Arina

This was the first book I read in 2024 and nothing else has topped it so far. Even Animal Farm couldn't topple it. Suck on that, George Orwell!

Adrian Tchaikovsky is a juggler of humor, worldbuilding and character work. He doesn't even seem to struggle with it! This man writes such creative feats of pure literary magic. Every story is like an unhinged, dark(er) Terry Pratchett.

A trek through a multiversal asteroid (thing? Alive rock being, maybe?), Walking to Aldebaran follows an astronaut who, separated from his crew, fights his way to rejoin them.

What follows is a thrilling, dark-humor tinted journey full of twists and adventure.

Clever, laugh-out-loud sci-fi, just as Tchaikovsky always delivers.

One of my favorite books of the year and a downright crazy ride. My first foray into Rob J. Hayes' work couldn't have been better.

Hayes made this epistolary-like narrative a propulsive read, with a morally-gray-arguably-just-morally-wrong character driving the story, and a unique and curious narrative voice.

Everyone in the Pit is a downright fucker (well, our supportive cast not as much) but Eska is a sort-of light at the end of this dark tunnel (pun intended. If you know, you know).

She makes terrible decisions, is hotheaded and reckless, and prioritizes her stubbornness and survival above all. She strays from the typical heroic female character and I loved her for it.

Once in a while it's nice to be challenged by character or story expectations and this book does it.

The harduous, pain-inducing, slowly-killing magic system was a breath of fresh air and it was fun to enjoy a story where darkness is so prevalent yet it drives you to search for something around it.

Really looking forward to reading the rest of this series.

A touching novella about self-healing and the unbounded capacity of our will and mind.

Using imprisoned telepaths to discuss societal prejudices, trauma, and mental illness, Kaftan tells a quick and tense journey of acceptance, propelled by a sapphic love story.

Perhaps a bit too quick and with everything too established; leaving no room for development outside the one the main character has with herself.

I didn't feel wowed, but I'm sure others on their own self-discovery will empathize.