Jessica Strider

Pros: interesting characters, beautiful writing, heartwrenching story

Cons: will make you cry - a lot

When Sally, aka Monkey, was killed on the animal rescue farm where she was living with her daughter, she expected that to be the end of her story. But the ongoing stories of her estranged sister, curious niece, brother-in-law she was in love with, and catatonic daughter, prevent her from leaving.

Set in South Africa, the book has some speculative elements (the spirit watching over its family and the Sangoma that lives next door), but is essentially a story about family and dealing with loss. Sally's spirit follows several characters, allowing you to really get to know them. The family dynamics become more clear as time goes on, and you see how mistakes of the past compound and form emotional trials in the present. It's also highly effective that a lot of the story is told from the perspective of the 11 year old niece, who doesn't know what the word ‘genocide' means and has to look it up on her brother's computer and whose curiosity and nosiness subsequently gains her knowledge she's not ready for.

The writing is beautifully descriptive, with a lot of sensory information telling you how things look, smell and feel. The metaphors used are unique, but work within the context of the story. For example, “The morning sun beats through the muslin blinds of the bedroom window, making the room look as if it's been pumped full of golden gas”.

The ending, where you finally learn the extent of what happened at the farm when Sally dies, is gut-wrenching, but don't think that's the only sad part of the book. Books have made me cry in the past - for a chapter or two, when a character I loved died or something else irrevocably sad happened to them, but I haven't cried this hard in years. From the first few pages this book grabbed my heart strings and then kept pulling them over and over again.

I loved the portrayal of the Sangoma and how her story was resolved. I'm less sure about the massacre and the ‘black men are coming with machetes' message of the main story. I don't know enough about South Africa to know if this is still a modern fear or if the book plays on a remembrance of apartheid (which, though it feels like it happened a long time ago really didn't). But the book was written by a South African woman.

I loved this book. I loved the descriptive language. I loved the characters. I loved the setting. If you're looking for something different, give this a try.

Pros: wide variety of authors and subgenres, several excellent stories

Cons: several confusing stories, no grouping together of similar stories

The 28 stories in this collection are written by authors from around the world, covering a number of SFF genres. While most of the stories were good to excellent, I found a few to be rather confusing (a state which may have cleared up with further readings in some cases). There's no theme connecting the stories and they're not gathered in any order, which is a bit disorienting, as you can read a story about spaceships followed by local mythology followed by post-apocalyptic followed by another spaceship story. Gathering the SF, horror and fantasy stories together would have created a more cohesive feeling to the collection. The anthology is a great jumping off point for finding authors as several contributors have novels out now or coming soon.

Stories are highly subjective, so while I've rated them, pay more attention to the mini synopses to see if the stories would appeal to you than to my ratings.

Not all of the stories appealed to me, but I thought the majority were quite good to excellent, making this a worthwhile collection if you're looking for something different.

“The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family” by Usman T Malik (Pakistan)
1/2 In the aftermath of a tragedy, Tara Khan seeks knowledge, in order to understand herself and work for a better world. - This is a story of how violence begets violence, and only knowledge and love can stop violence from consuming the world. “Setting Up Home” by Sabrina Huang (Taiwan) (Translated by Jeremy Tiang)** A young man starts finding furnishings appearing both inside and outside his apartment, with no idea of his benefactor. -
Quite short but with a delightfully creepy ending.

“The Gift of Touch” by Chinelo Onwualu (Nigeria)
** The three passengers Bruno's ship takes on for much needed money turn out to be very different from the farmers they claimed they were. -
I found the story interesting but the execution a bit heavy handed. There's some expository conversations that felt forced (Marley's love of guns, their smuggling past), and Horns' past somehow only comes up now, during this crisis situation, rather than the interview when she was hired (I can understand her hiding part of her past and Bruno being ok with that, but it sounds like he never asked about anything she did before coming to work for him, and that's just not believable).

“The Language of Knives” by Haralambi Markov (Bulgaria)
*** Together with your apprentice daughter, you carve up your recently deceased husband into cakes for the gods.- A creepy premise that's handled with care. It's a touching story of dealing with loss, connecting with the past, and healing relationships.“In Her Head, In Her Eyes” by Yukimi Ogawa (Japan)* Hase wears a heavy pot on her head, covering her eyes. The household she is staying with to learn new patterns to bring to her home mistreats her, especially the wives of the older two sons. Only the youngest son treats her kindly.- A fun, creepy story about being careful how you treat others.“The Farm” by Elana Gomel (Israel)** A comrade rides to a farm looking for food he can confiscate for his commune.
- The eaters are quite terrifying and the slow build up to the ending really works.

“The Last Hours of The Final Days” by Bernardo Fernández (Mexico) (Translated by the author)
** Aida and Wok slowly travel through post-apocalyptic cities by motorcycle, skateboard, foot and car while they await the end of the world.- A surprisingly upbeat post-apocalyptic story.“The Boy Who Cast No Shadow” by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Netherlands) (Translated by Laura Vroomen)* The strange friendship between Look, a boy with no shadow, and Splinter, a boy made of glass.- A brilliant but sad story of bullying and finding yourself. Has some adult content.“First, Bite Just a Finger” by Johann Thorsson (Iceland)* After taking a drug at a party and witnessing a guy do a strange party trick, Julia develops a terrible addiction.- Really, really creepy.“The Eleven Holy Numbers of the Mechanical Soul” by Natalia Theodoridou (Greece)** An old man, marooned on an oceanic planet, creates his own animals for company.
- An interesting story about survival and the nature of a soul.

“Djinns Live by the Sea” by Saad Z. Hossain (Bangaldesh)
** A rich business man feigns sanity after 8 months of being haunted by a djinn. - An interesting interpretation of djinn. Limited description.“How My Father Became a God” by Dilman Dila (Uganda)* A girl, whose father has been banished from the family's homestead for wasting money on failed inventions, needs him to succeed at something to help her avoid an arranged marriage.- Interesting characters and a fascinating belief system.“Black Tea” by Samuel Marolla (Italy) (Translated by Andrew Tanzi)* Four men are trapped in a nightmarish landscape of old hallways, empty rooms and stairs leading nowhere, being hunted by a creature masquerading as an old lady.- You feel Nicola's confusion as he tries to figure out where he is and what's going on. The horror begins with a note he finds in his pocket.“Tiger Baby” by JY Yang (Singapore)1/2 Felicity is an office worker who knows she is meant to be more, more free, more... feline.- Lyrical writing and a slowly unfolding story.“Jinki & the Paradox” by Sathya Stone (Sri Lanka) 1/2 Jinki's family lives on an experimental colony set up by aliens.- I really liked the trickster robot and puzzling out what Jinki is.“Colour Me Grey” by Swabir Silayi (Kenya)** The protagonist lives in a world devoid of colour, protected by a wall erected by the Man and his descendants.
- A quick dystopian tale.

“Like A Coin Entrusted in Faith” by Shimon Adaf (Israel) (Translated by the author)
* Correspondences between someone in Israel and a woman in the US who's helping train an AI, tell the tale a midwife who helps birth a stillborn demon.- I found this story fairly confusing. The format shifts between narrative, emails, and play dialogue, didn't help. While I thought it added to the story to have some phrases in Jewish Moroccan (and one in Aramaic), having the translations on the last page of the story rather than at the end of each short chapter (where they would have been easier to find/flip to) was annoying. I did find the mythology mentioned really interesting and would have liked to learn more about it.“Single Entry” by Celeste Rita Baker (Virgin Islands)** A special busker act at Carnival.
- Told in dialect, the story is both triumphant and a little sad.

