I didn’t go in to this book expecting to find happiness. I came in knowing this was a dystopian novel. I knew this would be a soul-crushing and painful depiction of an all-too-possible future. However, somewhere between the first page and the last, I was lulled into a sense of complacency, and I was caught off guard by what a damn punch to the gut this book ultimately ended up being. … More The Warehouse by Rob Hart
Marie Brennan is back once more in the world of Lady Trent with her newest novel, Turning Darkness Into Light. While TDiL follows the granddaughter of the famous Lady Trent, this is not merely a rehash of the same themes we saw in the first series. Audrey is her own person with her own goals… and a heavy familial legacy to live up to. I was impressed not only by Audrey, but also the side characters: Kudshayn and Cora. Told in the form of letters and journal entries, this book has drawn me in from the first page – Brennan has not only met the standard her original series set, but surpassed it. … More Turning Darkness Into Light by Marie Brennan
R. F. Kuang returns to the world of The Poppy War with this stunning sequel, The Dragon Republic. Everything I enjoyed about The Poppy War is not only present once again in The Dragon Republic, but amplified. … More The Dragon Republic by R. F. Kuang
The Therapist by Nial Giacomelli was more than a bit of a let-down. I’d been hoping for a thoughtful character-driven plague survival story, but unfortunately mostly ended up with a middle-aged white man whining about how his wife was depressed and about how he thinks the (somewhat mysterious) therapist they’re visiting isn’t worth the money. … More The Therapist by Nial Giacomelli
While I think there’s a lot for Three-Body fans to enjoy in this novel, I felt that Baoshu’s contribution to the universe lacked the urgency and depth of the main trilogy. Where Cixin had a set, specific danger within each of his books, Baoshu takes on more of a historian role; the first third of the book is entirely contained within a conversation between two characters, Tianming and AA, discussing what has already happened to them. … More The Redemption of Time by Baoshu – A Three-Body Problem Novel
A Sword Named Truth (ASNT) is the first in a new series by Sherwood Smith, set in the same world has the Inda Quartet: Sartorias-Deles. Similarly to Inda, ASNT begins with a young cast and will follow them into adulthood in subsequent books. While the characters are children, this book is not YA nor would I necessarily recommend it to younger readers given the dense worldbuilding. … More A Sword Named Truth by Sherwood Smith
This book is poetic, romantic, strange, and violent – a whirlwind of emotion, fear, and firsts. Two soldiers fighting on opposite sides of a war up and down through the strands of time find that their greatest joy lies in each other, and thus begin a correspondence. They are two parallel lines that never meet despite having shaped one another through each of their interactions. … More This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
It’s a rare day that you find me reading romance, but I was heartily overdue for something cutesy, feel-good, and upbeat. Admittedly, given that it takes place in a post-war English murder village and focuses on two (very attractive) men who have been shell-shocked or otherwise hurt by the war, I don’t know that this can be wholly classified as feel-good… but I’ll be damned if watching the two of them flirt under the eye of proper English society wasn’t cute as hell. … More Hither, Page by Cat Sebastian
As someone who rarely reads novels which are set on modern day Earth, this was a change of pace for me. Oddly, it can take me out of a book a bit when I see references to Twitter, Instagram, or other social media sites, despite them being a part of my daily life. Once I got past this and adjusted my mental framework, I very much enjoyed Wanderers. It has some excellent commentary on the current political landscape that is highly relevant to modern life while also having just enough science fiction in it to keep me hooked. … More Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
Where to begin? Velocity Weapon is both flawed and delightful. Seriously, I had so much fun with it! Is it perfectly written? No. Did I love the heck out of it? ABSOLUTELY. While some of the execution and pacing is a bit rocky at times, two characters in particular kept me coming back for more. Sanda is a sergeant in the military, who has been stranded in an escape pod for hundreds of years – the last human left in the system. She’s picked up and rescued by The Light of Berossus (affectionately called Bero), a sentient AI ship with a dark past and a quirky personality. … More Velocity Weapon by Megan O’Keefe
Black Forest Basilisks 