Book Review: Writers of the Future Volume 42

L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 42: Illustrated Edition Featuring the Next Generation of Science Fiction & Fantasy by L. Ron Hubbard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Every once in a while I pick up a review copy of Writers of the Future to see what's been going on on that front. Excellent stories, as usual, though this one veered a lot more into time manipulation and body swapping than I prefer, whilst the fantasy stories were... I don't know, not very memorable or not quite to my taste.

Sometimes, I review an anthology by going through the story titles and seeing if I remember them after finishing the book. These are the four that really left an impression:

"Form 14B: Application for Certification of Consciousness Transfer (Post-Mortem)" by Thomas K. Slee - This was an interesting one, based on the concept of the ability to transfer your consciousness into a new body. But how do you prove you are who you say you are when you are a disembodied voice in a tin can?

"Thickly" by Dorothy de Kok - Thickly is supposed to enhance you, give you a little more flesh, make you more seen. But at what cost? This is a dark exploration into how women still feel that they need to perform, whether by maintaining a certain desired "look" or by taking up only as much space as they're allowed.

"As Long as You Both Shall Live" by Mike Strickland - AH THIS ONE! Similar to the first, the characters in this story upload themselves into cyberspace as part of a clinical trial. When tragedy strikes, they enter unchartered territory: Can one be considered alive if their consciousness still exists but their physical body is dead?

"A Girl and Her Dragon: A Life in Four Parts" by Joseph Sidari - Funnily enough, this is the only fantasy story that I like, even though I normally prefer fantasy over sci-fi. My only quibble is that it uses multiple formats (journal entries, newspaper clippings, handwritten notes, tweets, etc) and I think the formatting didn't translate well in this e-ARC. Probably looks better and is less confusing in print.

As much as L. Ron Hubbard has that whole weird scientology thing going on, his essays on writing have usually been pretty spot on. "Artistic Presentation" felt especially relevant, ruminating on how the philosophy of producing art (the effort and effect is the point) is directly opposed to manufacturing & the business world (cheapest and easiest to make the most money).

I'll end this review by leaving you with this quote:

Keep ahead of automation. Keep ahead of do-it-for you. Don't disenfranchise yourself by giving all your work away - to a machine, to a fellow worker.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Book review: Green City Wars | Adrian Tchaikovsky

Green City Wars by Adrian Tchaikovsky
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Skotch, a freelance raccoon investigator is tasked by his former employers, big corp Uzco, to bring in the fugitive mouse scientist, Dr Meece. The problem is, every single animal faction in the city (and from the country) is also trying to get their hands on Meece. Not necessarily alive. Oh, AND they all think that Skotch knows where he is. What's a raccoon to do to stay alive?

The fun part of this story is obviously the world building. This isn't one of those completely anthropomorphic animal stories like Redwall or the Farthing Wood series where the animals are given human attributes and speech just because.

These animals are artificially engineered by humans to be smart and tasked to run human green cities from the shadows. All the undesirable jobs that are looked down upon? Animals do them, from turtles to rats to mice and racoons. But it's also nature vs artificial intelligence, where sometimes sheer animal instinct overrides the intelligence gifted to them by science (also known as plangent). There are scientific repercussions and rules that govern these societies - the most important of which, Rule Number One, is to not involve the humans.

It's first and foremost, though, a PI story - in a rather old-school, hard-boiled detective noir style. Dark, gritty, with a main protagonist that keeps talking at you. Which, unfortunately, is a style I rather dislike. Still, the plot itself, while simple, unfolds in a complex maze with revelation upon revelation, hooking you again at just the right time to go "hhmmm just a bit more". It also starts off slow, but picks up as more and more factions try to get in on the action. There's a "last stand" scene that reminds me of Colin Dann's Battle for the Park - beautiful and tragic and perfect.

I'd actually recommend this more for noir readers than sci-fi, because whilst the science is important and underpins the whole thing (you cannot actually take out the science worldbuilding and be left with ANY story), it kind of comes second to the tone of the story.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from PanMacmillan/Tor via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Book Review: Valet: A Novel | J. P. Lacrampe

Valet: A Novel by J.P. Lacrampe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Valet is the sort of book that I would not have picked up on my own. It wouldn't even be on my radar. So imagine my surprise when I got a message on Edelweiss saying I've been granted access to read this... I don't always pick these up if I'm busy, but I had some time and it sounded interesting enough to try. (I did enjoy the rare Wodehouse I read in the past.)

