LGBTQIA+ – Made of Stardust and Stubbornness

“This World Is Not Yours” Review

Posted on October 31, 2024October 31, 2024 by Jen

“This World Is Not Yours” by Kemi Ashing-Giwa

After fleeing her controlling and murderous family with her fiancée Vinh, Amara embarks on a colonization project, New Belaforme, along with her childhood friend, Jesse.

The planet, beautiful and lethal, produces the Gray, a “self-cleaning” mechanism that New Belaforme’s scientists are certain only attacks invasive organisms, consuming them. Humans have been careful to do nothing to call attention to themselves until a rival colony wakes the Gray.

As Amara, Vinh, and Jesse work to carve out a new life together, each is haunted by past betrayals that surface, expounded by the need to survive the rival colony and the planet itself.

There’s more than one way to be eaten alive.

Review

This was an interesting story. There wasn’t a lot of in-depth world building in this one but it mostly made sense since the colonists didn’t really understand the world they were on either and that was mostly the point. The writing style was interesting in that each chapter was a short scene in the character’s lives with time jumps of various lengths in between. Some of the chapters were no more than a page long and only contained the internal monologue of the characters. The characters themselves were not all that likable but I felt like it was the point given how toxic their relationships with each other were. The ending was a bit disturbing but I liked it.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “This World Is Not Yours”

Book Details

The cover of This World Is Not Yours depicts a person inside a spacesuit whose face is partially obscured in shadow and appears to be grinning manically. The rest of the cover is very dark with a lot of grays and green colors. The title is across the chest of the spacesuite with the author's name at the top.

Author’s Website: Kemi Ashing-Giwa
Publisher / Date: Tor Nightfire, September 2024
Genre: Science Fiction, Horror
Page Count: 166
Completion Date: October 29, 2024

“A Pale Light in the Black” Review

Posted on October 23, 2024October 25, 2024 by Jen

“A Pale Light in the Black” (NeoG Series No. 1) by K. B. Wagers

For the past year, their close loss in the annual Boarding Games has haunted Interceptor Team: Zuma’s Ghost. With this year’s competition looming, they’re looking forward to some payback—until an unexpected personnel change leaves them reeling. Their best swordsman has been transferred, and a new lieutenant has been assigned in his place.

Maxine Carmichael is trying to carve a place in the world on her own—away from the pressure and influence of her powerful family. The last thing she wants is to cause trouble at her command on Jupiter Station. With her new team in turmoil, Max must overcome her self-doubt and win their trust if she’s going to succeed. Failing is not an option—and would only prove her parents right.

But Max and the team must learn to work together quickly. A routine mission to retrieve a missing ship has suddenly turned dangerous, and now their lives are on the line. Someone is targeting members of Zuma’s Ghost, a mysterious opponent willing to kill to safeguard a secret that could shake society to its core . . . a secret that could lead to their deaths and kill thousands more unless Max and her new team stop them.

Review

I enjoyed this for the most part. I really liked the characters and how they ended up interacting, but it never really felt like there was that much conflict. Many of the events that happened didn’t feel as serious as they should have been. I did enjoy the dual plots of the games while also solving a mystery. I also felt like the family drama with Maxine and her family got a little annoying especially with the various “secrets” going on. There was also more romance/relationship stuff than I was expecting which isn’t a problem exactly. It didn’t do anything to distract from the dual plots for the most part it was just there more than I like. In any case the dual plots were good and I thought it worked well to have both of them in the same story as they were going about their work lives while preparing for and participating in the Games. I will be reading the next book in the series at some point.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “A Pale Light in the Black”

Book Details

A Pale Light in the Black book cover. The background is black with streaks of blue and red and in the center is a large image of Jupiter. In front of the planet are several ships flying away from it above and to the sides. Near the bottom of the cover is a station where the ships are leaving from. The title of the book is across the center of the cover and the authors name at the top.

Author’s Website: K. B. Wagers
Publisher / Date: Harper Voyager, March 2020
Genre: Science Fiction
Page Count: 432
Completion Date: October 21, 2024

“Someone You Can Build a Nest In” Review

Posted on October 10, 2024October 13, 2024 by Jen

“Someone You Can Build a Nest In” by John Wiswell

Shesheshen has made a mistake fatal to all monsters: she’s fallen in love.

