Jessica Strider

Pros: fun, quirky characters, quick moving plot, historical tidbits added, good inclusion of a dark skinned supporting cast member that kept to historical conventions without being racist

Cons: the ending is too sudden (and too soon!)

For Parents: minor violence

Sophronia's antics have given cause for her to be sent to a finishing school. But what her proper mother doesn't realize is that Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy teaches more than just which spoon to use for soup. It also teaches skills in espionage. And Sophronia's first lesson comes when the carriage she and two fellow students are taking to the school is attacked by flywaymen looking for a prototype in the possession of one of the passengers...

The book is a fun romp, with quirky characters and a quick plot. The school is located in an unusual place that makes for a wonderful setting and the mischief Sophronia and her classmates get into trying to figure out what the prototype is and where it's been hidden, is great.

I was a bit concerned by the opening as Sophronia is VERY over the top, but the plot quickly requires it and she never got on my nerves. Nor did any of the other quirky characters.

It was impressive how the author added Phineas B. Crow, aka Soap, to the cast. Sophronia knows it's improper for her to associate with someone of a lower class - and a boy to boot, but she doesn't care about that, or the dark colour of his skin. She's simply curious about him and the world at large.

The ending came too suddenly, and much too soon, for me. I can't wait to see what other adventures Sophronia and her friends get up to.

Pros: very interesting premise, fun characters, partly set in Toronto

Cons: characters learn things remarkably fast (eg: new aspects of their powers), don't study the NYC attack to learn about the aliens, just try same techniques

When Jo Tanis, aka Surf, and her sidekick Metal Mike, are called by the Agency to help fight aliens over New York City they know something is wrong. First, they weren't scheduled for a fight today and second, A-List supers are dying. This isn't a staged fight but Jo heads out because defying the Agency would force Mike, who's also her Guardian, to detonate the bomb in the back of her neck.

One of the few survivors of the battle, Jo heads home to Toronto and forms an underground team of supers to take care of the aliens and stop the Agency's control of supers around the world.

The story is told from Jo's point of view, with occasional flashbacks to explain her relationship with Metal Mike. She's a feisty woman with the power to control electromagnetic waves, giving her the ability to fly and shoot lightning bolts.

The team she puts together is formed of those who answer her call for aid and consists of one villain who can melt things, a telepath, a guardian with inside Agency information and a guy who can control animals. It's impressive what the team accomplishes considering their powers aren't formidable. The animal talker especially surprised me, showing significantly more versatility than expected from such a ‘lame' power.

The characters have incompatible personalities, making for some fun dialogue and scenes. Their villain likes porn and coarse language, the telepath doesn't like crass behaviour. And Jo's stuck in the middle trying to make things work.

Jo's a strong character, who shows weaknesses at the appropriate times (ie, when her team can't see her break down). She's not given time to mourn the loss of those who die in the NYC attack and given little time to rest before getting right back out there. This made her feel genuine. She asks for help when she needs it but maintains control of the group through tough talk and leadership skills.

I loved the set-up that the superhero battles were all manufactured for TV, with the populace believing they're real. I can definitely see a government agency contacting people who develop superpowers and not giving them the chance to say no to joining the program. This also causes Jo problems as she has to explain to her former friends what happened to her, what the battles really were and why she couldn't contact them after her powers developed.

There's a minor romantic thread running through the book. I was afraid the author would take things too fast, given the events in Jo's recent past, but she didn't, which I was thankful for. I suspect the romance elements will be stronger in the second book of the series.

As for the problems the book has, the alien plot gets solved rather... easily all things considered. There are some good fight scenes, but the ultimate resolution is pretty cliche.

Jo, who had just started training how to carry someone when flying, manages to carry 4 people, without any practice. Her jump in skill is testament to her determination, but also felt somewhat fake given she's never managed to carry 1 person before, let alone more.

I'd expected them to research the NYC battle before facing the aliens again, trying to learn what the other supers did and what powers / defences the aliens have. Nope. They just ran back into battle with the aliens, trying a lot of the same things and hoping they'd work this time.

Ultimately, I loved seeing Toronto featured in a science fiction book and thought the story was a lot of fun, flaws notwithstanding.

Pros: tight storytelling, several interesting viewpoints, complex characters

Cons: no book one synopsis/reminders

A year as Emperor hasn't brought Sarmin or his empire peace. His army, under General Arigu at the command of the previous emperor, has attacked Fryth. In an attept to mitigate the army's evils, Sarmin invites a Fryth envoy to discuss peace between their nations.

Cuious about the gifts of concubines he has received, Sarmin sends the untouchable Grada to follow the slave caravans that train the women.

Meanwhile, Sarmin's mother is worried that his new child will force the death of her own newborn son and a kitchen slave hears more than she ought while avoiding a fellow slave who likes to beat her. And Mesema finds Sarmin turning away from her as a dangerous emptiness spreads from Beyon's tomb.

If you haven't read the first book, The Emperor's Knife, you'll definitely need to before picking this book up. And if you haven't read the first book recently, you'll want to reread or skim it as this book has no recap for those with poor memories.

The writing is tight with several interconnected plots running through the book, showing various viewpoints. The characters are all complex, with some unrepentant scoundrels as well as serious growth by Sarmin and his mother.

As with the first book I highly recommend this series. And the ending really has me wishing the third book were already out.

Pros: gritty, complex characters, intricate mystery

Cons: gritty

Juno Mozambe is a member of the Koba Office of Police, and like the chief, Paul, his former partner, and numerous other members of KOP, he's dirty. When Paul asks him to take a homicide case his trembling right hand and concerned wife remind him that his enforcer days are over. But this is an important case and Juno can't say no to Paul, even when Paul sticks him with a new partner, fresh from the academy Maggie Orzo. Something's going on that's even dirtier than the partnership between the chief of police and Koba's kingpin of crime, Ben Bandur, and Juno's got to prove it.

This is a noir SF set on a planet 15 light years from Earth. The planet's main export dried up years ago and now its economy is dead. The worldbuilding is quite good, with various slum neighbourhoods and the remnants of the plantation rich in crime free neighbourhoods. Most outside money comes from tourism, but even that's turned bad for the locals. It's the perfect setting for a crime novel, and the mix of races gives it flavour.

The grittiness is both a pro and a con for this book as it is the scene, but can become overbearing at times. The world is thoroughly depressing and it's unclear if the protagonist is doing the right thing.

Juno's dirty but he's also, somehow, a decent guy. His enforcer history is mentioned and towards the end of the book he denegrates back into the lifestyle somewhat, and yet, he's very sympathetic and likeable.

As is Maggie. I was impressed that the two of them end up working together so well and trusting each other despite his being dirty and her being a straight arrow. It's entirely realistic when she discovers that his way gets results that hers wouldn't, and so she starts letting things slide while still being optimistic about cleaning up the force in the future.

The case begins as fairly straight forward, but takes several turns as the pair discover just how much things are changing for the worse. It's very intricate with twists that are hard to predict.

This is a fantastic noir tale. If you like gritty SF, pick this up.