Cy is a VALET, an android tasked to help Grayson St. Claire, his owner's 35-year-old son, start adulting. He's really very much the staff, beholden to his true owner and to his utility score, but Grayson treats him like a friend - or, more accurately, like a human. And, having "grown" up together with Grayson, Cy can read him and his moods the best - even better than his own mother.

Grayson is a mess of a human being, the stereotypical useless rich son who constantly fails at everything he puts his hand to, and yet is charming and kind enough to everyone that you really do want to see him succeed. He's both bumbling and earnest, and it's easy to see why Cy is loyal to him, more than Cy's guilt at stealing the late Mr St. Claire's praise and attention should account for.

Charlotte is exceptional as the competitive younger sister who's trying to prove herself by being the best at everything and looking down on her messed-up older brother. Mrs St. Claire is cold and grieving, and has mostly given up on her son. The other characters are in turns funny and weird, and though at times they seem a little too much, they also fit into the fabric of this future society well enough that you don't find it much more jarring than going "oh, those [rich/hippy/scheming] people..."

It's funny that throughout the novel, the two VALET characters, Cy and Larry, felt the most human in many ways. They worry about their ratings, they dread being made obsolete (which carries the repercussions of being destroyed, not just fired), they try to please the people around them (not just the humans, but the other androids they have to interact with - there's social status to be maintained!) and are most enterprising in how they try to get around the rules that govern them. Most of it is really being in Cy's POV and having insight into how androids fit into the fabric of society and what makes them tick.

But it really does make you think. What does it mean to be human? To be family? Charlotte is human, but she is so cold and calculating, with no sympathy or empathy for her own brother, that she might as well be an android herself. And Cy is very much a member of their family despite not being human - he feels like a butler from those old English movies that knows and keeps all the family secrets, yet remains ever so slightly worried about his position. I was surprised at how angry I was on his behalf when Mrs St. Claire and Charlotte threatened to have him decommissioned!

Overall, Valet was a fun and emotional read. It deals with humanity, family, grief, and love, and grapples with betrayal and jealousy, all while being part of a mad caper.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Simon & Schuster via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Book review: The Edge of a Knife and Other Stories | Beka Gremikova

The Edge of a Knife and Other Stories by Beka Gremikova
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What is our fascination with monsters and the monstrous? Can we truly tell who is monstrous by looking at them? What if the monsters are actually the victims?

In The Edge of a Knife and Other Stories Beka Gremikova presents a mix of new and retold stories, spanning fairy tales and science fiction, that urges us to rethink monsters in fiction. Her retellings come from earlier source materials where the price of human feet was to feel the stab of knives in every step and the evil queen was sentenced to dance to her death.

The best of Gremikova's stories lie in the intersection between the personal and national:
- In "Every Bone in the Body", deposed princess Adria Edeapli rebels against new laws to honour her dead brother in keeping with tradition. Her uncle, the new king, has to decide to save his niece or uphold his shaky grip on the throne. What is power worth if it divides and kills your own family and loved ones?
- "Once Upon a Pumpkin", a brilliant mash up of Cinderella and Snow White, ponders redemption & atonement. Can the Evil Queen truly change - and can her stepdaughter forgive her? And yet, does forgiving her mean allowing an ex-murderer to run free in society?
- Similarly in "Pay the Piper", Mayor Oswald wants to rid the city of Hamelin of the infestation of rats. But what is he willing to pay the piper? Sacrifices may be necessary, but is giving up your own child for power and glory ever necessary in the grand scheme of things?
- "Like a Fox" explores belonging and family, and the use of personal power to protect or oppress the weak.

Other notable stories include:
- "Echo Among The Stars", where Kaz Kitoska has to confront the true source of his family's inheritance.
- "Golden Child", a mix of Midas's golden hand and Romeo and Juliet.

There's darkness and horror in every story, but also redemption and the hope of a better future.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from SnowRidge Press via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Book Review: Project Hanuman | Stewart Hotston

Project Hanuman by Stewart Hotston


I picked this up on a whim because it was by Angry Robot and because the blurb mentioned Indian mythology. This is usually a good strategy, but in this case, didn't quite hit the spot.

Project Hanuman on the whole, is a great science fiction novel about a strange alternate future (maybe far future?), where humans have finally uploaded themselves in the cloud, known as the Arcology. Everyone lives online, and only rebels and prisoners print themselves physical bodies. Great so far. Then the Arcology is attacked and Praveenthi "Prab" Saal (one of the rebels), Kercher (a prisoner pilot) and a sentient ship become the last survivors bringing the remnants of the Arcology and Sirajah's Reach to safety.