“The Good Matter” by Nene Ormes (Sweden) (Translated by Lisa J Isaksson and Nene Ormes)
* A antiques dealer with a special gift makes a purchase for something he's been hunting for for years.- This is a story set in the world of the author's novels, and entices one to read more.“Pepe” by Tang Fei (China) (Translated by John Chu)* Two mechanical children who can only speak to tell stories, visit an amusement park.
-There's a lot of repetition and circular logic, which made the story less clear to me.

“Six Things We Found During The Autopsy” by Kuzhali Manickavel (India)
** Six inexplicable objects found on a woman's body during her autopsy.
- I give this story 2 stars for the section on angels, which I found hilarious. The rest of the story was too bizarre for my tastes.

“The Symphony of Ice and Dust” by Julie Novakova (Czech Republic)
** An exploratory spaceship arrives at Sedna, a dwarf moon where thousands of years earlier, two other spaceships crashed.- A story of multiple discoveries and how humans and science have evolved.“The Lady of the Soler Colony” by Rocío Rincón Fernández (Spain) (Translated by James and Marian Womack)** The narrator's family works at the Soler textile colony, passing by the metallic statue of the Lady every day. Until the day the factory it fronts, collapses.
- An interesting story, though a few aspects left me confused.

“The Four Generations of Chang E” by Zen Cho (Malaysia)
*** Chang E wins the moon lottery, immigrating there. But her descendants face different challenges because of her decision.- An exploration of immigration and how it feels to be different. “Pockets Full of Stones” by Vajra Chandrasekera (Sri Lanka)* A woman takes a job on a relay station between Earth and a colony ship to speak with her colonist grandfather.- A story about family that has an alien twist.“The Corpse” by Sese Yane (Kenya)* A middle aged man passes away while riding the bus.- I found this story boring and rather pointless.“Sarama” by Deepak Unnikrishnan (The Emirates)** A man tells of his family's forest demon ancestry as related to him by his grandmother.
- A fascinating story based on the Ramayana, of war and revenge. Adult content.

“A Cup of Salt Tears” by Isabel Yap (Philippines)
***** Makino goes to an onsen at night to help alleviate her sorrow over her dying husband and encounters a kappa, a water demon.
- I enjoy kappa mythology and this one takes an interesting turn.

Sixteen year old Nora is looking after her younger brother, keeping them both alive as they wander the wasteland that used to be the United States of America. Somehow, despite the horrors they've witnessed, her brother's held on to a sense of morality about how to treat others.

Twelve year old Julie Grigio is travelling with her parents, looking for the safe haven mentioned in the Almanac. But the Almanac is several months old, and news travels slowly while the zombie plague and other dangers spread much faster.

A dead man awakens near a river, unaware of everything. But as time passes, he remembers bits of his former life, even as a hunger starts to overtake him.

This is a prequel novella to Marion's zombie novel Warm Bodies. It's a self-contained story so if you haven't read the book, like me, you'll have no trouble following along or enjoying the story.

It's a pretty bleak tale, with some disturbing imagery (including some short but rather disgusting descriptions that I could have done without), but there's an underlying message of hope, that even when things are at their worst, some people continue to see the good in others and fight for a better world.

While on the longer side for a novella, it's still impressive how invested in the character you become. They're well fleshed out and interesting, with quirks, hopes and fears.

I've seen the film version of Warm Bodies, but this novella makes me want to read the book.

Pros: great sense of perspective, deals cleverly with repeating days

Cons: starts in the middle of the action so it's harder to get a grasp of the situation

When Keiji Kiriya dies in his first battle with the alien Mimics he doesn't expect to wake up the previous morning as if those days were just a dream. He quickly realizes that time is repeating and decides to train hard and become a great Jacket jockey like Rita Vrataski, aka the Valkyrie, aka the Full Metal Bitch.

This novel was the basis for the film Edge of Tomorrow, which I thought was really well done. Sure, the ending didn't make much sense, but it was a fun film. The ending in the book is different, and does make sense.

You get point of view chapters from both Keiji and, later on, Rita, which help put you into the action and understand why those two act the way they do. They're interesting characters, with a lot of supporting characters around them that you get to know fairly well.

There's enough exposition to understand the armoured suits the soldiers wear (the Jackets) and the alien menace, but beyond that there are only snippets here and there about how the world has coped with the war and how Keiji and Rita ended up enlisting.

While a few days are heavily detailed, the majority are skipped outright, giving you a good impression of time passing and Keiji learning how to fight without becoming boring or repetitive.

It's an action packed story that's also a quick read at just under 200 pages.

Pros: economic and political intrigue, utterly fascinating protagonist, interesting pov, keeps you guessing

Cons: not sure the rebel dukes gave their plans proper consideration

Daughter of a huntress, and a blacksmith, and a shield-bearer, Baru Cormorant grew up in Taranoke. Her world changes when the Empire of Masks uses its trade agreement with Taranoke to slowly conquer the land, educating her and other native children in their schools. Horrified by what has been done to her homeland but knowing that the Empire is too vast to fight, Baru resolves to destroy it from the inside. But first she must prove her loyalty and worth to the Empire by using her intelligence to uncover revolt in another conquered land, Aurdwynn.

Before you start reading the book you're greeted by a map. After a quick cursory glance I turned the page. Maps are common in fantasy books and this one wasn't that detailed or complex. But something had caught my eye so I turned back and examined the map in more detail. It's a map of Aurdwynn, showing the duchies and - more interestingly - Baru's comments on the various dukes and what each duchy is known for. There aren't many comments, but the sheer honesty they portray is refreshing and drew me into the story before it had even begun. Through the map we learn that the people of Oathsfire have awful beards, Radaszic is a complete moron, and Erebog is probably going to starve. It's a clever and fun map that peaked my interest.

The novel starts with Baru's childhood and education before heading to Aurdwynn where the rest of the book takes place. This is a book driven by Baru's character and her attempts to understand, control, and outmaneuver the dukes as she tries to organize the country's finances while rooting out rebellion. While there is some fighting, most of the book is concerned with political and economic intrigue.

Baru's a wiz at economics and seeing the big picture of cause and effect. Where she falters is in recognizing that individual people have the ability to cause change outside of the larger picture, meaning she sometimes gets blindsided by not taking individual passions and choices into consideration. It's a wonderfully tense book with a protagonist who's always thinking so many moves ahead you're struggling to understand her current plays. At one point I had to reread a conversation to figure out what she'd read between the lines during it, in order to understand why she was doing certain things. It's a book that will keep you on your toes, second guessing her and everyone else's motives.

I've never read a book that goes over, however briefly, the conquest of a country, so I really appreciated the point of view. It's both fascinating and horrifying, how - and how quickly - the Empire gained power in Taranoke.

After thinking about the book for a few days I find myself wondering how much the rebel dukes considered their plans. They end up making at least once decision that seems to go against their individual interests. A decision I'm not sure they'd be willing to make as it reduces their own power.

I'm not sure I agree with one aspect of the ending, but I really enjoyed the book. I had to read it quickly, but I'd advise taking time to really think about what's going on - to appreciate the decisions Baru makes and the circumstances she finds herself in. It's a fascinating read and I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Pros: tight, tense storytelling, interesting characters

Cons: limited world-building

For parents: no content (swearing, sex, drugs), minor gun violence

Fifteen year old Ann Burden has been living - alone - in her family's farmhouse for the past year. Her family - and as far as she knows everyone else in the world - is dead, victims of the war and the bombs that fell. So she has mixed emotions when she sees a column of smoke each night, getting closer to the valley that's protected her. She knows someone is coming. But what does this arrival mean for her?