Pros: wide variety of dystopian worlds, protagonists of diverse races and sexual orientations

Cons: in several of the stories the characters are in lower class/servile roles to white people,

For Parents: no language, minimal violence, one story hints at sex but there are no descriptions, three of the stories have positive GLTBQ content

This is a great collection of stories. Not only do they feature people of colour in lead roles, there are also several positive portrayals of gay/lesbian teens in worlds where their choices are normal and accepted by those around them as such. Each of the dystopian worlds depicted is very different, with some ending with hope and others less optimistic. I was a little disappointed that a few of the stories cast their coloured protagonists in subservient roles, as I expected this anthology to give a more hopeful viewpoint regarding race in the future (much as it does do for its GLTBQ characters). But there's a lot to love about this collection, including the fact that a portion of the proceeds from the book are going to the Carl Brandon Society's Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund. If you or your kids are into dystopian fiction, this is a must for your bookshelf.

*** “The Last Day” by Ellen Oh - It's the 15th year of the war between the East and the West and two 12 year old boys are working to help provide for their families in rural Japan.This is a very powerful alternative history. If you've read Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse or seen the Studio Gibli film Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no Haka), you'll know where this story is headed.* “Freshee's Frogurt” by Daniel H. Wilson - A frozen yogurt worker gives a police report about the domestic robot that malfunctions and attacks him and his co-worker.

It's not mentioned in the collection, but this story comes from Wilson's Robopocalypse. I was unable to finish that novel due to inconsistencies between the frame stories and the narratives they're retelling. For example, this story is told after the fact, as a police report, yet for some reason the narrator is using present tense language which, I'll admit gives the story more immediacy, even though it makes no sense. At one point the narrator says, “Man, I hope he's out of it” after watching his co-worker get injured. The problem is, this happened sometime in the recent past, and no longer applies to where the narrator (or his co-worker) is now.

The story itself is well written, if designed to be part of a larger narrative.

*** “The Uncertainty Principle” by K. Tempest Bradford - Iliana can tell when a change is coming, but she's the only one afterwards who recognizes that the world is different.This story reminded me of Ursula K. Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven. The writing is great and the story interesting. The protagonist is feisty and proactive. The world-building is necessarily limited. I'd love to see this fleshed out as a novel, detailing what's changed as Iliana becomes old enough to know the history, etc. from previous timelines.** “Pattern Recognition” by Ken Liu - David and the other boys and girls at the Volpe Ness School are taught that the Outside world is a horrible, desolate place. Inside the compound, the kids work on pattern games during the day, even as he wonders more and more about the outside world.

This premise - of a school of kids kept separate from a post-apocalyptic world - has been explored in several teen novels (Eve by Anna Carey comes immediately to mind), but it's the ending of this story that makes it unique.

** “Gods of the Dimming Night” by Greg van Eekhout - It's the third winter without a summer in San Diego, and 17 year old Edward is out begging for work to help his family survive when he sees the flyer for a NorseCODE medical study that pays well.Interesting use of Norse mythology. I liked the author's definition of heroism at the end.* “Next Door” by Rahul Kanakia - Aakash's family squats in the garage of a family of strangers. But unlike most of the strangers who wear implants, this father and son are aware of the hoards of street people around them. When Aakash and his boyfriend see the son of his stranger family trying to break into the conservatory, they wonder if their dream of having their own pest free place to squat is finally within reach.

A very unique dystopian world, with gross overcrowding and a huge bedbug problem. Definitely not a world I'd want to live in. The story's a little bittersweet with an open ending.

* “Good Girl” by Malinda Lo - Kyle looks pureborn despite her mixed blood, allowing her to live above ground. She meets Nix in a basement leading to the tunnels to ask if her brother, who disappeared the previous year, lives there now, and finds something unexpected.Another bittersweet story about forbidden love and survival in dangerous circumstances. Well written but the ending's a little depressing.* “A Pocket Full of Dharma” by Paolo Bacigalupi - Wang Jun is a beggar boy in old Chengdu. When he's witness to a murder, he ends up with an object that men will kill - and die - for.

Kind of long, the story moves around a lot, with Wang meeting up with various people, trying to figure out what to do with the object. Very little is told about the interesting living architecture that is slowly growing over the city into luxury housing or the plague that crippled the boy. Still, it has its moments.

* “Blue Skies” by Cindy Pon - The unnamed narrator kidnaps a you girl for ransom. You, the haves, live in helmeted suits, with purified oxygen, water and food. This provides them longer lifespans than the rest of the human race. The story ends a bit abruptly, but I found the characters very interesting and the have/want conflict familiar, if taken to extremes.** “What Arms to Hold Us” by Rajan Khanna - Ravi drives a golly, a mechanical mining machine controlled via a crown powered by the mineral they're digging, primosite. But Ravi dreams of someday moving on from the mines, like his older brother.

Minimal world building doesn't detract from the emotional punch of this story or the hopeful ending.

** “Solitude” by Ursula K. Le Guin - Serenity's mother is a scientist who, when the inhabitants of Eleven-Soro prove to be enigmas to the previous Observers, decides to use her children as a means of learning how the society works. Growing up as one of the natives, Serenity has more of a connection to her new home than her mother's people.

This is a great story about learning from other cultures and accepting that one people's way of seeing the world isn't every people's way of doing so. It's a longer story and while it covers a lot of time, it's interesting for its characters and world building.

Pros: great characters, fast paced, honest chills, no romance

Cons: too short!

For Parents: no content

The real reason behind Jane's numerous brushes with death is too crazy for anyone but her fellow ‘creep sister' to believe. So when she starts hearing voices and seeing things - in addition to her already extreme sleepwalking and migranes - she only tells her friend Lexi what's really going on. Somehow, she's picked up a ghost. One who wants her dead, and is able to use her own shadow - and body - to kill her.

This is a brilliantly written teen novel. The chapters are short and punchy, making it very fast paced and quick to read. The characters are fully fleshed: Jane's parents who love their daughter and want to help but don't know how. Jane, who wants to explain but knows they won't believe her. Lexi, whose father left when she was young, and who makes dark films in order to understand the world.

The story is explained through quick flashbacks to Jane's various deaths, her friendship with Lexi and dealing with the present. There is a love interest, but it's kept low key and just barely factors into the plot.

The ghost is suitably terrifying, as is it's reasoning for wanting Jane. There is some adult creepiness involved with the ghost's past that comes into play with Jane's present, but it's passed over with limited details.

It's a great book for younger teens to adults who want a decent - but not gory or too terrifying - scare.

Pros: fascinating protagonist with very interesting life, great narrative style

Cons: some crass scenes, light world-building

The unnamed protagonist of Reposession Mambo (republished as Repo Men) is typing his memoirs on an old Underwood typewriter in an abandoned hotel. Once a level five repo man, charged with repossessing the artificial organs of those who stopped making payments, for the Credit Union (and others), he's now on the run, having his own artificial organ and unable to pay the extremely high interest rates.

Despite being character driven I never found my interest lagging. The protagonist's life is so interesting, from his 5 ex-wives, to his job as a repo man, to his time in the military and friendship with Jake, it's a non-stop adventure. He's a mix of contradictions. He's described by a therapist at one point as having a great capacity for love, but each of his ex's call him a bastard. He's not a cold hard killer, but has no problem ripping out someone's liver or heart, despite knowing the person's going to die because of his actions. There's a brief mention of him repossessing children's organs, but no description (for which I'm thankful). Perhaps the author realized that heading in that direction would destroy any sympathy the protagonist otherwise gains. And he does gain some. He's somehow a likable guy, despite the work he does.

The narrative is disjointed, jumping from time to time, keeping you on your toes trying to figure out what's happening and why he's now on the run. Within that jumbled framework, comes a fairly linear life story, from highschool through military life, joining the Credit Union and all his wives along the way. Even the present day story is fascinating, with everything he knows about repo men giving him a better chance at survival. The mystery of why he's on the run is quite compelling.