Hokay, so this is where my misunderstanding starts. For all that it's a scifi/space opera book, I kinda figured that these Indian mythology figures would come in as Actual Gods. But actually, no. Instead of Hanuman-a-god coming into save the day, one of the characters (I suppose you could guess, but let's avoid spoilers) lives out various events that correlate to Hanuman's experiences. There are a lot of cultural touchstones, references to dharma, samsara, death and rebirth - I would say a very Indian (Hindu?) outlook underpins both Kercher & Prab's view of society. In a way, this is very much a space opera retelling of mythology, but not quite what I expected.

One thing I found interesting was the idea that as much as we think we're rebelling against society, we are in many ways still reliant on it and the support network that it provides. Prab is one of the "Excluded", those who decide to live outside the Arcology, but she comes to realise that even her rebellion is supported by the Arcology itself. I feel like there is a commentary there on Empire and Colonialism and how it still affects our lives in very paternalistic ways, but I'm not going to go there in this review.

Another thing that also comes up, that I feel relates to the present-day AI wars, is that Hotston seems to be saying that for all that this utopia is run by AI, that everything is calculated by the great machine, at the end of the day, you still need humans to save the day. A machine can be smart and have all the facts, but in the end, it is the human experience that matters the most, that makes connections the Arcology could not see or recognise, and takes the leaps of faith where necessary. And as much as we are living in a digital society, physicality and embodiment is still very important.

Not gonna put a star rating on this because I can't quite define how much I liked it or not. On one hand, it was a great, thoughtful read, and I liked a lot of things thematically. On the other, I'm not really a space opera reader so I skimmed a lot of technical details, PLUS Hotston (or his editors) and I seem to have a fundamental difference in where commas should be placed, which made me have to stop and figure out what on earth the sentence meant way too many times.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Angry Robot via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Book Review: Writers of the Future, Volume 41

L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume 41 by L. Ron Hubbard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another great anthology of upcoming SFF writers and illustrators!
I enjoyed all the stories in this one, though nothing really stood out to me this round.

Quite a few focused on time travel and time skips - and heavier on the scifi - which could be a reason why. "Storm Damage" by T.R. Naus was easy enough to follow but "Blackbird Stone" by Ian Keith, however, kind of did me in. lol.

Peeling back genre trappings, each story seems to be interrogating human behaviour. "Storm Damage" tests if the keeper of time travel will be able to put public good and the safety of the world above personal glory. "Ascii" by Randyn C.J. Bartholomew considers whether killing one man to save the future is justified. "Karma Birds" by Lauren McGuire envisions a dystopic world where violence is met with instant karma, whilst "The Rune Witch" by Jefferson Snow has Jindei standing alone between the villagers and the demon Shijai.

If I were to pick my top three stories, I think the ones that I enjoyed the most were "The Stench of Freedom" (Joel C. Scoberg), "The Rune Witch (Jefferson Snow), and "A World of Repetitions" (Seth Atwater Jr.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Galaxy Press via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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The Absolution Series is in the Beloved SFF Sale!

So sometime last year, C.O. Bonham nominated Amok for the Beloved SFF Sale... I didn't get to participate then because I wasn't reading my comments (whoops), but Noor reached out to me to ask if I'd like to join them this year! 

There are over 100+ recommended books on sale, each with a recommendation by someone who loved it! It also includes over 50 additional books, including sequels (or complete series) that are also on sale. Many of these are also available wide or as KU books. 

SO.

Amok is on sale at 99 cents (or whatever the equivalent it is in your currency) on KDP and whatever platforms that go through D2D - PLUS the other two books in the series are on sale at $2.99!

So that's the whole series for like $7, as the Amazon Series page tells me. Ain't that a steal?

The sale runs from 7 to 11 August 2025, so go CHECK OUT ALL THE BOOKS AT THE BELOVED SFF SALE!

(And get mine too, if you were waiting for that discount!)

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Book review: Arc of the Universe | Nikki Alexander

Arc of the Universe by Nikki Alexander
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dr Carrie Davenport has been given the opportunity of a lifetime: to design a system of government for the first colony in Mars. Complications quickly arise - a date with a girl she met at the bar leads to a racially-profiled arrest, the violent encounter goes viral, and team member Adam Kirkpatrick tries to take over her spot.

