System Collapse, the seventh entry into the Murderbot Diaries series that started with All Systems Red, is almost upon us, which means it’s actually a perfect time to get into the series if you haven’t already. Why? Well, for starters: 1. You just want to binge content: If anyone’s going to support you doing nothing …
Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo is, as is usual for any entry in the Singing Hills Cycle, a lot of stories in one story. Usually the interwoven tales are the result of Cleric Chih’s journeys as they collect tales for their abbey, but for this fourth installment, Chih has finally returned home to …
The Blighted Stars by Megan O’Keefe is a mix of the horror of human expansion, the fear of limited resources, and humanity’s resolve. Her characters are engaging with conflicting motivations in a situation where they must work together. The first book in The Devoured Worlds series is full of action and small character moments that …
It’s the kind of book I’ll recommend to everyone to read simply so there are more people to talk to about it.
It’s no secret that I love Sailor Moon; it’s pretty much become my personal brand around here. So when I see a book pitched as Sailor Moon meets Cinder(ella) you KNOW I’m going to be onboard. I was incredibly delighted to find that while S. Jae-Jones’ Guardians of Dawn: Zhara is a little bit of …
City of Bones is a slowly accelerating adventure story with a hefty chunk of archaeological puzzle, a big dash of political intrigue, a few bits of theft and murder, and some complicated personal feelings to taste. Khat, a second (or maybe third) class member of Charisat society, is an expert in identifying and acquiring relics …
Do you like violence? Alexander Darwin’s The Combat Codes is about a world where society has traded war for hand-to-hand combat bouts. Where the Grievar are trained, given performance-enhancing stimulants, and all sorts of experiments by the Daimyo in order to win their newfound way of waging war. Murray, who used to be a knight …
The Traitor, the last installment of Anthony Ryan’s The Covenant of Steel, staked me through the heart. The ending of the previous book, The Martyr, left little doubt that the events of Alwyn Scribe’s life would be entering the heartbreak section of the trilogy when it ended with not only Alwyn sleeping with Evadine covered …
Based purely on growing up in the Disney era of fairy tales, at one point I would have said that Sleeping Beauty is the lamest of heroines. Problematic, of course, but also just boring. Clearly just a tale invented by a parent who really, really wanted to go to bed! But I’m so glad that …
Can the deliberate, repeated, and visceral slaughter of intimate partners be charming? I don’t think I’m allowed to say that, but after reading Walking Practice, I can’t help it. Perhaps better to say I’m charmed, safely in the past tense, by the wacky, brutal, and ultimately highly relatable tale of an alien trying to survive …