Category Archives: science fiction

books, Post-Apocalyptic, Reviews

Three (Legend of the Dustwalker 1) by Jay Posey

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Stars: 2.5 out of 5

I really wanted to like this book. I am a sucker for a good post-apocalyptic story, so I had high hopes. And that cover is amazing. 

The book started strong, and I really connected with Three, even if I was confused about the different pieces of worldbuilding the book was throwing at me left and right. Surely, everything will get explained eventually, I thought. Right?

Wrong. NOTHING is explained. We have a world surviving some earth-shattering technological catastrophe that left everything in pretty much ruins. Yet it seems like advanced technology still works. I mean, all the people born in this world have a genetically implanted ability to connect to satellites to check the time, use GPS, ping each other, etc. So that means that the satellites are still functional… How exactly? Without constant monitoring from the surface and course corrections, all of them would have slowly drifted out of orbit and burned in the atmosphere. 

At one point, it’s also mentioned that people can upload their consciousness into a digital afterlife before they die, but where exactly are those servers kept? That’s a lot of data that would require a lot of processing power and infrastructure. It’s not like it can exist in thin air alone. So are there still places with advanced enough technology to keep the satellites and other complex systems functioning? Don’t know. It’s never mentioned.

The same catastrophe presumably also created the Weir, but we never get any explanation as to what those Weir really are or where they come from. Why do they attack at night and hide during the day? Are they all part of a technological hive mind? Do they infect other connected people or reuse the bodies of those they kill? 

And speaking of uploading and leaving their bodies behind. It’s mentioned at one point that one of the characters uploaded, but then came back into his body, even though it’s implied that that is not possible… And afterwards, it’s never mentioned again. All the characters just shrug at something that is clearly abnormal and just go on about their business.

And this whole book is like that – the author throws in a concept or mentions some kind of event, but never expands on it. Nothing is ever explained. It’s hard to understand the hardships the characters are facing if we aren’t clear about the rules of this world. What is the Strand? We are told that it’s mortally dangerous, but it’s never explained why. 

And the Weir’s behavior also changes depending on what the author needs it to be. In the beginning of the book, Three mentions to Cass that if they stay silent and “unplugged”, the Weir won’t sense them. Yet, the Weir find them anyway in the Strand, so which is it?

My other issue is with the characters. While I liked Three, I was a lot less happy with Cass and Wren. I mean, Cass doesn’t have much personality apart from Mama Bear when Wren is concerned and a damsel in distress when he isn’t. We are told that she was a valued member of RushRuin, but why exactly? What was it that she brought to the table? 

And once again, this is where the lack of worldbuilding is hurting characterisation. Cass is augmenting her body and mind with chems, and it’s killing her, but we never get a real explanation as to why. What is the difference between the chems named in this book? Why is quint so dangerous? How exactly is it killing her? How is all this produced if most of the world is in ruins? Also, what are the limitations? See, I cannot tell when Cass is doing something normal, phenomenal, or even extremely dangerous because I have no clue what quint is supposed to do to her.

I was okay with Wren, because even though he is the Special One, he behaved like a normal 5 year old child for most of the book. A scared child who is out of his depth and forced to see and confront some pretty ugly things. 

What I didn’t like was that Three transformed from this ultra-compenent survivalist, a lethal warrior who roamed the desolation between various human enclaves for years, into a self-doubting wreck of a man who couldn’t do anything right. Also, I wasn’t sold on the sudden affection he developed for Cass. Sorry, don’t buy it. Grudging respect – yes, care for her and Wren – absolutely, but love to the point of sacrifice? Erm, nope. 

It is hinted that she reminded Three of someone he had loved and failed to protect, but once again, the lack of worldbuilding does a disservice to the characters. We get brief mentions of Three’s past, but not enough to explain his behavior. Like what ties him to jCharles and his wife? Where does his guilt come from? What was this House he was created in and for what purpose? Also, WHEN was that? 

In the end, I was left with a lot more questions than answers and a very vague worldbuilding that left me frustrated and unengaged most of the book. And the final confrontation with Asher was just ridiculous. Talk about a one-dimensional villain with no redeeming qualities. It begs to question, if Asher was such a horrible human being, why didn’t the other members of RushRuin do him in or walk away from him? Most of them seemed like decent people and were powerful in their own right, so he must have had some kind of hold on them.

