinn in Cairo, and I was looking forward reading this book, that returns to the same alternate history Cairo, where humans live and work alongside otherworldly beings.
This is the story of Hamed al-Nasr, senior agent of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities handles the issues that can arise between the magical and the mundane. Agent Hamed shows his new partner Agent Onsi the ropes of investigation when they are called to subdue a dangerous, possessed tram car. What starts off as a simple matter of exorcism, however, becomes more complicated as the origins of the demon inside are revealed.
I really enjoyed it, and I hope to get to read more books by this author set in the same world in the future. (★★★★)
Started: May 25 2020 Finished: May 31 2020
This is the story of Hamed al-Nasr, senior agent of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities handles the issues that can arise between the magical and the mundane. Agent Hamed shows his new partner Agent Onsi the ropes of investigation when they are called to subdue a dangerous, possessed tram car. What starts off as a simple matter of exorcism, however, becomes more complicated as the origins of the demon inside are revealed.
I really enjoyed it, and I hope to get to read more books by this author set in the same world in the future. (★★★★)
Started: May 25 2020 Finished: May 31 2020
Emergency Skin
by N.K. Jemisin (2019)
by N.K. Jemisin (2019)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category. I am a big fan of N.K. Jemisin, and I was looking forward reading this story. I was not disappointed, this is probably the strongest contender to the award in this category.
The story is set in our future, after we are done exploiting our planet beyond what it can sustain, and some lucky few are able to escape its slow agonizing death. An explorer returns to Sol, the home planet, to gather information from a climate ravaged Earth that his ancestors, and others among the planet's finest, fled centuries ago. The mission comes with a warning: a graveyard world awaits him. But so do those left behind hopeless and unbeautiful wastes of humanity who should have died out eons ago. After all this time, there's no telling how they've devolved. Steel yourself, soldier. Get in. Get out. And try not to stare.
The story is a great example of how message fiction can work and be remarkably good. And I love how despite so much destruction, green, and death, the book is so full of hope. (★★★★★)
Started: May 21 2020 Finished: May 21 2020
The story is set in our future, after we are done exploiting our planet beyond what it can sustain, and some lucky few are able to escape its slow agonizing death. An explorer returns to Sol, the home planet, to gather information from a climate ravaged Earth that his ancestors, and others among the planet's finest, fled centuries ago. The mission comes with a warning: a graveyard world awaits him. But so do those left behind hopeless and unbeautiful wastes of humanity who should have died out eons ago. After all this time, there's no telling how they've devolved. Steel yourself, soldier. Get in. Get out. And try not to stare.
The story is a great example of how message fiction can work and be remarkably good. And I love how despite so much destruction, green, and death, the book is so full of hope. (★★★★★)
Started: May 21 2020 Finished: May 21 2020
Uncanny Magazine Issue 29: July/August 2019
by Lynne M. Thomas
by Lynne M. Thomas
My review:
This review is for The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye by Sarah Pinsker.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category.
The story follows Zanna, a famous mystery writer who is renting a remote cabin to work on her next mystery novel and her assistant Shar that is staying nearby. The next morning, the fuses blow and Zanna decides to go looking for the cabin owner to ask for repairs, and finds him dead. He has apparently fallen and hit his head on a rock. She calls 911 and Shar that quickly show up to see what's going on. While the police work, Zanna's mystery writer's brain goes over the clues and determines that something is off...
Sarah Pinsker is an excellent writer, and it is always a pleasure to read her work. This novelette is quite good, even if I confess the ending was not as satisfying as I would have liked. (★★★★)
Started: May 17 2020 Finished: May 20 2020
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category.
The story follows Zanna, a famous mystery writer who is renting a remote cabin to work on her next mystery novel and her assistant Shar that is staying nearby. The next morning, the fuses blow and Zanna decides to go looking for the cabin owner to ask for repairs, and finds him dead. He has apparently fallen and hit his head on a rock. She calls 911 and Shar that quickly show up to see what's going on. While the police work, Zanna's mystery writer's brain goes over the clues and determines that something is off...
Sarah Pinsker is an excellent writer, and it is always a pleasure to read her work. This novelette is quite good, even if I confess the ending was not as satisfying as I would have liked. (★★★★)
Started: May 17 2020 Finished: May 20 2020
The Archronology of Love
by Caroline M. Yoachim (2020)
by Caroline M. Yoachim (2020)
My review:
This review is for The Archronology of Love by Caroline M Yoachim.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category and is, in my opinion, one of the strongest contender to the title.
Dr. Saki Jones arrives at the colony planet New Mars to find that a mysterious plague has destroyed everyone who lived there, including her lifelove, M.J. To find out what happened, Saki must dig through the Chronicle, a recording of the time that was, through layers of time, slowly revealing the past. The result is a bittersweet story of aliens and human exploration; mystery and memory; and, of course, love. (★★★★)
Started: May 14 2020 Finished: May 16 2020
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category and is, in my opinion, one of the strongest contender to the title.
Dr. Saki Jones arrives at the colony planet New Mars to find that a mysterious plague has destroyed everyone who lived there, including her lifelove, M.J. To find out what happened, Saki must dig through the Chronicle, a recording of the time that was, through layers of time, slowly revealing the past. The result is a bittersweet story of aliens and human exploration; mystery and memory; and, of course, love. (★★★★)
Started: May 14 2020 Finished: May 16 2020
For He Can Creep
by Siobhan Carroll
by Siobhan Carroll
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Novelette category.
This is the story of a cat, Jeoffry, living in the insane asylum. His human companion is Christopher Smart a nineteenth century poet that has been committed to St. Luke's Hospital for Lunatics. Smart believes God has commissioned him to write The Divine Poem. Unfortunately years earlier, he made a bargain with Satan and the devil has come to collect his due: a poem that will bring about the apocalypse. Jeoffry is the only hope left to save Smart's soul, and the rest of the world. Good thing that Jeoffry's is a demon fighting cat and a creature of cunning Satan would be a fool to underestimate...
Humorous and funny, this novelette is quite a joy to read. (★★★)
Started: May 11 2020 Finished: May 14 2020
This is the story of a cat, Jeoffry, living in the insane asylum. His human companion is Christopher Smart a nineteenth century poet that has been committed to St. Luke's Hospital for Lunatics. Smart believes God has commissioned him to write The Divine Poem. Unfortunately years earlier, he made a bargain with Satan and the devil has come to collect his due: a poem that will bring about the apocalypse. Jeoffry is the only hope left to save Smart's soul, and the rest of the world. Good thing that Jeoffry's is a demon fighting cat and a creature of cunning Satan would be a fool to underestimate...
Humorous and funny, this novelette is quite a joy to read. (★★★)
Started: May 11 2020 Finished: May 14 2020
Blood Is Another Word for Hunger
by Rivers Solomon
by Rivers Solomon
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Fiction category.
The story falls in between multiple genres: horror, historical fiction, and urban fantasy. It is set in the South, during the horrors of slavery, before the civil war. A young girl, a slave in the South, is presented with a moment where she can grasp for freedom, for change, for life. She grabs it with both hands, fiercely and intensely, and the spirit world is shaken. Her act of violence to free herself has consequences well beyond this world.
This is a very well written and interesting story, one of the strongest contender to this year award. (★★★★)
Started: May 08 2020 Finished: May 09 2020
The story falls in between multiple genres: horror, historical fiction, and urban fantasy. It is set in the South, during the horrors of slavery, before the civil war. A young girl, a slave in the South, is presented with a moment where she can grasp for freedom, for change, for life. She grabs it with both hands, fiercely and intensely, and the spirit world is shaken. Her act of violence to free herself has consequences well beyond this world.
This is a very well written and interesting story, one of the strongest contender to this year award. (★★★★)
Started: May 08 2020 Finished: May 09 2020
Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #270
by Scott H. Andrews
by Scott H. Andrews
My review:
This review is for Do Not Look Back, My Lion by Alix E. Harrow.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Fiction category and is, in my opinion, one of the strongest contender to the title.
Eefa is husband to one of her country's greatest, most celebrated warriors: Talaan, also known as the Lion. She performs all the domestic needs a soldier could have. Eefa raises their children, shines Talaan's armor, and keeps house for them. She is a safe haven when Talaan comes home from battle. Talaan, herself, is a fierce warrior. She bears the scars of battle, a mark beneath her eye for each and every victory. She has born many children, all of them vaunted warriors as well. The constant war and bloodshed ultimately becomes too much for Eefa. Her conscience pricks her, she cannot continue to support this endless bloodshed. She cannot support the taking of slaves, the killing of children. She cannot support Talaan bringing yet another child into this war. And so, she runs.
The blog Black Forest Basilisks adroitlydescribes Do Not Look Back, My Lion as a heart-wrenching tale of love and sacrifice. The author uses gender, title, and reader expectation to create a society that's both foreign and familiar. Husband has become a role divorced from gender, even as wife has remained a status limited to women. Women are not only the givers of life, but also the takers. Harrow explores motherhood, matriarchy, and gender through the lens of disability and nonconformity. Quite an incredible achievement. I am looking forward reading more by this author. (★★★★★)
Started: May 05 2020 Finished: May 07 2020
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Fiction category and is, in my opinion, one of the strongest contender to the title.
Eefa is husband to one of her country's greatest, most celebrated warriors: Talaan, also known as the Lion. She performs all the domestic needs a soldier could have. Eefa raises their children, shines Talaan's armor, and keeps house for them. She is a safe haven when Talaan comes home from battle. Talaan, herself, is a fierce warrior. She bears the scars of battle, a mark beneath her eye for each and every victory. She has born many children, all of them vaunted warriors as well. The constant war and bloodshed ultimately becomes too much for Eefa. Her conscience pricks her, she cannot continue to support this endless bloodshed. She cannot support the taking of slaves, the killing of children. She cannot support Talaan bringing yet another child into this war. And so, she runs.
The blog Black Forest Basilisks adroitlydescribes Do Not Look Back, My Lion as a heart-wrenching tale of love and sacrifice. The author uses gender, title, and reader expectation to create a society that's both foreign and familiar. Husband has become a role divorced from gender, even as wife has remained a status limited to women. Women are not only the givers of life, but also the takers. Harrow explores motherhood, matriarchy, and gender through the lens of disability and nonconformity. Quite an incredible achievement. I am looking forward reading more by this author. (★★★★★)
Started: May 05 2020 Finished: May 07 2020
As the Last I May Know
by S.L. Huang (2019)
by S.L. Huang (2019)
My review:
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Fiction category and is, in my opinion, one of the strongest contender to the title.
The story is set in a near future in the only country to have ever experienced the damage and the death of a weapon of mass destruction on their territory. The survivors decide to make the usage of those weapon harder in the future, requiring the president to kill a chosen child to unlock their use. The book is the story of Nyma, one of those chosen children, during a time of war.
The story is beautifully written and moving. I am looking forward reading more by this author. (★★★★★)
Started: May 07 2020 Finished: May 07 2020
The story is set in a near future in the only country to have ever experienced the damage and the death of a weapon of mass destruction on their territory. The survivors decide to make the usage of those weapon harder in the future, requiring the president to kill a chosen child to unlock their use. The book is the story of Nyma, one of those chosen children, during a time of war.
The story is beautifully written and moving. I am looking forward reading more by this author. (★★★★★)
Started: May 07 2020 Finished: May 07 2020
Nightmare Magazine, Issue 80 (May 2019)
by John Joseph Adams
by John Joseph Adams
My review:
This review is for Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island by Nibedita Sen.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Fiction category.
Remarkable story, with a very interesting and deeply original storytelling style. The short story is a collection of quotes from various (fictional) scientific essays and letters. Each one provides a small little piece of the puzzle, and all together they form a very interesting story.
This is a solid piece of work that definitely belongs among the finalists. I am looking forward reading more by this author. (★★★)
Started: May 02 2020 Finished: May 03 2020
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Fiction category.
Remarkable story, with a very interesting and deeply original storytelling style. The short story is a collection of quotes from various (fictional) scientific essays and letters. Each one provides a small little piece of the puzzle, and all together they form a very interesting story.
This is a solid piece of work that definitely belongs among the finalists. I am looking forward reading more by this author. (★★★)
Started: May 02 2020 Finished: May 03 2020
Uncanny Magazine Issue 26: January/February 2019
by Lynne M. Thomas (2019)
by Lynne M. Thomas (2019)
My review:
This review is for "A Catalog of Storms" by Fran Wilde.
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Fiction category.
I definitely enjoyed the story, the world-building in particular was quite remarkable. It reminded me a little of Miyazaki's Nausicaa: both works share the post apocalyptic settings, and the nature turning into a source of mortal dangers theme.
It's a solid piece of work that definitely belongs among the finalists. (★★★)
Started: May 02 2020 Finished: May 02 2020
Every year I read all the finalists of the most prestigious science fiction awards (at least in the English speaking world): the Hugo awards. This story is a finalist in the Short Fiction category.
I definitely enjoyed the story, the world-building in particular was quite remarkable. It reminded me a little of Miyazaki's Nausicaa: both works share the post apocalyptic settings, and the nature turning into a source of mortal dangers theme.
It's a solid piece of work that definitely belongs among the finalists. (★★★)
Started: May 02 2020 Finished: May 02 2020
State Tectonics (The Centenal Cycle, #3)
by Malka Ann Older (2018)
by Malka Ann Older (2018)
My review:
Infomocracy, the first book of the Centenal Cycle, was one of the best books I have ever read. I strongly recommend it to everyone to better understand modern word, sociological and politically, and it can be read as stand alone. I liked its sequel, Null States, but it was nothing as the first instalment. I was quite curious to see where the third and last installment, State Tectonics, was going. Was it going to be a groundbreaking masterpiece as Infomocracy? Or just a fun book as Null States? It turns out it was somewhere in between. Definitely not groundbreaking, but still quite interesting.
In this last book of the series, the future of democracy must evolve or die. The last time Information held an election, a global network outage, two counts of sabotage by major world governments, and a devastating earthquake almost shook micro-democracy apart. Five years later it's time to vote again, and the system that has ensured global peace for 25 years is more vulnerable than ever. Unknown enemies are attacking Information's network infrastructure. Spies, former superpowers, and revolutionaries sharpen their knives in the shadows. And Information's best agents question whether the data monopoly they've served all their lives is worth saving, or whether it's time to burn the world down and start anew. (★★★★)
Started: Nov 12 2019 Finished: Dec 13 2019
In this last book of the series, the future of democracy must evolve or die. The last time Information held an election, a global network outage, two counts of sabotage by major world governments, and a devastating earthquake almost shook micro-democracy apart. Five years later it's time to vote again, and the system that has ensured global peace for 25 years is more vulnerable than ever. Unknown enemies are attacking Information's network infrastructure. Spies, former superpowers, and revolutionaries sharpen their knives in the shadows. And Information's best agents question whether the data monopoly they've served all their lives is worth saving, or whether it's time to burn the world down and start anew. (★★★★)
Started: Nov 12 2019 Finished: Dec 13 2019
Null States (The Centenal Cycle, #2)
by Malka Ann Older (2017)
by Malka Ann Older (2017)
My review:
I read the first installment of the series, Infomocracy, back in 2017 and I loved it. My review called that book "an incredible, eye opening literary achievement", and it is a book that I strongly recommend to everyone.
Because of it, I was quite eager to read its sequel, Null States. I was a little disappointed. Do not get me wrong, it is a very enjoyable and well crafted book, with very interesting reflections on international political dynamics, but it is not as groundbreaking as Infomocracy. It did not help that I had forgotten some of the characters by the time I picked this second book up.
The story starts after the last controversial global election covered in the previous book, as the global infomocracy that has ensured thirty years of world peace is fraying at the edges. As the new Supermajority government struggles to establish its legitimacy, agents of Information across the globe strive to keep the peace and maintain the flows of data that feed the new world order. In the newly-incorporated DarFur, a governor dies in a fiery explosion. In Geneva, a superpower hatches plans to bring microdemocracy to its knees. In Central Asia, a sprawling war among archaic states threatens to explode into a global crisis. And across the world, a shadowy plot is growing, threatening to strangle Information with the reins of power. (★★★)
Started: Sep 07 2019 Finished: Oct 11 2019
Because of it, I was quite eager to read its sequel, Null States. I was a little disappointed. Do not get me wrong, it is a very enjoyable and well crafted book, with very interesting reflections on international political dynamics, but it is not as groundbreaking as Infomocracy. It did not help that I had forgotten some of the characters by the time I picked this second book up.
The story starts after the last controversial global election covered in the previous book, as the global infomocracy that has ensured thirty years of world peace is fraying at the edges. As the new Supermajority government struggles to establish its legitimacy, agents of Information across the globe strive to keep the peace and maintain the flows of data that feed the new world order. In the newly-incorporated DarFur, a governor dies in a fiery explosion. In Geneva, a superpower hatches plans to bring microdemocracy to its knees. In Central Asia, a sprawling war among archaic states threatens to explode into a global crisis. And across the world, a shadowy plot is growing, threatening to strangle Information with the reins of power. (★★★)
Started: Sep 07 2019 Finished: Oct 11 2019
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
by Ursula K. Le Guin (1997)
by Ursula K. Le Guin (1997)
My review:
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is one of the most famous and most quoted books by Ursula K. Le Guin. I never had a chance to read it before, and I had build up very high expectations. Maybe because of these high expectations, despite really appreciating and liking the story, I was a little disappointed, expecting something even more. This said I definitely appreciate the story, and the author's ability to force us to face the cruelty and inhumanity of the exploitation of others that enable us to leave a life of never experienced before wealth and comfort.
The story is set in the fictional city of Omelas, a city of plenty and of happiness. The city where everyone but one is happy. This is the social contract in Omelas: one child suffers horribly so that the rest can be happy. If the child were let free or comforted, Omelas would be destroyed. Most people feel horrible for the child, and some parents hold their kids tighter, and then they return to their happiness. But some go to see the child in the room and then keep walking. They don’t want to be part of that social contract. "They leave Omelas; they walk ahead into the darkness and they do not come back". (★★★★★)
Started: Aug 01 2019 Finished: Aug 02 2019
The story is set in the fictional city of Omelas, a city of plenty and of happiness. The city where everyone but one is happy. This is the social contract in Omelas: one child suffers horribly so that the rest can be happy. If the child were let free or comforted, Omelas would be destroyed. Most people feel horrible for the child, and some parents hold their kids tighter, and then they return to their happiness. But some go to see the child in the room and then keep walking. They don’t want to be part of that social contract. "They leave Omelas; they walk ahead into the darkness and they do not come back". (★★★★★)
Started: Aug 01 2019 Finished: Aug 02 2019
Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries, #2)
by Martha Wells
by Martha Wells
My review:
I read Artificial Condition as part of my Hugo 2019 finalists read-a-thon, but I was already familiar with the Hugo award winner author and I loved the previous installment of the series, hence I was looking forward reading it.
I really liked Artificial Condition, as much as All System Red.
The story picks up exactly where the previous one left of: Murderbot has decided to leave its so called "guardian" claiming its freedom and agency. We also learn that were was another motivation behind Murderbot's choice: it wants to learn more about its dark past, trying to recover what was forcibly erased from its memory after it went rogue the first time.
Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don't want to know what the "A" stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue...
This is definitely one of my favorite Hugo finalist in this category. (★★★★)
Started: Jul 12 2019 Finished: Jul 14 2019
I really liked Artificial Condition, as much as All System Red.
The story picks up exactly where the previous one left of: Murderbot has decided to leave its so called "guardian" claiming its freedom and agency. We also learn that were was another motivation behind Murderbot's choice: it wants to learn more about its dark past, trying to recover what was forcibly erased from its memory after it went rogue the first time.
Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don't want to know what the "A" stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue...
This is definitely one of my favorite Hugo finalist in this category. (★★★★)
Started: Jul 12 2019 Finished: Jul 14 2019
Spinning Silver
by Naomi Novik (2018)
by Naomi Novik (2018)
My review:
I read Spinning Silver as part of my Hugo 2019 finalists read-a-thon, but I was already familiar with the Hugo award winner author, and I was looking forward reading it.
The story is very loosely based on an old fairy tale: Rumpelstiltskin. While some of the elements of the fairy tales are retained, the story is quite different, and the problematic tropes of the genre are explored and inverted. The story is told by many different perspectives, but the core one is the one of Miryem, the daughter and granddaughter of Jewish moneylenders... but her father isn't a very good one. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has loaned out most of his wife's dowry and left the family on the edge of poverty, until Miryem steps in. Hardening her heart against her fellow villagers' pleas, she sets out to collect what is owed, and finds herself more than up to the task. When her grandfather loans her a pouch of silver pennies, she brings it back full of gold. But having the reputation of being able to change silver to gold can be more trouble than it's worth, especially when her fate becomes tangled with the cold creatures that haunt the wood, and whose king has learned of her reputation and wants to exploit it for reasons Miryem cannot understand.
While lately I am not into fairy tales inspired fantasy settings, I really liked this book. The characters and the plot are very interesting, and the author does an amazing job in exploring, eviscerating, and subverting the antisemitism, sexism, and domestic abuse that are typical in classic fairy tales. This would definitely be a worthy Hugo award winner. (★★★★)
Started: Jun 12 2019 Finished: Jul 05 2019
The story is very loosely based on an old fairy tale: Rumpelstiltskin. While some of the elements of the fairy tales are retained, the story is quite different, and the problematic tropes of the genre are explored and inverted. The story is told by many different perspectives, but the core one is the one of Miryem, the daughter and granddaughter of Jewish moneylenders... but her father isn't a very good one. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has loaned out most of his wife's dowry and left the family on the edge of poverty, until Miryem steps in. Hardening her heart against her fellow villagers' pleas, she sets out to collect what is owed, and finds herself more than up to the task. When her grandfather loans her a pouch of silver pennies, she brings it back full of gold. But having the reputation of being able to change silver to gold can be more trouble than it's worth, especially when her fate becomes tangled with the cold creatures that haunt the wood, and whose king has learned of her reputation and wants to exploit it for reasons Miryem cannot understand.
While lately I am not into fairy tales inspired fantasy settings, I really liked this book. The characters and the plot are very interesting, and the author does an amazing job in exploring, eviscerating, and subverting the antisemitism, sexism, and domestic abuse that are typical in classic fairy tales. This would definitely be a worthy Hugo award winner. (★★★★)
Started: Jun 12 2019 Finished: Jul 05 2019
Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World, #1)
by Rebecca Roanhorse
by Rebecca Roanhorse
My review:
I read Trail of Lightning as part of my Hugo 2019 finalists read-a-thon, but I was already familiar with the Hugo award winner author, and I was looking forward reading it.
The story in a near future where most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse. The world is in chaos but Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters. Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last and best hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much larger and more terrifying than anything she could imagine. Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel to the reservation to unravel clues from ancient legends, trade favors with tricksters, and battle dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology. As Maggie discovers the truth behind the disappearances, she will have to confront her past, if she wants to survive.
I really enjoyed the story, it's great to read a fantasy that does not use the same European mythological that have been used and reused to death. Finally something that reads (to the average user) very novel and intriguing. I also loved the characters, all very flawed and well rounded.
I am looking forward reading the next installments of the series. (★★★★)
Started: May 29 2019 Finished: Jun 11 2019
The story in a near future where most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse. The world is in chaos but Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters. Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last and best hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much larger and more terrifying than anything she could imagine. Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel to the reservation to unravel clues from ancient legends, trade favors with tricksters, and battle dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology. As Maggie discovers the truth behind the disappearances, she will have to confront her past, if she wants to survive.
I really enjoyed the story, it's great to read a fantasy that does not use the same European mythological that have been used and reused to death. Finally something that reads (to the average user) very novel and intriguing. I also loved the characters, all very flawed and well rounded.
I am looking forward reading the next installments of the series. (★★★★)
Started: May 29 2019 Finished: Jun 11 2019
Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha, #1)
by Tomi Adeyemi (2018)
by Tomi Adeyemi (2018)
My review:
I heard incredibly good reviews about this book, so I decided to give it a try. I was blown away by how good this book it is. The characterization, the world building, the story telling... everything is so good!
The book is fantasy, but instead of using the European mythology, it uses the Nigerian one. The result is, at least for a person born and raised in Europe, extremely original and novel. The book does not stop there though: it is inspired by the social injustice and xenophobia of our modern world, creating a story that has a lot t say to the modern reader.
This is the story of Zélie Adebola. She still remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie's Reaper mother summoned forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy. (★★★★★)
Started: Mar 08 2019 Finished: May 29 2019
The book is fantasy, but instead of using the European mythology, it uses the Nigerian one. The result is, at least for a person born and raised in Europe, extremely original and novel. The book does not stop there though: it is inspired by the social injustice and xenophobia of our modern world, creating a story that has a lot t say to the modern reader.
This is the story of Zélie Adebola. She still remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie's Reaper mother summoned forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good. Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy. (★★★★★)
Started: Mar 08 2019 Finished: May 29 2019
The Tea Master and the Detective
by Aliette de Bodard (2018)
by Aliette de Bodard (2018)
My review:
I read The Tea Master and the Detective as part of my Hugo 2019 finalists read-a-thon, but I was already familiar with the Hugo award winner author, and I was looking forward reading it.
The book is set in an alternate universe where China discovered the Americas before Europe. The story is set in the future, in the Scattered Pearls Belt, a collection of ring habitats and orbitals ruled by exiled human scholars and powerful families, and held together by living mindships who carry people and freight between the stars. In this fluid society, human and mindship avatars mingle in corridors and in function rooms, and physical and virtual realities overlap, the appearance of environments easily modified and adapted to interlocutors or current mood. A transport ship discharged from military service after a traumatic injury, The Shadow's Child now ekes out a precarious living as a brewer of mind-altering drugs for the comfort of space-travelers. Meanwhile, abrasive and eccentric scholar Long Chau wants to find a corpse for a scientific study. When Long Chau walks into her office, The Shadow's Child expects an unpleasant but easy assignment. When the corpse turns out to have been murdered, Long Chau feels compelled to investigate, dragging The Shadow's Child with her. As they dig deep into the victim's past, The Shadow's Child realizes that the investigation points to Long Chau's own murky past... and, ultimately, to the dark and unbearable void that lies between the stars...
I really enjoyed the story, the characters and the world-building are complex and interesting. I learned that the story is part of a series of stand alone shorts. I am quite intrigued, and I really want to read the others now. (★★★★)
Started: May 27 2019 Finished: May 29 2019
The book is set in an alternate universe where China discovered the Americas before Europe. The story is set in the future, in the Scattered Pearls Belt, a collection of ring habitats and orbitals ruled by exiled human scholars and powerful families, and held together by living mindships who carry people and freight between the stars. In this fluid society, human and mindship avatars mingle in corridors and in function rooms, and physical and virtual realities overlap, the appearance of environments easily modified and adapted to interlocutors or current mood. A transport ship discharged from military service after a traumatic injury, The Shadow's Child now ekes out a precarious living as a brewer of mind-altering drugs for the comfort of space-travelers. Meanwhile, abrasive and eccentric scholar Long Chau wants to find a corpse for a scientific study. When Long Chau walks into her office, The Shadow's Child expects an unpleasant but easy assignment. When the corpse turns out to have been murdered, Long Chau feels compelled to investigate, dragging The Shadow's Child with her. As they dig deep into the victim's past, The Shadow's Child realizes that the investigation points to Long Chau's own murky past... and, ultimately, to the dark and unbearable void that lies between the stars...
I really enjoyed the story, the characters and the world-building are complex and interesting. I learned that the story is part of a series of stand alone shorts. I am quite intrigued, and I really want to read the others now. (★★★★)
Started: May 27 2019 Finished: May 29 2019
Space Opera (Space Opera, #1)
by Catherynne M. Valente (2018)
by Catherynne M. Valente (2018)
My review:
I read Space Opera as part of my Hugo 2019 finalists read-a-thon, but I was already familiar with the Hugo award winner author, and I was looking forward reading it.
The story goes as follows: a century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented, something to cheer up everyone who was left and bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, and understanding. Once every cycle, the civilizations gather for the Metagalactic Grand Prix, part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past. Instead of competing in orbital combat, the powerful species that survived face off in a competition of song, dance, or whatever can be physically performed in an intergalactic talent show. The stakes are high for this new game, and everyone is forced to compete. This year, though, humankind has discovered the enormous universe. And while they expected to discover a grand drama of diplomacy, gunships, wormholes, and stoic councils of aliens, they have instead found glitter, lipstick and electric guitars. Mankind will not get to fight for its destiny, they must sing. A one-hit-wonder band of human musicians, dancers and roadies from London, Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes, have been chosen to represent Earth on the greatest stage in the galaxy. And the fate of their species lies in their ability to rock.
I am having an hard time reviewing this book. It contains witty and deep quotable passages, I love the message it conveys, and it is very well written. On the other side, despite loving Eurovision and Euro-pop, I am not into the pop-culture surrounding it. This makes the book hard to like for me: even if a chocolate cake is made by the best baker in town, you are still not going to like it if you do not like chocolate.
(★★★)
Started: May 08 2019 Finished: May 25 2019
The story goes as follows: a century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented, something to cheer up everyone who was left and bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, and understanding. Once every cycle, the civilizations gather for the Metagalactic Grand Prix, part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past. Instead of competing in orbital combat, the powerful species that survived face off in a competition of song, dance, or whatever can be physically performed in an intergalactic talent show. The stakes are high for this new game, and everyone is forced to compete. This year, though, humankind has discovered the enormous universe. And while they expected to discover a grand drama of diplomacy, gunships, wormholes, and stoic councils of aliens, they have instead found glitter, lipstick and electric guitars. Mankind will not get to fight for its destiny, they must sing. A one-hit-wonder band of human musicians, dancers and roadies from London, Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes, have been chosen to represent Earth on the greatest stage in the galaxy. And the fate of their species lies in their ability to rock.
I am having an hard time reviewing this book. It contains witty and deep quotable passages, I love the message it conveys, and it is very well written. On the other side, despite loving Eurovision and Euro-pop, I am not into the pop-culture surrounding it. This makes the book hard to like for me: even if a chocolate cake is made by the best baker in town, you are still not going to like it if you do not like chocolate.
(★★★)
Started: May 08 2019 Finished: May 25 2019
Uncanny Magazine Issue 25: November/December 2018
by Lynne M. Thomas
by Lynne M. Thomas
Publisher review: The November/December 2018 issue of Hugo Award-winning Uncanny Magazine. Featuring new fiction by Isabel Yap, T. Kingfisher, Naomi Kritzer, Monica Valentinelli, and Cassandra Khaw. Reprinted fiction by Sofia Samatar, essays by Diana M. Pho, Steven H Silver, Sarah Goslee, and Nilah Magruder, poetry by Beth Cato, Hal Y. Zhang, Leah Bobet, and Sharon Hsu, and interviews with Isabel Yap and Monica Valentinelli by Caroline M. Yoachim, a cover by John Picacio, and an editorial by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas.
My rating:
Number of times I read it: 2
My rating:
Number of times I read it: 2
The Black God's Drums
by P. Djèlí Clark
by P. Djèlí Clark
My review:
I read The Black God's Drums as part of my Hugo 2019 finalists read-a-thon, but I was already familiar with the Nebula award winner author, and I was looking forward reading it.
This is the story of Creeper, a scrappy young teen living on the streets of New Orleans. She wants to soar, and her sights are set on securing passage aboard the smuggler airship Midnight Robber. Her ticket: earning Captain Ann-Marie's trust using a secret about a kidnapped Haitian scientist and a mysterious weapon he calls The Black God’s Drums. But Creeper keeps another secret close to heart: Oya, the African orisha of the wind and storms, who speaks inside her head and grants her divine powers. And Oya has her own priorities concerning Creeper and Ann-Marie.
This is a great fantasy novella set in an alternate history new Orleans, and leverages on the Yoruba system of belief. (★★★★)
Started: May 01 2019 Finished: May 08 2019
This is the story of Creeper, a scrappy young teen living on the streets of New Orleans. She wants to soar, and her sights are set on securing passage aboard the smuggler airship Midnight Robber. Her ticket: earning Captain Ann-Marie's trust using a secret about a kidnapped Haitian scientist and a mysterious weapon he calls The Black God’s Drums. But Creeper keeps another secret close to heart: Oya, the African orisha of the wind and storms, who speaks inside her head and grants her divine powers. And Oya has her own priorities concerning Creeper and Ann-Marie.
This is a great fantasy novella set in an alternate history new Orleans, and leverages on the Yoruba system of belief. (★★★★)
Started: May 01 2019 Finished: May 08 2019
The Only Harmless Great Thing
by Brooke Bolander (2018)
by Brooke Bolander (2018)
My review:
I read The Only Harmless Great Thing as part of my Hugo 2019 finalists read-a-thon. I previously read other short stories by this author in the past and I loved them. I really had high expectations and I was not disappointed. I really loved it.
This book is inspired by two historical facts: in the early years of the 20th century, a group of female factory workers in Newark, New Jersey slowly died of radiation poisoning. Around the same time, an Indian elephant was deliberately put to death by electricity in Coney Island.
Brooke Bolander intertwine these two tragedies in a dark alternate history of rage, radioactivity, and injustice crying out to be righted. This is a wrenching journey that crosses eras, chronicling histories of cruelty both grand and petty in search of meaning and justice. (★★★★)
Started: Apr 28 2019 Finished: Apr 30 2019
This book is inspired by two historical facts: in the early years of the 20th century, a group of female factory workers in Newark, New Jersey slowly died of radiation poisoning. Around the same time, an Indian elephant was deliberately put to death by electricity in Coney Island.
Brooke Bolander intertwine these two tragedies in a dark alternate history of rage, radioactivity, and injustice crying out to be righted. This is a wrenching journey that crosses eras, chronicling histories of cruelty both grand and petty in search of meaning and justice. (★★★★)
Started: Apr 28 2019 Finished: Apr 30 2019
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 145, October 2018
by Neil Clarke (2018)
by Neil Clarke (2018)
My review:
I read When We Were Starless as part of my Hugo 2019 finalists read-a-thon. I had not read anything by this author before, so I did not know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. The story is very interesting and the world-building and the story telling are exquisite.
The story is set after some major conflict has left behind a devastated and poisonous world. The protagonist, Mink, barely survives in this world moving around savaging what has been left behind with his tribe. Everything that was left behind is now seen through the eyes of newly built mythologies and superstitions. For example the protagonist tribe herds "weavers" that apparently are some kind of other robot. The sky is black, courtesy of whatever poisoned the planet.
Mink 's role and duty is to deal with "ghost" and to "lay them to rest" for the safety of her people. But what these beings call a ghost is something quite different from our traditional notion and piece by piece we learn more about what has happened to this world and its inhabitants, of the history that involves many more worlds other than this one.
I cannot wait to read more stories by this author! (★★★★)
Started: Apr 26 2019 Finished: Apr 27 2019
The story is set after some major conflict has left behind a devastated and poisonous world. The protagonist, Mink, barely survives in this world moving around savaging what has been left behind with his tribe. Everything that was left behind is now seen through the eyes of newly built mythologies and superstitions. For example the protagonist tribe herds "weavers" that apparently are some kind of other robot. The sky is black, courtesy of whatever poisoned the planet.
Mink 's role and duty is to deal with "ghost" and to "lay them to rest" for the safety of her people. But what these beings call a ghost is something quite different from our traditional notion and piece by piece we learn more about what has happened to this world and its inhabitants, of the history that involves many more worlds other than this one.
I cannot wait to read more stories by this author! (★★★★)
Started: Apr 26 2019 Finished: Apr 27 2019
The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections
by Tina Connolly (2018)
by Tina Connolly (2018)
My review:
I read The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections as part of my Hugo 2019 finalists read-a-thon. I had not read anything by this author before, so I did not know what to expect. I was quite pleased with what I read. I had previously read another story by this author, That Seriously Obnoxious Time I Was Stuck at Witch Rimelda's One Hundredth Birthday Party, that I had loved and I was looking forward reading more by the same author. I was not disappointed, this story was exquisite!
In a world were the monarchy has been taken over by a mischievous sadistic monarch, a baker learn how to re-evoke memories through his careful baking. The monarch force him to cook for him, while keeping his wife hostage. Could emotions and baking save the day? (★★★★)
Started: Apr 25 2019 Finished: Apr 25 2019
In a world were the monarchy has been taken over by a mischievous sadistic monarch, a baker learn how to re-evoke memories through his careful baking. The monarch force him to cook for him, while keeping his wife hostage. Could emotions and baking save the day? (★★★★)
Started: Apr 25 2019 Finished: Apr 25 2019
Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach
by Kelly Robson (2018)
by Kelly Robson (2018)
My review:
I read Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach as part of my Hugo 2019 finalists read-a-thon. I previously read other short stories by this author in the past and I loved them. I really had high expectations and I was not disappointed. I really loved it.
In 2267, Earth has just begun to recover from worldwide ecological disasters. Minh is part of the generation that first moved back up to the surface of the Earth from the underground hells, to reclaim humanity's ancestral habitat. She's spent her entire life restoring river ecosystems, but lately the kind of long-term restoration projects Minh works on have been stalled due to the invention of time travel. When she gets the opportunity take a team to 2000 BC to survey the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, she jumps at the chance to uncover the secrets of the shadowy think tank that controls time travel technology. (★★★★)
Started: Apr 19 2019 Finished: Apr 22 2019
In 2267, Earth has just begun to recover from worldwide ecological disasters. Minh is part of the generation that first moved back up to the surface of the Earth from the underground hells, to reclaim humanity's ancestral habitat. She's spent her entire life restoring river ecosystems, but lately the kind of long-term restoration projects Minh works on have been stalled due to the invention of time travel. When she gets the opportunity take a team to 2000 BC to survey the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, she jumps at the chance to uncover the secrets of the shadowy think tank that controls time travel technology. (★★★★)
Started: Apr 19 2019 Finished: Apr 22 2019
If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again
by Zen Cho (2018)
by Zen Cho (2018)
My review:
I read If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again as part of my Hugo 2019 finalists read-a-thon. I had not read anything bythis author before, so I did not know what to expect. I was quite pleased with what I read.
A hapless imugi is determined to attain the form of a full-fledged dragon and gain entry to the gates of heaven. For a long time, things don't go well. Then, it meets a girl... A truly remarkable story about love, partnership, and being true to yourself. And it's about reaching your dreams, even when they change, even if you momentarily forget them, even if you feel like giving up. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 22 2019 Finished: Apr 22 2019
A hapless imugi is determined to attain the form of a full-fledged dragon and gain entry to the gates of heaven. For a long time, things don't go well. Then, it meets a girl... A truly remarkable story about love, partnership, and being true to yourself. And it's about reaching your dreams, even when they change, even if you momentarily forget them, even if you feel like giving up. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 22 2019 Finished: Apr 22 2019
Fireside Magazine Issue 52, February 2018
by Julia Rios (2018)
by Julia Rios (2018)
My review:
I read The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington as part of my Hugo 2019 finalists read-a-thon. I had read A Dead Djinn in Cairo by this author in the past that I loved and I was looking forward reading more by the same author.
The story is inspired by a real historical event: we know that Washington false teeth were not wooden, but included human teeth. Moreover, according to his ledger books, these 10 teeth were "purchased" from slaves [source]. P. Djèlí Clark in this short story try to imagine who those slaves were, and what their story was. The stories reads as quite realistic at first, but soon a fantastic elements creeps in.
This is a strong contender for this year Hugo in my opinion. (★★★★)
Started: Apr 20 2019 Finished: Apr 20 2019
The story is inspired by a real historical event: we know that Washington false teeth were not wooden, but included human teeth. Moreover, according to his ledger books, these 10 teeth were "purchased" from slaves [source]. P. Djèlí Clark in this short story try to imagine who those slaves were, and what their story was. The stories reads as quite realistic at first, but soon a fantastic elements creeps in.
This is a strong contender for this year Hugo in my opinion. (★★★★)
Started: Apr 20 2019 Finished: Apr 20 2019
Uncanny Magazine Issue 23: July/August 2018
by Lynne M. Thomas (2018)
by Lynne M. Thomas (2018)
My review:
I read The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters, and the Prince Who Was Made of Meat as part of my Hugo 2019 finalists read-a-thon. I had read another short story by this author in the past that I liked and I was curious to read more by the author. I was initially turned off by the title, but I soon change my mind as I started reading.
The story is very funny. It is set in a medieval alternative reality, where dinosaurs are still around and sentient and smart, and so are smart witches and dump princes. And behind all the funny stories, there is a nice inversion of fairy tales tropes, where women have agencies and their happiness does not depend on adherence to the gender role imposed to them by society. (★★★★)
Started: Apr 17 2019 Finished: Apr 18 2019
The story is very funny. It is set in a medieval alternative reality, where dinosaurs are still around and sentient and smart, and so are smart witches and dump princes. And behind all the funny stories, there is a nice inversion of fairy tales tropes, where women have agencies and their happiness does not depend on adherence to the gender role imposed to them by society. (★★★★)
Started: Apr 17 2019 Finished: Apr 18 2019
Apex Magazine Issue 105, February 2018
by Jason Sizemore
by Jason Sizemore
My review:
I read A Witch’s Guide To Escape: A Practical Compendium Of Portal Fantasies as part of my Hugo 2019 finalists read-a-thon. I had read another short story by this author in the past and I loved it. I really had high expectations and I was not disappointed. I really loved it.
The story does not seem to have any fantastic element at first: it is the story of a cool librarian that takes a strong interest on her library patrons, and in particular of a very young kid that appears to be neglected or worse. Soon the fantastic elements starts to creep in: we learn that the librarian is a witch, and books are not just passive objects.
This is one of the top contenders for the Hugo award for Short Fiction this year in my opinion. I loved the characters, and the carefully and exquisitely crafted storytelling. Strongly recommended to everyone. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 16 2019 Finished: Apr 17 2019
The story does not seem to have any fantastic element at first: it is the story of a cool librarian that takes a strong interest on her library patrons, and in particular of a very young kid that appears to be neglected or worse. Soon the fantastic elements starts to creep in: we learn that the librarian is a witch, and books are not just passive objects.
This is one of the top contenders for the Hugo award for Short Fiction this year in my opinion. I loved the characters, and the carefully and exquisitely crafted storytelling. Strongly recommended to everyone. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 16 2019 Finished: Apr 17 2019
American Gods
by Neil Gaiman
by Neil Gaiman
My review:
Neil Gaiman won both the Hugo and the Nebula awards for this book, and because of it I always wanted to read it. I knew nothing of the plot, I only had some guesses based on the title. The book turned out quite different from what I expected. It is an attempt to capture and portray the soul of America, this weird country of immigrants, a kaleidoscopic mixture of people and cultures, without a clearly defined one. It's definitely an interesting book. For the first 3/4th of it I kept wondering where the story would end up. Up to that point the book was almost only a collection of random strokes... but towards the end things starts falling into place, and suddenly a clear outline emerges. Well done Neil Gaiman!
The book is the story of Shadow, a man that was locked behind bars for three years, quietly waiting for the day when he could return to Eagle Point, Indiana. All he wants is to be with Laura, the wife he deeply loves, and start a new life. But just days before his release, Laura and Shadow's best friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A trickster and a rogue, Wednesday seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does himself. Life as Wednesday's bodyguard, driver, and errand boy is far more interesting and dangerous than Shadow ever imagined. Soon Shadow learns that the past never dies... and that beneath the placid surface of everyday life a storm is brewing: an epic war for the very soul of America. And he is standing squarely in its path. (★★★★)
Started: Mar 17 2019 Finished: Apr 14 2019
The book is the story of Shadow, a man that was locked behind bars for three years, quietly waiting for the day when he could return to Eagle Point, Indiana. All he wants is to be with Laura, the wife he deeply loves, and start a new life. But just days before his release, Laura and Shadow's best friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. A trickster and a rogue, Wednesday seems to know more about Shadow than Shadow does himself. Life as Wednesday's bodyguard, driver, and errand boy is far more interesting and dangerous than Shadow ever imagined. Soon Shadow learns that the past never dies... and that beneath the placid surface of everyday life a storm is brewing: an epic war for the very soul of America. And he is standing squarely in its path. (★★★★)
Started: Mar 17 2019 Finished: Apr 14 2019
Lightspeed Magazine, January 2018
by John Joseph Adams
by John Joseph Adams
My review:
This review is for The Court magician by José Pablo Iriarte.
I read The Court magician as part of my Hugo 2019 finalists read-a-thon, but I was already familiar with the Nebula award winner author, and I was looking forward reading it.
This short story focuses on the terrible cost of magic. The main character is someone that like many typical protagonists of fantasy novels has a very humble beginning (in this case a poor orphan), but manages to raise up to one of the highest ranks in the magical world (in this case, he becomes the court magician). This story focuses on the cost associated to such a post, that soon turns out to be a real curse.
This is an excellent short story and a worthy candidate for the Hugo award. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 14 2019 Finished: Apr 14 2019
I read The Court magician as part of my Hugo 2019 finalists read-a-thon, but I was already familiar with the Nebula award winner author, and I was looking forward reading it.
This short story focuses on the terrible cost of magic. The main character is someone that like many typical protagonists of fantasy novels has a very humble beginning (in this case a poor orphan), but manages to raise up to one of the highest ranks in the magical world (in this case, he becomes the court magician). This story focuses on the cost associated to such a post, that soon turns out to be a real curse.
This is an excellent short story and a worthy candidate for the Hugo award. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 14 2019 Finished: Apr 14 2019
Fireside Magazine Issue 60, October 2018
by Julia Rios (2018)
by Julia Rios (2018)
My review:
I read STET as part of my Hugo 2019 finalists read-a-thon, but I was already familiar with the author, and I was looking forward reading more by her. I was not disappointed, this is definitely a strong contender for the prestigious award. I particularly liked the very original and very experimental format: the story is a very short scientific report, annotated with tons of notes between the author and the reviewer. The report itself is very scientific, very objective, and apparently complete, but the footnotes and the back-and-forth captured in the notes shows that there is much more to the story.
Despite its brevity, the story conveys quite effectively the ethical complexities of artificial intelligence, a field that were progress is made at a pace that makes it impossible to really understand the dangers associated with it, especially in terms of unconsciously embedded biases. (★★★★)
Started: Apr 14 2019 Finished: Apr 14 2019
Despite its brevity, the story conveys quite effectively the ethical complexities of artificial intelligence, a field that were progress is made at a pace that makes it impossible to really understand the dangers associated with it, especially in terms of unconsciously embedded biases. (★★★★)
Started: Apr 14 2019 Finished: Apr 14 2019
The Calculating Stars (Lady Astronaut Universe, #1)
by Mary Robinette Kowal (2018)
by Mary Robinette Kowal (2018)
My review:
It has been a while since I have enjoyed a book so much. It's is extremely enjoyable, fast paced, exquisitely and adroitly written. The amount of the research that went into this alternative history novel was clearly quite a lot: the United States of America of the 50s and of the space race it's perfectly recreated while never sounding even remotely didascalic. The characters are very interesting, complex, and far from the usual stereotype.
Reading this book was an emotional roller-coaster. It starts with an impossible to put down, breathtaking, super fast paced escape from a meteorite blast. It would fit perfectly in a Hollywood blockbuster! Then the thrills of the age of the space race, with all the excitements and the fears of the times. And last but not least, the maddening gender and ethnicity base discrimination.
This is an amazing book, and it will be at the top of My Hugo Award for Best Novel ballot. I really cannot wait to read the sequel!
The story starts on a cold spring night in 1952, when a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process.
Elma York's experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition's attempts to put man on the moon, as a calculator. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn't take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can't go into space, too... (★★★★★)
Started: Jan 11 2019 Finished: Jan 31 2019
Reading this book was an emotional roller-coaster. It starts with an impossible to put down, breathtaking, super fast paced escape from a meteorite blast. It would fit perfectly in a Hollywood blockbuster! Then the thrills of the age of the space race, with all the excitements and the fears of the times. And last but not least, the maddening gender and ethnicity base discrimination.
This is an amazing book, and it will be at the top of My Hugo Award for Best Novel ballot. I really cannot wait to read the sequel!
The story starts on a cold spring night in 1952, when a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process.
Elma York's experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition's attempts to put man on the moon, as a calculator. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn't take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can't go into space, too... (★★★★★)
Started: Jan 11 2019 Finished: Jan 31 2019
Penric's Demon (Penric and Desdemona, #1)
by Lois McMaster Bujold (2016)
by Lois McMaster Bujold (2016)
My review:
I read Penric's Demon as part of my Hugo awards finalist reading marathon.
Lois McMaster Bujold is an established well-known award winning author, and this latest work does not disappoint. While it is set on the world of the five gods, it can be fully enjoyed as a stand alone novella.
The book is the story of Lord Penric that, on the way to his bethrodal, comes upon a riding accident with an elderly lady. As he approaches to help, he discovers that the lady is a Temple divine. Her avowed god is The Bastard, "master of all disasters out of season", and with her dying breath she bequeaths her mysterious powers to Penric. From that moment on, Penric's life is irreversibly changed, and his life is in danger from those who envy or fear him.
The novella is quite entertaining, and a fun read, perfect to fill a long commute or a short airplane ride.
Note: I re-read this novelette years later (at the end of 2018) and I enjoyed it again. It's an entertaining short read! (★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): Jun 25 2016 Finished (first time): Jul 02 2016
Lois McMaster Bujold is an established well-known award winning author, and this latest work does not disappoint. While it is set on the world of the five gods, it can be fully enjoyed as a stand alone novella.
The book is the story of Lord Penric that, on the way to his bethrodal, comes upon a riding accident with an elderly lady. As he approaches to help, he discovers that the lady is a Temple divine. Her avowed god is The Bastard, "master of all disasters out of season", and with her dying breath she bequeaths her mysterious powers to Penric. From that moment on, Penric's life is irreversibly changed, and his life is in danger from those who envy or fear him.
The novella is quite entertaining, and a fun read, perfect to fill a long commute or a short airplane ride.
Note: I re-read this novelette years later (at the end of 2018) and I enjoyed it again. It's an entertaining short read! (★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): Jun 25 2016 Finished (first time): Jul 02 2016
Record of a Spaceborn Few (Wayfarers, #3)
by Becky Chambers (2018)
by Becky Chambers (2018)
My review:
I have loved the previous two installments of the Wayfarers series, but with this one Becky Chambers really outdid herself. I like that while the stories are set in the same fictional universe, each of them has a very unique voice. This third volume focuses on humans living in the Exodus Fleet.
Centuries after the last humans left Earth, the Exodus Fleet is a living relic, a place many are from but few outsiders have seen. Humanity has finally been accepted into the galactic community, but while this has opened doors for many, those who have not yet left for alien cities fear that their carefully cultivated way of life is under threat.
Tessa chose to stay home when her brother Ashby left for the stars, but has to question that decision when her position in the Fleet is threatened.
Kip, a reluctant young apprentice, itches for change but doesn't know where to find it.
Sawyer, a lost and lonely newcomer, is just looking for a place to belong.
When a disaster rocks this already fragile community, those Exodans who still call the Fleet their home can no longer avoid the inescapable question: What is the purpose of a ship that has reached its destination? From the ground, we stand. From our ship, we live. By the stars, we hope. (★★★★★)
Started: Nov 09 2018 Finished: Nov 26 2018
Centuries after the last humans left Earth, the Exodus Fleet is a living relic, a place many are from but few outsiders have seen. Humanity has finally been accepted into the galactic community, but while this has opened doors for many, those who have not yet left for alien cities fear that their carefully cultivated way of life is under threat.
Tessa chose to stay home when her brother Ashby left for the stars, but has to question that decision when her position in the Fleet is threatened.
Kip, a reluctant young apprentice, itches for change but doesn't know where to find it.
Sawyer, a lost and lonely newcomer, is just looking for a place to belong.
When a disaster rocks this already fragile community, those Exodans who still call the Fleet their home can no longer avoid the inescapable question: What is the purpose of a ship that has reached its destination? From the ground, we stand. From our ship, we live. By the stars, we hope. (★★★★★)
Started: Nov 09 2018 Finished: Nov 26 2018
Kin
by Bruce McAllister
by Bruce McAllister
My review:
The story is set in a far future where mankind has populated the galaxy, and some planets are starting to deal with overpopulation. This is the story of a young boy, Kim, that decide to approach an renown assassin alien for help. The alien first refuses but is later won over because it senses something special in the boy. The alien helps the boy and offers him the chance to travel the stars. At the heart of the story is the interaction between Kim and the alien, whom the boy manipulates by playing on his cultural taboos and conventions, and for whom he feels equal measures of fascination, revulsion and fear. Kim holds his own against the alien, but there's always a palpable sense of how close he's skirting to genuine danger, and, more importantly, of how incomplete his understanding of that danger is.
The short story is enjoyable and many people liked the subtle depiction of the relationship between the young boy and the alien assassin. It was one of the finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 2007 (it did not win though). (★★)
Started: Oct 28 2018 Finished: Oct 28 2018
The short story is enjoyable and many people liked the subtle depiction of the relationship between the young boy and the alien assassin. It was one of the finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 2007 (it did not win though). (★★)
Started: Oct 28 2018 Finished: Oct 28 2018
Head On (Lock In, #2)
by John Scalzi
by John Scalzi
My review:
I am not a big fan of mysteries and detective stories, even when they are in a science fictional setting. Despite that I really enjoy this book. It has an entertaining plot, nice character, and quite hilarious moments.
Head On is the follow-up to Lock In. It brings Scalzi's trademark snappy dialogue and technological speculation to the future world of sports. Hilketa is a frenetic and violent pastime where players attack each other with swords and hammers. The main goal of the game: obtain your opponent's head and carry it through the goalposts. With flesh and bone bodies, a sport like this would be impossible. But all the players are threeps, robot-like bodies controlled by people with Haden's Syndrome, so anything goes. No one gets hurt, but the brutality is real and the crowds love it. Until a star athlete drops dead on the playing field. Is it an accident or murder? FBI Agents and Haden-related crime investigators, Chris Shane and Leslie Vann, are called in to uncover the truth, and in doing so travel to the darker side of the fast-growing sport of Hilketa, where fortunes are made or lost, and where players and owners do whatever it takes to win, on and off the field. (★★★★)
Started: Sep 30 2018 Finished: Oct 07 2018
Head On is the follow-up to Lock In. It brings Scalzi's trademark snappy dialogue and technological speculation to the future world of sports. Hilketa is a frenetic and violent pastime where players attack each other with swords and hammers. The main goal of the game: obtain your opponent's head and carry it through the goalposts. With flesh and bone bodies, a sport like this would be impossible. But all the players are threeps, robot-like bodies controlled by people with Haden's Syndrome, so anything goes. No one gets hurt, but the brutality is real and the crowds love it. Until a star athlete drops dead on the playing field. Is it an accident or murder? FBI Agents and Haden-related crime investigators, Chris Shane and Leslie Vann, are called in to uncover the truth, and in doing so travel to the darker side of the fast-growing sport of Hilketa, where fortunes are made or lost, and where players and owners do whatever it takes to win, on and off the field. (★★★★)
Started: Sep 30 2018 Finished: Oct 07 2018
Waldo and Magic, Inc
by Robert A. Heinlein (1986)
by Robert A. Heinlein (1986)
My review:
Despite various controversies Robert A. Heinlein is considered one of the fathers of American science fiction. I have never read anything by this author and I was eager to read this novellette when it was sent to me as part of the retro-Hugo award packet.
The story is entertaining, original, and well-written but there are some sexist comments that rendered the book hard to like for me. They are so bad that it is not clear if they are intended as a satirical critique of the sexist attitudes of the time, or not. I will try to read some of his most celebrated work next time! (★★)
Started: Sep 07 2018 Finished: Sep 15 2018
The story is entertaining, original, and well-written but there are some sexist comments that rendered the book hard to like for me. They are so bad that it is not clear if they are intended as a satirical critique of the sexist attitudes of the time, or not. I will try to read some of his most celebrated work next time! (★★)
Started: Sep 07 2018 Finished: Sep 15 2018
Redshirts
by John Scalzi
by John Scalzi
My review:
I have always liked Scalzi, John's fiction and as a result I had read almost all his books. I somehow never managed to read this one, despite the fact he won a Hugo for it!
As you can guess from the title, the book is making fun of all the tropes of the genre, and of cheap sci-fi shows of the past. It is definitely quite entertaining, and it does have a decent and interesting plot. I definitely is deserving of a Hugo but I do love Scalzi's Old Man's War series more.
This is the story of Ensign Andrew Dahl that was just assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It's a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship's Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn't be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that:
(1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces
(2) the ship's captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations
(3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.
Not surprisingly, a great deal of energy below decks is expended on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned to an Away Mission. Then Andrew stumbles on information that completely transforms his and his colleagues' understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is…and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives. (★★★★)
Started: Sep 01 2018 Finished: Sep 07 2018
As you can guess from the title, the book is making fun of all the tropes of the genre, and of cheap sci-fi shows of the past. It is definitely quite entertaining, and it does have a decent and interesting plot. I definitely is deserving of a Hugo but I do love Scalzi's Old Man's War series more.
This is the story of Ensign Andrew Dahl that was just assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It's a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship's Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn't be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that:
(1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces
(2) the ship's captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations
(3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.
Not surprisingly, a great deal of energy below decks is expended on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned to an Away Mission. Then Andrew stumbles on information that completely transforms his and his colleagues' understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is…and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives. (★★★★)
Started: Sep 01 2018 Finished: Sep 07 2018
Revenant Gun (The Machineries of Empire, #3)
by Yoon Ha Lee
by Yoon Ha Lee
My review:
I did like the previous two books of the series, but this third one is on a different league: it's very remarkable. I loved the plot, the characters, the narrative style. I hope to read more by this author soon.
The story starts with a new Shuos Jedao waking up. His few memories tell him that he's a seventeen year old cadet, but his body belongs to a man decades older. Hexarch Nirai Kujen orders Jedao to reconquer the fractured hexarchate on his behalf even though Jedao has no memory of ever being a soldier, let alone a general. Surely a knack for video games doesn't qualify you to take charge of an army? Soon Jedao learns the situation is even worse. The Kel soldiers under his command may be compelled to obey him, but they hate him thanks to a massacre he can't remember committing. Kujen's friendliness can't hide the fact that he's a tyrant. And what's worse, Jedao and Kujen are being hunted by an enemy who knows more about Jedao and his crimes than he does himself... (★★★★★)
Started: Jul 04 2018 Finished: Jul 22 2018
The story starts with a new Shuos Jedao waking up. His few memories tell him that he's a seventeen year old cadet, but his body belongs to a man decades older. Hexarch Nirai Kujen orders Jedao to reconquer the fractured hexarchate on his behalf even though Jedao has no memory of ever being a soldier, let alone a general. Surely a knack for video games doesn't qualify you to take charge of an army? Soon Jedao learns the situation is even worse. The Kel soldiers under his command may be compelled to obey him, but they hate him thanks to a massacre he can't remember committing. Kujen's friendliness can't hide the fact that he's a tyrant. And what's worse, Jedao and Kujen are being hunted by an enemy who knows more about Jedao and his crimes than he does himself... (★★★★★)
Started: Jul 04 2018 Finished: Jul 22 2018
River of Teeth (River of Teeth, #1)
by Sarah Gailey (2017)
by Sarah Gailey (2017)
My review:
Apparently in the 19th century in the non fictional United States government concocted a plan to import hippopotamuses into the marshlands of Louisiana to be bred and slaughtered as an alternative meat source. Hippos are savage, they are fast, and their jaws can snap a man in two. This was a terrible plan. Inspired by this real yet bizarre historical fact, Sarah Gailey developed this alternative history novel, set in a fictional United States where the government did end up approving the introduction of hippopotamuses into the marshlands of Louisiana. Contained within this volume is an 1890s America that might have been: a bayou overrun by feral hippos and mercenary hippo wranglers from around the globe. It is the story of Winslow Houndstooth and his crew. It is the story of their fortunes. It is the story of his revenge.
This is a hard to classify novel: a western with hippos taking the place of horses, and set in Louisiana instead of Texas. It would not be normally my cup of tea, but the writing and the storytelling are both excellent. I will read the rest of the series! (★★★★)
Started: Jun 28 2018 Finished: Jul 01 2018
This is a hard to classify novel: a western with hippos taking the place of horses, and set in Louisiana instead of Texas. It would not be normally my cup of tea, but the writing and the storytelling are both excellent. I will read the rest of the series! (★★★★)
Started: Jun 28 2018 Finished: Jul 01 2018
Six Wakes
by Mur Lafferty
by Mur Lafferty
My review:
What a fun, fast paced, enjoyable book! I am really happy to have picked it up!
Six Wakes is a space adventure set in a future where cloning and memory transfers has given humans an immortality of sort. I confess I would not consider having a series of clones with my memory a form of life extensions, but the concept is very fascinating, and it is adroitly used to drive the plot. The action is set on a lone ship where the clones of a murdered crew must find their murderer... before they kill again. (★★★★)
Started: Jun 20 2018 Finished: Jun 27 2018
Six Wakes is a space adventure set in a future where cloning and memory transfers has given humans an immortality of sort. I confess I would not consider having a series of clones with my memory a form of life extensions, but the concept is very fascinating, and it is adroitly used to drive the plot. The action is set on a lone ship where the clones of a murdered crew must find their murderer... before they kill again. (★★★★)
Started: Jun 20 2018 Finished: Jun 27 2018
Raven Stratagem (The Machineries of Empire, #2)
by Yoon Ha Lee
by Yoon Ha Lee
My review:
In the previous installment of The Machineries of the Empire series, the hexarchate's gifted young captain Kel Cheris summoned the ghost of the long dead General Shuos Jedao to help her put down a rebellion. She didn't reckon on his breaking free of centuries of imprisonment and possessing her.
Now things are getting even worse, the enemy Hafn are invading, and Jedao takes over General Kel Khiruev's fleet, which was tasked with stopping them. Only one of Khiruev's subordinates, Lieutenant Colonel Kel Brezan, seems to be able to resist the influence of the brilliant but psychotic Jedao. Jedao claims to be interested in defending the hexarchate, but can Khiruev or Brezan trust him? For that matter, will the hexarchate's masters wipe out the entire fleet to destroy the rogue general?
This second book is as intriguing as the first, and I cannot wait to read the third and final instalment of this series. (★★★★)
Started: May 28 2018 Finished: Jun 20 2018
Now things are getting even worse, the enemy Hafn are invading, and Jedao takes over General Kel Khiruev's fleet, which was tasked with stopping them. Only one of Khiruev's subordinates, Lieutenant Colonel Kel Brezan, seems to be able to resist the influence of the brilliant but psychotic Jedao. Jedao claims to be interested in defending the hexarchate, but can Khiruev or Brezan trust him? For that matter, will the hexarchate's masters wipe out the entire fleet to destroy the rogue general?
This second book is as intriguing as the first, and I cannot wait to read the third and final instalment of this series. (★★★★)
Started: May 28 2018 Finished: Jun 20 2018
Provenance
by Ann Leckie (2017)
by Ann Leckie (2017)
My review:
I loved Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch trilogy (the winner of Hugo, Nebula, Arthur C. Clarke and Locus Awards!), and I was quite curious to read this new stand alone book, set in the same universe.
Provenance is the story of Ingray, a power-driven young woman has just one chance to secure the status she craves and regain priceless lost artifacts prized by her people. She must free their thief from a prison planet from which no one has ever returned. Of course things are much complex than expected... and on her return to her home world she finds her planet in political turmoil, at the heart of an escalating interstellar conflict.
I ended up liking the book a lot. It is much more readable and entertaining, yet much less groundbreaking and original than the previous trilogy. It is a great candidate for the Hugo award for best Novel, but not the one on top of my list. (★★★★)
Started: May 12 2018 Finished: May 28 2018
Provenance is the story of Ingray, a power-driven young woman has just one chance to secure the status she craves and regain priceless lost artifacts prized by her people. She must free their thief from a prison planet from which no one has ever returned. Of course things are much complex than expected... and on her return to her home world she finds her planet in political turmoil, at the heart of an escalating interstellar conflict.
I ended up liking the book a lot. It is much more readable and entertaining, yet much less groundbreaking and original than the previous trilogy. It is a great candidate for the Hugo award for best Novel, but not the one on top of my list. (★★★★)
Started: May 12 2018 Finished: May 28 2018
New York 2140
by Kim Stanley Robinson (2017)
by Kim Stanley Robinson (2017)
My review:
This is the first time I read a book by this author, and I had heard a lot of good things about this particular book so I was quite eager to give it a try. I am not sure why, but I expected a pulpy, action packed, fun yet forgettable book. Instead the book is very light on the plot side, yet very deep in the political and sociological side. It is also a love letter to New York City, a story that celebrates its past, its spirit, while it imagines its future. I am very glad I read it, and even if it is not my favorite Hugo finalist, it is definitely Hugo worthy, and a top contender.
The story is set in 2140. As expected no action was taken to stop global warming, the ocean waters rose, and New York City is submerged (as the vast majority of the big cities on Earth). NYC residents adapted and it remained the bustling, vibrant metropolis it had always been, yet changed forever. Every street became a canal. Every skyscraper an island. Through the eyes of the varied inhabitants of one building, Kim Stanley Robinson shows us how one of our great cities will change with the rising tides. And how we too will change. (★★★★)
Started: Apr 21 2018 Finished: May 12 2018
The story is set in 2140. As expected no action was taken to stop global warming, the ocean waters rose, and New York City is submerged (as the vast majority of the big cities on Earth). NYC residents adapted and it remained the bustling, vibrant metropolis it had always been, yet changed forever. Every street became a canal. Every skyscraper an island. Through the eyes of the varied inhabitants of one building, Kim Stanley Robinson shows us how one of our great cities will change with the rising tides. And how we too will change. (★★★★)
Started: Apr 21 2018 Finished: May 12 2018
The Collapsing Empire (The Interdependency, #1)
by John Scalzi (2017)
by John Scalzi (2017)
My review:
I really enjoyed Scalzi's Old Man's War series, and I was looking forward reading this first installment of his new space-opera. The book is certainly entertaining and fun, but a little bit on the short side. The length, coupled with the cliffhanger ending, left me with the impression I had just finished the first half of a book. I am looking forward reading the rest, and a little mad that I have to wait months to see what happen next.
The book is set in a relatively far future in our universe where faster than light travel is still not possible... until the discovery of The Flow, an extra-dimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transport us to other worlds, around other stars. Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war, and a system of control for the rulers of the empire. The Flow is eternal and static... or so people believe. But just as a river changes course, The Flow changes as well, cutting off worlds from the rest of humanity. When it's discovered that The Flow is moving, possibly cutting off all human worlds from faster than light travel forever, three individuals, a scientist, a starship captain and the Empress of the Interdependency, are in a race against time to discover what, if anything, can be salvaged from an interstellar empire on the brink of collapse. (★★★)
Started: Apr 09 2018 Finished: Apr 20 2018
The book is set in a relatively far future in our universe where faster than light travel is still not possible... until the discovery of The Flow, an extra-dimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transport us to other worlds, around other stars. Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war, and a system of control for the rulers of the empire. The Flow is eternal and static... or so people believe. But just as a river changes course, The Flow changes as well, cutting off worlds from the rest of humanity. When it's discovered that The Flow is moving, possibly cutting off all human worlds from faster than light travel forever, three individuals, a scientist, a starship captain and the Empress of the Interdependency, are in a race against time to discover what, if anything, can be salvaged from an interstellar empire on the brink of collapse. (★★★)
Started: Apr 09 2018 Finished: Apr 20 2018
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 132, September 2017
by Neil Clarke (2017)
by Neil Clarke (2017)
My review:
The Secret Life of Bots is set in a future where the human race is fighting a war against an alien civilization... and losing it. After having all their spaceships destroyed, the humans recover a previously retired spaceship, governed by an AI that while very loyal is quite bitter about being previously disposed. Humanity only hope of survival is placed on a secret and dangerous mission, to be executed on that very ship. The refurbished ship has many robots, all reporting to it. One of these is Bot 9, the main character of the story, that has been in storage for a very long while. It's a dated model with a reputation for instability, but when the ship runs into a crisis, even temperamental old multibots are called to assist. 9 is to deal with a pest problem, something is chewing through the walls, and while it would prefer a more important job, it dutifully sets about hunting down vermin.
The story is extremely entertaining and a strong contender for the 2018 Hugo award for best novelette. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 09 2018 Finished: Apr 09 2018
The story is extremely entertaining and a strong contender for the 2018 Hugo award for best novelette. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 09 2018 Finished: Apr 09 2018
Uncanny Magazine Issue 16: May/June 2017
by Lynne M. Thomas
by Lynne M. Thomas
My review:
The story starts at Allpa's grandmother deathbed. Allpa's turned out quite different from the warrior that grandma expected her descendant to be. He seems to be far more interested in working the farm he inherited, than mastering the art of the sword. To Allpa's immense surprise, his grandma gives him her magic sword. His not excited about it, but he takes it home, to honor his grandma's memory. Then, as he unleashes the sword, three fearsome warriors emerge: sun, moon and dust. They are ready to train him to became a strong warrior, but Allpa's is not interested, an eventually they realize that. But perhaps his grandmother, the fearsome Anka the clear eyed, did not intend to push him towards a warrior's life, but to give him something far more valuable...
Merged review:
This is the story of Finley, a man like many others, that one day encounters Andreas, a vampire that cannot resist the temptation to bit and turn Finley. Unfortunately it is against the law to bit without consent, and even worst to turn without going through the necessary legal procedures. On top of it Finley is an F2M transgender man, and the law does not allow transgender men to be turned.
A great novelette, a vampire story with a very novel twist. The vampiric turning give the opportunity to Finley to explore what transition and gender confirmation meant for him. Very interesting and novel. A very strong contender for the best novelette Hugo Award. (★★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): Apr 07 2018 Finished (first time): Apr 08 2018
Merged review:
This is the story of Finley, a man like many others, that one day encounters Andreas, a vampire that cannot resist the temptation to bit and turn Finley. Unfortunately it is against the law to bit without consent, and even worst to turn without going through the necessary legal procedures. On top of it Finley is an F2M transgender man, and the law does not allow transgender men to be turned.
A great novelette, a vampire story with a very novel twist. The vampiric turning give the opportunity to Finley to explore what transition and gender confirmation meant for him. Very interesting and novel. A very strong contender for the best novelette Hugo Award. (★★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): Apr 07 2018 Finished (first time): Apr 08 2018
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 124, January 2017
by Neil Clarke (2017)
by Neil Clarke (2017)
My review:
Helena Li Yuanhui of Splendid Beef Enterprises is an expert in counterfeiting real beef with 3D bio-printed one. Her printed beef is perfect in texture, color, scent, and flavor. She is working hard to try to raise enough money to change her identity and escape from the past she is so hard trying to escape from... until one day, someone learn about it, and decides to blackmail Helena...
The world building is sublime: Helena's world is credible, futuristic, yet it contains many of the horror and the contradictions of our present world. This is definitely another good contender for the Hugo Award for best novelette. (★★★★)
Started: Apr 08 2018 Finished: Apr 08 2018
The world building is sublime: Helena's world is credible, futuristic, yet it contains many of the horror and the contradictions of our present world. This is definitely another good contender for the Hugo Award for best novelette. (★★★★)
Started: Apr 08 2018 Finished: Apr 08 2018
Asimov's Science Fiction, September/October 2017
by Sheila Williams (2017)
by Sheila Williams (2017)
My review:
A great story set on a generational ship leaving behind a troubled earth and moving towards a far away planet. The story focuses on the people on the ship, on their culture and dreams, and analyze their relationship with the planet that their ancestors have left behind. It's definitely a strong contender for the Hugo Award for best novelette.
(★★★★)
Started: Apr 05 2018 Finished: Apr 06 2018
Started: Apr 05 2018 Finished: Apr 06 2018
Children of Thorns, Children of Water (Dominion of the Fallen, #1.5)
by Aliette de Bodard (2017)
by Aliette de Bodard (2017)
My review:
I read a lot of good reviews for the Dominion of the Fallen series and I was looking forward reading this novelette set in that fictional world. While it can be read as a stand alone story, I regret reading it without having read the The House of Shattered Wings first: I had the constant feeling I was missing something, some backstory.
The story is set during a yearly tradition for House of Hawthorn: the test of the Houseless. For those chosen, success means the difference between a safe life and the devastation of the streets. However, for Thuan and his friend Kim Cuc, dragons in human shapes and envoys from the dying underwater kingdom of the Seine, the stakes are entirely different. Charged with infiltrating a House that keeps encroaching on the Seine, if they are caught, they face a painful death. Worse, mysterious children of thorns stalk the candidates through Hawthorn’s corridors. Will Thuan and Kim Cuc survive and succeed? (★★)
Started: Apr 04 2018 Finished: Apr 05 2018
The story is set during a yearly tradition for House of Hawthorn: the test of the Houseless. For those chosen, success means the difference between a safe life and the devastation of the streets. However, for Thuan and his friend Kim Cuc, dragons in human shapes and envoys from the dying underwater kingdom of the Seine, the stakes are entirely different. Charged with infiltrating a House that keeps encroaching on the Seine, if they are caught, they face a painful death. Worse, mysterious children of thorns stalk the candidates through Hawthorn’s corridors. Will Thuan and Kim Cuc survive and succeed? (★★)
Started: Apr 04 2018 Finished: Apr 05 2018
Uncanny Magazine Issue 18: September/October 2017
by Lynne M. Thomas
by Lynne M. Thomas
My review:
While the story is quite simple, it is nevertheless entertaining. The main character is an old artificial intelligence, living inside a museum, that one day discovers a Japanese anime (Hyperdimension Warp Record) and become a fan. Then, it discovers fan-fiction and the online fandom.
Merged review:
A word of advice: do not read this when you are sleepy or distracted. This is not an easy read, and it requires your full attention. I made the mistake to read it at night just before falling asleep... and I ended up having to read it again later because I had no idea of what I just read.