Set in the near future (about 2035?), Nikki Alexander crafts an alternate future that seems plausible - assuming Trump hadn't won the US elections in 2024. Somewhere in the timeline, America has had its first (half?) Latina president, and things seem to have changed for the better - none of this present lunacy. However, under the surface, things remain the same. Adam Kirkpatrick parrots many talking points against DEI and "woke" (and is a thoroughly dislikeable character). Beauregard Ball and his company that's sponsoring Project Mars appear to be progressive, but the first batch of colonists are 95% white and no one is batting an eye. It's the same old, same old, and Davenport manages to overlook a lot of things because of her position of educated privilege, until the violent arrest and the subsequent backlash takes the spotlight.

Whilst tagged as Science Fiction, Arc of the Universe is focused more on the journey leading to Mars - and the legal side of things, rather than the science getting them there. The latter only appears as milestones - a successful probe launch puts the pressure on Carrie's team to finish drafting their proposal, the ensuing celebration offers her an opportunity to scope out the people involved. Instead, there's a lot of focus on governance, democracy, constitutions and legal speak.

The overarching question that runs through the book is "What are we doing to make the future better?" Carrie has to wrestle with whether what she's doing - lecturing about law and drafting a constitution for Mars - is good enough, or if she has to follow in the footsteps of her activist mother and protest on the streets for change. There's pressure on her to do all the big things, like protest and sue and fall into the whole "activism rabbit hole". But is that the best use of her time and position? Especially when it goes against her nature?

Overall, Arc of the Universe is a thoughtful look at how to address different issues with nuance. It's also a reminder that everyone has a different role to play - and that even if someone is not out on the streets yelling for change, the things they do quietly in the background can have the same - or even greater - impact.

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from Strawberry Tree Books. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Book Review: DOSA Files: Tales from the SVR Universe, Volume 3 | H.L. Burke

DOSA Files: Tales from the SVR Universe, Volume 3 by H.L. Burke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this one more than Volume 2 - I think maybe because it feels thematically tighter. There's a focus on relationships and family dynamics in all of them, except New Year, New Cat, New Life, which was kind of a conman's literal come-to-Jesus moment. I don't know if adopting a cat will really change your life.

Monsters by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt sets the tone for this, with all the family-feels, and a little bit of romance. Here, Nate Preston/Bazinga, the only single man on his team, perpetually mans the DOSA phone lines on Friday nights and saves a seven-year-old from the monsters under his bed (can't say more without spoilers). It's very charming, and even if you can kinda predict the romance, the power/antagonist reveal was a surprise!

Career Shift by Erin Dydek explores more family dynamics, especially around career choices. Brooke keeps her super-sight from her overprotective, anti-Sable parents, whilst Darren deals with the disappointment of being a "useless" dog-shifter and artist.

Marmalade by Gordon Deane has an illegal immigrant trying to escape the clutches of the Supervillains using her Sable gifts to steal, and somehow falling in with a British ex-secret service agent! Especially loved the spy vibes in this one.

Hoaxed by Leiana Arwen, while enjoyable, felt the most juvenile of the stories. Jane, the only non-Sable in her Superhero family, feels left out now that her older brothers are all on the same Superhero team. She creates an elaborate hoax in order to spend more time with her Superhero brothers - which was hilarious, until everything went wrong (that plot point felt shaky, but eh, teens do teen drama things and fall for anything out of guilt.)

Sparked by H.L. Burke was a surprising revelation. As I read it, I had this feeling that I knew something about Oliver and his quest to find his biological father... so this is actually a prequel (?) story to Wishing on a Supervillain, and fills in the bits on how Oliver decided he wanted to meet a supervillain, instead of a superhero. This one feels stronger as a story on its own compared to The Good Twin in Volume 2, which I now only realise is also related to a side character in Wishing.

A final mention is Search History by Janeen Ippolito, which I felt was a story for writers, rather than readers. Yvette Morris is trying to decide if she wants to join her fiance in DOSA, while also trying to figure out why the plot lines of her latest fantasy heist novel mirrors actual heists carried out recently by a Supervillain. I appreciated the twist of having an author valued for their plotting skills, though the comments on marketability and self-publishing were a bit hard hitting. lol

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Book Review: Bright Green Futures: 2024 | Susan Kaye Quinn (ed)

Bright Green Futures: 2024 by Renan Bernardo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm going to review this in order of the stories I liked the most.

