Publishers Weekly: Hogan writes with tangible energy, capturing the trials of divided loyalties in the midst of global war…. Fans of military SF will enjoy Hogan’s fresh take on the genre.
Apr 242019
Apr 192019
B&N: Bestselling urban fantasy author Kim Harrison (the Hallows series) has been experimenting with sci-fi of late in novels like The Drafter and The Operator; her latest is more difficult to classify, but filled with the danger, romance, and readability that has attracted her a legion of devoted readers. Artist Meg is on the brink of breakout success, but held back by the anxiety triggered by her boyfriend’s recent serious car accident. At her therapist’s urging, she connects with a woman named Haley, a guest professor at her university who is living a life Meg dreams of. But when Haley’s influence seems to be changing Meg too much, and too fast, her boyfriend Austin attempts to intervene, she attempts to cut him out of her life – but he resists. This thriller is set in a world not quite our own, and asks compelling questions about the effects of trauma on our perception of reality.
Apr 122019
Publishers Weekly: In this satisfyingly complex sequel to The Stone in the Skull, the descendants of the Alchemical Emperor vie for dominion over the remnants of his empire, or for simple survival for themselves and their people. In the city of Sarathai-tia, the young rajni, Mrithuri, faces a siege by the power-hungry raja Anuraja. She is supported by her own court and by new arrivalsincluding Serhan, the Dead Man, a former bodyguard and her new loverbut one of her inner circle may be a traitor. Anuraja holds hostage Sayeh Rajni, the trans or “third-sex” ruler of Ansh-Sahal, whose realm was destroyed by a volcanic eruption caused by Anuraja’s wizard accomplice, Ravani. Sayeh’s son, Drupada, has been kidnapped by a fourth royal, raja Himadra, who hopes to assume guardianship over the boy and thus control the refugees and army of Ansh-Sahal. And Serhan’s friend the Gage, a brass automaton with a human soul, continues his journey through a poisonous landscape in search of the Singing City of the dragons and possible allies there. Sorcery and scheming successfully propel the characters and plot lines of this rich and lovely India-tinged fantasy.
Apr 052019
Publishers Weekly: Priest (The Family Plot) spins a small, swampy urban legend into a riveting, swelteringly atmospheric story that questions just how far the residents of a Southern town will go to forget, or appease, a past they cannot bear to confront. Cameron Spratford has lived with his elderly cousins Claire and Daisy in Staywater, Ga., since his parents abandoned him there as a toddler. Although everyone in Staywater encourages Cam to leave, he is content to remainuntil Titus Bell arrives. Titus and his wife, Melanie, are traveling through the Okefenokee Swamp when they arrive at a strange, one-lane bridge. Sometime later, Titus wakes up in the middle of the road, alone. He makes his way to Staywater and, while awaiting news of Melanie, begins to shake the secrets of the town loose. Cameron gradually discovers the truth about the bridge outside Staywater, the role Claire and Daisy played in bringing peace there once, and what they are willing to do to keep Cameron safe. Priest keeps the supernatural elements grounded by developing nuanced characters who feel as though they could walk off the page. Moody and mysterious, this gothic tale touches the heart even as it wraps chilly fingers around the spine.
Apr 042019
Publishers Weekly: Gomillion debuts with a gut-punch Afrofuturist novel that examines the incalculable damage systemic racism wreaks on individuals and societies, and the many forms liberation can take. Sometime in the future, in the aftermath of WWIII, societies enforce peace through rigidly controlled racial hierarchies. That control includes using medication to erase the memories of the less privileged. Born in the remnants of America, Arika Cobane inhabits the upper echelons of the race of dark-skinned laborers known as the Kongo, trained by her white teachers to be a record keeper and write false histories that reinforce social norms. As rumors spread of rebels challenging the state’s authority, a new Kongo student, Hosea Khan, enters Arika’s class, shocking her by openly questioning the violence committed against the Kongo people on the pretext of upholding peace. Arika helps Hosea nurse injured laborers, confronts her complicity in the structures of power that perpetuate the Kongo’s enslavement, and devotes herself to tearing those structures apart, starting by leading an uprising against the school’s teachers and administrators. This intellectually rich, emotional, and ruthlessly honest confrontation of racism proves Gomillion is a critically important new voice.