The story is an unsettling and grotesque tour of a museum / freak show, a reflection on what being differently abled meant in the past and means today. It is emotionally intense and disturbing, but the plot is quite thin. (★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): Apr 03 2018 Finished (first time): Apr 03 2018
Merged review:
A word of advice: do not read this when you are sleepy or distracted. This is not an easy read, and it requires your full attention. I made the mistake to read it at night just before falling asleep... and I ended up having to read it again later because I had no idea of what I just read.
The story is an unsettling and grotesque tour of a museum / freak show, a reflection on what being differently abled meant in the past and means today. It is emotionally intense and disturbing, but the plot is quite thin. (★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): Apr 03 2018 Finished (first time): Apr 03 2018
Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #225
by Scott H. Andrews (2017)
by Scott H. Andrews (2017)
My review:
A moving and cleverly written short story, using very clever fantasy allegories to explore how human copes with the fact that their existence is limited, and its length is not equitably distributed. The story explore aging, and how sometimes life doesn't play out the way we envisioned for ourselves, and sometimes we need to abandon our childhood dreams to follow our hearts, or for our loved ones.
This is definitely a strong finalist for the 2018 Hugo Award for Short Stories. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 02 2018 Finished: Apr 02 2018
This is definitely a strong finalist for the 2018 Hugo Award for Short Stories. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 02 2018 Finished: Apr 02 2018
Apex Magazine, Issue 99 August 2017
by Jason Sizemore (2017)
by Jason Sizemore (2017)
My review:
This is the story of Jesse Turnblatt, a Native American working in a Virtual Reality store in Sedona, as a guide to the VR cyber tour "Authentic Indian Experience". He recognize that there is very little authenticity in the tour, and he worries that his English sounding name may turn tourist off. One day a Caucasian man approaches him, and the two become quickly fast friends...
The story is a symbolic retelling of the historical encounter between European "settlers" and the First Nations Americans, and describe the cultural appropriation that has taken place afterwards.
The short story starts with very fitting words by Sherman Alexie: In the Great American Indian novel, when it is finally written, all of the white people will be Indians and all of the Indians will be ghosts. (★★★★★)
Started: Mar 31 2018 Finished: Apr 01 2018
The story is a symbolic retelling of the historical encounter between European "settlers" and the First Nations Americans, and describe the cultural appropriation that has taken place afterwards.
The short story starts with very fitting words by Sherman Alexie: In the Great American Indian novel, when it is finally written, all of the white people will be Indians and all of the Indians will be ghosts. (★★★★★)
Started: Mar 31 2018 Finished: Apr 01 2018
Parable of the Talents (Earthseed, #2)
by Octavia E. Butler
by Octavia E. Butler
My review:
This Nebula Award-winning novel is the second installment of the Earthseed series, and it is fantastic. I loved "parable of the sower", but the second volume is even better. The plot is more complex, the narrative devices used by Butler are more intriguing (multiple alternative POV with very different prospective of the events), and the ending is much more satisfying and complete. It turns out that the first two novels, the only one to be published, are two halves of the same stand alone story. The other planed yet never published books (4!!!!) were a sequel with very distinct characters and plot line.
The book continues the story of Lauren Olamina in socially and economically depressed California in the 2030s. Convinced that her community should colonize the stars, Lauren and her followers make preparations. But the collapse of society and rise of fanatics result in Lauren's followers being enslaved, and her daughter stolen from her. Now, Lauren must fight back to save the new world order.
The book has some very dark and tragic moment, but it is way more hopeful than the first.
The story is really is as relevant today as it was when it was published in the 90s. In the fictional America of the book, a new peson is running for president on an anti muslim, anti immigrant populist platform, and his campaign slogan is "make america great again".
Last but not least.... I recommend the following articles (BEWARE SPOILERS! DO NOT READ UNTIL YOU HAVE READ BOTH BOOKS):
The Octavia E. Butler Plants an Earthseed: an interview with the author after the publication of the second volume.
There's Nothing New / Under The Sun, / But There Are New Suns: Recovering Octavia E. Butler’s Lost Parables by Gerry Canavan: The author of this articles looked at all the notes of Octavia Butler's regarding the never published sequels to the original published duology.
Octavia Butler's Prescient Vision of a Zealot Elected to "Make America Great Again" by Abby Aguirre: the New Yorker's take on the book. (★★★★★)
Started: Mar 19 2018 Finished: Mar 29 2018
The book continues the story of Lauren Olamina in socially and economically depressed California in the 2030s. Convinced that her community should colonize the stars, Lauren and her followers make preparations. But the collapse of society and rise of fanatics result in Lauren's followers being enslaved, and her daughter stolen from her. Now, Lauren must fight back to save the new world order.
The book has some very dark and tragic moment, but it is way more hopeful than the first.
The story is really is as relevant today as it was when it was published in the 90s. In the fictional America of the book, a new peson is running for president on an anti muslim, anti immigrant populist platform, and his campaign slogan is "make america great again".
Last but not least.... I recommend the following articles (BEWARE SPOILERS! DO NOT READ UNTIL YOU HAVE READ BOTH BOOKS):
The Octavia E. Butler Plants an Earthseed: an interview with the author after the publication of the second volume.
There's Nothing New / Under The Sun, / But There Are New Suns: Recovering Octavia E. Butler’s Lost Parables by Gerry Canavan: The author of this articles looked at all the notes of Octavia Butler's regarding the never published sequels to the original published duology.
Octavia Butler's Prescient Vision of a Zealot Elected to "Make America Great Again" by Abby Aguirre: the New Yorker's take on the book. (★★★★★)
Started: Mar 19 2018 Finished: Mar 29 2018
Beneath the Sugar Sky (Wayward Children, #3)
by Seanan McGuire (2018)
by Seanan McGuire (2018)
My review:
Another story set in Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children fictional universe, featuring many of the characters introduced in Every Heart a Doorway and few new ones. I would recommend reading the first book of the series before this one (the second one is a good book, but is not required to fully appreciate this one).
The story focuses on Sumi, that died in the first book of the series, years before her prophesied daughter could be born, and on Rini that was born anyway in the sugary nonsensical word beyond Sumi's doorway, and that is now trying to bring her mother back from a world without magic, Earth. (★★★)
Started: Mar 13 2018 Finished: Mar 19 2018
The story focuses on Sumi, that died in the first book of the series, years before her prophesied daughter could be born, and on Rini that was born anyway in the sugary nonsensical word beyond Sumi's doorway, and that is now trying to bring her mother back from a world without magic, Earth. (★★★)
Started: Mar 13 2018 Finished: Mar 19 2018
The Night Masquerade (Binti, #3)
by Nnedi Okorafor (2018)
by Nnedi Okorafor (2018)
My review:
The Night Masquerade is the conclusion of the Binti trilogy, one of the most interesting science fiction series in recent years. The first two volumes were moving and original, and I had very high expectations for this last installment. The book was solid, but it does not reach the heights of the previous installments. The main issue I have is that some of the plot threads come to anti-climatic conclusion. Despite that, the story is intriguing, the characters are very interesting, and the world-building is fantastic. I loved how Binti is always open towards other alien and human cultures, and let each encounter with a different culture transform her deeply, becoming more than what she was before. I really do hope that the author will take us back to this fictional universe.
In this novella, Binti has returned to her home planet, believing that the violence of the Meduse has been left behind. Unfortunately, although her people are peaceful on the whole, the same cannot be said for the Khoush, who fan the flames of their ancient rivalry with the Meduse. Far from her village when the conflicts start, Binti hurries home, but anger and resentment has already claimed the lives of many close to her. Once again it is up to Binti, and her intriguing new friend Mwinyi, to intervene, though the elders of her people do not entirely trust her motives, and try to prevent a war that could wipe out her people, once and for all. (★★★★)
Started: Feb 03 2018 Finished: Feb 08 2018
In this novella, Binti has returned to her home planet, believing that the violence of the Meduse has been left behind. Unfortunately, although her people are peaceful on the whole, the same cannot be said for the Khoush, who fan the flames of their ancient rivalry with the Meduse. Far from her village when the conflicts start, Binti hurries home, but anger and resentment has already claimed the lives of many close to her. Once again it is up to Binti, and her intriguing new friend Mwinyi, to intervene, though the elders of her people do not entirely trust her motives, and try to prevent a war that could wipe out her people, once and for all. (★★★★)
Started: Feb 03 2018 Finished: Feb 08 2018
Prelude to Foundation (Foundation, #6)
by Isaac Asimov (2012)
by Isaac Asimov (2012)
My review:
In 1988, 46 years after writing the first Foundation story, and two years after publishing the last chapter of the story, Asimov decided to delight his fans going back to that fictional universe. Instead of moving the story forward, he decided to go back in time, and shed some light on Hari Seldon, the founder of psychohistory, the invention behind the entire series.
In all those years the author, the science fiction field, and the entire word had changed quite a lot. It is not a surprise that the book is stylistically and thematically very different from the original work. The original novels has little to do with the characters themselves, and more to do with the social evolution of the galactic empire. This prequel is mainly focused on its characters instead. This does not prevent it from touching some social themes like gender and race. While the treatment of these themes is quite unsatisfying for a modern reader, it was probably in line with the discussions of the time.
It is a very entertaining story, even if it is very episodic and at times close to fanfic. It is probably one of the worst book of the entire series, but it is nevertheless quite enjoyable to get to see some of our beloved characters again.
After this one, Asimov managed to write a single Foundation book. I am looking forward reading it. (★★★)
Started: Aug 16 2017 Finished: Aug 28 2017
In all those years the author, the science fiction field, and the entire word had changed quite a lot. It is not a surprise that the book is stylistically and thematically very different from the original work. The original novels has little to do with the characters themselves, and more to do with the social evolution of the galactic empire. This prequel is mainly focused on its characters instead. This does not prevent it from touching some social themes like gender and race. While the treatment of these themes is quite unsatisfying for a modern reader, it was probably in line with the discussions of the time.
It is a very entertaining story, even if it is very episodic and at times close to fanfic. It is probably one of the worst book of the entire series, but it is nevertheless quite enjoyable to get to see some of our beloved characters again.
After this one, Asimov managed to write a single Foundation book. I am looking forward reading it. (★★★)
Started: Aug 16 2017 Finished: Aug 28 2017
The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)
by Margaret Atwood (1998)
by Margaret Atwood (1998)
My review:
Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now...
What I found more shocking about his book, is that it was written 35 years ago. I found it shocking, because the future it describes is as possible and as credible today, as it was when it was written. What makes this story so scary, is that while Offred's future seems improbable at first ("it could never happen here"), as you learn more about how it came to be, it looks more and more probable. (★★★★★)
Started: Aug 05 2017 Finished: Aug 15 2017
What I found more shocking about his book, is that it was written 35 years ago. I found it shocking, because the future it describes is as possible and as credible today, as it was when it was written. What makes this story so scary, is that while Offred's future seems improbable at first ("it could never happen here"), as you learn more about how it came to be, it looks more and more probable. (★★★★★)
Started: Aug 05 2017 Finished: Aug 15 2017
A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers, #2)
by Becky Chambers
by Becky Chambers
My review:
I loved the first book of this series, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, and I was eager to read its sequel, i.e. this book. I was expecting more of the same: same crew, similar plot-line. I was quite pleased to see that the author decided to go in a very different direction: this book can be pretty much read as a stand-alone novel, and it focuses on side characters than briefly appear in the previous book. The tone of the book is very different as well: the tones of this book are darker, and the themes more complex and deep. The book is the story of three women: Sidra, that was once a ship's artificial intelligence, and that recently acquired (illegally) a body, Pepper, a genetically modified human that was created to work as a slave, and Owl, another ship AI that raise the young Pepper once she escaped from the labor camp. The story is told in two separate timelines. In the first we follow the young pepper, escaped from the labor camp, as she makes sense of a new world with the help of Owl. In the second we follow Sidra, as a recently born AI, trusted into an artificial body, trying to make sense of a world that is quite different from the one she was programmed to live in, with the help of Pepper. The two stories develop symmetrically in parallel, toward a rewarding conclusion. I am looking forward reading more books set in this fictional world.
(★★★★★)
Started: Jul 11 2017 Finished: Jul 18 2017
Started: Jul 11 2017 Finished: Jul 18 2017
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)
by Becky Chambers (2014)
by Becky Chambers (2014)
My review:
A very enjoyable and fun-to-read book. The plot is relatively thin, but the book still manage to be thrilling and interesting. The focus is on the fascinating world building, on the characters, and on their relationships. It has the same feel of the TV show firefly and the nice world building (but not the crazy political intrigue) of the expanse.
This is the story of a spaceship crew, contractor workers that builds space highways, i.e. wormholes. The crew contains many humans, but also a fair number of other alien species, each with their customs and culture. To the galaxy at large, humanity is a minor species, that only recently joined the Galactic Commons (a inter-species federation). A young Martian woman, hoping the vastness of space will put some distance between herself and the life she's left behind, joins the crew as they embark in one of the most ambitious, and potentially dangerous projects. But as I said, this is all in the background, the main focus is on the characters, their stories, and their relationships.
While the book is not groundbreaking, while it does not introduce never seen before ideas, it is touching, fun to read, and it has very memorable characters.
(★★★★★)
Started: Jul 07 2017 Finished: Jul 11 2017
This is the story of a spaceship crew, contractor workers that builds space highways, i.e. wormholes. The crew contains many humans, but also a fair number of other alien species, each with their customs and culture. To the galaxy at large, humanity is a minor species, that only recently joined the Galactic Commons (a inter-species federation). A young Martian woman, hoping the vastness of space will put some distance between herself and the life she's left behind, joins the crew as they embark in one of the most ambitious, and potentially dangerous projects. But as I said, this is all in the background, the main focus is on the characters, their stories, and their relationships.
While the book is not groundbreaking, while it does not introduce never seen before ideas, it is touching, fun to read, and it has very memorable characters.
(★★★★★)
Started: Jul 07 2017 Finished: Jul 11 2017
Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire, #1)
by Yoon Ha Lee (2016)
by Yoon Ha Lee (2016)
My review:
I read Ninefox gambit as part of the 2017 Hugo awards read-a-thon. It is an intriguing and enjoyable story, set in a cleverly build fictional universe.
The hexarcate is at risk: the Fortress of Scattered Needles has fallen in the hand of the heretics. Kel Cheris is selected to retake it, and her rank elevated to the one of general. Cheris’s best hope is to ally with the immortal disgraced tactician Shuos Jedao, the one that has never lost a battle before being imprisoned after he went mad in his first life and massacred two armies, one of them his own. Cheris must decide how far she can trust Jedao, because she might be his next victim.
I am looking forward reading the rest of the trilogy. (★★★★★)
Started: Jun 28 2017 Finished: Jul 06 2017
The hexarcate is at risk: the Fortress of Scattered Needles has fallen in the hand of the heretics. Kel Cheris is selected to retake it, and her rank elevated to the one of general. Cheris’s best hope is to ally with the immortal disgraced tactician Shuos Jedao, the one that has never lost a battle before being imprisoned after he went mad in his first life and massacred two armies, one of them his own. Cheris must decide how far she can trust Jedao, because she might be his next victim.
I am looking forward reading the rest of the trilogy. (★★★★★)
Started: Jun 28 2017 Finished: Jul 06 2017
Too Like the Lightning (Terra Ignota, #1)
by Ada Palmer
by Ada Palmer
My review:
I read this as part of the Hugo Award finalist reading marathon, and it has been, so far, the most unusual and original entry. When I started it, I thought it was a very confusing, hand to follow, and pretentious book. As I continued reading it, my opinion drastically changed: the world building is breath taking in its complexity and scope, the complex plot is as full of intrigue as Martin's Game of Thrones, and the characters are multi faceted and definitely unusual.
Many other readers hated the old style English used by the author, but it was quite cosmetic, it does not impact the readability of the book, and it did not bother me. The part that I believe did not work out well is the attempt of the author of breaking gender stereotypes (in my opinion the stereotype end up being reinforced instead): this series story is set in a future where society and language is gender neutral, but the narrator assigns female pronouns to nurturing characters, and male pronouns to more aggressive ones.
The plot is very complex, and it is hard to say much without spoiling some of the plot twists. I will just say that the story is set in a future society where countries are no longer defined by geographical boundaries thanks to the availability of fast and affordable travel options. People can now elect which country they belong to, based on their political believes. But the intrigues between these new countries are as complex as the one in the European kingdoms few centuries ago. After long religious wars, the public practice of religion has been outlawed, its discussion kept private with sensayers, spiritual counselors.
Nested in political and family intrigues the book also offers tons of 18th century philosophy... that while it is not my favorite topic, it does add some interesting color to the story. (★★★★)
Started: Jun 07 2017 Finished: Jun 28 2017
Many other readers hated the old style English used by the author, but it was quite cosmetic, it does not impact the readability of the book, and it did not bother me. The part that I believe did not work out well is the attempt of the author of breaking gender stereotypes (in my opinion the stereotype end up being reinforced instead): this series story is set in a future where society and language is gender neutral, but the narrator assigns female pronouns to nurturing characters, and male pronouns to more aggressive ones.
The plot is very complex, and it is hard to say much without spoiling some of the plot twists. I will just say that the story is set in a future society where countries are no longer defined by geographical boundaries thanks to the availability of fast and affordable travel options. People can now elect which country they belong to, based on their political believes. But the intrigues between these new countries are as complex as the one in the European kingdoms few centuries ago. After long religious wars, the public practice of religion has been outlawed, its discussion kept private with sensayers, spiritual counselors.
Nested in political and family intrigues the book also offers tons of 18th century philosophy... that while it is not my favorite topic, it does add some interesting color to the story. (★★★★)
Started: Jun 07 2017 Finished: Jun 28 2017
All the Birds in the Sky (All the Birds in the Sky, #1)
by Charlie Jane Anders (2016)
by Charlie Jane Anders (2016)
My review:
A deeply original work, at the intersection of science fiction, fantasy, YA, and fairy tales, with an interesting twisted spin. This is the story of two friends, Patricia Delfine and Laurence Armstead, both terribly bullied as a child. They are very different, Patricia a witch, Laurence a scientific genius, yet the circumstances, and their peculiarities bring them together. The story starts during their childhood, and follow them as they grow older, until... the apocalypse.
I loved this book, and I ended up staying up late at night few nights in a row to see what was going to happen next. This is clearly a worthy finalist for the Hugo Award for best Novel. (★★★★★)
Started: May 29 2017 Finished: Jun 06 2017
I loved this book, and I ended up staying up late at night few nights in a row to see what was going to happen next. This is clearly a worthy finalist for the Hugo Award for best Novel. (★★★★★)
Started: May 29 2017 Finished: Jun 06 2017
The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe
by Kij Johnson (2016)
by Kij Johnson (2016)
My review:
I read The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe as part of my Hugo awards finalist reading marathon.
As the title suggest, this story is inspired by, and a sequel of sort of the famous Lovecraft's The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, that is, by far, one of my least favorite books I have ever read, I found the original slow and boring, and I had to force myself to reach the end. It should not come as a surprise, that I was not looking forward reading this modern version of it. It turns out though, that the story is quite good, vastly superior to the original, and it subverts many of the problematic tropes of the Lovecraft's story. (★★★)
Started: May 26 2017 Finished: May 29 2017
As the title suggest, this story is inspired by, and a sequel of sort of the famous Lovecraft's The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, that is, by far, one of my least favorite books I have ever read, I found the original slow and boring, and I had to force myself to reach the end. It should not come as a surprise, that I was not looking forward reading this modern version of it. It turns out though, that the story is quite good, vastly superior to the original, and it subverts many of the problematic tropes of the Lovecraft's story. (★★★)
Started: May 26 2017 Finished: May 29 2017
Penric and the Shaman (Penric and Desdemona, #2)
by Lois McMaster Bujold (2016)
by Lois McMaster Bujold (2016)
My review:
I read Penric and the Shaman as part of my Hugo awards finalist reading marathon.
Lois McMaster Bujold is an established well-known award winning author, and this latest work does not disappoint. It is set on the world of the five gods, and it is best enjoyed if read after the previous book in the series, Penric's Demon.
In this book Penric is now a divine of the Bastard’s Order as well as a sorcerer and scholar, living in the palace where the Princess-Archdivine holds court. His scholarly work is interrupted when the Archdivine agrees to send Penric, in his role as sorcerer, to accompany a Locator of the Father’s Order, assigned to capture Inglis, a runaway shaman charged with the murder of his best friend. However, the situation they discover in the mountains is far more complex than expected. Penric's roles as sorcerer, strategist, and counselor are all called upon before the end.
The novella is quite entertaining and fun. While it is not ground-breaking in the genre, I am growing fond of this character, and I am looking forward reading more books set in this world. (★★★★)
Started: May 21 2017 Finished: May 26 2017
Lois McMaster Bujold is an established well-known award winning author, and this latest work does not disappoint. It is set on the world of the five gods, and it is best enjoyed if read after the previous book in the series, Penric's Demon.
In this book Penric is now a divine of the Bastard’s Order as well as a sorcerer and scholar, living in the palace where the Princess-Archdivine holds court. His scholarly work is interrupted when the Archdivine agrees to send Penric, in his role as sorcerer, to accompany a Locator of the Father’s Order, assigned to capture Inglis, a runaway shaman charged with the murder of his best friend. However, the situation they discover in the mountains is far more complex than expected. Penric's roles as sorcerer, strategist, and counselor are all called upon before the end.
The novella is quite entertaining and fun. While it is not ground-breaking in the genre, I am growing fond of this character, and I am looking forward reading more books set in this world. (★★★★)
Started: May 21 2017 Finished: May 26 2017
An Unimaginable Light
by John C. Wright (2017)
by John C. Wright (2017)
My review:
I usually like stories that explores complex topics like self-consciousness, and artificial intelligence. I also find stories that explore morality and faith and their relation to science fascinating. I should have liked this story, because it explores all the points I have just mentioned, and because it is a reflection on what makes humans humans. Unfortunately it is the worse of the Hugo nominees in this category, trying and failing miserably to derive theological creationist axioms through logic that is so flawed to be laughable. I also did not think that the sexual sadistic elements of the plot really worked as intended. Conclusion: more a religion-fiction story, than a sci-fi one, and quite a bad one.
(★)
Started: May 20 2017 Finished: May 20 2017
Started: May 20 2017 Finished: May 20 2017
Alien Stripper Boned From Behind By The T-Rex
by Stix Hiscock
by Stix Hiscock
My review:
This short story was put on the 2017 Hugo award finalist by a group of reactionary fans as a form of protest, using a form of vote slating. Given that I am one of the fan jurors, I decided to go ahead and read it before casting my vote.
I assume this is intended to be an humor piece, mixing cheap erotica elements, and sci-fi tropes (I doubt anyone could find the sexual intercourse of a T-Rex and a green alien titillating). Read as such, it did manage to make me smile here and there. I was expecting something far worse based on the cover, and on the title. I am not sure what point the protesters were trying to make, and I am sorry that worthy contenders were pushed out from the finalist list by this, but at least it is a funny story to read. (★★)
Started: May 20 2017 Finished: May 20 2017
I assume this is intended to be an humor piece, mixing cheap erotica elements, and sci-fi tropes (I doubt anyone could find the sexual intercourse of a T-Rex and a green alien titillating). Read as such, it did manage to make me smile here and there. I was expecting something far worse based on the cover, and on the title. I am not sure what point the protesters were trying to make, and I am sorry that worthy contenders were pushed out from the finalist list by this, but at least it is a funny story to read. (★★)
Started: May 20 2017 Finished: May 20 2017
The Ballad of Black Tom
by Victor LaValle
by Victor LaValle
My review:
A modern re-interpretation of a typical Lovecraft's story. While in Lovecraft's novels the horror was based on the deep xenophobia of the author, by his fears of immigrants, and African-American, in LaValle's story, the horror is the xenophobia itself, the endemic racism of the government, the police, and of the justice system.
