Saturday, May 30, 2020

A Pale Light In The Black (by KB Wagers) Reread - Chapters 20 and 21




Welcome back to my reread of K.B. Wagers' "A Pale Light in the Black!"  You can find the other posts in this reread here.  For those somehow seeing this post first instead of the others, A Pale Light in the Black is a space opera featuring a SF space version of the Coast Guard in an optimistic future universe. We're just finishing the first half of this book, with the final part of the prelim boarding games and the team's first mission afterwards this week!  So I guess its too late for me to say you can easily catch up, but well, if you want to try it's well worth your time - and these posts aren't exactly going anywhere mind you.

Today's post covers two of my favorite chapters: First: the conclusion of the Prelim Boarding Games and Jenks and Luis come to an emotional accord!  Second, we get a rescue mission in space where something goes disastrously wrong, and Max has to act against orders to save lives!  The rescue mission is a particular highlight of this book, despite being short, and well....okay let me save that for the actual reread.......

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Friday, May 29, 2020

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Alif the Unseen by G Willow Wilson



Alif the Unseen was the debut novel from author G Willow Wilson, well known for her work on comics (in particular, for being the creator of Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan).  For a debut novel, it was highly acclaimed, even winning the World Fantasy Award in 2013.  I finally read Wilson's 2nd novel, 2019's "The Bird King", earlier this year and I loved it, so I decided naturally a next step would be to check out her first novel as well.

And well, I have some mixed feelings about Alif the Unseen.  It's very much a novel of its time, taking place during the Arab Spring in an unnamed Middle Eastern country (implied to be like the UAE) and a bit more optimistic about the effects of that movement than history has borne out.  That aside it does feature a story which is a fascinating mix of modern technology (computer hacking in particular) and Islamic mythology (Many types of Jinn, Vikram the Vampire, etc.).  On the other hand, the main character is kind of an ass, especially towards women at the start, and while he kind of learns to be better, it's not done enough to make me actually like him, whereas other characters kind of don't get the attention they deserve.

More expounding on this after the jump:

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Wednesday, May 27, 2020

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Stealing Thunder by Alina Boyden


Stealing Thunder is the debut novel by author Alina Boyden.  It's also an adult fantasy novel by a trans woman author about a trans woman - something that the book's intro claims is the first put out by a mainstream American publisher.  I have kind of a hard time believing that in the year 2020*, god knows I've read adult SF/F with other types of non-cis protagonists from other non-cis authors, but it's still a thing worth celebrating.  Add in a Southeast Asian-inspired (mainly India/Pakistan) setting based upon the authors work as a trans right activist and cultural anthropologist, and well it's a book that really had a lot to recommend it. 

*Also, this book, with a 17 year old protagonist trying to find a place for herself and her found family to live in peace and happiness could very easily have been marketed as YA - it is not, so I won't refer to it as such, but it does put a damper on that claim.*

 And Stealing Thunder mostly succeeds on that promise.  It features a trans woman protagonist - and a number of other trans women characters - who is incredibly easy to like and root for in a fantasy setting that is really well done and enjoyable: again SE Asian inspired fantasy world with elemental dragon like creatures that are really fun.  Add in a plot about her proving herself to people who for generally bad reasons - see transphobia - doubt her mainly for who she is, with a happy ending in the end?  Yeah, it's a book that has a lot to recommend it, even if it does have some flaws.


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SciFi/Fantasy/Horror Book Review: Alien: Echo by Mira Grant


Alien: Echo is a book meant for a different audience than me - after all it's a YA SciFi Horror Novel written in the "Alien" universe and I am: 1) In my 30s; 2) Not the biggest fan of horror; and 3) have never seen any of the "Alien" movies.  The first isn't really a problem (god knows I've loved a lot of YA recently) but the other 2 are a bit trickier: I've enjoyed a few horror novels but don't really go seeking them out unless I have special reason too and well, with my knowledge of "Alien" coming entirely from pop culture, it's very possible I'm missing a lot of background/tie-in information for rthe book.  Still, it was written by Mira Grant - aka Seanan McGuire, who is one of my favorite writers and it was available in audiobook from Hoopla, so I gave it a shot.

