November
3 Stars to Space Winners by Gordon R. Dickson
Description
They were humanity's hope - the first young people selected to leave Earth for study in the Galactic Federation.
Review
Predictable in outline, but a solid genre piece for its time. Had the feel of a magazine work. Enjoyed.
5 Stars to Undercover Robot: My First Year as a Human by David Edmonds
Description
If super-high-tech android Dotty can spend an entire year masquerading as a twelve-year-old schoolgirl, she could win a multi-million-pound prize that will enable her creators to continue their ground-breaking work in the development of AI. Easy-peasy, right? As Dotty navigates the social expectations of Year 7 she gets into a series of hilarious scrapes, and encounters numerous ethical dilemmas both at school and at home. Then a boy in her class discovers there's a reward for outing the robot, and becomes intent on proving that Dotty is not who – or what – she says she is. To prevent herself from being discovered, Dotty needs to put into practice everything she has learned about being human. But will it be enough...? A hilarious story that poses some fascinating philosophical and ethical questions, told from the point of view of a smart, sassy android robot. A comic school adventure ideal for fans of David Walliams, David Solomons, David Baddiel and Pamela Butchart.
Review
I enjoyed this from start to finish, great child-friendly entertainment. Dotty's very own trolley problem is perhaps my highlight, although much of the young interaction is gold. A guaranteed enjoyable read with my daughter, perhaps just as she herself starts high school.
October
4 Stars to Entities: The Selected Novels of Eric Frank Russell by Eric Frank Russell
Description
This volume contains five novels (Wasp, Sinister Barrier, Sentinels from Space, Next of Kin, and Call Him Dead) plus some short fiction (including Legwork, Mechanical Mice, and Mana). Introduction by Jack L. Chalker. Dustjacket art by Bob Eggleton. Contents: 9 • Editor's Introduction (Entities: The Selected Novels of Eric Frank Russell) • essay by Rick Katze 11 • Wasp: Introduction • essay by Jack L. Chalker 13 • Wasp • (1957) • novel by Eric Frank Russell 135 • Sentinels From Space: Introduction • essay by Jack L. Chalker 137 • Sentinels from Space • (1953) • novel by Eric Frank Russell 275 • Call Him Dead: Introduction • essay by Jack L. Chalker 277 • Call Him Dead • novel by Eric Frank Russell (variant of Three to Conquer 1956) 399 • Next of Kin: Introduction • essay by Jack L. Chalker 401 • Next of Kin • (1959) • novel by Eric Frank Russell (variant of The Space Willies 1958) 499 • Sinister Barrier: Introduction • essay by Jack L. Chalker 501 • Sinister Barrier • (1939) • novel by Eric Frank Russell 633 • Legwork • (1956) • novelette by Eric Frank Russell 669 • Mana • (1937) • shortstory by Eric Frank Russell 673 • Mechanical Mice • (1941) • novelette by Eric Frank Russell and Maurice G. Hugi (variant of The Mechanical Mice) [as by Eric Frank Russell ]
Review
Wasp is one of my all-time favourites, but I'd not read the original version before. What a delight! Call him dead I new by a different name, but was still my second favourite of the collection. I also felt as if I'd read the start of Next of Kin before but certainly didn't remember much beyond the opener. Withal, I am most satisfied with this delightful collection.
5 Stars to Before Dishonor by Peter David
Description
An enemy so intractable that it cannot be reasoned with. The entire race thinks with one mind and strives toward one purpose: to add our biological distinctiveness to their own and wipe out individuality, to make every living thing Borg. In over two centuries, the Federation has never encountered a greater threat. Twice Starfleet assembled and threw countless starships to stand against them. The Borg were stopped, the price paid in blood. Humanity breathed a sigh of relief, assuming it was safe. And with the destruction of the transwarp conduits, the Federation believed that the killing blow had finally been struck against the Borg. Driven to the point of extinction, the Borg continue to fight for their very existence, for their culture. They will not be denied. They must not be stopped. The old rules and assumptions regarding how the Collective should act have been dismissed. Now the Borg kill first, assimilate later. When the Enterprise manages to thwart them once again, the Borg turn inward. The dark places that even the drones never realized existed are turned outward against the enemy they have never been able to defeat. What is revealed is the thing that no one believed the Borg could do.
Review
I can't help but have enjoyed this, given that 1, it was penned by David, and 2, I read it shortly after Dillard'sResistance, which really lacked something in tone when contrasted with the unmatched PD. David's taken the bones of his 1991 Trek novel Vendetta, modernised it and squished it back into line with latter Trek, and extended the Borg storyline a notch whilst creating a good read along the way. I do appreciate how his seeming irreverence can get under the skin, but I'm really glad there was a place for him in this saga.
4 Stars to The Body Electric (Star Trek TNG: Cold Equations, #3) by David Mack
Description
The climax of a new trilogy by the national bestselling author of Star Destiny! At the center of the Galaxy, a planet-sized Machine of terrifying power and unfathomable purpose hurls entire star systems into a supermassive black hole. Wesley Crusher, now a full-fledged Traveler, knows the Machine must be stopped…but he has no idea how. He enlists the help of Captain Picard and the Enterprise crew, who also fail to halt the unstoppable alien juggernaut’s destructive labors. But they soon divine the Machine’s true purpose, which threatens to exterminate all life in the Milky Way Galaxy. With time running out, Picard realizes he knows of only one person who might be able to stop the Machine in time to avert a galactic catastrophe—but he has no idea how to find him.
Review
Of course, a galaxy-spanning threat. Nothing less would have served to conclude this rather exotic trilogy. yet it fit, because it truly felt like I was back on the Enterprise with Picard from TV as he had been. Yes, a new ship, and yes, new faces. But also some old ones: Data and Geordi were perfect, and even Picard and Crusher worked well on the page;a natural outgrowth of where the screen could have gone. It's a shame that so much of this will have to go in Coda, but I'm glad to have caught up on some of it. None of the post-TV Trek has made me feel like I was back on-screen in this way to date.
4 Stars to Silent Weapons (Star Trek TNG: Cold Equations, #2) by David Mack
Description
The second book in a new trilogy by the national bestselling author of Star Trek: Destiny! Three years after the disastrous final Borg Invasion, a bitter cold war against the Typhon Pact has pushed Starfleet’s resources to the breaking point. Now the rise of a dangerous new technology threatens to destroy the Federation from within. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the Enterprise crew answer a distress call, only to become targets in a deadly game of deception. To protect a vital diplomatic mission, they must find a way to identify the spies hiding in their midst, before it’s too late. But Worf soon realizes the crew’s every move has been predicted: Someone is using them as pawns. And the closer they get to exposing their enemy, the deeper they spiral into its trap…
Review
Of course I could never see the Android attack on mars in Short Treks and the opening of Picard, but the idea of all the Soong-type bodies working to a singular hive-mind dread purpose is just as chilling. it was also fascinating to see more of the galactic politics here, and with a nod to one of the best TNG episodes ever (Cause and Effect, anyone?) This was a fantastic follow-up.
4 Stars to The Persistence of Memory (Star Trek TNG: Cold Equations, #1) by David Mack
Description
A BRAZEN HEIST Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the Enterprise crew race to find out who has stolen Data’s android brother B-4—and for what sinister purpose. A BROKEN PROMISE One desperate father risks all for the son he abandoned forty years ago—but is he ready to pay the price for redemption? A DARING MISSION Against overwhelming odds, and with time running out, Commander Worf has only one chance to avert a disaster. But how high a price will he pay for victory?
Review
The focus on Soong worked well here, I felt engaged from the get-go. The TV episodes are expertly referenced, the future portrayal of the cyberneticist almost actually plausible and the advancement of Worf in particular felt very natural.
September
5 Stars to Vendetta (Star Trek: The Next Generation) by Peter David
Description
The Borg – half organic being and half machine, they are the most feared race in the known galaxy. In their relentless quest for technological perfection, they have destroyed entire star systems, enslaved countless peoples, and, in a single brutal attack, decimated Starfleet's mightiest vessels. Only a final desperate gambit by Captain Picard and the USS Enterprise crew stopped the Borg from conquering the entire Federation. And now they have returned. Answering a distress call from a planet under attack by the Borg, the USS Enterprise crew meets Delcara, the lone survivor of an alien race the Borg obliterated. Blinded by hatred, Delcara seeks the ultimate revenge – the complete destruction of her race's executioners. But the USS Enterprise crew learns that Delcara's vengeance carries a terrible price, for once unleashed, the destructive force she commands will annihilate not only the Borg, but countess innocents as well…
Review
I can’t quite believe I hadn’t read this before. David’s not a stranger to the universe of course, yet somehow this hadn’t come through my life. And what a story. It’s got so much of what makes great episodic Trek novels powerful, plus a now rather hopelessly outdated yet for the time grippingly vivid extension of the Borg. The non-Enterprise characters were all painted boldly enough to be very distinct, and I particularly enjoyed the subtle Selar nod but most of all the ending, which was a clever Einsteinian twist. There’s no doubt that Jeri Ryan took and ran with the concept of what now we must call XB’s, yet without her impact on the saga this is a fascinating yarn all its own.
5 Stars to Five Minds by Guy Morpuss
Description
ONE BODY. FIVE MINDS. ONE KILLER. The Earth's growing population has finally been controlled. Lifespans are limited to eighty years, except for those who make an extreme choice: to become a commune. Five minds sharing one body, living for four hours at a time. But with a combined lifespan of nearly 150 years. Alex, Kate, Sierra, Ben and Mike are a commune. They have already spent twenty-five years together, arguing, reconciling, alliances shifting and re-forming. They travel to a Death Park where games are played in which extra lifespan can be gambled like money. The plan is to win time to upgrade their next host body. But then Kate accepts a dangerous offer, and one of them disappears. Someone is trying to kill off members of the commune. Is one of them responsible? Or is someone else playing a deadly game? It's hard enough to catch a murderer. It's almost impossible when you might be sharing a body with them... This brilliant murder mystery blends classic crime with speculative fiction in a stunning debut.
Review
Wow. If I had to recommend just one book from this year, Five Minds could well be it, certainly tied up there with Andy Weir. The execution feels flawless, and so many of the books elements – the mental incongruity of being in a different body, the reliability (or otherwise) of each flawed narrator and the thought-out structure of a postdeath society all fall so neatly into place that the worldbuilding feels effortless. The games, the bars, the kingpins and the desperation of the sad societal dregs all hit their spots. I was engaged from the offset, enjoyed every twist. One to reread someday and no mistake.
4 Stars to Lost on a Page by David E. Sharp
Description
Some genres were never meant to cross. Joe Slade is a detective with a hot lead and a warm gun. He no longer believes in happy-ever-afters, but his faith in plot twists is devout. Good thing. He is about to discover the biggest twist of all. Joe Slade is not real. He is a character in a series of mystery novels. And when he discovers all his pain has been in the name of book sales, there will be hell to pay. Vowing revenge on his author, he will set off for the World Where the Books Are Written. The road will take him through genres foreign and treacherous: High Fantasy, Bodice-Ripping Romance, Intergalactic Sci-Fi, and others even more awful and terrifying. But what if this new life is about more than just living? And will Joe still come out on top when all the rules have changed?