Coriander by Ana Sun - 5 stars
There's possibly a lot of bias in me liking this story best, because well, Ana Sun seems to be a fellow Malaysian. Corianderis the story of Aster, a young woman returning to her great-grandmother's homeland, chasing a cultural inheritance that has been lost along the way to westernisation, colonisation, and the need for assimilation. The details are semi-familiar, an ancestor fleeing this land for greener pastures elsewhere, their descendants return as mere tourists. There's the heat of the equator, the tang of spices and mud, a long description of food. Laksa, in this instance. And omg DOULOS! WHO REMEMBERS DOULOS, I loved Doulos (which has now apparently been converted from a floating bookstore to a hotel??). I spent way too long distracted, trying to figure out which island Aster's great-grandmother was from. Not Singapore, too much Malay; not Penang because dangit Penang Laksa does NOT have prawns, chicken or coriander, that's... AH, that's Sarawak Laksa, and this has to be Sarawak, but it's an island and... dangit Anna, Borneo IS an island. A very big one.
At any rate, Coriander is a story of connection - reconnecting to one's roots, making new connections, rediscovering your place in the world - and being kind and giving to everyone. It's also a story of adaptation - of rebuilding after devastation, of creating new ways to deal with the changing climate, of regreening the earth - and preservation.

What Kind of Bat is This? by Sarena Ulibarri - 4.5 stars
Is this a BAT or is this a DINOSAUR? Is the AI crazy or did a PTEROSAUR really survive in hiding all these years? It's a slightly crazy scenario, but I feel like I like this one quite a bit because the characters are active. They're doing something now to save the world, and they're teens/young adults still learning and growing (even if they're being petty to each other while doing it). Maybe I also like the slight Jurassic Park vibe, without the killer raptors.

Centipede Station by T.K. Rex - 4 stars
What's there NOT to like about interstellar travel and alien contact? And a reminder that sentient aliens might not look humanoid. They may look like clicky space centipedes. Let's try not to murder sentient species on first contact, m'kay?

A Merger in Corn Country by Danielle Arostegui - 3.5 stars
This comes back to community, exploring what it's like to live in a commune - from their confused, old neighbour's point of view. I like the slow shift from curiosity to understanding to acceptance from both sides. It's charming, but it's a little too foreign (lol) for it to truly resonate with me.

The Doglady and the Rainstorm by Renan Bernardo - 3 stars
In a flooded future Rio de Janeiro, Joseane (also known as the Doglady) gets stuck in a thunderstorm while trying to send the dogs she walks back to their owners. She thinks she's alone, ever since she lost her father, but she slowly discovers that she's not, not really. I think where it doesn't quite connect for me is where Joseane keeps making weird (to me) decisions... just very much why on earth would you do that? I know panic and dumb decisions are things, but... idk.

Ancestors, Descendants by BrightFlame - 3 stars
There are sentient trees in this one - and an integrated network of resources previously denied to humans (because you know, humans chop things down and hunt other things). What would integration with nature look like? And how would humans change if they went back to nature? It's a story of integration and ingenuity - and also sacrifice, to protect what these select humans have found while the world outside collapses on itself. The premise was just a little too far out for me to truly enjoy.

The Park of the Beast by T.K. Rex - ??
I dunno what to think of this story of trees in cages and invisible beings??? I cannot tell if this is a fever dream. I think I'm missing something here. I'm assuming this is the prose-poem, which goes to prove that really, poetry confuses me.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Bright Green Futures 2024 releases next week! You can get it here!  

Book Review: The Sapphire Solution | M.H. Thaung

The Sapphire Solution by M.H. Thaung
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Sapphire Solution follows right after the events of The Diamond Device. Lord Richard Hayes is still riding out the aftereffects of his previous adventure - including a hearing about whether he will retain his seat. But whilst Hayes is important to the many misadventures in this story, Iggy Arragore is the main protagonist.

Like Rich, Iggy is an immigrant to Ironfort. She's working as an apprentice for her uncle, but starts taking matters into her own hands when he refuses to let her graduate. Luckily, there's a new programme that will allow her to do just that...

In a way, The Sapphire of Solution is a comedy of errors, and could also have been a somewhat amusing heist story, but where Thaung loses me is with the resolution. There is a lot of build up and convoluted plot happening (maybe too many?) and in the end they're all connected in a way. But at the risk of being spoilery, (view spoiler)[there's no real crime (hide spoiler)]. Everything comes down to... multiple misunderstandings. On many sides. And correcting those misunderstandings leading to new misunderstandings, until... well, arrests happen and things get resolved.

Sally and Rich's parents are again used as some kind of deus ex machina, but not really. I'm not sure at this point why they're even mentioned, except to make sure that we know they're still around and deliberately not being helpful, while spying on things.

Despite all that, The Sapphire Solution is an enjoyable read - there's much to laugh about and shake your head over, especially since the blunders and mishaps are comedic both in timing and execution. There's a lot about social navigation, and the butting of heads between tradition vs modernity, social classes, race, and expectations (or maybe prejudices). 

