Jessica Strider

Pros: great romance, optimistic, inclusive

Cons: tenses changes often bumped me out of the story

A year after successfully using the godsgem to defeat the Old God, the seven questers returned to their lives. Sir Erris Quicksword married the King. Mage Ladros took the gem to the Mage Keep in case it's needed again. Their thief, Olsa Rhetsdaughter paid off her debt but keeps getting picked up by the guards for thievery, which is becoming a problem as the king can no longer intercede on her behalf. Her lover, the apprentice knight Kalanthe Ironheart has also interceded several times, but her own problems - finding a rich husband before she's knighted and her own debts come due - can no longer be ignored.

This is the story of what happens after the quest is over.

The novel alternates between scenes from the quest - which detail the quest itself and the burgeoning romance between Olsa and Kalanthe - and what's happening in the present. Oddly, the present scenes are written in the past tense third person viewpoint whereas the past scenes are told from a first person present tense from either Olsa or Kalanthe's point of view. On the one hand, this makes it very clear what period you're in, on the other hand, it can be jarring going from one tense to the other.

I loved the characters. Seeing five female knights on a quest was great, especially when one was asexual and another was transgender. The romance between Olsa and Kalanthe developed organically in the flashback scenes and you can see them trying to come to terms with their choices - imposed and desired - in the present and how their circumstances and pride cause problems.

It was refreshing to read a quest story that shows how characters move on from the disruption to their lives and one that's so unabashedly positive. There's no shame around sex (or any of the pairings - all of which happen off screen, there's no graphic content here), nor is race an issue (several characters have dark skin, and among them different hair care is required). There is a desert dweller who faces ridicule due to her background by side characters, but the questers accept her without question.

This is a fantastic standalone novel, perfect for the YA crowd and adults looking for more optimistic stories.

Pros: thought-provoking, interesting characters, good social commentary

Cons: lots of adult content

In a future America, the hit reality TV show is Vigilance, where active shooters are sent into unprepared locations to see if the people there have what it takes to survive.

This novella is told through the perspectives of two people. First is John McDean, a marketing man and head of Vigilance's production team. The second is Delyna, a bartender whose patrons are hyped to watch the next episode of their favourite show.

Don't pick this up if you don't want to read the following: mass shootings, excessive swearing, and masturbation. While not as violent and profane as some books (possibly due to its shorter length), there's a lot of adult content here.

What's also here is some actual reasons behind why such a show is popular and what that says about the people who would watch it. Murder as reality TV (or just people being hunted for sport) isn't new in the SF field. But quite often the violence is left unexamined. Yes, there's often a vague hand wave to the fact that it's a form of oppression, but Battle Royale is one of the few stories I can point to (and I've read/seen quite a few of these in long and short form) that actually posits a reason for why such a show is put on in the first place (though Battle Royale had a very different reason for it than Vigilance). Not only does Vigilance make you think about the story and society in general (especially today's gun culture in the US and all of its mass shootings), it works to make the violence in the story - which could otherwise be gratuitous - deeply uncomfortable and horrifying instead of entertaining. These aren't characters in a book fingering their guns. These are your neighbours, your friends, your family members.

Delyna's got some great scenes, especially once the TV show starts. Her story is where the social commentary really shines, in several ways.

It's short enough to read in one sitting, but will stick with you long after.

Pros: very feisty women, lots of history, clever integration of the hellbeast

Cons: writing was a little dry at times

When her revenant husband returns to the besieged city of Bruges and reveals he's hidden a fortune, Margriet de Vos demands her rights: a third of that wealth belongs to her, the rest to their daughter. Her husband now serves the Chatelaine of Hell, and intends to give her this gold. But Margriet won't be deterred. Neither war, the King of France, nor Hell itself will keep her from getting her due.

Meanwhile, Claude a transgender man-at-arms and former guest of the Hellbeast also wants the de Vos treasure, or rather, a mace he unwisely sold to Margriet's husband and now needs back.

The story is mostly told from Margriet's point of view, though there are a few scenes from her daughter and Claude's viewpoints as well. Margriet is very feisty, willing to fight over a sou if she feels she's owed it. Her daughter's much kinder but has little agency, as her mother's overprotective and often overbearing. Margriet supported the family by working as a wet nurse, which isn't something that comes up often, though historically it was a common thing. It was also nice seeing a middle aged woman as the protagonist, especially one who is near-sighted in an age where glasses can only be afforded by the elite.

Claude was a great character. It's awesome to see often overlooked people in history and, while misgendered through a good part of the story, the author always maintains his understanding of who he really is. Though they were short scenes, I really enjoyed the revelations regarding aspects of womanhood he's missed (like breast binding) and how he survived in a soldier's camp.

The author cleverly integrated her mythological aspects into actual history. At the end of the book she cites a Flemish painting that was her inspiration for the book, and it added an entire new layer to the story itself.

The writing can be a bit dry at times, in that it's not a particularly fast paced or adventurous tale. There's a lot of sitting around and talking or walking between cities.

If you like medieval history or want a historical fantasy that's different from the norm, this is an interesting read.

