The American government imprisoned Aphra’s people and let them die in the desert, far from the sea. Now they need her help, and have an irresistible offer to make. But can outcasts ever truly win the trust of a government that persecuted them? And can they trust that government in return?
Continue reading “Winter Tide: washing away the worst of Lovecraft”
We’re entering the final phase of the Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards. After the initial phase of nomination and debate, we ended up with 5 categories and 33 nominees. Now we’re down to the wire after six months of reading, discussing and voting: it’s finalist time. So who has made our final cut?
Continue reading “Subjective Chaos: announcing our 2018 finalists”
Seth has always lived for the future, but his musical partner Carter has his heart set on the past. When Carter pushes Seth to create a retro track that sounds straight out of the 20s, they unleash a memory of musicians past. The blues don’t forget, and the devil still lingers at the crossroads…
In which I try to avoid too many spoilers, and to be at least vaguely coherent. It’s a struggle, ok?
Time for another peek at the progress of the Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards panel! Is it April already? Cue not so much chaos as panic (at least for this reader), as that means we’re halfway through the process – at least in terms of time, if not in progress… So how are we getting on?
Continue reading “Subjective Chaos: halfway there (in theory, anyway)”
Rex just wants to be a Good Dog. But Rex is no ordinary dog. Rex is a Bioform, engineered to fit a specific set of requirements: obedience, loyalty, leading his pack, killing his Master’s enemies. But if Rex’s Master is not a Good Man, how can Rex be a Good Dog?
Continue reading “Dogs of War: should a Good Dog follow orders?”
Who needs enemies with friends like Rupert Wong’s? Following his unfortunate involvement in dragon murder and celestial war, Rupert’s is being seconded to London ‘for his own safety’. But his new Greek employers are at war too – and nobody is betting on Rupert surviving it.
Continue reading “Bite-size Books: Rupert Wong and the Ends of the Earth”
One day, it was a remote stretch of American coastline, wild and beautiful. The next, it began to change. Now Area X is threatening more densely inhabited areas, and the secretive government organisation known as the Southern Reach wish to send in a twelfth expedition to try and understand it. But only one person from the first eleven expeditions ever returned…
I’ve been promising for a while I’d put together an update on how the Subjective Chaos Kind of Judges are getting on with our self-inflicted and oh-so-delightful task of reading our take on the best of 2017. With the shortlists announced in January, we’ve had nearly two months now – and I’m unsurprised to say we’re nowhere near anything that looks like a decision on any front. Continue reading “Subjective Chaos: and we’re off (cue… chaos?)”
When Molly Southbourne bleeds, a new Molly is born. The Mollies look just like she looks; know what she knows; and sooner or later each of them tries to kill her. How can she protect herself and her loved ones from herself? And how she to keep from bleeding?
Continue reading “Bite-sized Books: The Murders of Molly Southbourne”
Nell Crane is the girl with the clockwork heart, daughter of two revolutionary thinkers whose contributions have improved the lives of everyone in Black Water City. Great things are expected of her, but she’s running out of time to make a contribution that will keep her free of a life of manual labour. When inspiration finally strikes, her idea is so bold it may destroy her ties to everyone she loves…
Continue reading “Spare and Found Parts: review and giveaway!”
The Rosalind Franklin is Beacon’s best hope, on an epic journey around Britain seeking a natural inhibitor to the hungry plague. But it is as riven by politics as Beacon itself – can the crew put aside their differences or is humanity doomed to rip itself apart before the hungries even reach them?
Subjective: “based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes or opinions“.
Chaos: “the first created being” (Greek). No, that’s not what we’re after. “Complete disorder and confusion” …hopefully not. “Behaviour so unpredictable as to appear random, owing to great sensitivity to small changes in conditions“. YOU GOT IT.
(Kind of) Awards: “a prize or other mark of recognition” – well, you know, kind of.
Continue reading “Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards 2018: an informal experiment”
