Tag: Science Fiction

Kate’s Review: “This World Is Not Yours”

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Book: “This World Is Not Yours” by Kemi Ashing-Giwa

Publishing Info: Tor Nightfire, September 2024

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: This World is Not Yours by USA Today bestseller Kemi Ashing-Giwa is the perfect blend of S.A. Barnes’ space horror and Cassandra Khaw’s beautiful but macabre worlds. An action-packed, inventive novella about a toxic polycule consumed by jealousy and their attempts to survive on a hostile planet.

After fleeing her controlling and murderous family with her fiancée Vinh, Amara embarks on a colonization project, New Belaforme, along with her childhood friend, Jesse. The planet, beautiful and lethal, produces the Gray, a “self-cleaning” mechanism that New Belaforme’s scientists are certain only attacks invasive organisms, consuming them. Humans have been careful to do nothing to call attention to themselves until a rival colony wakes the Gray.

As Amara, Vinh, and Jesse work to carve out a new life together, each is haunted by past betrayals that surface, expounded by the need to survive the rival colony and the planet itself.

There’s more than one way to be eaten alive.

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novella!

When “This World Is Not Yours” by Kemi Ashing-Giwa ended up in my inbox, the cover alone caught my attention. I mean dang, look at that cover. The expression on that person’s face! And looking more into the story itself, I was absolutely intrigued by the premise of a space colony with a strange ecosystem, and a ‘toxic polycule’ (we all know that I LOVE that kind of drama). And the phrase ‘There’s more than one way to be eaten alive’? GIVE IT TO ME NOW. Suffice to say, I was going into this novella with some high hopes.

First the highlights. I am always game for a sci-fi/space horror tale that brings up some of the perils of colonialism, especially on an unfamiliar planet with an unfamiliar ecosystem and with mechanisms that aren’t fully understood. This is one of the reasons I loved “Annihilation”, and the Gray and New Belaforme colony really reminded me of that novel in a number of ways. Secondly, the space horror in this book is unrelenting, it builds some good tension, and when the tension breaks it is GORY AS HELL and in the best and most horrifying ways possible. First with the tension bit. There was one moment where someone was literally swimming in The Gray and I am pretty sure I clamped my hand over my mouth because I knew that could NOT be a good idea, but Ashing-Giwa takes her sweet time in pulling out all she can from the suspense. And then when we do finally get a pay off for it, and the tension breaks into a gory, terrifying mess?

It was disgusting and absolutely nasty. Which is exactly what I want from space based body horror. ( source)

All of this was spot on.

That being said, and this is in a lot of ways a ‘me’ issue, I wasn’t as enthralled with the Science Fiction stuff. I am at the point where I need to just tell myself ‘look Kate, even if it’s Space Horror, Sci-Fi isn’t your thing’ and maybe not take it on. And in “This World Is Not Yours” we get a lot of that, with colonies, space intrigue, Science Fiction scenarios involving populations and ecology, and lots of references to tech that kind of made me skim the pages a bit. I will reiterate that these are all things that are to be expected in this genre, and people who like that will probably like how it is done in this. So that negative aspect is probably on me. But along with that I didn’t feel like I really got to know our characters as much as I would have liked, especially Jesse, one of the cornerstones of the polycule that has been forced upon our main characters. I understood his connection to Amara, but the connection to Vinh was more talked about than really demonstrated. I think to buy some of the high stakes moments at the end I needed more from Jesse. I also needed more development of Vinh’s assigned husband Henry, because Amara REALLY hates him and I understood why she would hate him as a jealous wife, but he seemed pretty bland until there were a couple of hail Mary moments of terribleness that felt like they were there to be like SEE THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD HATE HIM that didn’t feel super earned. On top of that, Amara and Vinh as the couple we are supposed to be rooting for didn’t really click with me. But this could have been solved had we explored them more, and I think that we probably needed more pages to do so.

So all in all “This World Is Not Yours” was a bit mixed for me. The space horror at its peak was fantastic. But it wasn’t as centered as I had hoped it would be.

Rating 6: When the space horror was in full force it was terrifying. But a lack of character development and a little too much Sci-Fi made this not the home run I had hoped for.

Reader’s Advisory:

“This World Is Not Yours” is included on the Goodreads list “Queer Polyamory”.

Serena’s Review: “Full Speed to a Crash Landing”

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Book: “Full Speed to a Crash Landing” by Beth Revis

Publishing Info: DAW, August 2024

Where Did I Get this Book:

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Ada Lamarr may have gotten to the spaceship wreck first, but looter’s rights won’t get her far when she’s got a hole in the side of her ship and her spacesuit is almost out of air. Fortunately for her, help arrives in the form of a government salvage crew—and while they reluctantly rescue her from certain death, they are not pleased to have an unexpected passenger along on their classified mission.

But Ada doesn’t care—all that matters to her is enjoying their fine food and sweet, sweet oxygen—until Rian White, the government agent in charge, starts to suspect that there’s more to Ada than meets the eye. He’s not wrong—but he’s so pretty that Ada is perfectly happy to keep him paying attention to her—at least until she can complete the job she was sent to pull off. But as quick as Ada is, Rian might be quicker—and she may not be entirely sure who’s manipulating who until it’s too late…

Review: I’ve had a bit of a mixed reading experience with this author’s books. I read her YA science fiction novel, “Across the Universe,” years ago and really struggled with it. But then, more recently, I absolutely loved “Night of the Witch,” which Revis wrote collaboratively with another author. Given the strength of my more recent experience, I’d been eying this upcoming novella for a bit before the publisher reached out about potential coverage, and I was decided!