And well, Alien: Echo is fine, but it didn't really do much for me.  It features a strong lead character with a solid sisterly relationship that is enjoyable, and a queer love interest who....mostly works, although it is honestly too short to really cement these relationships as much as I'd like.  And then the Alien connection comes through in a way that will probably entertain horror fans, and well if you like horror you'll probably enjoy the carnage that results, but with the exception of one moment, it never really does anything but hit the horror "bullet points".  Add that all up to an ending that is a massive cliffhanger and isn't really that satisfying, and well, it's fine...but not a book I would recommend except to big YA Horror and probably "Alien" fans.


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Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Fantasy Novella Review: Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders by Aliette de Bodard


Disclaimer:  This review is based upon a prerelease eARC provided by the author in exchange for a review in advance of the novella's July 7 release date.  I give my word it did not affect my review in any way.

Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders is an upcoming novella from Aliette de Bodard, one of my favorite SF/F authors out there today.  It's also a stand alone novella featuring characters from her "Dominion of the Fallen" universe, a world featuring fallen angels, Viet immortals and dragon (and other) spirits in 19th century Paris.  It's an utterly fantastic universe and I strongly advice you to pick up the trilogy, but this novella is meant to stand without prior foreknowledge, focusing upon two characters from it -  the dragon prince Thuan and the fallen Asmodeus - as they get involved in a murder mystery/ political conspiracy story in the Dragon Kingdom underneath the Senne.  The result is really fun and enjoyable especially given the contrast between our two main characters, and deals quite well and interestingly with themes of power and rooting out corruption.

NOTE:  This novella takes place after de Bodard's "Dominion of the Fallen" trilogy, chronologically and contains major spoilers for Book 2 of the series (The House of Binding Thorns) in its premise.  There's no way to talk about this novella while avoiding those spoilers - since the characters involved are the main characters here, so be forewarned.  That said, I don't think the spoiler would affect your enjoyment of The House of Binding Thorns much, as that tremendous book can stand on its own even with you knowing that part of its ending.


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Monday, May 25, 2020

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Vela (Season 1) by SL Huang, Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, and Rivers Solomon


The Vela is yet another SF/F offering from Serial Box Publishing, known for its weekly release of episodic content for its series, as if it was offering TV Shows and not the written word.  Sometimes this results in really fun and/or interesting stories, sometimes it does....not.  But their SF/F offerings have often led to collaborations from incredibly diverse and impressive authors, and The Vela is no exception: featuring four of the most impressive authors out there - both in award wins/noms and just talent - All four of these authors have managed at least one work I've graded out to a 9 out of 10 or better, and I don't give that grade lightly.  So I was always interested in trying out The Vela, and finally got the chance after a giveaway gave away the season a few weeks ago.

And The Vela has some really strong setup and a cast of some really interesting characters, dealing with strong themes such as the plights of refugees, nationalistic jingoism, and peoples who exploit natural resources for short term gain but long term devastation, mostly being felt by those less fortunate (except instead of this being Global Warming, this story is literally about a dying Sun mined for hydrogen by richer planets).  On the other hand, it also struggles with the episodic format, ending on a unsatisfying cliffhanger and having some gaps between episodes that are a bit annoying.  Overall, I enjoyed The Vela and would be happy to see where it goes from here, so I guess the cliffhanger ending, while annoying, still worked.

Note:  I mostly read this in audiobook format, which Serial Box does very well with background music and appropriate sound effects that add to the story and don't get too annoying (compare the Star Wars audiobooks, which definitely get annoying). So if you're looking for audio material, this is not a bad choice at all.

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Saturday, May 23, 2020

A Pale Light In The Black (by KB Wagers) Reread - Chapters 18 and 19




Welcome back to my reread of K.B. Wagers' "A Pale Light in the Black!"  You can find the other posts in this reread here.  For those somehow seeing this post first instead of the others, A Pale Light in the Black is a space opera featuring a SF space version of the Coast Guard in an optimistic future universe.  It's not too late to pick up this book yourself and read along, and I highly recommend doing so - we're now in the midst of the Prelim Boarding Games, so we're into the 2nd third of the novel now!  But it's not that long a book so catching up won't take that long.....

Sorry for taking a week break, I needed a break from posting these and I was busy on my weekly Saturday scheduling of these.  And well, these are some pretty important chapters!  Jenks faces emotional turmoil and takes out by one punch KOing an opponent!  Max gets KOed off page!  We get to see the really cool piloting competition!  But really these two chapters are about Jenks romantic turmoil....which she does not take very well.