Review
The blurb was compelling, and the story didn't disappoint. Whilst on the whole the authors themselves were pretty bland, the genre-twisting nature of things was interestingly-done and the appropriation of tropes was fun to read.
August
4 Stars to The Returned, Part 2 (Star Trek: New Frontier, #20) by Peter David
Description
The second installment in a brand-new three-part digital-first Star New Frontier e-novel from New York Times bestselling author Peter David!Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur are back, picking up three months after the stunning events depicted in New Blind Man’s Bluff. Calhoun's search of Xenex has failed to find any survivors, and now he is bound and determined to track down the race that killed them—the D'myurj and their associates, the Brethren—and exact vengeance upon them. His search will take the Excalibur crew into a pocket universe, where he discovers not only the homeworld of the D’myurj, but another race that shares Calhoun's determination to obliterate his opponents. But is this new race truly an ally…or an even greater threat?
Review
It's been a little while since I read new Frontier. I'm surprised the "part" approach hasn't been done before given David's comic book ties, although the first 4 books were of course released in omnibus early on. There seems to be a vague sense of recycling about the whole thing - many of the characters find themselves in situations which ring familiar. Nonetheless, you very much know what you're getting and what I got I liked.
4 Stars to The Echo Chamber by John Boyne
Description
What a thing of wonder a mobile phone is. Six ounces of metal, glass and plastic, fashioned into a sleek, shiny, precious object. At once, a gateway to other worlds - and a treacherous weapon in the hands of the unwary, the unwitting, the inept. The Cleverley family live a gilded life, little realising how precarious their privilege is, just one tweet away from disaster. George, the patriarch, is a stalwart of television interviewing, a 'national treasure' (his words), his wife Beverley, a celebrated novelist (although not as celebrated as she would like), and their children, Nelson, Elizabeth, Achilles, various degrees of catastrophe waiting to happen. Together they will go on a journey of discovery through the Hogarthian jungle of the modern living where past presumptions count for nothing and carefully curated reputations can be destroyed in an instant. Along the way they will learn how volatile, how outraged, how unforgiving the world can be when you step from the proscribed path. Powered by John Boyne's characteristic humour and razor-sharp observation, The Echo Chamber is a satiric helter skelter, a dizzying downward spiral of action and consequence, poised somewhere between farce, absurdity and oblivion. To err is maybe to be human but to really foul things up you only need a phone.
Review
Utterly over-the-top of course, a delightfully amusing melange of the absurd and the worryingly potential. I chuckled in spots and very much look forward to the TV adaptation.
3 Stars to We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen
Description
An extraordinary and emotional adventure about unlikely friends and the power of choosing who you want to be. Jamie woke up in an empty apartment with no memory and only a few clues to his identity, but with the ability to read and erase other people’s memories—a power he uses to hold up banks to buy coffee, cat food and books. Zoe is also searching for her past, and using her abilities of speed and strength…to deliver fast food. And she’ll occasionally put on a cool suit and beat up bad guys, if she feels like it. When the archrivals meet in a memory-loss support group, they realize the only way to reveal their hidden pasts might be through each other. As they uncover an ongoing threat, suddenly much more is at stake than their fragile friendship. With countless people at risk, Zoe and Jamie will have to recognize that sometimes being a hero starts with trusting someone else—and yourself.
Review
I did enjoy this, but it sadly felt a little frenetic in spots. Solutions to plot problems appeared without much forethought or planning, and whilst I recognize this as a fundament of the superhero genre, I don’t think Chen’s handling of it worked particularly neatly. A fast-paced and reasonably stereotypical set piece without much to elevate it to the standard I would have expected from his debut.
4 Stars to Stealing from Wizards Volume 1: Pickpocketing (Stealing from Wizards #1) by R.A. Consell
Description
Living in secret and stealing to eat is a hard life, but it's all Kuro has ever known. Fear and necessity forged him into the finest young thief in in the wizard kingdoms. Nobody can hide forever, though, and a run of poor luck lands Kuro in a place where his quick hands and quiet feet count for nothing: Avalon Academy, school of magic. Out of his depth and unable to escape, can Kuro find a place among the other misfits at the school, or will his past return to ruin the one chance he has to leave his life in the shadows?
Review
I picked this up because someone on Reddit described it as Harry Potter meets Oliver Twist. Obviously it’s written for a young audience, and again the parallels to other books are strong (McCutcheon shares much in terms of looks and mien with Minerva McGonagall). Yet it was a captivating enough story with enough of the random oddments that seem to be necessary to tick the whimsy boxes plus a relatively solid plotas these things go. Yes, I’ll give book 2 a try.
4 Stars to Rogue Elements (Star Trek: Picard #3) by John Jackson Miller
Description
A thrilling untold adventure based on the acclaimed Star Trek: Picard TV series! Starfleet was everything for Cristóbal Rios—until one horrible, inexplicable day when it all went wrong. Aimless and adrift, he grasps at a chance for a future as an independent freighter captain in an area betrayed by the Federation, the border region with the former Romulan Empire. His greatest desire: to be left alone. But solitude isn’t in the cards for the captain of La Sirena, who falls into debt to a roving gang of hoodlums from a planet whose society is based on Prohibition-era Earth. Teamed against his will with Ledger, his conniving overseer, Rios begins an odyssey that brings him into conflict with outlaws and fortune seekers, with power brokers and relic hunters across the stars. Exotic loves and locales await—as well as dangers galore—and Rios learns the hard way that good crewmembers are hard to find, even when you can create your own. And while his meeting with Jean-Luc Picard is years away, Rios finds himself drawing on the Starfleet legend’s experiences when he discovers a mystery that began on one of the galaxy’s most important days…
Review
Watching “New Trek” is something of an assault on the senses when compared with the television of old. This book felt a bit like that, by turns a new and unsettling set of characters and species dynamics, then a good pirate-style rollick. Rios really didn’t imprint himself to me on screen, but it was quite interesting to see more of him here, even if I can’t yet bring myself to understand much of what drives him. It really doesn’t feel like a book from the old days, and perhaps that’s a good thing. The last Picard novel focused on Riker, and the first on jean-luc himself. Now we have an eye on what feels like the seedier, less seemly side of Trek. It was only a few days ago that I watched plains mobbed by desperate civilians trying to flee Afghanistan. Being a long-time Trek reader my mind flashed back to the opening of yet another novel – Ambassador Spock is being evacuated from an embassy turned unfriendly and the novel’s point-of-view is in the support escort flight and evacuation team pushing through the angry and roiled crowds. So yes, of course we have seen the messier, less pristine before. Yet times have changed, and the politics of even the best fictional universes change too. I’m perhaps still on the fence. I still take comfort in old episodes and novels, showing us our familiar friends in familiar situations. But the story goes on, with others at the helm. Perhaps in 10, 20, 30 years, who knows. People will pine for what I consider flashy and strange. I can’t say I was hooked on Rios’s story, nor Miller’s narrative. But it’s part of the lore, and I’m glad to have had the chance to soak up more of that.
3 Stars to Blessed Time (Blessed Time #1) by Cale Plamann
Description
Some disasters can only be avoided if you know they’re coming... On Karell, you are either blessed by the gods, granted a unique power and the ability to gain experience and levels, or you are forgotten. Micah Silver was a boy picked for greatness. Chosen by the gods to bear a mythic power, he longed to take his place amongst the heroes and legends he grew up reading about. Unfortunately, his primary blessing only allows him to travel into the past by sacrificing his class, wealth, and levels--a psychological burden that Micah is reluctant to shoulder. But, even if Micah is unwilling, fate has a way of forcing you to face your destiny... and running away can cost you everything. Over and over again... Experience the start of a time-loop LitRPG Series where a reluctant hero is forced to fight against an impossible catastrophe. Using his talents for enchanting items and summoning creatures, he must retrace his steps and grow stronger in a potentially futile effort to prevent tragedy and protect his family.
Review
Meh. I wasn't particularly impressed by this one. I know the Gods are par for the course and the timeshifting was quite a well-handled framing device for the MC to get better, but I could take it or leave it.
5 Stars to Cursed and Consulted (Wiz, #3-4) by Rick Cook
Description
When a spell summoned master hacker Walter "Wiz" Zumwalt to a world of wizards and witches, he soon discovered that spells were a lot like computer programs. Wiz defeated the evil sorcerers' league and won the love of the beautiful witch Moira. But now Wiz has new problems: a deadly curse, computer criminals from his own world, and the dragons, who are alarmed by his new-fangled spells. Fortunately, when it comes to spells and sorcery, nobody but nobody can beat a Silicon Valley computer geek!
Review
Again, Cook's on fabulous form here. Book 1 sets the scene and is amazing, but both of these novels branch things off interestingly and I enjoyed every word on every page.
5 Stars to The Wiz Biz (Wiz, #1-2) by Rick Cook
Description
Q: How does a shanghaied computer geek conquer all the forces of Darkness and win the love of the most beautiful witch in the world? A: By transforming himself from a demon programmer into a programmer of demons! It all began when the wizards of the White League were under attack by their opponents of the Black League and one of their most powerful members cast a spell to bring forth a mighty wizard to aid their cause. What the spell delivered was master hacker Walter "Wiz" Zumwalt. The wizard who east the spell was dead and nobody -- not the elves, not the dwarves, not even the dragons -- could figure out what the shanghaied computer nerd was good for. But spells are a lot like computer programs, and, in spite of the Wiz's unprepossessing appearance, he was going to defeat the all-powerful Black League, win the love of a beautiful red-haired witch, and prove that when it comes to spells and sorcery, nobody but nobody can beat a Silicon Valley computer geek! Published in parts as Wizard's Bane and The Wizardry Compiled This is the first unitary edition.
Review
These never get old. Of course, much about them is dated, but that just adds charm. I'm pretty sure much of the allure is because I enjoyed them in my youth but equally, although the fantasy stuff is now what we'd call tropes, it really works. My wife also read these and loved them in the early years of our relationship, without being overly techy (although she did ask me for a VPN yesterday: shock! horror!). nothing quite comforts me like sitting down with an old favourite I know I'm going to enjoy, though. And this volume fitted the bill nicely and is going on my carousel of rereads, obviously.
4 Stars to Paper or Plastic by Mackey Chandler
Description
Roger was medically discharged after his service in the Pan Arabic Protectorate, cutting off his chosen career path early. He is living in rural Sitra Falls, Oregon trying to deal with hyper-vigilance and ease back into civilian life. (Updated edition 11/2016) When an unusual looking young woman enters his favorite breakfast place he befriends her. Little does he know he'll kill for her before lunch, and start an adventure that will take him around the world and off planet. When you have every sort of alphabet agency, human and alien, hunting for you, survival is the hard part. But you might as well have fun and get rich too.
Review
Another engaging and hard-to-put-down story here, and one with a reasonably satisfying ending, too. It's a little libertarian American Dreamboy and rather heavy on the cynical side but I almost always enjoy aliens, and this was no exception
4 Stars to Unthinkable by Brad Parks
Description
From international bestselling author Brad Parks comes a new thriller about an ordinary man who may be able to save the world as we know it—but to do so, he must make an impossible choice. Nate Lovejoy is a self-proclaimed nobody, a stay-at-home dad who doesn’t believe he’s important to anyone but his wife and their two daughters. So it’s a shock when members of a powerful secret society kidnap and spirit Nate away to a mansion at the behest of their leader, Vanslow DeGange, who claims to know the future. He’s foreseen that a billion people could die—unless Nate acts. It seems improbable, especially given what DeGange says will set this mass casualty incident in motion: a lawsuit against the biggest power company in Virginia, being brought by Nate’s wife, Jenny. Nate quickly smells a scam being perpetrated by the power company. But at every turn, it becomes apparent there’s more to DeGange’s gift than Nate wants to acknowledge. A billion people really could die, and Nate might be the only one who can save them. All he has to do is the unthinkable.
