Onyii is a battle-hardened soldier, weary of war.
She’s 15.
Her adopted sister, Ify, is even younger and a budding tech genius. The two live in a rebel compound of Biafran girls, hidden by a signal dampener from the Nigerian government. Tochi Onyebuchi gives the reader a little quiet time in the camp, to meet the characters and learn about the technologies they use — and then the camp is discovered, and a riveting battle scene begins. Onyii and Ify are separated,
June 16th, 2020. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Tochi Onyebuchi | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear
Haimey Dz grew up in an all-female community that she thinks of as a cult. After a bad experience involving a girlfriend, Haimey leaves her home, joins the Synarche, finds a business partner, has her body adjusted a bit (has her feet turned into another pair of hands), and starts a rescue and salvaging business.
Now Haimey and her partner, along with Singer, the sentient AI that drives the ship, travel through space, finding distressed or wrecked spaceships and either saving them or, if it’s too late,
June 16th, 2020. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Elizabeth Bear | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
SHORTS: Our column exploring free and inexpensive short fiction available on the internet. This week’s post reviews several more of the current crop of Locus Award nominees in the short fiction categories.
“A Brief Lesson in Native American Astronomy” by Rebecca Roanhorse (2019, anthologized in The Mythic Dream, edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe). 2020 Locus award finalist (short story).
In the future, people’s memories can be stored and preserved even after they’ve died, and other people can inject them like drugs.
June 15th, 2020. Kelly Lasiter, Tadiana Jones, Skye Walker and Terry Weyna | Elizabeth Bear, Fonda Lee, Ken Liu, Rebecca Roanhorse, T. Kingfisher, Theodora Goss | Horror, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
Destroy All Monsters by Sam J. Miller
It’s interesting reading Sam J. Miller’s Destroy All Monsters (2019) with Akwaeke Emezi’s Pet still fresh in my mind. Both novels deal with child abuse and the question of what a “monster” is. Clearly, these themes are out there in the zeitgeist, and they’re resonating with readers; both books have been named Locus finalists in the Young Adult category.
Destroy All Monsters alternates between two points of view: high school best friends Ash and Solomon.
June 15th, 2020. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Sam J. Miller | Stand-Alone, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki & Steve Pugh
There are currently four of these similarly-themed graphic novels in publication, which seemingly exist in a bid to attract a new generation of readers to DC comics. Each one takes a famous DC heroine (or anti-heroine) and explores what life might have been like when they were still just teenagers. So far we’ve had Princess Mera, Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn and Raven (who granted, has always been depicted as a teenager).
None of the books have any narrative links to later depictions of these characters;
June 15th, 2020. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 4 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
“If the Ness sisters had a brain cell between them, they’d be back in Mazarile, taking needlecraft lessons from a robot.”
Sisters Adrana and Fura Ness have run away from home, joining the crew of a spaceship captained by a man named Rackamore. Their job on the ship is to use a skull to listen in on chatter that gives them clues about things going on in the universe, such as the location of other ships, gossip, and information about “baubles” that are about to open.
June 15th, 2020. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Alastair Reynolds | Audio, Locus Award, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Jana: This week I read Finna, a very slight novella (I’d call it a novelette) by Nino Cipri about love, queerness, anxiety, wormholes, and big-box capitalism. I wish it had been a longer read, but I can’t figure out where I wish Cipri had expanded it. I also read Bethany C. Morrow’s A Song Below Water, and discovered that Kelly and I had the same reactions to it, which was fun (and unsurprising).
Bill: This week I read When Jackals Storm the Walls (good) by Bradley P.
June 14th, 2020. Tim Scheidler | Status Update | 2 comments |
B.P.R.D. (Vol. 4): The Dead by Mike Mignola (writer), John Arcudi (writer), Guy Davis (artist), Dave Stewart (colors), & Clem Robins (letters)
B.P.R.D.: The Dead is the second main arc of the B.P.R.D. series since the first two volumes were collections of short stories. The Dead advances the plot started in B.P.R.D. (Vol. 2): Plague of Frogs. In this volume, we find out that the frog cults continue to spread, moving quickly and resulting in the deaths of many people.
June 13th, 2020. Brad Hawley´s rating: 5 | Mike Mignola | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Blackwater: The Complete Saga by Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell originally published the BLACKWATER horror series in six volumes (The Flood, The Levee, The House, The War, The Fortune, and Rain) in 1983. Some of the installments go for a pretty penny on the Internet these days, so it’s great that Valancourt Press released an omnibus edition, Blackwater: The Complete Saga (2017).
June 12th, 2020. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Michael McDowell | Horror, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Batgirl Vol. 4: Strange Loop (Rebirth) by Hope Larson & Scott Godlweski
This is the fourth volume in Hope Larson’s Batgirl run, one which has focused not only on crime-fighting, but also community spirit — what I’ve liked most about Larson’s stories is that Barbara Gordon gives just as much to the suburb of Burnside as her civilian self than she does as a vigilante. In this, she’s assisted by a group of friends who also contribute to society in meaningful ways, as well as enriching Barbara’s day-to-day life.
June 12th, 2020. Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3.5 | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Kind of you to say. I certainly like to think so!
BTW, Steve Sterner will be performing at seven films during this upcoming fest: https://filmforum.org/series/clara-bow
As far as I know, Bill, Steve Sterner is the only person who does the live accompaniment to silent movies…
And I'm positive that Kaidan will fondly remember watching these movies with his old man for the rest of his…
You bet, Marion!