There is a very confusing forward to Sidewinders, the second book of The Fire Sacraments by Robert V.S. Redick. In it, Redick very helpfully recaps the major events of book one (which I would have been lost without) and then goes on to say that he sees Sidewinders as something between a sequel and a…
Month: August 2022
Starship Troopers – More Like Poopers
Starship Troopers came to me by way of Ian Simmons of Kicking the Seat. We regularly unite on his YouTube channel and podcast for his Page2Screen series to discuss books and their adaptations, for better or worse. Latest in the long line of adaptations is Starship Troopers, Robert Heinlein’s military sci-fi of yore. For a…
How High We Go In The Dark – Treading Water in a Cave
Catching up on the year’s previous releases is a double edged sword. It feels good to read something that so many people have already weighed in on, but said novel carries the baggage of having to live up to expectations. While I didn’t read any reviews of this next book until after I had finished…
Continue reading ➞ How High We Go In The Dark – Treading Water in a Cave
Sandman Volume Nine: The Kindly Ones – Nice
Points in my Sandman readthrough have sparked questions of a fatigued reader: where is this going? What does this mean? I was struggling by the time I reached The Kindly Ones, and I looked at the volume—by far the longest in the series by page length—only to double down on my exhaustion. Before I slipped…
Continue reading ➞ Sandman Volume Nine: The Kindly Ones – Nice
The Dragon’s Promise – Well-Kept
Elizabeth Lim’s Six Crimson Cranes duology comes to a close with a fairytale ending fitting for its rambunctious heroine. The story gets even bigger and better in The Dragon’s Promise as we follow Princess Shiori attempting to fulfill her stepmother’s wish. There was a lot more action in this book, and while both are amazing,…
High Times in the Low Parliament – It’s Raining Women
High Times in the Low Parliament, by Kelly Robson, is a strange and horny novella with a memorable title and an even more memorable cover. Unfortunately, the interior of this story is less memorable than the exterior, unless you are really craving a lukewarm erotica about a scribe who can’t keep it in her pants…
Continue reading ➞ High Times in the Low Parliament – It’s Raining Women
Eversion – Delightfully Subversive
I have been spending the better part of this summer catching up on Alastair Reynolds’ intimidating library. I have nearly finished the Revelation Space series (Looking at you, Inhibitor Phase) and have been having an absolute blast. Lo’ and behold Andrew shows up at my door with an ARC of Eversion, I couldn’t have been…
The Bruising of Qilwa – More Than Meets The Eye
The Bruising of Qilwa, a novella by Naseem Jamnia, is a short story about being trans, immigration, belonging, and how plague/tragedy can change reality for many people. The story is entertaining, heartfelt, and it brings some nice representation to a genre that could always use more. However, while it is both cute and fun it…
Continue reading ➞ The Bruising of Qilwa – More Than Meets The Eye
Upgrade – Max Potential
What would it look like if humans could reach their full potential as a species? The action-packed 2011 film Limitless asked the question, and Bradley Cooper showed us a man using almost 100% of his brain to full effect. Now, sci-fi author Blake Crouch offers a tweaked version of that concept with Upgrade. After Logan…
The First Binding – Name Of The Bard
If the sole purpose of a review was to help you understand if you would enjoy a book or not, I think I could have you out of here in a single paragraph. I believe your enjoyment of The First Binding, by R.R. Virdi, can be predicted with three simple questions. Do you like The…