Review
2 back-to-back books with stay-at-home dads in the lead role? What are the odds. This was gripping too, particularly the build-up to the murder. I feverishly flipped pages, frantic to know if he'd go through with pulling the trigger or not. after that things did get a little more ... out there, I suppose. I wasn't as blown away with the ending as I was with the beginning, but a good read all-the-same.
4 Stars to An Agreement We Made by Dan Kolbet
Description
James is a stay-at-home dad, with a comfortable life of dance recitals and school volunteer work, despite his complicated marriage to workaholic Tina. When Tina suddenly dies, James struggles as a single parent to his three children, without the safety net and sizable income his wife once provided. For the sake of his family, he’s forced to return to a past he’d much rather leave alone.As James’ world crumbles, he begins to question if he ever really knew his wife. Why did she want him to be the primary parent, while she stayed on the fringe of their marriage? And now that she’s gone, will he ever learn why she drained their bank accounts before her death? An Agreement We Made is an examination of a modern marriage, the lies we tell ourselves to get through the day, and the secrets we keep from everyone.
Review
Part of me really wanted to denigrate James for being a blind fool, but then the rest of me was quite impressed with the care and attention he showed his kids. I’d like to think I’ve done the latter myself as a parent and it’s practically inevitable I’ve been the former quite often too, so perhaps this is merely a literary inflammation of part of the Human condition to which many of us are subject. The book did read very soap-opera, but that actually worked. It was a wholesome read promoting family values and integrity and, even if it couldn’t quite class itself as a page-turner in the traditional thrilling sense, I nonetheless found myself invested and engaged throughout.
July
4 Stars to Skyfall by Harry Harrison
Description
Prometheus - A stunning triumph of Soviet-Americal technological cooperation. Prometheus - Ultimate answer to the prayers of an energy-starved world. Prometheus - Potentially the source of the greatest single disaster in human history. Skyfall - A thrilling novel of near future catastrophe, a catastrophe with a chilling ring of authenticity in the wake of this year's nuclear satellite fall in Canada....
Review
There can't be much ofHarrison left that I haven't read now. I quite liked this, it has a great doomness about it, that pivotal knife-edge pull of US and Soviet cooperation which rarely works too well in practice but always comes across as very exciting in novels. The British pubgoer was a lovely bit of divergence too.
5 Stars to In Beta by Prescott Harvey
Description
Winner of the American Book Fest's 2021 Best Book Award in Science Fiction “Prescott is one brilliant dude.” —JJ Abrams It’s 1993, and Jay and Colin are small-town geeks. Senior year is nearly over, and they’re still as unpopular as ever. Everything changes when they discover a disk containing a computer program called The Build, a pixel-perfect replica of their hometown. As the boys tweak its code, they discover they can bend the laws of reality. With godlike power, they react as any teenager hacking high school to make it more awesome. But someone—or something—is watching. And as their friends and neighbors begin acting increasingly strange, they buckle in for an epic battle. Jay and Colin must pull out all their cheat codes to save themselves, their town—and the very fabric of existence.
Review
I finished this over a week ago and am still coming up with thoughts about it. Obviously, Ready Player One and its ilk came along and smashed the genre open. It was still totally engaging from the very beginning,the synopsis absolutely had me hooked and the story itself didn't disappoint.
4 Stars to Zero G (The Zero Chronicles, #1) by Dan Wells
Description
How can one kid defeat an entire band of space pirates when everyone he knows is asleep?Twelve-year-old Zero is traveling with 20,000 people for 105 years to colonize a new planet. Everyone is in stasis, so they'll be safe during the trip, but when Zero's pod malfunctions it wakes him early, like 105 years early. At first he's excited to be the only one awake - he has the entire ship to himself, so he can go anywhere and see and do and eat anything he wants - but when a family of space pirates show up, trying to hijack the ship and kidnap the colonizers, Zero has to think fast and find a way to stop them all on his own.This is the middle grade debut by New York Times best-selling author Dan Wells, who has written lots of books for adults, as well as movies, television, and plays. He cohosts the Hugo-winning podcast for aspiring writers called Writing Excuses, also writes short fiction and game fiction, and edited the anthology Altered Perceptions to help raise funds for and awareness of mental illness. Dan lives in northern Utah with his wife, six children, and more than 400 board games.
Review
So I have a girl, but she is into space. if I were her age,I'd have loved this and I am pretty sure we'll get through it in a couple of weeks at bed time and she'll be as enthused as I was. Wells excellent confluence of kids and space works to perfection, and there are pirates!
5 Stars to A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1) by Becky Chambers
Description
ASIN B08H831J18 moved to the more recent edition Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend. Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers' series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?
Review
Short but sweet, I positively luxuriated in every sentence. Becky’s writing is so compellingly beautiful, somehow real yet fantastic at the same time, with a seemingly endless ability to latch on to ones Humanity and tug it in unexpected and thought-provoking directions. For all that I’m really going to miss the wayfarers, this peek into a new world with so much history, kindness and love was positively enthralling.
4 Stars to Grow Up (One Up #2) by Craig Anderson
Description
Welcome to Law/School! Up until this morning, the biggest thing Josh had to worry about was completing Shadow Souls on sadistic difficulty. Oh, and his upcoming exams. That was before he caught the attention of a planet of intergalactic trial-by-combat lawyers that use giant mechs to fight their legal battles. Now he has bigger things to worry about. Much, much bigger. The only advantage he has is his trusty games controller, but will it be enough to beat a Level 10 Behemoth? Josh isn’t the only one having a rough day. Gargle was your run-of-the-mill, body swapping, ethereal alien courier. Everything was going great, until he was dropped off on Earth and asked to blend in with a crowd of teenagers. Josh only has to save the world, Gargle has to survive puberty. If you love humour, sci-fi and GameLit then this is the book for you! Note that while this book shares the same universe as Level Up, it has its own cast of characters. Both books can be enjoyed standalone.
Review
I wasn’t quite sure where this was going, but it very much grew on me. Not quite with the immediate zing of something like Randoms, it nonetheless kept me chuckling. Anderson’s got an easy, flowing style which makes the books quite digestible and I’d recommend them without hesitation.
4 Stars to The 22 Murders of Madison May by Max Barry
Description
From the critically acclaimed author of Jennifer Government and Lexicon comes mind-bending speculative psychological suspense about a serial killer pursuing his victim across time and space, and the woman who is determined to stop him, even if it upends her own reality. I love you. In every world. Young real estate agent Madison May is shocked when a client at an open house says these words to her. The man, a stranger, seems to know far too much about her, and professes his love--shortly before he murders her. Felicity Staples hates reporting on murders. As a journalist for a midsize New York City paper, she knows she must take on the assignment to research Madison May's shocking murder, but the crime seems random and the suspect is in the wind. That is, until Felicity spots the killer on the subway, right before he vanishes. Soon, Felicity senses her entire universe has shifted. No one remembers Madison May, or Felicity's encounter with the mysterious man. And her cat is missing. Felicity realizes that in her pursuit of Madison's killer, she followed him into a different dimension--one where everything about her existence is slightly altered. At first, she is determined to return to the reality she knows, but when Madison May--in this world, a struggling actress--is murdered again, Felicity decides she must find the killer--and learns that she is not the only one hunting him. Traveling through different realities, Felicity uncovers the opportunity--and danger--of living more than one life.
Review
Not quite up there with Machine Man and Lexicon but I enjoyed it well enough.
June
3 Stars to Office Party by Michael A. Gilbert
Description
Very near fine in a like dustjacket (remainder line) Hardcover first edition - New Linden Press / Simon & Schuster,, 1981.. Hardcover first edition -. Very near fine in a like dustjacket (remainder line). First printing. The author's first novel, a simple but terrifying story. Four people are working overtime on the day after Thanksgiving, when one of them, a quiet, self-effacing 46 year old, takes his three co-workers hostage. 240 pp.
Review
I quite enjoyed the period detail, although as a novel, the ending didn't really do much for me.
4 Stars to Syrup by Max Barry
Description
When Scat comes up with the idea for the hottest new soda ever, he's sure he'll retire the next rich, savvy marketing success story. But in the treacherous waters of corporate America there are no sure things--and suddenly Scat has to save not only his idea but his yet-to-be-realized career. With the help of the scarily beautiful and brainy 6, he sets out on a mission to reclaim the fame and fortune that, time and again, eludes him. This brilliantly scathing debut is a hilarious send-up of celebrity, sexual politics, corporate America, and the fleeting status that comes with getting to the table first--before the other guy has you for lunch.
Review
Fast-paced and rather crazy, I enjoyed it, even if it was insanely speedy. Not the style of writing I'd perhaps go for all the time, but entertaining and an excellent sendup of the advertising industry.
3 Stars to They Will Be Coming for Us (Jovian, #1) by Kim Catanzarite
Description
In this gripping sci-fi thriller, Svetlana Peterman has met her soul mate in Andrew Jovian, a young astronomer who works for Starbright International, the aerospace company his wealthy parents own. Once married, they make a home in Kirksberg, Pennsylvania, a small town famous for a UFO sighting that occurred in the 1960s. Svetlana is, for once, truly happy, except that Andrew’s family is strange, and not in a normal-strange kind of way. Preoccupied with only two things—the night sky and carrying on their family lineage—the Jovians lack social skills and often pry into Svetlana’s personal life. Her intimidating mother-in-law demands she get busy fulfilling her reproductive duty to the family, and Andrew’s eccentric uncle seems to be able to read her mind. Feeling bullied and wanting a career before motherhood, Svetlana takes precautions but ends up pregnant anyway. But that’s the least of her worries when she discovers the Jovians have a monumental secret that will change her fate (and that of her child’s) forever—a secret so powerful, it could alter the course of mankind.
Review
From the synopsis, I was hoping for something more. I liked Svetas broken idioms, although the KGB mindset was a bit of a silly stereotype. I know there's more to come, so it's unfair to judge the completed story yet, but I was just hoping for a bit more in terms of either action or explanation, neither of which, when it happened, felt explicable or definitive.
4 Stars to Déjà Doomed by Edward M. Lerner
Description
On the Moon’s far side, shielded from Earth’s radio cacophony, Americans are building a radio-astronomy observatory. Russians sift the dust of a lunar “sea” for helium-3 to run future fusion reactors. Commercial robots, remotely operated from Earth, roam the Moon’s near side in a hunt for mineral wealth. Why chase distant asteroids for precious metals? Onetime asteroids must lie close beneath the much-bombarded lunar surface. Then a prospecting robot encounters a desiccated, spacesuited figure. An alien figure …. Americans from the lunar observatory investigate. Near the original find, underground, they discover an alien installation. Lunar Russians, realizing that the Americans are up to something clandestine, send their own small team. Each group distrusts the other … even before the fatal “accidents” begin. By the time anyone suspects what ancient evil they have awakened, it may be too late― For everyone on Earth, too.
