This was an interesting book. It is based in Nigerian mythology as well as a sprinkling of other myths and religions. The story is basically a heist tThis was an interesting book. It is based in Nigerian mythology as well as a sprinkling of other myths and religions. The story is basically a heist tale, but with lots of world building around the mythology. It made for generally fun book, although, the jumping around of the timelines was a little confusing. And, as usual, it is always fun to get out of Euro-based fantasy. Overall, I really liked the book. It was nominated for 2023 Nebula and British Science Fiction Awards and won the Nommo Award, which is for African Science Fiction and Fantasy.
I haven’t read any of the Game of Thrones books, but I have a feeling that I got a mild taste of what it would be like. This book is a mix of Irish myI haven’t read any of the Game of Thrones books, but I have a feeling that I got a mild taste of what it would be like. This book is a mix of Irish mythology and historical facts, creating an epic tale of the power struggle between the Kings of the different parts of Ireland for the title of High King. When we were voting for this book in online book club, I was hoping for a little more god-human interaction. Instead, the mythology is about two races of immortals playing politics with the crown. It wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. I found it rather tedious at times, though I did pretty good remembering who was who amongst the myriad of characters.
This book was a terrific read, especially after the disastrous last book I read. I loved the main character, the prose, the world building; everythingThis book was a terrific read, especially after the disastrous last book I read. I loved the main character, the prose, the world building; everything just tickled my fancy. Except for it slowing down a little before the big climax, it was fast-paced and interesting. I generally like fantasy from the Middle East, with golems and djinns and the myriads of magical beings dreamt out of the sea and the desert. This book was nominated for a 2024 Hugo. It didn’t win, but would have been very high on my list.
Trying to read this book was a miserable experience. I got to about page 100 after ten days and decided I couldn’t do it anymore. Nothing happened in Trying to read this book was a miserable experience. I got to about page 100 after ten days and decided I couldn’t do it anymore. Nothing happened in this book. I’m not even sure what this book was about. I can tell you a little about the main characters and what they wore and what they ate and what their jobs were. As for a plot, I got nothing.
My introduction to Ken Liu was in the Nebula Awards Showcase 2013. It featured the title story from this collection. I absolutely loved it then and I My introduction to Ken Liu was in the Nebula Awards Showcase 2013. It featured the title story from this collection. I absolutely loved it then and I loved it reading it again for this online book club selection. In fact, I loved almost all the stories in this collection. A few were boring, but still had beautiful prose. The prose was a feature in every story. It set the mood and enhanced the world-building. Almost all the stories featured Asian characters struggling with identity. Several of them were indictments of the treatment of the Chinese people by other peoples and countries. In my usual manner with collections, I’ll mention a few of the stories here that I thought stood out from the others.
I hadn’t realized I had read this author before until I read the pages at the end of the book. She previously wrote Silver in the Wood and Drowned CouI hadn’t realized I had read this author before until I read the pages at the end of the book. She previously wrote Silver in the Wood and Drowned Country, award winning novellas I loved. Now she is nominated for several awards, including the 2024 Hugo for her first novel, and I loved it. It’s a queer space opera with an unreliable, unlikable main character. It plays with parallel universes and trying to make the future turn out the way you want it to. At times it was a little tough to follow the universe jumping, but once I got used to it, it was breathtaking. The prose is as intense as the main character. Even though it took me a week to read this, I read the majority of it on just a few nights, going to bed early on the others to catch up from reading so late LOL.
This book wasn’t my cup of tea. It was told in two timelines, and despite being clearly delineated by chapter titles, I found it confusing. I had trouThis book wasn’t my cup of tea. It was told in two timelines, and despite being clearly delineated by chapter titles, I found it confusing. I had trouble getting into the initial timeline, the “present,” and when the “past” began, I lost track of the objective of the present. Then I lost track of the objective of the past. When it all came together in the end, I was non-plussed. I have a mixed history with Wells. I mostly enjoyed her Murderbot series, culminating in the award-winning Network Effect (although several more Murderbot books have been released since). I didn’t care for her fantasy novel we read for book club, The Cloud Roads. But this was nominated for several awards, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. It won the 2024 Locus Award for Fantasy and was nominated for Hugo and Nebula Awards. It lost the Nebula; the Hugo will be announced in August.