This is a short novel, told through Ann's journal entries starting when she first realizes someone is coming. It details his arrival and the slowly unfolding drama that occurs afterwards. It's a tight, tense story, that slowly becomes dreadful as you wonder how everything will play out.

It's a story worth coming to with little advance knowledge, as it really depends on learning things with the character. I really liked Ann. She's a farm girl - and so knows how to do things that are useful in a post-apocalyptic survival situation, like catch, prepare and cook fish, plogh a field, etc.

There's very little backstory. We learn where Ann's family has gone and how the stranger arrives, but little else. There's no information about what the war was about or who it was with or what kinds of bombs were dropped, beyond that they were highly radioactive.

It's a great story that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Pros: political intrigue, sense of dread throughout, wonderfully complex characters

Cons: slow & somewhat confusing beginning

King Alonzo II's Spanish court works in close connection with the Inquisition of Padre Juan Murador, rooting out heresy wherever it lies. At an auto-da-fe, a condemned woman proclaims her innocence and pronounces a curse on Alonzo's line, a curse his now 19 year old legitimate son bears the burden - and effects - of. The Infante Real, Don Rolon, is beset by doubts as to his worthiness to be the heir to the Spanish throne, as the curse worsens, turning him into a beast during the full moon. But he walks a fine line, as the king would prefer to see his bastard son, Gil del Rey, heir, and the inquisition is eager to find fault with those at court, with spies everywhere.

While the prologue, which sets the scene of the Spanish court and the curse, is easy to follow, I found the first chapter, which introduced Don Rolon a little confusing. We meet him travelling on his father's orders to a remote castle. Given the number of titles and names used, I thought it was a large party, and only realized that the names and titles were for the same people when the text stated that only 5 people were travelling. The heir is called numerous things, and until I had them all straight (which didn't take long once I was aware of the situation), it was a bit confusing. Similarly, I had assumed the men travelling with him were all friends, but that turned out to not be the case either.

It takes a while to get into the story as a lot of the early part of the book is cementing the personalities of Don Rolon and, to a lesser extent, Lugantes, the court jester. Other characters are fleshed out and given POV scenes later, when the company returns to court.

The characters are all fascinating, and diverse. Everyone's terrified of the inquisition, though some less than others, assuming that their innocence and devotion protects them. The priests are all devout in their beliefs that they're doing god's work, even as they torture innocents. In fact, some of the most terrifying scenes in the book are listening to the priests justify their work, knowing they're 100% oblivious to the irony of their accusations in comparison to their actions.

While I liked Don Rolon's complexity in his dealings with everyone, my favourite character was the jester. Lugantes, though a little person and much mocked by the court as a whole, with the noted exception of Don Rolon, which earns him Lugantes' devotion, is remarkably clever. He hides his cleverness with japes and jokes, and uses his lower status as a form of invisibility, to learn important news and visit people in private. He's given a good amount of page time, and he's instrumental in helping Don Rolon, though he also has his own interests (and love) to occupy, and worry, him.

Not given as much page time, but interesting all the same - if not as developed a character - is Don Rolon's valet, Ciro Eje, a converso who's not as devout in his Catholicism as would be wise considering his position.

Certain other characters changed over the course of the book, making me like them more. I'd put Genevieve, the French Queen and Don Rolon's fiance in that category. Conversely, I liked Inez at first, but her unwise decisions - and to be fair, Don Rolon's interest in her - put her in danger.

The king's blindness towards what the priests were doing - and some of the liberties he allows them to take with their accusations and denouncements, is astonishing. And led to several plot twists, especially towards the end, that I did not see coming.

There's a deep feeling of dread that settles on you as you read this book. As with actual torture, there's so much anticipation of what the Inquisition will do to Don Rolon should they learn what the curse does to him that it starts to feel like a physical weight pressing you down as you read on. So many people you come to care for are in so much danger that you rush towards the ending, just to put yourself out of the misery of uncertainty. And while I wasn't necessarily happy with the ending, it did suit the book magnificently.

The book takes place in Spain, but the protagonists are all invented - including the royal family. The curse makes the book a very light historical fantasy, though it reads like historical fiction. If you like political intrigue and touches of horror in your stories, you'll love this.

Pros: quick, easy read, engaging, thought-provoking

Cons: limited world-building

For Parents: some swearing, mentions of prostitution and sex slavery

Edmond West is inspired by a story of human cruelty to create a new form of slave - robots. But his single-minded focus has blinded him to the potential consequences of creating robots with fully human characteristics.

This is the first of a six book series. It's a quick read (only took me a few hours to whip through it) that introduces the protagonist and the plot scenario for the following books. There's a lot of character development as Edmond works on his project through the years, with some great thought-provoking moments as he confronts the realities of his magnum opus. The ending of this book is fast paced and leaves you wanting more.

Edmond is highly intelligent and often abrasive, though his social skills are good enough that he avoids being unpleasant. While I didn't love him as a character, I didn't hate him either. The author did a great job making him aware enough of his faults to redeem him.

The book is highly focused on Edmond and his purpose, so there's little world-building or other distractions. You get to know his co-worker well enough, and hear how Edward's work is utilized by his employers, but there's no in depth exploration of the process of building the robots or of the world in general of this future. Hart is the only other character who you really get a good feel for, and that's entirely through Edmond's eyes.

The moment Edmond brings his creation to life, and the epiphany he undergoes because of it, were wonderful to read.

It's a great start and I'm curious to see where the series goes.

Pros: great characters, interesting story

Cons: romantic elements, though minor, feel awkward at times

When Griffin Dane locates the planet he believes to be the ancient pleasure planet Artemis, his intention is to study it and return to his home world and bask in the glory of his historic discovery. So when his ship crashes, stranding him there, he's eager to find his way back to the stars.

He's rescued from the wreckage by the Huntress Adara and her demiurge puma companion Sand Shadow, with whom she's psychically linked. They guide Griffin first to their village and then to a major city with relics left by the Seegnur, the people who made the planet and altered the inhabitants to be the perfect servants. There they meet with the Old One Who Is Young, a man who has studied the technology of the Seegnur for decades.

But Griffin's arrival has awakened something. And things with the Old One aren't what they seem.

I loved Adara and Sand Shadow. It's great to see a self-confidant young woman who gives and accepts help as the situation requires. She knows her skills and when the location changes and her abilities are less in demand, finds something she can do to help that will use her skills. By the same token, it was great to see Griffin fumbling on this ‘primitive' world, accepting menial tasks as the only ones he's qualified to do, and not complaining about it. I really liked Terrell as well. It was interesting how the three protagonists strengths and weaknesses complemented each other, and how the characters worked together.

The story begins sort of quest like, but there's a series of overlapping mysteries when they get to Spirit Bay, which were quite interesting to read. It was also interesting learning more of the Seegnur and how they modified things (via the social rather than scientific changes. You don't learn the science behind the genetic modifications but you learn about the different social strata and some of the abilities of people who were adapted for specified jobs).

There were minor romantic elements in the book. The opening led me to believe that these would have a stronger impact on the story, so I was pretty happy to discover they didn't. There were some awkward conversations where the characters were honest about their feelings (or lack thereof), which I appreciated (the honesty, if not necessarily the awkwardness). Some of the elements seemed a tad heavy handed, like Adara noticing Griffin's eye colour in the middle of a life or death situation, which also struck me as being out of place. But on the whole I found the characters' openness refreshing and the elements indicate that a romance may form as the series goes on.

The world-building is understated, but interesting. Since the planet was specifically designed it still works on a feudal style system. As with the romance, there are underlying elements but they only pop up from time to time.

It was an interesting read.