Review
Not a new story by any means, but the voracious enemy and clever all-or-nothing attempts at solutions made for compelling reading nonetheless.
May
4 Stars to How to Mars by David Ebenbach
Description
What happens when your dream mission to Mars is a reality television nightmare? This debut science-fiction romp with heart follows the tradition of Ray Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles, with a dash of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and a hint of The Real World. For the six lucky scientists selected by the Destination Mars! corporation, a one-way ticket to Mars—in exchange for a lifetime of research—was an absolute no-brainer. The incredible opportunity was clearly worth even the most absurdly tedious screening process. Perhaps worth following the strange protocols in a nonsensical handbook written by an eccentric billionaire. Possibly even worth their constant surveillance, the video of which is carefully edited into a ratings-bonanza back on Earth. But it turns out that after a while even scientists can get bored of science. Tempers begin to fray; unsanctioned affairs blossom. When perfectly good equipment begins to fail, the Marsonauts are faced with a possibility that their training just cannot explain. Irreverent, poignant, and perfectly weird, David Ebenbach’s debut science-fiction outing, like a mission to Mars, is an incredible trip you will never forget.
Review
I enjoyed the guidebook, and each segment was really very good by itself. Much of the humour was funny, and most of the people had things that worked. The patterns sadly were underfinished, and the gestalt didn't seem to quite come together for anything like a five star finale. glad I read, but more story would have almost certainly made me happier.
3 Stars to Borrowed Time (The Borrowed Time Chronology #1) by Keith Hughes
Description
This ediiton is out of print. See Timehunt: Borrowed Time for the latest version(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...). Ness Relevant is living on borrowed time. Molecular implosion, cellular degeneration, and dangerous men are but a few of the perils faced by the friendly and unassuming forensic photographer. His quiet bachelorhood is interrupted when he receives an innocent looking device in the mail from a friend and former college professor. Ness unexpectedly finds himself embroiled in events driven by his friend’s success. This device is the focal point of a struggle that could overturn the whole world should Ness or his friend’s invention fall prey to greedy men. Before his time runs out Ness must travel back to an uncomfortable past to prevent an unthinkable future. In the race for the future, time has no boundaries
Review
Well, time travel is either mindbending, or it isn't. here the story was good, but the "be seeing you!" all the time grated and the flow was a little ... off. There was no paradox, no real sense of anything other than a middle-of-the-road thriller, and the ending was almost too saccharine. Perhaps further books will give a wider picture, so I can't say I'd not look, but I was entertained rather than impressed this time around.
5 Stars to Jury Duty by Peter Cawdron
Description
The United Nations is thrown into chaos when an alien spacecraft is discovered buried beneath the ice in Antarctica. With no one nation able to lay claim to the craft, a multinational effort is undertaken to salvage the vessel, which is estimated to have crashed several million years ago. Rather than leaving key decisions to hostile governments or their armies, a jury is established to represent the average global citizen, being selected from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Their job is to review findings and guide the process of discovery.
Review
Brilliantly unputdownable, Nick's journey captivated me from the off. His arc was perfectly handled, the arctic landscape and creatures both terrestrial and otherwise amazingly vivid and the supporting cast well fleshed out and believable. One of the pest Cawdron's yet, well worth the price.
5 Stars to Terra's War: The Terra Trilogy Book Three by Mitch Benn
Description
The Everywar began with a crack in the sky. Until that fateful moment, sixteen-year-old Terra and Billy's biggest worry was whether to continue their studies on the planet Fnrr or back on Earth. Then a chance encounter with a murderous alien kicks off a shocking chain of events which aren't just inexplicable ... they're impossible. Terra, Billy and their Fnrrn friends are ripped from the safety of everything they thought was true. A darkness is spreading across the universe. Everyone Terra holds dear will have their own part to play in a war that could literally destroy everything, everywhere.
Review
A time coming, but a fitting, wonderful follow-up and way to end the series. Every book has pushed the boundaries, added more peoples, shown us a wider universe out there, and this comes to a head here and really makes the last of the trilogy feel both grand and intimate.
5 Stars to Manufacturing Magic (Jeff the Game Master, #1) by Jaime Castle
Description
10 million active players. One Game Master. Big Problems. Infinite Worlds is the most popular VRMMORPG on the market. Its maps are so vast, developer Hard Rock Data utilizes a network of highly advanced Artificial Intelligences to control it. But it's not without problems. That’s why Game Masters like Jeff Driscoll have jobs. The downside? He’s not allowed to play the game. Something about conflicts of interest and favoritism. His very boring and tedious job is to help players deal with the occasional bug that slips through the cracks and ensure they enjoy their time playing enough to give a 5-star rating. It’s a gig. It pays the bills. However, when the A.I.s unexpectedly issue a Rogue Patch, the game becomes a buggy mess and Jeff's role radically changes. He finds himself as the only Game Master around, dealing with more problems than he can handle. It’s up to Jeff to return Infinite Worlds to normalcy using his ability to manipulate the game's code into what appears like magic... But will the A.I.s let him? Manufacturing Magic is a unique spin on the LitRPG genre, not just providing the perspective of the players, but also of one of those mystical, magical, all-powerful GMs we all dream of being. About the series: As a GM, Jeff utilizes a unique progression system of magic built around the manipulation of video game code. Weaving his hot-fixes with the already established Infinite Worlds’ code, Jeff rescues players, corrects glitches and more. Additionally, experience Infinite Worlds through the eyes of the players through Dak, Rikardi, Aesir and Jeweliette. Enjoy the mundane-to-vital character growth with a main character who is Hard Rock Data’s only hope with plenty of quests, loot, adventurers, dragons, and magic. Rich characters and world-building offer humor alongside lots of monster fighting and adventure.
Review
So yes, I’ve had quite a few of this type of thing lately. But this one really captured me. The sheer number of viewpoint hops in the early stages was great. The build was detailed, the whole idea a neat twist I’d not seen before and the final battle felt like the proper end of something. And then we get the epilogue, which is perfect because we know there’s more in the saga. Totally start to finish I did not want to put the book down. Brilliant.
2 Stars to Cooldown (Unfrozen #1) by Anton Tekshin
Description
If you’re going to stick your hand into somebody else’s refrigerator, you better be ready to deal with the consequences. Especially when, instead of perishable foodstuffs, the icebox in question contains people who are “provisionally alive.” They haven’t died yet — death has not yet made up its mind about them. And even though most of them will never open their eyes again, a lucky few do stand the ghost of a chance of returning to this world. What a pity then that among these fortunate souls, there is one man who thought his earthly affairs concluded for all eternity. His case file bristles with cautionary attributes such as “serial killer,” “extremist” and “mentally unstable.” And yet could this be the best candidate for an assignment that has already claimed the lives of several veteran operators? Who knows…
Review
Sadly nothing special, the rather dire hops from space, to some sort of odd space station to the real world were all rather jarring, and we seem to be in some sort of strange universe combining criogenics, VR and some form of clan politics. I'm not sure I'll go for book 2 unless I'm desperate.
3 Stars to Before He Wakes by Mark Allan Gunnells
Description
Patrick and Clare wake up trapped in a basement, a thin wall separating their cells. Their captor is mysteriously absent, which at first seems like a blessing. As more time passes with no food or water, they begin to realize a clock is ticking for their survival. Combining their intelligence and determination, the two begin plotting an escape from their shared prison. Overcoming each obstacle only presents another obstacle standing in the way of their freedom. It will take all of their ingenuity and strength to find their way out of this mess. They know their captor is still out there, and it is only a matter of time before he returns. BEFORE HE WAKES is a fast-paced and tense thriller that ratchets up the suspense and tension before the thrilling conclusion.
Review
Not exactly splatterpunk but with a feeling of it, perhaps a little too much of the gay viewpoint to be overly intriguing to me, yet with an ending which worked and didn't fall into the pit of contentment so many of these types of story cop out with.
4 Stars to Oh Great! I was Reincarnated as a Farmer (Unorthodox Farming, #1) by Benjamin Kerei
Description
What do you have when you blend a pinch of litrpg, a touch of farming simulator, a sprinkle of epic fantasy, a whole cup of Isekai, and a dash of Home Alone? You have Arnold’s life. Accidentally murdered by a cleric in another universe during a botched resurrection, Arnold, a semi-pro gamer, wakes upon an altar to find himself incarnated into the overweight body of a farmer who could have been his fatter twin. He’s not the hero. He’s not the villain. He’s certainly not the chosen one who is there to save the world. He’s a clerical error. It could be a bad joke, but apparently, it happens so often that they have a standard procedure for returning you. That standard procedure doesn't apply to Arnold. Now stuck on a new earth, in a new universe, with no way home, Arnold must use his gaming skills to figure out how to level his farmer class to 100 and gain a second class which doesn't make him want to beat his head against the wall. There is just one small problem: farmers don't gain experience from killing monsters. Like at all. Follow Arnold on his hilarious journey as he stubbornly comes to grips with his new reality and tries to change his destiny from that of your typical farmer.
Review
I've never read a Litrpg book with a satisfying, closed-off ending. yet I never seem to learn, either, because I enjoyed this. Can't quite describe why; it wasn't anything uber special but the mechanics were interesting and the plot held my interest. And despite knowing I'll never really enjoy the end of a series like this I'd read the next one if I had it right now.
4 Stars to Faye, Faraway by Helen Fisher
Description
A heartfelt, spellbinding, and irresistible debut novel for fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife and Outlander that movingly examines loss, faith, and love as it follows a grown woman who travels back in time to be reunited with the mother she lost when she was a child. Faye is a thirty-seven-year-old happily married mother of two young daughters. Every night, before she puts them to bed, she whispers to them: “You are good, you are kind, you are clever, you are funny.” She’s determined that they never doubt for a minute that their mother loves them unconditionally. After all, her own mother Jeanie had died when she was only seven years old and Faye has never gotten over that intense pain of losing her. But one day, her life is turned upside down when she finds herself in 1977, the year before her mother died. Suddenly, she has the chance to reconnect with her long-lost mother, and even meets her own younger self, a little girl she can barely remember. Jeanie doesn’t recognize Faye as her daughter, of course, even though there is something eerily familiar about her... As the two women become close friends, they share many secrets—but Faye is terrified of revealing the truth about her identity. Will it prevent her from returning to her own time and her beloved husband and daughters? What if she’s doomed to remain in the past forever? Faye knows that eventually she will have to choose between those she loves in the past and those she loves in the here and now, and that knowledge presents her with an impossible choice. Emotionally gripping and ineffably sweet Faye, Faraway is a brilliant exploration of the grief associated with unimaginable loss and the magic of being healed by love.
Review
I really enjoyed this as a rather magical, family story. The ending was a little disappointing in retrospect, but the imagery and emotion all the way through was fascinating.
3 Stars to Seven of Nine (Star Trek: Voyager #16) by Christie Golden
Description
Once she was Annika Hansen, an innocent child assimilated by the fearsome, all-conquering Borg. Now she is Seven of Nine, a unique mixture of human biology and Borg technology. Cut off from the collective that has been her only reality for most of her existence, and forced to join the crew of the Starship Voyager™, she must come to grips with her surprising new environment—and her own lost individuality. Seven of Nine has already captured the imagination of fans all over the world. Now the most sensational new character of the twenty-fourth century stars in her first full-length novel. Resistance is futile.