And I’m happy to report that the positive trajectory continues, and I very much enjoyed this short, science fiction romp of a ride! The story is told in the first person which places a lot of pressure on the strength of the narrator to carry the story. And Ada was well up to the task! At first, she had the potentially of falling into the trap of “snark machine” without much substance to back it up. But as the story continued, it became clear that Ada was not a super reliable narrator, leaving the reader to the enjoyable task of attempting to piece together what was really going on as the story progressed. I also enjoyed the presentation of the other crew members, as seen through Ada’s eyes. Again, the use of first person was very successful in presenting these characters through a limited character’s view point, with Ada’s first impressions needing adjustment as she comes to better understand those around her.

I also really enjoyed the plot and action of the story. This is a novella, so there’s a lot to crunch into a fairly small page count. Not only do you have the romantic elements (more on that later), but there was entire adventure to get through, with numerous high stakes scenes. The book starts off in the middle of one of these tense moments, with Ada stranded in her broken down ship with only minutes-worth of air left. And from there, the story quickly bounces into even higher stakes as the salvage crew gets to work. With such high stakes and so much fact-paced plotting, it was sometimes easy to miss the more detailed world-building that went into the story. But whenever I came up for air, I would look back a realize just how fully fleshed out this universe, and the life of a salvager like Ada, felt.

I also, overall, liked the beginnings of the romance, though I will say that this was perhaps one of the weaker elements of the story. While Revis does show much restraint in only marginally moving this “relationship” forward (this is all that would make any sense given the fact that the entire book takes place over a few days’ time), it still felt like a bit too much at times, too close to insta-lust. But I was so well-satisfied with the fact that the envelope wasn’t pushed too far on this point, and the fact that the next book is coming out in a few months’ time, to complain too much.

The only thing that really stood out was the manner in which the book wrapped up. After the primary action is concluded, and Ada is off on her next adventure, the book concludes with several pages’ worth of epistolary material, mostly Rian’s reports on the events of the book and various messages he sends piecing together more information on Ada itself. While all of this information was interesting and crucial to enlightening Rian (and the reader) to some of the details of Ada’s life and plan, it did read as rather clunky and tacked on.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read! I blew through it in a single sit-down and am anxious to get to the next book! Readers of adventure science fiction (and those patiently waiting for more romantic science fiction to come out and catch up to the romantasy boom!) should definitely check this one out.

Rating 8: Jam-packed with adventure and intrigue, with a healthy dose of romance sprinkled on top, I can’t wait to jet off on Ada’s next high stakes adventure!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Full Speed to a Crash Landing” can be found on this Goodreads list: [ATY 2025] Science Fiction or Fantasy by a Woman

Serena’s Review: “Fiasco”

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Book: “Fiasco” by Constance Fay

Publishing Info: Bramble, June 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Cynbelline Khaw is a woman of many names. She’s Generosity, a cultist who never quite fit in. She’s Bella, the daughter who failed to save her cousin’s life. And then there’s Cyn, the notorious bounty hunter who spaced a ship of slavers.

She’s exhausted, lonely, and on her very last legs―but then a new client offers her a job she can’t refuse: a bounty on the kidnapper who killed her cousin. All Cyn has to do is partner with the crew of the Calamity, a scouting vessel she encountered when she was living under a previous alias. One tiny little issue, she’s been given an additional deliver the oh-so-compelling medic, Micah Arora, to the treacherous Pierce Family or all her identities will be revealed, putting her estranged family in danger.

Hunting a kidnapper doesn’t usually mean accidentally taking your sexy new target to dinner at your parent’s house, a local mystic predicting you’ll have an increasingly large number of children, or being accompanied by a small flying lizard with a penchant for eating metal, but, as they field investigative hurdles both dangerous and preposterous, Cyn and Micah grow ever closer. When a violent confrontation reveals that everything Cyn thought about her past is wrong, she realizes that she has the power to change her future. The first part of that is making sure that Micah Arora is around to be a part of it.

Previously Reviewed: “Calamity”

Review: I’m always so pleased when I come across a new author, especially one who is writing in a subgenre that you don’t see much of, in this case romantic science fiction! I’m even more pleased when I read a second book from the same author and can confirm that it was more than a “one hit wonder” situation! And such has been the case here; while I think I might still have preferred “Calamity” to this book, “Fiasco” is an excellent book in its own right!

I had a guess that these would be the two characters we followed in this book, based off which side characters were best set up in the first book. That said, from what we had there, I knew a lot more about the male love interest, Micah, the ship’s medic, than the mysterious woman who flits in and out of that story. That left this book with a lot of blank canvas to tell a fresh story about a character who was practically brand new to the readers. And Cyn turned out to be fantastic! In many ways, she is a much more tragic figure than our original leading lady. Carrying around not only a ton of family baggage, Cyn is also plagued by crippling PTSD from traumatic events in her past. Her life up to this point has been largely solitary, so much of her arch in this story is learning how to trust and depend on others, especially challenging perhaps with the force of personalities that make up the crew of the Calamity!

The plot revolves around a serial kidnapper, an individual Cyn has spent the majority of her life chasing down. There were a number of twists and turns here, and I enjoyed them all! I found a few things a bit predictable, but as so much of the story really depends on the reader caring about Cyn’s own growth and feelings, I think this worked fine. The last third of the book, in particular, was very action packed and there were a few moments that ratcheted up the emotional stakes so high as to be quite thrilling.

The story also delves a lot into family trauma and the way tragic events can re-shape an entire group of people. I really liked a lot of what we saw here between Cyn and her parents in particular and their mutual realizations that they didn’t truly understand one another. At the same time, much of the first half to three quarters of the book presents most of these family members in a pretty negative light, and even understanding their circumstances, Cyn was more forgiving than I was. I wish there had been a little bit more push back on some of the tactics they used and how unhealthy the way that they treated Cyn truly was.

As for the romance, it was sweet, but I think this was the area where the story took a clear second to the first book in the series. While I liked Micah as a romantic lead, I never felt like I really understood the connection built between him and Cyn. The reader isn’t given many reasons for why these two characters are drawn to one another, only that they are. This was all the more frustrating because in many ways Micah’s character is the sort that I particularly enjoy as a leading man in romance novels: quiet, but incredibly capable, with deeper wells of emotion buried deep. But, again, it felt like much of this wasn’t fully utilized as the love story progressed.