Pros: great depiction of trauma, compelling story, interesting characters

Cons: not sure I believe the ending

Acting Commander Catherine Wells is the sole survivor of the presumed lost Sagittarius mission to TRAPPIST-1f, a planetary system on the other side of a warp hole. Her sudden return to Earth means NASA can better prepare the soon to depart Sagittarius II crew. Or it would, if she could remember what happened on the alien planet.

This is a quick read. The characters are all interesting, with the majority of the story focusing on Catherine returning to a husband and daughter who believed she was dead the past 6 years. There's a lot for the book to unpack and the author does an excellent job of showing Catherine's trauma regarding memory loss, extreme isolation for an extended period of time, survivor's guilt for being the only member of her crew to survive, as well as the guilt over having been away from her family for so long.

The current memory lapses she has makes for a compelling storyline and I found myself rushing ahead to find out what was going on. I loved the periodic flashbacks to what happened on the Sagittarius I mission.

Once I found out what was happening some of that compulsion to finish the book dissipated. The closer the book got to the ending the less I believed how the higher ups at NASA were acting. The final acts of the protagonists seemed highly implausible and I had trouble believing NASA would go along with it considering the cost and time involved in implementing their plan.

On the whole it was an entertaining read, with some interesting twists though a somewhat unsatisfying ending.

Pros: detailed examination of the subject matter, lots of minor details

Cons: could have used more maps

After the introduction the book has eight chapters and a conclusion. The chapters are:

Spices and Medieval Cuisine

Medicine: Spices as Drugs

The Odors of Paradise

Trade and Prices

Scarcity, Abundance, and Profit

“That Damned Pepper”: Spices and Moral Danger

Searching for the Realms of Spices

Finding the Realms of Spices: Portugal and Spain

The book is fantastic. It examines spices as food enhancements, medicine, trade items from exotic locales, and more. I loved that the author often made asides that filled in information of what was happening in other parts of the world so as to better understand Europe's place in it.

I especially loved learning about the myths and legends surrounding India and Asia, and the snakes that guard the pepper plants and diamonds.

I find it fascinating the amount of spices used in the middle ages, especially in food, compared to today. Some of the combinations seem so bizarre I want to try them, just to see what they were like. Did they know something we've forgotten about spice blends?

The book has a few black and white illustrations and maps, but given the subject matter, more would have been appreciated.

If you're interested in spices and/or the middle ages, this is a worthwhile read.

Pros: wide variety of stories, some excellent artwork, inclusive stories

Cons: often abrupt endings, not hard SF, some artwork I didn't care for

First off, reviews are subjective. Everyone likes different things. This is even more apparent when it comes to artwork. So while some of the stories and some of the artwork didn't appeal to me, that won't be true for everyone. There's quite a variety of both stories and artwork here, and the ones that didn't work for me might turn out to be your favourites.

I was surprised by how many stories had retrofitted cars as spaceships. In fact, don't think too much about the science in most of the stories as they generally don't deal with the practicalities of space (like oxygen, radiation shielding, gravity, food, water, waste). The few that did, stood out, and I really enjoyed them.

There are 21 stories in this collection, and some of them are very short, almost more vignettes than full short stories. Some of them end abruptly, which I didn't like.

The black and white artwork was varied. Some of the stories were gorgeous, some had artwork I couldn't stand.

I loved the inclusive nature of the stories. There was a variety of characters from different racial backgrounds and sexual identities.

On the whole the collection is a good mix. There are some real knockout stories and some I personally didn't care for, but it's worth the read.

“M.S.P.I.P.S.P” by Kay Rossbach
** Louanne Davis navigates the spaceport with her daughter before their flight to Mars to reunite with her wife. - I enjoyed the artwork. Anyone's who's flown will sympathize with Louanne's plight as one thing after another goes wrong.“Lia” by Alexxander Dovelin ** A woman's life work is used to capture experiences of space as viewed by androids. - The artwork seemed a little more realistic in style. I liked the story. It's about finding people who believe in you, as you navigate a world where profit is everything.

“Microwave” by Jay Eaton
** Rowan's on her way to use a warp pod to travel to Seatle, but her uncles are driving her nuts with their talk of safety issues. - Not my favourite art style, but an interesting short story about being prepared to act when things go wrong.“Cabbage Island” by Mulele Jarvis ** Yu's dream is to build a car that can warp through space in the hopes of finding a new planet to live on, as the world gets worse and worse. - I liked the artwork and the story was engaging. Not sure when Hondo had time to bake the cookies, and the ending wasn't to my taste.

“Passing Through” by Jamie Kaye and Sunny
** Two friends chat about what they're up to now. - There were a few panels (the ones in the bar) where I wasn't sure what was going on. I do love the idea of having a personal transporter though, and being able to tour the world/galaxy. I was left wondering how the phone didn't cut out each time the man teleported.

“Last Exit” by Christine Williamson and M. Kennedy
* Mary runs away from home to space and gets caught by the predatory bureaucracy. - I was not a fan of the artwork. I found the small script crowded and hard to read. Changing the engine's not enough to make a car space worthy and she was woefully unprepared for the trip considering she left when she did out of pique rather than need.

