SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Interstellar Megachef by Lavanya Lakshminarayan

 

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 November 5, 2024 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.

Interstellar Megachef is the second American-published novel of Indian writer Lavanya Lakshminarayan. Lakshminarayan's The Ten Percent Thief, published in the US last year and in India a few years prior (under a different title), was one of my favorite books of last year: it was a brilliant combination of vignettes and short stories poking holes at and satirizing a future society supposedly organized entirely upon merit (among many other ideas). It was a piece of idea-based sci-fi, and while it didn't have a set of main characters who had much character development, the result was just an utterly brilliant take down of ideas of merit, equality, and where tech and other things are going. So I was super excited to see that this next book of hers would be out this year and would be a worldwide release.

And well, Interstellar Megachef succeeds again at setting up a supposedly better world - the planet Primus, settled in the future by Earth emigrants under a charter to reinvent human culture as a better more equal and sustainable culture - that it then pokes holes in as being not quite the utopia it claims to be. The story is less successful with its main characters and plotlines however - main characters Saraswati Kaveri and Serenity Ko are strong characters with understandable personalities, but their character growth winds up being abrupt near the end (and the romance between them seems almost shoehorned in). More annoyingly, the plot teases a whole bunch of potential conflicts and plot twists that never actually happen and are all saved for the sequel as this book is in fact the first book of a trilogy/series. There's still some really interesting themes and ideas here, but the result is kind of an unsatisfying package due to how it's all pulled together for a conclusion.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Bisection by Sheila Jenné

 

Bisection is a 2024 self-published novel by author Sheila Jenné and most notably, the book is a Self Published Science Fiction Competition 4 (SPSFC4) semifinalist which my judging group is setup to review. The novel features a fascinating premise that seemed really hard to write well: the protagonists are a pair of beings who share the same body, Tria (the Right) and Resa (the Left), as their species (the Kinaru) are human-like except each one of their brains is segmented into two beings - the Right, who is logical, rational and planning; and the Left, who is feeling and emotional. And so we read about Tria and Resa as they stow away on an alien ship and discover more about themselves, each other, their species and the universe...especially as things go awry.

The result works far far better than I could've expected, even if the concept is by some definition a little simplistic. The story contrasts the emotional/logical beings of the Kinaru with that of both an alien Shatakazan species and that of the humans on Earth in ways that really deal with interesting themes: oppression in the name of knowing what's best, the value of emotion and empathy as opposed to just cold reason, individual actions and autonomy vs consensus based communities and more. The story is also not preachy as it goes from beginning to end, and while there are a few moments that made me laugh in their plot convenience, in general this is a rather compelling interesting SciFi novel that pays off its interesting concept.

Video Game Review: The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak 2

Trails through Daybreak 2 is the 12th game in the Nihon Falcom's Trails series of JRPGs and the second game in the Calvard Arc, the fourth arc in the series. If somehow you're reading this review without having any familiarity with Trails, the series is a JRPG series of video games that began 20 years ago (although the first game didn't come to the US until 10 years later roughly) with Trails in the Sky and, like a long running epic fantasy series, each game sort of builds upon the next so as to create one incredibly epic story. The story occasionally provides what seem like good entry points for latecomers to Trails, like the first Trails through Daybreak game (which began the fourth arc of the series, dealing with events in the country of Calvard), but inevitably events, plot threads, and characters from the prior games show up as each arc gets more and more complicated. And for the Calvard Arc, that moment comes in Trails Through Daybreak 2.

Now listen, I am basically what might be called a Trails superfan (even if I'm far from the craziest in that direction). I've played every game in the series (and most of them multiple times) and even played the two Crossbell games (Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure) using a fan translation because those games were skipped by the localization teams hired by Falcom for like a decade before they were finally released (with help from the fan translaters) two years or so ago. So keep in mind that none of this epic continuity is a problem for me in and of itself and that will color my review.

So what are my thoughts as a Trails superfan of this game? Well, I'll go into more details below, but in general, I had a lot of very mixed thoughts on this game compared to some of the earlier games in the series, particularly the last Daybreak game, which is honestly one of the series' high notes. Daybreak 2 is known for being a game with some very mixed opinions from fans and it definitely earns that reputation: the game relies upon some really silly shortcuts that are even more obvious than usual, the plot generally doesn't move forward as much as you'd like for a second game in an arc and drags seriously at times, and bringing back two characters from a prior game and centering them in the story feels like a waste. On the other hand, the core gameplay remains incredibly fun, much of the new gameplay is really good (although there are some lesser parts), and individual character beats which have always been a major focus of Trails shine immensely. I put 70 hours into Trails Through Daybreak 2 and I absolutely do not regret it, even if I'm not in a hurry to replay the game right now.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Wearing the Lion by John Wiswell

 

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 June 17, 2025 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.

Wearing the Lion is the second novel by award winning SF/F author John Wiswell. The novel is Wiswell's take on the story of Heracles - better known by his roman name Hercules - told from dual perspectives: the perspective of Heracles himself and the perspective of Hera, queen of the Olympian Gods, who in most stories is Heracles' antagonist who hates him for being born from Zeus' infidelity.