Overall, however, I very much enjoyed this book! Cyn’s arc was incredibly sympathetic, and the overall plot was action-packed and thrilling. The love story was also sweet, but if there was one area that I think could have used just a dash bit more…something…this was it. Either way, I’m fully on board with this series and can’t wait to see what comes next!

Rating 8: A great leading lady, a thrilling adventure, and a story jam-packed with family trauma, and that’s all before you even get to the swoon-worthy romance!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Fiasco” is on this Goodreads list: June 2024 Most Anticipated Romance Releases

Serena’s Review: “Heavenbreaker”

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Book: “Heavenbreaker” by Sara Wolf

Publishing Info: Entangled: Red Tower Books, May 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Bravery isn’t what you do. It’s what you endure.

The duke of the powerful House Hauteclare is the first to die. With my dagger in his back. He didn’t see it coming. Didn’t anticipate the bastard daughter who was supposed to die with her mother—on his order. He should have left us with the rest of the Station’s starving, commoner rubbish.

Now there’s nothing left. Just icy-white rage and a need to make House Hauteclare pay. Every damn one of them. Even if it means riding Heavenbreaker—one of the few enormous machines left over from the War—and jousting against the fiercest nobles in the system.

Each win means another one of my enemies dies. And here, in the cold terror of space, the machine and I move as one, intent on destroying each adversary—even if it’s someone I care about. Even if it’s someone I’m falling for.

Only I’m not alone. Not anymore. Because there’s something in the machine with me. Something horrifying. Something…more. And it won’t be stopped.

Review: I’ve been waiting and waiting for the romantasy buzz to shift to include more science fiction as well. We’ve had a few examples (“Calamity” and the upcoming sequel come to mind), but there still isn’t much out there. But I’ve had my eyes on this one for a few months, as it seems to promise to be just what I’ve been looking for! True, the romance seems secondary in the blurb, but it’s coming out from Red Tower, which is Entangled’s SFF imprint, so one imagines a love story will be prominent somehow. All of this to say, I was incredibly excited when I was approached to review this title, and here we are!

Let’s get two things out of the way from the start: 1.) the blurb is accurate as far as the balance between the romance and the rest of the story goes (which is to say, the romance is quite light) and 2.) man, I loved this book and have zero complaints about any of point #1! I’ll talk more about the romance a bit later, but this is one of those strange situations where I’m worried that this book might be missed by several readers who would love it simply because it’s coming from an imprint that is known to focus heavily (almost exclusively!) on steamy romance stories! And while I think those readers will still enjoy this one (though there really is no spice involved), this is also the kind of science fiction story that I think would appeal to many fans of the larger genre, particularly readers who enjoyed “Red Rising” or “The Will of the Many!” Rather than romance comparisons, these are the true read-alikes for this book and I so hope that it makes its way out into the broader SF reading crowd!

Like those two books, this one is heavy on action, full of blockbuster moments, features nobles and their political maneuverings, all told from the perspective of a hero who seeks to tear it all down, and uncovers even deeper truths while she’s at it! Seriously, the twists and turns, the reveals and surprises just kept coming from the start all the way to the end! There were perhaps a few things that I could guess, but the way that it all worked together was so well-thought out and interesting. The history and culture of the space station all perfectly align to create the systems that our heroes are trapped within, with recognizable power dynamics with regards to wealth and status, but new twists with regards to the history of humankind and a dangerous enemy that was fought centuries ago. Other than book read-alikes, this one was an intriguing combination of “Pacific Rim” and “A Knight’s Tale,” as well, two things I don’t think I’d ever have put together in my head, but somehow, here, it works!

I also really loved all of the characters we followed in this book. Yes, plural. But this is one of those examples that I always point to when I think of multiple POVs done right. There is still one, distinct leading character who is driving the story, whose personal arc is the foundation of the book, and who receives the vast majority of the page time. The other characters are all peppered in between, offering unique glimpses into other aspects of this world, brief windows into the mindsets of love interests, rivals, and unknown forces. All of this works together to broaden the perspective of the reader, while also allowing us to focus deeply on the main character arc at its heart.

I also think this approach worked well for the romance. As I said, the love story is definitely secondary to the main plot following Synali’s quest for revenge, her travails in the jousting competition, and her discovery of the truth of the station’s history and its technology. Even just listing it off there, it’s easy to see how the book had more than enough plot to go around without adding in a complicated romance. Instead, we have a fairly simple, reserved love story that is very much still at its beginning stages. Synali’s focus is largely elsewhere, but we feel the draw between these two characters. And, while we didn’t have many chapters from Jax’s perspective, what we did have was very important to more fully flesh out a character who could have come off as a bit of a himbo/playboy. Even with only a few chapters, we see the pain of his childhood and begin to understand the unique draw he feels towards Synali, helping to save the love story from feeling a bit like an “instalove” situation on his part.

As you can probably tell by now, I really loved this book! It was so fast-paced and fun, I stayed up way to late reading it several nights in a row! The only downside is that it ends on a fairly major cliffhanger (and there are still some questions, at least in my mind, about exactly what is going on and the choices of some characters from the past). But, at the same time, these are effective hooks to get me amped up to pick up the second book as soon as possible! If you’re here for just the romance, you might be disappointed. But on the other hand, I think this is an excellent book for a much broader group of science fiction readers, especially those who enjoy action-packed reads like “Red Rising!”

Rating 9: What a crowed-pleaser! Another blockbuster in the making, perfect for fans of “Red Rising” and “The Will of the Many.”