“Ignition” by Iris Jay and Skolli Rubedo
* Rhea and Imogen are a salvage team hired by a fascist leader to recover the Discovery shuttle. - I didn't like the artwork for this story and the story left me with a several questions.

“Wayhome” by Evan Dahm
* A family makes a home in a new place, leaving the city behind. But isolation breeds paranoia. - I liked aspects of this story. The artwork was interesting and there's a great paranoia reaction at one point. The ending was strange. “Space to Grow” by N.N. Chan * A young astrobiologist blogging about her first solo assignment is beset by internet trolls. - I liked the artwork. I also appreciated that it depicts a common problem for internet creators. Negative comments can really bring you down, even if you're doing what you love.“Soft Physics” by Blue Delliquanti * People in disparate communities await packets of info, some of which contain the exploits of Phoney and Mandy. - The artwork wasn't quite my style. The story was interesting but didn't have much of a conclusion.

“Brilliant + Handsome” by C.B. Webb
* Two boys build ships to go to Mars, one in a car, the other in a washing machine. - Didn't like the artwork. I had to read the ending twice to understand what happened, but really liked it once I got it.“Failsafe” by Rachel Ordway A pilot tries to commit suicide via black hole. - More of a vignette than a story, it does portray frustrated despair very well.

“I Want to Be Alone” by Seren Krakens
* Fed up with life among slobs, the protagonist takes off alone to find the perfect planet where they can be alone. - I found the artwork very confusing and had a difficult time understanding what was going on.

“Finders Keepers” by Ahueonao
*** Three friends attempt to loot an abandoned luxury space station whose AI killed the previous guests and crew. - Loved the artwork and the story was a lot of fun. “Prodigal Sunset” by Sara Duvall and James F. Wright* A group of teens from various planets try to find a cure for the strange illness they share. - Nice artwork. I was left with a lot of questions.

“Words From the Dead” by Jonathon Dalton
** Two archaeologist study the remains of the long dead Taucetian society. - I appreciated that the author paid some attention to science in this story. The artwork was ok. Loved the story's ending. “Story of a Rescue” by Nathaniel Wilson * Two kids and their pilot are heading out to find their dead beat step-dad. - The kids told a lot of back story, which seemed a bit odd as the pilot was older than them and I'd have expected him to have a better sense of current affairs. Loved the ending.

“Solitary” by David Andry and Paul Schultz
** A prisoner's sentence is commuted provided he sign on to a new program. - Interesting story that was well executed.“Graddad's Second Wife” by Cheez Hayama and Earl T. Roske ** Sergio's granddad needs help keeping his new wife - an alien - from ICE. - The alien was kind of disturbing, but the story was otherwise fun.

“The Senior Project” by Maia Kobabe
** While other kids work on FTL thesis projects, Willow cultivates a fast-growing crop of Adzuki beans. - I liked the relationship that formed between Willow and Kai, as they both worked on their projects. I also liked the practical applications for Kai's teleporter.“My Stars and Garters” by Ainsley Seago ** A couple builds a spaceship so they can live their most authentic Victorian lives away from people who find them strange. - I suspect people who live differently would be among the first to leave Earth should an FTL drive become cheaply available. An enjoyable end to the collection.

Pros: compelling, thought provoking

Cons: limited tension

The world believes that 10 years ago Zahra's father killed everyone aboard the House of Wisdom spaceship using an old virus. Zahra now belongs to a wasteland ‘family' that plans to hijack the ship and use it as a new home, escaping the reach of the United Councils of Earth. To access the ship Zahra and a small group kidnap the only surviving member of the House of Wisdom massacre, Jaswinder Bhattacharya. But the Councils were wrong about what happened on the ship and Zarah's small infiltration group is about to learn the horrifying truth.

This is a very compelling read. I had a hard time putting it down and finished it in one day. This did have the unfortunate side effect that I didn't really have time to fear for the characters' lives or feel any emotional connection with any but the point of view characters. There was only limited tension built up before bad things happened.

The story is told from the alternating points of view of Zahra and Jaswinder, with occasional transmission logs in between giving information from the time of the original massacre. Both protagonists were in many ways broken people with tragic pasts and complicated presents. They were interesting to learn more about and easy to sympathize with.

The book occasionally had characters point out the racism and politics of their world, especially with the treatment of Jaswinder's best friend, Baqir, who immigrated to the Councils but lost family members and an arm to a disease before their application was processed.

The mystery on the ship was handled well, with information being revealed at a satisfying rate.

It's a great, quick read.

Pros: interesting characters, excellent worldbuilding, fast paced

Cons:

Jane McKeene is in her final year at Miss Preston's School of Combat for Negro Girls. At 17 she's trained to become an Attendant, to protect a white young lady from shamblers - the undead - and protect her modesty from amorous young men. But what she really wants is to return home to Rose Hill and her plantation owning Momma.

Though the war between the North and South was set aside to deal with the undead as they rose, racial tensions haven't eased, and some people believe the shamblers are God's punishment for trying to make all men equal. These men build communities behind walls. But can walls really keep the monsters of the world out?

When a friend of Jane's asks for help finding his missing sister, Jane stumbles into trouble even her combat training hasn't prepared her for.