Anyway, I am not sure if there are more explanations about this world in the next book, and I am not even sure I feel like continuing with this series.

books, Post-Apocalyptic, Reviews, science fiction, Soft Science Fiction, Space opera

We are Legion (We Are Bob) (Bobiverse 1) by Dennis E. Taylor

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Stars: 4 out of 5

This was a rather unique premise for a story. At least, I haven’t encountered this kind of story before. I have read plenty of books about real AI and sentient starships, but not one where the digitalized consciousness of a real person is put into a starship. 

The world in which this story takes place is a rather bleak one, and I would really hope that humanity can do better. Though, judging by everything happening around the world right now, I might be giving our race too much credit. I think humanity has an infinite potential for self-destruction. Unfortunately, I can very well see humanity going into an all-out nuclear war just to prevent a nation from sending out a probe ahead of others. It’s not science fiction anymore, it’s a fact of life.

Fortunately, Bob is a very endearing character who brings much-needed levity to what otherwise would be a very depressing book. His positive outlook and curiosity are what made this book fun. All the problems he encounters don’t discourage him at all. He approaches them as challenges to overcome. In that sense, this book reminded me of The Martian and Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. The protagonist has the same vibe – ready to McGiver his way out of any situation. 

Granted, it feels like some of the problems Bob faces are non-problems at all, because he overcomes them so easily. I understand that this is a world 100 years into the future, but some of the technological advances seem implausible with the state of science and technology we are at now. Unless there are some significant breakthroughs in the next 100 years, and a lot more money is invested into research. It’s even less plausible in a country that reverted to fundamentalist Christianity like FAITH. 

But the story is engaging enough that I was willing to overlook the parts that stretched my disbelief a little too much. I was invested in the exploration of every star system the new Bobs go into. Heck, I was on the edge of my seat during the first contact story and the migration Bot initiated with the Deltans. 

My only issue, and the reason this book didn’t get 5 stars, is that it ends on a cliffhanger. None of the story arcs were brought to a satisfying conclusion, but just left in media res, to be picked up in the next book. 

PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

books, Reviews, science fiction, Space opera

Empire of Silence (The Sun Eater 1) by Christopher Ruocchio

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Stars: 4 out of 5

This is a promising start to what shapes up to be a very interesting series.

The worldbuilding is very detailed, and the hints we see at a larger universe are very enticing. You can really believe there is a galaxy-spanning empire somewhere beyond the little planetary system where the story takes place. And not just the Old Earth empire that Hadrian was born into, but the other political forces as well. We meet representatives of some of them in this book, and I am looking forward to seeing more in the next books.

I liked Hadrian as the protagonist, even though he was a bit annoying in his whininess sometimes. But at least he was self-aware of that particular trait of character and even self-depricating sometimes. And I mean, as far as a coming-of-age story goes, the universe sure threw him a few curveballs, so a little bit of self-pity is justified.

I was surprised at just how bleak this world is. It’s a rigidly stratified society where your status and just how good a life you will lead depend on your genetic code. If you were born into an aristocratic house, you would live a life of luxury that many dream of… But even then, even nobile houses are but pawns to the empire and the Chantry that controls all technological advances. I mean, even the nobile children are conceived in vats, their genes carefully selected and edited by the Chantry.

The Chantry has absolute power in the Empire, because it can simply refuse procreation privileges to a noble house and effectively eliminate that house in a generation or two. Or they can declare them heretics and glass the whole planet from orbit with weapons and technologies only they possess.

And the commoners? Well, they live in abject poverty, at least on the two planets Hadrian visited in this book. No genetic modifications for them, or even advanced medical practices. Just hard work, servitude, and blood sports.

Honestly, by the end of this book, I wasn’t sure if I was rooting for humans or for their alien enemies to eliminate them. And the jury is still out on that one.

But all in all, I am excited about continuing this series in the next book.

books, Reviews, science fiction, Space opera

The Blighted Stars (The Devoured Worlds 1) by Megan E O’Keefe

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Stars: 3 out of 5

I loved the worldbuilding in this novel, although it presents another rather bleak view of humanity’s spacefaring future. REminds me a little bit of Murderbot, actually. Only, instead of everything being owned by corporations, we have the MERIT families who have all the riches and privilege, and power. The rest of humanity is either working for those families on more or less favorable terms or living in poverty.  And the fact that the shroud is destroying the few habitable planets and forcing humanity into space stations only increases the inequality and the dependence on the MERIT families. 