Reader’s Advisory:

“Heavenbreaker” can be found on this Goodreads list: Upcoming Romantasy Releases 2024

Serena’s Review: “A Letter to the Luminous Deep”

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Book: “A Letter to the Luminous Deep” by Slyvie Cathrall

Publishing Info: Orbit, April 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: A beautiful discovery outside the window of her underwater home prompts the reclusive E. to begin a correspondence with renowned scholar Henerey Clel. The letters they share are filled with passion, at first for their mutual interests, and then, inevitably, for each other.

Together, they uncover a mystery from the unknown depths, destined to transform the underwater world they both equally fear and love. But by no mere coincidence, a seaquake destroys E.’s home, and she and Henerey vanish.

A year later, E.’s sister Sophy, and Henerey’s brother Vyerin, are left to solve the mystery of their siblings’ disappearances with the letters, sketches and field notes left behind. As they uncover the wondrous love their siblings shared, Sophy and Vyerin learn the key to their disappearance – and what it could mean for life as they know it.

Review: While I used to think I didn’t enjoy epistolary-style stories, I’ve read a number of really great ones over the last few years to the point where I’m now wondering if I had originally just read a few not so great ones and judged the entire format just on that. As it stands, the “Emily Wilde” series has done a lot to reform my opinion, and this one sounded very similar, not only using a similar format but also leaning heavily into the academia side of fantasy and science fiction. Let’s dive in (heh, how clever)!

I think this will be one of those books that might be a struggle for the average fantasy reader, but will also garner devoted fans who also adore it! This largely comes down to the overall style and tone of the writing. Like I said, “Emily Wilde” is definitely a comparable title, but in comparison to this one, that is “epistolary academia fantasy lite!” Pretty much take the tone and style of that book and magnify it and you will get this story! There’s simply more of everything: more focus on the intricacies, oddities, and cultures of academia, more complicated and verbose sentence structure and specialized vocabulary, and even more commitment to the epistolary style. In “Emily Wilde,” many times her journal entries would read as a straight narrative. Here, the author is fully invested in telling a story only through letters and supporting documents, so the narrative plays out in a more distanced way.

And I loved all of this! I love authors who can so naturally capture this sort of long-form, “old fashion” style of writing where sentences are long and word choices are elaborate. I also really enjoyed the slow reveals of the many mysteries and secrets at the heart of the story. Not only do we have the remove of learning this story through the more limited form of what letter writers choose to share with one another, but we also are piecing together what happened in the past as the siblings of another pair of characters work to compile the correspondence of two characters who have passed away.

I really enjoyed all the characters we have here, both pairs of writers feeling fully realized and interesting. E, I think, rose to the top simply for how well the author managed to portray a character who lives with high levels of anxiety that affect how she lives her life. In the past, I’ve often found myself frustrated and disappointed by the rather surface level portrayal of characters like these, but the topic is so perfectly explore in E, both honestly depicting her struggles, but also not defining her by this trait. I also really enjoyed Sophy, her younger sister who has her own adventure and must later work through E’s past letters to try to discover what happened to her. Sophy is a much more action-oriented character, and the contrast between them was nice, as well as the loving, strong sisterly relationship we see between them.

I’ll also make a small plug here with regards to the genre of this book. I’ve seen a lot of reviewers calling this fantasy, but I think this is a perfect example of a science fiction novel that doesn’t take place in space. Too often, it feels like readers and marketers think that “science fiction” and “space” are synonymous, but this book perfectly highlights why science fiction needs to be remembered as being a broader category. In almost every way, this book much more closely aligns with the conventions of science fiction over fantasy, especially with its academic focus, which is very scientific in nature. Not only that, but the history of this world and the mysteries we discover all fall in better line with science fiction than fantasy (in many ways, it reminds of the movie “The Abyss.”) This isn’t necessarily a hugely important distinction, but I do think science fiction readers might miss this one due to the fact that it’s being called a fantasy story much of the time. Anyways, there’s my TED talk on that topic!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I was surprised to find that it’s the start of the series, and it does end on a mild cliffhanger. But there were so many interesting twists and turns (both with the larger mystery and with a few character turns that really took me by surprise) that I can’t wait to see where things go from here! Readers who enjoy rather long-winded, heavily academic fiction will likely enjoy this one! Also those looking for a lovely slow-burn romance!

Rating 9: Cathrall embraces the full beauty of the epistolary novel, creating a vivid, immersive world and peopling it with characters I’d follow into the darkest depths!

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Letter to the Luminous Deep” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Related to the Sea

Joint Review: “Ghost Station”

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Book: “Ghost Station” by S.A. Barnes

Publishing Info: Tor Nightfire, April 2024

Where Did We Get This Book: NetGalley;

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: A crew must try to survive on an ancient, abandoned planet in the latest space horror novel from S.A. Barnes, acclaimed author of Dead Silence.

Space exploration can be lonely and isolating.

Psychologist Dr. Ophelia Bray has dedicated her life to the study and prevention of ERS—a space-based condition most famous for a case that resulted in the brutal murders of twenty-nine people. When she’s assigned to a small exploration crew, she’s eager to make a difference. But as they begin to establish residency on an abandoned planet, it becomes clear that crew is hiding something.

While Ophelia focuses on her new role, her crewmates are far more interested in investigating the eerie, ancient planet and unraveling the mystery behind the previous colonizer’s hasty departure than opening up to her.

That is, until their pilot is discovered gruesomely murdered. Is this Ophelia’s worst nightmare starting—a wave of violence and mental deterioration from ERS? Or is it something more sinister?

Terrified that history will repeat itself, Ophelia and the crew must work together to figure out what’s happening. But trust is hard to come by… and the crew isn’t the only one keeping secrets.

Kate’s Thoughts

When Serena approached me asking if I’d be interested in doing another Joint Review of an S.A. Barnes book, I was game. I liked getting both our perspectives on “Dead Silence”, as it is both Sci-Fi and Space horror, and therefore in both our wheelhouses. I enjoyed “Dead Silence”, and reading up on “Ghost Station” was just as intriguing to me based on the description.

