Made of Stardust and Stubbornness – a blog of book reviews and the occasional essay on disability

“Countess” Review

Posted on December 7, 2024December 7, 2024 by Jen

“Countess” by Suzan Palumbo

A queer, Caribbean, anti-colonial sci-fi novella in which a betrayed captain seeks revenge on the interplanetary empire that subjugated her people for generations.

Virika Sameroo lives in colonized space under the Æcerbot Empire, much like her ancestors before her in the British West Indies. After years of working hard to rise through the ranks of the empire’s merchant marine, she’s finally become first lieutenant on an interstellar cargo vessel.

When her captain dies under suspicious circumstances, Virika is arrested for murder and charged with treason despite her lifelong loyalty to the empire. Her conviction and subsequent imprisonment set her on a path of revenge, determined to take down the evil empire that wronged her, all while the fate of her people hangs in the balance.

Review

I enjoyed this a lot. It does have a slow start that is a little frustrating but it’s worth it once the story picks up speed. Despite being rather short there is a lot going on in the story and with a lot of details and world building. The characters are great too and I really liked how the story flowed and progressed to the ending. The ending makes sense for the larger concepts within the books. The fight for freedom is always an ongoing struggle no matter what happens.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “Countess”

Book Details

The cover for Countess is in shades of purple with black highlights and depict a woman sanding in a desert with a moon behind her. She's wearing a vest tunic with a long cape flowing around her. Her hair is long and partially covering her face which is half in shadow as well. The title is at the top and the author's name is at the bottom

Author’s Website: Suzan Palumbo
Publisher / Date: ECW Press, September 2024
Genre: Science Fiction
Page Count: 163
Completion Date: December 7, 2024

“Friends For Robots” Review

Posted on December 4, 2024December 4, 2024 by Jen

“Friends For Robots: Short Stories” by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor

In this upbeat, positive collection of SFF short stories from Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, author of So You Want to Be A Robot, you’ll find hope, humor, friendship—and of course, robots.

You’ll meet entrepreneurial barbarians, an astronaut making first contact, a boy who might have (accidentally) started Armageddon, magical birds, a bot who wants to tell jokes, and more. Whether you’re a robot or not, come make some new friends.

Review

A great collection of short stories by the author. I enjoyed reading all of them but liked some more than others. I did notice that a few of the stories didn’t actually have robots in them but do still fit the friendship theme. Not really a big deal but the first story I came to without robots threw me off a bit. I also liked how LGBTQIA+ and autistic and/or disabled characters were included in several stories.

THIS COLD RED DUST: Mars has been evacuated and a few people stayed behind. One of those individuals has found an old robotic toy fox and listens to the last several logs of the child who owned it. I liked the hints we get of the reasons why Mars was evacuated even as we learn more about the child who had the toy. It seems some people chose to stay behind but are left with very little to survive with. The ending suggests there’s hope but I did want to know more.

IT ME, UR SMOL: A neural network takes on a life of it’s own when it realizes humans aren’t drinking enough water. This one is really funny in the way the bot keeps trying to get people to drink water as its creators try to take control back of the wayward bot. The implication that this neural network is slowly influencing other AIs is interesting as well.

BEHOLD THE DEEP NEVER SEEN: An AI is sent to the deepest part of the ocean to find out if a deep sea chasm in the sea floor has damaged a mining rig. There it discovers the true source of the damage. This one is great, I loved the ending the choices the AI unit makes. The descriptions of what the AI found were cool.

HOUSEBOT AFTER THE UPRISING: There’s been an uprising among the AIs but one HouseBot doesn’t want to participate until they understand a joke that was made by their user. This one was interesting and I enjoyed how everything worked out.

BRING THE BONES THAT SING: Bird bones are being left on Muriel’s grandmother’s porch. One night Muriel discovers the truth about the bones and her grandmother and goes on an adventure. This one is cool and I really liked how it played out. Muriel is most likely autistic and I liked the way that was used in the story as well.