So it was interesting to watch this story unfold from both the perspective of Naira, who grew up on one of those destroyed worlds and then had to claw her way up from the dregs of society on a space station, and Tarquin, who has always been the spoiled son of Mercator – one of the most prominent MERIT families. Add to that he fact that Naira hates Mercator, and for good reason, and is also considered a terrorist, the author could have made a very interesting story out of the clash of their worldviews. 

Unfortunately, the author opted to follow the path of having them romantically involved instead, and that basically killed the book for me. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a good romance between my protagonists if it’s well done and organically woven into the story. And I would point to pretty much any series by Ilona Andrews as an excellent example of that genre. 

There is nothing organic about the way Naira and Tarquin’s romance develops. In fact, it’s so unnaturally done that it’s painful to read about. It feels shoe-horned into the story because the author felt like romance was needed. It wasn’t, though. They could have gone from enemies forced to collaborate to escape a dying planet to slowly becoming grudging allies or even friends. But romantic feelings between those two? Nope, can’t see that. Naira had more chemistry with her Conservator accomplice. So much more, in fact, that the author promptly killed him off. 

My other issue is that once the whole plot finally comes to light, it sounds rather far-fetched. I will try not to give too many spoilers, but humanity in thrall to a fungus? 

The pacing of the book is also rather uneven – we get good action scenes that propel the plot forward, but then we get bogged down in the minutiae of squables between survivors, everyone discovering their budding feelings for each other, etc. Not to mention pages spent in Naira and Tarquin’s heads while they analyze their own feelings, feel inadequate, or reflect on what was and could have been. I found my interest flagging until I would put the book down and read something else, and had to force myself to come back and read a few more pages.

It was a good concept, but the execution didn’t work for me, so I will not be continuing with this series. 

PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

books, Dystopian, Horror, Reviews

The Monsters in our Shadows by Edward J Cembal

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Stars: 4.5 out of 5

Oof, this was a depressing book to read, and up until the very last chapter, I really didn’t know if the author would give us even a sliver of hope at a decent ending.

The world is bleak – most of the world (at least the continental USA, from what I see) has been eaten by Shivers. Those are monsters that appear out of a person’s fears, depression, despair, and grow closer and closer, until they literally eat the person who created them. They are like our darkest emotions made manifest, and the more we experience those emotions, the closer they get, and the closer they get, the more negative emotions we experience. It’s a vicious circle that ends in death and blood.

As it stands, only the village of Atlas is left, the last refuge where what’s left of humanity hides behind high walls from the horrors roaming the Deadlands. It’s a bleak and run-down village in the middle of a downtown of some unnamed pre-Shiver city where humans try to survive under a constant cloudy sky where the sun hasn’t shone in years and no rain ever fell. Only thunder, no lightning, no rain.

I would say the saving grace of this book is Anthem, our protagonist, because even though his world is bleak, and the work he does is even bleaker, he harbors a wealth of compassion and a sliver of hope that refuses to die even in the most dire circumstances. We experience the horrors of this world through his eyes, and he has the knack of seeing beauty and peace even in the darkest times. And a child-like wonder for new things, like the man playing piano in the middle of a dead city, or the peaceful surface of a lake undisturbed by human activity. Yes, Anthem can be whiny and depressed, and downright annoying throughout the book, but his refusal to give up, to lie down and let his Shiver eat him is what makes us root for him.  

My only complaint about Anthem is that he can be rather obtuse sometimes. Or maybe naive? Like his insistence to see the best in people, no matter what. Him trying to reason with Doubleday even when it was obvious to everyone else that the man wouldn’t listen. On the other hand, this willingness to negotiate and try to get his point across is what helped him get what he wanted at the Spit, and help the afflicted of Atlas in the end, so I can’t fault him for that.

I would also say that the story has plenty of twists and turns, and I honestly couldn’t say where we were heading most of the time. Like I said, I wasn’t even sure we would get a good ending, since the events leading to it were depressing. 

All in all, it’s a wonderful reflection about mental illness and depression, and how sometimes we let our negative emotions eat us from the inside. Here, those emotions are made manifest, just waiting to consume us.

I loved the main message of this book as well – that no matter what, no matter how dark the times and how bleak your world is, hope might be just one step away. You just have to be courageous enough to take that step, and then another, and then another one.

PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

books, Military science fiction, Reviews, science fiction

Rubicon by J. S. Dewes

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Stars: 3 out of 5

I loved this book… until the twist at the end and the cliffhanger ending. Honestly, it destroyed the book for me. That ending made everything that came before it useless. All the sacrifices, all the shit Valero went through was literally for nothing because the author decided that a particular twist at the end would be a clever thing to do.

