Book Review

Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory, A Murderbot Short Story: #BookReview #scifi #scifibooks #sciencefiction #BookLover

Book Review, Science Fiction Books, Space Opera / By / February 25, 2023

“Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory” by Martha Wells was a treat I saved for my first chemo treatment. What better companion for battle than Murderbot? Of course, I loved it. Murderbot is my new obsession. As a treat, I pre-ordered the next book due out at end of November. Not only am I excited about the new novel, but I’ll be done with chemo then, done with surgery, and done or nearly done with radiation. So come quickly end of November!

“Home” is a fascinating and thought-provoking short story that expands the world of the Murderbot series in new ways. Unlike previous installments, the story is not told from Murderbot’s perspective, but rather from the point of view of Dr. Mensah, the human who freed him at the end of book one. This story takes place between books 1 and 2 in the timeline.

The story explores the concept of “home” and what it means for different characters in the series. From the perspective of humans, “home” can be a place of safety and security, while for bots like Murderbot, it can be a more elusive concept, tied more to personal freedom and autonomy.

One of the strengths of “Home” is Wells’ ability to create vivid and compelling characters in just a few pages. Despite the brevity of the story, each character is well-drawn and fully realized, with their own motivations and desires.

Wells continues to expand and deepen the world of the series. The themes of family, belonging, and identity are explored in a nuanced and compelling way, making for a satisfying and thought-provoking read.

If there’s one downside to “Home,” it’s that the story is over too soon. Of course, I wanted more. I always want more Murderbot. For a person who doesn’t usually care for robot stories, I’m quite surprised that this series has become such an obsession for me. This story made me laugh out loud a few times. Not an easy feat with chemo drugs being pumped into your veins. Murderbot is always good for some laughs. It has a sense of humor. So yeah, go read you some Murderbot.

 

 

Ooo! And here’s the cover of the next one. Can’t wait!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#ScfiFi Worth Reading: Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits #BookReview

Book Review, Science Fiction Books / By / January 22, 2023

Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong is a wild and imaginative ride through a futuristic world filled with colorful characters and over-the-top action. The story follows Zoey, a young woman who is thrust into a world of danger and intrigue when her estranged father is killed and she inherits his role as the leader of a powerful crime family.

As Zoey inherits the complex and often dangerous world of the future, she encounters a cast of memorable characters, including gangster-like employees, comic book-like villains, and a group of misfits who are all fighting for their own piece of the action. The dialogue is clever and the plot is full of twists and turns, making for a highly entertaining read.

Overall, I really enjoyed Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits and would highly recommend it to fans of science fiction and action-packed novels. David Wong has created a unique and immersive world that is sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish. If you’re looking for a fun and fast-paced read, this book is definitely worth checking out.

 

Here’s the official blurb:

Nightmarish villains with superhuman enhancements.

An all-seeing social network that tracks your every move.

Mysterious, smooth-talking power players who lurk behind the scenes.

A young woman from the trailer park.

And her very smelly cat.

Together, they will decide the future of mankind.

Get ready for a world in which anyone can have the powers of a god or the fame of a pop star, in which human achievement soars to new heights while its depravity plunges to the blackest depths. A world in which at least one cat smells like a seafood shop’s dumpster on a hot summer day.

This is the world in which Zoey Ashe finds herself, navigating a futuristic city in which one can find elements of the fantastic, nightmarish and ridiculous on any street corner. Her only trusted advisor is the aforementioned cat, but even in the future, cats cannot give advice. At least not any that you’d want to follow.

Will Zoey figure it all out in time? Or maybe the better question is, will you? After all, the future is coming sooner than you think.

Science Fiction Worth Reading: Project Hail Mary #BookReview #scifi #sciencefiction

Book Review, Science Fiction Books, Space Opera / By / January 8, 2023

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is an engrossing read. He has a real flare for writing hard science fiction and making it exciting and readable. I liked it as much as The Martian.

It was full of adventure and problems and solutions through science. One surviving scientist wakes from an induced coma with no memory and has to solve humanity’s biggest dilemma. Then he discovers he’s not alone.

What started as a bleak mission – a suicide mission to hopefully save Earth and humanity – ended up being inspiring and full of hope. Weir shows us how humans can be low and how we can be at our best. Why can’t we always be so amazing, question? (You’ll get that when you read the book)

If you loved The Martian, you’ll love this book, too. We spend most of the story in space and discover new life and new worlds. Discovery of new life and worlds is my favorite part of sci-fi, so I was glad to see those two things in this story. Usually, I find a lot of award-winning books don’t stand up to the hype, but this one does.

Here’s the official blurb:

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?