As for the negatives, the story is crass at times. His first wife's a prostitute and there's a lot of sex humour (though no eroticism or graphic descriptions). It's not on the level of, say, Porky's style humour, but it is highschool style crass humour at times. While I'm not a fan of that kind of writing, it did fit the book and character and wasn't overdone.

The world-building is very light. You're only told about what the protagonist finds interesting, namely his life. He's quite self-centered and focused in that respect. There's some information about how the organ shops got started and the high interest rates that keep people's names on his pink slips, but not as much about this new world as I'd have liked given the interesting premise of the book.

The ending... I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Again, it fit the story but I wasn't entirely satisfied by it. The character has a chance to grow as a person and things don't work out as you're expecting.

A decent amount of action and a fascinating crew of characters make up Repossession Mambo.

Pros: thought-provoking, characters are three dimensional, shows war for what it is

Cons: Southside people accept Nik's story too readily, some names are mentioned without context so when they're mentioned again it's hard to remember who the person was

For Parents: minor swearing, violence (not excessive, but it's a war situation, so: assassination, bombs, beatings, minor torture etc.), no sexual content

Seventeen year old Nik's brown skin marks him as a Southsider, though he's attended school on Cityside since he was 5. His intelligence has him earmarked for the Internal Security and Intelligence Services (ISIS), so no one understands why they pass on recuiting him. When the school is bombed he's suspected by ISIS of collaborating with the enemy. In an attempt to leave the city with friends from school, one of them is kidnapped by Southsiders and Nik and a girl team up to get him back. Knowing only the language and anti-Southside propoganda, the two have no idea what they're walking into.

The story focuses on their search for the boy in Southside. There are elements here that are hard to believe at first, as the two are obviously unaware of local customs and the girl's language skills are minimal (I'm calling her ‘the girl' to avoid spoiling the first 75 pages of the book more than necessary). Nik lands in a position where he's privy to sensitive information, something that's hard to credit given his refusal to give more than his name and place of origin (one real, the other a lie). When his high intelligence is revealed, the characters start to question how a barely educated teen (as would be the case if his story were true) broke encrypted codes and then just accept his information with only a little hesitation.

That issue aside though, the book is brilliant. The pacing is fast, though the characters don't know how to go about looking for the boy, enough is happening with regards to Southside politics that the book never drags. Soon enough the teens learn information of value and events spiral out of their control as they're drawn deeper into a faction war among the Southsiders.

The political manuverings and history of the war are interesting, though the history isn't dealt with in as much detail as this reviewer would have like. Higgins' world-building is solid, with a bloody past, religious rituals, class and economic troubles, etc. It's obvious she's considered aspects of society that are never fully mentioned, but season the story nonetheless.

The characters are all three dimensional, with often tragic pasts, reasons for their actions and motivations, and difficult decisions to make. Though the book is from Nik's point of view, there are several strong female characters, and several characters of colour (including him). Discussion of race doesn't come into the book much, beyond Nik's fitting in better - with regards to looks - on Southside than his companion. But it is somewhat problematic as Citysiders are described as being predominantly white, while Southsiders are mixed (easterners being white and southsiders being black). This reviewer would have liked learning more about where the Southsiders came from (it's explained that they're refugees coming up from the South and East but Nik doesn't know more than that). Instead, class distinction is used for the reason for the hostilities between Southside and Cityside. And when it comes to positions of power, men and women are treated equally - on both sides.

The only problem with the characters, beyond the Southsider's easy acceptance of Nik, was that a few of them, like Commander Vega, are occasionally referred to by their first names rather than their titles. It's realistic, but the extra names were hard to remember. Similarly there were a few times when a character was mentioned briefly by name and then mentioned again a few chapters later and it was hard to remember who they were referring to.

While many teen dystopian books take a sort of Stockholm syndrome approach, with the protagonist learning that their way is wrong and the other side's better, this one does something different, and more realistic. It shows how both sides in war use propoganda to control their people. It brings home how ideology, fanaticism and the belief in one's cause can blind people to the reality of war - that people are dying. War is horrifying and no amount of ‘an eye for an eye' will bring it to an end. The book is about how regular people - children even - get dragged into the fighting, as the war kills their loved ones, destroys their homes, limits food and medicine, and leaves them with nothing but ashes. It's about the choice every person in a war torn area makes, to continue the fighting in an attempt to utterly defeat the enemy or to try to work towards peace.

This theme, that both sides in a conflict can be evil, was used in Mockingjay (by Suzanne Collins). In that book, the rebel leadership is shown to be just a bad as the learders of Panem. Putting them in charge would not have changed anything but whose kids competed in the Hunger Games.

We're used to having one good side and one evil side when we think of war. The idea that both sides do evil things is something we prefer to hide and forget. Everyone knows that the Axis in World War II did horrible things. But how many attrocities did the Allies commit? There were internment camps, boats full of Jews turned back at North American ports, with nowhere left to go but back to Germany. There was rioting and rape. Horrific bombs were dropped not only on Hiroshima, but also on Nagasaki. This novel acknowledges that by the end of hostilities, neither side in war is ‘right', regardless of who started it and why. It's a bold position to take and the message of the book really hits home. War is evil and there has to be a better way.

It's a powerful, moving story. And this reviewer can't recommend it enough.

Pros: explains how to make several types of interactive cards, easy to follow step by step instructions

Cons: instructions and templates are separate, so you'll be doing a lot of page turning when making your cards

This book teaches how to make 6 types of pop-up cards in addition to sliders, flappers, spinners and cards that spring (the pop-up piece moves into view as the card opens). The instructions are fairly clear, but you'll want to keep them handy - at least the first time you try a new type of pop-up. Of the four cards I recreated, three turned out wonderfully. The fourth didn't, as I glued where I shouldn't have. So caution is necessary, as glue in the wrong place will ruin most of these designs.

The designs themselves are attractive. Printable colour templates for all the cards are available at the back of the book. There's a good range of occasions covered (Birthday, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Thank You and Wedding/Baby) and a decent number of examples for each technique taught.

My only complaints are that you have to flip through the book a lot as the basic lessons, card instructions and templates are all in different areas and that there are no ideas for the fronts of the cards, only the insides. Also, given the difficulty of some of the techniques, some of them are easier than others to modify. For example, using a car and garage slider card instead of the Penguin on an Ice Floe would be easy. You're not taught enough about the mechanics behind pop-ups to create your own free hand designs though.

Final verdict: the book teaches some great techniques and has enough variety and templates to keep you busy for a while.

The American Science Fiction collection, volume one, consists of 4 classic novels written from 1953 to 1956:

The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth
More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon
The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett
The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson

Pros: original book versions of the stories; biographical information, note on the texts and end notes for each story, diverse sub-genres represented, influencial stories and authors

Cons: some of the novels contain parts that modern readers may find boring

This is the first of a two book American Science Fiction collection. It's a hard bound book set of books that match others in the series. The four novels reprinted here are all by authors who have greatly impacted science fiction as we know it today. The novels themselves represent different subgenres: dystopic, evolutionary, post-apocalyptic and fantastical. [OK, I'm making some of these categories up, but each novel here has a different feel and used science fiction in a different way.]