Shesheshen is a shapeshifter, who happily resides as an amorphous lump at the bottom of a ruined manor. When her rest is interrupted by hunters intent on murdering her, she constructs a body from the remains of past meals: a metal chain for a backbone, borrowed bones for limbs, and a bear trap as an extra mouth.

However, the hunters chase Shesheshen out of her home and off a cliff. Badly hurt, she’s found and nursed back to health by Homily, a warm-hearted human, who has mistaken Shesheshen as a fellow human. Homily is kind and nurturing and would make an excellent co-parent: an ideal place to lay Shesheshen’s eggs so their young could devour Homily from the inside out. But as they grow close, she realizes humans don’t think about love that way.

Shesheshen hates keeping her identity secret from Homily, but just as she’s about to confess, Homily reveals why she’s in the area: she’s hunting a shapeshifting monster that supposedly cursed her family. Has Shesheshen seen it anywhere?

Eating her girlfriend isn’t an option. Shesheshen didn’t curse anyone, but to give herself and Homily a chance at happiness, she has to figure out why Homily’s twisted family thinks she did. As the hunt for the monster becomes increasingly deadly, Shesheshen must unearth the truth quickly, or soon both of their lives will be at risk.

And the bigger challenge remains: surviving her toxic in-laws long enough to learn to build a life with, rather than in, the love of her life.

Review

I read this one for one of my book clubs. It’s described as a queer romance but the “romance” aspect isn’t what many would usually call romance given that Shesheshen is technically a monster and wants to find someone to lay their eggs in… In any case I ended up enjoying it more than I was expecting too. Shesheshen and Homily are great characters. Homily’s family is a lot but it all works out well in the end for everyone. Part of what helps is that Shesheshen isn’t fully knowledgeable about what it means to be what she is. She had no one around to teach her anything so was essentially making it up as she went along. Shesheshen also has a lot of opinions about humans from having observed them for so long and actually seems to understand them better than she understands herself. Homily desperately needs to escape her terrible family but needs to work through a lot stuff first as well.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “Someone You Can Build a Nest In”.

Book Details

Book cover is almost entirely red and black with a person standing near the bottom center holing a lantern. They are surrounded by red tentacles directly behind them and then above them stands a black grinning figure with more tentacles and a long black wig and witch's hat There are multiple other shapes around the cover books and hearts and spices and skulls.

Author’s Website: John Wiswell
Publisher / Date: DAW, April 2024
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Page Count: 304
Completion Date: October 10, 2024

“Asunder” Review

Posted on October 3, 2024October 8, 2024 by Jen

“Asunder” by Kerstin Hall

Karys Eska is a Deathspeaker, locked into an irrevocable compact with an eldritch being—three-faced, hundred-winged, unforgiving—who has granted her the ability to communicate with the newly departed. She pays the rent by using her abilities to investigate suspicious deaths. When a new case goes sideways and connects her to a dying stranger with some very dangerous secrets, her entire world is upended.

Ferain is willing to pay a ludicrous sum of money for her help. To save him, Karys inadvertently binds him to her very shadow, an act that may doom them both. Together, they must journey to the heart of a faded empire, haunted by arcane horrors, and the unquiet ghosts of their pasts.

And all too soon, Karys knows her debts will come due.

Review

I really enjoyed reading this book and getting to know the characters. The characters are great and I liked the way the various friendships developed. The story is the type where the reader dumped right into the plot without a lot of information about the world so they have to figure it out as they go along. I think this worked out well most of the time, even though there were a few areas I would have liked some more explanation of what was going on and why it was important. I’m not entirely on board with the romance subplot that starts to develop but that’s mostly because romance is not something I enjoy reading unless it’s a very minor subplot.

I did like the idea that on-binary individuals in this world without it ever really being stated. They just appear one the page when talked about or described by other characters with they/them pronouns as a matter of course. There is also at least one trans character in the story. With both of these situations I liked what it meant for the world of “Asunder”. LGBTQIA2S+ People just exist as they are without question.

While the ending is rather abrupt I do believe it works for the story as it plays out. There are several things going on at once and not all of it can be solved easily. I’ve seen that the author is working on the sequel and depending on how it’s marketed I’ll probably read it. If it leans more into the romance plot I might skip it. I could also handle the book ending as a standalone because like I said it made sense with how the plot was going and the overall tone of the book.

