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.
4 stars
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…
Daevabad has a new ruler with allies that make the blood run cold, willing to murder its people to hold the throne. All djinni in the city and beyond lost their magic when the city fell, leaving them defenceless. Nahri will face a terrible cost if she is to forge peace from the ashes…
Bringing your husband home for the holidays can be stressful at the best of times. Thuan is married to an over-protective angel who is keen on hurting people, and the festivities are set to involve palace intrigue and murder. Happy new year?
When House Harrier explodes into civil war, Paris holds its breath to see who comes out on top. With Silverspires and Hawthorn already weakened, this could be an opportunity for the ruthlessly ambitious – but no-one is ready for what emerges from the fires of Harrier…
A remote house in the mountains. A reclusive family who live by strict rules. A dark history of disease and murder. Can flighty socialite Noemí pierce the stifling gloom of High Place – and what secrets will she find if she does?
Arrah is the heir to two great lines of witchdoctors, but she has no magic of her own. When children begin disappearing, she faces a terrible choice: sacrifice her years for a charlatan’s powers or lose those she loves. It’s no choice at all…
“Mad” Malago Browne and Pierre “Polecat” de Fermat are wanted for the crimes of murder, arson, robbery and acts of pernicious arithmetic. Welcome to a re-imagined West that sets a new bar for being wild…
When Mount Rainier erupted, the remote community of Greenloop was nominally deemed to be in a safe zone. Three weeks later, rescuers found no survivors. But the volcano was the least of Greenloop’s worries…
Words have power. Words influence. Subvert. Radicalise. But what if that was just scratching the surface? What if the right word could hack the source code of your brain …and what if it fell into the wrong hands?
Deep below the waves, the merfolk sing. Only one remembers their past. Only one bears the burden of the truth – and Yetu is crumbling under her terrible responsibility…
Wherever there are people, there are secrets. Even aboard a space slug crewed by itinerant nuns on a mercy mission. In the face of lies and betrayal, what is the truest service one can render to God?