The Highest Frontier by Joan Slonczewski

Pros: interesting protagonist; fascinating world-building; thought provoking concepts

Cons: fair amount of repetition, especially at the beginning; several unexplained concepts and items, including one important to the plot

Jennifer Ramos Kennedy's culture source was her great-grandmother, President Rosa Schwartz. A few months after a family tragedy she's setting out for Frontera, a university on an orbiting space station. She chose it both because a family friend runs the school but also because it's free of many of the things plaguing Earth: mosquitos carrying disease, risk of flood and methane quakes, the expanding Death Belt, and the need for DIRG bodyguards. But university life isn't quite what she expected: her teachers are all a little crazy, her roommate is weird and has an unhealthy affiliation for ultraphytes, the alien plants that crave salt and spread from their landing site in Utah to be a scourge on the world, her slanball coach wants her well rested, a hard thing when she's volunteering for the understaffed EMS, and there's so much reading and work to do for classes.

Meanwhile, she's knee deep in helping the Unity party win the next Presidential election. Jenny doesn't understand how the Centrist Firmament belief is so strong when people live in space! But things on Earth have reached the point that if change doesn't come soon, it'll be too late for the planet. And yet the Centrists want to expand the solar array that's expanding the Death Belt, intending for people to leave earth in the coming Rapture, relocating to other space stations. Stations that couldn't possibly hold even a portion of the people on Earth.

And it turns out that Frontera isn't as free of Earthly disasters as she was led to believe.

There's very little exposition. You're thrown into the novel with limited explanations of what things are and how the world has changed from what we currently know. While it's an entirely character driven novel, something I'm not generally keen on, my interest never waned. There are plot points that pull the story into a thought provoking conclusion, but for the most part the book follows Jenny through her days, questioning the world and the politics that run it.

As a scion of a political family, Jenny knows politics, making her an excellent character to follow. Through her mother and conjoined twin aunts, she's connected to the upcoming Presidential election; she helps when one of her professor's runs for mayor; sees the struggle with personnel and supplies as she volunteers for EMS, and more. She also takes two politics courses, one on Teddy Roosevelt and the other on Aristotle and democracy, the lectures for which come up often in the text. The book's ending questions how politics is done, and if it's possible to fix a broken system.

The second point of view character, Dylan Chase, is President of the university, and through him we see the difficulties of managing his staff and securing sufficient financing. We also see him dealing with student problems: alcoholism, printer disease hacks, assault, and addiction.

The world-building is top notch: Spanish colloquialisms, tax playing at casinos, unique fashion trends, amyloid (sewage processed by hab shell microbes that's used to ‘print' everything from food to clothing to the shelters everyone lives in), the anthrax cables that transport ships between Frontera and Earth, Toynet, Kessler debris, I could go on. The sport of slanball is pretty cool too.

The supporting cast is wide and varied, though it focuses on Jenny's family, a few professors, close students (including the players of her slanball team) and some of Dylan's contacts (for his POV scenes). Jenny's experiences at the school are also varied, from class work to parties to helping build houses for colonists.

The first few chapters contain a fair amount of repetition, especially with regards to Jenny's family. Which makes it all the more strange that other concepts and terms are left unexplained. You figure out what DIRGs are pretty quick, but I don't remember the acronym being explained. Similarly, Jenny notices an object on one of her teacher's desks that affects the plot. She brings it up to another character, implying she knows the relevance of the object, but it's not until the end of the book that as a reader I figured out what the object was and what it meant.

If you like a lot of character development and world-building in your science fiction, this is a highly entertaining, and sometimes thought provoking, read.

Pros: interesting characters, brilliant world-building, some clever plot twists

Cons: tension lost if read previous novels, ending of final battle is a let down

Forty years ago the King in Red, Elayne Kevarian and Temoc Almotil met in battle in the Gods' War. Now Elayne is back in Dresediel Lex, a Craftswoman and consultant for the King in Red on a contract to fix the Skittersill, the old temple slave's quarter. But the people of the Skittersill haven't been included in the deal, and their massed discontent could break the world. So Elayne goes to meet with its various representatives, including Temoc, the last Eagle Knight and priest of the old Gods, in hopes of resolving the tension peacefully. Temoc meanwhile struggles with the different demands of priesthood and fatherhood in this time of crisis.

This is the fourth published novel in the Craft Sequence, but the first chronologically. This book takes place in the same city, with many of the same characters (only younger) as the second published book, Two Serpents Rise. Having read that book, some of the narrative tension of this one is lost, as I already knew certain characters would survive. Similarly, though I don't remember that book as well as I'd like, I had to reevaluate the relationships I remembered with the new, ‘prior' relationships of this book. When the books are all out I look forward to reading them in order to see how well they follow each other, and how characters develop across the books.

The characters are fascinating and the world-building sound, as usual with Gladstone's books. And that's good, because there's less judicial mystery in this story, with the centre being more character than plot focused. Both Elayne and the King in Red perform some interesting Craft, and you see the power of the defeated Gods in play at the end.

The big battle is quite apocalyptic, but ends somewhat disappointingly. It felt like the author's hands were tied, needing certain people to survive for book two, and couldn't quite figure out how to end the battle well as a result. There are some clever plot twists in the book, including the final battle, that were great though.

Despite its few faults it's a great book and this is a wonderful series.

This is a collection of 2 short stories and 2 passages that were cut from The Warded Man. Each story has a short introduction from the author explaining either where the ideas came from or why the scene was cut. The stories were originally published as limited edition hardcovers by Subterranean Press, with this new combined edition being published in trade paperback by Tachyon Publications. The book also includes a short Krasian dictionary, which is not really necessary as all the required terms are explained in the stories themselves, and some examples of wards and the types of demons they're used to protect against, which is pretty interesting to read.

*** Brayan's Gold - While an apprentice messenger, Arlen and his master are assigned a longer run than usual, transporting thundersticks to Brayan's Gold, high in the mountains. But while the compensation is generous, the risks are also high: bandits, harsh conditions, and several nights outdoors with only warded circles as protection against demons. This is a fantastic story with a lot of different elements to it. There's a surprising amount of variety to the troubles Arlen faces as he heads into the mountains.* The Great Bazaar - Using a map procured from Abban, a khaffit from the great bazaar in Fort Krasia, Arlen hunts for treasure, and discovers demons he's never faced before. This story has scenes from both Arlen and Abban's point of views. It's a pretty focused story, but you do get to see a little more of what life is like for the underclass in the bazaar.Brett manages to pack a lot of content into both stories and writes them in such a way that they fill in gaps left by the novels but explain everything required to enjoy them if you haven't read the books.* Arlen - This is a prologue that didn't make the book, dealing with Arlen's life before the events of The Warded Man. It's an interesting look at his youthful personality and how he was already pushing boundaries.** Brianne Beaten - This passage deals with a scene from Leesha's life that kind of stands on its own, though it involves an unmentioned incident that ruined a friendship. It helps to know what that incident is, but the scene still works if you don't.

It's a pretty short book, but the stories are high quality and help flesh out Arlen's character. If you missed the Subterranean Press editions, then this is a good time to get the stories. If you've never read Brett, it's a great sampler of his work and will whet your appetite for more.

Pros: beautiful images, commentary on the images and the periods that produced them

Cons: repetition, very broad overview using a limited number of works, breaks 2000 years into 3 periods for discussion

[Note: The advanced reading copy of the book that I received for the purpose of this review did not include the colour plates. The authors give good descriptions of each photo and in most cases I was able to look the images up online.]