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Friday, May 22, 2020

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Vanished Queen by Lisbeth Campbell


The Vanished Queen is the upcoming debut novel of author Lisbeth Campbell.  It's a low fantasy novel with a trio of main characters we follow from beginning to end. As with a lot of such novels, it features heavily the politics of a repressive monarchy, and how a resistance to such oppression should be formed, with characters on both sides of the noble/commoner divide.  When this is done well, it can result in fascinating books that pose questions for the reader to ponder about today's world and also results in fascinating stories that are had to put down.

The Vanished Queen isn't quite done that well alas.  It's a fine story in general, with three enjoyable characters as its leads, each with their own interesting personalities, and the romance between two of them is fine.  It's setting also works well to pose interesting questions of power, oppression and revolution - but after 3/4 of the book sets that up in a way that could lead to a long exploration of it all - perhaps in a longer series - the book instead quickly wraps things up and resolves everything.  It's....fine, and thus a mildly satisfying ending, but it just feels like most of the interesting groundwork Campbell lays out goes nowhere.  I don't want to judge a book based upon what I was hoping it to be, but what this winds up being is merely a solid fine book and not anything more.

Note: This review is based upon an ARC (Advance Reader Copy) won through a Goodreads giveaway, and this book is scheduled to be released on August 18, 2020.


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Thursday, May 21, 2020

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Network Effect by Martha Wells


I usually start my book reviews with a paragraph describing the circumstances under which I encountered and decided to read the book.  That's not really necessary with Network Effect I don't think, the 5th work in Martha Wells' multi-Hugo-winning series, "The Murderbot Diaries."  Murderbot is pretty damn beloved in SF/F circles right now, and Network Effect being the first full length novel in the series only made it more anticipated.  And well, Martha Wells was one of my favorite authors before Murderbot (yes, hipster brag I know) and I've read every non-tie-in adult novel of hers, so yeah, I was going to read Network Effect on its release date and I was sure going in that it'd be great.

And unsurprisingly, Network Effect is absolutely fantastic.  It absolutely feels like a plot a fanfic writer might dream of - your favorite one novella character is back and the story heavily features its relationship with Murderbot! - and that is NOT a complaint because it's done so well that it will make practically any fan of the novellas tremendously happy.  Wells has brought back that character, continued her great development of Murderbot itself - still absolutely tremendous - and expanded the universe with a plot that features plenty of action sequences for Murderbot to struggle with.  It's nearly everything I could have wanted.


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Wednesday, May 20, 2020

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso


Full Disclosure:  This novella was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained via Netgalley from the publisher in advance of the book's release on June 2, 2020 in exchange for a potential review.  I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book.



The Obsidian Tower is the first book in Melissa Caruso's new fantasy trilogy, "Rooks and Ruin."  It is not however the first book set in this universe - this book is set in the same fantasy world as Caruso's Swords and Fire trilogy (which began with The Tethered Mage in 2017), just 150 years later.*  I really liked that trilogy, which began with a novel that was solid and had potential it didn't quite reach only to then be followed up by sequels which did reach that potential, featuring an interesting contrast of magical countries and fascinating characters.  So I was definitely excited to revisit this world at a later point in time for another story.

 *Note:  No foreknowledge of the prior trilogy is needed to enjoy or understand this novel: no characters from that trilogy appear herein, and other than a few sparse references to events/people from that trilogy within a few pages at one point, there really isn't anything that you'd miss out if you read this trilogy first - Caruso is quite clearly making it possible for anyone to read this series first if they so choose.  The only clear benefit I got out of reading the prior trilogy first was to more clearly understand the setting from the start, but new readers should probably be fine.

And The Obsidian Tower is a very promising first novel in this new trilogy, with a fascinating fantasy world, a sort of locked room-esque mystery (kind-of), dueling political powers, and a heroine desperate to try to get it all - and her own dangerous powers - under control.  The story doesn't quite have any particularly great characters other than the heroine herself, but she's enjoyable enough to carry the story quite nicely, with the other prominent characters showcasing potential to grow in future novels. And the story flows really nicely, being quite hard to put down once you get into it.  I'll definitely be back for the sequel to see where it goes from here.

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Tuesday, May 19, 2020

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi



NOTE:  This book was reviewed based upon an e-ARC provided by the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for a review.  I give my word that did not affect the content of this review in any way.