Review
The Voyager episode Infinite Regress handled this similarly and perhaps better. maybe I just wasn't feeling the Trek vibe, but although the backstory here was interesting, it didn't sadly come to life.
4 Stars to Life on Planet Earth by Andy Gorman
Description
Review
I felt this wasn't very much special initially, but it grew on me such that when the emotional scene on the communication screen came I was moved. The quality of the writing was solid and the concept, whilst not anything new, was handled well. I can honestly say I'd pick up the sequel!
3 Stars to Off The Grid by Dan Kolbet
Description
Luke Kincaid is a model employee at the only company in the world that can deliver wireless electricity. He's engaged to the CEO's daughter and is quickly becoming the go-to corporate spy on its behalf. But Luke would rather tear the company down from the inside. The company killed his parents and it must pay. Threatened by a secret that could destroy him and any chance of revenge, Luke sets off to find the true origins of this obscure technology, but discovers a vast deception that will change the world forever.
Review
Despite there being a bit of a weird vibe with small US towns being without power whilst third world countries get plenty coming in, this managed to be quite a compelling yarn. I wasn't really blown away by any of the writing, characters or action, but I read to the end and enjoyed.
3 Stars to You Only Get So Much by Dan Kolbet
Description
When Billy Redmond returns to his hometown to attend his brother's funeral, he's hoping for a quick trip. No reason to stay for more than a few hours. He's been in self-imposed exile from his family after a tragedy 12 years ago. It's better this way. He can't harm people he never sees. Billy soon finds that his family isn't better off without him, in fact he's the only one who can help them. Billy is forced to fight through his tormented past to make a better future for those he loves. He is guided on this journey by a woman from his past, who he quickly realizes was the one who got away. For Billy, it's more than a second chance, it's his last chance to get it right.
Review
Twisted family connections form the backbone to a rather unusual story which, despite seeming not to do much, actually works. I enjoyed seeing how things fell out.
3 Stars to The Day After You Die by Dan Kolbet
Description
When you die, you get a choice: move on to the next step of the afterlife, or relive one random day of your life. Anything you change, and the consequences that come from it stay that way forever. Any mistake means the life you knew may be erased for good. Is that one day worth it? What would you choose? Harold Emery is dead. After 74 years, it was his time to go, but when given the choice, he decides to live again for one more day. He wakes up in 1965 in his childhood bedroom. He’s ready to enjoy one final carefree day on Earth, but today is not that day. Today is the day his nine-year-old sister Gail is killed, and Harold knows how to stop it. As Harold races against time to save Gail, his decisions will have dire consequences to the life he once knew and the people he loved. Harold chose to live again, but will everything he knows be destroyed in the process? Read "The Day After You Die," a time travel story with heart.
Review
Seemed like just a bit of typical time travel stuff, although the fiddle with the diary puts a bit of a twist on things. Fun.
4 Stars to Spaceship Medic by Harry Harrison
Description
'Space emergency! The hull of this ship has been holed. Follw space survival drill.' 'We are all dead men,' says First Engineer Holtz, when the spaceship Johannes Kepler is hit by a meteorite. But Lieutenant Donald Chase, a young doctor on his first flight, refuses to give in to despair. Soon he's in charge of the damaged ship, sailing off course without radio contact and heading for a solar storm. Can he get to Mars safely?
Review
An enjoyable work for the time. Would've worked well in magazine form.
3 Stars to The Werewolf Principle by Clifford D. Simak
Description
Andrew Blake is found in a space capsule on a distant planet and is brought back to an unfamiliar Earth, where antigravity devices have replaced the wheel, and houses talk and even fly! Yet nothing is as strange as Blake's own feelings. Tormented by eerie sensations and loss of memory, he doesn't know who he really is or exactly where he has come from. His destiny only begins to grow frighteningly clear when he meets a weird, tassel-eared creature who darkly hints at the truth about Blake's origins. Slowly Blake becomes aware of the long hushed-up "Werewolf Principle," a scientific theory buried in the past, which holds the key to Blake's own fate-and the future of the human species.--book cover
Review
Interesting in an old-school sort of a way. Unsurprising but gratifying ending.
4 Stars to The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You! (Stainless Steel Rat, #7) by Harry Harrison
Description
After saving the world, diGriz is called on to save the universe. Liberating his two, now teenage, twin' sons from a military boarding school and penitentiary, diGriz sets out to free his wife, who has been arrested by the tax men. But the family is soon fighting an enemy of a different sort, when the humans-only galaxy of the League is invaded by all manner of hideous aliens. The Rat, disguised in the most hideous combination of alien physical features, is sent into the centre of the aliens' stronghold, where he finds himself the object of desire among the aliens. His task is to stop the aliens, who plan to wipe out every human in the universe.
Review
Another typical escapade, but I still enjoy them. My 4 star rating is probably more nostalgia than any real literary merit. Interestingly, I have a great desire to read the President story but can't remember too much about the later books.
4 Stars to The Stainless Steel Rat 01-06: The Gateway Collection by Harry Harrison
Description
This collection comprises of the first six titles in Harry Harrison's brilliantly entertaining Stainless Steel Rat series, containing: A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born The Stainless Steel Rat gets Drafted The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues The Stainess Steel Rat The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World
Review
Of course I've read the whole lot many years ago, so it was nice to come back to these. Not that they aren't a little dated, but they are good escapist fun and it's jolly pleasurable to switch the brain off for a while and enjoy a bit of hijinks once again.
5 Stars to Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Description
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company. His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone. Or does he?
Review
Oh, yes. Riviting all the way through, Ryland Grace joins Kevin Brooks, David Teller and Mike Erikson in my hall of high school teachers who totally kick ass. I confess I had my doubts: an alien life form eating the sun? What’s this, a Saturday morning cartoon? Where’s the scientific exposition? The chemical formulae? The soul searching through peril? But of course, they’re all there. I loved the Martian. I enjoyed Artemis, although felt it was “good” rather than “superb”. But this kept me on the edge of my seat. I feel totally inadiquat as a scientific Human being now; if I woke up and felt something was slightly off, I’d hardly be able to work out what with a tape measure and a test tube. But all the way through, Grace felt like someone I could really enjoy watching. The backstory reveals were fascinating and solid, the jeopardy to both Humanity as a whole and Grace himself felt very real and tangible, Rocky was a delight, and the ending was sublimely satisfying. Another absolute corker of a read, one to pick up again and again I am sure. What a rush.
April
4 Stars to Domesticating Dragons by Dan Koboldt
Description
Build-A-Bear workshop meets Jurassic Park when a newly graduated genetic engineer goes to work for a company that aims to produce custom-made dragons. Noah Parker, a newly minted Ph.D., is thrilled to land a dream job at Reptilian Corp., the hottest tech company in the American Southwest. He’s eager to put his genetic engineering expertise to use designing new lines of Reptilian’s feature product: living, breathing dragons. Although highly specialized dragons have been used for industrial purposes for years, Reptilian is desperate to crack the general retail market. By creating a dragon that can be the perfect family pet, Reptilian hopes to put a dragon into every home. While Noah’s research may help Reptilian create truly domesticated dragons, Noah has a secret goal. With his access to the company’s equipment and resources, Noah plans to slip changes into the dragons’ genetic code, bending the company’s products to another purpose entirely.
Review
Dragons hold a place in the hearts of many. I found this engaging and fun, although not to the extent I did Dan’s trilogy a few years ago. It’s a safe and solid story though – feel-good modern fantasy at its best.
4 Stars to Hollow Men (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) by Una McCormack
Description
At the turning point of the Dominion War, Captain Benjamin Sisko of Starbase "Deep Space 9" (TM), facing certain defeat by the relentless forces of the Jem'Hadar and the Cardassians, went through with a secret plan to secure the aid of the Federation's longtime adversaries, the Romulans. What began as a desperate attempt to save lives became a descent into an abyss of deception, moral compromises, and outright criminal acts, as Sisko sacrificed every ideal he held dear in order to preserve the civilization that espoused those selfsame principles. Now the aftermath of that choice is revealed for the first time as Sisko is summoned to Earth to take part in the first Allied talks to come out of the Federation's new partnership with the Romulans. But Sisko's conscience weighs heavily on him, compelling him to seek some kind of penance for what he has done... while elements within Starfleet itself set in motion a scheme to use Elim Garak as a pawn against a human political dissident who may hold the key to the outcome of the war. HOLLOW MEN A TALE OF THE DOMINION WAR
Review
In the pale Moonlight was of course one of DS9’s best, best episodes. I loved its moral ambiguity, the acting, and the whole idea behind the teleplay was just electrifying. This follow-up to that is … intriguing, although it lacks a certain flair: the action is quite muted and there’s a lot of tautology. Worth a read if you’re a fan and have the time, but don’t go in expecting a great deal of action.
March
4 Stars to Déjà Vu by Peter Cawdron
Description
Jessica Rowe is an astrobiologist onboard the starship Intrepid, bound for the star system Procyon Alpha A. As much as she tries to quell her nerves, she can't shake the feeling she's going to die. She feels as though she's never going to leave the Intrepid alive—and she's right.
Review
The title and synopsis had me wondering a little; Cawdron used, to the cursory glance, a similar motif in But The stars, which I couldn't put down. yet inevitably this proceeded very differently and was of course crackingly exciting. Cawdron certainly captures big-picture well, and each new adventure almost feels like a funhouse mirror tangent, elements of other works fall in and enrich the current offering. Delightful.
5 Stars to The Immortality Code by Douglas E. Richards
Description
Allie Keane's breakthrough in quantum computing holds the key to unlocking eternity. But can she survive long enough to use it? A riveting science-fiction thriller from the million-copy NY Times bestselling author. When Allie Keane makes a revolutionary discovery in quantum computing, she kicks the ultimate hornets' nest. She doesn't know it, but a hidden battle for tech supremacy is raging around the world, and whoever controls her discovery will dominate the globe. Soon, Allie is being hunted by ruthless forces desperate to learn her secret, and only Zachary Reed, a gifted operative within a shadowy government agency, stands in the way. But as extraordinary as Allie's breakthrough is, it holds the key to unleashing something far bigger. An unrelated technology thousands of years beyond current science. A staggering advance capable of bringing about a utopia, rewriting the laws of life and death, and helping humanity spread throughout the stars. As long as it doesn't wipe out all life on Earth before that can happen . . . The Immortality Code is a masterful thriller. One crammed with breakneck action, unexpected twists, mind-blowing science, and ethical dilemmas readers will be contemplating long after they've read the last page.
Review
My 19th of Doug's books, and they don't get old. I think this is the first time he's gone into the light-as-particle/wave thing, which as ever came across well. My particular favourite twist was the memory-loss in chapter 36, and even though yes, I saw many of the turns coming and yes, the layering of intelligence agency upon clever operator was predictable and sure, we've seen plenty of psychopaths .. Doug manages to get across an awe of exciting new potential tech and still tell captivating, engaging stories. So while I think perhaps the nanotech was a stretch here, almost too futuristic in some ways, surely I could argue the same about telepathy or time travel, which I'm not. It's just another avenue of storytelling, and while it didn't quite have the feel I was expecting, I was still quite hooked from cover to cover and very much enjoyed the book.
