The Werewolf Principle by Clifford D. Simak
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been a long-time fan of Simak, and while he really never wrote a problematic book, (by today's standards,) they're usually high on dialogue and situation rather that plot. This one is no different.

Indeed, the titular Werewolf Principle is a SF twist on multiple-mind sharing bodies, but in this case, it's human, alien, and machine -- all leading up to a big of adventure and chase and eventually a pretty high-level philosophical debate featuring the core meaning of humanity. Classic SF style, of course.

Interestingly, though, for a '67 novel, it's ideas of uploaded consciousness and AI and the Theseus Ship Paradox is still as interesting today as it would have been way back then. :)

While I enjoy this novel for its history, I have to admit I've seen this question done better since this time.

View all my reviews

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Surprisingly, the sequel might be better than the original. It's as wholesome as ever, like Umbrella Academy but with well-adjusted children, and satisfying in that "stabbing with kindness" is, actually, quite effective.

I will hereby say that I was wrong to just call it a "YA Queer Romance". I will modify that to say, "A GOOD YA Queer Romance."

Truly, ya'll don't sleep on this particular series. The kids are just too precious.

View all my reviews

Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've read a good number of M. R. Carey's books, but this one has quite a different feel from all the rest. This is a surprisingly great thing, believe it or not.

We follow three interesting characters across a universe-hopping worldbuilding extravaganza, caught in the cogs between the Pandominion, a multi-species biological multi-universe enclave, and a machine empire. This is just a broad description, however.

Strangely enough, at least to me, it has all the earmarks of afrofuturism. Nigeria, especially Lagos, takes a front seat in many of these alternate universes. It's fascinating and leans into the subgenre nicely, but we never stay anywhere too long. There's many universes to see, and three cool characters exploring, running, fighting for their lives, or trying to come to some kind of balance.

This is a rather rich SF that's being set up for much, much more. I'm rather impressed at the scope and the care that Carey has put into this. The horizon's the limit. It's going to be a long-haul read, and I'm all for it.

View all my reviews

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 216, September 2024 by Neil Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fiction:

The Music Must Always Play -- (3.75 stars) A short, interesting, first contact story that just managed to stick to the wistful. I kinda wish I knew what the groove sounded like.

Fish Fear Me, You Need ME -- (3.5 stars) Also short, this one barely has a tie to SF, just a hint of flooding. Otherwise, it's a fish story, a longing story, a willpower story, and eventually, just a story of acceptance. I guess I used to read a lot of these a while ago, so it's somewhat interesting to see it again.

Broken -- (4 stars) I tend to like these little claustrophobic, small scale perception SFs. A pilot and her obsession with her helmet. It feels very much like anything we are, staring at our phones. Oh, the helplessness if it gets broken!

How to Remember Perfectly -- (5 stars) This is the first in this month's stories that I think is beyond excellent. Gamifying memories in old people--it's beautiful, eerie, and more than subtly disturbing. The implications beyond this one good use is frankly terrifying. I totally recommend it.

The Children I gave you, Oxalaia -- (5 stars) Beautiful and ugly at the same time, this story of the home life of Venusians, or geckos, living in a slum-shelter after losing a battle with humans, is rather haunting. Yes, it's absolutely about poverty, racism, and colonialism, and it's gloriously alien, too.

Those Who Remember the World -- (5 stars) Woooo... I love me the weird of the New Weird. Or rather, is all fiction that has mycelium automatically weird? Or must it also have tentacles? