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Category: review

A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace–Arkady Martine

I listened to both of these books over approximately the last month. They were riveting. The series seems complete but I would absolutely love to read another book in this universe. So interesting, so many ideas and thoughts. The basics of the story is that there is a galactic empire, the Teixcalaan, and there is an independent station (Lsel… so weird to see that in print after only hearing the word) who is concerned about…

Machine–Elizabeth Bear

While I liked Ancestral Night, this book didn’t do as much for me. It is set in the same universe as (and slightly after) the previous book, and one character from that book makes a brief, mostly off-stage appearance. I do like this hodgepodge galaxy of alien syster races in a galaxy spanning Synarche that have all uplifted themselves from pre-advanced technology almost-annihilation events (such as humans who almost killed themselves off with global warming…

Permafrost–Alastair Reynolds

I have only read some of the epic, galaxy spanning space opera novels by Reynolds, so when I was looking for an audio book for a road trip, this author was not what I was expecting. However, coming in at about 4.5 hours, it was perfect for my weekend getaway road trip. This climate fiction work was published in 2019 and is about 175 pages. Reading the description, I knew that it was climate and…

The Future of Another Timeline — Annalee Newitz

This is a time travel novel for people who don’t like time travel novels, apparently. My wife, who is not a huge SFF fan and also really doesn’t like time travel books* somehow acquired this book from a friend. I read it while she listened to it, and she loved it. The basic premise of this novel is pretty cool and unique to my experience; time machines have been on earth for millions of years,…

Boy’s Life — Robert McCammon

A lot can happen in a year. This is a magical book. It says so right at the beginning, where the now-adult author and narrator of the book talks about the magic of childhood, and how important it is to hang on to that magic–not to let it go.  The book chronicles a year in the life of Corey, a 12-year-old boy growing up in a small town in rural Alabama in 1964. The first…

Ancestral Night — Elizabeth Bear

I have been very busy for the last 10 days and haven’t had a chance to blog this book that I finished about a week ago. This was an interesting read. I didn’t know the gender of the main POV character until about half-way through the book. It didn’t matter, and I think that was a choice by the author. I also liked how the tech is described in just enough detail that you know…

Replay — Ken Grimwood

I wanted to read outside my normal genre and this is one of my wife’s favorite books. She found her old copy and I brought it on a flight. It has been a LONG time since I read a book in one siting, but I read the book from start to finish between Phoenix and Boston. Even if I hadn’t been trapped on a plane, I would have had a hard time putting this one…

Ancillary Justice–Ann Leckie

After struggling so much with my last read, I rewarded myself with a book that I knew I was going to like, and wow, did this one deliver for me. Interestingly, one of my complaints about The Two Body Problem was the diverse cast of characters and the complex plot structure. Yet, in Ancillary Justice, there is a sentient starship who divides herself into multiple “ancillaries” to run the ship, a complex plot involving a…

The Three-Body Problem — Cixin Liu

I really struggled reading this book. It was extremely slow paced for the first 60-70% and I had a difficult time differentiating the characters from each other. Unlike other reviewers I read about online, I didn’t have a hard time with the fact that the book jumped around in time. But I wanted to expose myself to something outside my comfort zone. I am a little bit familiar with the big picture of “Eastern Literary…

The Recollection–Gareth Powell

This book has been on my TBR pile for a long time and I finally picked it up for my birthday (which I share, one year different, with GLP!) this year. This story begins with two brothers arguing because both are in love with the same woman, and she had feelings for both as well. Before they can reconcile, the older brother gets transported through a mysterious arch that appears randomly in the tube station…