 

#SciFi Worth Reading: A Desolation Called Peace #BookReview #booklovers

Book Review, Science Fiction Books, Space Opera / By / October 30, 2022

Book 2 in the Teixcalaan series, A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine, is an exciting return to the Empire.  Detailed and imaginative, her world-building is extraordinary and thought-provoking.

Having enjoyed the first book, I was keen to delve into the second. I think this book is actually better than the first. Perhaps because I didn’t have to work as hard to understand the world and people she created. I already knew them. But I also think the story is better.

Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass team up once again to help negotiate with an enemy that inspires fear among the most hardened war veterans.

Don’t ask me how to pronounce a lot of names, but it was easy to fill in my own pronunciations, which I’m sure are very wrong. But that doesn’t matter. The story is beautiful and the language often aching. The Empire loves its poetry, and I feel as if the story immerses me in the culture of the Empire and that I see it through the lens of their poetry. It’s quite an extraordinary feat in writing.

I definitely recommend reading this one, especially if you liked the first, A Memory Called Empire.

Here’s the official description:

An alien armada lurks on the edges of Teixcalaanli space. No one can communicate with it, no one can destroy it, and Fleet Captain Nine Hibiscus is running out of options.

In a desperate attempt at diplomacy with the mysterious invaders, the fleet captain has sent for a diplomatic envoy. Now Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass—still reeling from the recent upheaval in the Empire—face the impossible task of trying to communicate with a hostile entity.

Their failure will guarantee millions of deaths in an endless war. Their success might prevent Teixcalaan’s destruction—and allow the empire to continue its rapacious expansion.

Or it might create something far stranger . . .

 

#SciFi Worth Reading: The Kaiju Preservation Society #BookReview

Book Review, Science Fiction Books / By / September 29, 2022

best selling science fiction from John ScalziThe Kaiju Preservation Society by best-selling science fiction author John Scalzi brightened my days while I was reading it. Several times, it made me laugh out loud. The premise is quite original as to where and how Kaiju live. There’s lots of action, and the references to life-changing moments because of COVID made it relatable and real.

In his postscript, Scalzi says this novel is the equivalent of a pop song, and it is. The plot is often predictable, but the originality of the world in which it takes place was fun.

As you know, I love my monster/giant reptile stories, so I couldn’t resist reading this one. If you’re looking for something light and fun and with a few laughs, The Kaiju Preservation Society will fill that void. And, where do I apply? I want to work there.

When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization.” Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on.

What Tom doesn’t tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at least. In an alternate dimension, massive dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm, human-free world. They’re the universe’s largest and most dangerous panda and they’re in trouble.

It’s not just the Kaiju Preservation Society who have found their way to the alternate world. Others have, too. And their carelessness could cause millions back on our Earth to die.

 

 

#SciFi Worth Reading: The Silver Ship and the Sea #BookReview

Book Review, Science Fiction Books, Space Opera / By / August 29, 2022

The Silver Ship and the Sea

by Brenda Cooper

This story soon had me so engrossed, that I had to keep reading until the last page. The world and characters were rich and complex and so imaginative. This alien planet became something I experienced through action, drama, and description. There was fear, tension, and excitement.

In the story, most humans have been augmented through bio-engineering to be improved. A ship full of regular, nonaugmented, humans settle on the planet of Fremont where they want to live without any of the trappings of modern humans. Things go according to plan… for a while.

Until a ship of modified humans arrives. Soon there is a culture clash that leads to war. These events happen before the story starts. The story begins shortly after. The modified people left behind six children, who essentially become prisoners of war of the colony. The children have extraordinary abilities. Some are treated with love; some not so much.

Inevitably, as the children grow and realize their predicament, things come to a boiling point again. Well-developed, solid storytelling, don’t miss out on this great novel.

I really need to read the next book in this series. Brenda Cooper has oodles of talent and tells a fabulous story woven with wonder, humanity, and questions we must all answer for ourselves.

Prisoners of a war they barely remember, Fremont’s Children must find a way to survive in a world that abhors their very nature. Or they must discover a way to leave it…

Brenda Cooper’s Fremont’s Children series launches with her award-winning novel The Silver Ship and the Sea. Cooper explores what it means to be so different that others feel they must oppress you.

Six genetically enhanced children are stranded on the colony planet Fremont in a war between genetic purists and those that would tinker with the code. Orphaned, the children have few remnants of their heritage other than an old woman who was left for abandoned at the end of the war, and a mysterious silver ship that appears to have no doors.

To keep themselves alive, the children must leave the safety of the insular community and brave the beautiful but dangerous wilds of Fremont. Is it an echo of their own natures, or a proving ground of their genetic worth?

In this battle of wills and principles, what does the future hold for Fremont’s Children?