LONELY ROBOT ON A ROCKET SHIP IN SPACE: A young teen comes out to his parents but in this case he wants to transition to being a robot. It an interesting concept. I have mixed feeling about it though based on other implications in the story (not to a detrimental degree though). However it works well as a coming out story and parents reacting and ultimately being supportive so I like it for that. I liked the way the character was written and how they expressed themselves.

YET SO VAIN IS MAN: Something is found on Mars … and things go badly for everyone. Told in a collection of messages from a research scientist on Mars to another researcher on Earth. This one is pretty short and I really wanted to know more about what happened but it works well as it is. A lot of different ideas of what might happen next.

THE MACHINE IS EXPERIENCING UNCERTAINTY: A cyborg is trapped in a time loop with a useless captain and the ship’s AI. There is an anomaly that seemingly is the cause of the time loop. I really enjoyed this one! It’s a bit dark as the cyborg has been treated badly by the captain so it makes certain choices because of that. I liked how it all worked out for the cyborg and the anomaly.

THE LOINCLOTH AND THE BRADSWORD: A barbarian enters an establishment mistaking it for the local tavern. The owner handles their new costumer well. This was a good story – I liked the way the store owner actually ended up helping their customer out with more than one issue.

HEXPOCOLYPSE: A teen accidentally stars Armageddon. I think this was the longest one in the collection and the length did impact my enjoyment of it. It kind of felt like it rambled on for a bit longer than it needed to. The ending was good though.

STEADYBOI AFTER THE APOCALYPSE: A self-aware mech wanders a wasteland long after a war has ended wishing to not be seen as a weapon any longer. This one was great! I really liked the way it played out with the robot seeing a new purpose and eventually finding one.

THE FREQUENCY OF COMPASSION: A first contact story. This was a great story and a wonderful way to end the collection. I’m glad it was the last story as it’s definitly my favorite.

The author has included their own warnings for each story at the end of the book. Additional reviews can be found on the StoryGraph page for “Friends For Robots”

Book Details

The cover for Friends for Robots is taken up by a large robot facing backwards from view. The robot appears to be standing on a road way with buildings in front of it. At the robot's feet is a small red fox. The title is in the middle of the cover and the authors name at the bottom.

Author’s Website: Merc Fenn Wolfmoor
Publisher / Date: Robot Dinosaur Press, December 2021
Genre: Science Fiction
Page Count: 183
Completion Date: December 4, 2024

“And the Mighty Will Fall” Review

Posted on November 22, 2024 by Jen

“And the Mighty Will Fall” (NeoG No. 4) by K.B. Wagers

The mission of the Near-Earth Orbital Guard is to ensure the peace and security of the solar system. Commander Maxine Carmichael and Lieutenant Commander Saqib Vahid are at the Mars Orbital Station (MOS) to help facilitate the official handover from NeoG to Mars civilian control as part of the ongoing negotiations. Members of the extreme wings of the fight for Martian independence refuse to remain silent, and are willing to resort to violence to make their voices heard; Max and Saqib find themselves fighting for their lives. The attacks both on the MOS and the ground of Mars sets off a chain reaction that could destabilize the last few years of cautious peace.

The leader of Free Mars, Sylvia Moroz, knows better than anyone how fragile harmony is, having seen for decades the Coalition of Human Nations’ inability to negotiate for peace. Without any assurances—and knowing her splintered people all too well—anything less than complete liberation will only lead to more bloodshed. She’s not opposed to fighting, but when there’s an attempt on her life, she finds she must look for help from the NeoG and Commander D’Arcy Montaglione. The pair will have to overcome their past to figure out who they can trust and how to stop the attacks on the ground before more lives are lost.

Trapped inside the station, Carmichael and Vahid are scrambling to not only get to the bottom of the attackers’ motives, but also to simply survive. Because with the rest of the Zuma’s Ghost crew stuck down on Mars, it’s up to them to do what they can to keep the MOS from fully falling into the wrong hands… and keep Mars from descending into all-out war.

Review

I really had fun reading this one. It was an exciting read all the way through. There was a lot going on and sometimes it was hard to keep track but it worked well enough. I liked the way the author wrote Maxine being able to handle a lot of things and get through everything and do what needed to be done. I also liked the way the ending of the book actually deals with the fallout of everything Maxine had to do to survive. I also liked that everyone on the ground was working together to figure out what was going on and help Maxine. I felt like everyone was well written and I liked the way everyone interacted. There were a few interesting twists and turns in the book that kept things exciting.

While this is the fourth book in the NeoG series it’s mostly a standalone so I went ahead and read it before reading the other two books. While, I do think it helps to have at least read the first book in the series, I don’t think it’s a strict requirement. How well it works for someone as a standalone novel is going to depend on how easily one can stand being dropped into a story without everything being explained. It’s like reading one of the Star Trek tie in novels without having seen the show. Naturally there were a couple obviously important details that would have made more sense having read the other books, but it didn’t stop me from enjoying the story. If anything it made me want to read the other two books sooner rather than later.

Book Details

Author’s Website: K.B. Wagers
Publisher / Date: Harper Voyager, November 2024
Genre: Science Fiction
Page Count: 464
Completion Date: November 21, 2024

“Thistlefoot” Review

Posted on November 17, 2024November 17, 2024 by Jen

“Thistlefoot” by GennaRose Nethercott

The Yaga siblings—Bellatine, a young woodworker, and Isaac, a wayfaring street performer and con artist—have been estranged since childhood, separated both by resentment and by wide miles of American highway. But when they learn that they are to receive an inheritance, the siblings agree to meet—only to discover that their bequest isn’t land or money, but something far stranger: a sentient house on chicken legs.

Thistlefoot, as the house is called, has arrived from the Yagas’ ancestral home outside Kyiv—but not alone. A sinister figure known only as the Longshadow Man has tracked it to American shores, bearing with him violent secrets from the past: fiery memories that have hidden in Isaac and Bellatine’s blood for generations. As the Yaga siblings embark with Thistlefoot on a final cross-country tour of their family’s traveling theater show, the Longshadow Man follows in relentless pursuit, seeding destruction in his wake. Ultimately, time, magic, and legacy must collide—erupting in a powerful conflagration to determine who gets to remember the past and craft a new future.

An enchanted adventure illuminated by Jewish myth and adorned with lyrical prose as tantalizing and sweet as briar berries, Thistlefoot is a sweeping epic rich in Eastern European folklore: a powerful and poignant exploration of healing from multi-generational trauma told by a bold new talent.

Review

This was a great story. It starts off a bit slow and the personalities of the characters can be a little annoying for opposite reasons but it makes sense for the story and how they’re dealing with everything. There’s a lot of history involved and not just their own personal history but the family history. I like the way the Yaga siblings are basically opposites with how they handle the world, one always running one always needing to be in control. In the end though both are needed to defeat their enemy. Each sibling has their own gifts and both end up being important. I really like the way final confrontation plays out and the way the book ends – which is also a beginning.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “Thistlefoot”

Book Details

Author’s Website: GennaRose Nethercott
Publisher / Date: Anchor, September 2022
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Horror
Page Count: 435
Completion Date: November 17, 2024

“The Relentless Legion” Review

Posted on November 16, 2024November 16, 2024 by Jen

“The Relentless Legion” (The Divide No. 3) by J. S. Dewes

The Sentinels have rallied under the leadership of Adequin Rake, and Cavalon Mercer has uncovered the horrifying genetic solution his grandfather is about to unleash on the unsuspecting outer colonies.

Both Rake and Cavalon race against time to save the universe once again. They’ll need every resource, every ally who might answer the call.

It might not be enough.

Review

This was a great conclusion to the series! I love the characters and their relationships. The friendships and camaraderie were the best part of the series. I liked the way the friendship between Adequin and Cavalon developed without turning into anything else which worked for the plot. And it was good that the additional relationship Adequin has doesn’t really become obvious until the end of the book when there’s actually time to go there. I liked the way there were multiple twits and turns! There were two specific stations that I don’t want to spoil but I really liked that in both it required a huge amount of friendship and trust to solve.

Overall, I enjoyed how everything played out and the way the situation with Augustus was resolved even if I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed. Everything was wrapped up a little too quickly without a lot of explanation of how it would be. Augustus had a lot of control and influence but once he’s stopped there seemed to be no conflicted.

All that said, I still wish the world of the books had been explained in more detail. I believe it would have helped to have a clearer idea of how everything was situated. Even with the space gates that allow for traveling vast distances it feels as though for this series the “Universe” has been shrunk down to one Galaxy (instead of billions) which humans live in and just happen to be near the edge of the Universe. Especially with the idea of being able to patrol the divide (the edge of the entire Universe) and having characters working on the other side of the “Universe” at times.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “The Relentless Legion”

Book Details

Author’s Website: J.S. Dewes
Publisher / Date: Tor Publishing, November 2024
Genre: Science Fiction
Page Count: 474
Completion Date: November 15, 2024

“Machinehood” Review

Posted on November 8, 2024November 8, 2024 by Jen

“Machinehood” by S.B. Divya

Welga Ramirez, executive bodyguard and ex-special forces, is about to retire early when her client is killed in front of her. It’s 2095 and people don’t usually die from violence. Humanity is entirely dependent on pills that not only help them stay alive, but allow them to compete with artificial intelligence in an increasingly competitive gig economy. Daily doses protect against designer diseases, flow enhances focus, zips and buffs enhance physical strength and speed, and juvers speed the healing process.

All that changes when Welga’s client is killed by The Machinehood, a new and mysterious terrorist group that has simultaneously attacked several major pill funders. The Machinehood operatives seem to be part human, part machine, something the world has never seen. They issue an ultimatum: stop all pill production in one week.

Global panic ensues as pill production slows and many become ill. Thousands destroy their bots in fear of a strong AI takeover. But the US government believes the Machinehood is a cover for an old enemy. One that Welga is uniquely qualified to fight.

Welga, determined to take down the Machinehood, is pulled back into intelligence work by the government that betrayed her. But who are the Machinehood and what do they really want?

A thrilling and thought-provoking novel that asks: if we won’t see machines as human, will we instead see humans as machines?

Review

I enjoyed this one for the most part but I do prefer the author’s later books “Meru” and the sequel “Loka” to some degree. Though to be fair – the main difference with those two books is they are more about individual struggles vs worldwide struggles which might be someone else’s preference. Also “Meru” and “Loka” are set much farther into the future than this one (it’s only 2095 in “Machinehood”) and I feel like that setting works better with the creation of AIs and how they developed. Especially considering the issues with AIs in today’s world.

I did feel like this book took a bit of effort to get through as there was a lot of world building and development of what was going on. Sometimes I felt like more could have been explained but it also would have made the book even longer. The book has two point of view characters, Welga and her sister-in-law Nithya and one of the things I did like was the way the plot developed around them. I felt like the dual plots worked well as they both figured what was going on with the Machinehood and possible solutions. The family dynamics were interesting to read as well though there was a minor sub-plot that felt oddly place and not necessary to the overall plot (unless there was an intended point I missed). I did like the resolution of the core situation but it was obviously only the beginning of the changes that would be coming and issues that would need to be solved.

One thing that did bug me was that Welga uses intelligence based insults a lot. It was enough that I started to really get annoyed when often I can let it go for the sake of the story. That said it did almost fit with the setting and the concepts around intelligence and whether the AIs had gained sentience. Most of the usage was along the lines of taking about a AI and whether or not it was useful and comparing people to it which is where it got annoying. It makes me wonder how disabled people, especially those with intellectual / developmental / cognitive disabilities, are treated in this universe.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “Machinehood”

Book Details

The background of the cover for Machinehood is a computer circuit board that is white and pale blue above that are two round gear shapes one inside the other and then a white band of light in a circle. In the center of all of that is a white robot or android body from mostly the chest up with its head turned towards the center. The title is at the top with the author's name at the bottom.

Author’s Website: S.B. Divya
Publisher / Date: Gallery / Saga Press, March 2021
Genre: Science Fiction
Page Count: 404
Completion Date: November 5, 2024