Oh and for goodness sake, the importance of having proper Help.

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Book Review: The Diamond Device | M.H. Thaung

The Diamond Device by M.H. Thaung
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Picked this up free at Glasgow 2024.

The Diamond Device is a fun steampunk adventure? Mystery? thingamabob. Genre definitions are hard. There are British class vibes (impoverished lord trying to pretend he's doing fine, his last household servant is more loyal to him and his family than to her own friends), cosy mystery vibes (neither Alf Wilson nor Richard Hayes are detectives, and yet they must help the police solve this mystery without creating an international disaster), and all round fun shenanigans.

Alf Wilson is pulled into a lot of things he doesn't want to do out of a sense of duty and honour, and overwhelming concern for his sister and mother. Lord Richard Hayes is desperately trying to find enough money to pay his property taxes whilst pretending that everything is fine! And obviously getting a job is not going to cut it, just because of his title. It makes for a very interesting pairing as they both try to navigate each other's foibles.

The Diamond Device was a breeze to read, and I was captured from the start. The plot is twisty enough to keep you on your toes - you think the kidnapping is solved at the 50% mark, but ohoho! More complications crop up!

The one thing that didn't quite sit well was the Hayes' parents very odd lack of concern for him. In some ways, it felt inevitable that they would have to come appear sometime, but after all the explanations, I found myself going, "You knew all that and yet you just... didn't do anything?"
It also felt like Richard accepted their reasoning much too easily and calmly, like, sure, everything's fine now because he found them again.

Anyway, there is book 2 (The Sapphire Solution) so I may proceed on to that after I'm done with my current read.

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#bookreview: Closet Full of Time and Other Dark Tales | Susan Kaye Quinn

Closet Full of Time and Other Dark Tales: by Susan Kaye Quinn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Closet Full of Time and Other Dark Tales is a collection of five short stories about a dark, AI-filled future and its consequences for human livelihoods. In these stories, Susan Kaye Quinn takes you to a future where humans have to sell themselves to the tech overlords for various reasons, or find their realities being distorted by the manipulation of digital archives and records around them.

I've been following Quinn's work for a long time and have loved her recent hopeful climate fiction. This collection feels darker than those, but still has that hopeful - or at least bitter sweet - taste at the end that reminds you that a vital part of our humanity is our ability to band together to make things better for ourselves. (Though, it's usually other humans on the other side who are using AI for nefarious reasons.)

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the author. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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#Bookreview: Wind in Trees | Arthur M. Doweyko

Wind-In-Trees by Arthur M Doweyko
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After an asteroid strike and viral outbreak that leaves the earth devastated, Henry Wind in Trees may be the only human left alive. And yet... he's not entirely human. In an effort to save him from the virus, Henry's brain was transplanted into a cyborg body. Now, Systems is coming to complete the job and give him a fully artificial brain as well. Wind in Trees is the story of how the last Lakota Sioux native American discovers the truth behind Systems and the apocalypse as he travels through America with his wife's ghost, his robot aide, and an alien.

Overall, Wind in Trees has a bit of a rough start because there are some strange timeline jumps (Chapter 1 should honestly either be deleted or called a prologue) and extended flashbacks, but once you get into the meat (i.e. the actual timeline), it's quite an enjoyable read. It's listed as "sci-fi/action-adventure" on the publisher's page, but honestly, it's a lot of broadly spec fic things at once. The beginning itself has supernatural/horror vibes because of Elizabeth's ghost; yet it's quite dystopic because civilisation as we know it has been destroyed. There's also the interweaving of myth with a Lakota legend forming a core motif: if the old woman (or Elizabeth) ever finishes knitting the blanket, the world will end (again?).

In accordance with the meme that humans will bond with anything, Henry bonds with Seth the robot, often treating it as if it were also human. He also forms a friendship with Anth, even though the alien is part of the advance party that's preparing earth for colonisation. It's these bonds, and his strong relationship with Elizabeth, that provide answers to the many questions and conflicts that Henry faces.

The novel seems to be asking the question, "What would you do if you were the last person on earth?" Dowekyo's answer seems to be "befriend every other living being to not be alone", but I think the true answer should be: Not let your wife finish the blanket, obviously.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the author & publisher. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Wind-In Trees can currently be pre-ordered from Amazon or Kallisto Gaia Press.

#bookreview: Old Man's War | John Scalzi

Old Man's War by John Scalzi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gonna keep this review short, because this is mostly just for records. And also because I am tired and lazy.