Picturing the Apocalypse breaks down the last book in the Bible, the book of Revelations, into its composite parts as a way of detailing how artists over the years have illustrated each part. The chapters consist of: The angelic guides and John's journey, the Lamb, the Four Horsemen, the Seven Seals, the Woman Clothed with the Sun, the Satanic Trinity (ie, the beasts and Antichrist), The Whore of Babylon, Armageddon, the Millennium and the Last Judgement, the New Jerusalem and, finally, how the 20th and 21st centuries have utilized the imagery.

The authors picked a few representative works that they then used to illustrate the entirety of the book of Revelations. This allows the reader to see both how different elements evolved over time as people from different periods adapted them, and also to see how the same sources in each period illustrated the work as a whole. There are, of course, some works included in each chapter that only refers to that element (works where the artist didn't illustrate the whole book but where seeing a few more examples helps show a wider range of influence). The downside to this is that you're only seeing a limited sampling of what's out there, but being comprehensive with so broad a topic would cause its own problems.

The illustrations and works they picked are of great beauty and show the different elements to great advantage. They also act as a jumping off point to doing more independent research.

Though the authors describe the images they're citing very well, be prepared to flip back and forth between the text and images a lot, both because you'll want to see what they're pointing out in their descriptions but also because they often reference the images at different points in the text (so, for example, an image inset in chapter 8 will be mentioned in chapters 1 and 10 as well).

There's a fair amount of repetition in the text and pointing the reader to the chapters where certain themes and concepts are addressed, giving the book the feel of something meant to be referenced by chapter (as by someone looking for images on a particular element) rather than something to be read from start to finish. The chapter on 20-21st C representations especially points the reader to numerous images already discussed.

The authors tried to show the book of Revelations in context for the different periods that they discussed, mentioning that the author of the book was writing it not long after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, when Christianity was being persecuted and when people were looking for a militaristic saviour/end of the world to come. Seeing how people of different ages turned the meaning of the vision to their own ends was fascinating.

Having said that, while I understand the necessity of mentioning the feminist critiques of the book, specifically that the depiction of women is stuck in the dichotomy of mother/bride/virtuous woman vs whore is important, I was a bit surprised at how... apologetic the authors were when presenting this 2000 year old text. Obviously the author and numerous illustrators weren't concerned with 21st century ideals, so why should the authors of this commentary work feel the need to do more than comment on how perceptions change? Along the same lines, I was surprised at the authors' attempt to reconcile the ‘good' God of the New Testament with the destruction inherent in the book of Revelation. While Christ taught love, it's clear that the God of the Old Testament had no problem with death and destruction (plagues of Egypt, ordering genocide of conquered nations, the flood). And this is the God that an early Christian, familiar with the Hebrew religious texts, would have been familiar with. Again, it seemed a bit strange that the authors were apologizing for a text and a view of the world that has since fundamentally changed. Simply mentioning that some modern people have trouble with the reconciliation of a vengeful God with the Christian message, and how it impacts the modern view of Revelations, would have sufficed.

While not perfect, this is an excellent primer for looking at the book of Revelation from a artistic standpoint. The authors have a deep understanding of the depictions of the various elements and make some interesting interpretations. And it reproduces some gorgeous images.

Pros: great world-building, fascinating alien species, diverse characters, interesting plot, stand-alone novel

Cons:

An accident occurs among the humans observing the native intelligent life forms deep in the oceans under the ice of the distant planet Ilmatar. An alien race older than humans, the Sholen, have decreed that no contact be made with the natives for fear of human colonization. They send a ship to the planet to verify that no rules have been broken, but their inner politics dictate that the humans' mission be shut down, regardless.

Meanwhile, Broadtail 38 Sandyslope, along with a group of likeminded Ilmataran scientists, makes a strange discovery that changes the course of his life.

I love it when the first paragraph of a book sucks you in and doesn't let you go. And this book has an awesome one:

By the end of his second month at Hitode Station, Rob Freeman had already come up with 85 ways to murder Henry Kerlerec. That put him third in the station's rankings — Joseph Palashnik was first with 143, followed by Nadia Kyle with 97. In general, the number and sheer viciousness of the suggested methods was in proportion to the amount of time each one spent with Henri.

Rob Freeman is the research station's underwater photographer and drone operator and the first, and only human, viewpoint character. Through him we see how the humans get along and how they react when the Sholen show up.

Our Showlen point of view comes from one of their two scientists, Tizhos, the subordinate in a race that focuses on consensus and achieves it via sexual contact. Through her we see signs of how their society works, using pheromones to calm and attract, as well as trying to subdue natural reactions, like anger and frustration, to maintain peace.

We're given two Ilmataran points of view, one through Broadtail, a scientist and landowner, and the other through Strongpincer, a bandit. This, and Broadtail's adventures, allows the reader to get a wider idea of the Ilmataran society.

The alien societies are quite fascinating, and distinct. Ironically, many of the problems that occur in the book are because each group expects that the aliens think and act the way they do - even when the person making this assumption knows better. So, for example, the humans' passive aggressive screaming and handcuffing tactic isn't understood by the Sholen, despite the humans thinking it's a universal form of protest.

While I didn't like all of the characters, I'm looking at you Richard Graves, there was a good variety of personalities and temperaments represented. Every character had their own motivations for what they did, and reacted differently to the various crises that occur.

The story was very interesting, with a lot going on all the time. And it's a stand-alone novel.

This is a fantastic debut.

Pros: great protagonist, interesting mystery, subtle romance

Cons:

Alexandrina Pendelbury is goddaughter of Queen Victoria and a member of Her Majesty's psychic service. On Christmas eve she's called in to do a Reading for a suicide, but the emotions surrounding the crime scene are strange, and the identity of the victim propels her into investigating a series of mysteries.

In many ways this book reminded me of Jaime Lee Moyer's book, Delia's Shadow. Though this one takes place further in the past and in England, rather than San Francisco, there's a similar feel to the books, with their minimalistic paranormal elements and light romances (The Hanged Man's being very subtle and unobtrusive).

I loved Alex. She's intelligent, no nonsense, and prefers fight to flight. Her difficult family relationships add a touch of sympathy and edginess to her character. She's not afraid of breaking the rules if it gets her closer to her end goal and she knows how to compartmentalize tragedy, dealing with it at appropriate times.

The mystery was entertaining and had several good twists, including the surprising inclusion of a rare paranormal creature that was a joy to see in a book again.

It's a quick read and the start of a new series that I will definitely be following.

Pros: fascinating interpretation, lots of endnotes and explanation

Cons: highly academic

The accusation that the Jews of the city of Norwich murdered the apprentice William in a mockery of the crucifixion, and the Life of St William that was later written, set the stage for similar accusations in the future, accusations that eventually saw Jews burned at the stake and expelled from the cities they called home.

This is a highly academic book that goes over a wide variety of background information (family trees, identities of various players - and their relations to others who may have had influence, the second crusade, the civil war between Stephen and Matilda, etc.). As Rose is using very limited sources with regards to the actual blood libel cases, there's a sometimes circuitous route from the background information to how it ties into the cases. It's quite a fascinating piece of deductive reasoning, putting minor clues together to form a cohesive and intelligent narrative, - even if it's admittedly based on numerous suppositions.

Rose is obviously aware of all of the scholarship that's been done on this topic and refutes a lot of theories. For example, there's the idea that all blood libel cases involved rioting and executions or expulsions, which may be the case for later centuries, but when the cases first appeared any negative consequences generally followed years later, and tended to have political and/or economic reasons behind them (from forcing the Jews to ransom themselves so their captor could pay bills to acquiring their land and assets). While a lot of Rose's conclusions are based on thin information, there's enough supporting evidence to show that - though they can't be proved conclusively -they are plausible.

