Jessica Strider

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: 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.

Pros: fleshed-out characters, interesting world, fast paced

Cons: pay close attention or you'll get lost quickly, some aspects not explained well

Pay very close attention to the first few chapters of the book as you're dumped into the action with no background information beyond what you can gleam from conversations. Once you've got a feel for the players, the world, and the stakes, sit back and enjoy the fast paced ride.

The story is told through mostly alternating chapters from the points of view of Rachel White and Peter Bloom. Note that their timelines don't match up right away (his story starts a few days after hers). I was impressed at the amount of background detail you eventually learn about the pair, and how that makes you care about them, even while they're making choices that are hard to sympathize with. I especially liked the difficult relationship Rachel has with her husband. It was great seeing a married woman as a protagonist that took into account the prejudices she faced as well as the sacrifices she made to reach her position.

The worldbuilding is well done and takes into consideration how the discovery of a literal afterlife affects the living. Summerland itself is a little hard to picture (understandably as it's got a 4th dimension that isn't time) but adheres to a particular set of rules. I would have liked more information on how the ectotanks and flyers worked, because they sounded terrifyingly awesome.

This is a unique spy thriller that's worth picking up.

Pros: interesting protagonist

Cons: short

Murderbot is a SecUnit made of cloned human and mechanical parts that’s hacked its governor module so it no longer has to obey commands. It’s been assigned to provide security for a small survey group looking at a new planet. But the group encounters an unknown hostile life form that wasn’t mentioned in the original survey report, which makes them wonder what else was missed - or possibly removed on purpose.

This is a 100 page novella, so it’s fairly short. That means it’s light on the world-building and character development. While you get to know Murderbot pretty well, the other characters, with the exception of Gurathin (who’s a light antagonist) and Mensah (the group leader) felt interchangeable. Having said that, Murderbot is fascinating and you really get inside its head.

The plot was interesting and quick paced. There are some tense moments, though the ending comes up so fast it didn’t feel particularly climactic (which may be due to my reading the story in 2 sittings instead of all at once). Murderbot's narrative has a dry sense of humour and sarcasm, which I love.

It’s fun and entertaining and I’ll definitely read the next one.

=> The books hold up really well to subsequent reads, and I find I'm noticing new and different things each time I read the series. It remains a dryly humorous book with a brilliant protagonist.

Pros: brilliant world-building, fascinating characters and situation

Cons: some stories were very impersonal

The Commonwealth of Pax started as a group of volunteer colonists leave the horrors of war on Earth to begin a hard life on star HIP 30815f. Almost immediately they discover that the plant life on their new home world has varying degrees of intelligence, and that another alien species left ruins of a magnificent but failed city.

The novel is told from the points of view of one of the first settlers and six descendants, one from each of the following generations. Each generation faces new problems and challenges, from predators, from the plant they've allied with, internal strife, and the rediscovered aliens.

Most of the stories are told with an element of reserve, that allows some of the more unpleasant things that happen to leave little impact on the reader. By the time I got to know each character their segment ended. Though I'm glad that the rape scene was written in a clinical rather than sensationalist manner, on the whole I much preferred the longer stories that allowed me to really immerse myself in the character's lives. Higgens' section especially touched me deeply.

The sentient plants were handled well. I didn't understand a lot of the chemistry involved, but there's explanations for how the plants communicate - with humans and with each other. I loved the bamboo's learning curve, from wanting to domesticate these strange but helpful animals to being a contributing member of their community.

The world-building was excellent, with whole alien ecologies and while plants and animals were given names reminiscent of Earth, it's clear they're VERY different.

During the second story I was shocked at how far the parents had fallen from their own constitution and their use of Earth tactics they claimed to hate. I'd have expected that kind of break to happen much later in the colony's lifespan.

This was a fascinating book.

Pros: brilliant world-building, fascinating diverse characters, interesting premise

Cons: can get very emotionally heavy at times

The China of this future has a Bounty of unmarried men. Lee Wei-guo is a 44 year old gym owner and coach and the general of the Strategic Games army Middle Kingdom. He's finally saved enough money for a dowry, but only as a maximum - a third husband. His matchmaker has only found one interested family. The Wus looks good on paper, but Wei-guo's two dads aren't convinced. And they're right. May-ling's first husband is an undeclared Willfully Sterile, a gay man who, if outed, would lose contact with his son among other punishments. His brother and May-ling's second husband, Xiong-Xin (who prefers to be called XX), is a potential Lost Boy. He's an autistic computer security genius with whom May-ling is terrified of having a child through their mandated weekly conjugal sessions, because if their child is also a Lost Boy, the child would be taken from them. As Wei-guo gets to know the family and decides he wants to join it, politics and their personal problems make that outcome less and less likely.