The back of the collection has a number of good, short resources. There are biographical notes on each author, a note on the texts (what versions are printed here (as most of them first appeared in magazines)), and end notes. In addition to textual notes, the end notes also print an additional 3 chapters of Gravy Planet (renamed The Space Merchants) for its syndication in Galaxy magazine. They come after the events of The Space Merchants as printed in book form. There is also an introduction to The Shrinking Man writen by Richard Matheson for a 2001 printing of the book that explains where he got the idea for the story, where he wrote it and how it was turned into a movie.

If you're interested in the history of science fiction, this is a good collection, even if parts of the stories may be boring to those with modern sensibilities.

Also, check out the collection's website: loa.org/sciencefiction for commentary on all of the stories by modern SF writers, a cover gallery, an explanation of SF in the 50s and more.

Pros: good mystery, afterward explaining what's true and where he took liberties, lots of detail

Cons:

Damiata, once lover of Juan, Duke of Gandia, and mother of his illegitimate child, is accused by Pope Alexander VI (the duke's father) of aiding in his murder. In order to clear her name and reclaim her son she must uncover the true murderers. She is sent to Imola, where a recent string of murders has uncovered an amulet belonging to Juan and where the Pope's first born son, Cesare Borgia, Duke of Valentinois, is brokering a peace with the condottieri (mercenery fighters) Damiata is certain killed her lover.

Meanwhile, Imola is also home to the Florentine secretary Nicolo Machiavelli, who fears that Cesare's peace with the condottieri will mean the destruction of his beloved Florence. Joining forces with Damiata and Cesare's engineer general, Leonardo da Vinci, Machiavelli tries to solve the murders and make his study of human nature, that eventually lead to the writing of The Prince.

Ennis does a fantastic job of blending known history with his murder mystery. He makes certain assumptions regarding events and characterizations based on primary sources (which he discusses briefly in an afterward to the book so the reader has a better idea of what's true and what he fabricated for the novel).

The first part of the book is told by Damiata, with the rest by Machiavelli. As the characters get closer to discovering the identity of the murderer, Ennis manages to maintain a spirit of uncertainty, making it hard to guess who the real culpret is. This is helped by the number of likely suspects being investigated and the difficulty in performing the investigation.

There is a lot of good detail regarding the characters and the setting, especially with regards to Machiavelli's beliefs on human nature. There are also a few illustrations in the novel, showing scientific principles important to the plot and diagrams drawn by da Vinci.

I'd recommend this to fans of Umberto Eco (particularly The Name of the Rose) and Karen Maitland's Company of Liars.

Pros: fascinating and unique blend of technology, religion and magic; interesting and personable characters; subtle humour; self-contained novel; brilliant ending

Cons:

Tara Abernathy has been cast out by the Hidden Schools, but not before she graduated as a Craftswoman, able to use soulstuff to perform God-like tasks. She's hired by Ms. Kevarian of the firm of Kelethras, Albrecht, and Ao, to help with a delicate legal case.

In the city of Alt Coulumb the God, Kos Everburning, has died. Ms. Kevarian, hired by the clergy to oversee his resurrection, must contend against her former associate, and Tara's former professor and the reason she was kicked out of school, Alexander Donovo.

Helping the two women in their investigation of why Kos died, is the last person to see Him alive, Novice Technician Abelard.

This is a novel with a lot going on. There are several interconnected plots set up by various people for various reasons. They take place in a city that's a fascinating mix of technology, religion and magic. The city, for example, has trains and elevators that run off steam produced by Kos. The Craft is an attempt by humans to recreate the power of the Gods by using the stars and soulstuff, either their own or that stolen from others. Use of the Craft is centered around dealing with legal contracts regarding the use of the power of the Gods for different purposes (like powering elevators) and for raising the dead. But it can also be used for protection and myriad other things. It's never fully explained and while it has limits, the limits are not examined in much detail.

The book has been marketed as an urban fantasy novel, probably because it takes place in a city - though a fantasy one (a throwaway line in the book implies that this world is in an alternate dimension). But the tone, feel and use of magic are all traditional fantasy, if fantasy with a heavy mystery slant. The complex ending reminded me of James Knapp's Revivors books, with several seemingly unimportant details actually being crucial to the story. And for those looking for fantasy novels that aren't parts of giant series, this book is entirely self-contained. There's plenty of room for the author to continue the story, but readers get a finished plot arc in this volume.

Tara's a great character, strong but still learning and always looking for approval from her Boss. My only complaint with her is that she's quite smart and yet does something remarkably stupid at the beginning of the book. She hides the fact that she's a Craftswoman, but then uses craft in a major way that was bound to cause trouble for her. I liked that she was a dark-skinned character, though, beyond the occasional descriptions there was nothing that indicated she was different from the others (which could just be because this world doesn't have the same cultural/racial divisions our world has). It was nice to see a POC protagonist without being a stereotype of one kind or another. Tara was definitely her own woman.

All of the characters in this novel feel three dimensional. They each have failings, though Ms. Kevarian is more of an enigma than the others up to the end. I really liked Cat and her addiction, and how that played out in the novel at large.

I really enjoyed Gladstone's writing style, with its occasional bouts of subtle humour and subversion of expectations. Gladstone uses the occasional ‘big word', but if you don't have a dictionary handy (or don't want to look the words up) it's easy to understand the meanings from context.

This book is well worth reading for the plot and characters. It has one of the most brilliantly tied up endings I've read in quite some time. If you're looking for a different kind of fantasy, one with excellent world building and a complex mystery, here's your book.

Pros: parts 2 & 3 are brilliantly written with an interesting message, very diverse cast of characters

Cons: part 1 has several purposely obscure but important pieces of information, 1950s racial situations/terminology

Normally I write my own synopsis for books I review, but this book's quite complex so I've decided to grab one from the Indigo website instead:

From one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction comes a genre-bending novel that is as affectingly humane as it is speculatively daring.
There's Lone, who can make a man blow his own brains out just by looking at him. There's Janie, who moves things without touching them, and the unique power of the teleporting twins. There's Baby, who invented an antigravity engine while still in the cradle, and Gerry, who has everything it takes to run the world – except for a conscience. Separately, they are talented freaks. Together they compose a single organism that may represent the next step in evolution. As the protagonist of More Than Human struggle to find out whether they are meant to help humanity or destroy it, Theodore Sturgeon explores the questions of power and morality, individuality and belonging, with sophistication and lyricism rarely seen in science fiction.

This is the kind of book that makes me question my ‘if I'm not enjoying it, stop reading it' policy. The book is split into 3 parts, and I actively disliked part 1 while finding parts 2 and 3 brilliant. Had this not been a review book, I would have stopped reading in part 1, which would have been a shame. Part 1 introduces the decently large cast of very diverse characters including a mentally handicapped man, a baby that won't grow, two black girls, etc. It does this by jumping from person to person, often giving descriptions via characters who see the world... differently. Lone, for example, is mentally challenged and only towards the end of the section does he develop speech and anything close to a ‘normal' understanding of events. But his scenes are still written in an understandable way.

The author, however, purposefully obscured certain events in this part of the book making the reader guess what's going on. By the time you understand the situation, you have to go back and reevaluate what's happened. For example, there's a father who has secluded himself and his two daughters on a piece of land. It's easy to assume from things in the text that he's sexually abusing his oldest daughter. Or maybe he's just beating her to drive out her sexual awakening. Or maybe nothing abusive is happening at all besides the girls being locked up. Even after finishing the book I'm not sure which it was, though later events make me assume it's the second scenario.

