I really loved Robin Sloan’s Sourdough (2017), but not everyone will. You probably will if you’re a foodie (I am), an introvert (I am), and a bit geeky (I am). If you love sourdough bread (I do) and magical realism (I do), you’ve just got to read Sourdough. And you must try the audio version. It’s amazing.
Lois is new to San Francisco. She moved from Michigan,
March 1st, 2019. Kat Hooper and Marion Deeds´s rating: 5 | Robin Sloan | Audio, Edge, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
On a faraway planet with a dense jungle ecosystem, a human colony ship accidentally landed generations ago. The planet killed all but a few hardy survivors and their offspring evolved, along with the jungle, into a symbiotic pseudo-human race.
A man named Born is one of the descendants of those few humans. In his early manhood, he is eager to prove himself a mighty hunter and a desirable mate for a girl he has a crush on. Among his people, who live in the trees,
February 27th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Alan Dean Foster | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
A People’s Future of the United States: Speculative Fiction from 25 Extraordinary Writers edited by Victor LaValle & John Joseph Adams
In reaction to the Donald Trump’s election as president of the United States as well as to the rhetoric spewed by his far-right supporters such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham, Victor LaValle & John Joseph Adams wrote to a diverse set of speculative fiction authors with this charge: “We are seeking stories that explore new forms of freedom, love, and justice: narratives that release us from the chokehold of the history and mythology of the past… and writing that gives us new futures to believe in.”
The “mythology” they refer to is the history we learned in school which taught us about all the great white men who accomplished all the significant events in American history.
February 25th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Ashok K. Banker, Catherynne M. Valente, Charles Yu, Charlie Jane Anders, Daniel José Older, G. Willow Wilson, Hugh Howey, Justina Ireland, Malka Older, Maria Dahvana Headley, N.K. Jemisin, Sam J. Miller, Seanan McGuire, Tobias Buckell, Victor Lavalle | Audio, Short Fiction | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Oathbound by Mercedes Lackey
The Oathbound (1987) is the first book in Mercedes Lackey’s VOWS AND HONOR series, a trilogy in her larger VALDEMAR saga. You don’t need to be familiar with VALDEMAR before picking up The Oathbound.
The story focuses on two heroines who suffered traumatic events, re-made themselves, and are on separate quests for revenge. Tarma is a clanswoman from a nomadic tribe that got wiped out by raiders.
February 22nd, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2 | Mercedes Lackey | Audio | SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
Breach of Containment by Elizabeth Bonesteel
This third novel in Elizabeth Bonesteel’s CENTRAL CORPS series needs to be read after you’ve finished the previous novels, The Cold Between and Remnants of Trust.
When publishers make promises such as “a page-turning hybrid combining the gritty, high-octane thrills of James S. A. Corey and the sociopolitical drama of Ann Leckie” I just can’t help but point out when the book doesn’t deliver. I have enjoyed Elizabeth Bonesteel’s CENTRAL CORPS novels enough to continue the series when I already have the audiobooks loaded onto my phone,
February 11th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Elizabeth Bonesteel | Audio | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump by Harry Turtledove
David Fisher is an inspector for the Environmental Perfection Agency (EPA), a bureaucracy in charge of regulating the industrial by-products (pollution) caused by using magical spells in an alternate America where most of the technology is based on magic or the actions of any deities or demons that people believe in. For example, the telephones work because there are imps that relay messages back and forth, salamanders produce heat, and vehicles are actually flying carpets.
One night, David gets a frantic call from a superior who tells him that there’s some unusual activity at a spell dump north of this world’s version of Los Angeles.
February 6th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2.5 | Harry Turtledove | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Remnants of Trust by Elizabeth Bonesteel
Remnants of Trust (2016) is the second novel in Elizabeth Bonesteel’s CENTRAL CORPS trilogy. If you haven’t yet read The Cold Between, you should read it first. This review may contain spoilers for that first novel.
Elena and Greg were appropriately court-martialed for their actions in The Cold Between and, instead of prison, their ship Galileo was given a low-level assignment in a backwater sector of space.
February 4th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Elizabeth Bonesteel | Audio | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
A Different Flesh by Harry Turtledove
A Different Flesh (1988), by Harry Turtledove, is a thoughtful collection of linked stories set in an alternate America which was inhabited by a hairy upright-walking sub-human species (homo erectus) when European settlers arrived. The settlers call them “sims.” The earliest story is set in 1610 and the last one in 1988 and, as the stories progress through time, we see the sims become more and more advanced, but it is clear that they will never reach the level of cognition that homo sapiens has achieved.
January 30th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Harry Turtledove | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones
Year of the Griffin (2000) is a sequel (of sorts) to Diana Wynne Jones’ Dark Lord of Derkholm, a satirical fantasy aimed at children and young adults, but just as enjoyable for grown-ups. Year of the Griffin is different — it’s not a satire and, for that reason, probably isn’t as appealing to adults, but I still enjoyed it. It’s what I like to call a boarding school fantasy,
January 29th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Diana Wynne Jones | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
THE FADED SUN by C.J. Cherryh
C.J. Cherryh’s FADED SUN trilogy (1978) consists of three books: Kesrith, Shon’jir, and Kutath. They’ve been bundled into an omnibus edition and Tantor Media sent me a review copy of their recently released audiobook version.
The three novels make up a continuous story of clashing civilizations that takes place in the far future with a few alien species on several distant planets. One of these species is the Mri,
January 28th, 2019. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | C.J. Cherryh | Audio | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Do it! One of the best things I've read in recent years.
This reminds me. I want to read Addie LaRue.
We’re in total agreement David!
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.