If I was mentally comparing “Dead Silence” to “Aliens” and “Event Horizon”, “Ghost Station” read like the sci-fi horror film “Prometheus” to me, with a crew getting in way over their head on a mysterious planet that has sinister secrets. In terms of the things I liked, I really enjoyed Ophelia as our protagonist, as she is both unreliable in a number of ways, but is also very driven for very personal reasons in connection to a dangerous mental disorder known as ERS. I liked not really knowing what her deal was beyond one straight forward incident, and an anxiety and shame about being a part of a notorious corporate family with immense wealth and unscrupulous morals. We slowly get to peel back her layers, and as she and the crew find themselves in a situation that keeps getting more tense and more dangerous, her secrets and their secrets combine to make for a good deal of suspense and mysteries revealed. There is also some nice space horror bits here, and some beats that really unsettled me. Particularly the way that Barnes shows a slow decay of various crew members sanity, for reasons that may not be as obvious as Ophelia would like it to be.

But all that said, this one felt like it was a bit heavier on the Sci-Fi elements this time around, and even though I enjoy Space Horror as a Sci-Fi sub-genre, if you tread a bit too far into the Sci-Fi, my brain just shuts off (this actually happened with “Prometheus” as well). There is no question that this book does have a lot of suspenseful and scary moments in it that worked for me, but they felt a little few and far between. This isn’t to be a criticism of this book because I imagine that this will work very well for the target audience of Sci-Fi aficionados (let’s see what Serena says!), but it just got into the Sci-Fi weeds a bit too much for me as a person who isn’t a fan of that genre.

“Ghost Station” will probably satisfy Sci-Fi fans who like space horror, but for this horror fan who doesn’t usually mess with that genre, it didn’t hit as hard as I’d hoped it would.

Serena’s Thoughts

While I liked this one more than Kate did (probably no surprise, as science fiction is a much-loved genre of mine on its own right, and the horror side of things was the more experimental thing), I also agree with many of her criticisms. For the most part, I enjoyed the science fiction elements we had here. Many of them are fairly standard fair as far as futuristic technology goes, but I thought they were presented and used in interesting ways.

I also thought the horror elements were good. There was definitely the slow build up of dread as Ophelia and the other members of the crew explore and piece together the mystery of what had happened before them. There were some legitimately creepy moments, but not enough to make the book unapproachable to more casual horror readers. That said, I think the horror aspects of the first by this author that we joint read, “Dead Silence,” hit me harder, some even popping up in my head at inconvenient times days later. Whereas with this book, moments were a bit freaky, but it didn’t stay with me in the same way.

I also struggled a bit with the pacing and character development in this one. While I think the slower nature of the building dread worked well on the spooky front, the pace overall seemed to drag, especially in the beginning. I kept wanting to rush ahead for things to start happening, and it seemed to take quite a long time to get to anything substantial. And, while I enjoyed discovering more about Ophelia, who she was and why she made the decisions she did, I also found myself more frustrated by some of her decisions and inner monologues than I did with the lead character in “Dead Silence.”

Overall, I thought this was was a serviceable science fiction horror story, though I don’t think it quite lived up to the high that was the author’s previous work.

Kate’s Rating 6: There are definitely solid horror moments, but this was a little too heavy on the Sci-Fi for me.

Serena’s Rating 7: A bit slow with regards to pacing, but an approachable book overall, especially for the more casual horror/science fiction readers.

Reader’s Advisory

“Ghost Station” is included on the Goodreads lists “Horror to Look Forward to in 2024”, and “Can’t Wait Sci-Fi/Fantasy of 2024”.

Kate’s Review: “Earthdivers (Vol.2): Ice Age”

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Book: “Earthdivers (Vol. 2): Ice Age” by Stephen Graham Jones, Ricardo Burchielli (Ill.), Patricio Delpeche (Ill.), & Emily Schnall (Ill.).

Publishing Info: IDW Publishing, February 2024

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Guest artists Riccardo Burchielli ( DMZ ), Patricio Delpeche, and Emily Scnall join Stephen Graham Jones— New York Times best-selling author of The Only Good Indians and My Heart Is a Chainsaw —for a mission to the Ice Age exploring America’s pre-Columbian past!

When Martin and Tawny’s children disappeared, the couple barreled into the desert to track them down at any cost. Instead, they ran afoul of another group of rovers who claimed to be saving the world by traveling through a cave portal to the year 1492 to prevent the creation of America—an idea that defied belief until the grieving parents were lured into the cave and vanished in time and space.

Now alone, Tawny must adapt to the wild marshlands of prehistoric Florida, circa 20,000 BC, and the breathtaking and bloodthirsty megafauna are the least of her problems when she’s caught in a war between a community of native Paleo-Indians and an occupying Solutrean force. Tawny’s odds of survival are in free fall, but she’s a mother on a mission…and she’s holding on to hope that the cave brought her here for a family reunion.

In the tradition of Saga , the next chapter of the critically acclaimed sci-fi epic is here in Earthdivers Vol. 2 . Collects Earthdivers #7-11.

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this graphic novel!

When I first started Stephen Graham Jones’s fantasy/Sci-Fi time travel series “Earthdivers”, for whatever reason I thought that it was only going to be focused on what the first volume covered: the time travel assassination of Christopher Columbus. Why I thought it was only going to be that is beyond me, but when that arc came to an end at the start of “Kill Columbus”, I wondered where we were going next, with no clue or idea as to what the path was going to be. Who were we going to follow now? Was it still going to be historical fiction time travel-y? Our protagonist’s storyline pretty much definitively ended, what is going to happen now? And then I saw the cover for “Earthdivers (Vol. 2): Ice Age”, and I was blown away. BACK IN TIME TO THE ICE AGE?! HELL YES! And when I saw that we were following another time traveller, this time Tawney, a mother who was searching for her children, I was all the more excited. And shocking absolutely no one, “Earthdivers: Ice Age” is suspenseful, intriguing, and enthralling.

