Jessica Strider

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: 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.

Pros: lots of politics, complex race relations

Cons:

When Willinghouse is framed for murder, Anglet Sutonga, former steeplejack and spy, tries to clear his name. But the white government starts enacting racist policies that disenfranchise the native black Mahweni and brown Lani populations. Meanwhile a mysterious illness strikes the Drowning, where Ang's sister lives. As tensions in the city increase, Ang starts to wonder if the city she loves can survive.

This book refers often to actions and people from the previous books in the series, so be sure to read them before starting this one.

While Ang isn't involved with politics herself, the book depends very heavily on the city's new policies and how people of different races are treated. I loved seeing a variety of leaders from different groups come together at different points trying to create peace and protest the government's actions.

The book deals very heavily with race relations, showing clear racist actions on the part of the white men in charge. There are peaceful rallies with some frankly brilliant speeches that wouldn't be out of place at a Black Lives Matter event. The ending is fantastic in this regard, leaving you with a sense of hope that's desperately needed in today's political climate.

Ang goes through several emotional upheavals during the book. She's able to repress her emotions so she can focus on a number of problems, but I liked how the book addressed some of her feelings at the end, once she has time to deal with them.

I really enjoyed this series and while the book deals with heavy subject matter - especially in today's political climate - its ending of hope really makes it a worthwhile read.

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: interesting settings, fun characters

Cons:

When Rini falls out of the sky at Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children she's shocked to learn that her mother has died. Several students help her bring her mother back, knowing that if they fail than Rini will be erased from existence.

This is the third novella in the Wayward Children series and returns - for a time at least - to the setting of the first book. In addition to the school and the students there, you also see Nancy again.

Rini is from a nonsense world, Confection, the world her mother, Sumi, went to and was hoping to return to one day. There's another new character, Cora, an overweight girl who loved the underwater worlds where she was a beautiful mermaid. She's the main point of view character, which allows the reader to understand her feelings around weight and self-confidence (and the attempts by others to use the first to undermine the second). It was interesting seeing her interactions with Christopher, who went to a world of skeletons and who therefore as unconventional ideas about flesh and weight.

The plot is fairly linear and takes the group to several locations. There are some dangers they face, though not always physical ones.

I thought the mythology of Confection was kind of cool and really fit the kind of world it was - giving it a weird sort of logic despite its nonsense overlay.

It's a quick, fun read.

Pros: gorgeous artwork

Cons: the story jumps around

A ghost girl who doesn't remember her past is aided by a friendly owl. Meanwhile, the woman who lives nearby is being menaced by an angry man.

The artwork is gorgeous. It's all flowing waves of monochrome and colour that gives the book a surreal feel. I loved how the waves join objects (like the panel where one eye belongs to the owl, the other to the crow, with the beak being the owl in flight). The animals look realistic, even as the ghost has a dreamy look to her.

The story jumped around a fair bit, bringing in a lot of details but not explaining much. Several things relied more on cliches than development in the story. I did like the idea that your actions can have long term consequences - the owl has helped others and they willingly help him because of that. I was left wondering why the animals didn't want the owl to help the woman. Sure, they're different species, but she treats the land much better than the man would.

If you like the cover's style, the artwork is definitely worth it.

Pros: unique magic system, intricate world-building, fascinating characters, interesting plot

Cons:

Three years ago Sancia Grado was a slave. Now she's a skilled thief, hired to pull off a very difficult job. The payout means she can finally get a physiquere to fix the scar on her head and remove the metal plate beneath it that was scrived to allow her to hear the thoughts of every object she touches. But the item she steals is connected to the Occidentals, also known as hierophants, those who became like gods, able to use scrivings to change reality itself. Suddenly the plate in her head's the least of her worries.

This book was amazing. I've only mentioned Sancia's plot thread, though there are several others that intersect with hers once the book gets going. She's a thoroughly engaging protagonist, and while her scrived state makes her fairly powerful in some respects, that's balanced by the pain speaking with objects causes her.

I absolutely loved Clef. He's such a fun character, coming out with all the sarcastic, swearing, responses people would love to use but don't because they want to be polite. The book does have quite a lot of swearing, which I sometimes found jarring and other times thought fit the situation nicely.

The worldbuilding was intricate and detailed, with several layers to it. The main setting is the city with it's four campos and the commons, but other locations are mentioned. History comes mostly in the form of mythology - which different sources report in different ways.

The magic is unique and hard to describe in few words. It's remarkably... logical, though it takes some time to wrap your brain around what the people are doing.