The first section is set-up for the rest of the book, and the characters the author spends so much time introducing aren't as active in the other two parts (they're mentioned and shown in flashbacks in part 2 and only one of them shows up for any length of time in part 3, with the others having bit parts).

Modern readers will find a few scenes uncomfortable as 1950s racial prejudice is portrayed, including period terminology.

Parts 2 and 3 have a lot more suspense and drive behind them. While I felt like putting part 1 down and not picking it back up, parts 2 and 3 had me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. The writing was clear, linear and the author tantilized you with bits of the answer at a time.

The ending was great and worth pushing through the first section to get to.

Pros: creepy future, interesting politics/worldbuilding, great plot twists

Cons: protagonist is unlikable (as are most of the supporting characters), protagonist can't think past himself

Mitchell Courtenay is assigned as head of Fowler Schocken's new Venus Section: making the planet look appealing for colonization and subsequent subversion by their company. But this is a tough sell, not the least because of Venus's harsh atmosphere. To help, he gets on retainer the only man who's ever been there, Jack O'Shea, little person pilot and new to fame and fortune. The future overcrowded corporate run world has one main enemy - Consies (Conservationalists), whom Mitchell must deal with. Finally, he must convince his not quite wife to take him back.

This book details a very scary future, and given that it was written in 1953, a surprisingly relavent one. Corporations have nigh absolute power, and what little remains to governments can be easily bought. Advertisers like Fowler Schocken cash in on the art of persuasion, with a touch of a mildly addictive substance added to their products that force consumers to keep buying them.

The novel is told mostly from the priviledged POV of Mitchell, though we eventually learn how others live and are treated by the corporations that come to own them (in a form of indentured slavery).

The plot has several fantastic ups and downs to keep readers on their toes.

I wasn't a fan of Mitchell. He's fairly out of touch with the rest of the world (and how ‘consumers' live) to be sympathetic. Even at the end, when he's started to understand the larger picture, he's not particularly likable. Having said that, I did want to see him succeed at the end, his enemies being even more dispicable (if characters wore hats he'd be in gray while most of the others would be wearing black).

The supporting characters aren't that sympathetic either. Jack starts out as a great guy but quickly descends into - and is destroyed by - debauchery. Mitchell's not quite wife, a surgeon, has her own negative aspects that are revealed later in the book.

St Martin's Press recently published a revised 21st century edition of this book. Having read the original, it doesn't seem necessary to have updated it. The story still has relevance in its original form and packs quite a punch with regards to where humanity is potentially heading.

Pros: good writing, realistic extrapolation of the aftermath of a nuclear war

Cons: boring at times, Len becomes increasingly hard to relate to

Len and Esau are cousins growing up in the New Mennonite Community of Piper's Run a hundred years after the atomic war that destroyed the United States. The Thirtieth Ammendment states that no cities beyond a certain size are allowed to be built and the country has splintered into a variety of religious farmers and traders.

After witnessing a stoning, the boys realize their curiosity is peaked and they start dreaming of going to Bartorstown, a mythical city where old technology is still used.

Brackett is a good writer. Her descriptions are solid and her plotting is direct. The idea that a nuclear war would find religious zealots banning cities, in the hopes of avoiding such a thing in the future, is realistic (even more so for the early post-WWII world Brackett wrote this in, when fear of nuclear bombs was very high), as is the idea that many people would become Amish or Mennonite, learning from people who have always eschewed technology.

Having said that, if you like your post-apocalyptic fiction more Mad Max than Little House on the Prairie, like me, you'll find this book fairly boring. What technology there is, is obviously patterned off of 50s understanding. But it's so limited that it doesn't detract from the story.

Len's story arc, however, does. I liked him in the first two sections. He's young, idealistic, and unwilling to let go of his dreams regardless of how he's beaten and shamed. By the third segment I realized that he's also the kind of person who's always chasing a dream. He's never satisfied with where he is in life, because he's always sure it's better somewhere else. Only at the very end, when he finally decides as an adult what he wants out of life and what he believes in, does he stop waffling and settle.

This is the first thing by Beckett I've read. I wouldn't mind picking up something else by her, given the writing chops she shows in this book, but The Long Tomorrow isn't a book I'd read again.

Pros: fully realized dystopian world, thought provoking, interesting characters

Cons: problematic decisions by characters, black & white thinking

Justin was dying of cancer when he had himself cryogenically frozen in an abandoned mineshaft. Woken 300 years later into a new, and very different world, he realizes that he cannot abide the necessity to incorporate - allowing others to buy and sell parts of him as stock. He falls in love with his reanimation specialist - a serious moral crime, and is hounded by Hektor Sambianco on behalf of GCI - the reigning corporation - in whose facility he was reanimated.

This is a very slow read and a thought provoking one. The first 100-150 pages are all character development and world building, as set up for the events later on. Despite being a slow read, it is by no means a boring one. The background information necessary for this book is given in realistic ways, rather than info dumps (with one later exception), and delves more heavily into history and socio-economics than most dystopian novels.

The world is incredible. It's intricate in all the ways dystopian fiction usually isn't. Instead of using a corrupt government, the world is focused on corporations and people. Incorporation means that at birth every citizen has 100 000 shares. Parents get 20% and the government 5%. The rest of the person's value is theirs to barter for services, starting with their education. Saavy people can bargain for a better education at a smaller percentage of their future earnings. The flip side of the system is that shareholders can dictate where you work, audit you if you make decisions they don't like, and have a say in your life. People who want more control over their lives can buy back their own shares, gaining majority. As pointed out by several characters, this system has the effect of making you care for others you have stock in (and anyone can buy stock of anyone else provided they have the cash for it). You want to see those people succeed so their stock prices rise and you earn money from them. The downside, and where Justin's problem comes in, is the lack of personal freedoms associated with the system.

Equality between the sexes (or lack thereof) is never mentioned, but there are a few lines that indicates sexual orientations of all sorts are acceptable and, if the names are anything to go by (since physical descriptions are minimal) there's little to no racism.

One of the issues I had with the book was that, like the future of This Perfect Day by Ira Levin, I actually thought it was pretty good. There's still poverty (discussed/shown briefly later in the book), but the poor all have jobs and houses, are well fed and able to climb to greater things if they're lucky and/or work hard. It's an issue because the majority of the book consists of Justin bucking society to not only remain unincorporated, but, as he's pushed over and over again by Hektor Sambianco to incorporate, becomes an advocate of unincorporation and freedom for everyone. This decision creates problems Justin didn't foresee for the world around him.

While I hated Hektor Sambianco as a person, there were times when he was the only one to see the consequences of Justin's actions beforehand, making his own actions sometimes understandable. Having said that, he causes more problems than he solves by harrassing Justin. He views the world in very black and white terms, much as Justin himself does.

It's a fascinating novel, and a great addition to the dystopian oeuvre. If you're looking for action, look elsewhere. If you want a book that will make you think about the way the world works, then pick this up.

Pros: interesting premise, intense, sympathetic protagonist

Cons: no time for the reader to take in what's happening, the shrinking is offhandedly explained

Scott Carey fights for his life against a giant spider in the cellar of his house, imprisoned by his ever shrinking size. Between trying to find food and water in his dangerous world, he remembers the difficult road that brought him here, losing 1/7th of an inch each day.

Scott is an angry man. From the time his shrinking began he's raged against his ultimate fate, denying the reality of his situation, yelling at his wife and ignoring their daughter. He's also a scared man, dealing with the reality of his situation even as work becomes harder, medical bills mount and supporting his family becomes impossible.