This is the story of Charles Thomas Tester, that works hard to put food on the table, keep the roof over his father's head, from Harlem to Flushing Meadows to Red Hook. He knows what magic a suit can cast, the invisibility a guitar case can provide, and the curse written on his skin that attracts the eye of wealthy white folks and their cops. But when he delivers an occult tome to a reclusive sorceress in the heart of Queens, Tom opens a door to a deeper realm of magic, and earns the attention of things best left sleeping. A storm that might swallow the world is building in Brooklyn. Will Black Tom live to see it break? (★★★★★)
Started: May 14 2017 Finished: May 19 2017
This is the story of Charles Thomas Tester, that works hard to put food on the table, keep the roof over his father's head, from Harlem to Flushing Meadows to Red Hook. He knows what magic a suit can cast, the invisibility a guitar case can provide, and the curse written on his skin that attracts the eye of wealthy white folks and their cops. But when he delivers an occult tome to a reclusive sorceress in the heart of Queens, Tom opens a door to a deeper realm of magic, and earns the attention of things best left sleeping. A storm that might swallow the world is building in Brooklyn. Will Black Tom live to see it break? (★★★★★)
Started: May 14 2017 Finished: May 19 2017
This Census-Taker
by China Miéville
by China Miéville
My review:
This is a very interesting, and layered tale by China Miéville. The main character, a young boy, witness a profoundly traumatic event. After that he is left alone in a remote house on a hilltop with his increasingly deranged parent. When a stranger knocks on his door, the boy senses that his days of isolation are over... but by what authority does this man keep the meticulous records he carries? Is he the boy’s friend? His enemy? Or something altogether other?
The story is quite complex, and it requires the reader full attention to catch some just hinted details to fully appreciate it. (★★★)
Started: May 06 2017 Finished: May 14 2017
The story is quite complex, and it requires the reader full attention to catch some just hinted details to fully appreciate it. (★★★)
Started: May 06 2017 Finished: May 14 2017
The Jewel and Her Lapidary
by Fran Wilde (2016)
by Fran Wilde (2016)
My review:
The story is told from two perspectives: the one of a travel guide, narrating events from an almost mythical, and vastly forgotten past, and from the point of view of the people that actually lived those events. This is the story of the end of a kingdom where jewels have tremendous powers that can drive people insane, and some humans, the lapidarys, have the power to bind them and their powers. The jewels, the nobility, bind the lapidarys. This is also the story of Lin and Sima, a princess destined to be married to a far away country, and her lowal lapidary. They get caught in a web of intrigue and deceit, and must find a way to escape the traps set by the past and save their kingdom.
It is a solid story, made remarkable by the world building. I do wish the author will come back to this world, and develop the character further.
(★★★★)
Started: May 05 2017 Finished: May 06 2017
It is a solid story, made remarkable by the world building. I do wish the author will come back to this world, and develop the character further.
(★★★★)
Started: May 05 2017 Finished: May 06 2017
Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children, #1)
by Seanan McGuire (2016)
by Seanan McGuire (2016)
My review:
The premise of this clever dark fantasy novella is the following: children have always disappeared under the right conditions. slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else. But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children. And those sent back have trouble adjusting back to the word they were born into. Miss West's home for wayward children is a safe haven for them. Nancy is one of those children. The things she’s experienced changed her. Each of Miss West's children is seeking a way back to her/his own fantasy world. But Nancy's arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it's up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.
I really enjoy the story, it has a strong beginning, memorable characters, and an original plot. It just slow down a little bit before the end, and I am left wondering if it would have worked better as a shorter story. This said, I am looking forward reading the sequel! (★★★★)
Started: May 02 2017 Finished: May 05 2017
I really enjoy the story, it has a strong beginning, memorable characters, and an original plot. It just slow down a little bit before the end, and I am left wondering if it would have worked better as a shorter story. This said, I am looking forward reading the sequel! (★★★★)
Started: May 02 2017 Finished: May 05 2017
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 115, April 2016
by Neil Clarke (2016)
by Neil Clarke (2016)
My review:
Months after mysterious aliens scattered their spacecraft across the globe, no one has a clue what they want. Then suddenly they open up, and people kidnapped at birth come out... without revealing what is happening. Until one day Avery gets a call... it appears that one of the aliens want a tour.
This is an entertaining story, with an interesting take on what an alien encounter may look like. (★★★)
Started: Apr 29 2017 Finished: Apr 30 2017
This is an entertaining story, with an interesting take on what an alien encounter may look like. (★★★)
Started: Apr 29 2017 Finished: Apr 30 2017
Apex Magazine Issue 80
by Jason Sizemore
by Jason Sizemore
My review:
An interesting sequel of the award winning "Jackalope Wives". This is the story of grandma Harken, that liveson the edge of town, in a house with its back to the desert. Some people said that she lived out there because she liked her privacy, and some said that it was because she did black magic in secret. Some said that she just didn’t care for other people. Everybody agrees her tomatoes are great. One day her tomatoes start vanishing one by one...
(★★★)
Started: Apr 27 2017 Finished: Apr 29 2017
Started: Apr 27 2017 Finished: Apr 29 2017
Abaddon's Gate (The Expanse, #3)
by James S.A. Corey
by James S.A. Corey
My review:
The pace picks up even more in this third installment of the expanse saga: I could not put the book down, and I found myself reading deep in the middle of the night. The characters and the plot are not as great as the one in the previous chapters of this epic saga: I am still unable to believe in some of the plot twists, and characters actions. Still, it is hard to be bothered by it while devouring the pages so enraptured by the story.
For generations, the solar system, Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt, was humanity's great frontier. Until now. The alien artifact working through its program under the clouds of Venus has appeared in Uranus's orbit, where it has built a massive gate that leads to a starless dark. Jim Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are part of a vast flotilla of scientific and military ships going out to examine the artifact. But behind the scenes, a complex plot is unfolding, with the destruction of Holden at its core. As the emissaries of the human race try to find whether the gate is an opportunity or a threat, the greatest danger is the one they brought with them. (★★★★)
Started: Mar 30 2017 Finished: Apr 16 2017
For generations, the solar system, Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt, was humanity's great frontier. Until now. The alien artifact working through its program under the clouds of Venus has appeared in Uranus's orbit, where it has built a massive gate that leads to a starless dark. Jim Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are part of a vast flotilla of scientific and military ships going out to examine the artifact. But behind the scenes, a complex plot is unfolding, with the destruction of Holden at its core. As the emissaries of the human race try to find whether the gate is an opportunity or a threat, the greatest danger is the one they brought with them. (★★★★)
Started: Mar 30 2017 Finished: Apr 16 2017
Station Eleven
by Emily St. John Mandel (2014)
by Emily St. John Mandel (2014)
My review:
It was definitely not what I expected, and definitely not the typical post-apocalyptic novel. Instead, I discovered an audacious, dark, literary novel set in the eerie days of civilization's collapse. This is the only example of a book featuring a non linear timeline, a book where the narrative switch back and forth between the years before, during, and after the collapse, that actually works, and works very well. Station Eleven is the story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity. One snowy night Arthur Leander, a famous actor, has a heart attack onstage during a production of King Lear. Jeevan Chaudhary, a paparazzo-turned-EMT, is in the audience and leaps to his aid. A child actress named Kirsten Raymonde watches in horror as Jeevan performs CPR, pumping Arthur's chest as the curtain drops, but Arthur is dead. That same night, as Jeevan walks home from the theater, a terrible flu begins to spread. Hospitals are flooded and Jeevan and his brother barricade themselves inside an apartment, watching out the window as cars clog the highways, gunshots ring out, and life disintegrates around them...
Mandel wavs a story with many threads, that adroitly cross each other when least expected, forming a breath taking tapestry. This is a really incredible book, that I strongly recommend to everybody. (★★★★)
Started: Mar 17 2017 Finished: Mar 25 2017
Mandel wavs a story with many threads, that adroitly cross each other when least expected, forming a breath taking tapestry. This is a really incredible book, that I strongly recommend to everybody. (★★★★)
Started: Mar 17 2017 Finished: Mar 25 2017
Red in Tooth and Cog
by Cat Rambo (2016)
by Cat Rambo (2016)
My review:
What a beautiful short story! It is not a surprise that it was nominated for the Nebula award (unfortunately the author decided to decline the nomination, to leave space for less established new authors in the field).
The story is set in a near future, where all appliances comes with advanced AI, and are able to recharge themselves, and self-repair. One day Renee, taking a lunch break from work, decided to talk a walk in a nearby park, and eat her food outside. She sits on a bench, and she puts down her smart phone to open her food, when something grab her phone and run. Was it one a rogue appliance, one of those appliances that were discarded, but refused to be recycled, and ran away to live in the park?
This story explores the eternal question: what is life, in an original, and moving way. (★★★★)
Started: Mar 16 2017 Finished: Mar 17 2017
The story is set in a near future, where all appliances comes with advanced AI, and are able to recharge themselves, and self-repair. One day Renee, taking a lunch break from work, decided to talk a walk in a nearby park, and eat her food outside. She sits on a bench, and she puts down her smart phone to open her food, when something grab her phone and run. Was it one a rogue appliance, one of those appliances that were discarded, but refused to be recycled, and ran away to live in the park?
This story explores the eternal question: what is life, in an original, and moving way. (★★★★)
Started: Mar 16 2017 Finished: Mar 17 2017
Sabbath Wine
by Barbara Krasnoff (2016)
by Barbara Krasnoff (2016)
My review:
A beautiful short story, and Nebula award nominee, set in the America during prohibitionist, adroitly speaking about xenophobia, and the violence it triggers.
This is the story of Malka, the young daughter of a Jewish man, deeply involved in the labor movement, and of David, the son of a store owner, illegally selling alcohol during prohibitionist. David says he is dead, but Malka dismiss the claim as baseless: everybody knows that you cannot touch ghosts, and she has no trouble pinching David.
The encounter of the two young children, and the desire of Malka to introduce David to the customs of her ancestors, will bring the two men together.
(★★★★)
Started: Mar 12 2017 Finished: Mar 14 2017
This is the story of Malka, the young daughter of a Jewish man, deeply involved in the labor movement, and of David, the son of a store owner, illegally selling alcohol during prohibitionist. David says he is dead, but Malka dismiss the claim as baseless: everybody knows that you cannot touch ghosts, and she has no trouble pinching David.
The encounter of the two young children, and the desire of Malka to introduce David to the customs of her ancestors, will bring the two men together.
(★★★★)
Started: Mar 12 2017 Finished: Mar 14 2017
The Starlit Wood
by Dominik Parisien (2016)
by Dominik Parisien (2016)
My review:
This is the story of Tabitha, and Amira. Their stories, and their roles are the archetypal stories and roles of women in fairy tales. The same fairy tales that we still read to our children, often without realizing how misogynistic they are. One day, as Tabitha walks around the world to repent for having revealed to her mother she was a victim of abuse, she meets Amira. Their encounter will deeply change their lives, their way of thinking, and of living.
(★★★★)
Started: Mar 10 2017 Finished: Mar 11 2017
Started: Mar 10 2017 Finished: Mar 11 2017
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 117, June 2016
by Neil Clarke (2016)
by Neil Clarke (2016)
My review:
A very interesting piece, touching very interesting topics like race relations, queerness, and otherness in America. The writing is quite good, the plot entertaining and interesting to read. I particularly enjoy how the two types of otherness, the one created by centuries of social discrimination, and the fictional blend and reinforce each other in the story. What I found troubling was MacReady's participation to a terrorist attack, and the fact that the author does not seem to see that act in a bad light. This stained what would have been otherwise an amazing short story.
(★★★)
Started: Mar 11 2017 Finished: Mar 11 2017
Started: Mar 11 2017 Finished: Mar 11 2017
This is Not a Wardrobe Door
by A. Merc Rustad (2016)
by A. Merc Rustad (2016)
My review:
A beautiful short story, written by somebody that grow up reading Narnia, and rebelling against the rule that prevents grown-ups to go through the gate. As other reviewers said, this is a nostalgic revisitation of an old trope, and a rebellion against it. Last, but not least, despite the short length of this work, the characters are well drawn and well rounded.
(★★★★)
Started: Mar 10 2017 Finished: Mar 10 2017
Started: Mar 10 2017 Finished: Mar 10 2017
Lightspeed Magazine, March 2016
by John Joseph Adams
by John Joseph Adams
My review:
An hilarious "chose your own adventure" story, making fun of a future health care system that unfortunately is very similar, from many points of view, to our existing one.
(★★★★)
Started: Mar 10 2017 Finished: Mar 10 2017
Started: Mar 10 2017 Finished: Mar 10 2017
Blood Grains Speak Through Memories
by Jason Sanford
by Jason Sanford
My review:
Our future Earth have been saved from Human greed, and ecological destruction by a miracle that may be technological, or may be magic: the grains. The grains choose few humans, the anchor, to be their vessels to protect the land. The other humans are forced to wonder, forced to spend a life without a home, where each stop cannot last more than few days.
A magical and touching short story, with a solid and original world building, and memorable full rounded characters.
Merged review:
Our future Earth have been saved from Human greed, and ecological destruction by a miracle that may be technological, or may be magic: the grains. The grains choose few humans, the anchor, to be their vessels to protect the land. The other humans are forced to wonder, forced to spend a life without a home, where each stop cannot last more than few days.
A magical and touching short story, with a solid and original world building, and memorable full rounded characters. (★★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
A magical and touching short story, with a solid and original world building, and memorable full rounded characters.
Merged review:
Our future Earth have been saved from Human greed, and ecological destruction by a miracle that may be technological, or may be magic: the grains. The grains choose few humans, the anchor, to be their vessels to protect the land. The other humans are forced to wonder, forced to spend a life without a home, where each stop cannot last more than few days.
A magical and touching short story, with a solid and original world building, and memorable full rounded characters. (★★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue #214
by Scott H. Andrews (2016)
by Scott H. Andrews (2016)
My review:
The story is told by two narrators, both connected to the same place, the Orangery, a special natural preserve that shelters women that escaped from the abuse of men, turning into trees. One of the narrator is the guardian, living a life of solitude and isolation at the center of the orangery. The other narrator is the guide, bringing new people every day among the verdant residents. I liked the story, I liked how it borrows elements from the Greek mythology, and how they are used as allegories for the gender dynamics through history. If the plot has just been a little thicker, this could have been a little masterpiece.
Merged review:
The story is told by two narrators, both connected to the same place, the Orangery, a special natural preserve that shelters women that escaped from the abuse of men, turning into trees. One of the narrator is the guardian, living a life of solitude and isolation at the center of the orangery. The other narrator is the guide, bringing new people every day among the verdant residents. I liked the story, I liked how it borrows elements from the Greek mythology, and how they are used as allegories for the gender dynamics through history. If the plot has just been a little thicker, this could have been a little masterpiece. (★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Merged review:
The story is told by two narrators, both connected to the same place, the Orangery, a special natural preserve that shelters women that escaped from the abuse of men, turning into trees. One of the narrator is the guardian, living a life of solitude and isolation at the center of the orangery. The other narrator is the guide, bringing new people every day among the verdant residents. I liked the story, I liked how it borrows elements from the Greek mythology, and how they are used as allegories for the gender dynamics through history. If the plot has just been a little thicker, this could have been a little masterpiece. (★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Uncanny Magazine Issue 10: May/June 2016
by Lynne M. Thomas
by Lynne M. Thomas
My review:
In a world where the dead are given to the sea, and once a year the sea gives them back for three days, the death horses rider have an important role: they need to guide the dead back to the sea before they transform from benevolent spirits, into ravenous blood thirsty creatures. The horse rider are carefully picked, and they need to follow tradition. All the signs points to Rowan to be the next one...
Merged review:
I am usually not fond of stories with a western flavor, but Alyssa Wong managed to write one I did like, and quite a lot. This is the story of Ellis, a young boy with a very deep connection with his land, the desert, and with mysterious powers. Ellis is being raised by Madame Lettie, the owner of the local brothel, and the second wife of his dead father. In the brothel, Ellis make himself useful with odd jobs, and sometimes as a ware for the not always straight customers.
The story starts three months after a mysterious incidents at the mines, that were the economical fulcrum of town, and three months after the violent death of Ellis' father... (★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): Feb 25 2017 Finished (first time): Feb 26 2017
Merged review:
I am usually not fond of stories with a western flavor, but Alyssa Wong managed to write one I did like, and quite a lot. This is the story of Ellis, a young boy with a very deep connection with his land, the desert, and with mysterious powers. Ellis is being raised by Madame Lettie, the owner of the local brothel, and the second wife of his dead father. In the brothel, Ellis make himself useful with odd jobs, and sometimes as a ware for the not always straight customers.
The story starts three months after a mysterious incidents at the mines, that were the economical fulcrum of town, and three months after the violent death of Ellis' father... (★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): Feb 25 2017 Finished (first time): Feb 26 2017
Uncanny Magazine Issue 13: November/December 2016
by Lynne M. Thomas
by Lynne M. Thomas
My review:
For centuries the green knight challenge has been the same. The contenders arrive with the changing of the weather, ushered in by winter’s cold. Once a year, at the beginning of December, those silly boys who think challenging the green knight means that they are brave. All of them so eager to test their worth on the edge of the narrator husband's axe. Contender kings, and knights have been replaced by CEOs and venture capitalist, but nothing has changed... until this year.
Merged review:
A very interesting, and very fine example of message fiction, focusing on women rights, and rape. Given the brevity of the story, it is hard to say anything about it, without spoiling it. I would just say that it is a great piece from a Hugo / Nebula / Sturgeon / Locus finalist writer. (★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): Feb 16 2017 Finished (first time): Feb 16 2017
Merged review:
A very interesting, and very fine example of message fiction, focusing on women rights, and rape. Given the brevity of the story, it is hard to say anything about it, without spoiling it. I would just say that it is a great piece from a Hugo / Nebula / Sturgeon / Locus finalist writer. (★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): Feb 16 2017 Finished (first time): Feb 16 2017
The Forever War
by Joe Haldeman
by Joe Haldeman
My review:
A horrifying cautionary tale about the machinery of war and its human cost. The Earth's leaders have drawn a line in the interstellar sand, despite the fact that the fierce alien enemy that they would oppose is inscrutable, unconquerable, and very far away. A reluctant conscript drafted into an elite Military unit, Private William Mandella has been propelled through space and time to fight in the distant never ending conflict; to perform his duties and do whatever it takes to survive the ordeal and return home. But "home" may be even more terrifying than battle, because, thanks to the time dilation caused by space travel, Mandella is aging months while the Earth he left behind is aging centuries. Despite the inaccuracies of his 1996 and 2007 projections, the book does not feel dated, and it is as relevant today, as when it was written.
(★★★★)
Started: Jan 17 2017 Finished: Jan 23 2017
Started: Jan 17 2017 Finished: Jan 23 2017
The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps (The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, #1)
by Kai Ashante Wilson
by Kai Ashante Wilson
My review:
The Devil in America is one of my favorite books, and I was thrilled to get a chance to read more by the same author. While not as good as his previous novella, this is a remarkable book. It is not a easy read: the plot is far from linear, and the style is an odd yet interesting mix of sophisticated and refined writing, main street talking, and scientific jargon. The grammar and the word choices are often unusual to force the read to go back and read the text multiple times to understand its meaning. Despite this difficulty, the style works, it helps in world and characters building.
This is the story of Demane, an earthbound demigod, also knows as the sorcerer, since he left his homeland. With his ancestors' artifacts in hand, the Sorcerer follows the Captain, a beautiful man with song for a voice and hair that drinks the sunlight. The two of them are the descendants of the gods who abandoned the Earth for Heaven, and they will need all the gifts those divine ancestors left to them to keep their caravan brothers alive. The one safe road between the northern oasis and southern kingdom is stalked by a necromantic terror. Demane may have to master his wild powers and trade humanity for godhood if he is to keep his brothers and his beloved captain alive.
Merged review:
A very short story, set in the world of A Taste of Honey, providing more information about the intriguing fictional world of Kai Ashante Wilson. While interesting, the short length of the story limits its appeal. (★★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): Apr 18 2016 Finished (first time): Apr 23 2016
This is the story of Demane, an earthbound demigod, also knows as the sorcerer, since he left his homeland. With his ancestors' artifacts in hand, the Sorcerer follows the Captain, a beautiful man with song for a voice and hair that drinks the sunlight. The two of them are the descendants of the gods who abandoned the Earth for Heaven, and they will need all the gifts those divine ancestors left to them to keep their caravan brothers alive. The one safe road between the northern oasis and southern kingdom is stalked by a necromantic terror. Demane may have to master his wild powers and trade humanity for godhood if he is to keep his brothers and his beloved captain alive.
Merged review:
A very short story, set in the world of A Taste of Honey, providing more information about the intriguing fictional world of Kai Ashante Wilson. While interesting, the short length of the story limits its appeal. (★★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): Apr 18 2016 Finished (first time): Apr 23 2016
A Taste of Honey (The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, #2)
by Kai Ashante Wilson (2016)
by Kai Ashante Wilson (2016)
My review:
An interesting version of a classic coming out story, set in the beautiful and fascinating world that Kai Ashante Wilson introduced us to in The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps. I will not say much to avoid any spoiler, but I loved reading this story (even if I was a little disappointed by the ending).
Long after the Towers left the world but before the dragons came to Daluça, the emperor brought his delegation of gods and diplomats to Olorum. As the royalty negotiates over trade routes and public services, the divinity seeks arcane assistance among the local gods. Aqib bgm Sadiqi, fourth-cousin to the royal family and son of the Master of Beasts, has more mortal and pressing concerns. His heart has been captured for the first time by a handsome Daluçan soldier named Lucrio. in defiance of Saintly Canon, gossiping servants, and the furious disapproval of his father and brother, Aqib finds himself swept up in a whirlwind romance. But neither Aqib nor Lucrio know whether their love can survive all the hardships the world has to throw at them. (★★★★★)
Started: Dec 25 2016 Finished: Dec 28 2016
Long after the Towers left the world but before the dragons came to Daluça, the emperor brought his delegation of gods and diplomats to Olorum. As the royalty negotiates over trade routes and public services, the divinity seeks arcane assistance among the local gods. Aqib bgm Sadiqi, fourth-cousin to the royal family and son of the Master of Beasts, has more mortal and pressing concerns. His heart has been captured for the first time by a handsome Daluçan soldier named Lucrio. in defiance of Saintly Canon, gossiping servants, and the furious disapproval of his father and brother, Aqib finds himself swept up in a whirlwind romance. But neither Aqib nor Lucrio know whether their love can survive all the hardships the world has to throw at them. (★★★★★)
Started: Dec 25 2016 Finished: Dec 28 2016
Shoggoths in Bloom
by Elizabeth Bear (2008)
by Elizabeth Bear (2008)
My review:
A beautiful modern re-interpretation of the classic Lovecraft's mythos, that ends up being far better than the original. While Lovecraft projected his horror for the immigrants into cosmic invading aliens, in Shoggoths in Bloom, Elizabeth Bear investigates race relations in the United States of America between the two world wars without any trace of xenophobia.
The story is set in 1938, when Professor Paul Harding has come to Passamaquoddy, Maine, to study Oracupoda horibilis, common surf shoggoths, known to locals as "jellies". He finally finds a fisherman willing to take him out on the bay, where dormant shoggoths bask atop exposed rocks, blooming, that is, exuding indigo and violet tendrils topped with "fruiting bodies" from their blobbish sea-green masses. Though shoggoths can engulf and digest grown humans, in this torpid state they're safe to approach. The trip out is uncomfortable. The fisherman doesn’t fancy conversation with a highly educated black man, first he's ever met. Ironic, Harding thinks, that they probably both served in WWI, though of course not in the same units. (★★★★)
Started: Nov 09 2016 Finished: Nov 09 2016
The story is set in 1938, when Professor Paul Harding has come to Passamaquoddy, Maine, to study Oracupoda horibilis, common surf shoggoths, known to locals as "jellies". He finally finds a fisherman willing to take him out on the bay, where dormant shoggoths bask atop exposed rocks, blooming, that is, exuding indigo and violet tendrils topped with "fruiting bodies" from their blobbish sea-green masses. Though shoggoths can engulf and digest grown humans, in this torpid state they're safe to approach. The trip out is uncomfortable. The fisherman doesn’t fancy conversation with a highly educated black man, first he's ever met. Ironic, Harding thinks, that they probably both served in WWI, though of course not in the same units. (★★★★)
Started: Nov 09 2016 Finished: Nov 09 2016
Stories of Your Life and Others
by Ted Chiang (2010)
by Ted Chiang (2010)
My review:
Stories of Your Life and Others is a collection of the first 8 fictional publications by Ted Chiang. I would classify the book as hard sci-fi: the stories are all build around a theorem, or a scientific or philosophical theory, and the plot is then used to explore their impact and consequences. This said, the best stories in the book also focus on human relationships, and their feelings. The best example is probably "Stories of your life", the story of a linguist tasked to learn an alien language, while also raising a daughter. The science and the human elements are woven together adroitly, each thread strengthening and giving depth to the other.
Overall it is a great book, and I am looking forward reading more by this author (even if he unfortunately does not publish much). (★★★★)
Started: Nov 01 2016 Finished: Nov 06 2016
Overall it is a great book, and I am looking forward reading more by this author (even if he unfortunately does not publish much). (★★★★)
Started: Nov 01 2016 Finished: Nov 06 2016
The City Born Great
by N.K. Jemisin (2016)
by N.K. Jemisin (2016)
My review:
All the great metropolis on Earth, when they get big enough, and old enough, they must be born. Now it's the turn of New York, and a homeless queer black man find himself tasked with the role of facilitate this birth. But nothing it easy: there are mysterious enemies that want to prevent this from happening. Thus New York will live or die by the efforts his reluctant midwife.