I absolutely loved Jane and was astonished at how self-aware she was for a seventeen year old. She recognizes that she lies a lot and acknowledges her other faults, even as she often revels in rule breaking. She's impulsive and often later regrets her actions but can't stop herself from acting first and thinking later, a trait that actually saves her life on occasion. She's also really smart, though realizes that there's often safety in appearing to be less intelligent than she is.

Katherine was also great. I liked that her animosity with Jane was due to superficial things, so it didn't feel manufactured when they started becoming friends.

As a Canadian, I don't know much about the American Civil War or it's immediate aftermath, so I don't know to what extent things have been twisted here, though I did recognize the names of a few of the Generals referenced. There's an author afterward talking about the Indian residential schools that come up in the book and how she used them as a template for her training schools.

I thought the author incorporated the zombies into the history quite well. Due to the period in which the book is set, some offensive language is used. The 'n' word is not, but other slurs do appear. This made parts of the book uncomfortable to read, but it's the discomfort of how horribly some people treated others.

This is a brilliant book and I highly recommend it.

Pros: political intrigue, interesting characters, fantastic worldbuilding

Cons:

Baru Cormorant's actions on Aurdwynn have numerous consequences. She is now Agonist, a cryptarch, one of the secret lords of the Imperial Throne of the Imperial Republic of Falcrest. She has also made a lot of enemies, one of whom is a navy admiral, who decides to mutiny in order to bring Baru to a form of justice.

Baru believes she's one step further towards destroying Falcrest and freeing her homeland, but cryptarch rivals Hesychest and Itinerant have a job for her and two of their other proteges.

This book picks up immediately where the previous one ended, and if you don't remember all of the characters and subplots of the first book, I'd highly recommend giving it a quick reread. I was very happy that an issue I had with that book's ending was dealt with pretty heavily in this one.

There are plots within plots, and two main points of view, that of Baru (told in third person) and Xate Yawa (told in first person). The switch was a bit jarring at times, but insured you didn't mistake who's thoughts you were observing. There are also flashbacks to a previous war from the viewpoint of Tau-indi, a prince of the Oriati Mbo, which gives cultural and historical information for the continent and for the war of ideas between the cryptarchs.

The worldbuilding is incredibly intricate. Everything is connected and the language recognizes differences from our own world - like ‘matronizingly' instead of 'patronizingly', because some cultures have a matriarchy as a system of rule. I loved the attention to detail.

While Baru is often - though not always - able to avoid personal consequences for her actions, once again it's clear how she causes serious fallout in her wake, particularly with regards to trade and the economics of some of the islands she visits. Very serious consequences, for what seems like limited gains on her part. This makes her an increasingly hard character to like or sympathize with. Which I believe is the point.

A lot of the action is set-up for the next book, so the plot here feels scattered at times. Having said that, the level of intrigue is high and I never felt bored.

Be prepared to remember a lot of names and get lost in intrigue. If you like morally dubious characters, this book is for you.

Pros: lots of action, fast paced, compelling characters, interesting setting

Cons: romance felt somewhat out of place

Flynn is an engineer framed for murder, being sent to the most dangerous prison planet that exists: the Razor. Half of the planet is frozen, the other half boiling, and in the middle, there is a small strip of liveable ground. The planet is home to the purest form of Xytrilium in the galaxy, and whoever controls that power source, controls the galaxy. So when a strange beam lights up the sky and all the guards evacuate, Flynn knows something bad is happening. He'll have to team up with a group of dangerous misfits if he wants to survive, and get off the planet before it's too late.

The book opens with Flynn's arrival on the planet and while it take several chapters before things start to go wrong, the characters and setting are quite fascinating and carry the book easily. Short chapters and a lot of action makes this a quick read.

The characters are an interesting mix. Flynn is book smart but that won't save him in with the general population of inmates. Key is street smart but feels the weight of the people she's let down, and tends to cover her fear with bravado. Maddox is an ex guard, turned prisoner, who faces a rough welcome from his previous squad members. He's also got a guilt complex for the people he couldn't save. Raelyn is a doctor who made some bad decisions and is living with the consequences. Zane was probably my favourite character, a man who was experimented on and is now super strong, with the ability to absorb metal.

The romance between Maddox and Raelyn made a kind of sense, with him using saving her as motivation for living. It still seemed somewhat out of place considering the severity of what was happening. The romance between Key and Flynn felt like something that might burn hot and die out quickly as they have nothing in common to keep them interested in each other after the adrenaline rush of staying alive is over. It also seemed a bit odd that all the main characters paired up. I did like that neither pairing felt rushed. They both developed fairly slowly and organically.

The Razor is a fun read with good set-up for the sequel.

Pros: delightfully creepy and/or unsettling vignettes, real photographs, fascinating mythologies

Con: no frame story to bring the disparate bits together

This is a collection of vignettes by people who have had supernatural experiences of some sort or are themselves supernatural creatures. Each story shows a snippet of life. There's little description or detail, but it's not required. I enjoyed piecing some of the stories together as the collection went on, though there's no frame story giving them the feeling of being a cohesive whole. The publisher's synopsis for the book is basically the frame story the book itself lacks and needs in order to give a sense of cohesion to the collection. I read this in ebook format and hadn't read the synopsis in months, so wasn't able to benefit from the information it gave. At the very least there should have been a wrap up story that tied things together better.