He's a highly sympathetic character. While it's hard to like how he treats his wife in the flashbacks, it's also hard to deny that anyone would feel the same in similar circumstances. The novel explores his continuing sexual urges as well as his desire to be ‘a man' in a world that increasingly views him as a kid, then a doll, then nothing at all.

It's a pulse pounding novel. Whenever you think he's caught a break something goes wrong. Then several more things go wrong and you wonder how he keeps going on. Both the present scenes and back story are fraught with new perils he must face and, generally, escape. The intensity rarely lets up, as everything becomes a danger to him.

Having said that, there's no time for the reader to do more than hang on for the ride. A few times the author brings up more philosophical questions, but it's hard to contemplate life the universe and everything when you're running for your life, so the questions are asked and quickly forgotten as Scott gets on with living.

Readers who like solid science will be disappointed by the haphazard explanation of why Scott is shrinking.

At just over 200 pages, it's also a fairly short read, but detailed enough to give you insight into the characters and a wild ride.

It's a fantastic conclusion for this collection and an interesting read.

Pros: fantastic worldbuilding, several interwoven plots, interesting characters

Cons: little emotional punch, a few times character motivations are unclear

The newly healed former Hound Stormwolf is sent to the Shadowlands to proclaim the new High Prince to those living outside the Lands. He's set himself another task though, to see that his former Pack is also healed and given new lives.

Valory Martin is a human psychic with astonishing abilities, able to see the truth of people and things by touching them. Alejandro, long an inhabitant of the Shadowlands rescued her from the Collector and now considers it his duty to protect and help her. Though he trusts her ability to read truth, he doubts her assertions regarding Stormwolf and the truth of the Rider's message.

The Hunt is still abroad in the Shadowlands, feeding on the dra'aj of humans, an act that has, over time, created a group of humans who call themselves Outsiders. Without dra'aj of their own, these humans require the dra'aj of others and have created a system for aquiring it. A system that the new Hound attacks, and subsequent influx of needy humans, threatens to destroy. The leader of the Outsiders in Toronto, Nikolas, asks Valory and Alejandro to help them deal with the threat of the Hounds.

Meanwhile, the High Prince is caught up in the healing of the Lands, a task more time consuming and difficult than expected, when the Basilisk's followers refuse to yield.

A direct sequel to her first novel, Mirror Prince, Shadowlands will not disappoint those who have long awaited seeing what happened to the High Prince. While the book takes place primarily on Earth (the Shadowlands), enough happens in the Lands to satisfy curiosity of what Max and Cassandra did after the events of Mirror Prince.

Anyone who's forgotten what happened in Mirror Prince - or who hasn't read it - will find the first few chapters seemlessly include enough of the backstory, as well as the necessary terminology, to understand what's going on. Still, it is a direct sequel and readers will definitely get more out of this book, especially with regards to minor characters like Lightborn, if they've read the first book.

The world building is fantastic. Malan's attention to detail really brings the different settings to life. Many questions about the Hunt, the Horn and the Shadowlands are answered. It's shown that even with a High Prince and an attempt at more harmony between the races in the Lands (the People, the Solitaries and the Naturals), there is racism and subsequent tensions among the People (those we would call the ‘fairy folk'). Even without the Basilisk Prince's followers to contend with, issues between Wards (Sunward, Moonward and Starward) become problematic. It's easy to understand how humans, considered myths by many in the Lands, wouldn't rate any concern for the People struggling to put their own world to rights.

Valory's power is really interesting, and Malan makes sure her protagonist is no Mary Sue. She's learned to keep secrets (since no one can keep them from her) and suffers upon entering the Lands, which limits her usefulness to her companions, and her options.

The other characters are equally compelling, with both good and bad traits and their own motivations for their actions. A few times, generally with minor characters, the motives of the characters are left unclear (like Nik's waffling on whether Alejandro's help is necessary). And though I liked most of the characters, I didn't feel a deep connection with any of them, making several deaths less dramatic - and impactful - than I like.

This is a worthy successor to Mirror Prince, with a series of interconnecting plot threads weaving through the Lands and Shadowlands and ending with a conclusion that ties most things together neatly while still leaving room for another novel.

Pros: amazing world-building, fast-paced, tightly plotted, interesting protagonist, subtle underlying humour

Cons: some situations are hard to believe given the circumstances

“Dear You,

The body you are wearing used to be mine.”

When Myfanwy Thomas wakes up in the rain, surrounded by bodies wearing latex gloves, she has no idea what her name is or how to pronounce it (it rhymes with Tiffany). The two letters in her coat pocket reveal both her identity and a choice: run or stay. A second attack convinces her that running away isn't an option so she decides to impersonate Thomas, a high ranking official in a secret British government organization (the Checquy) that deals with supernatural threats. Despite copious letters left by her ‘predecessor' this is no easy task, made harder by the knowledge that one of her high ranking compatriots was behind the attacks on her and a traitor to the realm.

This is not The Bourne Identity for sf/urban fantasy fans. As a Rook, Myfanwy is in charge of the workings of the Checquy officers in Britain. She has meetings with various people and makes sure the realm is secure by covering things up and reporting them to the appropriate people. Her counterpart, Rook Gestalt, usually handles the field work side of things while she does the desk work. And she's very good at desk work. As the book progresses, the action picks up as Myfanwy is forced to attend to some of the field work, something her predecessor was ill suited for, but which the new Myfanwy is surprisingly adept at.

As a character Myfanwy is fascinating. She's learning about her former self while no longer being that person. She's more direct, more assertive and less willing to leave certain things to underlings. She's also more willing to use her own special abilities. You realize after a while that she's quite different from who she used to be, making it bizarre how few people comment on the change. It also makes for several ridiculous conversations where she's fishing for information she should already know. Sometimes this is commented on in the novel, a few times it is not.

The world-building is excellent. The author gives a lot of information via letters from Thomas, but they're written with dialogue and description, so the book never feels stilted. And while many of the letters are interspersed when specific information is needed, at times the letters are used to enhance the tension, by explaining a necessary side story while the main story builds up to an action sequence. The world of the Checquy is complex, with a school for children with special abilities, a complex hierarchy of the court and pawns, ‘normals' who act as servants and compatriots but who can't rise to levels of power, an American office, etc. Learning about the world is almost as much fun as trying to figure out who the traitor is.

The author is aware of how ludicrous some of the powers and emergency situations are and often makes subtle jokes. When talking about Bath we learn,

“According to Thomas the city had once been a veritable hotbed of manifestations, with every sorcerer, bunyip, golem, goblin, pict, pixie, demon, thylacine, gorgon, moron, cult, scum, mummy, rummy, groke, sphinx, minx, muse, flagellant, diva, reaver, weaver, reaper, scabbarder, scabmettler,... [the list continues for several lines] ogre, cat in shoes, dog in a hat, psychic and psychotic seemingly having decided that this was the hot spot to visit.”

The book is surprisingly fast paced given the partial narrative writing style. There's a fair amount of tension and enough action to keep things interesting.

If you like mysteries and intricate world-building, pick this up.

This is a short story collection dealing with two things: overweight women and fantastical locations. Aside from those criteria, the collection is quite diverse. The stories are a mix of fantasy and science fiction, in some the women are comfortable with their weight, in others they aren't. The stories that take place on earth are situated all over (Guatamala, Australia, New York City), and though most of the authors are American, there are several from other countries as well. The quality of stories is quite high, and in all cases the women are sympathetic protagonists. Ultimately this collection showcases a great variety of plus sized women.