The Consuming Fire is the second book in John Scalzi's Interdependency Trilogy, which began with The Collapsing Empire back in 2017.  I've read a a good deal of Scalzi, although most of it was before I started reviewing on this blog, and mainly have found him enjoyable if not special - all of his books tend to have a few fun characters, some strong witty dialogue, and good solid execution, but little of them stand out when all is said and done.  Back in 2017, I read The Collapsing Empire, and found it similar, except my main complaint was that the book's ending was unsatisfying, occurring well before any of the title's "Collapse" actually started to happen.  Having read quite a bit of other works I enjoyed more I never came around to continuing the series until now, thanks to the publisher granting me a copy on NetGalley.

And well, The Consuming Fire is fine - again excellently crafted, with occasional moments of humor - but I just didn't really find myself caring enough about any of it by the end of the book.  It's possible some of that is from not reading The Collapsing Empire more recently, but given my experiences reading other series - I don't think so: I just didn't really care for any of the main characters that much at this point to be that invested in continuing reading.  Again it's well done - if you want a SciFi story of scheming conspirators trying to overthrow a leader at a time of likely existential crisis, this is your series - but I guess without me having greater investment in the characters, it's not for me.


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Monday, May 18, 2020

Fantasy Novella Review: The Orphans of Raspay by Lois McMaster Bujold


Note:  This book was acquired as an e-ARC provided by its publisher in advance of its physical release date.  I promise this will not affect my review.  

The Orphans of Raspay by Lois McMaster Bujold

The Orphans of Raspay is the 7th novella in Lois McMaster Bujold's "Penric & Desdemona" series, which is set in the same "World of the Five Gods" as some of her novels.  The series has always been one of the more fun but less essential parts of Bujold's oeuvre - with the series' appeal coming from the witty (internal) banter between main protagonist Penric and his demon Desdemona which the series combines with interesting interactions with Bujold's Five Gods.  At its best, the novellas can be really fun and creative (Penric's Mission, Mira's Last Dance), at their worst they're forgettable (The Prisoner of Limnos).

So I'd wanted to check out the latest novella eventually when it came out last year (preferably in audiobook as I'd enjoyed most of this series) but didn't have the chance till it showed up on NetGalley.  And well, it's easily in the more forgettable of entries, alas, not really doing enough to justify its own existence - it's fine and never in bad taste, but it never adds anything we've never seen before or has any of the wittier moments that are in some of Bujold's best works - including this series.


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Thursday, May 14, 2020

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse




Race to the Sun is a Middle Grade novel written by Hugo/Astounding Award winner Rebecca Roanhorse, as part of the "Rick Riordan presents" series.  Like the other books in this series, it provides a scifi or fantasy middle grade story using a mythology/background of a less well known culture - in this case, telling a story inspired by Navajo mythology (Roanhorse is of Ohkay Owingeh and African American heritage and has a Navajo husband).  Roanhorse's adult work drawing upon this mythology to tell SF/F is fantastic, so I was really curious to see how she'd adapt that background to a younger age group.

The answer is of course: very well.  Race to the Sun is very much a Middle Grade novel, with all the typical traits of books aimed at that age group (only the kids can save the world, the disbelieving parent, etc.) but it's one that works very well and will be quite enjoyable for any kid who reads it.  It's a great example of what this series is best capable of, providing excellent entertainment with good themes for kids - of family, of friends, of believing in oneself, - while introducing a culture that most will not be as familiar with.


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Wednesday, May 13, 2020

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge by Paul Krueger




Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge was the debut novel for author Paul Krueger, who also wrote last year's "Steel Crow Saga."  I really loved Steel Crow Saga (My Review Here) so I made a note to get to this novel eventually. So when I finally was going to get back into audiobooks during this quarantine, I decided to try it out.

And it's a very different novel than Steel Crow Saga, less serious in its themes (although SCS has a bunch of fun moments mind you) and featuring a main character who I didn't like nearly as much.  It's still a very fun novel, and if you want a short novel with an enjoyable plot, you'll probably like this one - especially if you're a fan of bars and cocktails. After all, this is literally a book in which properly mixed drinks can give you superpowers.  As I'm not really much of a drinker - and bars are very much not my thing - those aspects of this plot were a bit wasted on me, so I didn't love this book as much as I might have otherwise.


