Book Review Archives

Hum: A World That Feels Uncomfortably Close

Helen Phillips’ story of technology, AI, and the anxieties of a near future

From the first page, Hum by Helen Phillips hooked me. I was immediately curious, eager to understand the world she was building. The short chapters kept me turning the pages, my mind desperate for answers to the questions the story raised.

Set in a not-so-distant future, the world Phillips imagines feels unsettlingly possible. Through May and her family, the story explores global warming, the internet, pervasive advertising, and the omnipresence of technology. The Hums, AI robots designed to assist humanity, are central to this exploration. They help, but they also sell. While their assistance can be beneficial, their presence carries the potential for harm, and Phillips examines both sides with nuance.

The story also touches on how constantly being observed online shapes our lives. Our actions are judged by strangers, often in ways that feel inescapable and permanent. May, the main character, embodies this anxiety. She worries about the world around her, about her job being overtaken by AI, and about the impact of technology on her children. Technology itself becomes a source of tension, creating rifts in relationships that feel all too plausible.

Phillips balances the narrative beautifully. Some moments are light, even charming, while others carry weighty ideas about society, technology, and human connection. The ending is thought-provoking, inviting readers to reconsider the story and its implications long after the last page.

One thing I would change is the cover. It is bland and fails to reflect the jewel of a story inside. This is a book that deserves a cover as striking and thoughtful as the narrative it holds.

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Numbers, Naivety, and Nebulas

A review of Trans Galactic Insurance by Andrew Moriarty

Lately I’ve been in the mood for the lighter side of space opera all about the adventure, the exploration, and especially the escape. This book delivered.

Trans Galactic Insurance offers a unique and refreshing perspective about life in space through the eyes of Jake Stewart, a big nerd and overachiever who keeps his head down and lives by one mantra: study, study, study. Raised on a struggling outer rim space station where resources and opportunities are scarce, Jake dreams of something bigger.

That dream takes shape when he earns a scholarship off-station. He throws himself into his studies, not only excelling academically but also helping his fellow classmates succeed. Jake is intelligent in a very specific way: he’s extremely book-smart, systems smart, learns quickly, and understands how to function as a citizen on a struggling station. But beyond that narrow lane, he’s inexperienced. Especially when it comes to people, relationships, and the wider, more unpredictable economy of the solar system.

That naivety becomes a problem. Jake finds himself caught in a situation he doesn’t know how to handle. He’s forced to navigate manipulation, grift, and the more ruthless sides of spacefaring life. Part of him remains innocent, but another part begins to adapt and grow as he learns how ruthless and selfish people can be.

The plot is a mix of the predictable and the surprising. Some turns I saw coming, others genuinely caught me off guard. But throughout, this story remains an engaging blend of action, humor, and—unexpectedly—accounting. Somehow, it all works, adding up to a thoroughly enjoyable space romp.

This is the start of a series, and I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing what mischief Jake Stewart falls into next.

Recommended for fans of light-hearted space opera and quirky interstellar adventures.

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Book Review: Platform Decay by Martha Wells

Book Review, Science Fiction Books, Space Opera / M Pax / September 18, 2026

A Master Class in Character

Martha Wells is so in tune with Murderbot that it’s brilliant. She never breaks character and never lets us see the author behind the scenes. SecUnit feels completely real, from its dry observations to the way it processes the world around it.

As always, SecUnit is hilarious, deeply human, and someone I’m always rooting for. The way it views people and situations often cuts through pretense and exposes truths the rest of us would rather ignore. That unique perspective is one of the reasons this series continues to shine.

The plot is fun and pure Murderbot, with the added delight of newly rogue security units running around creating complications. There are plenty of twists, dangers, and moments of humor, but for me, the plot is almost secondary.

The real joy of these books is spending time with SecUnit. Watching how it navigates life, relationships, and increasingly complicated situations is what keeps me coming back. Every installment deepens my appreciation for the character and the world Wells has created.

My only complaint? The book ended.

Now I have to wait for the next installment.

Yes, more please.

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A Mission Into Certain Death: Clockwork Boys Book Review

Book Review, Fantasy / M Pax / September 4, 2026

An entertaining road mission where criminals become reluctant heroes on a journey that feels doomed from the start…

T. Kingfisher excels at creating unusual, deeply human characters who fall far outside the typical fantasy cast. In Clockwork Boys, she assembles a small, uneasy band of criminals and outcasts and sends them toward what is essentially a death sentence and one they all understand, but accept anyway because the alternative is worse.

The premise is deceptively simple: a war-torn realm is threatened by terrifying mechanical soldiers known as the Clockwork Boys. To stop them, a group of prisoners is sent on an almost impossible mission. They must travel into enemy territory, reach the city behind the war machine, and uncover something useful enough to turn the tide. Survival is unlikely.