Rose proves that the murdered children themselves (assuming there's even a body) are secondary to the economic and political concerns of those citing the accusation. Though nominated for sainthood the boys hardly ever appear in liturgical calendars, prayers, artwork, etc.

I found the earlier chapters very intense, and had to pay close attention in order to not get lost in the various strings being woven into the narrative. Later chapters (particularly the ones in part 2), were much more linear and easier to follow.

Some of the background information was fascinating in its own right, like the extreme financial cost of going on crusade, the raids done by both sides during the civil war and how knights forced churches and civilians to ransom themselves to pay the costs of war (and/or for booty).  It also brought out the financial problems some nobles and churches had, and how unpalatable some of the clients were from the point of view of the moneylenders (both Christian and Jewish).  

Though the book is highly academic, Rose gave enough background information to allow me - a relative newcomer to the case - to follow along easily. Not only that, the book revealed a lot about the state of research on these cases and how previous historians have interpreted the data. It's a fascinating history that examines numerous sides of the origins of the blood libel and how the story may have originally spread.

Pros: lots of action, variety of action, interesting world-building some tense & gritty scenes

Cons: black book information sometimes comes at convenient times, soldiers at the end of the book make some questionable decisions

Yuric Walshe is on an airship to visit the footprint his branch of Cerulean Holdings has in Ypsilanti Bloc as prelude to an urban renewal project. Decades ago a food borne plague wiped out large areas of the US. Most of the country recovered, but some areas slow to recover were walled off instead, and allowed to fester in a post-apocalyptic state. Mr. Walshe is looking at an illegal black book with data from one of his competitors and talking to his kids when the ship is attacked. Alice, his 20 year old daughter and protege, and Cody, his 11 year old son, make it to drop ships before its too late. When Alice comes to, she's alone in an extremely hostile environment. Through the black book she learns that the rival branch is not only responsible for the crash, they're using the event as an excuse to speed up the renewal, a process she's discovering is more violent and destructive than she believed.

The book focuses on Alice's journey through Ypsilanti Bloc with the two people who find her drop ship as she tries to leave, contact the outside world and/or find her brother. You really get a feel for her as a character, both her resilience and her surprising naivete. Despite the evidence in front of her and the constant testimony of those around her, Alice holds on to her beliefs about Ypsilanti Bloc and what the urban renewal project will do for the people in it. Only towards the end of the book does she accept that things aren't what she's always believed.

Basilio and Maya, the people who help Alice out, are very interesting characters. I didn't like Maya at first, as she fit the jealous angry woman stereotype, but the more you get to know her the more fleshed out her character becomes and the more understandable her actions - and reactions - are. I'm surprised at the lengths they end up going to to help Alice, but their relationship does develop as time goes by, making their actions realistic.

I was impressed at the variety of dangers Alice faced as she moved through the Bloc. It's an interesting post-apocalyptic setting within a modernized world. The Bloc itself has all the traditional dangers: cannibals, gangs, etc. and some of the scenes get pretty tense. There's a good balance between action and down town, keeping the novel fast paced and entertaining.

The world-building was well done, with a good set-up and chapter openings containing quotes from the outside world. This allows you to understand how the people from Alice's community feel about the Bloc, even as you see the Bloc itself first hand.

The black book was occasionally the source of much needed intelligence at the right time, which felt a bit contrived.

The ending was satisfying, though I felt that the soldiers were a little more inept than they should have been.

If you like post-apocalyptic fiction and a fast read, it's a great book.

Pros: believable and entertaining characters, believable action, romantic elements, female friendship, quick read

Cons: limited world building, repetitive

Kenna Swift's superhero father died when she was a child. Her mother is now a lead scientist for the heroes. To help keep her daughter safe, her mom created an illicit serum that gives her immunity to hero and villain powers. Kenna is working late in her mom's lab, copying notes and keeping track of her own unauthorized experiments to give herself superpowers when a group of villains attack. Their claims of looking for a kidnapped villain - supposedly held somewhere in the building and being tortured by heroes - sound crazy, until she does some investigating and discovers that the world isn't as black and white as she's always believed.

Kenna is a great protagonist. She's got some issues from seeing her dad die and feeling like she's powerless in a society of powered people. She resents the idea that she has to be protected - by her mother's serum and by the powered individuals around her - even as she realizes that those protections are necessary. Because this is such a quick read, and because she - realistically - dwells on those thoughts a lot (as her need for protection keeps coming up), they become a bit repetitious by the end of the book. She's very much a no nonsense woman, who speaks up for herself and uses her analytical abilities to keep calm in extreme circumstances and come up with plans for what to do next when things go wrong. She also takes responsibility for her actions and realizes that she's better off solving the problem and making amends than wallowing in pity. She's also, for the most part, quick on the uptake, which is such a pleasure to read, as it seems a lot of teen protagonists tend to miss important clues.

The romance elements were understated, with Kenna often realizing that the time and/or place wasn't right. It allowed things to develop more slowly and in the down time between action sequences.

It was great seeing a female friendship that was positive and showed how friends resolve things, even when one of them has betrayed a trust. And speaking of Rebel, I wondered if that was a nickname or her real name. If it was the latter, than her parents only have themselves to blame for her attitude.

The guys were pretty kickass, even if they did bicker and fight a lot. I was a bit surprised by why they thought Kenna needed so much protecting, considering their powers wouldn't save them from the dangers they faced, so how could they protect her from those dangers?

I was left with a lot of questions about the world that I hope the next book answers. There's very limited world building, and in some cases I think knowing more about the world would have been helpful. For example, there are hints that villains and heroes have different powers, which made me wonder if that's what decided a hero vs villain status. Similarly, I'd have liked to know more about the hero/villain tattoos, given one of the later scenes in the book shows there's more to them than I expected. Since Kenna's so immersed in the hero world it was a surprise later on for me to discover that apparently other normals don't even know super powered people exist. Which raised a lot of other questions about the world. It had no bearing on the plot, but was a piece of world building that probably should have been clearer earlier on.

While it was nice to find bad guys who don't explain their evil plot to the protagonists, it would have been nice if something of their motives had been explained. Similarly, I was surprised by Mr Malone's lack of concern for his children.

The plot - like Kenna's internal debates - got repetitive towards the end, so it's a good thing it was a quick read. It's easy to gloss over that when you're steamrolling through the book. A lot of things are left unresolved by the ending and I'm really looking forward to picking up the next volume.

Pros: interesting mystery, character development, minor romantic elements

Cons: only learn snippets of what's happened since book 1

Several years have passed since Eli Walker presented his recommendations with regards to the integration of gems (genetically modified humans) with the general human population. Gems are finding recognition despite lingering hesitation from the norms around them. They've had time to think about their futures, including marriage and children - something many gems know won't be possible without help due to their modifications. Bel'Natur is headed in new directions and wants Herran, a severely autistic gem,'s help with their project. The police are sent an anonymous tip that some of the locked up genestock isn't as secured as everyone thought. And Aryel Morningstar's foster father and siblings, Rhys and Gwen, are visiting London. Rhys, has a dangerous medical condition that knowing his genetype could help cure, but he and his twin were rescued from an experimental black lab, and all his gem enhanced efforts to uncover information about it have been unsuccessful.

The novel starts off slowly, reintroducing you to familiar characters and gradually adding in the new players for this book. Some characters (most notably Gabriel's family) are absent. It's not clear at first how much time has passed since the events of book 1, though you eventually figure out it's been 3 or 4 years. You don't learn much of what's happened in the meantime, mostly snippets, but you're left knowing that while some things have improved, others are taking longer.