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Tuesday, May 12, 2020

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Critical Point By S. L. Huang




Critical Point is the third* novel in SL Huang's Cas Russell series of SciFi thrillers, after 2018's Zero Sum Game (reviewed here) and 2019's Null Set (reviewed here).  I've really loved this series: it's a series of SciFi thrillers following her protagonist Cas Russell - a mercenary whose superpower involves an incredible ability to use math for instant calculations (of trajectories, explosions or whatever).  And as each of the first two books proceeded at a breakneck pace, they also dealt with interesting themes about choice and free will and when the ends may or may not justify the means, as our heroes face up against foes willing to take drastic steps to get what they want.

*This series was originally self published, and this novel would've taken place 5th in the old self-published chronology....except Tor picked up this series before Huang could publish the equivalent of this novel in the self-published chronology.*

 Critical Point continues in this vein, once again being a breakneck thriller that poses some interesting questions about these themes as things get worse and worse for our protagonist, Cas Russell.  And it's so damn good as it does so, making it incredibly hard to put down - I did not mean to finish this in one night, but I couldn't help myself.  Our protagonist - the very much sociopathic math genius/mercenary Cas Russell - once again finds herself facing multiple conflicts which threaten not just all of LA, but her friends, and her sanity and her reactions to it all make her such a tremendous character to read from start to finish.  I cannot wait for whatever the next book in this series will be.


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Monday, May 11, 2020

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson



Full Disclosure:  This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained via Netgalley from the publisher in advance of the book's release on August 4, 2020 in exchange for a potential review.  I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book.

The Space Between Worlds is the debut novel by author Micaiah Johnson.  I didn't know anything about the novel going in to reading it - the novel's description was interesting enough on Netgalley for me to place a request, but I'd seen no press for it and hasn't heard of the author prior to requesting it.  I'd even managed to forget that plot summary in the month between my request of the book and when I started reading (this is not that uncommon, I like going into books cold).  All of which is to say I didn't have any expectations of The Space Between Worlds going into this novel.

But if I'd had any expectations, I think they'd easily have been blown away.  The Space Between Worlds is absolutely tremendous, a piece of fascinating SciFi featuring a fascinating exploration of themes of class, race, family and love, to go along with a story featuring multiversal travel.   It's lead character is absolutely tremendous, and the rest of the cast is excellent in their own ways as the plot takes some fascinating turns from beginning to end.  And the themes it hits and explores are done so well, and so damn poignant to today's world.  This a must read, that's pretty much all I have to say about that.


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Saturday, May 9, 2020

A Pale Light In The Black (by KB Wagers) Reread - Chapters 16 and 17


Welcome back to my reread of K.B. Wagers' "A Pale Light in the Black!"  You can find the other posts in this reread here.  For those somehow seeing this post first instead of the others, A Pale Light in the Black is a space opera featuring a SF space version of the Coast Guard in an optimistic future universe.  It's not too late to pick up this book yourself and read along, and I highly recommend doing so - we're just starting the Prelim Boarding Games, so we're into the 2nd third of the novel now!  But it's not that long a book so catching up won't take that long.....

Last time out, our team just arrived at the site of the Prelim Boarding Games.  It was the calm before the storm.  Now we're getting to the early rounds of the Games themselves.  How will Rosa do in swordfighting?  Will Max do okay in hand to hand?  We'll see a little of that this time as Rosa gets matched up with perhaps her toughest competition in the NeoG swordfighting in the second round.  Who makes these brackets anyway???


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Friday, May 8, 2020

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Bonds of Brass by Emily Skrutskie




Bonds of Brass is a space opera novel, the first in a trilogy, by Emily Skrutskie and one which very prominent features a M-M sexual pairing as its forefront (I've seen rumors it started as a StormPilot - Finn/Poe - slashfic).   I'd originally skipped out on it, but enough people I like were hyping it up that I had to try it out myself - and hell, as a big Star Wars fan, the obvious star wars inspirations were naturally appealing.

And Bonds of Brass is definitely good and a really interestingly done novel, being a space opera novel with an M-M relationship at its heart with some clear Star Wars inspirations, but also featuring interesting themes of Empire and Imperialism that the Star Wars movies never dealt with.  Our central protagonist is really strong, as a former citizen of a conquered empire that has tried to move on by entering the new empire's service, only to fall in love with his roommate, who turns out to be the heir to said conquering empire.  And the tertiary major character, a scrappy girl from the streets, is a major highlight.  That said, the final act developments may not work for every reader, and the book's conclusion is satisfying for now, but it absolutely will not leave any reader looking for a stand alone experience happy.