*** “La Gorda and the City of Silver” by Sabrina Vourvoulias - La Gorda, The Fat One, was born into a wrestling family but told she could never enter the ring. She makes the Guatamalan streets of City of Silver her ring, wearing a mask and making the streets safe for women and girls until a masked menace comes.This is a touching story of wanting to be more than you are, and more than society allows you to be. It's about heroes and sacrifice. It's not really a science fiction story (as no one has superpowers), but it is a well written story. ** “The Tradeoff” by Lauren C. Teffeau - Commander Clarinda Hilliard is on a mission to begin the terraforming process on Caldwell, an ice planet. In order to work long hours in the cold, her and the other members of her team must bulk up. She's left very uncomfortable in her new body.

The examination of a woman who's become fat, if on purpose, is interesting. Many women are uncomfortable with their bodies, so it's a story with realistic underpinings and an interesting look at food rationing in the future.

* “Cartography, and the Death of Shoes” by A. J. Fitzwater - A city woman whose size belies how much walking she does and how many shoes she goes through, tries to find the cobbler shop she remembers as a child where she got a perfect, lasting pair of shoes.The author puts a fun spin on an old trope though I wasn't a fan of the rather unusal second person singular the story was written in.** “Survivor” by Josh Roseman - Overweight Wen Irons is the only survivor when her graduation party shuttle crash lands on Sidqiel. She's told by a Sergeant on the nearest space station that she must walk 35 kilometers to an old research substation on the planet before sunrise 7 hours away or she will be killed by the radiation.

A great story about persevering under pressure, both physical and mental.

** “The Right Stuffed” by Brian Jungwiwattanaporn - Two large women are hired for what they're told will be secretarial positions, but turn out to be something else.This story deals with a digital world and utilizes its protagonists in an interesting way.* “Tangwystl the Unwanted” by Katherine Elmer - It begins with a princess stuck in a tower, but if you think this is a retelling of Repunzel, think again. Elmer combines several fairy tale motifs to create a new story, about a young woman fed daily fairy cakes with no room to exercise.This is a fun story that has the dependence on 3s so prevalent in fairy tales. Tanny's a great character who never learned that being large is a problem and so merely considers it objectively as her situation changes.** “Flesh Of My Flesh” by Bonnie Ferrante - Alina's not thrilled to learn her fiancee is en route to the distant alien planet where she provides translation He's controlling and she's learned to love her new home.

Creepy story and quite short.

* “How Do You Want To Die?” by Rick Silva - A group of captured soldiers escape the desert city of Ahman and run into a sand storm. Their leader, Donna Stone, contemplates how she'd like to die. This is an atmospheric story. The author packs a lot of character detail into Donna, considering the setting and length.* “Nemesis” by Nicole Prestin - When Flux, a size 14 soccor mom who can manipulate molecules (think Kitty Pride of the X-Men), joins Liberty Force, she's dismayed by the attitude of one of her teammates and the press about her size. She quickly proves that intelligence and skill are what make a superhero.This is the only story in the collection to have typos. Most notably, the team is called Liberty Force five times and Omega Force three. That aside, it's a brilliant story, the type that makes you want to cheer for the heroine who's completely comfortable with who she is and won't take grief from anyone or change herself to meet others' standards.* “Davy” by Anna Dickinson - The unnamed narrator of the story suffers from post-partem depression and excessive weight gain. In an attempt to help his despondent wife, her husband buys a painting. All is not well when the wife starts seeing grey, elf like figures emerge from it.Another creepy story with antecedents in old folk and fairytales.* “Sharks & Seals” by Jennifer Brozek - Corelli, a member of the First Circle of the Order of the Sacred Eye, is asked to a meeting with the leader of the Children of Anu.

This story felt like a prologue or first chapter to a novel. While it was self-contained, as I reader I was left wanting more.

* “Marilee and the S.O.B” by Barbara Kransoff - Marilee's hobby when depressed is to follow interesting looking people and see where she ends up. Her latest target is an overly good looking boy on the subway.An interesting premise, with a classical ending.** “Blueprints” by Anna Caro - The unnamed narrator of this dying earth story wants desperately to travel to Terra Nova, a beautiful, unpoluted planet. But people above a certain weight are denied transport on the grounds of health.

An interesting look at getting what you wish for versus knowing what you want.

***** “Lift” by Pete Alberti - Teenaged Mary Beth determines to build her own spaceship after friends tell her she's too fat to ride in theirs.

A great story about hard work and effort paying off in the end. And that some friends aren't worth keeping.

Ultimately I was happy with this collection. I would have liked more stories where the protagonists were not bullied/teased about their weight or where they were content with their weight despite outside criticism. However, the collection does pack a lot of realistic emotions into its stories, exploring a number of different personalities and situations.

Want some great stories with a character set that's usually ignored (as far as being the protagonist is concerned)? Then pick this collection up.

Pros: unique, diverse cast, interesting world and politics

Cons: limited description, slow beginning

Nyx used to be a Bel Dame, a government sponsored assassin sent after deserters from the war with Chenja. But after a bad job she's stripped of her membership and left doing dirty mercenery work. Her team consists of misfits escaping one thing or another: a Ras Tiegan communications man, a Mhorian shape shifter, a gun loving local (poached from a former boss) and a Chenjan draft dodger, whose magical abilities of controlling bugs are limited. When they're offered a well paying - but dangerous job, Nyx takes it, not realizing it would pit her against the toughest, most dangerous women in Nasheen.

Described by the author as being a book about “Bugs. Blood. Brutal women.” and “bugpunk at it's best” this was a... unique read. Heavily influenced by middle eastern culture, the book takes place on a planet colonized by several groups of people, all followers of the book. Each group interprets the book differently though, which has led to a centuries long war among the Nasheenians and the Chenjans. The politics, both between the nations and within Nasheen (where most of the book takes place) are fascinating.

The characters themselves are interesting, each having their own reasons why they've left their homelands to live in Nasheen, and why they're working for Nyx. There's a good balance between action and development, so you get the chance to really know what motivates each of her team members.

I would have appreciated more description and deeper world building. I had to look up what a burnous was (a long cloak with a hood that everyone in the book wears) as there was no proper description of it (I got that it was worn over clothing and had a hood and pockets, but didn't know it was a cloak rather than a jacket). Neither bug magic nor bug tech are explained at all, nor how this planet develped them. The same goes for shape shifters, who you learn were created, but not why or how (though this didn't play into the novel as much as the bug magic and tech so I can understand why the author wouldn't want to focus on it).

I also found the opening a bit slow. Not in terms of action (there's a LOT of action), but in terms of plot. The opening scenes set up things for later, but you don't realize that until you're several chapters into the book.

There's a lot of violence, and a fair amount of gore (several people are tortured and replacing body parts is one of a magician's talents, which gets used a lot in this book).

If you're looking for something very different from what's out there and like kick-ass women, you've found it. If you've got a weak stomach, look elsewhere.

Pros: : clear, concise writing, hard SF, relatable protagonists, interesting worldbuilding, exposition was limited and was worked into the story

Cons: We've already passed the book's future.

Reviewer's Note: This review is of the author's preferred edition of Forever War, published in 1997.