The main plot threads start a few chapters into the book, giving you time to get grounded in the characters again before the police mystery begins, Rhys goes for testing and Herran starts his new job. The various plot lines converge at the ending, creating quite a few explosive reveals. You get to learn about Aryel's origins as well as some interesting things about Zavcka's past.

As weird as it sounds, considering her abrasive personality and the things she's done, I found myself feeling sorry for Zavcka in this book.

While Gwen indulges her first love, music, by way of meeting a popular gem musician, Rhys starts up an affair with one of Aryel's friends. It's a sweet affair, made serious at times due to Rhys' condition and his fears for the future.

While I would have liked to know more about what happened to some of the characters from the first book and what happened in the interim, this was a great book that once again delved into human psychology to show how various people react to new and challenging circumstances. There's the heartbreak of the couple who can't conceive, the norm who married a gem and faces ridicule from co-workers, adulation from music fans, revulsion from those who want a return to the way things were, and more. The various reactions all feel honest based on where different people come from and their circumstances. As with the first book, the POV is squarely with the gems and their sympathizers. It's a fantastic follow-up to Gemsigns and I can't wait to read the last book in the series.

The Ables by Jeremy Scott

Pros: highly unique pov, great cast of characters, dry sense of humour,

Cons: several small errors ruined immersion, some aspects of the story were hard to believe

For Parents: some swearing, some violence

The day before starting grade 7 at his new school in Freepoint city, Philip Sallinger's dad takes him aside for ‘the talk'. But it's not the sex talk Philip expected. He, his parents, and most of the people in their remote city, are superheroes, or as they call themselves, custodians. But Phillip's blindness creates an obstacle with regards to using his power, and he finds himself in the special education class with others who have physical and mental differences.

Along with his new friends, Phillip must overcome the prejudices of those around them, and help protect the city from a dangerous enemy.

The novel is told from Phillip's point of view and while much of the book includes visual clues to what's happening, there are a lot of auditory and other sensory descriptions as well. The book takes Phillip through a variety of challenging experiences and it's great watching him grow up, even if he does make a lot of mistakes.

The group of kids on the whole was excellently written.  They've each got a disability (two are blind, one's in a wheelchair, one has down syndrome, one has extreme asthma and one has ataxic cerebral palsy), but they've obviously learned to adapt and end up doing a large number of remarkable things throughout the book.  The author never forgets that certain things are more challenging for them, but also shows that those challenges are surmountable by determined individuals.

I really appreciated the book's dry sense of humour, especially Phillip and James's so called ‘blind humour'.

There were a number of problems with the novel, some of which are probably not things regular readers will notice or care about.

For example, we're told early on in a mini history lesson that a pre-Biblical group of superheroes, who faced off with a supervillain, called themselves “the Ables”. This made no sense to me. We're given the etymology for the use of the term ‘custodians', so it struck me as wrong that a late middle English word would be used to describe an ancient group (especially by themselves). Yes, you could argue that it's the modern translation of the word they would have used, but then why not use that word, or at least tell us that word? English didn't exist as a language when this group was alive, and it would have made the superhero world's history sound more authentic if an older word had been introduced with it, a la: “They called themselves ‘ipa', which is Aramaic for ‘having the means to accomplish a task'. We call them the Ables.”

Occasional imprecise use of language kicked me out of the narrative. By which I mean that something was implied in the text that's later explicitly refuted. There's a scene where something embarrassing happens and Phillip wakes up wondering what rumours would be circulating. The impression I got from the scene - from the language used - was that this was the next morning after the event happened, but a few pages later I learned that several weeks had passed. I was left wondering why he'd be worrying about rumours that he must have heard by now and were likely dying down by this point. Each time this happened I found myself rereading the earlier section to figure out if I'd read it properly and/or had missed something. On one occasion I realized that Phillip had assumed something that turned out to not be true, but on others the text really did contain a contradiction.

I also spotted a few minor continuity errors, but these didn't impact the story at all.

There were some aspects of the story that I didn't really believe. There's only been one death in a SuperSim over numerous years - despite the variety of powers on display and lack of training many of the kids apparently had - and that one death was caused by an inability to see? the SuperSim seems like the kind of activity that would, at the least, injure several people each year, regardless of how careful everyone tried to be. I was surprised that grade 7 students were allowed to participate at all, considering they were just gaining their powers and hadn't had much training yet. The kids in the book learn so much more about their powers outside of school than inside of it that I wondered what official superhero training they were receiving, beyond history lessons, that would even prepare them for the superhero life.

I thought that the fallout from Donnie's accident was overblown, considering his down syndrome had nothing to do with what happened, though this was pointed out by Phillip in the text.

Certain aspects of the plot were a little predictable, but on the whole the book went in directions I didn't expect, with the SuperSim and other actions.

Despite these issues, the writing for the most part was smooth and entertaining. There's a lot of variety in the action and the book is never boring. There are a few swear words used - in a realistic context - at the end of the book and minor violence a certain points in the book.

While I enjoyed the book, particularly the unique point of view and characters, the number of times I was jolted from the story due to small errors decreased my immersion. There's a lot to like here - especially protagonists not generally seen in fiction at all, let alone a superhero story, and I do recommend it. Just try not to read it, as I had to, with a critical bent.

Pros: plot centres on native american beliefs, realistic characters, interesting alien life forms, hard SF elements

Cons:

Descendants of the Hopitu-Shinumu Native Americans colonized Fifth World agreeing to terraform the planet for the Vilmir Foundation - what they call the Reed - in return for ownership of the world when it was fully habitable. But a rift has formed between those who live on the coast, trading with the Reed for technology and renouncing the backward ways of their forefathers, and those who live on the pueblos, the Traditionalists, keepers of the old ways and old religion. When three alien spaceships appear in orbit the coastal Tech Society believe this new technology could help them throw off the yoke of the Reed, assuming they can control it. Meanwhile, a traitor alerts the Reed to the presence of the ships, prompting them to send a group of colonial peacekeepers to secure the ships for themselves - or destroy them should they prove hostile.

Unknown to the colonist these are the alien ships that performed the original terraforming on the planet that made it possible for humans to eventually inhabit it, but the ships' very long lives have made their AIs unstable and they're unsure if allowing the invaders to inhabit this world is something their Makers would have approved. In an attempt to answer this question, one of the ships creates a clone to meet the inhabitants and see if they deserve life, of if the ships should wipe the planet clean.

The background for the plot is fairly complicated - and takes a few chapters to set up - after which the story itself is quite straightforward. I loved the world-building. The author's father worked on a Navajo reservation when Keyes was young, so he learned a lot of the stories and beliefs that are recounted in this novel. I found the stories of the Kuchina, the origin of the Hopi and the prophecy that sent their ancestors to this planet in search of a new home really interesting. I also loved how SandGreyGirl could both question and in some ways blindly believe the teachings of her youth. The complexity of the emotions examined by her and Tuchvala, concerning beliefs and how the world changes you, were believable. I also liked how inheritance passed through the female line, and how that changed gender dynamics. It was interesting to read how SandGreyGirl sometimes took female lovers because it reduced the chance that her partner was after her land and the pressures of marriage that relationships with men brought up.

I appreciated the variety of characters, some likeable and other less so. Everyone felt real, with understandable rationalizations for what they were doing, even the various antagonists. The only hesitation I had here was with how Sand and Tuchvala relate to each other at the end of the book.

You don't learn much about the Makers, the ones who built the ships, but what you do learn is quite interesting.

There are hard SF elements, though I don't know if all the physics were accurate. I appreciated that space travel took years and that time passed differently for those planet side.

I'd have loved a few historical notes in an afterward explaining what, if any, of the things Keyes attributes to the Hopi people were made up for the book (beyond the prophecy).