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

Book Details

The book cover for Asunder depicts a woman with chin length brown hair, standing facing towards the right and is visible from the chest up. She is wearing a tunic that appears to have the outlines of hands grasping her shoulders in outlines. The background is white at the bottom with flames at the top corner. The title and author's name are at the bottom of the cover.

Author’s Website: Kerstin Hall
Publisher / Date: Thor.com, August 2024
Genre: Fantasy
Page Count: 352
Completion Date: September 30, 2024

“We Came to Welcome You” Review

Posted on September 16, 2024October 8, 2024 by Jen

“We Came to Welcome You” by Vincent Tirado

Sol Reyes has had a rough year. After a series of workplace incidents at her university lab culminates in a plagiarism accusation, Sol is put on probation. Dutiful visits to her homophobic father aren’t helping her mental health, and she finds her nightly glass of wine becoming more of an all-day—and all-bottle—event. Her wife, Alice Song, is far more optimistic. After all, the two finally managed to buy a house in the beautiful, gated community of Maneless Grove.

However, the neighbors are a little too friendly in Sol’s opinion. She has no interest in the pushy Homeowners Association, their bizarrely detailed contract, or their never-ending microaggressions. But Alice simply attributes their pursuit to the community motto: “Invest in a neighborly spirit” …which only serves to irritate Sol more.

Suddenly, a number of strange occurrences—doors and stairs disappearing, roots growing inside the house—cause Sol to wonder if her social paranoia isn’t built on something more sinister. Yet Sol’s fears are dismissed as Alice embraces their new home and becomes increasingly worried instead about Sol’s drinking and manic behavior. When Sol finds a journal in the property from a resident that went missing a few years ago, she realizes why they were able to buy the house so easily…

Review

I enjoyed this for the most part – though I think I do prefer the author’s first two books. It’s a complicated read because on the one hand something sinister is in fact going on but on the other hand Sol is dealing with depression and other mental health issues that are exaggerating some of her responses to the various situations she’s dealing with. There is a very slow buildup of everything as things begin to develop in the community. Sometimes it’s a little tedious but never enough that I wanted to stop reading.

I ended up spending a lot of time wondering how Sol and Alice ended up married – they don’t seem like a good couple who actually understand each other. Beyond the fact that Alice was there for Sol when Sol’s family kicked her out. Though I suspect it’s a similar issue to Sol still visiting her father – she doesn’t know how to do anything else and feels like she has no choices. Some other reviewers are very harsh about Sol but honestly I had more problems with Alice and how she talked to Sol or handled Sol’s issues. That said we are really only getting Sol’s perspective on everything.

While we do find out what is going on with the community the ending is actually rather abrupt. It’s never really made clear how much of it was resolved. I’m also not certain of Sol’s actions near the end and what exactly she ended up doing about the community. Though ultimately it feels like she did what she felt like she had to do to survive with Alice.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “We Came to Welcome You”.

Book Details

Author’s Website: Vincent Tirado
Publisher / Date: William Morrow, September 2024
Genre: Thriller
Page Count: 347
Completion Date: September 16, 2024

“Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse And Other Possible Situations” Review

Posted on September 1, 2024October 8, 2024 by Jen

“Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse And Other Possible Situations” by S.B. Divya

A sickly biologist shuts herself off from the world and its deadly pollutants to research her beloved microbiota in peace – until a chance encounter drives her to venture out into an unlivable Bangalore. In a dystopian Arizona, a couple performs forbidden life-saving abortions amid the threat of tanks and drones, the strict report of automatic weapons and the spying eyes of neighbors. A young woman competes in a grueling challenge, determined to win a place in a world where body modifications equal class and grant people the privilege of transcending gender.

In this collection of 14 layered stories featuring dying cities, undying humans, amorphous bodies, cyborg racers and magic beetles, internationally acclaimed writer and data scientist S.B. Divya treads the line between the present and the future, while exploring the eternal conundrums of identity and love in speculative worlds.

Review

I’ve read (and reviewed) S.B. Diva’s two Alloy Era Novels “Meru” and “Loka” so I knew what to expect from her writing and the short stories were no surprise. I really enjoyed them all and how the author handles everything from disability to gender to various technologies and how it can be used for good or bad. I really enjoyed all of these stories though with any short story there are a couple I wish had been longer.

