Kameron Hurley has this incredible ability to occupy the spaces known to the science fiction canon but somehow occupy them subversively. Just like theKameron Hurley has this incredible ability to occupy the spaces known to the science fiction canon but somehow occupy them subversively. Just like the novels I've read by her, the stories are violent and gritty, and not always hopeful.
Some favorites:
*Elephants and Corpses* could live in the universe of Altered Carbon but with a twist.
*The Plague Givers* deals with a fallout of a relationship that might have the power to destroy the world.
*Tumbledown* features a paraplegic warrior on a frozen planet.
This collection came out August 20, 2019, and I had a copy from the publisher through NetGalley....more
I've had less than good experiences in my last few Atwood reads - first I spent money on the novella series that was then removed from my Kindle with I've had less than good experiences in my last few Atwood reads - first I spent money on the novella series that was then removed from my Kindle with no renumeration. Then I held off and finally read The Heart Goes Last and ended up sorely disappointed in it. You can read my 2-star review but part of my complaint had to do with a feeling of author laziness on some level. Claiming it was an all new book, but to me half of it being very familiar since I'd already read it in the novella version. And paid for it twice.
I've reread The Handmaid's Tale in the last few years, and it holds up. The MaddAddam trilogy has a fond place in my heart. I don't believe I should have to watch a TV series to appreciate a book, and this forms the major part of my criticism of this book. I did watch the first season of The Handmaid's Tale, but the episodes came slower and slower, because I was having nightmares. I delayed watching the second season because real life seemed dark enough, and my husband finally went ahead and watched it without me.
When I got to the end of this book, I went and read the synopses of seasons 2 and 3 of the show and here's the thing - this book intertwines with the show and you simply will not understand it without all the parts. This is more aggravating than I can express.
My second major complaint is a complex frustration of this book being included in the Man Booker Shortlist. It is a good enough book in the sense that there are three narrators that rotate and tell different pieces of a somewhat exciting story, but as others have pointed out since two of the narrators are teenagers the novel reads like a pretty typical dystopian YA novel. And maybe not the best one I've ever read (The Hunger Games, for instance, has far more complexity, higher stakes, and dynamic characters.) The writing serves for the pace of a thriller-dystopia but there is nothing literary about it. Even Justin Cronin's vampire novels are of a more literary nature than this book, and I feel like the Man Booker judges are decades, maybe centuries, away from considering such a novel on their list. It does not deserve the spot it is occupying; there were books far better in writing and creativity and voice that were excluded for what, a nostalgia spot?
This is not the bitter accusations of someone who is whining because she didn't get a review copy. I don't always, I'm not important enough, so I hadn't even tried. I was happy to purchase it the day it came out in Audible and listen to it in all my spare time to finish it by last night.
I also feel the book leaves several questions unanswered but as a reader, I don't even know if I should remark on them or assume they are explained in the show, to the extent that Margaret Atwood felt she didn't need to. For now I'll let them be....more
I devoured this book in a day and loved it for a bunch of little reasons. The author's attention to detail made her characters unique and her decisionI devoured this book in a day and loved it for a bunch of little reasons. The author's attention to detail made her characters unique and her decisions near the end were perfection. The setting is the Cascade mountains of Oregon (I grew up in sight of Mt Hood so I know the landscape well) with volcanic/seismic activity causing some parallel reality situations for these intertwining characters. Believe the hype! I will wax poetic about the book on an upcoming podcast episode....more
Confession: I took a few vacation hours and drove to a coffee place in the next town so I could finish listening to this book. I enjoyed this story abConfession: I took a few vacation hours and drove to a coffee place in the next town so I could finish listening to this book. I enjoyed this story about a woman who returns home from a multi-year space journey, without her crew and without any memories of what happened. I like how the audiobook has two narrators. This story is just as much about the relationships and situation back home as it is about what happened in space, so if you're not interested in the people side of space exploration, this might not be the book for you. But it was the book for me....more
Josué is a sexual ambassador for humanity, highly trained to interact intimately with all types of beings. He is a combination of a diplomat and a couJosué is a sexual ambassador for humanity, highly trained to interact intimately with all types of beings. He is a combination of a diplomat and a courtesan, despite having his own sexual preferences (male, human.) He is in danger of losing some business to a new type of sexual ambassador, which are hybrid human and AI machines more able to morph into different types of being. One of his colleagues has gone through surgery to breathe underwater.
When the first extragallactic beings arrive, everyone has to work together to preserve advancements in space travel or risk losing it completely and be trapped on earth in the 24th century.
The book is a bit rambly, but if you're in the right mood for it, it's quite entertaining and funny. I definitely read it as a tongue-in-cheek laugh rather than realistic science fiction (and you should too.)...more
Ken Liu openly states in his introduction that these stories are selected based on his tastes. There is a variety of some known Chinese science fictioKen Liu openly states in his introduction that these stories are selected based on his tastes. There is a variety of some known Chinese science fiction writers, and some new voices. Most of them were new to me as I'm woefully behind on books like the Three Body Problem, among others. There is also an earlier volume of Chinese science fiction in translation that is probably worth the read.
Not only are there stories in this anthology, but three essays about the current state of Chinese science fiction. I was fascinated to find out that contemporary acceptance of the genre in its home country is very recent, as the genre was widely disregarded up until just a few years ago (and I'm guessing not everyone is on board yet.)
There are some stories focusing on technology in this anthology, but honestly not as many as I would have expected if I'd had to guess. Many are time travel or have time travel components, or are taking a part of known Chinese history and tweaking it, falling almost to alternate history, although sometimes these elements are merely the backdrop. This means you will enjoy the stories even more if you know about Chinese history and aren't just reading them cold. One story had a connection to a well-loved British science fiction novel, a reference even I understood.
