Previous SFF Author: Jerry Pournelle
Gareth L. Powell was born in Bristol, England. He is the author of the recent SF novel Silversands, and the critically acclaimed short story collection, The Last Reef. His work has been published in magazines all over the world and featured in a number of recent anthologies, including Shine (Solaris, 2010). In 2007, his short story ‘Ack-Ack Macaque’ won the Interzone Readers’ Poll for best short story of the year. Gareth lives in the English West Country with his wife and two daughters, and can be found online at www.garethlpowell.com.
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Ack-Ack Macaque by Gareth L Powell
“Let me get this straight. You’re a World War II fighter pilot,” I say to Ack-Ack, the one-eyed, cigar-chomping macaque as he leads me through the corridor of the airship.
“Right.”
“But it’s 2059.”
“What’s your question?” He glares, a daiquiri glass clenched in his left paw.
“How do you fit in, exactly?”
He spins to face me. “I’m the main character, aren’t I? Ack-Ack Macaque, that’s the book’s name. See?
Marion Deeds´s rating: 3 | Gareth L. Powell | BSFA Award | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
Hive Monkey by Gareth L. Powell
Hive Monkey is the second book in Gareth L. Powell’s ACK ACK MACAQUE series, originally dubbed a trilogy but now, apparently, fated to be a quartet. The eponymous monkey, who likes cigars, rum and flying a refurbished WWII Spitfire, plays a large role in this book, gleefully wreaking mayhem on the bad guys. His sidekicks, Victoria Valois, journalist-turned-airship-captain, K8, plucky girl hacker, and Paul, a hologram, also have roles to play as they battle the colonized drones of an evil hive-mind.
Marion Deeds´s rating: 2.5 | Gareth L. Powell | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Macaque Attack by Gareth L. Powell
For the first two books in Gareth L. Powell’s MACAQUE series, I felt like I was standing in the center of a seesaw or teeter-totter, trying to hold the plank level and balanced. With the third book, Macaque Attack, the totter tipped and threw me off. I can no longer maintain the suspension of disbelief needed to enjoy these adventures.
This review may contain spoilers of all three books, so be warned.
Marion Deeds´s rating: 2 | Gareth L. Powell | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell
Embers of War (2018), which is a finalist for the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, is the first book in Gareth L. Powell’s EMBERS OF WAR series. The story is set in the far future, after humans were welcomed into the Multiplicity.
In the prologue we meet Captain Sally (“Sal”) Konstanz and the sentient spaceship she captains, Trouble Dog. They belong to the House of Reclamation, an ancient organization that serves the Multiplicity by rescuing the crews and passengers of injured or stranded spaceships.
Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Gareth L. Powell | Audio | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
Fleet of Knives by Gareth L. Powell
Fleet of Knives (2019) is the second book in Gareth L. Powell’s EMBERS OF WAR series and a finalist for the 2020 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. Its predecessor, Embers of War, was also a Locus finalist and won the British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel of 2018. When I reviewed it last year, I reported that Embers of War was “pleasant but forgettable” and,
Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Gareth L. Powell | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Light of Impossible Stars by Gareth L. Powell
Gareth L. Powell brings his EMBERS OF WAR trilogy to a satisfying conclusion with Light of Impossible Stars (2020). You’ll need to read Embers of War and Fleet of Knives first. There will be some spoilers for those novels in this review.
When we left Captain Sal, she had just brought a few new crewmates aboard Trouble Dog: Captain Johnny Shultz,
Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Gareth L. Powell | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Light Chaser by Peter F. Hamilton & Gareth L. Powell
2021’s Light Chaser novella is a collaboration between Gareth Powell and Peter F. Hamilton. This fast-paced story actually spans centuries, featuring a functionally-immortal woman, Amahle. The sole occupant of her AI controlled lightship, Amahle, the titular Light Chaser, is one of many of her kind, who travel a “circuit” of human-occupied planets, collecting the memory collars selected families wear for generations. In return, Amahle provides carefully chosen wealth and trinkets, careful never to provide something that might allow the stable (or stagnant) societies on these worlds to make any kind of leap forward in technology or political thinking.
Marion Deeds´s rating: 4 | Gareth L. Powell, Peter F. Hamilton | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Previous SFF Author: Jerry Pournelle
What a perceptive and beautiful review. You make it clear that Yamada not only knows the story she wants to…
Read together with The Serpent Mage, the series is one of the best works of art out there. The main…
thanks for this really well-written review. You've definitely piqued my interest in this, particularly in how you highlight the still…
Thanks for the kind words, Ira! Much appreciated!
Fine review