Yes, I’m pissed. I was deeply emotionally invested in these characters. I was rooting for them. Ending a book this way feels like a slap in the face. Why the heck did I spend hours of my life reading this when NOTHING the characters did had any meaning?

Adrienne wasn’t a particularly likable character in the beginning, but there was a reason for that. That reason was revealed to the reader in all its traumatic glory very early on. Rezoning is a horrible technology that leaves a scar on one’s psyche. Imagine doing it 96 times in 10 years. Frankly, I’m surprised she isn’t more messed up than she is.

It was a rewarding journey to see her overcome the apathy, to face her demons, and start finally experiencing human emotions again – care for others, open up enough to love someone, and create friendships. Be scared of zeroing out her friends.

In this light, the ending pisses me off even more, because all her sacrifices have been for nothing. There is no emotional payout at the end of this book.

PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

books, Post-Apocalyptic, Reviews

Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel

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Stars: 3 out of 5

This is a difficult book to rate or review. I really liked parts of it, but other parts left me indifferent to mildly irritated.

I liked the melancholy vibe of the book, and that’s best translated in the chapters detailing Arthur’s life as well as what happened to all the people whose lives he touched. It was interesting to see how they spent their last days before the world as we know it ended… and what those who were lucky enough to survive made of themselves in the new world that rose from the ashes.

I admit that I was less attached to the characters from the Traveling Symphony. Where people from Arthur’s time seemed pretty well developed, the members of the Symphony didn’t have much depth past their names and functions. I mean, I can’t even remember who was who, apart from Kirsten and Arthur, and I just finished the book. So to me, those chapters dragged, and I found myself loose interest more often then not and putting the book aside.

My biggest problem is that I don’t get the point of the whole Prophet subplot. Even with the spoiler discovery of the Prophet’s identity, his existence in this book doesn’t particularly make sense. He is way too milquetoast to be an antagonist in this book, and the way this whole situation ended is rather… anticlimactic. There was this whole buildup to this confrontation between the Symphony and the Prophet that didn’t happen in the end.

All in all, it was a decent story about loss and grief, and lost dreams, and how different people cope with surviving the end of the world, but to me, it was lacking a secret ingredient that would have made it perfect.

books, Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic, Reviews

Among These Bones (Among These Bones 1) by Amanda Luzzader

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Stars: 2.5 out of 5.

This started pretty strong but petered out by the end. 

The premise is fantastic – a global pandemic destroyed society as we know it. The survivors must take a serum every year in order not to contract the disease that killed most of humanity. The unfortunate side effect of this serum is that it wipes your memories. So every year you start as a blank slate, with the Agency telling you who you are, who your family is, and what you did in life. But who is to say that any of it is true? Is that child that the Agency shoved into your arms really your son or a random stranger? Is your name really Allison? 

I believe the author wasted the potential of this premise because there could have been so much more she could have done there! Allison in particular seems prone to accept these facts at face value and not even question them until the later part of the book. She is content just to keep her head down, get her rations, and hole up in a ratty house for the rest of her life. It’s Arie that is trying to push the limits of their world and to discover what really happened on Year One. 

And I think that was ultimately the biggest issue for me. Allison is the protagonist, and she is boring as fish. I couldn’t care less for her tribulations because she didn’t really commit to anything until the end of the book. Until then, she just kind of floated along the current and followed whichever person of authority she happened to be with, be it Arie or Ruby. Also, she is written as a bit dim. I mean you know an Agency supervisor took a special interest in you and your son, and you discovered that Arie was being tracked via his chip. Why oh why would you bring a very recognizable truck straight to your house? Especially when working vehicles are so rare? And why would you rush back there after the stint you pulled at the serum storage facility? That’s next level stupid.

Actually, all the characters in this book are written as not very bright, even if the author says otherwise about some of them. They survive and pull a successful heist only because of plot contrivances and kevlar-thick plot armor. And once I realized that, I couldn’t really care for their well-being because it felt like they would survive no matter how dire the situation was. Apart from Gracy that is, but then again, we barely knew the girl. I’m almost convinced that she was introduced only for the purpose of fridging her to create some motivation for Allison.