The group itself is where Kingfisher’s strength truly shows.

We follow:

Slate, a gifted forger who was finally caught
Caliban, a paladin who once became a vessel for a demon and committed mass murder
Brenner, an assassin with a healthy does of snark
and Learned Edmund, a young scholar with no idea what he’s gotten himself into

None of them are heroes in the traditional sense. All are deeply flawed. And yet, they are bound together by necessity, magical compulsion, and a shared understanding that prison or execution is the only alternative to this mission.

At first, their motivation is simple: survive because they must. A magical tattoo ensures compliance, punishing any attempt to abandon the mission. But as the journey progresses, something more complicated emerges. Loyalty forms in unlikely places. And the mission slowly becomes less about survival and more about what kind of people they are becoming on the road.

Kingfisher handles this evolution with remarkable ease. The world feels lived-in without being over-explained, and the plot moves forward without losing focus on character. There’s a steady undercurrent of dark twists, which builds the dread and the urgency.

What stood out most to me is how effortlessly Kingfisher takes what could be really complex and lets it read easily. The characters are distinct, flawed, and constantly negotiating their place within the group.

By the end, I was already reaching for the sequel. Not because the story ends before its done, but because I wanted more time with this strange, reluctant band of travelers moving toward an uncertain fate.

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Mickey 7: Dying Isn’t the Worst Part

Book Review, Science Fiction Books / M Pax / August 21, 2026

Science Fiction Book Review

A snarky, surprisingly thoughtful ride through life, death, and identity on a struggling space colony.

Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton is a fun foray into life on a struggling space colony with a premise that’s a little darker than it first appears.

At its core, the story asks a deeply philosophical question: If you’re a copy, are you still you or someone else entirely?

Fortunately, the book never gets too heavy. Mickey himself keeps things grounded with a steady stream of snark, even as his situation grows increasingly grim. And grim it is.

Mickey signs up as an “expendable” on a colonization mission, essentially volunteering to die over and over again, however the crew needs him to. When he dies, a new version of him is printed with his memories intact, ready to go again. It’s a job no one else wants for obvious reasons.

Despite the dark setup, the story stays surprisingly light. Mickey’s voice carries the narrative, and his awareness of how bizarre everything is makes the reader feel in on the joke.

The book also brushes up against bigger ideas without getting bogged down in them. Questions of identity, the ethics of cloning, and even colonialism slip in around the edges. There’s a sense that humanity’s instinct to conquer and reshape new worlds doesn’t quite fit especially on a planet we weren’t meant for.

Still, Mickey 7 doesn’t linger too long in the heavy stuff. It keeps things moving, balancing its darker themes with humor and momentum.

If you’re looking for science fiction that’s thoughtful but not overwhelming, something that makes you think a little while still being fun to read, this one hits that sweet spot.

And if you ever find yourself thinking, “This is getting weird…” Mickey’s thinking the same thing.

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The Buntline Special by Mike Resnick

Book Review, Speculative Fiction / M Pax / August 7, 2026

Steampunk, Magic, and Gunfights…

If you’ve read my previous review of The Doctor and the Dinosaurs, you’ll know I read this Weird West Tales series in the wrong order. When I wrote that review, I looked up what else Mike Resnick had written and discovered there was an entire series, and that I read the last book first. The last book in the series was crazy fun enough, I decided to order the rest of the book in the series.

The Buntline Special is a wild, fun mashup of alternate history, magic, and steampunk. Tombstone, Arizona, gets a makeover: Thomas Edison lives there and equips the town with advanced inventions, making it the first city in America lit by electricity. (As a Buffalo native, I know that’s historically false. Buffalo was first to Nikola Tesla and Niagara Falls.)

The story reimagines the Earps in Tombstone and Doc Holliday arriving in a steampunk carriage made of bronze metal invented by Ned Buntline. (The real Buntline wasn’t an inventor, he was a writer.) Bat Masterson joins the story in a surprising way.

Geronimo and other Native shamans wield magical powers to keep the whites and America on the eastern side of the Mississippi. Geronimo tries to get Edison assassinated. Only Edison poses a threat to their magic. So, the Earps job in this retelling is to protect Edison. Holliday and Masterson are summoned to help them out.

There are robots, vampires, people brought back from the dead, and a touch of romance. The plot is crazy fun, and I feel like Resnick and I share author DNA.

Most of the story is told from Doc Holliday’s POV, giving it a sharp, entertaining edge. If you love inventive, creative speculative fiction or are just in the mood for a light, fun read, this series is definitely worth checking out. There’s something for everyone: history buffs, steampunk fans, magic lovers, western enthusiasts, and fantasy fans.

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