I really love that we are starting to explore stories of other characters in the book who have fallen afoul the mysterious cave. In “Ice Age” our focus is on Tawney, a grieving mother who had been looking for her missing twins when she and her friends were lured into the cave by Emily as an act of self defense. When Tawney wakes up, she is no longer in the 22nd century, but all the way back to the Ice Age and the Paleolithic era of humans. This is such a great choice, narrative wise, as it not only opens up a slew of possibilities as to what stories are going to potentially be told next (after all, there were multiple people who ended up in the cave around the time that Tawney did….), but it also gives us lots of different character possibilities. Tawney was a good first choice, because her motivation is based on her love for her kids, and it drives not only her want to survive in this wholly new setting, but also the choices that she makes while there. I really loved Tawney as a main character for this volume, and I loved the idea of the Ice Age as a setting and having her have to figure out how to survive in this totally new environment. Whether it’s dealing with smilodonts, having to adapt to the cold, or trying to find ways to communicate with the people she meets and connects with, it makes for a gripping story of a stranger in a strange land.

And in true Jones fashion, “Ice Age” also taps into societal injustices that feel very true today and places them even in the Ice Age. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this volume, as I thought that the Ice Age would have different hardships, but Jones keeps with the fighting against colonialism theme, using the clashes between Indigenous people and Solutreans (a controversial theory that Europeans settled in the Americas during the Ice Age by traveling over the frozen waters, HERE is a pretty good write up as to why it’s unlikely and also racist). It’s genius because it’s laying not only another kind of invading force story, but also tapping into Tawney’s inner turmoil about how to proceed when she finds herself protecting and becoming attached to a Solutrean child, as she sees her own children in him. These led to some really emotional beats, as Tawney, unlike Yellow Kid in “Kill Columbus”, draws lines when it comes to children as victims, no matter how much it could seem like a ‘greater good’. I also love how Jones has taken this fringe theory of Solutrean discovery and torn it apart by having Tawney basically fight back against the invading forces with her know how from her own time period. It’s very creative and makes for a really interesting volume! Throw in some more backstory for the Earthdivers and their motivations, as well as world building for the ravaged planet they are trying to reset, and the story arc continues to build on its complexity in very rewarding ways.

And finally, the artwork. We have some new artists in this volume, Ricardo Burchielli, Patricio Delpeche, and Emily Schnall. I liked the new styles that they brought, as while they still fit in with the previous Volume, they did bring their own aesthetics and signatures to the work.

(source: IDW)

I’m still really digging “Earthdivers” and how outside the box Stephen Graham Jones is taking it. I can’t wait to see who we follow through the cave next, and what time period it’s going to be.

Rating 8: Another creative and intense time travel story from Stephen Graham Jones! I’m loving the world building at the creative time and place.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Earthdivers (Vol. 2): Ice Age” isn’t included on any Goodreads lists as of yet, but would fit in on “Graphic Novels & Comics By The Aboriginal, Indigenous, and Native Peoples of the World”, and “Time Travel”.

Book Club Review: “Earthdivers (Vol. 1): Kill Columbus”

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We are part of a group of librarian friends who have had an ongoing book club running for the last several years. Each “season” (we’re nerds) we pick a theme and each of us chooses a book within that theme for us all to read. Our current theme is Centuries, where we were given a random century and had to pick a book based during that time period.  For this blog, we will post a joint review of each book we read for book club. We’ll also post the next book coming up in book club. So feel free to read along with us or use our book selections and questions in your own book club!

Book: “Earthdivers (Vol.1): Kill Columbus” by Stephen Graham Jones & Davide Gianfelice (Ill.).

Publishing Info: IDW Publishing, September 2023

Where Did We Get This Book: We both received an ARC at ALAAC23.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Century: 22nd and Beyond (aka The Future)

Book Description: The New York Times–bestselling author of The Only Good Indians and My Heart Is a Chainsaw makes his comics debut with this time-hopping horror thriller about far-future Indigenous outcasts on a mission to kill Christopher Columbus.

The year is 2112, and it’s the apocalypse exactly as rivers receding, oceans rising, civilization crumbling. Humanity has given up hope, except for a group of Indigenous outcasts who have discovered a time travel portal in a cave in the desert and figured out where everything took a turn for the America.

Convinced that the only way to save the world is to rewrite its past, they send one of their own—a reluctant linguist named Tad—on a bloody, one-way mission to 1492 to kill Christopher Columbus before he reaches the so-called New World. But there are steep costs to disrupting the timeline, and taking down an icon isn’t an easy task for an academic with no tactical training and only a wavering moral compass to guide him. As the horror of the task ahead unfolds and Tad’s commitment is tested, his actions could trigger a devastating new fate for his friends and the future.

Join Stephen Graham Jones and artist Davide Gianfelice for Earthdivers, Vol. 1, the beginning of an unforgettable ongoing sci-fi slasher spanning centuries of America’s Colonial past to explore the staggering forces of history and the individual choices we make to survive it.

Kate’s Thoughts

Perhaps we are being a bit brazen here, doing yet another Book Club review of books that we have already read and reviewed previously, especially given that we JUST DID IT last month. But hey, it all depends on the theme that we are assigned, and when I was given “The 22nd Century and Beyond” for our newest “Centuries” theme, and we only had a few weeks time WITH THE HOLIDAYS coming up, my mind went immediately to the graphic novel “Earthdivers: Kill Columbus” by Stephen Graham Jones. After all, I really liked it, it would be a faster read, and since I’m not as versed in Sci-Fi it was the first futuristic story I could think of. It was a gamble, as Book Club doesn’t tend to go to very violent or scary works, but ultimately I feel like it was a gamble that paid off, because “Earthdivers: Kill Columbus” was just as enjoyable the second time around, and fostered a lot of good conversation.