The plot is interesting, with several threads wrapping around each other. There is some downtime to get to know the characters and let them figure out their next moves, but the majority of the book is one daring break in or escape after another.

As I said, it's an excellent book. If you're looking for a unique fantasy novel, I highly recommend this.

Pros: fascinating characters, excellent world building, layered mysteries

Cons:

Oichi Angelis is a murderess and conspirator upon the generation spaceship Olympia. Using a Medusa unit, she's been taking out key members of the Executive class. But the Executives aren't the only threats to her mission to overturn the ship's rigid class system.

The back cover synopsis for this book calls Oichi a ‘worm', which I'd misinterpreted as meaning she was either a computer program or A.I. of some sort. So I was surprised to discover she was a human, and that ‘worm' was a slur for low level people on the ship. Oichi is a fascinating character, who's completely unapologetic about the live's she's taken (who are mostly horrible people), that you can't help but like her. In many ways it's her connection with Medusa, a partly biological machine, that allows her to be such a good assassin.

The world-building is great. The author manages to explain the ship's history in ways that felt organic but not intrusive. For example, there's a scene where Oishi is pretending to study for school while she's actually doing something else. So the narrative is interrupted by occasional digressions of the video that's playing on her screen. At other times we learn about the ship as she does, especially with regards to the executives and their dealings.

There are several overlapping mysteries, all introduced in layers. One mystery is a snippet of conversation Oishi overhears as a child. As she grows up she tries to understand what the Executives were saying, but her interpretation changes as she learns more and more.

Chapters are written in a circuitous way, starting with foreshadowing of what's going to happen, then a linear narrative leading back to what was hinted at or stated earlier. I was impressed at how well the author managed to guide you through the narrative. There was only one spot where I was confused about when an event happened, and that was cleared up quickly. As Oichi learns more about one mystery, others - so many others - come to light. The book keeps you guessing about everyone's motivations.

I really enjoyed this and can't wait for the next book.

Pros: brilliant characters, unique narrative style

Cons:

Chester and Serena Wolcott decided to have children after seeing the impeccably behaved offspring of his work peers and her social clubs. They were not prepared for the real thing. Which is why

Jacqueline and Jillian, their twin girls, are so rigidly forced into the roles their parents intended them to fill. So when the twelve year olds discover a strange doorway, they enter it, and find a strange world, one that finally allows them to be who they choose.

While this is the second Wayward Children novella, its events are a prequel to those of Every Heart a Doorway. I REALLy liked this story. The narrative style was unique, with the narrator occasionally addressing the reader during interludes of storytelling. I greatly enjoyed this and it gave a bit of distance from the text, which was helpful as the story went in dark directions. It doesn't quite line up with the narrative of their history from Every Heart a Doorway, but most of the details carry through.

The world is really interesting, with just enough fleshing out to feel alive, but not enough to make you question how it all works in practice. I enjoyed the characters, who had a level of depth to them that was wonderful to read.

While it's short it packs a punch. Highly recommended.

Pros: some interesting world-building/science

Cons: unsympathetic characters

Gulliver Foyle has spent months trapped in a room on a destroyed space ship. When the Vorga passes by and fails to pick him up, he's filled with rage and determined to survive, if only to find and punish the Vorga for what it's done.

Originally titled Tiger! Tiger!, after the William Blake poem, “The Tyger” this is a science fiction rewrite of Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. There's some interesting world-building going on, with people becoming able to teleport, or ‘jaunt', and how that affects humanity. There's also trouble brewing between the inner and outer planets (tired of being taken advantage of and seeing an economic downturn due to the ability to jaunt, which has reduced the need for the resources they mine).

For the most part I found Gully an unsympathetic and horrifying character. He's so hell bent on his revenge that he ignores the fact that he's survived horrors (in part because their ‘betrayal' galvanized him into saving himself). In many ways he throws away years of his life and several opportunities he's given to live for the future, in order to get his revenge. There's no personal enmity towards Gully by the crew of the Vorga, so his quest feels excessive and unreasonable, especially when you learn what happened on the Vorga, and why they didn't pick him up.

The female characters aren't the greatest. There's a bit of variety, though none of them felt particularly fleshed out. They all fall in love (and out of love) quickly and act in somewhat bizarre ways at times. Jisbella's love/hate relationship with him annoyed me because she waffled so much I was never sure where she stood, and I was horrified by how he manipulates Robin into helping him, considering what he did to her. And for some reason, despite what he does to them, the women forgive him in the end. There's also an off page rape that factors into the story later on.