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Thursday, May 7, 2020

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Sixteenth Watch by Myke Cole




Sixteenth Watch is the latest novel by SF/F author Myke Cole, and the start of a new series for him (at least I assume it's not meant to be a stand alone).  It's a science fiction story based upon a future version of the Coast Guard, whose mission has expanded to cover action in space and it features a plot where the main character has to train a Coast Guard team for an inter-service competition against a favorite Navy team.  If that description sounds a bit familiar to you, it's because it's a pretty damn similar framework to KB Wager's "A Pale Light in the Black" - a book I loved enough that I'm doing a weekly reread of same on this very blog.  This poses a challenge for my review: it's not fair to this book to compare it to that book - and the two are very different in their tones and settings - but it's human nature for me to do so, even with me trying my best.

And trying my best to give this book the independent eye it deserves, I just honestly did not like it very much.  Sixteenth Watch is a cynical book featuring a fun main character, but few other characters with any development - and one with a notable absolute lack of such to the point of distraction.  More importantly, for a MilSci book featuring the Coast Guard, it doesn't do a good job of actually showcasing that organization at all, which makes me wonder what exactly was the point?  Add in an entirely unsatisfying ending, and well.....I won't be continuing with this series and am probably done with Cole books for a while at this point.


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Wednesday, May 6, 2020

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Prime Deceptions by Valerie Valdes



Full Disclosure:  This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained via Netgalley from the publisher in advance of the book's release on September 8, 2020 in exchange for a potential review.  I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book.



Prime Deceptions is the sequel to Valerie Valdes' first novel, her space opera "Chilling Effect," which I reviewed here on this blog.  In retrospect, I didn't grade Chilling Effect highly enough - it was a tremendously fun space opera novel with a setting clearly inspired by a number of more well known properties (particularly Mass Effect) that featured a great lead heroine to go along with a solid cast of characters and again, it was simply a really fun read.  Basically think of it as the start of a more comic version of Mass Effect - except with plenty of references to other geeky materials - and it worked really well as such.  So I couldn't wait to get my hands on the sequel - and thanks to an eARC being offered on NetGalley, I actually got my hands on it early.

Prime Deceptions is just as fun as its predecessor - and maybe a bit more so.  As with any second novel, the setting expands to cover new people and places and this allows for more fun adventures with our heroine and her crew - and the action scenes and character development are great.  Most importantly is that it's still really funny at times, even as it never gets full on into parody at any given point.  Valdes seems to go more over the top with geeky references (it's also possible I just was more familiar with these ones than the ones in the last book) but if you don't get them you'll hardly miss anything - you don't need to get any of them to enjoy the plot, the characters, the jokes or anything.  And I suspect most will enjoy them, as it's just all so damn good.

Note: Minor Spoiler for a plot twist in the first book is below, but it's not really anything that will ruin your enjoyment of the first book if you know about it in advance.  Still, read the first book before this one - it's too good to skip.

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SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Bookburners Season 5 by Max Gladstone, Mur Lafferty, Margaret Dunlap, Brian Slattery, & Andrea Phillips



Bookburners is a series from Serial Box Publishing, a publisher who specializes in publishing weekly "serials" - basically novels split up into small parts each written by a different author.  The idea is essentially to treat written works like TV seasons, with each weekly part being an "episode" and a set of episodes making up a yearly "season."  Bookburners is the one of these series I've most enjoyed, and since the publisher had been releasing episodes and seasons to one of my e-libraries, I'd kept track of it for four seasons....except Serial Box last year quit releasing episodes anywhere but its own platform, so I fell behind.  Finally I decided to splurge for the final season when I needed something likely fun to read on my birthday, and well here we are.

Bookburners began as a series in which an NY Cop Sal found herself recruited to a secret Vatican Organization devoted to suppressing outbreaks of magic in the world.  Her team - our main characters - consisted of a priest with uncertain faith, a computer hacker who was previously possessed by a technomagic cult, a woman from early 20th century China whose life is tied to a magic candle, and an archivist with a bit too much interest in studying magic - travel the world and try to keep disasters from happening on an episodic basis at first, but over the course of the past four seasons, things have grown epic in scale to the point where the status quo has shifted tremendously on numerous occasions, with relationships between our characters changing, magic shifting from a hidden secret to out in the open, and utter destruction of all on the horizon.