Most of the stories are fronted by a real photograph from the Costica Acsinte Archive. A few stories have hand drawn illustrations instead.

While I was familiar with a few of the creatures described, most of them were new and quite fascinating. It would have been cool to get more details about them, but again, the stories are more about ambiance and the feeling of dread than about describing things in detail. In this way, not knowing what the creatures were in some ways enhanced the horror based on the limited descriptions that were given.

Several of the stories are by people who grew up and lived in the three Eastern European villages, the rest are by their descendants. At least one story took place in Canada, and another in the United States.

On the whole I enjoyed the collection. A few of the stories were genuinely terrifying, while most were joyfully creepy. I would have liked a proper conclusion or frame story tying everything together better, but it's definitely worth picking up.

Pros: unique magic and monster system, interesting characters

Cons: pacing issues, slow opening

The city of Amicae is built as a 6 tiered structure with an outer wall. It citizens believe the wall keeps magical infestations at bay but that's a lie. Infestations from broken or improperly cared for amulets happen all the time, and when they do the cops call in the experts: the Sinclair Sweepers.

Laura is Clae Sinclair's only apprentice in the dangerous work. She wants to prove she has worth as a person in a society that sees her as more of a walking womb. When they acquire a second apprentice and infestations start to increase, she gets her chance.

It took me a while to get into this. First because the world started out feeling very medieval fantasy despite its bicycles and robots. The worldbuilding was alternately slow and full of info dumps in the opening chapters.

Clae is acerbic and rude and while I liked him, he takes some getting used to. For the most part I liked Larua, though I was surprised by her age when it was finally revealed, as I ended up picturing her younger given how she treats Okane.

As a master teaching a trade, Clae's a mixed bag. On one hand he does teach weapons and technique, but I was astonished by how little Laura knew about kin and its creation. As the main weapon against infestations, I would have thought learning how to make kin would be vital to a sweeper's job.

I loved the monsters and how the sweepers fight them. It's very original. I also liked that another city is visited and there's some information on how the various cities operate and that sweepers use different tactics and that they share ideas through meetings and letters.

The last half of the book was quite fun and the pacing was much better as the tension worked up to the climax.

While it's a bit uneven, it's a good debut and I'm curious to see what's next.

Pros: interesting characters, great setting, unique mystery

Cons: more details of bodily functions than I needed

Kaaro's criminal past and his abilities as a sensitive have trapped him in the role of government agent. His assignment is to live in Rosewater, a city surrounding a mysterious alien biodome that once a year heals those that stand within a certain area, and learn what he can about it. When the sensitives around him start getting sick, he realizes that change is coming, and tries to finally uncover the mystery of the alien, his abilities, and what they mean for the future.

The book mostly takes place in Nigeria in 2066, with flashbacks of Kaaro's life, particularly around 2055, when he was first recruited by S45 and Rosewater was founded. I don't know much about Nigeria, so it was great reading about how it might look in the future, with several chapters taking place in Lagos and neighbouring areas. There were food and religious references and translated lines in some of the regional languages.

Kaaro's an interesting character. He starts out apathetic to what's going on around him and slowly comes alive as he falls in love during the course of the book. He's an avowed coward and thief, so he's not the easiest protagonist to like, but his life is very different and so carries the book well.

While you don't learn too much about the aliens they are unique and make the mystery compelling. Some early information doesn't make much sense (like using anti-fungal cream to reduce psychic abilities) but they are explained in time. As the story progressed I found it harder to put the book down.

I could have done without some of the mentions and descriptions of bodily functions. While the sexual ones at least gave character information (even if I didn't feel I needed to know about every erection he had), on a few occasions bowel movements were also mentioned.

If you're looking for unique science fiction, pick this up.

Pros: fun characters, great romance

Cons: minor issues

Aliza Bentaine's life at Merybourne Manor changes when gryphons invade the nearby wood and kill her youngest sister. It changes again when the Riders they hired to hunt the gryphons show up and include the handsome but arrogant Alastair Daired. But more than gryphons stalk the land, and other mysteries darken Aliza's world.

This is a close retelling of Pride and Prejudice, set in a world where monsters roam and dragons fly. There's no recycled dialogue and the motivations for why characters act as they do have been adjusted to fit the realities of this world. I found that Aliza's reasons for disliking Daired were more substantial here, making their eventual reconciliation a bit harder to accept. The ending has several major deviations from the source material, which I enjoyed. I especially liked that Gwyn (Charlotte in the original)'s marriage is for different, more mysterious reasons and that their marriage seems better matched. I did wish the mystery regarding her father had received more of a resolution though.

The addition of a wide variety of monsters was fabulous. I didn't always know what creatures were, but it was fun seeing new and lesser used beings intermixed with the more familiar gnomes, wyverns, and dragons. The use of monster heartstones as engagement/wedding tokens was interesting. I also liked that different creatures spoke different languages, and not all humans understood all languages.

If you like Jane Austen and fantasy, it's a fun retelling.