My opinion from my previous review hasn’t changed too much, given that I just read it in the past few months, but something I will say about reading it the second time was how much more I appreciated the complexity of Jones’s overall arc (it probably helps that I had just read the second volume thanks to NetGalley right before diving in; look for that in February!). It’s definitely a lot of jumping around, but I found that I really appreciated the way that Jones set up the Columbus storyline and how he executed it, and the way that he took on pretty tried and true time travel tropes and subverted them while also drawing out the most from them.

All in all it was a great read for Book Club and a great conversation starter! Stephen Graham Jones continues to do creative and bold things with his writing.

Serena’s Thoughts

I don’t really read graphic novels other than when they come up for bookclub. And I honestly don’t know why, because I always enjoy them when I do! And this one was the same! True, it was a bit of whiplash given that the last graphic novel was a very cozy, middle grade fantasy story. And this…was not that. We have one bookclub member in particular who doesn’t read dark, graphic stories and we all were kind of watching her carefully over some of the things depicted in this one! That said, I didn’t think any of it was gratuitous, but instead focused on the very high stakes of the situations portrayed.

That said, I did struggle with this book a bit in the beginning. As Kate has read the second book, she’s better able to gauge how the overall story progresses. But as a reader just starting out with this one, there were some initial basic premise things in the beginning of this one that left me wondering. I wasn’t quite sure about the basic cause/effect that was set up for the main action of the story, for one thing. That said, as I continued to read, it was easy enough to get caught up in the action and not worry too much about some of these questions. I also really liked some of the greater points that the book was getting at towards the end. It could have been easy to write a fairly simplistic version of this story. Instead, the author doesn’t shy away from the repercussions of the choices these characters are making.

As its a time travel story, it was also a bit hard to follow at times. There were points in the middle of the book that I truly wasn’t sure whether or not I was missing something. But again, as long as I just kept with it, soon enough I was able to re-center myself in the goings on.

Kate’s Rating 9: Still a great time travel commentary with an anti-Colonial twist. This re-read made me appreciate the complexity more.

Serena’s Rating 8: A bit confusing at times and definitely the start to a larger series, but I still really enjoyed this one!

Book Club Questions

  1. What did you think of the magical/sci-fi system in this story with the time traveling cave? How does it compare to other time travel tales you are familiar with?
  2. Do you believe that the one key to fixing the future is is stopping the Discovery of America by Columbus as hypothesized by Yellow Kid? Why or why not?
  3. Tad isn’t the only person to go through the cave in this story, though we have yet to see where each of them are going. Of the other travelers (Emily, the posse looking for the missing children), whose story would you want to see?
  4. What did you think of the outcome of killing Columbus? What did you think of the portrayal of Columbus and his crew as a whole?
  5. If you could travel to one moment of history to change something in the past, what would it be? Or would you do it at all?

Reader’s Advisory

“Earthdivers (Vol. 1): Kill Columbus” is on the Goodreads list “Comic Book Club Recommendations”.

Next Book Club Pick: “An Extraordinary Union” by Alyssa Cole

Year of Sanderson: “The Sunlit Man”

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“Year of Sanderson” is an on-going, monthly series that will post on the last Friday of each month in which I will cover various Brandon Sanderson-related things. This will largely be comprised of book reviews (some from his back catalog and some from the books being released this year), as well as assorted other topics like reviews of the items in the swag boxes that will be coming out as part of Sanderson’s Kickstarted campaign. Frankly, we’ll just have to see what we get from this series, very much like the Kickstarter itself!

Book: “The Sunlit Man” by Brandon Sanderson

Publishing Info: Dragonsteel Entertainment, October 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: own it!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org| Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Years ago he had comrades in arms and a cause to believe in, but now the man who calls himself Nomad knows only a life on the run. Forced to hop from world to world in the Cosmere whenever the relentless Night Brigade gets too close, Nomad lands on a new planet and is instantly caught up in the struggle between a tyrant and the rebels who want only to escape being turned into mindless slaves—all under the constant threat of a sunrise whose heat will melt the very stones. Unable to understand the language, can he navigate the conflict and gain enough power to leap offworld before his mind or body pay the ultimate price?

Review: Here we are at last, the bittersweet final book of the four new releases from Brandon Sanderon we received this year! I’ll have one more post in this review series, but that will be a post focused on the book boxes I received over the course of the year, so this will be the last official book review of my “Year of Sanderson” series. There have been highs (both “Yumi” and “Tress”) and there have been lows (looking at you “Wizard’s Guide”); where does this last book fall on the spectrum?

As always with these special editions, I want to start off by once again commenting on the high value we’re getting here. These books are simply gorgeous, no two ways about it. Not only does the cover art on the book itself perfectly illustrate the type of sci-fi/Mad Max style book that you’re about to read, but throughout the book, there are so many beautiful spreads. This book is unique to the other three we’ve seen in that it features artwork by many different artists, rather than just a single artist who illustrates the entire project. I think this was an excellent choice; it was lovely to see so many examples of the type of talent that exists out there and the very different approaches that these artists take when depicting the same characters and world. As always, as I was reading, I was always looking forward to the next illustration that I would come across.

Now, this book does stand out from the other three in one very important way. While technically one could read this book without having any prior exposure to Sanderson’s larger catalog, I do think this that would significantly impact the experience of the book. Like the other three, there are references to other stories and worlds peppered throughout this book. But unlike those, this one is very centered around the characters, magic system, and world found in “The Stormlight Archive.” There are so many references, in fact, that I do think it would be a struggle to piece together certain parts of this book without some understanding of that series. Beyond that, this book is infinitely more rewarding to fans who are caught up on the “Stormlight” books. It seems to take place some number of years in the future from where that series has currently left off, so the diligent fan has a plethora of opportunities to try to piece together clues as to what the future has to offer there.