I found the short story interesting, in particular the way it touches some very actual themes like xenophobia, and homelessness. The story is not as good as Jemisin's previous work. (★★★★)
Started: Sep 28 2016 Finished: Sep 29 2016
I found the short story interesting, in particular the way it touches some very actual themes like xenophobia, and homelessness. The story is not as good as Jemisin's previous work. (★★★★)
Started: Sep 28 2016 Finished: Sep 29 2016
The Obelisk Gate (The Broken Earth, #2)
by N.K. Jemisin (2016)
by N.K. Jemisin (2016)
My review:
The second installment of the broken Earth trilogy is incredibly good (even if not as good as the first one). In The Obelisk Gate the focus changes on the relationship between Essun and her daughter Nassun: the book explores how oppression changes and destroys regular family dynamics, when the only instrument of a mother to protect her daughter is to harden her to be able to survive an harsh reality, and its kyriarchy. This is also the story of Castrima, a city free of oppression in times of plenty, but on the bring of sacrificing the most unpopular of its citizens in time of crises. And this is the story of Alabaster, that broken by loss it may have started the end of the world.
(★★★★★)
Started: Sep 11 2016 Finished: Sep 22 2016
Started: Sep 11 2016 Finished: Sep 22 2016
Nightmare Magazine 37: October 2015. Queers Destroy Horror! Special Issue
by Wendy N. Wagner
by Wendy N. Wagner
My review:
A dark and very original reinterpretation of the vampire trope, set in modern day New York. The main character, Jen, an Asian-American woman inherited a curse from the mother: in order to survive she needs to pray on other humans, draining their emotions, feelings, and soul. Completely resigned to live a long life with the curse, she tries to prey only on petty criminals, until she meets a serial killer on a tindr date.
What stands out the most of this story are the characters. In particular Jen, that seems to drown in an ocean of hopelessness, condemning herself to the tragic fate of her mother, living in hiding, and destined to destroy the only single ray of sunshine in her life. (★★★★)
What stands out the most of this story are the characters. In particular Jen, that seems to drown in an ocean of hopelessness, condemning herself to the tragic fate of her mother, living in hiding, and destined to destroy the only single ray of sunshine in her life. (★★★★)
Foundation's Edge (Foundation, #4)
by Isaac Asimov (2012)
by Isaac Asimov (2012)
My review:
30 years after the publication of the original Foundation trilogy, Asimov decided to revisit one of his most famous series, and extend it further.
The plot is adroitly waved, and everything fall into place magically like a clockwork. What I did not like were the characters, that are almost stereotypical caricatures... and don't get me started with the female ones (the books miserably fails the Bechdel–Wallace test). While this was often true for the majority of the foundation stories, with Second Foundation, Asimov managed to create a great, well-rounded character in Arkady Darell, so I was quite disappointed that Asimov would regress to the previous norm.
This said, the book is fun to read thanks to his fast paced and clever plot: some politicians at the first foundation starts to suspect that the second foundation may have not been destroyed as they thought. Some mentalist of the second foundation noticed that the Seldon plan is going too well according to plan. Is somebody else playing the galactic game of thrones? (★★★★)
Started: Jul 27 2016 Finished: Aug 05 2016
The plot is adroitly waved, and everything fall into place magically like a clockwork. What I did not like were the characters, that are almost stereotypical caricatures... and don't get me started with the female ones (the books miserably fails the Bechdel–Wallace test). While this was often true for the majority of the foundation stories, with Second Foundation, Asimov managed to create a great, well-rounded character in Arkady Darell, so I was quite disappointed that Asimov would regress to the previous norm.
This said, the book is fun to read thanks to his fast paced and clever plot: some politicians at the first foundation starts to suspect that the second foundation may have not been destroyed as they thought. Some mentalist of the second foundation noticed that the Seldon plan is going too well according to plan. Is somebody else playing the galactic game of thrones? (★★★★)
Started: Jul 27 2016 Finished: Aug 05 2016
Gods of Risk (The Expanse, #2.5)
by James S.A. Corey (2012)
by James S.A. Corey (2012)
My review:
This novella takes place shortly after the events in Caliban's War, and follows Bobbie Draper, an ex-marine who has been set adrift in her own life after those events, and her nephew, David Draper, a gifted chemist with a secret life as a manufacturer for a ruthless drug dealer. When his friend Leelee goes missing, leaving signs of the dealer's involvement, David takes it upon himself to save her, while the tension between Mars and Earth mounts, and terrorism plagues the Martian city of Londres Nova.
This is, by far, the weakest Expanse story I have read so far, and it can probably be skipped without missing anything of importance (I'll confirm after I read the following books). (★★)
Started: Jul 24 2016 Finished: Jul 27 2016
This is, by far, the weakest Expanse story I have read so far, and it can probably be skipped without missing anything of importance (I'll confirm after I read the following books). (★★)
Started: Jul 24 2016 Finished: Jul 27 2016
Flashpoint: Titan
by Cheah Kai Wai (2015)
by Cheah Kai Wai (2015)
My review:
I read this story as part of the 2016 Hugo Awards Reading Marathon.
In this story, the United States of America have control of Titan, and who controls it, controls the energy supplies for the entire human race. The People Republic of China tries to gain control of it through strategy and military action, but on its way is a Japanese star-warship, equipped with some new weapons.
I did not like the story. While fast-paced and at times entertaining, it is mainly a war story with a very thin plot, few plot holes, and some racist slurs. For example, why would the Japanese army risk all their strategic asset to protect an American possession without getting anything out of it? Is it just because of ethnic hatred?
Trigger warning: racial slurs. (★)
Started: Jul 24 2016 Finished: Jul 24 2016
In this story, the United States of America have control of Titan, and who controls it, controls the energy supplies for the entire human race. The People Republic of China tries to gain control of it through strategy and military action, but on its way is a Japanese star-warship, equipped with some new weapons.
I did not like the story. While fast-paced and at times entertaining, it is mainly a war story with a very thin plot, few plot holes, and some racist slurs. For example, why would the Japanese army risk all their strategic asset to protect an American possession without getting anything out of it? Is it just because of ethnic hatred?
Trigger warning: racial slurs. (★)
Started: Jul 24 2016 Finished: Jul 24 2016
What Price Humanity?
by David VanDyke (2015)
by David VanDyke (2015)
My review:
I read this novelette as part of my 2016 Hugo awards finalists reading marathon.
The story is enjoyable to read, but it is not very original: many plot elements have been seen before, and they are not presented in a novel way. The characters are not that memorable either. I doubt the story would have make it to the finalists list if it was not part of a slate.
The story begins with a (space) soldier coming back to consciousness in a virtual reality simulation. He believes to be kept there while his body is being regrown or repair, but his contacts from outside are mysteriously not telling him anything. Soon he gets to meet, always in VR, many of his former colleagues, including a dead girlfriend. I'm not going to say more, to avoid spoiling the story (even if I can bet you can already seeing where this is going).
P.S. As other reviewer have noted, when Southpark called the only African American character "token" was a funny critic to our society. In here the joke does not work as well. (★★)
Started: Jul 08 2016 Finished: Jul 10 2016
The story is enjoyable to read, but it is not very original: many plot elements have been seen before, and they are not presented in a novel way. The characters are not that memorable either. I doubt the story would have make it to the finalists list if it was not part of a slate.
The story begins with a (space) soldier coming back to consciousness in a virtual reality simulation. He believes to be kept there while his body is being regrown or repair, but his contacts from outside are mysteriously not telling him anything. Soon he gets to meet, always in VR, many of his former colleagues, including a dead girlfriend. I'm not going to say more, to avoid spoiling the story (even if I can bet you can already seeing where this is going).
P.S. As other reviewer have noted, when Southpark called the only African American character "token" was a funny critic to our society. In here the joke does not work as well. (★★)
Started: Jul 08 2016 Finished: Jul 10 2016
Obits
by Stephen King (2015)
by Stephen King (2015)
My review:
I read this as part of the 2016 Hugo awards finalist reading marathon.
I have liked many stories written by Stephen King, and while I was young, I devoured his books. Obits is not one of his best work. Do not get me wrong, it is not bad, but there is nothing deeply original or peculiar to set it apart from many other stories. The plot is relatively straightforward: a journalist specialized in writing funny and offensive obituaries, discovers that he can cause the death of living people writing their obits. He will have to learn on how to use his power while learning how to navigate the politics at work and to deal with women. (★★)
Started: Jul 10 2016 Finished: Jul 10 2016
I have liked many stories written by Stephen King, and while I was young, I devoured his books. Obits is not one of his best work. Do not get me wrong, it is not bad, but there is nothing deeply original or peculiar to set it apart from many other stories. The plot is relatively straightforward: a journalist specialized in writing funny and offensive obituaries, discovers that he can cause the death of living people writing their obits. He will have to learn on how to use his power while learning how to navigate the politics at work and to deal with women. (★★)
Started: Jul 10 2016 Finished: Jul 10 2016
Perfect State
by Brandon Sanderson (2015)
by Brandon Sanderson (2015)
My review:
I read this as part of my 2016 Hugo Award Finalist Reading Marathon.
Sanderson is a well-known writer, but I never read anything he wrote before. Maybe I had set my expectations too high, but I was not too impressed by Perfect State. Do not get me wrong, it is not bad, the story while not completely original is entertaining and fun to read. Still, it does not stand apart as a Hugo finalist should.
In this cyberpunk matrix-inspired story, God-Emperor Kairominas is lord of all he surveys, at least in the virtual personality tailored world every human is immersed in since birth. He has defeated all virtual foes, has united the entire world beneath his rule, and has mastered the arcane arts. He spends his time sparring with his nemesis, who keeps trying to invade Kai's world. Except for today. Today, Kai has to go on a date. Forces have conspired to require him to meet with his equal, a woman from another world who has achieved just as much as he has. What happens when the most important man of one world is forced to have dinner with the most important woman of another world? (★★★)
Started: Jul 10 2016 Finished: Jul 10 2016
Sanderson is a well-known writer, but I never read anything he wrote before. Maybe I had set my expectations too high, but I was not too impressed by Perfect State. Do not get me wrong, it is not bad, the story while not completely original is entertaining and fun to read. Still, it does not stand apart as a Hugo finalist should.
In this cyberpunk matrix-inspired story, God-Emperor Kairominas is lord of all he surveys, at least in the virtual personality tailored world every human is immersed in since birth. He has defeated all virtual foes, has united the entire world beneath his rule, and has mastered the arcane arts. He spends his time sparring with his nemesis, who keeps trying to invade Kai's world. Except for today. Today, Kai has to go on a date. Forces have conspired to require him to meet with his equal, a woman from another world who has achieved just as much as he has. What happens when the most important man of one world is forced to have dinner with the most important woman of another world? (★★★)
Started: Jul 10 2016 Finished: Jul 10 2016
Uncanny Magazine Issue 2: January/February 2015
by Lynne M. Thomas
by Lynne M. Thomas
My review:
I read this story as part of my 2016 Hugo awards finalist reading marathon.
Despite being a finalist because of its inclusion in a slate, the work is not only enjoyable, but also novel and interesting. I found quite interesting to read a book written by a Chinese author, to see the (current and future) world through the eyes of a different culture. The population and economic growth of modern China, its economic inequalities, and its technological and engineering marvels are central to Folding Beijing.
In a claustrophobic overpopulated future, Beijing is rebuild to be three cities at once, each folding into each other, so that only one at a time is up and awake on the surface, while the other two are folded and sleeping. Time is divided across each section according to the "rank" of its inhabitants, so that the best gets to enjoy 12 hours of sun, while the poorest gets just a glimps of dawn.
A dystopian vision of our future, with a very thin and feeble ray of hope mixed in.
(★★★)
Started: Jul 10 2016 Finished: Jul 10 2016
Despite being a finalist because of its inclusion in a slate, the work is not only enjoyable, but also novel and interesting. I found quite interesting to read a book written by a Chinese author, to see the (current and future) world through the eyes of a different culture. The population and economic growth of modern China, its economic inequalities, and its technological and engineering marvels are central to Folding Beijing.
In a claustrophobic overpopulated future, Beijing is rebuild to be three cities at once, each folding into each other, so that only one at a time is up and awake on the surface, while the other two are folded and sleeping. Time is divided across each section according to the "rank" of its inhabitants, so that the best gets to enjoy 12 hours of sun, while the poorest gets just a glimps of dawn.
A dystopian vision of our future, with a very thin and feeble ray of hope mixed in.
(★★★)
Started: Jul 10 2016 Finished: Jul 10 2016
Slow Bullets
by Alastair Reynolds (2015)
by Alastair Reynolds (2015)
My review:
I read Slow Bullets as part of my Hugo Awards Finalist reading marathon.
This latest story by well-known author Alastair Reynolds is another fine example of a fast-paced, action oriented space-opera, the genre this author is mostly known for.
At the end of an inter galactic conflict, Scur, a conscripted soldier is captured, tortured, and left for dead by a renegade war criminal. She revives aboard a prisoner transport vessel. Something has gone terribly wrong with the ship. The passengers, the combatants from both sides of the war, are waking up from hibernation far too soon... or is it? Their memories, embedded in bullets, are the only links to a world which is no longer recognizable. And Scur will be reacquainted with her old enemy, but with much higher stakes than just her own life.
A very enjoyable and entertaining book, a perfect read for the beach. (★★★)
Started: Jul 10 2016 Finished: Jul 10 2016
This latest story by well-known author Alastair Reynolds is another fine example of a fast-paced, action oriented space-opera, the genre this author is mostly known for.
At the end of an inter galactic conflict, Scur, a conscripted soldier is captured, tortured, and left for dead by a renegade war criminal. She revives aboard a prisoner transport vessel. Something has gone terribly wrong with the ship. The passengers, the combatants from both sides of the war, are waking up from hibernation far too soon... or is it? Their memories, embedded in bullets, are the only links to a world which is no longer recognizable. And Scur will be reacquainted with her old enemy, but with much higher stakes than just her own life.
A very enjoyable and entertaining book, a perfect read for the beach. (★★★)
Started: Jul 10 2016 Finished: Jul 10 2016
Uprooted
by Naomi Novik
by Naomi Novik
My review:
Naomi Novik has already established herself as a talented author with her Temeraire series, and her latest fairy tale / coming-of-age novel does not disappoint. The story is told from the point of view of Agnieszka, a young 17 year old that, growing up in the land of the Dragon, a powerful wizard constantly fighting the evil wood. Every 10 year a young girl is selected by the Dragon, and kept in his tower. Everybody expects Kasia, Agnieszka's best friend, to be the choose one, but hings do not always go as expected...
While the plot is, from many point of view, the one of a typical classical fairy tale, there are many modern elements, including the gender dynamics. What makes this book special though, is how entertaining and impossible to put down it is.
(★★★★★)
Started: Jul 02 2016 Finished: Jul 08 2016
While the plot is, from many point of view, the one of a typical classical fairy tale, there are many modern elements, including the gender dynamics. What makes this book special though, is how entertaining and impossible to put down it is.
(★★★★★)
Started: Jul 02 2016 Finished: Jul 08 2016
The Builders
by Daniel Polansky (2015)
by Daniel Polansky (2015)
My review:
I read this book as part of my 2016 Hugo awards finalist marathon.
This is the story of the Captain and his company, that fought for the losing monarch in the battle of the two twin brothers. After that, for the Captain's company, survival has meant keeping a low profile, building a new life, and trying to forget the war they lost. But now the Captain's whiskers are twitching at the idea of evening the score.
I am not a big fan of stories featuring anthropomorphic furry characters, and dark and gritty war stories, but despite that I still find it enjoyable. You may like it more than me if you are more into that genre than me. (★★★)
Started: Jun 18 2016 Finished: Jun 25 2016
This is the story of the Captain and his company, that fought for the losing monarch in the battle of the two twin brothers. After that, for the Captain's company, survival has meant keeping a low profile, building a new life, and trying to forget the war they lost. But now the Captain's whiskers are twitching at the idea of evening the score.
I am not a big fan of stories featuring anthropomorphic furry characters, and dark and gritty war stories, but despite that I still find it enjoyable. You may like it more than me if you are more into that genre than me. (★★★)
Started: Jun 18 2016 Finished: Jun 25 2016
The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, #1)
by N.K. Jemisin (2015)
by N.K. Jemisin (2015)
My review:
Probably the best story I have read in years. It is very rare to find a book that have it all: exquisite writing, moving, intriguing, and enticing story, memorable characters, astounding and original world building. The Fifth Season is at the same time impossible to put down, and deep. It is the kind of book it will stay with you and make you think.
The book has three subplots adroitly waved together. The first is the story of Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. The second is the story of Damaya, a young girl that is discovered to be a powerful orogene, and as such kept in a barn as a beast by her parents, to soon be given away. The third is the story of Damaya, growing locked up and used as a de-humanized weapon by the fulcrum.
This is an ambitious trilogy, that while set in a world so different from ours, it succeed like no other in exploring issues like slavery, oppression, discrimination, and taboos. A strongly recommended read.
This is one of the Hugo Award Finalist in the Best Novel category. I wrote more about this and the other finalist in this blog post.
(★★★★★)
Started: Jun 05 2016 Finished: Jun 18 2016
The book has three subplots adroitly waved together. The first is the story of Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. The second is the story of Damaya, a young girl that is discovered to be a powerful orogene, and as such kept in a barn as a beast by her parents, to soon be given away. The third is the story of Damaya, growing locked up and used as a de-humanized weapon by the fulcrum.
This is an ambitious trilogy, that while set in a world so different from ours, it succeed like no other in exploring issues like slavery, oppression, discrimination, and taboos. A strongly recommended read.
This is one of the Hugo Award Finalist in the Best Novel category. I wrote more about this and the other finalist in this blog post.
(★★★★★)
Started: Jun 05 2016 Finished: Jun 18 2016
Asymmetrical Warfare
by S.R. Algernon (2015)
by S.R. Algernon (2015)
My review:
I read this as part of my 2016 Hugo Awards nominees reading marathon. This extremely short story is the diary written by the commander of an alien species invading Earth. Each entry describes, day by day, the progress of the invasion. The story details the increasing confusion and puzzlement of the alien forces when faced with the biologic differences of homo sapiens.
I found particularly interesting the stellate race attempts to make sense of humans in terms of their alien stellate biology, and failing. As it is often the case, the most common obstacle to understanding, is trying to understand others in terms of our way of thinking and being.
While very interesting, this is also the weakest point of the story: do we really have to believe that a species that expended across the universe, entering in contacts with many different lifeforms, never met non regenerating life forms before? It is also made clear that the two species can communicate, and that the stellate are closely observing human behavior, making this complete lack of understanding of human biology very hard to believe. (★★★)
Started: Jun 05 2016 Finished: Jun 05 2016
I found particularly interesting the stellate race attempts to make sense of humans in terms of their alien stellate biology, and failing. As it is often the case, the most common obstacle to understanding, is trying to understand others in terms of our way of thinking and being.
While very interesting, this is also the weakest point of the story: do we really have to believe that a species that expended across the universe, entering in contacts with many different lifeforms, never met non regenerating life forms before? It is also made clear that the two species can communicate, and that the stellate are closely observing human behavior, making this complete lack of understanding of human biology very hard to believe. (★★★)
Started: Jun 05 2016 Finished: Jun 05 2016
If You Were an Award, My Love
by Juan Tabo
by Juan Tabo
My review:
I read this as part of my 2016 Hugo Awards nominees reading marathon. This title was placed on the finalist by slate voting by a group of gammergaters, and it is, so far, the worst Hugo finalist I read. It is a short blog post written as a reaction to / a parody of If You Were a Dinosaur My Love, that is well-known to be hated by the gammergate crowd. It is intended to be funny (but it is not), and I believe it was slate-voted into the finalist as a form of protest, not for its worth.
(★)
Started: Jun 05 2016 Finished: Jun 05 2016
Started: Jun 05 2016 Finished: Jun 05 2016
Seven Kill Tiger
by Charles Shao (2015)
by Charles Shao (2015)
My review:
I read this as part of my 2016 Hugo Awards nominees reading marathon. This short story focuses on two main character: Zhang Zedong, a Chinese business manager responsible for the Chinese "settlements" (colonies) in Africa, and Scott Berens, a US CDC employee tracking diseases and virus outbreaks. Zhang is concerned that production in his African mining operation has fallen again this quarter, and that he is going to be held responsible for it. He blames the local population, that he describes in quite demeaning terms. Scott identifies it as an anomaly in the spread of diseases, and his superior Thompson thinks the Chinese may have weaponized a polio vaccine.
Despite the unimpressive characters, the central concept of the story is interesting and disturbing. The most disturbing part is the realization that the utterly xenophobic way of thinking of the fictional Chinese Colonist, exists in every country of today's world, always ready to flare up at time of crisis and economical recession. The author point of view is never revealed or hinted, to the point to make me believe he may actualy share at least some of the troubling ideas presented in the story.
Trigger warnings: colonialism, xenophobia. (★★)
Started: Jun 05 2016 Finished: Jun 05 2016
Despite the unimpressive characters, the central concept of the story is interesting and disturbing. The most disturbing part is the realization that the utterly xenophobic way of thinking of the fictional Chinese Colonist, exists in every country of today's world, always ready to flare up at time of crisis and economical recession. The author point of view is never revealed or hinted, to the point to make me believe he may actualy share at least some of the troubling ideas presented in the story.
Trigger warnings: colonialism, xenophobia. (★★)
Started: Jun 05 2016 Finished: Jun 05 2016
Space Raptor Butt Invasion
by Chuck Tingle (2015)
by Chuck Tingle (2015)
My review:
I read this as part of my 2016 Hugo Awards nominees reading marathon. This title was placed on the finalist by slate voting by a group of gammergaters as an attempt to vilify the Hugo award reputation. Chuck Tingle, the author of a series of "geeky" gay erotica short stories, responded to his nomination getting Zoe Quinn (the gammergaters arch-nemesis) to receive his award in case of a victory... I decided to set the controversy aside, and read the story and decide in its own merit.
SRBI turns out to be a very unique, often humorous, gay erotic short story with a sci-fi spin. It's the story of Lance, left alone on a mission on a distant planet, having a (very) close encounter with a (possibly) alien species. (★★★)
Started: Jun 04 2016 Finished: Jun 04 2016
SRBI turns out to be a very unique, often humorous, gay erotic short story with a sci-fi spin. It's the story of Lance, left alone on a mission on a distant planet, having a (very) close encounter with a (possibly) alien species. (★★★)
Started: Jun 04 2016 Finished: Jun 04 2016
The Aeronaut's Windlass (The Cinder Spires, #1)
by Jim Butcher
by Jim Butcher
My review:
I read this as part of my 2016 Hugo Awards nominees reading marathon. As it is often the case with Jim Butcher's novel, this book is a light and enjoyable read, the characters are colorful, yet flat, and there is nothing to blow you away. It is probably telling that the most memorable characters are the talking cats. The fictional world is interesting, but a lot is left unsaid, to be covered in one of the planned 20+ books of the series.
The plot is relatively simple: since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity, towering for miles over the mist shrouded surface of the world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace. Captain Grimm commands a merchant ship, Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is severely damaged in combat, leaving captain and crew grounded, Grimm is offered a proposition from the Spirearch of Albion, to join a team of agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring Predator to its fighting glory. And even as Grimm undertakes this dangerous task, he will learn that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. (★★)
Started: May 18 2016 Finished: Jun 02 2016
The plot is relatively simple: since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity, towering for miles over the mist shrouded surface of the world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace. Captain Grimm commands a merchant ship, Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is severely damaged in combat, leaving captain and crew grounded, Grimm is offered a proposition from the Spirearch of Albion, to join a team of agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring Predator to its fighting glory. And even as Grimm undertakes this dangerous task, he will learn that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. (★★)
Started: May 18 2016 Finished: Jun 02 2016
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 100, January 2015
by Neil Clarke (2015)
by Neil Clarke (2015)
My review:
I read this as part of my 2016 Hugo Awards nominees reading marathon. I am very partial to this story because it main fictional character, an AI, was born in the datacenters of the company I work for. It is a fun, light read, where the artificial self-conscious being end up behaving like a corky human.
(★★★★)
Started: May 18 2016 Finished: May 18 2016
Started: May 18 2016 Finished: May 18 2016
Lightspeed Magazine, February 2015
by John Joseph Adams (2015)
by John Joseph Adams (2015)
My review:
This cyberpunk action story is extremely fast paced, impossible to put down, and fun to read. The main character, Rhye, is an artificial woman, created, used, and discarded by "regular" humans. Her hard upbringing made her somebody you would not want to mess with. She is a rough, violent, foul mouthed machine, but her meeting with Rack, a hacker, is going to profoundly affect her life.