Pros: very unique world, interesting characters, intrigue

Cons: body horror

Years ago Zan and Jayd came up with a plot to save the worlds from their inevitable slow decline. When Zan wakes up from her most recent attempt to retake their neighbouring world, Mokshi, she has no memory of who she is. Again. Jayd's manipulations are getting them closer to achieving their goal, but her betrayals are catching up to her and others aren't playing their roles the way she expected.

This is a very unique novel. I have never read of a world, or rather a series of worlds, so... bizarre. They're things of flesh, orbiting a sun and populated solely by women who birth the components the world (ships?) require. While each world is unique, the lords of some of the worlds discovered that they could prolong the lives of their worlds by sharing flesh, though this causes other problems. I was a little concerned going into the book as I heard it was body horror. While there's some disturbing imagery around birth, cannibalism, flesh, etc., it wasn't as bad as I feared.

The narrative is told from the viewpoints of Jayd, who knows what's going on but isn't very forthcoming, and Zan who's trying to navigate situations she no longer understands. It's clear that she can't necessarily trust Jayd, though it's also clear that she loved Jayd deeply at one point.

The plot is fairly straightforward, despite it's being drawn out. The book itself is a quick read as you're anxious to find out who Zan really is, what Jayd's plan is, and why the Mokshi is so important.

If you're looking for a good book outside the ordinary and you have a strong stomach, give this a try.

Pros: fast paced, protagonist is ‘good at math', interesting characters

Cons:

When Cas Russell takes the job to ‘retrieve' Courtney Polk from a drug cartel, she assumes it will be a simple job. Because she's VERY good at math, able to calculate vectors on the fly, making her dangerous in a fight. But she didn't expect her mentor Rio to be working for the cartel. And when the woman who hired her turns out to be more than she seemed, Cas discovers she's become a target of a mysterious organization, one with people who also have super powers.

This is a fast paced read that took me two days to get through. There are so many twists that it was hard to put down.

It's an interesting cast of characters, as none of them are really ‘nice' people. They've each got their good and bad qualities. Cas is a morally grey individual, who has no problem killing but also has some lines she won't cross. Despite being a psychopath I mostly liked Rio. There's a Dexter feel to him, as a man who's using his baser urges for what he perceives is good. Arthur Tresting balances Rio on Cas's other side, being mostly moral, but willing to bend the law when necessary and pretending he doesn't know about or see most of Cas's casual crimes.

I loved that Cas's ‘superpower' is that she's just REALLY good at math. Like, so good she can do multiple calculations at once and so dodge bullets and make fancy trick kicks to take out opponents. The fight scenes are surprisingly entertaining.

I thought the rabbit hole of secret organizations was handled well, as was all the self doubt brought on by Dawna's influence.

I really enjoyed the book.

Pros: nice overview on a large number of topics

Cons: only a few photographs, mostly hand drawn illustrations, dated information

The book is comprised of an introduction and chapters on medicine, transportation, high tech, sex life, military technology, personal effects, food, drink, and drugs, urban life, working the land, house and home, communications and sport and leisure. Each chapter is subdivided, so under personal effects there are sections on mirrors, makeup, tattooing, soap, razors, perfume, wigs, clothing and shoes, jewelry, spectacles, and umbrellas. They're followed by a shortened list of sources, a bibliography and index. The book covers a surprisingly large range of topics, and a large range of locations. While the majority of ancient artifacts are from the Middle East/Mediterranean, the book covers a fair amount of Chinese discoveries as well. South and Central America, Japan, India, and other places are also mentioned to a lesser degree.

Modern society tends to look down on civilizations of the past as being lesser in many ways. This book shows that a lot of habits and tools we think are modern have been around for a long time. Sometimes they're lost and rediscovered, sometimes they have a long continuous history. The ingenuity of our ancestors is incredible and it's fascinating to see the variety of things they invented.

Most of the images are hand drawn illustrations, which is fine when showing cross sections but odd when they're meant as reproductions of historical items. I'm guessing they were unable to secure the rights to photographs and so did the next best thing, but it really would have been better to have photographs. And what photos the book does have are all black and white.

The book came out in 1994, so the information is already dated. That's not to say it's all wrong, just that you have to accept that not all of the conclusions mentioned here are still agreed upon. I do think the authors did a fantastic job of both showing how archaeological conclusions shift over time as new finds are discovered/researched, and also explaining that some mysteries may have different solutions to the ones proposed in this volume.

While the book has some limitations, it's a fantastic volume if you want a nice overview of the breadth of human achievement throughout ancient history.

Pros: lots of plot twists, interesting characters

Cons: opening drags a bit, some questions of how the Order works in practice

Two years into his training to become a knight of the Order of the Equites Cinere, Greenshanks learns that his real name is Lucian de Remeni. His memory was wiped when his service began, and it quickly becomes clear that he left a lot of important things undone before he joined the Order. Now caught in numerous plots and unsure of who to trust, Lucian works to understand his past while saving the future of his world.

The two year gap and Lucian's memory loss made it difficult for me to jump back into the story. It felt more like a new story rather than a continuation. Once hints of his past started to surface things began to pick up. The second half of the book was a whirlwind of action and I had trouble putting the book down as the plots within plots slowly unravelled.

