 Tasha Suri, Empire of Sand, Orbit, 2018.
Audiobook available on Audible. I'm a year late to this party but despite a rocky start, I really enjoyed Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri, a stand-alone fantasy novel set in a world inspired by Mughal India.  Ada Hoffmann, The Outside, Angry Robot, 2019.
Audiobook available on Audible. The Outside by Ada Hoffmann will probably be one of my favourite science-fiction novels of the year. It's smart, it's fast paced, it doesn't go for easy shortcuts, the worldbuilding is very interesting and it has great characters. Once again, Angry Robot proves that small presses have some of the best stories out there at the moment.  Jonathan Ward, Caleuche, Fox Spirit Books, 2019.
Caleuche is a space opera thriller after a technological apocalypse occurs. It uses tropes and has some stereotypical elements, but it is a gripping read for a cosy evening in.  Claire G. Coleman, Terra Nullius, Hachette Australia, 2017.
Audiobook available on Audible. I'm sorry I missed this book when it was published in 2017. It feels like being late to a party, but better late than never. This scifi dystopia certainly makes for a grim party, but it is a powerful, unmisseable one.  Adrian Tchaikovsky, Walking to Aldebaran, Rebellion Publishing, 2019.
Good day, and welcome to your annual review of a Tchaikovsky story (and I haven't even read yet Children of Ruin...)! This latest offering is a dark and compelling scifi novella that will take you into a maze full of monsters...  Jan Morris, Hav, Faber & Faber, 2006.
I came into Hav by chance. I lost myself in its maze for two weeks, walking its streets, never wanting to leave. I had to, of course, other books were waiting. But Hav will probably one of my favourite encounters of the year.  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.  Lavie Tidhar, Unholy Land, Tachyon Publications, 2018.
I haven't liked what I've read of Lavie Tidhar as much as some reviewers have, but Unholy Land has certainly fascinated me. This tangle of uchronic worlds that some people are able to visit centre around the question of Zionism and identity. I've found it an intriguing novella despite some niggles.  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."  Aliya Whiteley, The Loosening Skin, Unsung Stories, 2018.
Once upon a time, if you had told me "weird fiction", I'd have run screaming. It conjured images of ick and ick-ier in the vein of Burrough's Naked Lunch. But a couple of writers have reconciled me with the genre until I finally read Aliya Whiteley last year. I would now cross a sea to buy her latest books and this latest novella of hers is another brilliant story.  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.  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.  Hari Kunzru, White Tears, Penguin, 2018.
Available as an audiobook on Audible. White Tears isn't a fluff and easy read with endearing characters. Nonetheless, it is an engrossing and important fantasy/horror story about cultural appropriation, with a writing style bordering sometimes on the vertiginous.  Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Beautiful Ones, Innsmouth Free Press, 2018.
The SCKA shortlist keeps on taking me out of my comfort zone and The Beautiful Ones, a fantasy novel by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, a writer I've been wanting to read for a long time, is another story which shouldn't work for me at all but actually does.  Juliet McKenna, The Green Man's Heir, Wizard's Tower Press, 2018.
Audio book available on Audible. I had fallen in love with McKenna's four series of epic fantasy, all set in a fascinating and diverse secondary world. So I was eagerly waiting for this new novel of her which, while still remaining fantasy, is set in our contemporary world, in the English countryside. It didn't disappoint.  Ahmed Saadawi, Frankenstein in Baghdad, Oneworld Publications, 2018.
Translation: Jonathan Wright. In more ways than one Frankenstein in Baghdad is a novel in conversation both with a literary context and a historical context. And, strangely enough, this fantasy story has common points both with The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead and with Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. |
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 closed, having neither time nor the inclination to moderate them. |
In which C. reviews the best scifi and fantasy books read recently.
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