Forever War follows the military career of draftee William Mandella after aliens attack an Earth space ship outside a collapsar jump. Collapsar's allow long range space travel, and Earth refuses to give up the use of them. The best minds, both male and female, are drafted to fight this exhorbantly expensive war the rest of Earth must pay for. But as the years pass on Earth due to special relativity, and only months pass for the soldiers who survive combat, Mandella starts to wonder if he'll recognize home when his tour is over.

Forever War does for Vietnam in science fictional terms what Alexander Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich did for the Russian gulag: allow regular people to experience it. Mandella's career is exceptional, as the author uses him to explore all aspects of the war, from training on earth and Charon, to witnessing combat, returning home and realizing he no longer belongs, reinlisting, getting medical treatment, becoming an officer, and more. Through his eyes we experience fear, love, PTSD (in minor ways) and more.

The novel packs an emotional punch and covers an amazing amount of information, given it's size. Haldeman's prose is clear and concise, a pleasure to read.

As the war progresses over the centuries, Haldeman occasionally explains how the Earth has changed to face the circumstances. The most detailed of these passages comes when Mandella's first tour ends, 2 and 27 years after he enlisted. Earth is a cross between Harry Harrison's Make Room, Make Room and the later part of Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower. In other words, Earth is overcrowded and violent. His exploration into sexuality as it pertains to population control is interesting, espcially considering the current controversies over gay marriage. For a book that's 38 years old, it's surprisingly relevant.

This is a hard SF story, meaning the planetery battles are short while the battles in space are long and drawn out with very little action. Mandella's a physicist, so most of the info dumps are via conversations he has with others, where he either explains the scientific concept, or has new concepts discovered while he was on a mission explained to him. Like the rest of the writing, these passages are short, to the point and integrated properly into the story. This reviewer has limited physics knowledge and had no problem following the novel, even though most of the science went over her head.

The only ‘complaint' with the book is that it's dated. Meaning, the aliens attack in 1996, which obviously didn't happen. This is very easy to overlook and shouldn't detract from anyone's enjoyment of the book. There's some talk of hippies, but none of the sexism the word ‘dated' tends to imply when it comes to older science fiction stories. In fact, this is a remarkably feminist work, with women and men treated equally in the army (though more men then women end up in positions of command as far as Mandella's experience is concerned).

If you haven't read this yet, you should. And if you're hesitant to read hard SF, this is a good introduction to the subgenre.

Pros: unique plot, complex characters

Cons: most of the book centers around the gangs, lots of violence, no deeper meaning

For Parents: there is a lot of violence in this book, all detailed (maimings, killings, gang warfare), some drug use, some swearing, no sex (though there's mention of a rape)

David is dreading the first day of school. It's been several months since his mother died and he quit the football team, but he just learned that his girlfriend is cheating on him with Sam, a violent football player, and pounded Sam's face in at a recent party. His younger epileptic brother, Will, is also nervous. It's his first day of highschool.

Neither of them could have expected the day they had. When the East wing is bombed and soldiers close off the school no one understands why their lives have irrevocably changed. As the students band together into gangs, David and Will are shunned due to David's actions. He vows to keep them alive, through food drops, Will's epileptic seisures and the horrors the school has become.

Unlike the Hunger Games, there's no underlying message here. The book is violent and makes no attempt to mitigate that or teach anything. I was expecting the book to center on survival, instead it was more about gang warfare and a romance between the brothers and a girl they're both attracted to.

I did appreciate the complexity of the characters. Even the kids we're told to root for have negative traits and do things wrong. Similarly, the ‘bad guys' are occasionally sympathetic. This kept all the students feeling real, and made the book more relatable.

While the premise of kids being quarantined in a school was interesting, it wasn't interesting enough to hold me for a novel of this lengh. And I couldn't understand why they were cut off from the world via telephones and internet. Surely the parents of the kids would want to make sure their own sons and daughters were still alive. Not to mention the violence in the school might have been lessened had the kids understood earlier what was happening and/or had more outside contact and more assurance that they'd eventually be able to leave the school and live.

Readers who enjoyed the Maze Runner or Michael Grant's Gone series will see similarities (lack of adults, violence, gang mentality), and will likely enjoy this book a lot. Readers who want a deeper, more thought provoking read should look elsewhere.

Pros: covers a LOT of movies, lots of cross-referencing, lots of interesting information about the films, directors, actors and DVD extras, spoiler warnings

Cons: limited commentary on famous films, mentions a lot of personal stories

Claws and Saucers: Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film 1902-1982 is a 680 page self-published movie guide covering a huge number of films.

Unlike most books, I did not read this through cover to cover. After reading the introduction and the interesting films by decade feature, I started by reading reviews of films I've seen to get an idea of how the author approaches reviews and how my tastes/opinions matched his. After that, I randomly flipped through the book and came away with so many movie suggestions I was afraid I'd miss interesting films, and so started at the beginning. I then read reviews at random throughout the whole book. And created a large list of movies to watch and short stories to read.

The book covers a LOT of movies. There are over 1500 entries. The author mentions a few adventure films (like the 1932 The Most Dangerous Game) but not Disney films, James Bond films or others that stray too far from the genre lines. He gives a good explanation of what is in and out of the book at the beginning.

The author defers commentary on famous films, assuming the reader knows something about them, or is willing to look elsewhere for information if he/she doesn't. Instead, for those films he often give stories - when he first saw the film, how he felt about it then vs now. For example, with Jaws he gives some facts about great white sharks.

In other cases, the information he gives is fantastic. For example, King Kong. He sets the film in its place historically, critiques it with regards to other works (the score, the special effects), mentions the features worth watching on the bonus DVD, facts about the director, etc.. He also mentions when the movie is based on or has a connection to a short story (like Aliens' connection to the short story “The Black Destroyer” by A. E. Van Vogt), or comics that would appeal to people who like particular movies.

Despite the negatives, the book is fantastic value given all the movies it mentions.

Pros: lots of intrigue, complex characters, fantastic world building

Cons: characters make disappointing choices

Otah Machi, sixth son of the Khai Machi, gives up his chance to become a poet and leaves the training school he was sent to without a brand, in order to make his own way in life. Years later, one of Otah's pupils, Maati, comes to Saraykeht to apprentice with its poet. Poets keep Andat, spirits made flesh who perform particular tasks. Saraykeht's Andat, Seedless, helps with the cotton trade. The Andat does not wish to be a slave and has plotted to bring his poet down.

Otah has built a new life for himself in Saraykeht, with a powerful trading house and a woman he loves. But everything changes when the overseer of the house finds out about Seedless's plot.

This is a very complex book. There are plots within plots and it's hard to know what will happen next. I loved all of the characters. Each one felt like a real person, with problems and strengths. In fact, when Maati makes a decision that would normally have angered me, in this book, it worked. I felt sorry for the characters involved and understood their complicated emotions when things went wrong.

The world also felt real. Abraham created a complex vocabulary of hand gestures meant to explain one person's rank in relation to another's, to ask questions, to give thanks. There's a flourishing bath culture for escaping the heat of the day as well as for doing business and learning gossip. The court ceremony and trade bureaucracy are intricate and time intensive. Though the greater politics between nations is only touched on in this volume, I expect it to show up more in later books.

Seeing the characters as real people made the ending difficult as I didn't like some of the choices they ultimately made. The good thing about having a two in one volume is that it's natural to keep reading, where I might otherwise have stopped, having enjoyed the book but not being sure I want to learn what happens next (as I suspect it will be bad).