All in all, this was a rather disappointing read. It started great but devolved into the standard and stereotypical story of an evil corporation doing something to common people for nefarious but nebulous reasons. Also, the bad guys in this story had no shades of gray whatsoever. I don’t think I will be continuing with this series.

books, Reviews, science fiction, Space opera

Lords of Uncreation (The Final Architecture 3) by Adrian Tchaikovsky

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Stars: 4.5 out of 5

This is a fitting conclusion to an epic trilogy. I must say that Mr. Tchaikovsky created a truly unique world. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with concepts of real and unreal (or similar) that are so well integrated into the story. This world feels lived in. It has an inner logic and it works. 

Things have gotten from bad to worse since the end of the previous book. You would think that a treat of truly galactic proportions would unite people, right? You couldn’t be more wrong. Humanity fractures and splinters, because each faction has its own idea of how exactly humanity will be saved, one which leaves them in power over the rescued remnants, of course. And none of those ideas include taking the war to the slavemasters of the Architects. 

I even understand why. Fighting something so unimaginable and unreachable is daunting, to say the least. It’s much easier for the human psyche to find a smaller enemy and concentrate on them. Hence Hugh and the Parthenon are at each other throats again. And the Boyarin want their Arcs back. The galaxy is a mess even without Architects popping up at random solar systems to turn inhabited planets into tragic art. 

And the crew of the Vulture God is still stuck in the middle of it all. Though I’m not sure if they are a crew anymore since only Oli and Kit are technically on the ship itself. Idris and Kris are on the Eye, where Idris is killing himself, trying to find the mysterious Masters who send the Architects out into the real. Solace is also there with the Partheny Ints, but it seems like everyone has their own agenda now. Until all hell breaks lose, that is. 

If I had one complaint about this book it’s that the first 30% of it or so drags. I understand that all the pieces had to be put on the board and set in motion, but it made for a rather boring read. However, once the attack on the Eye happens, things pick up. And after Anku brings the hammer down on the whole system, the action doesn’t let down until the end. 

All in all, I liked how things got wrapped up in this book. And the fate that befell the Lords of Uncreation was a fine example of poetic justice. I was a bit surprised bout Oli, but it makes sense and is in tune with her character. Solace had a huge crisis of faith in this book, and I’m happy with the choice she made. Also, she is a badass. The only non-Int to stand in the middle of creation, face a very alien and overwhelming force, and not give ground. “Pret at combattre” indeed. 

I am also happy with Idris’s arc. It felt at times like he was drifting through the story as a passenger more than an architect of the events, and he would make a lousy action hero, but he saved the world in the end. And now Kris might even save the Ints from indentured servitude, but either way, unspace is a lot more welcoming for them from now on. And I like the concept of Saint Idris.

PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

books, Reviews, science fiction, Space opera

Dark Space by Rob Hart

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DNF at 50%

I love good science fiction or space opera novels. I love space exploration and humanity spreading to the other planets of our solar system before reaching for the stars. So this book should have been right up my alley, right? Well, I’m sad to say that it’s been a massive disappointment instead.

The book is split into two POVs from two characters located in different places – one is on a starship going for an inhabitable planet orbiting another star, and the other is on the Moon. While I liked the Moon storyline well enough, the whole deal with the starship left me frustrated to indifferent. 

I was frustrated with the absurdity of the premise and how all the characters behaved there. Are you telling me that the captain and most of the crew would choose to cover up an attempt to not only sabotage their mission but to destroy the ship and kill them all? That they would retract the transmission to Earth, falsify the investigation results, and act like those who question them are crazy or insubordinate? This makes no sense.

And when I wasn’t frustrated with characters acting like stupid children, I was bored because I could care less for them. Because they have less substance than a cardboard cutout.

The conspiracy on the Moon was more interesting, even if the protagonist there wasn’t very likable either but the main issue there is that I didn’t buy into the premise or the stakes of the story.

The author hints that this is not the near future, so it’s not like this is happening 20-30 years from now. Humanity has a functional base on the Moon. There is talk of space stations and even a foothold on Mars… yet we are still being divided along national lines? Why would a person born on the Moon care about Russia or US or China’s interests versus the interests of the Moon?

In that respect, The Expanse series did politics so much better. Forget national interests. People defend and identify with places they are born in. That’s why we have Earth and Mars at odds with each other, and the Belters squabble and scrape and never quite manage to unite. That makes sense. What we have in this book? Not so much. 

In the end, I stopped reading because I realized that I didn’t care to discover who tried to sabotage the mission or why. And I didn’t care AT ALL about the first contact with an alien civilization whose individuals conveniently speak English. That the tepid interest I had in the Moon storyline didn’t justify wasting more of my time on this book.

There are other excellent space opera books out there, but this one just isn’t for me.

PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.