This is the last remaining book nominated for a 2024 Speculative Fiction Lammy. The winner was I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself. I think it deserved tThis is the last remaining book nominated for a 2024 Speculative Fiction Lammy. The winner was I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself. I think it deserved to win. However, this would have been a very strong runner up. I was floored by the power of this novel. It’s about a dystopian planet with capitalism run amok, where fat shaming has become engrained in the government and religion. Corporations and ministers convince people that to eat is to sin. The poor live on the ground, vulnerable to the rising seas while the super-rich live in towers. At first, I was rather put off by the book, but after about one hundred pages, I had bought into the premise. I was hooked.
I was surprised by how much I liked this book. I hadn’t read Bennett since City of Stairs in 2018 and loved that book. However, I didn’t remember I haI was surprised by how much I liked this book. I hadn’t read Bennett since City of Stairs in 2018 and loved that book. However, I didn’t remember I had even read it until a friend found it in my blog and pointed it out to me. It was one of those really good books that just kind of slips out of mind considering the number of books I read a year. I’m hoping this one sticks in my head a little better. It’s a book club read and the first in a trilogy. It features a kind of industrialized magic in a place so entrenched in capitalism, government no longer exists and the ruling merchant houses abuse their power over the people. I found it a gripping statement on late-stage capitalism and the pursuit of the ultimate weapon to wipe out all the competition and remake the world. This book was nominated for a 2019 British Fantasy Award and a 2023 Best Series Hugo.
I was sadly disappointed with this novel. It’s supposed to be fun fluff. For the most part, it was cute. Unfortunately, it suffered from the same tireI was sadly disappointed with this novel. It’s supposed to be fun fluff. For the most part, it was cute. Unfortunately, it suffered from the same tired formula Willis has used in most of her books. People don’t listen to the protagonist, they talk over him/her, the protagonist gets into some kind of trouble, someone saves them. My disappointment was compounded by a tediously trite ending. I’ve really liked some of Willis’ other books, including Blackout and Passage. While they had the Willis formula, the circumstances and specifics were enough to make them terrific books. Roswell simply didn’t have enough interesting circumstances or specifics, despite it being about UFOs and aliens. The one thing it had going for it: it was a very fast read.
This is another 2024 Lambda Literary Award nominee for Speculative Fiction. If I had just read the tag line, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up. ItThis is another 2024 Lambda Literary Award nominee for Speculative Fiction. If I had just read the tag line, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up. It’s cyberpunk noir, two genres I generally don’t like. Turns out, I really loved this book. I read it in a day. Well, technically, two days. I started at ten in the morning and finished at one the next morning. I found it well written, fast-paced, and above all I understood everything going on. Usually, cyberpunk loses me in the usually large amount of invented jargon. This book takes place only ten years in the future, so all the technology is just a little more advanced than today. And even though a lot has to do with streaming games, which I don’t play, I understood enough that I didn’t get lost. I also don’t always like noir, but this mystery really pulled me in. This book really clicked for me and I forced myself to stay up to see who the murderer was.
This is another Orycon Sci Fi convention find. I’ve met Fields and listened to them on panels at the convention. I really like their perspective and iThis is another Orycon Sci Fi convention find. I’ve met Fields and listened to them on panels at the convention. I really like their perspective and ideas. That goes the same for their books. This one is an interesting mix of science fiction and fantasy with dandelions being an integral part of both. The characters are on a colony planet of Earth and the only species of plants to survive genetically unmodified on both is the dandelion. It grows anywhere, even on other planets. I enjoyed this book until the end, where I got somewhat confused about the magic with the dandelions. But overall, a fun, inventive novella.
I picked up this novella at the 2023 OryCon Sci Fi convention. The convention wasn’t that good, but the group of self-published authors in the vendorsI picked up this novella at the 2023 OryCon Sci Fi convention. The convention wasn’t that good, but the group of self-published authors in the vendors room was wonderfully diverse. I picked up books by three authors, this was one of them. It’s a simple trans M/M paranormal mystery romance, but it’s more fun than I expected. It started out slowly, but soon it had me pretty gripped in trying to figure out how the main characters were going to survive the situation. The prose is average, but the plot is exciting. There is at least one big plot hole that doesn’t make sense. But I found myself liking the story and the characters. I daresay I might actually read the rest of the series.