I enjoyed it. I skipped some sciency bits, but those were actually quite few and far between. Overall an interesting premise and I would love to read the rest of the series if I find them!

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#bookreview: Namesake (Morningstar: Destiny #2) | A.C. Williams

Namesake by A.C. Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So following on from Nameless, things get really, really dark. I mean like super dark. So I guess content warnings for rape and suicide ideation.

After the losses in the first book, things started to look up a little, at least at the start. After all, they did manage to find what they were looking for. Their sacrifices were not in vain. And their trip to McLeod's home forces some deeper conversations and discussions about their pasts - not just Xander's, but just about everyone left on the Prodigal.

The core of this book is the discovery of who Xander really is. And whilst it was amazing and mindblowing, Williams did a good job in laying down enough clues and hints for that delicious tension of ooohh I think this is what happened! and but how would it actually work? leading up to the reveal. (I was almost right about what happened, but am obviously not science-y enough to guess how lol)

But things don't stay peaceful for long...

I mean, who expected it to? They've got syndicates on their tail after all.

But coming back to the Morningstar: Destiny Trilogy's underpinnings of faith, where Nameless explores personal convictions, Namesake goes so much deeper into holding onto faith in dark times. Xander keeps asking the questions Where are you, God? and Why me? Why is all this happening to me? as she struggles through everything that has happened to her, everything that has brought her to the Prodigal, especially all the deaths she leaves in her wake. Because of her. Because of who she is. Because of the people who are trying to get her. And it culminates in the big one: Can I still then believe?

Namesake ends on another cliffhanger, and I'm excited to head into New Name when I have the time!

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#bookreview: Nameless (Morningstar: Destiny Trilogy #1) | AC Williams

Nameless by A.C. Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nameless is space opera, a perfect read for someone like me who just wants the far-flung worlds and fancy tech without having to understand how a spaceship (or all that tech) works. At any rate, I picked this one up mostly to support a fellow Realmie (not that I recall ever meeting her; we just hang out in the same conference/socmed spaces) and didn't go in with much in the way of expectations.

Xander doesn't know who she is. Rescued from a derelict spaceship, all she possesses is a coat with the name she's adopted, faint memories of things that no one else seems to know about, and a strange sense of right and wrong that's at odds with everyone she's met so far. Yet, as she journeys to discover who she is and pieces together her odd dreams and fragmented memories, she may soon discover that she doesn't like who she was and where she came from.

Nameless isn't super blatantly Christian fiction - while it's clean in a sense (there are no graphic sex scenes or real-world swearing), it deals with a broken, fallen world that is upfront about its brokenness. There's blood and gore, innuendos and attempted rape... and whilst Xander is innocent, naive, and lucky enough to be able to protect herself from unwanted attentions, the setup in this story world is such that all this is commonplace, and Xander may well be the only exception - other than the people of Sanctum, whom everybody hates because they are all hypocrites.

I think what I like about it most is that it's an exploration of what it means to be a good person in bad situations, of what it means to make the best of things when you've already messed up your life, and of how one can still hold on to personal convictions when everyone else says that you are weird and wrong.

I'm curious as to where it's heading and look forward to reading the next book in the series!

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This is March's goal for the 2023 Booktempter's TBR Reduction Challenge. The stretch goal is to finish the rest of the series by year end... which is doable as there are only 2 other books! Haha. I was trying to finish them in March as well, but I think that won't happen since I have an ARC and 2 review copies to finish in the next few weeks. 

#bookreview: Yet You Cry When It Hurts (Nothing is Promised #4) | Susan Kaye Quinn

Yet You Cry When It Hurts by Susan Kaye Quinn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Quinn's imagined future is one where the world has finally gotten its act together in the midst of devastating crises. Cooperation is the word of the day, whether voluntary or involuntary, and everyone is working together for the good of all humanity, no matter race, nationality, sexual orientation, or gender. Equality of a sort has been reached, if only because without it, your country is not going to survive the next pandemic or power crisis.

And of course the ones who are trying to upset that balance and buy their way back into the old world order are... mediocre white men with no qualifications who think they should hold the power.

Anyway, remember when I said, When You Had Power was a low-stakes, fuzzy, found-family story? The stakes have been upped with each successive book in the series, culminating in this final book that's all about high-level manoeuvring, international power plays, alpha male posturing, and attempted murders.

