Review: Ion Curtain by Anya Ow

Jul 282022
 

Publishers Weekly: This addictive space opera from Ow (Cradle and Grave) posits a far-future, intergalactic cold war between Russia and the UN. Cocky scavenger Solitaire Yeung goes against his crew’s wishes to investigate a distress signal from a Russian military spaceship and steal (“salvage”) an unidentifiable piece of tech. Unknown to Solitaire, the stolen pod is a prototype for a new artificial intelligence, and the Russian Federation orders Cdr. Viktor Kulagin, captain of a destroyer fitted with an AI he deeply distrusts, to hunt Yeung down. This plot paves the way for a rarely seen thematic quandary centering on early AI use in spaceships. The cultural microcosms aboard space stations like New Tesla and cleverly interwoven history make for deeply plausible worldbuilding as Yeung finds himself at the center of a political conflict that could fracture the hostile peace between galactic superpowers. And when a new faction enters the fray, Solitaire and Viktor are forced to ally against a power that threatens all of humanity. Unexpected humor and thrilling action punctuate this space opera adventure while empathetic characters and a tenderly explored theme add a lot of heart. Fans of artificial intelligence and daring spy stories will find much to love.

Review: The Embroidered Book by Kate Heartfield

Jul 262022
 

BookPage: Thoroughly engrossing…. Her main historical characters – as well as many fascinating secondary figures, such as the portraitist Vigée Le Brun – are so persuasively drawn, given Heartfield’s apparently meticulous attention to historical research…, that her feminist revisioning of a crucial period in European history is genuinely provocative…. a fabulously immersive novel.

Starred Review: Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Jul 142022
 

Kirkus: The third installment of a necromantic science-fantasy series continues working at puzzles of identity and the meaning of loyalty.

Previously (Gideon the Ninth, 2019; Harrow the Ninth, 2020), sullen but brilliant necromancer Harrowhark consumed the soul of Gideon, her foulmouthed cavalier, to become a Lyctor, a semi-immortal officer in the Emperor Undying’s court. In a desperate attempt to preserve Gideon’s identity, Harrow deliberately erased the other woman from her memories, leaving herself confused to the point of delusion, unable to access her full powers, and vulnerable to enemies both within and without the Emperor’s court. This novel introduces Nona, a sweet but extraordinarily naïve young woman who appears to be in Harrowhark’s body but with Gideon’s golden eyes, lacking both necromantic abilities and any memories prior to six months ago. Nona’s been happy despite her precarious living situation in a war-torn city threatened by the necromantic Houses and their foe, the Blood of Eden. Unfortunately, what fragile peace she has cannot last, and everything depends on recovering Nona’s memories and returning to Harrowhark’s home in the Ninth House, there to finally release the deadly threat lurking in the Locked Tomb. But who is Nona, really: Harrowhark, Gideon, a blend of both young women…or someone else entirely? (The reader will figure it out long before the characters do.) Meanwhile, the Emperor and Harrowhark meet in dreams, where he recounts events of 10,000 years ago, when, as a newly fledged necromancer, his conflict with the corrupt trillionaires who planned to escape the dying Earth and leave the remaining billions to perish led to nuclear apocalypse. It’s pretty gutsy of Muir to write two books in a row about amnesiac characters, particularly when it may very well be the same character experiencing a different form of amnesia in each. This work initially reads like a strange interlude from the series, devoted to Nona’s odd but essentially quotidian routine in the midst of war, riot, and general chaos. But the story gradually gathers speed, and it’s all in service to a deeper plot. It is unfortunate that the demands of that plot mean we’ve gotten a considerably smaller dose of Gideon’s defiantly crude, riotously flouncy behavior in the two books subsequent to the one which bears her name.

A deceptively quiet beginning rockets to a thrilling finish, preparing us for the next volume’s undoubtedly explosive finale.

Starred Review: Boys I Know by Anna Gracia

Jul 122022
 

Publishers Weekly: Gracia employs a whirlwind pace that complements June’s myriad triumphs and failures; a large, vibrant cast; and a true-to-life teen voice to explore societal gender roles, racism, and sexuality while artfully depicting one teenager’s search for herself amid cultural and familial pressures.

Review: And What Can We Offer You Tonight by Premee Mohamed

Jun 292022
 

Locus: Premee Mohamed’s And What Can We Offer You Tonight is also a stunning (and Nebula-nominated) example of what short fiction can do…sharp and full of contained fury. Mohamed’s world is a brutal one where people deemed unuseful are culled by the authorities. If you are not fabulously wealthy or serving said one-percenters, you are not likely to live long. That makes Jewel’s job as a high-priced courtesan her literal lifeline. When a fellow sex worker is murdered by a client, then suddenly returns from the dead with nothing left to lose, Jewel is thrust into the mystery. Is solving it worth her own death? The story, however, is only loosely about who the murderer is. Instead, it’s a barely controlled scream about power and abuse that infuriates and satisfies. If this were novel length, it would be overwhelming. But here…Mohamed distills keenly felt emotions into a heady shot.

Review: Trouble With The Cursed by Kim Harrison

Jun 242022
 

Library Journal: Rachel Morgan has stepped into the role of subrosa for Cincinnati: a role that makes her responsible for all of the supernatural beings in the city, not just herself. Her life is going well, for once: her relationships with her loved ones and allies are firm; demons are starting to respect her (mostly); and her best friend, Ivy Tamwood, is coming home. But with Ivy comes trouble, in the form of a master vampire whose job is to prove that Rachel murdered the city’s master, (which she did not—she just transformed her into a mouse). Hoping for assistance from her new ally, the demon trickster Hodin, Rachel soon discovers that Hodin has his own plans. Adding to the complications, her former teacher Al, the only one who may be able to save Rachel and the rest of the city, would rather see her fail. Harrison’s character and world development is showcased once again with Ivy and Rachel’s relationship; the shadowy Washington, DC, vampire council; and the interplays of hope and horror in the plot.

VERDICT “The Hollows” continues its solid supernatural storytelling, and fans will celebrate the return of its sarcastic witch-born demon.

Review: The Void Ascendant by Premee Mohamed

May 252022
 

Tor.com: It’s no small achievement to tell a compelling story across the three books of a trilogy. That’s challenge enough, but for a handful of writers, simply doing that isn’t quite enough. I can think of a handful of examples of this, which takes the already-difficult task of following a novel with a sequel done in a new genre and further complicates things. Jeff VanderMeer’s done it twice, with the Southern Reach and Ambergris trilogies.And having read Premee Mohamed’s The Void Ascendant, I can confirm that she’s pulled it off as well with her Beneath the Rising trilogy.

Titles are funny things, and The Void Ascendant might well have the most inaccurate title imaginable. This is a maximalist narrative, with Mohamed throwing both knowing pop culture references and thematically-resonant explorations of trust, forgiveness, and justice into the mix. This is a book, and a trilogy, that can encompass entire genres in thoroughly unexpected ways. And it brings a memorable and accomplished trilogy to a close with aplomb.

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