 Alex Acks, Murder on the Titania, and Other Steam-Powered Adventures, Queen of Swords, 2018.
The title says it all really: murder mysteries, adventures, steampunk. What it leaves aside is that it is a very, very entertaining read and it'll be a perfect addition to your summer reading list.  Simon Morden,
One Way and No Way are a duo of hard scifi novels set on Mars and written by Simon Morden. I'm usually not big on techno thrillers but I had so much enjoyed Morden's Books of Down that I gave it a try. Despite a slow start for me, I ended up loving it.  Temi Oh, Do You Dream of Terra-Two? Simon and Schuster, 2019.
Audio version available on Audible. I had mixed feelings at the end of Do You Dream of Terra-Two?, a near-future scifi novel. Without a doubt, Temi Oh has written a story which has many strong points, but other aspects were less convincing to me. Nonetheless, it is an interesting novel with a lot of potential.  Tade Thompson, The Rosewater Insurrection, Orbit, 2019.
Audio version available on Audible. "C., " are you saying because you faithfully follow my reviews, "I clearly remember you reviewing Rosewater in 2017. Why are you doing a new review rather than add to the original?" Well, dear faithful reader, when I first read Rosewater, I thought it was a stand alone and I reviewed (and enjoyed it a lot) as such. But it's now a series. So rather than retconning the review, I'm writing a new one. Because as you'll see, it changes things. When a story moves forward, you lose some things, but you also gain others.  Joyce Chng, Starfang, Fox Spirit Books,
"Werewolves in space!" is the tagline of this trilogy of novellas. Now, the word "werewolves" usually has me running very fast in the opposite direction, but in my never ending quest for space operas, I gave it a try.  Samuel Delany, The Ballad of Beta-2, Ace Double, 1965 (original publishing).
Reprinted in A, B, C, Three Short Novels by Vintage, 2015. Some classic scifi stories are very much stories of their times. Some have aged well; others... less so. When I picked The Ballad of Beta-2, a Samuel Delany novella I had never read, for my series of classics reviews, I didn't really know what to expect. But I suppose this is how you recognise a true master of scifi, when their story, more than fifty years later, still feel incredibly modern. Fourth in the series of "Stories published before 1978."  Adrian Tchaikovsky, The Expert System's Brother, Tor.com, 2018.
Tor.com's novellas can be hit and miss. But... What am I seeing in the distance? It is a Tchaikovsky scifi novella at Tor! Obviously, this one goes into the "hit" category.  Peter Watts, The Freeze-Frame Revolution, Tachyon Publications, 2018.
The Freeze-Frame Revolution is a hard scifi novella whose title is actually pretty self explanatory once you start reading. It's a clever mix of good concepts and old concepts, though some more allusive aspects may not be everyone's cup of tea.  Sue Burke, Semiosis, MacMillan, 2018.
Audio version available on Audible. Semiosis is science-fiction novel, spanning generations on an alien planet. Called "A First contact story", it announces its ambitions very early on. Though I had some niggles with it, I very much enjoyed it.  Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Prime Meridian, JABberwocky Literary Agency, 2018 (reprint).
About six months ago I was told of this novella, too late to be a part of the fundraiser and get a copy when Moreno-Garcia released it as an indie novella. Ever since, I've been waiting for its reprint and wider availablity. So, yes, I know that barely a few weeks ago I reviewed a novel by Moreno-Garcia, but this scifi novella was everything I hoped for, and some more.  Sam J. Miller, Blackfish City, Orbit, 2018.
Audio version available on Audible. Blackfish City is a near-ish future scifi novel, built upon climate change disasters and a socially conscious discourse. I've had some issues with it, but it's nonetheless a well written story, with interesting character dynamics.  Walter Miller, A Canticle for Leibowitz, J.B. Lippincott, 1960 (original publication), SF Masterworks, 1997 (reprint).