It's a setup that is very similar to what's been done in a lot of places (Secret Vatican Strike Force?  Drink!), but it's done so well, with the characters being so great and fun to read, that it's been a minor fave of mine.  This Season is the final one, and almost like a TV series' final season, it's about half the length of prior seasons - only 6 episodes long, which made me a bit sad.  It's a bit more focused as a result, but some of the fun is lost as it barrels towards a conclusion from its very start.

Note: Minor Spoilers for the earlier seasons in this series are inevitable in this review, but they shouldn't alter anyone's enjoyment of the earlier seasons.


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Tuesday, May 5, 2020

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Bird King by G Willow Wilson




The Bird King is a 2019 novel by author G Willow Wilson, perhaps best known as the creator and long time writer of the most recent version of Ms. Marvel, Marvel's teen Muslim superhero.  It's also her second novel, and her first in 7 years.  I've only had a taste of Wilson's work through a few volumes of Ms. Marvel that were nominated for the Hugo, and thus in the Hugo packet, but I enjoyed it quite a bit, so I was always planning on getting to her most recent novel at some point.  In fact, I've taken it out from Hoopla a few times, but never managed to get to it due to a glut of other library books that have actual hold times.....until now, where coronavirus has allowed me to get through all of my library backlog.

And well, it's my fault for not getting to The Bird King sooner, because it's truly a tremendous novel.  Set during the fall of Muslim Granada to Inquisitorial Spain, it features the attempted escape from the Inquisition of a Muslim concubine (slave) and her friend, a gay (magical) mapmaker and is based in part upon a classical Muslim poem, The Conference of the Birds (which I had not read or heard of prior to this novel).  It's a story with tremendous characters and really interesting ideas about faith, freedom, and friendship (alliteration not intended), and confronts morality not just in any one particular religion, but perhaps all of them.  Well worth your time.


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Monday, May 4, 2020

Fantasy Novella Review: Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh




Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

Silver in the Wood is the debut novella by author Emily Tesh - who recently found herself nominated for the Astounding (formerly Campbell) Award for Best New SciFi/Fantasy Writer as a result.  I'd skipped this novella originally, and was due to skip this novella's sequel originally scheduled to be published later this year (I think it's been pushed back), but I like to read and review every Hugo nominated work, so I put this one back on my list upon the nominations coming out.

And I'm glad I did - Silver on the Wood takes a familiar formula, switches the perspective and puts a fresh spin on it.  It's a story of the mysterious wild man in the woods, who may be more than a normal man, and an explorer who meets him and befriends him....from the perspective of the wild man.  Throw in a little M-M romance - the explorer is a notorious flirt - a surprise end of first act twist and twist of a second act character, and a really enjoyable ending.  I'll look forward to this one's sequel.


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Saturday, May 2, 2020

A Pale Light In The Black (by KB Wagers) Reread - Chapters 14 and 15


Welcome back to my reread of K.B. Wagers' "A Pale Light in the Black!"  You can find the other posts in this reread here.  For those somehow seeing this post first instead of the others, A Pale Light in the Black is a space opera featuring a SF space version of the Coast Guard in an optimistic future universe.  It's not too late to pick up this book yourself and read along, and I highly recommend doing so - we're just about to start the Prelim Boarding Games, so we're into the 2nd third of the novel now!  But it's not that long a book so catching up won't take that long.....

Last week we saw the crew pulling off a harrowing rescue, with Jenks and Max managing to figure out how to defuse the near-critical reactor of a tanker filled with highly volatile fuel near enough to Jupiter Station to cause some serious damage to both people and property.  It was an exciting sequence - more so to read than talk about but still!

This time around, we've reached a calm before the storm, as the crew finally reaches the prelim Boarding Games!  Other than some practice swordfighting, we're all lovey-dovey!  Well, not romantically (yet) but more in a familial way.  Oh and Rosa gets a few pep talks.  She needs a lot of those for a commander - when it comes to Sword fighting at least.

NOTE: As I noted earlier in this reread, I'm reading this on an e-ARC, and not every chapter has a "Chapter #" at on it.  I actually managed to take the book out from my elibrary for a few minutes (and then returned it), and confirmed this seems to be the case in the final book also.  This would not be a problem, except the next time the book lists a Chapter #, it seems to be counting the 1-2 page letters as their own chapters, so the book's own count doesn't match mine.  We'll get to that when we get to it, but uh....you should still be able to follow along easily enough.


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