Previous SFF Author: Frank Aubrey
Speculative fiction in audiobook format.
The Somebody People by Bob Proehl
I wasn’t crazy about Bob Proehl’s The Nobody People. While the premise was intriguing (kids with supernatural powers being raised and trained in a boarding school without the public’s knowledge), the novel, for reasons I’ve described in my review, was not compelling. I struggled to finish it but, in the end, I was curious about where Proehl was going with the story. For that reason, I picked up the sequel, The Somebody People,
January 6th, 2021. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Bob Proehl | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer
In this worthy Nebula (Andre Norton Award) finalist by Naomi Kritzer we meet Steph, a girl who has spent most of her life on the run with her mother. According to her mom, Steph’s abusive father is extremely dangerous and, after spending a couple of years in jail for arson, he’s stalking them. Steph and her mom keep fleeing to small towns, trying to get lost, but eventually her mom gets nervous again and wants to move on. This means that Steph keeps starting at new schools and never has time to settle in and make friends.
January 5th, 2021. Kat Hooper and Tadiana Jones´s rating: 4 | Naomi Kritzer | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Ministry for The Future by Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson’s new novel, The Ministry for The Future (2020), feels like a blueprint. Set in our near future, it follows a set of diverse characters living all over the world who are trying to solve the climate crisis, repair our world and, essentially, save the human race.
The novel begins in India where Frank May is working at a charity organization’s neighborhood clinic. Heatwaves have become a regular occurrence there. When the worst one yet arrives and power is shut off,
December 29th, 2020. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Kim Stanley Robinson | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Reposting to include Maron’s new essay.
Neverwhere is a novel that improved dramatically for me on reread, which actually was a surprise to me. I originally read it about six years ago when, in an odd twist worthy of London Below, it mysteriously appeared one day on my clunky Kindle 2, without my having ordered it. About a month later it just as mysteriously disappeared again (luckily I had finished it just in time). I was fascinated by the marvelous and imaginative setting of Neverwhere and London Below,
December 18th, 2020. Tadiana Jones, Jana Nyman, Kat Hooper, Stuart Starosta and Marion Deeds | Neil Gaiman | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 12 comments |
The Tower of Fools by Andrzej Sapkowski
Fans of THE WITCHER will be happy to see that another of Andrzej Sapkowski’s works has been translated into English. The Tower of Fools, the first in his HUSSITE TRILOGY, was published in Polish in 2002 (Polish title: Narrenturm), then other Eastern European languages, and has this year been translated into English by David French (translator of THE WITCHER) and published by Orbit (US) and Gollancz (UK).
December 17th, 2020. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Andrzej Sapkowski | Audio | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Monday Starts on Saturday by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky
In the Strugatsky brothers’ Monday Starts on Saturday (1965), Sasha, a young Russian man, is about to start his vacation when he picks up a couple of hitchhikers. They are excited to discover that Sasha is a computer programmer because the organization they work for is looking for someone just like him. Curious about these likeable fellows and the work they do, Sasha accompanies them to Solovets to find out what’s happening at the National Institute for the Technology of Witchcraft and Thaumaturgy (NITWIT).
December 14th, 2020. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4.5 | Boris and Arkady Strugatsky | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Involution Ocean by Bruce Sterling
John Newhouse is a middle-aged man addicted to a drug called Flare which is synthesized from the oil of a whale that lives in a large sea of dust on a hostile planet. John lives with several other drug addicts. When Flare is declared illegal and their stash runs dry, John and one of his roommates decide to join a whaling ship’s crew so they can get access to the oil they’ll need to manufacture the drug for themselves. John is hired as the ship’s cook while his friend comes aboard as a deckhand.
December 9th, 2020. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Bruce Sterling | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | no comments |
How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge by K. Eason
Rory Thorne is back for another adventure in K. Eason’s How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge (2020). At the end of the first THORNE CHRONICLES novel, How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse, it looked like Rory was finished with politics. (“Does the multiverse really need more politicians?”)
Rory, Jaed, and their friends/bodyguards Zhang and Thorsdottir are currently working as privateers far away from civilization.
December 7th, 2020. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | K. Eason | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
Disclaimer: As my students know, I’ve had a crush on Hank Green for years. I will try to not let this bias my review.
In the middle of the night when April May, a graphic designer, is on her way home from work in Manhattan, she’s the first person to notice a huge new statue on the sidewalk. It’s totally out of place, but she appreciates its artistry, so she calls her friend Andy and asks him to help her make a video about the statue (which she names Carl).
December 7th, 2020. Kat Hooper and Ray McKenzie´s rating: 4 | Hank Green | Audio, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
The Bright and Breaking Sea by Chloe Neill
Kit Brightling, who grew up in a home for orphaned girls, is now the captain of her own ship. She’s a good leader, has a great crew, and her magical ability to influence water makes her especially formidable.
Kit works for Queen Charlotte, a benevolent monarch who doesn’t quite feel secure on her own throne. That’s because there are rumors that its previous occupant, the exiled emperor Gerard Rousseau, has been secretly corresponding with disgruntled nobles and may have plans to return with an army and/or a secret weapon.
December 3rd, 2020. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3.5 | Chloe Neill | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Previous SFF Author: Frank Aubrey
Very happy to hear that you enjoyed this look back at Edwige's giallo career, YMPA! An examination of her sexy…
What a fascinating dive into Edwige Fenech's contributions to the giallo genre! I love how you captured her unique blend…
That list of anticipated books is certainly odd, although it does align with the type of books ReacTor and Locus…
If it doesn't have a ripped shirt, is it *really* Doc Savage?
Ooh, I DO kinda like that Doc Savage action figure! But without the ripped shirt, I think I will take…