LOSS OF SIGNAL – This is an interesting story about a dying teenager whose consciousness was uploaded into a spaceship – the first test flight of such ships as an alternate way to explore space. It’s a lot of internal thoughts as the teen is flying the ship towards the moon and thinking about his previous years and the choices he’s making.

CONTINGENCY PLANS FOR THE APOCALYPSE – A dark story about surviving after being attacked for performing lifesaving abortions in Arizona. The surviving spouse (who always expected to be the one killed) has to get their children out of the state. One might wonder if the cost of staying was too great but the help they gave was also vital.

MICROBIOTA AND THE MASSES: A LOVE STORY – This one would not be my usual cup of tea since it’s a love story but it’s got an interesting premise. The main character, who is also a biologist, has been isolated in their home because of the pollution making them sick. So their house is completely contained with clean air and water. The way they end up making various choices was interesting and I liked the way they end up helping everyone while falling in love with a repair man who came to their home.

AN UNEXPECTED BOON – This was an interesting story of a young girl who has ODC or Autistic traits (though it’s never named as such) and her older brother. The brother is a bit of a jerk but it’s actually an understandable issue because he’s been left to take care of her temporarily by his parents and he insisted he could do it without considering what it would mean. I like the way it plays out though with the girl being stronger than he thinks despite everything that happens.

NAVA – I’m pretty sure this is a story set in the author’s Alloy Era series (probably an early version since this book was published before both “Meru” and “Loka”). Or it’s different take on that universe. It has an interesting concept with a living ship having been created and needing to learn how to function as its maker intended.

BINARIES – Interesting glimpses in time of a person’s long life. The method for which they live their long life isn’t explained but it seems like it has to do with being converted to digital signals. But in the end though it has to do with family and finding someone who was lost.

THE EGG – This one is really short on details and the ending is a little vague but it’s a look at choices people make and consequences. The vague unknown ending is actually the point given what happens. The looming unknown after a death changes everything.

DUSTY OLD THINGS – Cool story about someone talking to an alternate version of themselves through a light board. It’s not clear exactly how the technology worked as the version that discovered the technology is the one in the alternate universe. I liked the way it played out and that the differences in their lives was an important part of the story.

THE BOY WHO MADE FLOWERS – In a world where superpowers are real a boy develops the power to make flower. He of course hates it at first but soon learns what his power can mean for others. I really enjoyed how this one ended up.

SHIPS IN THE NIGHT – A very brief look at the life of someone who can see the future and what happens when they meet an immortal. Interesting story and I liked the way it plays out. Probably not what you’d expect but it makes sense when you think about it.

GAPS OF JOY, AND A KNOT FOR LOVE – This one is a little weird as I’m not sure what the ending is saying about the persons powers vs reality. He has the power to collect and share happiness but it’s not all that his family needs.

STRANGE ATTRACTORS – this one is an interesting look at a couple who marries and divorces and then meets again centuries later (no explanation other than technology being available). I actually liked the ending of this one because it felt very realistic for people who keep meeting up again despite everything.

SOFT WE WAKE – A person tries to adjust after waking up in the far future without the person who was supposed to be there with him. Everything is so different and he’s not comfortable with all the changes. I liked the way it played out and the friendship he ends up developing with another person who was revived at the same time. Her situation is different but with similar ideas of not being sure how to live again in such a changed world.

RUNTIME – I believe this one is the longest of the short stories in the book but it has a lot to say. I’m not entirely sure how the postnatal licensing works but naturally it’s yet another way to keep poor people poor since they can never afford to pay the fees and without it they can’t get jobs or better educations. Anyway the main character attempts a race to earn more money to get out of their situation. The way things go down was exciting and naturally it doesn’t go as planed. I did like how it worked out though.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “Contingency Plans for the Apocalypse And Other Possible Situations”.

Book Details

Two people are standing on the surface of a planet holding hands while looking upward at a sky filled with greens and blues and purples of a nebula and another planet at the top right of the cover. The title of the book is in the center of the cover with the authors name below that.

Author’s Website: S.B. Divya
Publisher / Date: Hachette India January 1, 2019
Genre: Science Fiction, Short Stories
Page Count: 264
Completion Date: August 31, 2024