I enjoyed the ending in that Gully finally seems to snap out of his mindless revenge kick and actually says a few profound things with regards to the potential war. But aside from his stint in prison (which was for the wrong reasons), he never seems to get any punishment for his actions beyond what he does to punish himself, which seemed unequal to what he did. On the whole I found reading this a bit of a slog, and as it's not a long book, that's saying something.

Pros: emotional complexity, fascinating characters, lots of twists, interesting setting

Cons: some issues with the timeline/distances travelled towards the end

When the terrorized daughter of the king witnesses one outrage too many, she steals an artifact that can open diviners to their magical heritage. While escaping, she runs into a young diviner who's still angry and traumatized by her mother's execution during the king's Raid 11 years ago, when magic first disappeared. Together they learn that magic can be returned to the land. But the King sends his son and his general to hunt them down.

There are some great characters in this book. While I didn't always agree with their choices (especially those of the hot tempered Zélie), I thought their decisions made sense based on their personalities, traumas, and the challenges they faced. I was impressed at the complexity of their emotions and how the author actually dealt with their emotions rather than simply letting the story brush trauma and consequences aside. The book deals with the aftermath of torture, of killing for the first time, of personal failure, of so many harsh emotions and conditions. I really understood the prince's fear of magic and his desire to please his father, even as he realized what a monster the man was. I felt sorry for him. I also I loved seeing his sister's growth throughout the book. I also liked how Zélie and Amari slowly learn to trust each other and become friends.

There were quite a few twists and turns, both in terms of the quest, but also in terms of people learning who they are in the face of various trials.

The setting was pretty cool and seemed to draw inspiration from the Yoruba people of Nigeria, particularly the language. Though the country in the book is called Orïsha, I don't believe the maji religion takes any influence from the Yoruba's religious practices of the same name (but please correct me if I'm wrong, wikipedia isn't the best place to get information like this. And as an aside, I enjoyed looking up some of the unfamiliar words to see if they had real world significance. This isn't necessary to enjoy the book, but why not learn some real culture/history too?). I loved the idea that people capable of magic were physically marked with white hair. The practice of magic itself required a mixture of innate ability and incantations, so it didn't seem overpowered. I did like that various people questioned the wisdom of bringing magic back, of the problems that could arise if someone evil could wield offensive magic like fire. It treated magic like the dangerous weapon it could be in the wrong hands - or even the right ones.

The world feels very lived in and real. It was quite different from anything I've read before and I loved that. I really liked the ryders and wish I could have one. The geography became problematic towards the end, in terms of how quickly people could suddenly travel far distances, which I'll discuss more in the spoiler section. Though, that's possibly due to the map being out of scale from the distances the author envisioned.

While they're not marked as an appendix, after the text comes an author's note, a ‘behind the scenes' annotated chapter 57 from the book, and a list of the Maji clans with their powers and the names of their gods.

While the book wasn't perfect, it's unique setting and characters make it worth the read. There's some romance and a good amount of action, particularly the fight scenes at the end. If you're looking for a different kind of fantasy, give this a go.

I've removed the spoiler section here so as to not ruin the book for anyone. If you'd like to see it, it's on my blog. (http://scififanletter.blogspot.com/2018/04/book-review-children-of-blood-and-bone.html)

Pros: interesting characters, fast paced, tense

Cons: a little obvious

In an attempt to save money, XO recruits convicts to man its mission to Mars and build its NASA contracted habitat. But Mars is a dangerous place and ‘accidents' happen.

I really enjoyed this book. Frank's an interesting narrator who knows about as much as the reader with regards to what's going on. A lot of the mystery and suspense surrounds the aspects of the mission that the ‘crew' aren't aware of as they're rushed through training and shipped off to Mars.

I thought there was a good mix of characters in terms of personality and the reason they were behind bars. I did wonder why Brack was so obviously antagonistic towards the convicts, considering he needed the group to work together. Yes, they needed to stay in line, but he generally did more harm than good with his comments.

The depictions of life on Mars were great. A lot of care was obviously taken to point out the very real dangers of living and working there.

Due to a lack of attention, it took me a while to realize that the opening quotes weren't in chronological order as I'd expected. Pay attention to the dates so you can piece together the history of XO's planning for - and problems regarding - the Mars mission.

The story is fast paced. While I figured out one mystery quite early, the ending was still very tense and suspenseful.