There's a lot of mystery and intrigue, more interesting because while the plots mostly overlap through Lucian, many of the players are unaware of each other. Seeing things purely from Lucian's POV, it's hard to know who he should trust and what actions he should take.

I loved all of the new characters, particularly the knights. Commander Inek and Fix were great.

I did have some questions about how the Order remained secret considering it's populated by Purebloods, people under tight Registry regulation. Do the knights remove all trace of their past lives? That is, do they remove memories of them from their loved ones and removed their names from the registry so that they're not considered runaways? Or are their deaths faked when they join? Lucian's wasn't so why aren't people looking for all these missing Pureblood men?

There are quite a few major plot twists and my emotions were jerked around quite a bit the last few chapters. I liked that the ending ties some things up but leaves others open, with the world continuing on.

Pros: very fast paced, emotional punch, thought-provoking

Cons: minor things, slightly rushed ending

A year ago life changed for 50% of the US population. Women were kicked out of the workforce and made to wear bracelets that counted their words. When they reached their cap of 100 words, they received an electric jolts of increasing intensity until they stopped talking. Members of the LGBT community were shipped off to ‘camps'.

A year ago Dr. Jean McClellan was a top cognitive linguist researching Wernicke's aphasia, an ailment that makes it difficult to form coherent sentences. Now she's a stay at home wife, slowly watching her marriage crumble, her daughter suffer under the word restrictions, and her oldest son become a misogynist.

When the President's brother has an accident that affects the Wernicke area of the brain, she's asked to help find a cure, little knowing that there's another reason the government wants her work.

The book is very fast paced and only look me 2 days to whip through. It's first person narrative makes the world immediate and the clever use of flashbacks fleshes out the characters and how the US changed so quickly.

Loss of freedom is always an interesting plot device, and this book touches on real fears American women have during the present political climate. The book joins other US dystopian novels that focus on how women could be repressed like Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Veracity by Laura Bynum, and When She Woke by Hilary Jordan.

There are some powerfully emotional scenes, some of which were rage inducing, while others made me want to cry. While I often didn't agree with Jean's choices, I could understand why she made those decisions and sympathized with her plight.

While the book explained that Wernicke's aphasia impairs the ability to speak coherently, it would have been good to point out that it doesn't always impair cognitive abilities outside of communication. I was left wondering if people who had it would be able to function or if they would have to be put into care homes.

There were a few minor issues that annoyed me, like cookbooks being banned when you would expect they would be needed. You can't remember every recipe or learn new ones without some sort of help. There's also a scene where Jean had just under 40 words remaining in her day and she had to make a phone call. She prepared her message in advance but used her whole allotment, even though several of the words she used were unnecessary. What if she'd had to respond to a question afterwards? She'd have had to stay silent.

The ending felt a bit rushed in that I would have liked a more complete telling of what happened. I understand why it wasn't comprehensive, but it felt like the author could have provided an alternate viewpoint or arranged to have a witness describe the event in more detail.

It's hard to call a book that does so many horrible things a pleasant read, but it was. Normally dystopian novels leave me horrified by how things could go in the real world while this one left me feeling energized, and feeling that the resistance can succeed if good people fight for their rights.

Pros: brilliant worldbuilding, compelling characters, thought-provoking

Cons: some brutal descriptions of wartime atrocities

This book is absolutely brilliant. The writing is lyric and feels so effortless you know the author worked HARD on it.

The book is predominantly character driven, which I normally don't like, but Rin is such a fascinating character that I loved it. With so much intricate history to learn with Rin as she goes through her classes, I never felt bored. The supporting cast was equally interesting from the eidedic memoried Kitay, the other two girls in her year, and her rival, Nezha.

When the war starts there's little talk of heroism, it's a realistic portrayal of fear and butchery. There are some brutal descriptions of wartime atrocities committed by the enemy. Seriously horrific stuff. Like, nightmare fodder if you think about it too much.

The worldbuilding was solid. There's multiple branches of history, various races with their own customs, the people on the mainland have different dialects. The politics even in the Nikara Empire were messy and complex, not to mention the relationship they had with their neighbouring countries. There are some WWII reference with regards to the naming of characters and some of the horrors that happen at the end.

While I'm not a fan of swearing in fantasy (or books in general) I'd say it was handled well here. It's not excessive, and when it shows up it's appropriate to the situation.

There are several philosophical questions the book asks, especially towards the end. I love books that make me think.

This book was brilliant. Pick it up if you haven't already.

Pros: decent artwork, interesting story, thought provoking



Cons: left with questions

In the future US Department of Gard Administration and affairs needed a new way to deal with the prison population. It created GARD, a ball that hovers 1 meter behind and 1.5 meters above the prisoner, creating a field that renders the prisoner unseen and unheard.

This is the story of Walton Honderich, who must come to terms with how his brief contact with the unfinished GARD program in university affected the rest of his life.

The story starts a bit slow and gains momentum through flashbacks. There's a fair bit of philosophical dialogue which makes it surprising that so little time is spent debating the ethics of what the GARD program will do. The graphic novel does make you think about it though, the ethics and about how many people along the way could have stopped the program and didn't.

The artwork is done in a realistic style with subdued colours. It's not my favourite style, but it's well done.

