Last month saw the release of Perhaps the Stars, the final volume of Ada Palmer’s highly-respected Terra Ignota series. I’ve been meaning to read these books for years, but somehow they kept sliding down Mount TBR. Then Mayri the BookForager suggested we buddy read Too Like The Lightning – and friends, I’m so glad I didn’t tackle this on my own.
free review copy
The Dirty Dozen were the best, but half of them are dead and the other half hate each other. 40 years after disaster sent them their separate ways, an existential threat and a glimmer of redemption could get the survivors back together – unless their ancient grudges destroy them first.
When Jess returns to Malaysia with her parents, she thinks she needs to figure out a job and how to finally tell them she’s in love with another girl. Instead, she’s hearing a voice in her head that wants her to confront a Forbes list business tycoon. Life is about to get even more complicated…
A year after the sack of Sleighthulme, Joron is riddled with disease and dismay. As the Black Pirate, he is dreaded throughout the Hundred Isles, but he is no closer to finding Meas. How far will he go for his shipwife – and will she forgive what he has done in her name?
Locked in the back room of a research institute where little work is ever done, Cabinet 13 holds secret files documenting cases of spontaneous evolution. When a bored office assistant picks the lock, his understanding of the world changes – but how will forbidden knowledge transform him?
The Mugenese have been shattered by the Phoenix’s terrible power, but Rin still hungers to destroy Nikan’s treacherous Empress. Before she can defeat her enemies, Rin must face her demons – and learn to control the god within…
Thara Celehar can speak to the recently dead. A reserved man haunted by his own ghosts, he asks the dead questions to confirm burial rites and inheritances, and to ease the hearts and minds of the living. But sometimes the dead have dark secrets. When a woman is murdered, Thara is determined to do right by her – whatever the cost.
The devout know that divine Nari, founder of Narida, will be reborn when he is most needed. With the current God-king sick and Tjakorshi Raiders settling on the Black Coast, the time is surely ripe. But how will Narida welcome him?
The new Parijatdvipan Emperor is a tyrant and a zealot, fond of ‘purifying’ women with flame. When his rebellious sister refuses to be sacrificed, she is imprisoned. But allies are sometimes found in the strangest places, and Malini is not alone in her fear of the Emperor. Chandra’s cruelty may set the whole Empire alight.
Anaiya is a Hero of Otpor, the Peacekeeper who brought a Heterodox traitor to justice. But her time undercover has stripped her of her aptitude – and appetite – for her role. Caught between the Elements of Fire and Air, can she learn to live differently without condemning herself as Heterodox?
Joan and Victor were two souls united against the world until the night Victor stormed out after a fight and never came home. When Joan finds him leading a prayer meeting a year later, he’s a stranger with her husband’s face, who claims not to remember her. What happened to Victor out in the dark?
It’s a new chapter for Murderbot! Now a resident of Preservation Station, the snarky SecUnit is half-heartedly looking for contracts and enthusiastically pointing out the inadequacies of Station Security. When a dead body is found, it’s time to show them how this is really done. Just like in the shows, yeah?
Kim Bo-Young is a respected SF author in her native South Korea. I’m Waiting For You marks the first time her work has appeared in English, collecting two pairs of connected short stories exploring love, sacrifice and identity.
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?
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…
onemore.org 