(★★★★)
Started: May 16 2016 Finished: May 17 2016
Started: May 16 2016 Finished: May 17 2016
Seveneves
by Neal Stephenson (2015)
by Neal Stephenson (2015)
My review:
In a very near future an unknown agent hits the moon breaking it to pieces, turning Earth into a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space. But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, and the future of human race.
The book is an excellent example of hard science-fiction, where the author went the extra mile to ensure to get his fact straights (even if he admits to have taken a couple of small liberties in a couple of places where it was necessary). It is not interesting for character exploration and development, but for the breath-taking, quite scientifically accurate, and entertaining exploration of a possible future. The book is divided into three parts. The first two are very fast paced, and draw inspiration from the author work for Bezos's space mining company. The third part is very different in tones and themes, and was heavily based on the author screenplay for a video-game he is working on. It also explore some eugenic themes that are quite problematic. The abrupt change in style and themes of the last part, makes the book less cohesive. I really wish the third part was not included. (★★★★)
Started: Apr 29 2016 Finished: May 12 2016
The book is an excellent example of hard science-fiction, where the author went the extra mile to ensure to get his fact straights (even if he admits to have taken a couple of small liberties in a couple of places where it was necessary). It is not interesting for character exploration and development, but for the breath-taking, quite scientifically accurate, and entertaining exploration of a possible future. The book is divided into three parts. The first two are very fast paced, and draw inspiration from the author work for Bezos's space mining company. The third part is very different in tones and themes, and was heavily based on the author screenplay for a video-game he is working on. It also explore some eugenic themes that are quite problematic. The abrupt change in style and themes of the last part, makes the book less cohesive. I really wish the third part was not included. (★★★★)
Started: Apr 29 2016 Finished: May 12 2016
Sarah's Child
by Susan Jane Bigelow (2014)
by Susan Jane Bigelow (2014)
My review:
Sarah tells herself she should be happy: she has a job, a loving mother, and a wonderful girlfriend. Still, something is missing in her life: a child. She does have a child in her dreams though, he is Brandon, a 6 years old, with blond hairs, that loves dinosaurs. In this dream word she did not had to transition, she was born with a female body, and her name was June. But is this parallel reality really just a dream?
This short story was a finalist for the 2015 James Tiptree Jr. Award. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 10 2016 Finished: Apr 10 2016
This short story was a finalist for the 2015 James Tiptree Jr. Award. (★★★★★)
Started: Apr 10 2016 Finished: Apr 10 2016
A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers
by Alyssa Wong
by Alyssa Wong
My review:
Hannah and Melanie are two sisters, with the ability to bend time and reality. Unfortunately there are limits of what they can achieve, and when one succumbs to self hate, suicide, family transphobia, and hate crime, the other traps herself in a never ending loop of alternative realities, fueled by her sense of guilt, desperately trying to change an unchangeable past.
(★★★★)
Started: Mar 18 2016 Finished: Mar 19 2016
Started: Mar 18 2016 Finished: Mar 19 2016
That Game We Played During the War
by Carrie Vaughn (2016)
by Carrie Vaughn (2016)
My review:
A powerful and moving story, that adroitly portray the relationship between two Calla and Valk, members of two countries that have been at war until recently. Valk is a citizen of the Gaant, a country of telepaths, while Calla is an Enithian, where people have no mental power. They meet during the war, one prisoner of the other, switching roles at different times. Despite the decade long war, despite the situation, the two build a relation that outlast the way.
This is, by far, one of my favorite stories of the year. (★★★★★)
Started: Mar 17 2016 Finished: Mar 17 2016
This is, by far, one of my favorite stories of the year. (★★★★★)
Started: Mar 17 2016 Finished: Mar 17 2016
Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse, #1)
by James S.A. Corey (2011)
by James S.A. Corey (2011)
My review:
Fast paced and highly entertaining space opera. Humanity has colonized the solar system: Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond. The stars are still out of our reach. Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, The Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for, and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why.
Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to the Scopuli, and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything.
Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations, and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe. (★★★★★)
Started: Nov 29 2015 Finished: Dec 16 2015
Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to the Scopuli, and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything.
Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations, and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe. (★★★★★)
Started: Nov 29 2015 Finished: Dec 16 2015
Childhood's End
by Arthur C. Clarke (1987)
by Arthur C. Clarke (1987)
My review:
An incredibly original account of a first encounter between humans and a far more advanced alien civilization. Without warning, giant silver ships from deep space appear in the skies above every major city on Earth. Manned by the Overlords, in fifty years, they eliminate ignorance, disease, and poverty. Then this golden age ends...
By far one of the best sci-fi novels ever written. (★★★★★)
Started: Nov 22 2015 Finished: Nov 26 2015
By far one of the best sci-fi novels ever written. (★★★★★)
Started: Nov 22 2015 Finished: Nov 26 2015
Ancillary Mercy (Imperial Radch, #3)
by Ann Leckie (2015)
by Ann Leckie (2015)
My review:
This is the latest and final installment of one of my favorite sci-fi space operas. At the end of the previous book things seemed to be under control for Breq, formerly the AI of the battleship Justice of Torren. Then, a search of Atheok Station's slums turns up someone who shouldn't exist, someone who might be an ancillary from a ship that's been hiding beyond the empire's reach for three thousand years. Meanwhile, a messenger from the alien and mysterious Presger empire arrives, as does Breq's enemy, the divided Anaander Mianaai, ruler of an empire at war with itself. Anaander is heavily armed and extremely unhappy with Breq. She could take her ship and crew and flee, but that would leave everyone at Athoek in terrible danger. Breq has a desperate plan. The odds aren't good, but that's never stopped her before.
Learn more in my blog post. (★★★★★)
Started: Nov 08 2015 Finished: Nov 18 2015
Learn more in my blog post. (★★★★★)
Started: Nov 08 2015 Finished: Nov 18 2015
Analog Science Fiction and Fact, November 2014
by Trevor Quachri (2014)
by Trevor Quachri (2014)
My review:
This 2015 Hugo Award nominee is an interesting and fascinating short story. Despite being featured in the infamous puppy slate, I actually liked it. I believe it has a lot of potential, even if it reads like a chapter of a long story, where the author is adroitly crafting an entire world populated by many interesting cultures, to set up the scene for what is coming next... but nothing come next. The story is interrupted almost at a cliff hanger, leaving the reader curious to know what is happening next. This is what make the novel unworthy of a Hugo. I hope that the author will continue the story and make it grow to its full potentials. I strongly believe that while this story is an incomplete piece of a puzzle, once other pieces fall into place a Hugo worthy final story may be revealed. I am looking forward reading more of this word and of this story.
Update: I recently learned there is already a second short story of the series. It is called Thaw. I will be reading it soon. (★★★)
Started: Oct 19 2015 Finished: Oct 20 2015
Update: I recently learned there is already a second short story of the series. It is called Thaw. I will be reading it soon. (★★★)
Started: Oct 19 2015 Finished: Oct 20 2015
The Triple Sun: A Golden Age Tale
by Rajnar Vajra (2014)
by Rajnar Vajra (2014)
My review:
This Hugo Award nominee is entertaining, but disappointing. This short military sci-fi novelette is the story of a team of three candidate space explorer: one from Earth, one from Venus, and one from Mars. They are a rowdy bunch and they got into troubles. As a result, in order to graduate, they are now required to unravel the mystery that have kept the army busy on a remote new planet for the past 3 years. An intelligent new form of life has been discovered, able to build microcircuits, but any attempt of communication have failed so far.
I enjoyed the hard science fiction elements (attempts?), but what made the story quite disappointing are the plot twists and revelations. The smart trick used by the main characters in one of the most important scenes it is never fully explained and it does not really make much sense. (★★)
Started: Oct 18 2015 Finished: Oct 19 2015
I enjoyed the hard science fiction elements (attempts?), but what made the story quite disappointing are the plot twists and revelations. The smart trick used by the main characters in one of the most important scenes it is never fully explained and it does not really make much sense. (★★)
Started: Oct 18 2015 Finished: Oct 19 2015
A Guide to the Fruits of Hawai'i
by Alaya Dawn Johnson (2014)
by Alaya Dawn Johnson (2014)
My review:
This book is set in a near future where vampires have taken over Earth and they keep humans in concentration camps / blood farms. Do not expect a Young Adult Twilight like story. This novella won the Nebula award and it well deserve it for its originality. The narrator is a human worker in one of such facilities. We discover slowly her past, as a vampire's ally and pet and the tiny part she played in the undead ascension. We see her dream of being turned slowly evolve over time as she understand what vampires have done to human culture and history.
(★★★★)
Started: Oct 14 2015 Finished: Oct 14 2015
Started: Oct 14 2015 Finished: Oct 14 2015
The Devil in America
by Kai Ashante Wilson (2014)
by Kai Ashante Wilson (2014)
My review:
I did not realize this short novel was nominated for the Nebula award, but I am far from being surprised: it is an incredibly powerful and memorable story.
Set shortly after the Civil War, this is the story of a mysterious family confronts the legacy that has pursued them across centuries, out of slavery, and finally to the idyllic peace of the town of Rosetree. The shattering consequences of this confrontation echo backwards and forwards in time, even to the present day. (★★★★★)
Started: Oct 01 2015 Finished: Oct 03 2015
Set shortly after the Civil War, this is the story of a mysterious family confronts the legacy that has pursued them across centuries, out of slavery, and finally to the idyllic peace of the town of Rosetree. The shattering consequences of this confrontation echo backwards and forwards in time, even to the present day. (★★★★★)
Started: Oct 01 2015 Finished: Oct 03 2015
Apex Magazine Issue 56, January 2014
by Sigrid Ellis (2014)
by Sigrid Ellis (2014)
My review:
A short yet touching story, with memorable well drawn characters.
Jackalope wives are very shy creatures, though there is nothing shy about the way they dance. You could go your whole life and see no more of them than the flash of a tail vanishing around the backside of a boulder. If you were lucky, you might catch a whole line of them outlined against the sky, on the top of a bluff, the shadow of horns rising off their brows.
But one day, a young man with a little touch of magic in the attempt of catching one severely injures one. It will be up to his grandmother to remedy his errors.
(★★★★)
Started: Sep 27 2015 Finished: Sep 27 2015
Jackalope wives are very shy creatures, though there is nothing shy about the way they dance. You could go your whole life and see no more of them than the flash of a tail vanishing around the backside of a boulder. If you were lucky, you might catch a whole line of them outlined against the sky, on the top of a bluff, the shadow of horns rising off their brows.
But one day, a young man with a little touch of magic in the attempt of catching one severely injures one. It will be up to his grandmother to remedy his errors.
(★★★★)
Started: Sep 27 2015 Finished: Sep 27 2015
Second Foundation (Foundation, #3)
by Isaac Asimov (2004)
by Isaac Asimov (2004)
My review:
In 1966 a one-time Hugo awards for the best all time series was given to Isaac Asimov for the Foundation saga. It is well deserved. I read this book as a kid, and I remember enjoying it, but reading it now as an adult I came to appreciate the breath of his work, how daring it is, in creating this fictional future history, modeled after historical pattern of the past.
As for the previous books, the third (and originally the last) installment of the series is a collection multiple short stories, each set decades apart from each other, each connected to the previous one to tell the history of the "foundation" over the centuries.
After years of struggle, the Foundation lies in ruins—destroyed by the mutant mind power of the Mule. But it is rumored that there is a Second Foundation hidden somewhere at the end of the Galaxy, established to preserve the knowledge of mankind through the long centuries of barbarism. The Mule failed to find it the first time—but now he is certain he knows where it lies. In the second story, the fate of the Foundation rests on young Arcadia Darell, only fourteen years old and burdened with a terrible secret.
Asimov was well known for his lack of interesting, well rounded, female character. That was quite common (unfortunately) at the time, and the author recognized his limitation and attributed it to his lack of success with women at the time. After many quite unremarkable female side characters, Second Foundation's Arcadia is a groundbreaking and welcomed change: she is captivating, smart, and well-rounded. She is definitely in control of her life, and in the center stage. She is probably one of the most interesting of Asimov's characters. It does not come as a surprise that, of all the Foundation's stories, this is often the favorite one. (★★★★★)
Started: Aug 26 2015 Finished: Aug 30 2015
As for the previous books, the third (and originally the last) installment of the series is a collection multiple short stories, each set decades apart from each other, each connected to the previous one to tell the history of the "foundation" over the centuries.
After years of struggle, the Foundation lies in ruins—destroyed by the mutant mind power of the Mule. But it is rumored that there is a Second Foundation hidden somewhere at the end of the Galaxy, established to preserve the knowledge of mankind through the long centuries of barbarism. The Mule failed to find it the first time—but now he is certain he knows where it lies. In the second story, the fate of the Foundation rests on young Arcadia Darell, only fourteen years old and burdened with a terrible secret.
Asimov was well known for his lack of interesting, well rounded, female character. That was quite common (unfortunately) at the time, and the author recognized his limitation and attributed it to his lack of success with women at the time. After many quite unremarkable female side characters, Second Foundation's Arcadia is a groundbreaking and welcomed change: she is captivating, smart, and well-rounded. She is definitely in control of her life, and in the center stage. She is probably one of the most interesting of Asimov's characters. It does not come as a surprise that, of all the Foundation's stories, this is often the favorite one. (★★★★★)
Started: Aug 26 2015 Finished: Aug 30 2015
Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, Earth to Alluvium
by Gray Rinehart (2014)
by Gray Rinehart (2014)
My review:
This is the story of a human colony on a planet called Alluvium which was forced into second-class citizenship upon the arrival of another intelligent species. After a series of failed rebellions, one man, dying of cancer, attempts a kind of passive aggressive rebellion by having himself buried upon his death, a deep ritual affront to the dominant alien culture. Entertaining, but the plot is a little thin and hard to buy.
(★★)
Started: Aug 26 2015 Finished: Aug 26 2015
Started: Aug 26 2015 Finished: Aug 26 2015
Totaled (Mother of Memory Book 1)
by Kary English
by Kary English
My review:
Totaled is a short tale about the experiences of a scientist waking up in a her lab after an horrific car accident. She is reduced to a full-brain tissue sample for use in experiments on neural maps, and find herself helping her former colleagues achieving what was her ambitious goal.
This is one of the few stories in the puppy slate that would have possibly deserved a Hugo. The plot mixes seen before tropes, in a novel and original way. The biggest limitation of the story is the lack of desperation of the main character. I cannot believe she could so calmly work without constantly worrying about her kids that she left behind, or despair about her upcoming death.
This said, Kary English is a great story teller, and I am interested in reading more of her future work. (★★★)
Started: Aug 26 2015 Finished: Aug 26 2015
This is one of the few stories in the puppy slate that would have possibly deserved a Hugo. The plot mixes seen before tropes, in a novel and original way. The biggest limitation of the story is the lack of desperation of the main character. I cannot believe she could so calmly work without constantly worrying about her kids that she left behind, or despair about her upcoming death.
This said, Kary English is a great story teller, and I am interested in reading more of her future work. (★★★)
Started: Aug 26 2015 Finished: Aug 26 2015
Championship B'tok
by Edward M. Lerner
by Edward M. Lerner
My review:
This short story was nominated to the 2015 Hugo awards thanks to the controversial puppy slate. Because of its inclusion in the slate, that features a lot of mediocre books, I had very low expectations. I was surprisingly pleased by the book to the point that I would read the other short stories set in the same world. The only disappointing part is that it reads like a chapter of a biggest saga, and it is hard to enjoy it as a stand alone novella. This said, I am glad to see that there is not only rubbish in the puppy slate!
Silly tail comment: I know that we should not judge a book by its cover, but... this is possibly the least enticing book cover I have ever seen. (★★★)
Started: Aug 20 2015 Finished: Aug 21 2015
Silly tail comment: I know that we should not judge a book by its cover, but... this is possibly the least enticing book cover I have ever seen. (★★★)
Started: Aug 20 2015 Finished: Aug 21 2015
The Dark Between the Stars
by Kevin J. Anderson
by Kevin J. Anderson
My review:
While the book is entertaining I was a little disappointed by it. Probably my expectations were set too high (The Dark Between the Stars is one of the finalist for the 2015 Hugo awards), but there is nothing to set this book apart from millions of other sci-fi books. This book is the sequel of the The Saga of Seven Suns. I have not read that trilogy, and I was left with the impression I would have enjoyed this book more if I had.
More reviews of more 2015 Hugo awards nominees here on my blog here: http://goo.gl/Nz5HgV (★★★)
Started: Jun 14 2015 Finished: Jul 13 2015
More reviews of more 2015 Hugo awards nominees here on my blog here: http://goo.gl/Nz5HgV (★★★)
Started: Jun 14 2015 Finished: Jul 13 2015
The Goblin Emperor (The Goblin Emperor, #1)
by Katherine Addison
by Katherine Addison
My review:
Maia is the latest and least of the child of the elf emperor, born from a marriage with a repudiated goblin princess. Raised in something close to exile by a cruel guardian, he suddenly find himself the new Emperor after the assassination of his father and older brothers.
While the book is a little bit hard to follow at first because of the number of characters (game of thrones has a forth of the characters in 50x more pages), their very complex and hard to remember name, and the complexity of their relationships and of the world politics, it grew on me thanks to the extreme likability of the main character.
The book contains relatively little action, almost everything happens in few rooms of the imperial palace, and the plot has very little surprises to offer (the guys that appear to be the bad guys turn out to be the bad guy, the guys that look like the good guys are the good guys). Despite that, the book is quite a pleasure to read thanks to the adroit characterization of the main character, that while insecure and humble, he is the embodiment of virtue and impossible to dislike.
I wrote more about this and the other Hugo awards nominees for best novel on my blog here: http://goo.gl/Nz5HgV (★★★★)
Started: May 18 2015 Finished: Jun 14 2015
While the book is a little bit hard to follow at first because of the number of characters (game of thrones has a forth of the characters in 50x more pages), their very complex and hard to remember name, and the complexity of their relationships and of the world politics, it grew on me thanks to the extreme likability of the main character.
The book contains relatively little action, almost everything happens in few rooms of the imperial palace, and the plot has very little surprises to offer (the guys that appear to be the bad guys turn out to be the bad guy, the guys that look like the good guys are the good guys). Despite that, the book is quite a pleasure to read thanks to the adroit characterization of the main character, that while insecure and humble, he is the embodiment of virtue and impossible to dislike.
I wrote more about this and the other Hugo awards nominees for best novel on my blog here: http://goo.gl/Nz5HgV (★★★★)
Started: May 18 2015 Finished: Jun 14 2015
The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth’s Past, #1)
by Cixin Liu (2014)
by Cixin Liu (2014)
My review:
I was quite excited to read a book of China's most beloved science fiction author, Liu Cixin. I was even more excited to read it translated by a Hugo/Nebula winner author, Ken Liu.
The book starts during China's Cultural Revolution, and today's China. The sci-fi component of the plot emerges quite slowly, the first part of the book focuses on the horrors of the Cultural Revolution, and the terrifying experience of Ye Wenjie through it. That was, to me, the most interesting and powerful part of the entire book. After reading it my expectations were so high, that the rest of the book (while still good) was a little bit disappointing.
As the book progresses, it switches to full sci-fi mode and moves away from historical towards purely fictional. It is an interesting story, that deals with the effects on human and alien societies after their first contact.
I wrote more about this and the other Hugo awards nominees for best novel on my blog here: http://goo.gl/Nz5HgV (★★★★)
Started: May 03 2015 Finished: May 16 2015
The book starts during China's Cultural Revolution, and today's China. The sci-fi component of the plot emerges quite slowly, the first part of the book focuses on the horrors of the Cultural Revolution, and the terrifying experience of Ye Wenjie through it. That was, to me, the most interesting and powerful part of the entire book. After reading it my expectations were so high, that the rest of the book (while still good) was a little bit disappointing.
As the book progresses, it switches to full sci-fi mode and moves away from historical towards purely fictional. It is an interesting story, that deals with the effects on human and alien societies after their first contact.
I wrote more about this and the other Hugo awards nominees for best novel on my blog here: http://goo.gl/Nz5HgV (★★★★)
Started: May 03 2015 Finished: May 16 2015
Foundation and Empire (Foundation, #2)
by Isaac Asimov
by Isaac Asimov
My review:
In 1966 a one-time Hugo awards for the best all time series was given to Isaac Asimov for the Foundation saga. It is well deserved. I read this book as a kid, and I remember enjoying it, but reading it now as an adult I came to appreciate the breath of his work, how daring it is, in creating this fictional future history, modeled after historical pattern of the past.
As for the previous book, the second installment of the series is a collection of multiple short stories, each set decades apart from each other, each connected to the previous one to tell the history of the "foundation" over the centuries.
Led by its founding father, the great psychohistorian Hari Seldon, and taking advantage of its superior science and technology, the Foundation has survived the greed and barbarism of its neighboring warrior-planets. Yet now it must face the Empire, still the mightiest force in the Galaxy even in its death throes. When an ambitious general determined to restore the Empire's glory turns the vast Imperial fleet toward the Foundation, the only hope for the small planet of scholars and scientists lies in the prophecies of Hari Seldon. But not even Hari Seldon could have predicted the birth of the extraordinary creature called The Mule, [spoilers removed] (★★★★)
Started: Apr 18 2015 Finished: Apr 23 2015
As for the previous book, the second installment of the series is a collection of multiple short stories, each set decades apart from each other, each connected to the previous one to tell the history of the "foundation" over the centuries.
Led by its founding father, the great psychohistorian Hari Seldon, and taking advantage of its superior science and technology, the Foundation has survived the greed and barbarism of its neighboring warrior-planets. Yet now it must face the Empire, still the mightiest force in the Galaxy even in its death throes. When an ambitious general determined to restore the Empire's glory turns the vast Imperial fleet toward the Foundation, the only hope for the small planet of scholars and scientists lies in the prophecies of Hari Seldon. But not even Hari Seldon could have predicted the birth of the extraordinary creature called The Mule, [spoilers removed] (★★★★)
Started: Apr 18 2015 Finished: Apr 23 2015
Foundation (Foundation, #1)
by Isaac Asimov
by Isaac Asimov
My review:
In 1966 a one-time Hugo awards for the best all time series was given to Isaac Asimov for the Foundation saga. It is well deserved. I read this book as a kid, and I remember enjoying it, but reading it now as an adult I came to appreciate the breath of his work, how daring it is, in creating this fictional future history, modeled after historical pattern of the past.
The story starts with Hari Seldon, a scientist that spent his life developing a branch of mathematics known as psychohistory, a concept of mathematical sociology. Using the laws of mass action, it can predict the future, but only on a large scale. Seldon foresees the imminent fall of the Galactic Empire, which encompasses the entire Milky Way, and a dark age lasting 30 thousand years before a second great empire arises. Seldon also foresees an alternative where the interregnum will last only one thousand years. To ensure the more favorable outcome, Seldon creates a foundation of talented artisans and engineers at the extreme end of the galaxy, to preserve and expand on humanity's collective knowledge, and thus become the foundation for a new galactic empire.
The book is a collection of multiple short stories, each set decades apart from each other, each connected to the previous one to tell the history of the "foundation" over the centuries. (★★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): Apr 13 2015 Finished (first time): Apr 18 2015
The story starts with Hari Seldon, a scientist that spent his life developing a branch of mathematics known as psychohistory, a concept of mathematical sociology. Using the laws of mass action, it can predict the future, but only on a large scale. Seldon foresees the imminent fall of the Galactic Empire, which encompasses the entire Milky Way, and a dark age lasting 30 thousand years before a second great empire arises. Seldon also foresees an alternative where the interregnum will last only one thousand years. To ensure the more favorable outcome, Seldon creates a foundation of talented artisans and engineers at the extreme end of the galaxy, to preserve and expand on humanity's collective knowledge, and thus become the foundation for a new galactic empire.
The book is a collection of multiple short stories, each set decades apart from each other, each connected to the previous one to tell the history of the "foundation" over the centuries. (★★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 2
Started (first time): Apr 13 2015 Finished (first time): Apr 18 2015
Lightspeed Magazine, April 2014
by John Joseph Adams (2014)
by John Joseph Adams (2014)
My review:
An interesting fantastic novel set in current times. One day the world turned upside down that is to say the gravity makes people fall towards the sky. Nobody knows why it happened. Some wondered whether it was their fault. Whether they had been praying to the wrong gods, or whether they had said the wrong things. But it wasn’t like that, the world simply turned upside down.