The book shows four points of view, starting with Wei-guo's and extending to May-ling and her husbands. It's great seeing the four people, how they interact, why they act the ways they do, what they believe and feel. There's so much complexity to the situations presented in the book that it's great seeing the same problems from various viewpoints. It allows you to sympathize with everyone, even as they annoy, betray, anger, and love each other.

The world-building in the book is top notch. I was impressed with how carefully the author approached this potential future. The government is integrated into so many aspects of regular life, in ways that make public dissension difficult to impossible. Maintaining an aura of party support is second nature to all of the characters, as is reading between the lines of what is acceptable to say/do to understand what people actually mean. It's a world that becomes more terrifying the more you learn about it. I was glad there was a section explaining how the Helpmates (the women who meet once a week with men to work off sexual tensions) were organized. There isn't much mention of life outside of China, though the China First party line does frown on foreign wives, if not state sanctioned foreign sex workers. No issue is clear cut. While homosexuality is treated like a genetically inherited disease, those who declare themselves Willfully Sterile and get sterilized have a place in society. The book shows that many gay men hide their status, not willing to leave families or be seen as other by society. It's a complex issue and it's handled with the recognition that there are many sides to all difficult issues (even if some of those sides are abhorrent to us and the protagonists).

I was also impressed by the clarity of language used to explain the thoughts that went unspoken and the acts that went undone. There are no pulled punches over how emotions work and the difficulties encountered when people with different ways of interacting are forced into close relationships. XX's annoyance at being second guessed by his brother and wife, the difficult choices May-ling must make with regards to her marital vows when considering having XX's child, Hann's being a pawn in the games of his company partners, create three dimensional people with problems that seem simple from the outside, but have no easy solutions.

There is a sex scene between May-ling and XX that's very uncomfortable to read. While it's graphic, it is also important for understanding a lot of the interpersonal problems the family has.

Elements that I thought were window dressing for the purpose of world-building, for example the strategic games Wei-guo plays, turned out to have a major impact on the story later on, so read carefully.

Obviously I can't speak to how accurately the author grasped the modern Chinese mindset.

This is a brilliant book.

Pros: told through images and text, some tense moments, fun characters, fast read

Cons: most of the conflict is due to Hugo keeping secrets

Hugo Cabret lives in the Timekeeper's room inside a Parisian train station. When an elderly toy maker catches him stealing a toy mouse, the man takes a notebook Hugo received from his deceased father. The notebook contains images of an automaton Hugo's trying to fix, images that cause a startling reaction from the old man.

The book follows Hugo as he tries to get the notebook back and interacts with the man and his goddaughter, Isabelle. There are old movies, magic, clocks, thefts, and lies. The best part of the book is that the movies and automata discussed are all real.

This is a fun - and fast - read. Some sections are told through full page illustrations rather than text, giving the book the feeling of a movie. The immediacy of the action and Hugo's point of view narrative enhance that feeling.

There are some tense moments, especially towards the end of the book.

While I can understand Hugo's fear of being taken from his current home and his fear of what would happen to him, it has to be said that most of the problems he encounters throughout the book are due to his inability to trust others, even after they've been proved trustworthy and his compulsive need to keep secrets. Things would have resolved much faster had he told Georges why the notebook was so important to him.

Though it's a thick book (due to the images) it really is an easy read, perfect for readers of all ages.

Pros: interesting story, good character development

Cons: limited description

Amelia dreams of heading to Mars, but she can't afford the flight and doesn't want to be an indentured servant, so she continues to eek out an existence in Mexico City, making ends meet by doing occasional jobs as a paid friend.

This is a novella funded by an IndieGoGo campaign, which I supported.

Amelia isn't the most likeable character, as evidenced by her limited Friendrr clientele, but she is an honest one. A string of bad luck left her somewhat bitter and depressed as her dreams become harder and harder to achieve. As the story progresses she both becomes a better friend and person in some ways while also making bad decisions that could land her in an even worse position. By the end of the story, seeing her deal with difficult circumstances, I really liked her.

It is fairly short and while I'd have enjoyed more description the story works very well as is. It's interesting hearing about life in Mexico City. The story doesn't say what year this takes place, though given the dates that are mentioned it can't be too far into the future.

It's a quick read if you're looking for something a little different.

Pros: thought provoking, fascinating characters, interesting premise, tight prose

Cons:

Melanie loves the story of Pandora. She loves attending Miss Justineau's class, where she heard the legend. She doesn't love Sergeant Parks, who sometimes makes Miss Justineau look sad, or Dr. Cauldwell, who's responsible for some of her classmates going away and never coming back. She likes her routine, and when that routine changes, all of their lives are irrevocably altered.

