99.5% of humanity were wiped out in 3 short years after They arrived. 50 years later, a team of researchers sift through the ruins of a siege city to better understand the catastrophe. When Emerson finds a survivor’s journal, it feels like the jackpot. But can Eva’s account be taken at face value?
Category Archive: Reviews
WANTED FOR FOUL NUMERICAL ACTS
“Mad” Malago Browne has retired with a saddle-bag full of stolen gold, but she can’t resist a cry for help from across the border. Is she right to suspect the West is beginning to turn against the Capitol and its repressive regime?
What do you do with a holiday weekend and various stages of lockdown? Read all the things! The SciFiMonth crew have been celebrating with a low-key weekend catching up on our SFnal TBRs. Time for a quick round-up of my reads and of posts from my crewmates before we call it a day…
Full of enthusiasm and conveniently between books, I dived into the pile of novellas I had stacked up for All Systems Read a day early. I kicked off my weekend of SFnal novellas with Sweet Harmony by Claire North, shortlisted for this year’s Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards.
As a terrifying alien force invades Teixcalaanli space, maverick commander Nine Hibiscus is sent to stop them or die trying. When Three Seagrass responds to an urgent request from the beleaguered fleet, she invites Mahit to help her make contact and negotiate peace. But a quick end to a war between their two greatest threats isn’t in Lsel Station’s interests…
Six months after the Hand’s infiltration, change is rippling through the Vatican’s most secret Society. Politics swirl in advance of the appointment of a new Cardinal. Trust must be re-established between teams so recently at each other’s throats. The Black Archives have received funding for research – although not everyone shares Asanti’s conviction that the best way to fight magic is to study it. But beyond Rome, the tide of magic is rising…
I really enjoyed my recent reread of space opera thriller The Vela, so I’ve been excited to pick up season two to find out what happens to its conflicted characters in the wake of the battle of Gan-De. The Vela: Salvation sees a new writing team take up the reins as humanity struggles to save itself from disasters of its own making.
60-some years after the mysterious Hyvönen Anomaly was first spotted, it looms on Earth’s doorstep. Some worship it; others fear it; only a select few have any idea what it’s capable of. Tomas Hyvönen’s crew have just 4 years left to figure out how to deal with the enigma before it envelops the planet – unless it consumes them first…
The God-King of Narida has no heir. His sister can assassinate his rivals, but she is powerless to silence prophecies of a reborn God. Across the ocean, a deathless warrior is uniting the fierce Tjakorshi clans. The Brown Eagle clan has fled to Narida to make peace with townsfolk they have raided for generations – but how long can peace last?
Thanh is the Empress’s youngest daughter: the expendable one sent to powerful Ephteria as a ‘guest’; the forgotten foreigner they left to burn when their palace caught fire. But Thanh survived to go home, although she has found less herself welcome than she could wish. Now, the arrival of Ephterian envoys is her chance to prove her worth to the Empire… or see her home burn to the ground.
Welcome to the Forever Sea, where the magic of bone and song keeps ships aloft above the endless prairie grasses. Fleeing trouble at home, The Errant sails for the pirate-haunted Roughs, the crew’s lives in the hands of junior hearthfire keeper Kindred. But even crow-caller Sarah has no idea how far Kindred is willing to go…
Sal Brooks has been getting her little brother out of trouble all his life, but she never expected to have to face down literal demons for him. When Perry is seduced by a stolen book, Sal finds herself teaming up with a mysterious team of specialists to get it – and, with luck, Perry – back…
I was drawn into Paul Cornell’s ever-so-English rural fantasy after hearing him read from The Lost Child of Lychford at Super Relaxed Fantasy Club, and I’ve been a big fan ever since. With the series now complete – and in lieu of reviewing the last two novellas, natch – let’s take a look at why it makes my heart sing.
Once upon a time, I would have said a doorstop was my favourite kind of read: a big chonk I could lose myself in. These days, I have shorter commutes (ahem) and less patience; consequently, I’ve come to love shorter-form. Last year, a third of my reads – and half my favourite reads – were novellas. Today and tomorrow I’ll be wrapping up my thoughts on a few I haven’t yet reviewed.
One set of books that I failed to keep on top of reviews for this year was the Subjective Chaos shortlist. My focus ended up always being finishing the books on time; reviewing them was a bridge too far. Time to put that right – not least because this one went on to win our Blurred Boundaries category!