The art style and philosophy reminded me of Alan Moore's V for Vendetta and Watchmen, though maybe a ‘light' version, as the story isn't as deep or heavy handed here.

It's an interesting story and worth a read or two.

Pros: gorgeous artwork, interesting characters, short mystery

Cons:

When old co-workers of Archibald Lewis start dying, Lady Mechanika is implicated in their murders.

As with the previous volumes I loved the artwork. I love the sharp cheekbones and narrow chins. I love Lady Mechanika's Victorian-steampunk outfits. There's a lot of motion and animation to the frames.

This volume can easily be read independent of the others (there are 2 minor references to prior events). The mystery is fast paced and while there are only a few suspects, it's neat seeing the team investigate. I was curious why Gwendolyn Cain wasn't the first person they questioned given her entourage at the funeral and the description of the killer.

This volume collects three issues and tells a complete story that's entertaining and beautifully rendered.

Pros: lots of action, some new revelations

Cons: very short epilogue

Clay is returning from the South with a new mission to help defeat the white dragon: find a sunken treasure in the Krystaline Lake, deep in dragon country. Lizanne has the tinkerer, but unlocking the Mad Artisan's secrets isn't easy, nor is finding safe haven for the growing number of refugees she encounters. Sirus, General of the White dragon's army of Spoiled, marches his troops across the world, pillaging and ‘recruiting' as they go under the watchful eye of the insane Catheline Dewsmine. But he's got a plan to betray his masters once the time is right...

If you like your books with lots of action and military campaigns (on land, sea, and sky) then this is the series for you. The action quickly ramps up and the majority of this book is one battle after another. It's impressive how the characters persevere despite the losses each side takes. It's also impressive how the author keeps each fight scene fresh, bringing in new tactics and weapons as well as varying the locations and situations.

You finally discover who the Mad Artisan is, and see some newly invented war machines. You also learn a little bit more about Kris, though I'd have enjoyed learning more about her people and how they tinkered with the dragons.

Normally I like short denouements to books, but while the epilogue does touch on what everyone's doing after the book ends, I would have liked more details of how they pick up the pieces. The ending is highly satisfying, but it's hard leaving characters I've come to love.

This is an excellent series with a highly unique magic system and some excellent worldbuilding and characters. I highly recommend it.

Pros: some excellent twists, interesting world

Cons:

At the end of a disturbing case involving red fever, a disease only found on Mars that makes its sufferers go violently insane, Denver Moon receives a message from her grandfather asking her to find him. But her grandfather's been dead for twenty years.

I'm impressed by the amount of world-building the authors managed to squeeze into this novella. While not bogged down by exposition, you learn about the early settlers, the project to terraform Mars, the Church of Mars, the red tunnel, the red fever, and more. It makes the city feel lived in, old in some ways but still a risky venture in others.

Denver's an interesting character with a past that's hinted at in relationships and cases, and her transforming gun that's had her grandfather's memories uploaded into it. I liked that Nigel is shown as more than just a sexbot. While Navya comes into the story late, I thought she was a good addition to Denver's skill set, and while they had to make up, it was nice seeing female friends.

There is a graphic novel prequel to this that you don't have to read to understand this, though it does flesh out one bit of history that's referenced in this novella. The story it is based on, “Metamorphosis”, is included at the back of the novella, so if you want, you can read it first. I have to admit I'm not sure how I feel about the ending of “Metamorphosis” as it references a marginalized community. Denver's also quite racist (I'm not sure that's the right word) towards the botsies. She doesn't seem to have quite the same attitude towards them in the novella, so maybe she's learned a few things between the stories.

After the short story, there is also a short preview of the next book in the series.

While I did figure out a few aspects of the mystery, I was completely blindsided by several others. The ending packed a punch.

Mars seems to be a hot topic in SF at the moment, and this one goes in a different direction, so it's worth picking up.

Pros: lots of great information, short chapters

Cons: usefulness will depend on how much you already know about worldbuilding

This is a book of essays Brennan wrote for her Patreon backers. It consists of 51 short (1-3 page) essays on a range of topics useful for worldbuilding. As an anthropologist with an undergraduate degree in archaeology and folklore and several fantasy novels under he belt, she's uniquely qualified to write this. And this book covers a wide variety, from the basics of the world (mountains, rivers, deserts), to food (including where it comes from and where it's prepared), names, folk magic, stages of life, money and more. She's also written an introduction and conclusion to tie the book together.

The essays are designed to get you to think outside the box by first showing you the box is there. She often asks questions about why we do things a certain way and points out that people in other cultures and periods do/did things differently. Some of what she mentions is obvious in hindsight, but you often need things like this pointed out if you've only got one frame of reference. I learned several fascinating tidbits and it was interesting to see the examples from other cultures she used.

The essays are quite short making it easy to get through the book and get back to writing. If you're commuting and want something short, this is perfect. I read it as a novel, but it's equally easy to read just the segments you need at a given time.

This is a great resource if you're new to worldbuilding or haven't learned to question why people act they way they do in all aspects of life. The essays are varied and, though short, contain a lot of information. If you want your secondary world to feel real, there's a lot of good pointers here.