This is a post-apocalyptic story with zombies (called hungries) that will feel very familiar. But Carey's prose and storytelling ability makes it a brilliant addition to the subgenres.

The book alternates between several viewpoints but starts with Melanie, explaining her day, her week, her life. She's such an intelligent girl and the author manages to explain so much of what's happening - and what's wrong in the world - by her observations of her normal life. Pay close attention, as there's a lot of detail, with certain things being inferred rather than told outright.

I loved the rivalry between Miss Justineau and Dr. Cauldwell, both of whom believe very strongly that they're in the right about the issues they face, and it's hard at times to say they aren't, even when their points of view are opposite. There are some great thought provoking moments, particularly around Dr. Cauldwell's work and Melanie's coming of age. Even Sergeant Parks has some introspection as he questions the experiments he's been helping.

The book is definitely geared more for suspense than horror, though there are some horrifying scenes. The ending too, will remind readers of a memorable horror novel. The real question of the book lies in whether Dr. Cauldwell will find a cure for the hungries, and if the means she uses justify the ends she's trying to achieve.

The story starts slow in order to really introduce the characters and the world before things get messy. The prose is tight, and the story, while not fast paced, is highly compelling. It's a brilliant novel.

Pros: interesting setting, fascinating story, complex depictions of and around black and gay characters

Cons: not particularly scary

Jason Thorn (aka Thistledown) flew planes over the trenches in WWI. After some bad times, he's landed a job flying post in Africa. But the flight there is diverted to Bavaria, Germany, where an experiment has gone wrong. An experiment with a creature Jason has faced - and survived - in the past.

This is a direct continuation of Eutopia: A Novel of Terrible Optimism, picking up 20 or so years after that one ends. All of the survivors show up and play major roles in the book. It's interesting seeing how their lives have progressed, but also sad, as some of them don't recover from their ordeal as well as others.

It's very interesting learning more about the jukes and their parasitic nature. Unlike with the first book, when you knew when the characters were under the creature's influence, in this book characters often reexamine their memories to discover they've forgotten things or were completely unaware of them. It make most of them unreliable narrators, but imparts their feelings of confusion and hesitancy very well.

The plot is pretty interesting, trying to figure out what happened to Jason, who and what Orlok is, and whether the Nazi's will get their ubermensch.

Several of the newly introduced characters are gay, which was handled well considering the location and period the book takes place (Germany and France in the 1930s). One of the gay characters considered it a disease and was looking for a cure, while others were more comfortable with who they were. For the most part the principle characters around them were supportive or, at least, not derogatory regarding them.

Race, obviously comes up given Doctor Waggoner is black and married to a white woman. Again, I was impressed with how that was handled, especially entering Germany. The introduction of the jazz band and the treatment of its members was well done, showing racism in a more individualistic rather than stereotypical manner.

I didn't find the book particularly terrifying (unlike with the eugenics of the first one) despite the presence of Nazis and some horrible things going on. There are some uncomfortable scenes and the ending was unsettling.

It is a good sequel. It answers a lot of questions raised in the previous book and shows what happens to everyone. It also shows that however much you run, sometimes you can't escape your past.

Pros: lots of twists and turns, great character moments, touching ending

Cons:

Picking up immediately where Requiem left off, Neb still needs the staff that Vlad Li Tam is using to terrorize the Y'Zirite Empire. Amyle D'Anjite has disappeared with her kin-dragon, on a mission to oppose Neb and the work he and Patronus are doing on the moon. Orius, Lysias, and Rudolfo work towards clearing the Named Lands of Y'Zirite soldiers. In the aftermath of the Final Dream, Winteria Bat Mardic begins preaching again. And mysterious allies finally show themselves.

This is the fifth and final book in the Psalms of Isaac series. I've long since given up trying to figure out what's going to happen next in these books. There are so many surprises and major twists. A new group shows up in this book that ends up playing major roles along the various storylines.

While I sympathized with (and in some cases agreed with) a few of Vlad Li Tam's actions, there hit a point where I agreed with other characters that he needed to be stopped. Jin Li Tam makes some surprising choices, and I was impressed with how Rudolfo dealt with his further losses.

At one point I was convinced that the author had forgotten about Lynnae, Jacob's wet-nurse, and so was very happy that she turned up again.

The ending was fantastic. It came with more revelations about the people, and really tied off a lot of character threads. There were tears (in book and in person), and moments of joy.

If you like intrigue and haven't picked these books up, you're missing out.