(★★★)
Started: Apr 18 2015 Finished: Apr 18 2015
Started: Apr 18 2015 Finished: Apr 18 2015
The Female Man
by Joanna Russ (1997)
by Joanna Russ (1997)
My review:
The novel follows the lives of four women living in parallel worlds that differ in time and place. When they cross over to each other's worlds, their different views on gender roles startle each other's preexisting notions of womanhood. In the end, their encounters influence them to evaluate their lives and shape their ideas of what it means to be a woman.
This book is novel in both the themes that it explores, and in the writing style and structure. It is of historical significance as one of the most successful example of feminist science fiction, challenging the sexist views of the 70s. It is also a remarkable literary achievement, that not only breaks many of the preexisting notions of gender roles, but also common narrative tropes. The chronological order is broken, each chapter is set in a different time and place. The narrative switches from third to first person during the book, to even feature (quite effectively) stream-of-consciousness at some point. While this departure from the stylistic tropes makes the book harder to read at times, it also effectively and powerfully help deliver some of the messages of the book. For example the change of narrative prospective from third to first person highlights the awakening of Jannine Dadier, from the woman living in a repressive and sexist great depression world, desperate to show that her life has a meaning finding a man to marry, to the woman ready to take action to break the gender roles of her world.
I strongly encourage everybody to read this book, for its historical and literary significance, despite some transphobic themes that appear in one of the latest chapter and that really mar and stain what would have been otherwise a perfect masterpiece. (★★★★)
Started: Jan 29 2015 Finished: Feb 15 2015
This book is novel in both the themes that it explores, and in the writing style and structure. It is of historical significance as one of the most successful example of feminist science fiction, challenging the sexist views of the 70s. It is also a remarkable literary achievement, that not only breaks many of the preexisting notions of gender roles, but also common narrative tropes. The chronological order is broken, each chapter is set in a different time and place. The narrative switches from third to first person during the book, to even feature (quite effectively) stream-of-consciousness at some point. While this departure from the stylistic tropes makes the book harder to read at times, it also effectively and powerfully help deliver some of the messages of the book. For example the change of narrative prospective from third to first person highlights the awakening of Jannine Dadier, from the woman living in a repressive and sexist great depression world, desperate to show that her life has a meaning finding a man to marry, to the woman ready to take action to break the gender roles of her world.
I strongly encourage everybody to read this book, for its historical and literary significance, despite some transphobic themes that appear in one of the latest chapter and that really mar and stain what would have been otherwise a perfect masterpiece. (★★★★)
Started: Jan 29 2015 Finished: Feb 15 2015
Pump Six and Other Stories
by Paolo Bacigalupi
by Paolo Bacigalupi
My review:
Paolo Bacigalupi's debut collection demonstrates the power and reach of his science fiction short stories: social criticism, political parable, and environmental advocacy lie at the center of his work. Each of the stories herein is at once a warning, and a celebration of the tragic comedy of the human experience.
The eleven stories in Pump Six represent the best Paolo's work, including the Hugo nominee Yellow Card Man, the nebula and Hugo nominated story The People of Sand and Slag, and the Sturgeon Award-winning story The Calorie Man. (★★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 3
Started (first time): Dec 03 2014 Finished (first time): Dec 18 2014
The eleven stories in Pump Six represent the best Paolo's work, including the Hugo nominee Yellow Card Man, the nebula and Hugo nominated story The People of Sand and Slag, and the Sturgeon Award-winning story The Calorie Man. (★★★★★)
Number of times I read it: 3
Started (first time): Dec 03 2014 Finished (first time): Dec 18 2014
Ancillary Sword (Imperial Radch, #2)
by Ann Leckie
by Ann Leckie
My review:
The Lord of the Radch has given Breq command of the ship Mercy of Kalr and sent her to the only place she would have agreed to go -- to Athoek Station, where Lieutenant Awn's sister works in Horticulture. Athoek was annexed some six hundred years ago, and by now everyone is fully civilized, or should be. But everything is not as tranquil as it appears.
The second installment of the Imperial Radch series touches and develops many of the themes of the first. Particular focus is given to the ills of imperialism and how its promise of equality is hollow because some citizens are more equals than others.
I wrote more about this and the other Hugo awards nominees for best novel on my blog here: http://goo.gl/Nz5HgV (★★★★)
Started: Nov 02 2014 Finished: Nov 19 2014
The second installment of the Imperial Radch series touches and develops many of the themes of the first. Particular focus is given to the ills of imperialism and how its promise of equality is hollow because some citizens are more equals than others.
I wrote more about this and the other Hugo awards nominees for best novel on my blog here: http://goo.gl/Nz5HgV (★★★★)
Started: Nov 02 2014 Finished: Nov 19 2014
Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch, #1)
by Ann Leckie
by Ann Leckie
My review:
On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest. Once, she was the Justice of Toren, a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy. Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance.
What I found particularly interesting in this book was its interesting treatment of gender. We are told that the Radch language (and society) does not distinguish between genders, as a result the gender of every character is undetermined. This prevent readers from applying gender biases and stereotypes to the characters, leaving them often confused, and making them realize how strongly gender influences the way we judge and perceive other people.
Learn more in my blog post. (★★★★)
Started: Oct 13 2014 Finished: Oct 27 2014
What I found particularly interesting in this book was its interesting treatment of gender. We are told that the Radch language (and society) does not distinguish between genders, as a result the gender of every character is undetermined. This prevent readers from applying gender biases and stereotypes to the characters, leaving them often confused, and making them realize how strongly gender influences the way we judge and perceive other people.
Learn more in my blog post. (★★★★)
Started: Oct 13 2014 Finished: Oct 27 2014
Portrait of Lisane de Patagnia
by Rachel Swirsky (2012)
by Rachel Swirsky (2012)
My review:
Renn is the former student of Lisane, a world famous artist genius, that is dying full of regrets for not being able to educate any of her pupil to take over her legacy. After many years, Renn is still heart-broken over the end of her relationship with her mentor, Lisane, that tough her how to capture the essence of her subject into a painting with magic.
This is a story about love, obsession, passion, talent, favoritism, and emotions, beautifully and effectively written. It does not come as a surprise that this novel was shortlisted for the Nebula award. (★★★★★)
Started: Aug 23 2014 Finished: Aug 23 2014
This is a story about love, obsession, passion, talent, favoritism, and emotions, beautifully and effectively written. It does not come as a surprise that this novel was shortlisted for the Nebula award. (★★★★★)
Started: Aug 23 2014 Finished: Aug 23 2014
Equoid (Laundry Files, #2.9)
by Charles Stross (2013)
by Charles Stross (2013)
My review:
Another charming novel set in the geeky insane "laundry" world. It's the longest non-novel-length Laundry story so far. And it explains (among other things) precisely what H. P. Lovecraft saw behind the wood-shed when he was 14 that traumatized him for life, the reproductive life-cycle of unicorns, and what really happened on Cold Comfort Farm.
(★★★★)
Started: Aug 17 2014 Finished: Aug 20 2014
Started: Aug 17 2014 Finished: Aug 20 2014
The Lady Astronaut of Mars
by Mary Robinette Kowal (2014)
by Mary Robinette Kowal (2014)
My review:
I read this novelette shortly after it was announced that it won the 2014 Hugo award. I had really high expectations, and, because of it, I was expecting to be disappointed. This turned out to be one of the best novelette I have ever read in my life. In just 32 pages it creates such well rounded, real characters, that you can't avoid to relate with. The main character, Elma, is a senior astronaut dreaming to fly again between the stars. One day an opportunity opens up, and she can fulfill her dream. The only problem is, she'll be gone for three years, and her husband has less than a year to live.
This is an adroitly crafted, powerfully moving short story, that manages to touch complex themes like aging, disabilities, and the difficult balance between the pursuit of our own dreams and family, with extreme honesty, respect, and sensibility.
I strongly recommend it to everybody, not only to sci-fi fans. (★★★★★)
Started: Aug 17 2014 Finished: Aug 17 2014
This is an adroitly crafted, powerfully moving short story, that manages to touch complex themes like aging, disabilities, and the difficult balance between the pursuit of our own dreams and family, with extreme honesty, respect, and sensibility.
I strongly recommend it to everybody, not only to sci-fi fans. (★★★★★)
Started: Aug 17 2014 Finished: Aug 17 2014
The Windup Girl
by Paolo Bacigalupi (2010)
by Paolo Bacigalupi (2010)
Publisher review: Anderson Lake is a company man, AgriGen's Calorie Man in Thailand. Under cover as a factory manager, Anderson combs Bangkok's street markets in search of foodstuffs thought to be extinct, hoping to reap the bounty of history's lost calories. There, he encounters Emiko... Emiko is the Windup Girl, a strange and beautiful creature. One of the New People, Emiko is not human; instead, she is an engineered being, creche-grown and programmed to satisfy the decadent whims of a Kyoto businessman, but now abandoned to the streets of Bangkok. Regarded as soulless beings by some, devils by others, New People are slaves, soldiers, and toys of the rich in a chilling near future in which calorie companies rule the world, the oil age has passed, and the side effects of bio-engineered plagues run rampant across the globe. What Happens when calories become currency? What happens when bio-terrorism becomes a tool for corporate profits, when said bio-terrorism's genetic drift forces mankind to the cusp of post-human evolution? Award-winning author Paolo Bacigalupi delivers one of the most highly acclaimed science fiction novels of the twenty-first century.
My rating: ★★★
Started: Jun 28 2014 Finished: Jul 19 2014
My rating: ★★★
Started: Jun 28 2014 Finished: Jul 19 2014
Wakulla Springs
by Andy Duncan (2013)
by Andy Duncan (2013)
My review:
Despite being a finalist for both the Hugo and the Nebula 2013 awards, I would classify this novella as historical fiction, and not as science fiction or fantasy.
The story starts in the 1930s, in the deep South, at a time when segregation was the law of the land. Each chapter focuses on one pivotal moment in the life of a different member of the same family, each one belonging to a different generation. We are told the history of Wakulla Spring, a "white-only" retreat in the more pristine and wild corner of Florida, through their eyes.
The first two chapters are remarkable, because of the incredibly successful portrait of the past, as seen by the people living back then, and because of the well rounded character development. I just wish that the rest of the book was as good!
The last three chapters are quite short, almost as if they were written in a rush, and they feature characters that feel flat, quite uninteresting. The author introduces a couple of very small supernatural events, that do not fit well with the rest of the story, and that do not really add anything to it.
For more information about this and other 2013 nebula finalist, please refer to my blog post here: http://books.zennaro.net/category/hug... (★★★)
Started: Jun 17 2014 Finished: Jun 19 2014
The story starts in the 1930s, in the deep South, at a time when segregation was the law of the land. Each chapter focuses on one pivotal moment in the life of a different member of the same family, each one belonging to a different generation. We are told the history of Wakulla Spring, a "white-only" retreat in the more pristine and wild corner of Florida, through their eyes.
The first two chapters are remarkable, because of the incredibly successful portrait of the past, as seen by the people living back then, and because of the well rounded character development. I just wish that the rest of the book was as good!
The last three chapters are quite short, almost as if they were written in a rush, and they feature characters that feel flat, quite uninteresting. The author introduces a couple of very small supernatural events, that do not fit well with the rest of the story, and that do not really add anything to it.
For more information about this and other 2013 nebula finalist, please refer to my blog post here: http://books.zennaro.net/category/hug... (★★★)
Started: Jun 17 2014 Finished: Jun 19 2014
The Weight of the Sunrise
by Vylar Kaftan (2013)
by Vylar Kaftan (2013)
My review:
This alternative history Nebula award winner novella is set in a world where Pizarro did not completely wipe out the Mayan empire and their culture to the point of obliteration. In this world the empire is still standing, under the rule of a Emperor worshiped by his subjects as a living God. The empire is fighting against Scarlet Fever, a disease originated in Europe that disproportionately affects American. It wipes out entire villages, the few survivors are believed to be blessed by the Gods. The hope of a cure comes with an envoy from 13 British colonies in North America that are trying to free themselves from the rule of the monarchy.
What makes the story remarkable is not the portrait of a long lost culture, the entertaining plot, or the quite believable reconstruction of alternative historical events. What set this novella apart is the honest portrait of our own real history. I won't say more to avoid spoilers.
For more information about this and other 2013 nebula finalist, please refer to my blog post here: http://books.zennaro.net/category/hug... (★★★★)
Started: Jun 15 2014 Finished: Jun 16 2014
What makes the story remarkable is not the portrait of a long lost culture, the entertaining plot, or the quite believable reconstruction of alternative historical events. What set this novella apart is the honest portrait of our own real history. I won't say more to avoid spoilers.
For more information about this and other 2013 nebula finalist, please refer to my blog post here: http://books.zennaro.net/category/hug... (★★★★)
Started: Jun 15 2014 Finished: Jun 16 2014
Burning Girls
by Veronica Schanoes (2013)
by Veronica Schanoes (2013)
My review:
This is a rare example of sublime literature, an adroitly crafted, magnificently written novella spanning between the historical fiction and dark fantasy genres. The mix of the two genres works incredibly well: fantastic demons are metaphors of the real historical horrors, and supernatural elements reflects a system of beliefs and the superstitions of a community.
This is the story of Deborah, a Jewish girl growing in Poland at a time when anti-Semitic discrimination was the law, and the whole community lived in fear of pogroms. Her family is also faced with the prospect of poverty, since their main trade and source of income (sewing) suddenly has to compete with the products coming out from textile factories. Deborah inherited the holy powers from her grandmother, the zegorin of the village, that starts to train her to become one. Unfortunately her family is soon to be faced by a new wave of pogroms and supernatural events.
For more information about this and other 2013 nebula finalist, please refer to my blog post here: http://books.zennaro.net/category/hug... (★★★★★)
Started: Jun 14 2014 Finished: Jun 15 2014
This is the story of Deborah, a Jewish girl growing in Poland at a time when anti-Semitic discrimination was the law, and the whole community lived in fear of pogroms. Her family is also faced with the prospect of poverty, since their main trade and source of income (sewing) suddenly has to compete with the products coming out from textile factories. Deborah inherited the holy powers from her grandmother, the zegorin of the village, that starts to train her to become one. Unfortunately her family is soon to be faced by a new wave of pogroms and supernatural events.
For more information about this and other 2013 nebula finalist, please refer to my blog post here: http://books.zennaro.net/category/hug... (★★★★★)
Started: Jun 14 2014 Finished: Jun 15 2014
Trial of the Century (The Amazing Conroy, #6)
by Lawrence M. Schoen (2013)
by Lawrence M. Schoen (2013)
My review:
I probably did not enjoy the short novella as much as a person that read the previous installments of it would. I liked the focus of psychology, but I really could not get into the dog sized buffalo with an internal fusion reactor pet idea.
For more information about this and other 2013 nebula finalist, please refer to my blog post here: http://books.zennaro.net/category/hug... (★★★)
Started: Jun 15 2014 Finished: Jun 15 2014
For more information about this and other 2013 nebula finalist, please refer to my blog post here: http://books.zennaro.net/category/hug... (★★★)
Started: Jun 15 2014 Finished: Jun 15 2014
The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere
by John Chu (2013)
by John Chu (2013)
My review:
The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere is a clever and touching coming out story of Matt, a talented Chinese American biotech engineer, with an interesting fantastic twist: one day, everywhere on Earth, it starts raining every time somebody lies. The intensity of the rain is correlated with the intensity of the lie. This causes some troubles to Matt. First a torrential rain reveals his love for Guss, the guy that he is dating, when he is trying to deny it. Things gets even more complicated when he decide to take Guss to his family dinner.
(★★★★)
Started: Jun 14 2014 Finished: Jun 14 2014
Started: Jun 14 2014 Finished: Jun 14 2014
Among Others
by Jo Walton (2011)
by Jo Walton (2011)
Publisher review: Startling, unusual, and yet irresistably readable, Among Others is at once the compelling story of a young woman struggling to escape a troubled childhood, a brilliant diary of first encounters with the great novels of modern fantasy and science fiction, and a spellbinding tale of escape from ancient enchantment. Raised by a half-mad mother who dabbled in magic, Morwenna Phelps found refuge in two worlds. As a child growing up in Wales, she and her twin sister played among the spirits who made their homes in industrial ruins, but her mind found freedom and promise in the science fiction novels that were her closest companions. When her mother tries to bend the spirits to dark ends with deadly results, Mori is sent away and must try to come to terms with what has happened without falling prey to the darkness.
My rating: ★★★★★
Started: May 27 2014 Finished: Jun 01 2014
My rating: ★★★★★
Started: May 27 2014 Finished: Jun 01 2014
Walk the Plank (The Human Division, #2)
by John Scalzi (2013)
by John Scalzi (2013)
My review:
This is the second installment of the new John Scalzi's book set in the Old Man's war universe. It reads as a stand alone story, it does not share any character with the previous chapter, but it will be soon tied in with the main plot in the next installment. Walk the plank is the story of a pirate attack survivor landing on a Wildcat colony.
(★★★★)
Started: Mar 10 2014 Finished: Mar 10 2014
Started: Mar 10 2014 Finished: Mar 10 2014
The B-Team (The Human Division, #1)
by John Scalzi (2013)
by John Scalzi (2013)
My review:
Under the pressure of readers' request, John Scalzi adds a new book set in the Old Man's War universe. The story take place after the events described in the previous two books, but it features a completely new set of characters. The format is also different: the author is serializing the story in 13 novellas. This first book is quite intriguing, and it is a very promising beginning. Let's see how the plot develops in the next installments.
(★★★★)
Started: Mar 08 2014 Finished: Mar 09 2014
Started: Mar 08 2014 Finished: Mar 09 2014
Zoe's Tale (Old Man's War, #4)
by John Scalzi (2010)
by John Scalzi (2010)
My review:
At the end of The last colony, the author said that that book was going to be the last one of the Old Man's War series. Under the pressure of readers he changed his mind and he later added this new book to it. Zoe's Tale does not read as a sequel, but more like a tribute to the series. It feels like seeing the places of your childhood through the eyes of a grown up... or the exact opposite: the story is the one of the previous book, but it is now told by young Zoe from her point of view. At first I was afraid that writing a second book with the same plot was going to be boring, but few chapters in it became clear it was not going to be the case. The book explores many previously untold events, that adroitly fit in and give more depth to the main story. Moreover, even the already told events reads and feel so differently when lived, seen, and told by Zoe. The Old Man's War universe assume some of the emotional tones of young reader / teen novels, while retaining all its wit and its cleverness. My favorite part of the book is chapter 4, where Zoe summarize her life story in an emotional, extremely moving way.
(★★★★)
Started: Mar 02 2014 Finished: Mar 07 2014
Started: Mar 02 2014 Finished: Mar 07 2014
The Sagan Diary (Old Man's War, #2.5)
by John Scalzi (2011)
by John Scalzi (2011)
My review:
The Old Man's War book series is one of my favorite book series. It does not come as a surprise that some of the book of the series were nominated for the prestigious Hugo Best Novel of the year award.
The Sagan Diary is a short story written for a charity fundraising event. It does not stand on its own, it does not have its plot: it narrates some events of the book series from the point of view of Jane Sagan. As such it should be read only after the first two books, and only by the most ardent fans of John Scalzi's work. (★★★)
Started: Feb 28 2014 Finished: Mar 02 2014
The Sagan Diary is a short story written for a charity fundraising event. It does not stand on its own, it does not have its plot: it narrates some events of the book series from the point of view of Jane Sagan. As such it should be read only after the first two books, and only by the most ardent fans of John Scalzi's work. (★★★)
Started: Feb 28 2014 Finished: Mar 02 2014
The Last Colony (Old Man's War, #3)
by John Scalzi (2008)
by John Scalzi (2008)
My review:
In this third installment of the Old Man's War series, John Perry, his wife Jane, and their adopted daughter Zoe, are at last living quietly in one of humanity's many colonies. John and Jane are asked to lead a new colony world, and they decide to give it a try... But they soon find out that nothing is what it seems, for his new colony are merely pawns in an interstellar game of war and diplomacy between humanity's Colonial Union and a new, seemingly unstoppable alien alliance that is dedicated to ending all human colonization. As for the previous books of the series, the book is witty, extremely clever, enjoyable, a real pleasure to read. I strongly recommend it.
(★★★★★)
Started: Jan 03 2014 Finished: Jan 06 2014
Started: Jan 03 2014 Finished: Jan 06 2014
A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)
by George R.R. Martin (2003)
by George R.R. Martin (2003)
Publisher review: A STORM OF SWORDS Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. But young Robb, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage at King’s Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world. . . . But as opposing forces maneuver for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost line of civilization. In their vanguard is a horde of mythical Others--a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords. . . .
My rating: ★★★★★
Started: Sep 08 2013 Finished: Oct 29 2013
My rating: ★★★★★
Started: Sep 08 2013 Finished: Oct 29 2013
Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle, #1)
by Diana Wynne Jones (2001)
by Diana Wynne Jones (2001)
My review:
The first book of the Howl's castle series (see http://goo.gl/fCB9FO for more details on the series) was published back in 1986. Despite being a runner up for the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award in Fiction and being named one of that year's ALA Notable Books for Children, the book was not very successful at first. Over the years its popularity grew and in 2006 it won the annual Phoenix Award from the Children's Literature Association, recognizing the best children's book published twenty years earlier that did not win a major award. Allusion to the mythical bird phoenix, which is reborn from its ashes, suggests the winning book's rise from obscurity. This first book features Sophie, a young girl living in Ingary, a land in which anything could happen, and often does - especially when the Witch of the Waste is involved. Which is often. Sophie works at an hat shop, which proves most unadventurous, until the Witch of the Waste comes in to buy a bonnet one morning, but is not pleased, and turns Sophie into an old lady.
(★★★★)
Started: Jun 29 2013 Finished: Jul 06 2013
Started: Jun 29 2013 Finished: Jul 06 2013
Old Man's War (Old Man's War, #1)
by John Scalzi (2007)
by John Scalzi (2007)
Publisher review: John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-- and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding. Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity's resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force. Everybody knows that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You'll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You'll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets. John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine--and what he will become is far stranger.
My rating: ★★★★★
Started: Jun 23 2013 Finished: Jun 29 2013
My rating: ★★★★★
Started: Jun 23 2013 Finished: Jun 29 2013
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)
by George R.R. Martin (2005)
by George R.R. Martin (2005)
My review:
People were raving about the HBO TV series, so I decided to read the book. This first volume of the saga is incredible, it is heroic fantasy at its best. The plot is extremely complex, featuring intrigues between nobles and royal families, quite original and full of unexpected twists.
(★★★★)
Started: May 01 2012 Finished: May 01 2012
Started: May 01 2012 Finished: May 01 2012
Rendezvous with Rama (Rama, #1)
by Arthur C. Clarke (2006)
by Arthur C. Clarke (2006)
My review:
Clarke was a skillful writer and a scientist, and this shows in his writing: the focus is on the science part of science fiction. This is why his plots are plausible and scientifically accurate, and incredibly fascinating. Rama is an extra-terrestrial artificial planet, coming from the depth of space toward Earth. The world is built inside a rotating cylinder, creating artificial gravity using inertia. The book reads like a (readable and entertaining) science article, were strange phenomena are explained using physics. It is also reads like a explorer journal, filling the reader with wonder and awe.
(★★★★)
Started: Feb 01 2012 Finished: Feb 29 2012
Started: Feb 01 2012 Finished: Feb 29 2012
The Atrocity Archives (Laundry Files, #1)
by Charles Stross (2006)
by Charles Stross (2006)
My review:
The book is a collection of two related stories. The concepts behind them are quite interesting, but the execution of the first story (i.e. the atrocity archives) is not great. It is confusing and the plot flow does not work well at times. On the contrary the second story (i.e. Concrete Jungle) is great. The interesting ideas are finally used in a adroitly written geeky and fast paced story. The best way to describe this book I can think of is: Lovecraft meet Dilbert.
(★★★)
Started: Feb 17 2008 Finished: Mar 03 2008
Started: Feb 17 2008 Finished: Mar 03 2008
Dune (Dune, #1)
by Frank Herbert
by Frank Herbert
Publisher review: Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the "spice" melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for... When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul's family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream. A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.
My rating: ★★★★★
My rating: ★★★★★
Nine Last Days on Planet Earth
by Daryl Gregory (2018)
by Daryl Gregory (2018)
Publisher review: When the seeds rained down from deep space, it may have been the first stage of an alien invasion--or something else entirely. How much time do we have left, and do we even understand what timescale to use? As a slow apocalypse blooms across the Earth, planets and plants, animals and microbes, all live and die and evolve at different scales. Is one human life long enough to unravel the mystery? Nine Last Days on Planet Earth is a Tor.com Original from the award-winning science fiction author Daryl Gregory. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
My rating:
Number of times I read it: 0
Started (first time): Sep 26 2018 Finished (first time): Sep 28 2018
My rating:
Number of times I read it: 0
Started (first time): Sep 26 2018 Finished (first time): Sep 28 2018