4 Stars to Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Description
From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches carefully the behavior of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass on the street outside. She remains hopeful that a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change forever, Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans. In Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love?
Review
I know Ishiguro is award-winning and held in high regard, and this puts me off sometimes. I enjoy a lot of lesser-known or not yet recognised authors. But sometimes, you want something other people have enjoyed. This was very meaningful, plenty of deep symbolism and Klara as a narrator is almost painfully naive at times. This is more often sweet than anything else though, and it’s a fascinating, if narrow, glimpse into what almost feels like a post-pandemic society: one gets the impression the apocalypse has come and it was clever science that saved the day, only to fragment Humanity further in the long term. Would I read it again? Perhaps, if I came across it. I didn’t feel so engaged that I couldn’t put it down, and yet part of me wonders as to how much nuance and subtext I missed. I was never bored, and although Klara’s efforts almost feel fatalistic and pointless, I enjoyed her depth of observance enough that I wanted to finish.
February
5 Stars to The Galaxy, and the Ground Within (Wayfarers, #4) by Becky Chambers
Description
With no water, no air, and no native life, the planet Gora is unremarkable. The only thing it has going for it is a chance proximity to more popular worlds, making it a decent stopover for ships traveling between the wormholes that keep the Galactic Commons connected. If deep space is a highway, Gora is just your average truck stop. At the Five-Hop One-Stop, long-haul spacers can stretch their legs (if they have legs, that is), and get fuel, transit permits, and assorted supplies. The Five-Hop is run by an enterprising alien and her sometimes helpful child, who work hard to provide a little piece of home to everyone passing through. When a freak technological failure halts all traffic to and from Gora, three strangers—all different species with different aims—are thrown together at the Five-Hop. Grounded, with nothing to do but wait, the trio—an exiled artist with an appointment to keep, a cargo runner at a personal crossroads, and a mysterious individual doing her best to help those on the fringes—are compelled to confront where they’ve been, where they might go, and what they are, or could be, to each other.
Review
This didn’t feel like an ending. SO whilst I’m looking forward to Becky Chambers moving on, I’m sad to hear that she’s stopping here. There are so many more stories I am sure. This was beautifully told, completely in character, full of the spark and vitality that makes her characters both less Human, but more people, than many other science fiction writers can manage. I have enjoyed all of these and will very much enjoy rereading them all together one day.
3 Stars to Welcome to Mars by James Blish
Description
science fiction sci-fi fantasy adventure
Review
A lovely period work, rich with exciting escapades and unusually accepting of female power for its time. Enjoyed.
4 Stars to Time Travel for Love and Profit by Sarah Lariviere
Description
When Nephele has a terrible freshman year, she does the only logical thing for a math prodigy like herself: she invents a time travel app so she can go back and do it again (and again, and again). Fourteen-year-old Nephele used to have friends. Well, she had a friend. That friend made the adjustment to high school easily, leaving Nephele behind in the process. And as Nephele looks ahead, all she can see is three very lonely years. Nephele is also a whip-smart lover of math and science, so she makes a plan. Step one: invent time travel. Step two: go back in time, have a do-over of 9th grade, crack the code on making friends and become beloved and popular. Does it work? Sort of. Nephele does travel through time, but not the way she planned--she's created a time loop, and she's the only one looping. And she keeps looping, for ten years, always alone. Now, facing ninth grade for the tenth time, Nephele knows what to expect. Or so she thinks. She didn't anticipate that her new teacher would be a boy from her long ago ninth grade class, now a grown man; that she would finally make a new friend, after ten years. And, she couldn't have pictured someone like Jazz, with his deep violet eyes, goofy magic tricks and the quietly intense way he sees her. After ten freshman years, she still has a lot more to learn. But now that she's finally figured out how to go back, has she found something worth staying for?
Review
So I spent a lot of the reading time here thinking "no! Don't do it again!" And wondering just how well having only a photograph for company would work. But on balance, having turned the last page, I was surprisingly satisfied even though (spoiler alert) nothing is resolved at the end of the story. I don't know how, quite, that it is possible - that I am at once cognisant of the fact that none of the plot points set up in the story are resolved in any meaningful way yet confident that our incredibly weird main character has absorbed some sort of life lesson and come through this whole thing not unchanged. But I am. I am, and that is weird. And this book shines a weirdly bright light on my soul and that is ... strangely appealing.
4 Stars to Phenomena by Douglas Phillips
Description
Phenomena is a story of intrigue, psychological distress, and one scientist’s quest to untangle the mysteries of human consciousness… Amelia Charron is a neuroscientist researching brain disorders. She routinely uses astonishing mind-linking technology that allows her to enter the dream world of patients. Each night, Amelia acts as a guide through the bizarre wonderland of the mind – an assisted lucid dream. It’s a technique that reroutes neural pathways to heal the brain, but it’s not without psychological dangers for both the patient and the guide. Orlando Kwon will do anything to keep the frightening voices at bay. Alien voices, he’s sure, but he has no idea what they are saying. The medical diagnosis: early stage schizophrenia. With his life in tatters, a referral to a specialized neuroscience team might be his last chance. Amelia is startled by what she sees in her newest patient’s mind. Frightening dreams of an unknown world are accompanied by knowledge the man couldn’t possibly have invented and a language no one has heard. In a race against time, Amelia must uncover the deep implications for her patient, herself, and humankind – before Orlando inserts the final component into a strange device he feels compelled to construct. From the author of Quantum Space comes an exciting new novel that begins in real science and inexorably pulls the reader toward the deepest wonders of our universe.
Review
I enjoyed this, although I don't always find it very believable when 2 technologies needed for something to happen, such as the alien portals and the caps allowing people to share minds, happen to just appear together. Still, it was a good yarn even if the lead male has no personality, and I finished it thinking I would at least take a look at more by the author. So only just a 4 stars, but a 4 all the same.
5 Stars to Star Trek: The Brave and the Bold, Book 2 by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Description
CONTINUING THE ALL-NEW ADVENTURE SPANNING ALL OF "STAR TREK"(R) HISTORY! Two of the Malkus Artifacts -- used as deadly weapons millennia ago -- have been uncovered since their discovery in the 22nd century. Now in the 24th century, two more artifacts lie in wait, ready to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting galaxy... While on their shakedown cruise, Captain Kathryn Janeway and the "Starship Voyager"(TM) discover the third artifact in the Demilitarized Zone -- in the hands of the Maquis! With the aid of Captain Robert DeSoto of the "U.S.S. Hood, Voyager" security chief Lieutenant Tuvok infiltrates the Maquis, and must gain the trust of cell leaders Chakotay and Cal Hudson before the terrorists use the artifact to throw the DMZ into chaos! When the final artifact is unearthed on Narendra III, it leads to several mysterious disappearances throughout Federation and Klingon(TM) space -- including Federation Ambassadors Spock and Worf. Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the "Starship Enterprise"(TM) joins forces with Captain Klag of the I.K.S. Gorkon -- but even the greatest vessels of two nations may not be enough when the deadly secret of the final artifact is revealed!
Review
It's clear that DeCandido's invested a lot of time with the Klingons. it works brilliantly well here, and although I originally questioned the compressed nature of the artifact discovery (everything seemed to be happening quickly toward the end), things came out very well and I totally enjoyed myself. Spock and Worf are hardly a team you'd expect to see, so that was fun. In all, a very enjoyable revisit to some familiar characters.
4 Stars to Star Trek: The Brave and the Bold, Book 1 by Keith R.A. DeCandido
Description
AN ALL-NEW ADVENTURE SPANNING THREE GENERATIONS! The Malkus Artifacts: four deadly machines, wielded as weapons of absolute power by an interstellar tyrant thousands of years ago and scattered across the Alpha Quadrant when he was overthrown. After their existence was discovered in 2151 by Captain Jonathan Archer of the "Starship Enterprise"(TM), all Starfleet vessels were warned to keep an eye out for these most dangerous devices... One hundred years later, Captain James T. Kirk of the "U.S.S. Enterprise" and Commodore Matt Decker of the "U.S.S. Constellation" come across the first artifact on the colony world of Alpha Proxima II -- a world ravaged by a mysterious plague. As the crews of the two mighty vessels work to find a cure and locate the artifact, two brave captains must bring order to Proxima before it's too late! One hundred years after that, Commander Benjamin Sisko of Station Deep Space 9(TM) enlists the aid of Captain Declan Keogh of the "U.S.S. Odyssey" to help construct a farming colony on Bajor's second moon -- but the colony is placed in jeopardy when the Bajoran terrorist Orta discovers the second artifact and threatens destruction on a massive scale!
Review
Obviously these books were released quite some time ago, but coming at them now it was rather refreshing to pop into the lives of characters, some familiar and some less so. Any true Trek fan will surely welcome the variety of viewpoints here, and I hope book 2 is going to bring everything to a satisfying conclusion. The author has clearly done his research, there are lots of period details and little gems buried that show us he knows his subject matter, and that’s always great to read.
5 Stars to The Future Is Yours by Dan Frey
Description
Two best friends create a computer that can predict the future. But what they can’t predict is how it will tear their friendship—and society—apart. If you had the chance to look one year into the future, would you? For Ben Boyce and Adhi Chaudry, the answer is unequivocally yes. And they’re betting everything that you’ll say yes, too. Welcome to The Future: a computer that connects to the internet one year from now, so you can see who you’ll be dating, where you’ll be working, even whether or not you’ll be alive in the year to come. By forming a startup to deliver this revolutionary technology to the world, Ben and Adhi have made their wildest, most impossible dream a reality. Once Silicon Valley outsiders, they’re now its hottest commodity. The device can predict everything perfectly—from stock market spikes and sports scores to political scandals and corporate takeovers—allowing them to chase down success and fame while staying one step ahead of the competition. But the future their device foretells is not the bright one they imagined. Ambition. Greed. Jealousy. And, perhaps, an apocalypse. The question is . . . can they stop it? Told through emails, texts, transcripts, and blog posts, this bleeding-edge tech thriller chronicles the costs of innovation and asks how far you’d go to protect the ones you love—even from themselves.
Review
Wow. Intense, scarily believable and a single-session plough through. I was compelled to carry on, even though the theft immediately spoiled the ending for me, but perhaps I’ve just read too much in the genre to be surprised. But the format worked really well, the ramifications of the technology were explored in as much depth as the length and format allowed, the blog posts were authentic, existential and so very Human and the reaction of both big data and the US government utterly believable. One to watch without doubt, there’s a new voice in the space and I want to read his other book now.
4 Stars to Love in English by Maria E. Andreu
Description
Sixteen-year-old Ana has just moved to New Jersey from Argentina for her Junior year of high school. She’s a poet and a lover of language—except that now, she can barely understand what’s going on around her, let alone find the words to express how she feels in the language she’s expected to speak. All Ana wants to do is go home—until she meets Harrison, the very cute, very American boy in her math class. And then there’s her new friend Neo, the Greek boy she’s partnered up with in ESL class, who she bonds with over the 80s teen movies they are assigned to watch for class (but later keep watching together for fun), and Altagracia, her artistic and Instagram-fabulous friend, who thankfully is fluent in Spanish and able to help her settle into American high school. But is it possible that she’s becoming too American—as her father accuses—and what does it mean when her feelings for Harrison and Neo start to change? Ana will spend her year learning that the rules of English may be confounding, but there are no rules when it comes to love. With playful and poetic breakouts exploring the idiosyncrasies of the English language, Love in English tells a story that is simultaneously charming and romantic, while articulating a deeper story about what it means to become “American.”