Pros: tense, action packed, interesting characters

Cons:

Roughly a year after the events of Nova, Michael Sorenson is now a soldier, working to evacuate people from stations and planets overrun by ghouls and squatters (humans infected by ghouls). When he's offered a job working for research and development, he believes he's helping save the human race from the alien threat. Then he uncovers signs of sabotage on the station. He searches for the saboteur even as the scientists search for a way to eradicate the ghouls, once and for all.

This is book 2 in the Spectre War series, and while you can read this volume without reading book 1, a lot of Michael's motivations come down to what happened at the end of Nova. This book has a very different feel, being entirely about the military and how to attack and defend yourself against an incorporeal opponent. While there's camaraderie, there's no romance and I was astonished at how willing the author was to show that war means loss.

You don't learn as much about Michael's compatriots as I'd have liked, but they are an interesting bunch. The power play interludes between the Chairman, the Admiral, and the Doctor, were also great in terms of showing what was happening with the war outside R&D.

Though a lot of the science goes unexplained (like how ships travel the vast distances of space between planets and stations) there's some great world-building. Though mentioned only briefly, the Order of the Spectre horrified me, but unfortunately didn't surprise me as a religious belief system. The planet where R&D is stationed sounded quite beautiful, and I'd have loved to visit, ghouls notwithstanding.

The plot takes several interesting turns, and the ending, though not as shocking as that of Nova, was still unsettling in its implications. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Pros: fascinating world, interesting characters, tight ending, thought-provoking

Cons:

Guy, Emily, and Eric are coincidence makers. They receive a white envelope with their mission parameters, and then arrange for those conditions to be met, resulting in a love affair, a new career, a dream attained, whatever is required for the humans around them. Then Guy gets a strange new assignment, one that will change his life.

I first heard of this book not long after seeing the film The Adjustment Bureau. I loved the film (note, it has little resemblance to the Philip K. Dick short story it was based on), but more than that, I loved the idea that there's a bureaucracy in charge of planning fate for certain people. So I was curious what Blum would would do with his idea regarding those who plan coincidences. Make no mistake, while the ideas are similar, the execution is very different - and excellent in both cases.

In the first half of the book you learn a lot about who the coincidence makers are and how they're trained as you witness the three of them working on different cases. This part is heavily character driven, which I didn't mind as there was so much to learn about the world and people that I didn't really notice the plot was light. The second half of the book becomes more plot heavy as the various threads introduced earlier start to pull together into a cohesive - and immensely satisfying - ending.

I loved that their world includes things like imaginary friends and that there's a history to coincidence making where theories change and develop over time.

The characters are all quirky, with different foibles. Eric creates coincidences so he can go on dates. Guy plans his coincidences on one wall of his apartment so he can visualize what has to happen when. The side characters were a lot of fun too, especially the General.

The book makes you think about why people act certain ways when it comes to making decisions. It encourages looking at the larger picture. It is at times heartbreaking and at others sublime.

This is a fun, quirky book, that didn't go where I thought it would, but looking back there's no other way it could have gone. Definitely worth the read.

Pros: good pacing, interesting characters, interesting mystery, light romance

Cons: felt like Lia should have understood a few things faster

For three years the Celestial Expanse and the Tellurian Alliance have fought over rights to New Earth. Now, there's a cease-fire accompanied by the good-will release of 500 prisoners of war from the Tellurian prisoner of war camp at Tiersten Colony. Among those being released onto New Sol station is sixteen year old Lia Johansen. But she's actually a living bomb, set to go off in thirty-six hours.

This is the first book in the Spectre War series, and it's a doozie. Given the age of the protagonist and her search for meaning after things go wrong, it kind of felt like a YA novel. There's a touch of romance, coming of age, befriending an enemy... But throughout there's an undercurrent of something else - the same mystery that Lia's trying to remember.

I thought the pacing was great, with the book teasing out bits and pieces of the mystery. There was one aspect in particular that I was surprised she didn't grasp earlier. Yes, she is sixteen and it wouldn't be easy to work around false memories, but it did frustrate me a bit.

The romance elements were great and gave the ending quite a punch. I liked that Lia developed friendships with several women of various ages. Often books ignore the importance of female friendships to female protagonists, so I really appreciated seeing this.

While the story is self-contained, it opens a lot of future possibilities, and leaves you wanting to know what happens next.

Pros: interesting characters

Cons: lots of swearing, lots of violence

Mariam Xi knows she's a danger to the new ship that picks up her distress beacon. So she's keen to leave them when they stop at a station. She's not surprised when MEPHISTO troopers show up. But Mariam doesn't want to go back to the program that gave her psychic powers - and she has the means to refuse.