Whilst characters in the earlier three books do play their part in this one, they're mostly off in the background, doing supporting-type stuff. Yet You Cry When It Hurts focuses on a set of new characters, mostly Nitara Desai, Director of the IEC's Office of Multilateral Funds and International Agreements and Matti, her best friend and co-conspirator in everything. And the day Nitara discovers that there's a crazy new unlimited energy source being sold privately to the highest bidders is also the day she finds out that her Matti is getting married...to someone else.

Yet You Cry When It Hurts is a story of resilience, trust, and standing up for what's right, not what's most beneficial to you at the cost of everyone else. It's also about community and the power of cooperation and collaboration, and understanding that you don't have to do everything alone.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the author. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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The Nothing is Promised Series:

My reviews: 

#1: When You Had Power

#2: You Knew the Price

#3: Of Kindness & Kilowatts

#bookreview: Exhalation | Ted Chiang; The Mammoth Book of Celtic Myths and Legends | Peter Berresford Ellis

Exhalation by Ted Chiang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I can't deny that Exhalation is a compelling, thoughtful read. There are many things to think about, to delve into, in these nine stories. And all of them are varied enough that each truly feels like a fresh thought.

And yet at the same time, for some weird reason, they didn't feel quite memorable to me. I reached the story notes and went... wait, what was that story about again? And nothing in the title or in the notes clued me in.

So I dunno. I liked it well enough, but it wasn't quite a 5-star.

And that's 9 stories for the #2023TBRchallenge.

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I'm gonna count "On a Ghost's Whim" by Katharina Gerlach for the #2023TBRchallenge, just to up the numbers a bit haha. This is a bonus short story from Gerlach's recent Kickstarter. It was a fun short read, and I got to vote for stuff that went into the story, ha! 

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The Mammoth Book of Celtic Myths and Legends by Peter Berresford Ellis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

IT HAS TAKEN ME AN ENTIRE YEAR TO FINISH THIS BOOK.

But yay! I mean, there were 37 stories over 612 pages so I think that's justified, seeing that I also read a bunch of other stuff throughout the year.

This is a great read if you want a look at Celtic myths and legends as a huge overview. It covers Ireland, Isle of Man, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. Some of them were familiar, some of them not, but there's the overarching fairy tale tropes that remain true throughout. The earlier ones, especially Ireland, Isle of Man, and Scotland seem to deal more with origin myths and fairy creatures, while the latter deal a bit more with the Great Invasion of the Christians.

Stories read for the #2023TBRchallenge:
[Cornwall]
- 29 Jowan Chy-an-Horth
- 30 Nos Calan Gwaf
- 31 An Lys-an-Gwrys
[Brittany]
- 32 The Destruction of Ker- Ys
- 33 N'oun Doare
- 34 The Anaon
- 35 Koadalan
- 36 The King of Bro Arc'hant
- 37 Prinsez-a-Sterenn

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Total of 9+1+9 = 19 stories for the #2023TBRchallenge!

#bookreview: The Timematician: A Gen M Novel (Book 2) | Steven Bereznai

The Timematician: A Gen M Novel: Book 2 by Steven Bereznai
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What would you do if you could reset your life at any time you wanted, to (almost) anywhen you want to? You'd be able to do-over all the worst bits of your life - or maybe experience the best ones over and over again.

With this fascinating premise, Bereznai brings us the second book of the Gen M series, The Timematician. We follow Doctor BetterThan's mad plans for the best future earth, where all the annoying superheroes in Jupitar Island and all the dregs in the boroughs are dead. They're not longer trying to kill, control, or confuse him. This is the future where he has succeeded in his evil plan, leaving him as the only one left alive...yet is he really? Because suddenly he has a new nemesis: Mairi Lin Monroe and her bevy of lady-matons.

If you've read Generation Manifestation, it won't take you long to figure out who Doctor BetterThan is from that book (timeline), though there is a rather huge dissonance between the guy we remember from Caitlin's story to...this guy. (I did double take and go, "wait what? Did I remember something wrong?")

The Timematician starts off like a villain origin story, and yet as you live these timelines with him, watch him make mistakes and fall in love, and see him grow into the person he is/was in Generation Manifestation, your perspective shifts closer towards the hero origin story it should have been.

Despite it being called "book 2", I feel that it can be read as a standalone as the timelines have been so altered that you don't quite need to know what happens in book 1 to understand this one. It can even be read as a prequel, actually, since technically if you understand how this time travelling super power works, all this happened first.

While Generation Manifestation has a very strong YA dystopian, Divergent-like vibe, this one is just straight up snarky megalomaniac with super powers. It's funny yet awkward, and just a little bit sweet.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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The Timematician just released yesterday! Get your copy now! :D