I loved this book. I had a hard time going to sleep last night because I wanted to keep reading it. Then I woke up around 5 a.m. and finished it (LOL…I loved this book. I had a hard time going to sleep last night because I wanted to keep reading it. Then I woke up around 5 a.m. and finished it (LOL…yaaaaawn). Narrated in first person in an unusual form, this book about a self-doubting, widowed lesbian raising her child in an unjust surveillance state was gripping. The near future dystopian society is not much unlike where we seem to be going now, with rampant hate and scapegoating. The theme is grief and trying to overcome it when all the odds are against you. It's nominated for a 2024 Lambda Literary Book Award. This is only my second nominee read, but I would consider it a strong contender if I was a judge on the awards panel.
Nominated for a 2020 Hugo Award, this novel was a departure for me. It’s an intense military SF novel with time travel thrown in. Unlike The Forever WNominated for a 2020 Hugo Award, this novel was a departure for me. It’s an intense military SF novel with time travel thrown in. Unlike The Forever War, which had relativistic time dilation, or Starship Troopers, which was a love letter to militaristic society, this book was a basic “War is Hell” story in a world of corporate control. Governments no longer run countries. There are just six mega-corporations that control everything. The armies are corporate controlled and the war is against the democratically governed Mars emigrants from Earth who have no corporate rule. It takes late-stage capitalism to its extreme and explores the extent to which it will go to preserve itself.
This book was very original in its mix of demons and anti-gods, brightly colored portals, and dystopian South Asia. I must admit, it is like nothing IThis book was very original in its mix of demons and anti-gods, brightly colored portals, and dystopian South Asia. I must admit, it is like nothing I’ve read before. At the same time, the strangeness of it made it difficult to stick to it. The prose, though, was phenomenal. It’s a very literary novel, with little back and forth dialogue and a ton of world building. I assume it’s set in a dystopian South Asia as the author is from Sri Lanka, there are tuk-tuks, there’s racism and castes, and saris are worn. But the location is never clearly defined. I can see why this book was nominated for a 2023 Nebula, but I thought it might be a little too prosy for a Hugo. However, it was nominated for a 2024 Hugo as well.
This was a book I was interested in because of its popularity. It is the first book in the fourteen volume The Wheel of Time series. So when my in-perThis was a book I was interested in because of its popularity. It is the first book in the fourteen volume The Wheel of Time series. So when my in-person book club chose it as their May selection, I was excited. I finally had an excuse to read this 750 page monster. I gave myself a lot of time to read it, because the last 800 pager I read took me three weeks. This one took about two and a half. I really liked it, but I didn’t love it. Towards the end, I was struggling to pick it up every day, not because it was bad, but because of the effort just to keep going and I was losing interest. I kept feeling like it was dragged out more than it needed to be. I can’t image what would go into another thirteen books of this world. So I’m probably not going to continue the series.
Well, I finally enjoyed a book in the Scholomance series. It all came together for me in this concluding volume. Once again, we spend a ton of time inWell, I finally enjoyed a book in the Scholomance series. It all came together for me in this concluding volume. Once again, we spend a ton of time in El’s head, but this time, I felt like all her rage and frustration was justified and coherent. And the book takes place after graduation, so it’s not all take class/kill monsters. We get to the root of the problem with the monsters and the destruction of the enclaves. We get relationships with wizard parents. And of most interest to me, we find out what happened to Orion at the end of the last book. This book was nominated for a few 2022/2023 awards, but I thought this one should have gotten a Hugo nod as well.
This is a short, entertaining novel by one of my favorite authors, John Scalzi. He has written some good space opera, but has also written some wonderThis is a short, entertaining novel by one of my favorite authors, John Scalzi. He has written some good space opera, but has also written some wonderful witty pieces. Redshirts and Kaiju Preservation Society are two of his funnier pieces. This one ranks up there with them. It’s about man who has inherited his estranged uncle’s villain empire and the trouble he ends up in because of it. It’s a comical fish out of water story with numerous twists and turns that you’d expect from a story about villains double- and triple-crossing each other. And it has typing cats and talking dolphins. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was surprised by the big twist in the end, even though I knew one was coming. This book has been nominated for a Hugo this year.
This is the first book I’ve read by Elizabeth Moon that I didn’t think was great. It was good, but not great. I thought it was uneven in pacing and I This is the first book I’ve read by Elizabeth Moon that I didn’t think was great. It was good, but not great. I thought it was uneven in pacing and I had a tough time staying interested in what the character was doing. Moon’s prose is terrific, as usual. When I began the book, I was pulled in right away. But as I reflect on the book to write this review, I have concluded that the sum of the parts was better than the whole. In the end, I just didn’t quite care about the main character.
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