I loved the characters. They had a lot of personality and verve. I especially liked the experimental cat thing, Seven, who's just so cute. Mariam is quite powerful, but that's in keeping with what was done to her in the past. It might take some readers a bit of effort to remember that Squid gets they/their pronouns, but how Mariam reacts to them, and the positive sexuality of some of the characters, makes the future feel like it's progressed in some good ways from our own time.

The novella length means you don't get to know the characters as much as I'd have liked. Mariam doesn't get to interact with the crew that much so while you get the feeling that they're starting to become friends, they don't really have the history of working together, being there for each other, etc. that the ending requires.

I did find the amount of swearing a bit jarring, especially as it came from Mariam. For some reason I couldn't reconcile how I pictured her with the language she often used. Which is weird because I didn't have the same disconnect regarding the amount of violence and destruction she causes.

It's a quick, interesting read.

Pros: great setting, real people, great extrapolation

Cons: slow at times

Jason Zhou has been living on the streets of Taipei since his mother died when he was thirteen.The haves (yous) and have nots (meis) are at odds in the city, a situation exacerbated by the terrible pollution covering the city in perpetual smog and acid rain, pollution the yous never experience, all but living in suits fitted with filtered oxygen and temperature controls. Zhou's closest friends have come up with a plan to stop the creator of the suits, a man who's also bribing and threatening - even murdering - politicians to prevent any environmental clean-up. That plan begins with him kidnapping a you girl for ransom. Because bringing down the man is an expensive business.

I loved that the book was set in Taipei. It's cool inhabiting another city, even if it's one in an unpleasant extrapolated future. Given the way global warming is being treated, I have no problem believing that the future will be covered in smog and that life expectancy will drop because of it. I also have no problem believing that the rich will isolate themselves from the problems of the world so long as those problems aren't seen as directly impacting them.

Zhou and his friends all have different strengths, making them fascinating to watch as they work on their plan. I loved that they complemented each other's skills and that though they didn't always agree, they worked things out. Daiyu was also great, a mixture of determined, smart, courageous, and feminine. The characters all felt like fully fleshed out people.

The story was interesting, though I found it was slow at times. I never really worried characters wouldn't pull through, even though there were some tense moments.

This is a great book.

Pros: interesting story, really captures the high school atmosphere

Cons: really captures the high school atmosphere, takes a while to get to the mystery aspects

Fourteen year old Freddy has enough problems in life - a neglectful mother and step-father, a deaf step-brother she resents, a genius little sister - the last thing she needs are crazy neighbours, Josiah and Cuerva Lachance. She's worked hard to maintain social invisibility at school, but when Josiah starts talking to her, she becomes a target for abuse. She and her sister are convinced there's a mystery with the neighbours, and intend to solve it, even as their step-brother warns them away from the pair.

This is a hard book to discuss without spoilers, but I'll try. There's a slow burn on the mystery of what's up with the neighbours and you don't really get more than hints until the half way point. Having said that, it's a quick read (took me two days), so you're not frustrated trying to figure things out.

There are some very realistic depictions of high school. I personally didn't enjoy high school so that's kind of a negative for me, especially since I straddled the not cool but not outcast social position Freddy's in.

I really liked Freddy. She's got some real issues and has a coming of age where she realizes that some of the things she did in the past weren't that great. Her interactions with her step-brother felt honest given her circumstances.

I liked seeing a deaf character in an important role. I'd be interested in seeing what readers with more experience with this issue have to say about the portrayal.

It's a fun, quirky, story.

Pros: interesting characters, quick paced, touching romance

Cons: limited worldbuilding

Red and Blue work for opposing sides of a war trying to make sure their particular futures come true. Their battles happen across the varieties of time and parallel universes. Their rivalry intensifies when Blue leaves Red a letter, beginning a correspondence that changes them both.

This is a longer novella, easily read in an afternoon. Which is good as it gets pretty intense towards the end and I'm not sure I could have put it down those last 50 pages.

The two protagonists were written by different authors, giving them distinct voices. The book follows the pattern of showing a scene from Red's point of view, followed by a letter and the actions of a mysterious stranger, then shifts to Blue's point of view and a letter she received. I was impressed by how much the characters changed over the course of the story given the brevity of the text.

With novellas I often feel the story could be fleshed out more, but this felt like the perfect length. The shortness even added to the tension.

The science is very hand-wavy so don't expect the usual time travel rules to apply. The addition of multiple universes made me wonder how they could track the changes meant to bring about their futures, but none of that is explored or explained at all. The story is focused entirely on the two characters.

It's a great, unique story.