But Wiswell takes the story in a very different way than I've ever seen before. Here, Heracles is an extremely well meaning Himbo (super strong and pretty, but not the brightest) and Hera is a very sympathetic goddess who finds that her anger at his existence is going horribly wrong and finds herself desperate to find someway to undo her mistakes. The story take the established myths of Heracles and reframes and re-adapts them into a story with multiple found family arcs as well as themes of justice, vengeance, forgiveness, and accountability. And it works really really well. Oh and the story retains Wiswell's amazing gift for dialogue, naming, and character beats (some of the reframed Olympic Gods are just....perfect). You'll want to read this one for sure.

More specifics after the jump:

Book Review: The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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 July 16, 2024 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 Seventh Veil of Salome is a historical fiction novel set in 1950s Hollywood written by master author Silvia Moreno-Garcia. This is not a science fiction or fantasy novel but instead follows a bunch of characters working on or adjacent to a fictional 1950s movie in the "Sword and Sandals" genre (think Ben-Hur) which is based upon the New Testament story of Salome, the niece of Herod who asked for the head of John the Baptist*. While the story jumps between character viewpoints, it largely focuses upon Vera, a girl from Mexico who was randomly discovered to become the film's star actress despite no prior acting credits, and her struggles among hollywood, among her family, and in her own confusion about what she wants and parallels these struggles with those of Salome in the movie.

*As a Jewish reader not really familiar with the New Testament, I was not honestly familiar with this story, fwiw, and the book works fine without any foreknowledge.*

The result is a really interesting novel dealing with a number of themes - including oppression, parental pressure and emotional abuse, confusion about destiny and what one wants, class, love, and passion. The story's most prominent characters - Vera and a white girl named Nancy who has struggled and failed to reach a big role in Hollywood and, in cavorting with bad actors, finally reaches a breaking point - are done really well, and the story carries impressively towards the climax where you know something is going to go badly wrong. It's not a book that I loved or think is a must read, but it's another solid entry from Moreno-Garcia, who seems to write nothing other than such novels and is always worth picking up.

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Ivory Tomb by Melissa Caruso

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 December 6, 2022 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 Ivory Tomb is the final book in Melissa Caruso's Rooks and Ruin trilogy, which began with the Obsidian Tower and continued with The Quicksilver Court. The trilogy has followed Ryx, the Aethling (heir) to Morgrain, as she and the agents of the Rookery attempt to deal with the most dangerous of all magical disasters: the unleashing of the Nine Demons of legend upon the land with the help of foolish power hungry humans. It's been a really well written series, as usual for Caruso (whose prose I can devour really quickly), as it follows a protagonist who is rightfully afraid to unleash her deadly powers and instead tries to handle things through words and diplomacy even as things get more and more dangerous (I'm vastly oversimplifying to stay non-spoiling before the jump).

The Ivory Tomb is a very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, as it follows Ryx and the Rookery trying to deal with both demons new (Carnage, Despair, and Corruption) and old (Hunger, Discord, and Death). Moreover, it deals with Ryx trying to figure out a new status quo through it all that will allow there to be peace...and such that it won't put Ryx against those she loves, especially given Ryx's new understanding of her own powers. It's a very easy book to read, with some solid/interesting themes, and even if it doesn't go super deep, the mix of likable characters and fun ideas and scenes makes this one a very enjoyable read that I consumed in a single day.

Spoilers for Books 1 and 2 are inevitable below - I've been vague up to this point, but will stop after the jump:

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Knife and the Serpent by Tim Pratt

 

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 June 11, 2024 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 Knife and the Serpent is the latest novel from author Tim Pratt. Pratt is an author who I don't think is super known but whom I've read a lot over the last few years. Pratt, a genderfluid author, generally writes some really fun and often quirky sci-fi featuring often zany, space opera, and/or multiversal protagonists who usually find themselves in situations well beyond their expectations. I've never not at least been amused by his books (even his tie-in Twilight Imperium stuff is great and I don't play that game), and the only negative I can say about his works is that I've found his conclusions to multi book series underwhelming. But that isn't really a problem with The Knife and the Serpent, which is a stand alone novel in and of itself.

It might also be my favorite Pratt novel too. The novel is very queer - it's most important protagonist, Glenn is genderqueer - and also very much in a kinky relationship with his girlfriend Viv...which is very relevant to the plot and themes (dealing with consent, relationships, control, and of course the fight against fascism) even if the novel goes any specific intimate descriptions of their sex acts. And it features not just Glenn's romance with Viv, which takes a turn when it turns out Viv is a secret agent for a multiversal force that fights against fascist agents throughout the multiverse, but also the really well story of his ex Tamsin....who turns out to be the last member of a ruling family of another world and decides upon learning that that she should take pack power and control. It's a short novel, but it really does feel somewhat complete, is always a fun blast, and handles some tropes and ideas other books don't nearly use as well, so I'd highly recommend it.

More after the Jump: