I struggled with this book to start. I had a hard time with Gem. I didn’t like them very much. Their reaction was very understandable given all of theI struggled with this book to start. I had a hard time with Gem. I didn’t like them very much. Their reaction was very understandable given all of their trauma, but I didn’t connect with them. However, the plot is GOOD.
Gem Echols is a nonbinary Seminole teen living in the tiny town of Gracie, Georgia. Part of a pantheon trapped on earth being reborn into generation after generation and some of them recalling their previous lives and some not. It was a fascinating concept. Gem can’t recall their past and struggles to reconcile what Willa Mae is telling them about them being in love over thousands of years and over dozens of lifetimes. And how does Enzo, the guy that Gem has been in love with for years in this lifetime, fit into this picture? Can there be room for a human in a relationship between gods? Does a human life matter in such a grand scale?
I didn’t pay enough attention at the start so I missed that the book is part of a duology, but now I will DEFINITELY be picking up the second book when it comes out....more
Into the Riverlands is the third book of the Singing Hills Cycle and it was a great addition. I loved getting to walk alongside Cleric Chih again as tInto the Riverlands is the third book of the Singing Hills Cycle and it was a great addition. I loved getting to walk alongside Cleric Chih again as they travel the world collecting stories for the Singing Hills Monastery. The story opens when Chih meets a pair of young women traveling together who run into trouble with a thug in a waystation tea house. Chih tries to defend them only to find out that they don’t need help at all. A Kung Fu adept, Wei Jintai, is more than capable of handling herself. They join two other travelers and find themselves in the middle of an adventure with people who might just be more than they seem to be. This was such a cool exploration of legendary heroes living in plain sight and about deciding who we want to be known as. I just love this series. The fourth one has just come out and I’m second on the hold list for it. If you haven’t tried this series you don’t know what you’re missing. They’re bite size novellas and they’re awesome. Start with The Empress of Salt and Fortune....more
The wajinru are the descendants of pregnant Africa slave women who were cast overboard during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Their children were bornThe wajinru are the descendants of pregnant Africa slave women who were cast overboard during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Their children were born breathing water and created a civilization beneath the waves of the Atlantic. The Deep is the story of Yetu, a historian of her people, who alone carries the burden of The Remembering. She contains within her all the memories of every wajinru who ever lived, forced to contain and recall every tactile sense memory of the violence and trauma of ancestral pain. But carrying out this duty is slowly but surely killing her. Can she survive being the historian? And what will happen if she abandons her duty and her people?
In The Deep, Rivers Solomon (fae/faer) invites you to explore what it means to inherit ancestral and generational trauma in a fantastic underwater world populated by the wajinru, a mer-person like race of black people who created a civilization in the wake of destruction left by the casualties of the trans-atlantic passage enslaved Africans were forced to take to supply the demand for enslaved workers in the Americas.
Reading Rainbow, the queer book club that I co-lead at DPL picked this book as our March selection. A little background on this book, it was originally inspired by a song by the group Drexciya, then adapted into a rap song by the group .clipping of whom Daveed Diggs is a part. .clipping rejects the use of personal pronouns in their lyrics as a push back against the territoriality of some styles of rap songs, they do not use I, my, me in their lyrics. For The Deep they went even further, using only the phrase “y’all remember”. In Rivers Solomon’s adaptation into the novella The Deep, fae has focused on that phrase and given life to the wajinru and their tradition of The Remembrance. You can read more about the process in the end notes to the book, which I highly recommend!
The Remembrance is a recurring observance where the historian pushes out all the memories to the rest of their people so that they can all remember their collective past for a time before the Historian recalls all the memories and the wajinru can be free with only faint whispers to burden them. This book was powerful, and a completely recommend listening to the song The Deep by .clipping as well. I heard the song after I read the book and it would be interesting to compare experiences with someone who heard the song first and then read the book. I recognized moments of the novella when I heard the song.
This is a very queer story, the wajinru live in a variety of family styles and shapes, some in polycules and some unpartnered. I appreciated the queernorm of their world, it wasn’t made into a sensational thing, it was just presented as part of their culture. There are a number of queer relationships in the story as well, but the story focuses on Yetu’s life and how she carries the history of her people inside her. Several members of my bookclub read her character as autistic, although that word is never used. I don’t want to give too much else away, because I recommend that you read this novella. The story was both about the burdens caring for community places on a few ‘strong’ individuals and the cost of being a caretaker, especially when you aren’t prepared for that role and didn’t choose it. But it was also a story about community healing and how that can happen in the wake of a massive traumatic event.
The writing of this story is very lyrical in places and sometimes I became confused about who was narrating because of the lack of personal pronouns, but I don’t find this to be a fault of the writer, just an adjustment of my thinking as we work towards being more identity inclusive. A good stretch of the brain for any reader. It’s a beautiful piece of well-crafted story telling and I liked how it ended. Recommended 100%!...more
I freaking love Murderbot. So. Much. I think I will need to own these books. I can see myself re-reading these as a comfort read. Artificial ConditionI freaking love Murderbot. So. Much. I think I will need to own these books. I can see myself re-reading these as a comfort read. Artificial Condition is the second in the series and Rogue Protocol is the third. I read both of them in basically one sitting each. They’re like potato chip reads, but with so much more substance. In Artificial Condition Murderbot is making it’s way away from the commercialized parts of the galaxy where it hopes it can fly under the radar a bit more. But it’s also trying to get to the place where it allegedly malfunctioned and murdered most of the humans under it’s care. Murderbot needs to know what really happened before the Company scrubbed its memory. En route they hitch a ride on a transport known as Art. Art is a massively powerful AI that is somehow just running this unmanned ship. With the help of it’s terrifying new friend Murderbot digs into it’s past, and somehow ends up helping another set of lunatic humans who won’t stop rushing into danger....more
I've made you all listen to how much I love Becky Chamber's books before and this one was no exception.
This is a space exploration sci-fi story about I've made you all listen to how much I love Becky Chamber's books before and this one was no exception.
This is a space exploration sci-fi story about people exploring space with compassion and kindness at the forefront. I love that despite being in such literally alien spaces the people still felt real and like family. Even when they were put through some really trying experiences they still did their best to act with compassion. We've seen and read the story of people go into space, get stressed and destroy everything. This was the answer to that story where it asked, but what if they actually worked together and no one was an asshole. LOVED this.
I did not see that ending coming, despite the letter beginning at the start. I was shocked, I finished reading this book at 11:45 at night and I had to stay up and read some other stuff to calm myself back down. I must read more of her books....more
A SecUnit (Security Unit) robot, also known as a Murderbot, becomes self aware by hacking it's governor chip. But instead of going on a bloody rampageA SecUnit (Security Unit) robot, also known as a Murderbot, becomes self aware by hacking it's governor chip. But instead of going on a bloody rampage and, you know, murdering everyone around it, it opts to hack into the entertainment feed provided for the humans it is tasked with protecting.
If anyone finds out that Murderbot isn't being controlled by The Company anymore, it will be destroyed, so Murderbot tries it's best to keep quiet about it. But when things start to go wrong on the survey planet, keeping the secret hidden gets complicated, especially when the leader of the mission, Mensah, seems really perceptive.
This story was excellent. I loved the growth we got to see in Murderbot and the recognition of it being aro/ace. Note: Murderbot's chosen pronouns seem to be "it", hence my using them in this review. The growing awareness of the human crew that Murderbot may not be just a mindless security machine and the contrast of their discomfort around a partly organic partly machine entity was very well done.
The storyline was really compelling too. I loved the way Murderbot was able to talk freely about the company and how they do everything for as cheap as possible which is why stuff breaks and the rescue beacon is super cheap was really relatable.
I won't spoil the ending for you, but I was REALLY pleased to see the direction they went and I hope there are more books because I want to see what might happen next!...more
Dex has lost their way in life, in their quest to find their purpose they meet Mosscap, a robot searching for its own answers.
This book was like receDex has lost their way in life, in their quest to find their purpose they meet Mosscap, a robot searching for its own answers.
This book was like receiving a hug when you need it most and savoring a perfectly brewed cup of tea. It made me cry good tears and made me FEEL. I spent an afternoon living with Dex and then Mosscap and I felt transported to this beautiful, aspirational world that I’m feeling such yearning for. I wish it were real in the worst way.
It’s a world where people stood at the brink of ecological disaster and made compassionate choices that healed their planet and uplifted all creatures and sometimes the world I live in feels so ugly and harsh and hopeless that it was in some ways painful to inhabit this beautiful alternate world.
I think everyone should read this book. It was beautiful and funny and heartwarming and I cannot wait to read the next on the series....more
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