I did like how for the most part, these are not just copies or versions of stories from the west. These are inherently Chinese, and I'm so glad to see more of this type of work being translated into English.
Length wise I felt there were too many on the novelette length size, with different numbered sections. Ken Liu must like his stories a bit longer.
Thanks to the publisher for providing access to the title through Edelweiss, even though it took me a while to get to. The collection came out in February 2019....more
First of all I love this cover! This collection has a wide range of subgenres and tones, from vampires to magical goats. It introduced me to quite a fFirst of all I love this cover! This collection has a wide range of subgenres and tones, from vampires to magical goats. It introduced me to quite a few authors unknown to me. The Charlie Jane Anders story was a punch to the gut....more
I enjoyed this first book in a series about a "lady astronaut" in an alternate 1950s after a giant asteroid has hit earth. The author does a great jobI enjoyed this first book in a series about a "lady astronaut" in an alternate 1950s after a giant asteroid has hit earth. The author does a great job performing her novel, so the audio is highly recommended. Serious trigger warning for graphic depictions of anxiety, and non-serious trigger warning for somewhat hokey geek sex that can only happen between two highly intelligent marrieds who have been together a long time.
If you aren't a member of the largest group in Goodreads (other than the Librarians), why aren't you in the Sword and Laser? They read a fantasy or science fiction book every month and have been going strong at last 10 years, with accompanying podcast. I joined to read more genre fiction and it worked. I would say my enjoyment of this novel was magnified by group discussion and listening to an interview with the author....more
So I think this book is a case of the sum being greater than its parts. If you take it apart too much all it is is pieces that have been done before, So I think this book is a case of the sum being greater than its parts. If you take it apart too much all it is is pieces that have been done before, apocalypse cliches, etc. But somehow the arrangement of the parts and the point of view make it a more enjoyable read for me than I would have expected if someone like Bob had mansplained it to me (ugh his character is so annoying and not even charismatic to pull of leading a group at the end of the world.)
Still I'm not sure it's likely to stick with me. My favorite scene is the moment Candace realizes there is nobody left, that she can't remember the last time she saw one of the guards. The combination of that with her NY Ghost blog is captivating.
The journey to Illinois is rather uninteresting to me although it reveals more about the fever. Yes, it's satire, but sometimes that trumps the actual writing of a solid story with a plot, and this book suffers a bit from that lack. I'd still look forward to reading what the author did next, and because of the way she organizes the pieces, the "ending" doesn't matter as much....more
When the people at Serial Box asked if I'd be interested in trying this story out, it was the authors that had me saying an immediate yes. Becky ChambWhen the people at Serial Box asked if I'd be interested in trying this story out, it was the authors that had me saying an immediate yes. Becky Chambers and Rivers Solomon were both authors I had read and loved; they collaborated on this serial project along with Yoon Ha Lee and S.L. Huang, authors I haven't read yet but will try now.
Serial Box releases chapters the way some tv shows release episodes - and you can pay for access to an episode or a season, or wait for them to be published as a standalone book.
The setting of this story is a dying star and the people on its planets trying to find a way to survive. The outer planets have been forced into refugee status and the inner planets are not feeling very generous. Asala travels to a far planet on a quest, somewhere with a history that is threatening. Her travel companion seems inexperienced and their motives are questionable. I enjoyed it but I was glad not to have to wait for each "episode." One thing I've learned is that when I'm into a story, I want to have access to all of it! So I would be more of a buy the complete project type of reader. ...more
I was invited to a faculty-staff book club of sorts where we discussed this book. An interesting choice!
The book starts with a daughter noticing her mI was invited to a faculty-staff book club of sorts where we discussed this book. An interesting choice!
The book starts with a daughter noticing her mother is angry, and the camera pulls back to show the generation ship they are living on. It is designed with multiple biomes to imitate earth, but there is some movement between them, while being large enough for some children to not know they are on a ship until a coming of age ritual. (But what if earth is also a ship? Cue mind exploding sounds for non spoilery discussion that happens later in the book, and also in my book club.)
Devi is the mother and she is the one closest to the AI of the ship and able to fix most mechanical issues. However she can't compensate for elements that were forgotten or the problem of too much phosphorous and life feels somewhat precarious at all times to her and those in the know. Her daughter hasn't done as well in school but when it comes time for her to travel through the biomes (it felt like rumspringa in Amish tradition, only lacking the place you could leave if you didn't want to stay!), she uses it as an extended time to build relationships with the people in each community.
They are approaching a star with a planet with a moon that seems to fit the spectrum of acceptable oxygen levels, possibly adequate for humanity. It is taking 7-8 generations to get there. Through various forms of ingenuity, they are able to grown their own food and even continue consuming meat, although child bearing is highly restricted.
What happens on the moon and everything after is a bit spoilery, but I will say I really enjoyed the beautiful descriptions by the author, helping me understand what the sky and sea would look like on such a place.
Later on the author randomly includes a poem that is quoted in one of my favorite novels - Justine by Lawrence Durrell. I love when a random connection pops up like that.
The novel ends up exploring issues of humanity's survival, damage to the planet, alien life, "intelligence" and how it is measured, ethics, community, and more. ...more
I started Mockingbird because it was on my TBR from 2010, and somehow thought it was a detective novel of sorts. Wrong! It starts with a robot in a roI started Mockingbird because it was on my TBR from 2010, and somehow thought it was a detective novel of sorts. Wrong! It starts with a robot in a robot-dominant landscape who is unable to end his life, and brings in a human who has taught himself to read, something humans no longer do. Then he meets a woman who isn't on the mind-altering drugs.... Very readable and engaging!...more
Jenny (Reading Envy)
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Books:
2019-laser
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