Review
“The elephant in the room,” I repeat. I love these unexpected gifts in English, these delightful little bundles of creativity that sneak up on me when I least expect it. “I like that. So what’s this elephant?” Girl in Translation was the last book I enjoyed with such a cultural exchange, but this worked for me just as well, if not better, given that I could follow most of the Spanish. A brilliant, electrifying tale of adapting to a new language, dreaming to belong in a new culture and, perhaps most importantly, being understood. I guess I had biases of my own; believing that so much of the US was already Spanish-centric, so this shattered that illusion pleasingly and was hard to put down!
January
5 Stars to Willful Machines by Tim Floreen
Description
The closeted son of an ultra-conservative president must keep a budding romance secret from his father while protecting himself from a sentient computer program that’s terrorizing the United States—and has zeroed in on him as its next target—in this “socially conscious sci-fi thriller to shelve between The Terminator and Romeo and Juliet ” ( Kirkus Reviews , starred review).In the near future, scientists create what may be a new form of an artificial human named Charlotte. All goes well until Charlotte escapes, transfers her consciousness to the Internet, and begins terrorizing the American public.Charlotte’s attacks have everyone on high alert—everyone except Lee Fisher, the closeted son of the US president. Lee has other things to worry about, like keeping his Secret Service detail from finding out about his crush on Nico, the eccentric, Shakespeare-obsessed new boy at school. And keeping Nico from finding out about his recent suicide attempt. And keeping himself from freaking out about all his secrets.But when attacks start happening at his school, Lee realizes he’s Charlotte’s next target. Even worse, Nico may be part of Charlotte’s plan too.As Lee races to save himself, uncover Charlotte’s plan, and figure out if he can trust Nico, he comes to a whole new understanding of what it means to be alive…and what makes life worth living.
Review
Wow. It's not up there with Vlahos's Hard-Wired, but boy does it capture the imagination. Undoubtedly contrived (the milieu of a school has been done to death and yet seems oddly appropriate), this nonetheless treads exciting territry and breaks hallowed ground. combining rights for homosexual AIs might seem a bit of an odd angle, but the very reality of the feelings coupled with the exciting tech keeps the story flowing. I hope there is more in this world to explore.
4 Stars to Some Time: It starts...badly! by Frank Neary
Description
“You are technically dead, on Earth, but you haven’t actually died.” Whipped away from Earth, whilst mid-crossword, on a packed morning commuter train. Not a great start to the day and not a great start to a new life as the only passenger on a sentient spaceship - but that’s not the worst thing that’s going to happen to our bemused hero. Now, it’s kill or be killed in savage hand-to-hand contests against strange alien foes desperate to win at all costs. At least the all-powerful spaceship provides. Inbetween terrifying fights, it’s the best of everything Earth can offer, in untold abundance. And so the fun begins. But does our hero have a dark secret - and does the ship have an even darker one? If you liked ‘Memoirs of a Time Traveller’ by Doug Molitor and ‘ Reset’ by S.Spencer Baker then dive straight into SOME TIME. “Rattles along at a great pace. A refreshingly different plot with twists and turns along the way.”
Review
Hopping around in time was great, seeing the mental decay was not unexpected but rendered pretty nicely. I gave it 4 stars because if you offered me a sequel today I'd buy it, just to see the explanation for the ending. Not a book to pick up if you wish to end holy satisfied, alas.
4 Stars to The Secret Visitors by James White
Description
When the World Security Organization asked Doctor Lockhart to treat their mysterious prisoner, they hadn't known that the dying old man would reply to their questions in a totally unknown language. They had expected the stranger to reveal something about the world war which seemed imminent. But they had been thinking in terms of foreign spies - not alien beings! Now suddenly they found themselves confronted with a Gargantuan task. They had to find a way to another world, a means of communicating with creatures they could barely imagine. They had to stop a war which was originating in the farthest stars - or else surrender the Earth unconditionally to THE SECRET VISITORS.
Review
hardly a modern classic, but with White's usual nod to flowery language I found this enjoyable enough. I was particularly intrigued at the medical parts, which of course echo White's Sector General work. Not a book for everyone and probably only of great interest to a small group, I nonetheless felt the story picked up and enjoyed it more as it went on.
5 Stars to This Will Be Funny Someday by Katie Henry
Description
A girl walks into a bar… then onto a stage, and up to the mic. Sixteen-year-old Izzy is used to keeping her thoughts to herself—in school, where her boyfriend does the talking for her, and at home, where it’s impossible to compete with her older siblings and high-powered parents—but when she accidentally walks into a stand-up comedy club and performs, the experience is surprisingly cathartic. After the show, she meets Mo, an aspiring comic who’s everything Izzy’s not: bold, confident, comfortable in her skin. Mo invites Izzy to join her group of friends and introduces her to the Chicago open mic scene. The only problem? Her new friends are college students—and Izzy tells them she’s one, too. Now Izzy, the dutiful daughter and model student, is sneaking out to perform stand-up with her comedy friends, and she can hardly remember all the lies she’s telling to keep her two lives separate. Her controlling boyfriend is getting suspicious, and her former best friend knows there’s something going on. But Izzy loves comedy and this newfound freedom. As her two parallel lives collide—in the most hilarious of ways—Izzy must choose to either hide what she really wants and who she really is or, finally, truly stand up for herself.
Review
I enjoyed every page of this book. The family dynamics, Isabel's transformations between her two lives and the tremendous, impactful set of realisations she goes through as the two come crashing together in spectacular fashion. I'm not a young, fairly well-off white girl with a large family. But I was there for a while and that was beautiful.
3 Stars to Alien Emergencies by James White
Description
The second three volumes of James White's Sector General SF saga, in a single omnibus edition. Sector General: A vast hospital complex in the depths of outer space. The thousands who work there, human and alien both, have a single mission: To care for all patients, of all species. At Sector General, anything can happen-and frequently does. James White's tales of Sector General are lively, humorous, and humane, at times shot through with a healer's anger at violence and destruction. These are endlessly inventive dramas of civility and spirituality, tempered with White's gently wicked wit and his keen eye for the remarkable in the everyday. Now, in a single omnibus, the second three volumes of the series-Ambulance Ship, Sector General, and Star Healer-return to print in complete and corrected editions, including a sequence ("Spacebird") omitted from previous American editions of Ambulance Ship. The volume is introduced by Hugo-winning SF writer and critic David Langford.
Review
Not as exciting as the first lot, some good progression here but also, naturally because of the medium, a fair amount of repetition. Enjoyed, but not overwhelmingly so.
4 Stars to Beginning Operations (Sector General, #1-3) by James White
Description
Sector General: A massive deep-space hospital station on the Galactic Rim, in the depths of outer space, where human and alien medicine meet. Its 384 levels and thousands of staff members who work there, human and alien both, have a single mission: To care for all patients, of all species. At Sector General, anything can happen, and frequently does. as staff work to meet the needs of any conceivable alien patient, though that capacity is always being strained as more (and stranger) alien races turn up to join the galactic community. Sentient viruses, interspecies romances, undreamed-of institutional catering problems...it all lands on Sector General's doorstep. And the only thing weirder than a hitherto unknown alien species is having a member of that species turn up in your Emergency Room. Here is Beginning Operations (Sector General Omnibus 1, Bks 1-3) Contents: * Introduction (Beginning Operations) • essay by Brian Stableford * Hospital Station [Sector General • 1] (1962) / collection by James White: Medic (1960) novelette (variant of O'Mara's Orphan); Sector General (1957) novelette; Trouble With Emily (1958) novelette; Visitor at Large (1959) novelette; Out-Patient (1960) novelette * Star Surgeon [Sector General • 2] (1963) / novel by James White. * Major Operation [Sector General • 3] (1971) / collection by James White: Invader (1966) novelette; Vertigo (1968) novelette; Blood Brother (1969) novelette; Meatball (1969) novelette; Major Operation (1971) novelette
Review
I have read all these individually, many years ago. I remember very much enjoying the opening set of stories. I found it harder to picture the aliens in the latter set of works, which detracted some. But I enjoy the style of writing a great deal. I don’t quite remember it being so sexist, either – all the high-ups are male and females are just good for nursing or horseplay. But I suppose that’s a more of the time.
4 Stars to Scorpia (Alex Rider #5) by Anthony Horowitz
Description
Alex Rider, teen spy, has always been told he is the spitting image of the father he never knew. But when Alex learns that his father may have been an assassin for the most lethal and powerful terrorist organization in the world, Scorpia, his world shatters. Now Scorpia wants Alex on their side, and Alex no longer has the strength to fight them. That is, until he learns of Scorpia’s latest plot: an operation known only as “Invisible Sword” that will result in the death of thousands of people. Can Alex prevent the slaughter, or will Scorpia prove once and for all that the terror will not be stopped?
Review
A very exciting episode,either because this is where I stopped as a kid or because the stakes for Alex have jumped up tremendously and he's skating the thin end of the wire this time. Whatever the reason I enjoyed this a great deal and think apart from the opening novel it's by far my favourite, although I of course recognise that without a lot of background from the previous books that wouldn't really be the case.
4 Stars to Eagle Strike (Alex Rider, #4) by Anthony Horowitz
Description
Sir Damian Cray is a philanthropist, peace activist, and the world's most famous pop star. But still it's not enough. He needs more if he is to save the world. Trouble is, only Alex Rider recognizes that it's the world that needs saving from Sir Damian Cray. Underneath the luster of glamour and fame lies a twisted mind, ready to sacrifice the world for his beliefs. But in the past, Alex has always had the backing of the government. This time, he's on his own. Can one teenager convince the world that the most popular man on earth is a madman bent on destruction--before time runs out?
Review
I think this was the last one I read of these in my teen years. I have a vague memory of the voice of Air Force One being Microsoft Sam and finding that rather entertaining. Another solid instalment and, of course, there's a lot pushed onto Alex's shoulders toward the end.
4 Stars to Skeleton Key (Alex Rider #3) by Anthony Horowitz
Description
Alex Rider is now an IMDb TV/Amazon Original Series! Alex Rider is an orphan turned teen superspy who's saving the world one mission at a time—from #1 New York Times bestselling author! Alex Rider has been through a lot for his fourteen years. He's been shot at by international terrorists, chased down a mountainside on a makeshift snowboard, and has stood face-to-face with pure evil. Twice, young Alex has managed to save the world. And twice, he has almost been killed doing it. But now Alex faces something even more dangerous. The desperation of a man who has lost everything he cared his country and his only son. A man who just happens to have a nuclear weapon and a serious grudge against the free world. To see his beloved Russia once again be a dominant power, he will stop at nothing. Unless Alex can stop him first... Uniting forces with America's own CIA for the first time, teen spy Alex Rider battles terror from the sun-baked beaches of Miami all the way to the barren ice fields of northernmost Russia. From the author of Magpie Murders and Moriarty .
Review
Just as good as the other two, I can see how these could really grip teens. The tennis opening actually stuck in my head for the last decade or more, so that's pretty impressive right there.
4 Stars to Point Blanc (Alex Rider #2) by Anthony Horowitz
Description
Alex Rider, teenage superspy, is back. Fourteen-year-old Alex is back at school trying to adapt to his new double life... and double homework. But MI6 have other plans for him. Armed with a false ID and a new collection of brilliantly disguised gadgets, Alex must infiltrate the mysterious Point Blanc Academy and establish the truth about what is really happening there. Can he alert the world to what he finds before it is too late?
Review
This is pretty much a second template adventure for young alex. There isn't a huge deal of character development, although we do start to see his dissolution with normal life. Although apart from that there's not much extra, a bonus point for the utterly captivating ending. A sprig of healthy doubt is good for the soul
4 Stars to Stormbreaker (Alex Rider #1) by Anthony Horowitz
Description
They told him his uncle died in an accident. He wasn't wearing his seatbelt, they said. But when fourteen-year-old Alex finds his uncle's windshield riddled with bullet holes, he knows it was no accident. What he doesn't know yet is that his uncle was killed while on a top-secret mission. But he is about to, and once he does, there is no turning back. Finding himself in the middle of terrorists, Alex must outsmart the people who want him dead. The government has given him the technology, but only he can provide the courage. Should he fail, every child in England will be murdered in cold blood.
Review
These books came out in my teens, of course. I remember listening to at least the first handful on audiobook, and enjoying them quite a lot. I lost track as I got older, so it's nice to pick them back up digitally and come back to them afresh. Horowitz is a well-regarded writer and deservedly-so. Young spy stories are a good genre in themselves, but he adds authentic British teen to the mix and his action scenes are great fun. I do like how the villain reveals his plans to the captive Alex - a staple of the medium - and the daredeviltry and exciting escapades are, I know, bound to continue.
3 Stars to Forget Tomorrow (Forget Tomorrow, #1) by Pintip Dunn
Description
A New York Times bestseller! Imagine a world where your destiny has already been decided…by your future self. It’s Callie’s seventeenth birthday and, like everyone else, she’s eagerly awaiting her vision―a memory sent back in time to sculpt each citizen into the person they’re meant to be. A world-class swimmer. A renowned scientist. Or in Callie’s case, a criminal. In her vision, she sees herself murdering her gifted younger sister. Before she can process what it means, Callie is arrested and placed in Limbo―a prison for those destined to break the law. With the help of her childhood crush, Logan, a boy she hasn’t spoken to in five years, she escapes the hellish prison. But on the run from her future, as well as the government, Callie sets in motion a chain of events that she hopes will change her fate. If not, she must figure out how to protect her sister from the biggest threat of all. Callie herself.
Review
Perhaps a bit heavy on the angst, a dramatically-ended novel with an interesting, if formulaic society. I'd read book 2 to see where things go.
3 Stars to Old Twentieth by Joe Haldeman
Description
The twentieth century lies hundreds of years in humanity’s past. But the near-immortal citizens of the future yearn for the good old days—when people’s bodies were susceptible to death through disease and old age. Now, they immerse themselves in virtual reality time machines to explore the life-to-death arc that defined existence so long ago. Jacob Brewer is a virtual reality engineer, overseeing the time machine’s operation aboard the starship Aspera. But on the thousand-year voyage to Beta Hydrii, the eight-hundred member crew gets more reality than they expect when people entering the machine start to die.
Review
Whilst I enjoyed the writing style, the humour, the, the future technology and all of that, I couldn't help but feel a little bit cheated at the ending. There's also that irritating thread of ennui you get when working with nearly immortal characters, a coldness seems to creep into their mindsets and things end up reduced to numbers rather than feelings. That did alternate well with the historical stuff, to be fair. I found the sentience of the machine at a bit of a remove. perhaps a deeper reread one day will reveal more subtext that I have glossed over.
4 Stars to The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
Description
From one of England's most celebrated writers, a funny and superbly observed novella about the Queen of England and the subversive power of reading When her corgis stray into a mobile library parked near Buckingham Palace, the Queen feels duty-bound to borrow a book. Discovering the joy of reading widely (from J. R. Ackerley, Jean Genet, and Ivy Compton-Burnett to the classics) and intelligently, she finds that her view of the world changes dramatically. Abetted in her newfound obsession by Norman, a young man from the royal kitchens, the Queen comes to question the prescribed order of the world and loses patience with the routines of her role as monarch. Her new passion for reading initially alarms the palace staff and soon leads to surprising and very funny consequences for the country at large. With the poignant and mischievous wit of The History Boys, England's best loved author Alan Bennett revels in the power of literature to change even the most uncommon reader's life.
Review
Delightful. Not many books I come across can be tagged "monarchical whimsy, but this is perhaps the third after Townsends Queen and I and the utterly spectacular Your country needs you! By MV Harland. here, of course, the ending is a brilliant clonk over the head. I had to stop myself barking with laughter at the final sentence, as it was gone 1 in the morning when I read it.
3 Stars to The Secret Martians by Jack Sharkey
Description
To This Mutant Superman A Pretty Girl Was Like A Malady! Jery Devlin had a most unusual psychic power: He could detect the logical flaws in any scheme or misleading statement--on sight. Even those that eluded the best brains in the solar system. So when the Chief of World Security told him he had been selected to solve the system's greatest mystery, the disappearance of an entire boy scout troop from a ship in mid-space, Jery had only one reservation: encountering a beautiful woman. Nearness to a hot babe always triggered his nerd gene and he lost the ability to think. On Mars this master spy of the red planet found his hands full just dealing with the intricate maze of out-of-this-world double-dealing. Then he met Snow, the woman with the cornsilk hair and out-of-this-world figure, and his mind went blank. Soon she stole his World Security ID, then she stole his heart, then she saved his life! Or was that just a trick to keep him from rescuing the scouts and discovering the existence of the fabled secret Martians? By the author of the uproarious It's Magic, You Dope! Don't miss this never reprinted sf romp, originally half of an Ace Double-Novel, the pulpiest of all early paperback houses, edited by the legendary Don Wollheim.
Review
Very much a work of its time, ocasionally a bit of the old pulp is just what you want and this fit the bill nicely.
5 Stars to Tune It Out by Jamie Sumner
Description
A 2020 BookExpo Book Buzz Pick From the author of the acclaimed Roll with It comes a moving novel about a girl with a sensory processing disorder who has to find her own voice after her whole world turns upside down. Lou Montgomery has the voice of an angel, or so her mother tells her and anyone else who will listen. But Lou can only hear the fear in her own voice. She’s never liked crowds or loud noises or even high fives; in fact, she’s terrified of them, which makes her pretty sure there’s something wrong with her. When Lou crashes their pickup on a dark and snowy road, child services separate the mother-daughter duo. Now she has to start all over again at a fancy private school far away from anything she’s ever known. With help from an outgoing new friend, her aunt and uncle, and the school counselor, she begins to see things differently. A sensory processing disorder isn’t something to be ashamed of, and music might just be the thing that saves Lou—and maybe her mom, too.
Review
"If there is a more normal version of the world out there ..." What a fantastic read. I can't imagine a life without touch and of course reality rarely ends so magically. But all the references; artists, movies, things that matter to a certain generation ... that just worked here. and I'm sure glad I forsook an hour of sleep to finish this heartwarming gem.
4 Stars to Gallowglass by S.J. Morden
Description
In the midst of a massive climate crisis, the space race has come back to life, with corporations offering massive rewards for anyone who will go out into the black to claim resources in their name. Jack is desperate to escape earth and joins a team chasing down an asteroid… but he doesn’t realize that everyone on the ship is just as desperate as him, if not more so. And they’ll do anything to get to the asteroid first–and make sure they get a bigger share.
Review
The obvious parallel when I preordered this was Daniel Suarez's Delta V, a fantastic book. Having enjoyed both Morden's previous works as well, I felt pretty safe that I'd like this one too. I was ... not disappointed, but I did struggle to connect with the lead a little bit. the opening section was quite gripping, but I suppose it's hard to empathise with someone who's had it all. Something didn't quite click with me to enjoy it to my fullest, and although I did enjoy reading about Andros (who reminded me of JC in wildcatter, perhaps one of my favourite novels of all time), some of the other characters didn't want to let me in. Morden's got an exciting and gritty pot of intriguing ideas here though, more set in this world could work well. SO on balance, because it was one of the few books I paid for rather than borrowed last year, I am happy to have read it and will continue to keep an eye for new content from Simon.
2 Stars to Match by William Massa
Description
AN OBSESSION FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE... Online dating. A great way to connect in a wired, increasingly busy world, but do you really know who hides behind the smiling pictures? The flirtatious text messages? What if the person on the other end of the dating profile isn’t quite what they appear to be… WHAT IF THEY AREN'T EVEN ALIVE? Mark found her photo on a popular dating app that was all the rage. Her name was Akasha, and she was beautiful. Seductive. Irresistible. She wrote that she was looking for friendship. Love. A real connection. But Akasha is concealing a horrible secret. Now Mark must solve a terrifying mystery if he is to save those he loves the most and survive a dangerous obsession.
Review
an annoyingly vague epilogue and a lack of resolution lets this one down. How many american college students have teakettles for their stovetops, I wonder? and of course our MC's lack of any sort of ability to think doesn't really help.
2 Stars to Skynoise by Ernie Lindsey
Description
In 1587, over one hundred colonists, desperate for a better life in the new world, disappear without a trace from a settlement on tiny Roanoke Island, just off the coast of North Carolina. And now, in the present day, tremendous, undulating wails are being heard in the sky all over the world, with no apparent earthly origin. To Helen Weils, bestselling author and respected academic, history is a realm of observable facts, each one carefully weighed and inspected. So when she encounters Chip Sledd, a conspiracy theorist who insists there’s an unimaginable connection between the disappearance of the colonists in 1587 and the strange noises in the sky, she's quick to dismiss his theories as the irrational ramblings of a lunatic. But when black-suited agents begin pursuing her and Chip, Helen soon realizes that the past is a lot more flexible than she ever thought possible -- and seeking the truth sometimes means accepting the strangest theory of them all.
Review
A shame the time travel falls apart into dimensionality, the MC is a bit of a sleeparound and so much of the plot action is based around the characters lying to each other.
4 Stars to Logging Off by Nick Spalding
Description
From bestselling author Nick Spalding comes a laugh-out-loud story about getting offline—and getting on with life. Andy Bellows is in a right state. Plagued with insomnia, anxiety and neckache, he’s convinced there’s something seriously wrong with him. And the worst thing is that his doctor agrees. The Andy is in the grip of a self-destructive addiction to technology—he just cannot put that bloody mobile phone down. Texting, tweeting, gaming and online dating—technology rules Andy’s life. His phone even monitors his bowel movements. So how will he cope when he’s forced to follow doctor’s orders and step away from all of his beloved screens? From having to leave the flat in search of food like some kind of Neanderthal to engaging in conversations with actual people, Andy’s about to discover just how bewildering—and scary—the analogue world can be. And when his sixty-day detox hits the headlines—making him a hero to suffering technophiles everywhere—Andy is sorely tempted to pack it all in and escape in the nearest Uber. Can he get himself out of this mess, and work out how to live a better, technologically balanced life…without consulting Google even once?
Review
worth a chuckle in a few spots and a worryingly unstoppable grin in others, this was a gentle and scarily close-to-home look at our Internet lifestyles.