The main character himself, Nomad, is directly connected to that series in a way that will only really hit for fans of the “Stormlight” books. That said, as I was reading this book, I did find myself becoming increasingly frustrated by the delayed reveal of just who Nomad really is. It’s strongly implied early in the book that this is a character that Cosmere fans will recognize, but then the story itself holds off on this reveal for quite some time. For me, instead of increasing the suspense, this central mystery proved to be more of a distraction than a delayed gratification situation. I found myself so busy trying to piece things together who exactly Nomad was that I was often disconnected from the actual story I was reading. Instead, had this reveal come earlier, I could have appreciated these connections to the “Stormlight” books without this mystery eating up my attention span.

When I did focus more on the story at hand, I very much enjoyed it. Sanderson mentions that he was partially inspired by “Mad Max” when writing this book, and that is very evident. Like “Mad Max: Fury Road,” this book has a frenetic energy to it, with the pacing driving forward relentlessly. This does create an exciting reading experience, but I’ll also admit that I had to take more breaks while reading this book than usual simply because the nonstop nature of the story doesn’t give you any breaks itself. As always, though, I’m continually impressed by the sheer creativity of Sanderson’s work. He manages to capture the same energy as “Fury Road” but does so in such a unique manner: the idea of a planet where the entire population must constantly out-run the deadly sunlight.

I very much enjoyed this last book in the secret projects bundle! As a big fan of Sanderson’s work, I enjoyed a book that was very clearly written first and foremost for readers who are all-in on the author’s larger Cosmere series. However, for readers who are less familiar, this book might be more of a struggle.

Rating 8: Relentless and fast-paced, this book will leave you out-of-breath as you try to keep up!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Sunlit Man” is on a bunch of not useful Goodreads lists but it should also be on Best Action/Fantasy Books.

Serena’s Review: “Calamity”

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Book: “Calamity” by Constance Fay

Publishing Info: Bramble, November 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: She’s got a ramshackle spaceship, a misfit crew, and a big problem with its sexy newest member…

Temperance Reed, banished from the wealthy and dangerous Fifteen Families, just wants to keep her crew together after their feckless captain ran off with the intern. But she’s drowning in debt and revolutionary new engine technology is about to make her beloved ship obsolete.

Enter Arcadio Escajeda. Second child of the terrifying Escajeda Family, he’s the thorn in Temper’s side as they’re sent off on a scouting mission on the backwater desert planet of Herschel 2. They throw sparks every time they meet but Temper’s suspicions of his ulterior motives only serve to fuel the flames between them.

Despite volcanic eruptions, secret cultists, and deadly galactic fighters, the greatest threat on this mission may be to Temper’s heart.

Review: I was so excited when I heard that Tor was rolling out a new imprint, Bramble, a smaller offshoot that would focus on romantic SFF. And this book is exactly why! While there is a whole subgenre now called “romantasy” due to the popularity of romantic fantasy fiction, there seems to be some strange hold out on the science fiction front. Where are my love stories in space? I mean, I get that “romantascific” doesn’t roll off the tongue in quite the same way, but c’mon! But here we are, a good example of just what we’re all missing out on by forgetting that romance can also happen in space.

Honestly, it’s pretty impressive that this book works at all. It’s trying to do a lot of things all at once, many of which are hard to accomplish well even on their own. We have Temper’s story, that of a captain coming into her own as a leader, but we also have that paired against a romance, something that too often ends up hindering the strength of its female member. Beyond that, the story is introducing us to an entire universe with its own political structures that definitely do play into the plot of the book. And lastly, this is the first book in a series, so the story must do a lot of heavy lifting to properly lay out the various crew members of the ship who are likely to feature in their own stories going forward. It’s like black magic (except that’s the wrong genre, sooo) that it all works, but it does!

So, in that order, let’s start with Temper. I really loved this main character! Seriously, she was checking all of the right boxes for me. She was a strong woman, but we also see her make mistakes, and her journey is one of both learning to trust those around her, but also letting others help her when she is prone to going-it-alone. The development of the romance was paced perfectly, neither falling into any insta-love/lust traps or being too drawn out to feel complete. Just when I was beginning to become concerned that her distrust was going to be played up one too many times, the story would swerve into moments of vulnerability and honesty. I also loved the fact that the natural chemistry between the two was first seen in their instant ability to work together as a team under high pressure situations, rather than on the romance front which came later. There was also all of the required quippiness that we love to see in a romance, but this levity also didn’t cut away from the deeper, more heartfelt moments.

For all that this is a romance, there was also a solid plot to this book with all of the requisite world-building that comes with it. I was honestly surprised by just how into the actual plot of the book I became. There was one action-packed scene after another, plus a lot of comedy gold interspersed within as we saw the team tackle the challenges before them. Which leads me to the last aspect of the book that truly impressed me: the crew themselves.

This book was billed as a read-alike for “Firefly.” Now, that’s a big claim to make and, honestly, one that has been tossed around quite a lot for science fiction new releases, mostly without any basis in reality. But I have to say, this is probably the first time where I truly feel like that comparison is warranted! This truly had the same level of group dynamics and chemistry for which “Firefly” was best known. I understood who all of these characters were individually, but I loved them best when they were interacting with each other. The book was also successful in making me very interested in all of their individual romances that are sure to come. I have a pretty good guess as to who the next couple will be (just checked Goodreads, and I see that it’s been updated since I originally read this book and, indeed, the next book is about this couple!) and I can’t wait to check out their story!

Overall, this was a blast of a book to read! It’s definitely not “hard” science fiction, but I was also surprised to find just how much excellent plotting and world-building went into a book that was being released from a romance imprint. I feel like that sounds like a backhand insult to romance, but, let’s be honest, the love story is the primary bit of romance novels, with the plot coming in sometimes as an after thought. But here, the balance is perfect between love story and, well, actual story. Definitely check this one out if you enjoy science fiction adventures and space opera with an emphasis on romance!

Rating 8: If comparisons to “Firefly” are ever warranted, this is it! A romp of an adventure paired with a swoon-worthy romance, I can’t wait to see what this crew gets up to next time!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Calamity” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but it should be on Get Your Firefly Space Opera Fix.