I’ve been making steady progress on my Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards shortlists, thanks in part to traveling a lot this past month. There’s nothing quite like the enforced downtime of flying to motivate me to inhale books I’ve been looking forward to or bull through ones I haven’t. Today I’m looking back at the fantasy novellas in a Wyrd and Wonder cross-over.
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I’m on three panels for this year’s Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards, which means nominees have dominated my reading this year. I’m making solid progress on Best Series, so time for a quick recap and a longer look at two of the nominees: Los Nefilim by Teresa Frohock and Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan.
Lina fled London to work for a European conservation corps, but her fragile peace shatters when her ex is arrested for assassinating a Minister. While Lina tries to extract her family from London, the Minister’s family also flee to the mountain reserve she works on. Everyone has deadly secrets – but will they kill to preserve them?
When Adam Bosch discovered how to travel the multiverse, alternate realities became resources to exploit. Cara escaped Earth Zero’s slums because she’s dead in nearly every timeline, meaning she can safely traverse to 372 worlds. But can she survive the Earths that killed her other selves?
As both Hell and paradise realms cast acquisitive glances towards the Library, Claire and Brevity desperately seek to persuade the other Librarians of their peril. But can they find a way to free the stories from the threat of the afterlives forever – and what will be the cost?
June Vogel has no desire to return to Storm Break, but when her brother remarries she agrees to come home for the summer to care for her wayward niece. As strange events multiply and family tensions heighten, is it Storm Break or June herself that will destroy the Vogels?
I prioritised reviewing ARCs this year, but I also read books I bought, borrowed or received as gifts. Some I read alone; others with friends in read-alongs – and a few I never got round to reviewing. Today’s round up features thumbnail reviews for The Loneliest Girl In The Universe, The Bone Shard Daughter, and Winter’s Orbit.
Touraine returns home to Qazāl intent on being the first colonial to achieve rank within the Balladairan army. Luca comes to Qazāl to prove her fitness for the Balladairan throne by defusing rising unrest against colonial rule. But the Qazāli have good reason to rebel. Touraine and Luca are determined to bring peace, but can they bear the cost?
The world has changed, nation states swept away after global religious wars. Now a conspiracy threatens the utopian order that rose from the ashes – and the only person trusted to investigate is a murderer who already guards entirely too many of the world’s greatest secrets…
Humanity spread out to the stars, abandoning our dying home world in waves. But Earth endured. Now it attracts scholars of ancient history and dilettantes seeking the violent delights only found on toxic backwaters. But the pit fights of the House hold danger for everyone in and out of the ring….
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…
Gyen Jebi is desperate enough for cash to pursue a government job. Nobody knows why the Razanei occupiers are so keen to recruit artists, but Jebi soon discovers they won’t take no for an answer. Assigned to a horrifying military project, Jebi must decide where their loyalties lie – if they can find the courage.
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 Near Earth Orbital Guard handle search and rescue in space, a vital if underfunded mission delivered by small, tight crews determined to save lives. When rookie lieutenant Max Carmichael is unexpectedly assigned to the best Neo-G crew in the service, she has a lot to prove – to her new team, to her estranged family, but mostly to herself.
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