Mar 292019
Publishers Weekly: Queer necromancers vie for power, solve ancient puzzles, and cross rapiers while exploring haunted deep-space ruins in this madcap science fantasy romp that manages to be both riotously funny and heartbreaking. Eighteen-year-old orphan Gideon Nav has spent her life devising ways to escape indentured servitude to the Ninth House. When Harrowhark Nonagesimus, the sole daughter and heir to the Ninth, sees a chance to become a Lyctor, right hand to the Necromancer Divine, she needs a cavalier by her side if she hopes to beat out the candidates of the other eight Houses—and only Gideon will do. Much as her necromancers do with human remains, Muir effortlessly compiles macabre humor, body horror, secrets, and tenderness into the stitched-together corpse of a dark universe, then brings it to life with a delightfully chaotic, crackling cast of characters and the connective tissue of their relationships. From the mad science joys of necromantic theory to the deliciously ever-evolving tension between Gideon and Harrow, this adventurous novel not only embraces its strangeness but wrings delight from it. The result is an addictive, genre-bending book that will wow readers with its vibrant energy, endearing cast, and emotional gut-punch of a finale.
Mar 282019
Locus: In the latest title from the Rick Riordan Presents imprint, Korean-American author Yoon Ha Lee transports traditional Korean animal folklore to space in an interplanetary adventure with all the thrills, spills, and surprises that younger teens could want.
It’s an obvious page-turner, and Yoon Ha Lee has nailed what the younger action crowd craves.
There are some very funny moments in Dragon Pearl and plenty of angsty ones as well. There is no romance at all which fits well with the needs of the likely younger audience (and would have spoiled all the action bits, so is not missed).
For good clean outer space fun with the nice addition of Korean folklore and plenty of engaging characters, (both good and evil), Dragon Pearl gets the job done. Also, a shout out to Vivienne To for the stunning cover art – it’s impossible not to love that shot of Min in all her glory, getting ready to take on the universe to find out the truth.
Mar 272019
NPR: Squad is a short, highly concentrated blast of a book that revels in all the best and worst feelings of high school and offers the reader a charismatic and imperfect character to fall in love with. Jenna certainly won me over, and so did Squad.
Mar 262019
B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog: A Fantastic New Space Opera Saga Dawns in Elizabeth Bear’s Ancestral Night
Elizabeth Bear is a master of disguise. If you’ve spent any time with her enormous back catalog, you know that the only thing you can expect from her is to be surprised and delighted by how different each new book is from the one that preceded it. Since winning the 2005 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, she has published dozens of novels and even more short stories, jumping between genres and styles with apparent ease. Certainly not just any writer can publish one of the best epic fantasy series of the past decade (The Eternal Sky trilogy and its ongoing pseudo-sequel series, which began with The Stone in the Skull), take a pitstop in steampunk for a book or two, and then follow up with a big, bold science fiction saga poised to fill the void left by the James S.A. Corey’s soon-to-conclude series The Expanse.
Bear’s latest, the chunky space opera Ancestral Night, does just that. It travels familiar trade routes, but does so with aplomb, effortlessly separating itself from the crowd of new books in a resurgent subgenre.
Ancestral Night is chock full of great worldbuilding, supported by thematic explorations of politics, humanity, society, and individualism.
As it does in all of her work, Bear’s prose does double-duty, using exposition to worldbuild, inject humor, shape the characters, and establish the monumental stakes.
Ancestral Night’s tropes are the basic building blocks of genre—galaxy-spanning mysteries, pirates and rogues, long-lost alien tech, hyperspace travel, harrowing space combat—but Bear deploys them with expert precision. Imagine James S.A. Corey at his snarkiest, plus the bold sci-fi invention of Peter F. Hamilton’s Night’s Dawn trilogy, topped off with the rich characterization of Lois McMaster Bujold. The result is both familiar and wholly unique, managing a precarious balance between huge SFnal ideas—just wait until you find out about the Ativahika, an alien species whose abilities and appearance will boggle your mind—and an imminently approachable style, thanks to Haimey’s roguish narrative voice.
Bear’s first sci-fi novel in more than a decade has everything going for it: big space battles, thrilling action, a scrappy crew, and huge mysteries with galaxy-wide implications. Ancestral Night is space opera at its best and boldest, making you think hard even as it gets your blood pumping and your imagination flowing.
Mar 192019
Kirkus: . . . a frank, good-humored recollection of depression, self-loathing, and eventual self-respect . . . Compelling.