Audio version available on Audible. I couldn't remember if I had read A Canticle for Leibowitz or not. But the fact is that if I did, it was in my early teens, almost thirty years ago, so it was as good as if I hadn't. Cue my "Novels published before 1978" series, a wonderful opportunity to (re) read it. But I ended up realising that this classic scifi novel was actually highly problematic. Why am I reviewing it then? It's an interesting novel to debate and it should also be a warning to anyone being told that it's a classic to not go into it blindly. Third in my series of novels published before 1978.  Nalo Hopkinson, Midnight Robber, Grand Central Publishing, 2000.
Audiobook available on Audible. I was recently reminded that I often talk about Midnight Robber but that I still haven't reviewed it. I'm delighted to finally being able to as this scifi novel, artfully blending an intimate narrative with a thoughtful take on the power of words and fiction, and an intriguing planet, is definitely not one to be missed.  Nick Harkaway, Gnomon, William Heinemann, 2017.
Did I like or did I dislike Gnomon? To be entirely honest with you, I'm still not sure. Probably both at the same time.  Leigh Brackett, The Long Tomorrow, SF Masterworks, 2014.
Audio version available on Audible. Originally published by Doubleday in 1955. The Long Tomorrow had been sitting on my to-be-read piles for ages. One of the few recognised female writers during the so-called "Golden Age" of science-fiction, Brackett intrigued me. This novel proved to be interesting to read some 70 years later and also, sometimes, irritating. Second in my series of reviews of novels published before 1978.  John Ayliff, Belt Three, Harper Voyager, 2015.
Nothing I've read recently has quite made the cut for the blog. So here I was, wringing my hands, "What to review?", when I remembered Belt Three by John Ayliff. I read it a few months back, but at the time I was in a run of very strong stories and it fell off the podium despite some solid qualities. I'm glad this space opera got now its second chance because it is well worth a look.  Tade Thompson, The Murders of Molly Southbourne, Tor, 2017.
I had been very impressed by Rosewater, Thompson's previous novel (1), so I had to read this new story. Nonetheless, I was a bit wary of reading this novella that Tor, the publisher, presented as horror. It turns out that, yes, there is gore. But it's not so much the gore than the very dramatic story that makes it so striking.  Wendy Wagner, An Oath of Dogs, Angry Robot, 2017.
Audiobook version available on Audible. Let's face it: after having finished An Oath of Dogs, I wasn't entirely convinced I would review it. But as I read other books, I realised that the characters and the story remained with me. To me, this is the sign that there is to a novel more than I first perceived, and it means that it is well worth a review.  W. E. B. DuBois, "The Comet", Darkwater, 1920.
Audiobook available on Audible. Reprinted in Dark Matter: The Anthology of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculative Fiction by Black Writers, edited by Renee Sheree Thomas and Martin Simmons (2000). It's not my habit to read nor review short stories. They are, as it says on the tin, a tad too short. Nonetheless, I really wanted to read "The Comet", which is not only considered as a scifi classic but also written by one of the earliest Black American scifi writers. I wasn't disappointed. First story in my series of reviews for stories written before 1978.  Karen Lord, The Best of All Possible Worlds, Jo Fletcher Books, 2014.
Audiobook available on Audible. I had enjoyed a lot Karen Lord's debut novel, Redemption in Indigo, and this one came highly recommended. Though the narrative structure was different from what I expected, it is a scifi novel filled with great characters and both thoughtful and funny moments that makes it one of the best quest for happiness I ever read. It is also a novel that I read completely wrong and after a brief exchange with Lord, I realised I had to radically shift my way of looking at it. |
All reviews are spoiler free unless explicitly stated otherwise.
I only review stories I have liked even if my opinion may be nuanced. It doesn't apply for the "Novels published before 1978" series of blog posts. Comments are moderated. I may be slow in approving them, but please, feel free to go ahead. |
In which C. reviews the best scifi and fantasy books read recently.
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