It was an interesting book that brought out some questions about the nature of belief and had a fair bit of action.

Pros: fascinating premise, interesting protagonists

Cons: limited plot

400 years ago the Blast wiped out most of humanity. Now everyone is born as twins. One child, the Alpha, is perfectly formed. Alphas teach that the second child, the Omega, is born of the poisons that haven't entirely dissipated from the Blast, thereby explaining their deformities: a missing limb, an extra eye, the inability to speak. Visions. The Omegas, unpleasant to look at and more prone to disease, are sent away, but kept in decent enough conditions because when one twin dies, so does the other.

Cassandra is a seer, a rare Omega with no distinguishing features but the ability to sense things about the world around her. Raised with her twin brother Zach longer than usual, due to her unblemished appearance, both their lives are impacted. Zach's fear of Omegas and the rejection of his peers causes him to have ambitions that will change the lives of Omegas everywhere, starting with Cass.

I find myself somewhat conflicted about this book. I really liked the premise surrounding the twins and the political and ethical questions regarding the treatment of the Omegas, but there's very little plot. Most of the book is about Cass running away from her brother. That's not to say that the book isn't interesting, the characters pass through a cross-section of the world, and it's a very interesting world.

While I liked Cass and Kip - a fellow hunted Omega - I didn't end up with the emotional connection to them that I expected given the character driven nature of this book.

I liked that Cass had the idea that Alphas and Omegas shouldn't be considered separate groups, especially given their death connection, but the few times she brings it up her idea is shot down by others. I recognize how hard changing such ingrained beliefs would be and kind of hoped to see the author tackle it by having Cass bring it up more often, wearing her compatriots down or finding new and more concrete ways of getting her views across to more people. I'm wondering if book 2 will deal more with this.

The book was enjoyable to read but left me wanting more from it than I got.

Pros: considerate treatment of several... delicate issues, wonderful depiction of a loving relationship, interesting plot

Cons: last of the series

Vincent receives word of his father's demise. His brother, the new Earl of Verbury, has suffered a recent accident and requests that Vincent go to Antigua to deal with affairs on their estate there and look for a possible updated will. Reluctantly Vincent and Jane take ship, where Jane becomes increasingly ill. It's soon apparent that she's with child. It's equally apparent, when they arrive on the island, that affairs on the plantation are not as they expected.

You'll want to refresh your memory of the events of the previous books, particularly book three, Without a Summer, before reading this one, as Vincent's family plays an important role and his childhood and other events from his past are revisited. Similarly, Jane's problems from the end of book two, Glamour in Glass, are brought up a lot with regards to her pregnancy.

Kowal writes with consideration about the treatment of the slaves on the plantation, showing Vincent and Jane's ignorance and reaction to what's going on, from disciplinary measures and substandard housing to the ever present threat of rape from their owners and overseers. There are a few scenes that are uncomfortable to read in the way that it's easier to look away than to face the realities of the past, even when delivered through fiction. This is equally true with regards to some of the difficulties Jane faces with her pregnancy.

It's such a pleasure seeing a loving marital relationship in a fantasy book depicted with such intimacy (by which I mean openness, not graphic content). The way they know each others habits and can understand their moods based on small gestures and noises is wonderful to see in print, as is their honest desire to help each other cope with the difficulties they face.

It's sad to see such a wonderful series end. I really enjoyed the touch of magic Kowal brought to the Regency period and can't wait to see what she does next.

Pros: excellent world-building, fun protagonist, quick read

Cons: ending felt rushed

This is the third volume of Isabella, Lady Trent's memoirs and deals with the 2 year research voyage she took on the RSS Basilik. With her she brings Tom, who accompanied her on previous journeys, her nine year old son, Jake, and his governess, Abby.

As with the other books in this series, this is a character driven fantasy novel, following the extraordinary adventures of a female dragon researcher from Scirland. While the previous books focused on one area for her excursions, this one covers several locations where she researches various types of dragons in an effort to create a proper taxonomy for the species.

I love the degree of detail Brennan adds to these book, particularly the background tidbits that don't strictly need to be there but show the amount of behind the scenes thought that goes into the stories. For example, it doesn't really matter to the story that this trip took 2 years or more to plan (besides aging the characters), but it acknowledges that such travel in the past was not only expensive but also difficult to arrange. I also appreciated the occasional bureaucratic, medical, and cultural problems they encountered.

The world expands greatly as the ship stops at numerous ports, sometimes leaving Isabella's group behind for a month or more to do research, sometimes carrying on immediately to the next location. Once again the world-building is excellent. It's possible at times to see what real world cultures she's adapting for her book, but each society is very different from the others and there's a wide variety of characters and customs that show up.

I'm not generally a fan of character driven fantasy but Isabella is such an interesting person that I race through these volumes. Part way through this book they encounter another researcher, who helps them out. Suhail was just as fun and interesting as Isabella, and I have my suspicions about his hidden last name.

While it's possible to read this volume on its own, there are several allusions to the events of the previous books, and a few spoilerish conversations.

The ending feels a little rushed. There's a climactic event, after which events are narrated rather quickly through the denouement. It works for the structure of a novel but would be somewhat unusual for the memoir this purports to be.

These are lighthearted books that don't take long to read and are accompanied by gorgeous illustrations by Todd Lockwood. It's a series I highly recommend.

Pros: excellent world-building, interesting and varied characters, political intrigue

Cons: less mystery, Seraphina misses some obvious connections

With the dragons fighting a civil war and Comonot living in exile in the palace, things in Goredd remain tense. When word of a possible half-dragon mind weapon is uncovered, Seraphina is sent to find the others from her ‘mind garden' and bring them back with her. She's also tasked with sending aid in the form of men and supplies from the southern states she'll be travelling through. But her task is hard and her allies few, especially when a powerful figure from her past reappears.

This is the sequel to Seraphina, a novel I thoroughly enjoyed. For those who read Seraphina a long time ago, there's a fantastic summary at the beginning going over all the important elements of the previous book. I really wish more series books would do this.

While Seraphina had elements of mystery and romance, Shadow Scale is more of a quest story, with Seraphina combing the world for others of her kind. I have to admit I missed the interplay between Seraphina and Kiggs, who stayed behind as she travelled. While I enjoyed the whole book (seeing how other lands functioned was really interesting), I liked the second half the best. Porphyry was really fun, especially their contempt for the more barbaric southlands, which put the protagonist in the position of being the uncouth foreigner. The second half is also when the villain's actions start to have real effects on the story.

There's a wide variety of characters, humans (from 4 distinct cultures), dragons, half-humans, quigutl (draconic cousins), as well as people from different statuses and belief structures. Another thing I loved about Porphyry was the complexity of its language - that it has six genders and seven cases and that “[y]ou use cosmic neuter for a stranger, ... And he's a stranger until you've asked, ‘How may I pronoun you?'” (p207). I love the idea that this culture allows people to choose their own gender and form of address, and that you ask people when you meet, how they prefer to be addressed.

As with the previous book Seraphina is forced to grow as a person. As her dearest wish becomes a nightmare, she's forced to make difficult decisions. There were a few times when she misses what seemed like obvious connections, but she's 16 and in some of those cases the final result wasn't quite what I'd expected either.

There's a decent amount of political intrigue. I loved that though Seraphina was travelling and time was obviously passing, her communications with Queen Glisselda reminded her - and the reader - that things were happening elsewhere in the world. While some action happens off page, there's enough on page to keep you invested in the story and the end of the book will have you flipping pages pretty fast to see how things are resolved. While the ending doesn't tie up everything, it's a satisfying conclusion to the duology.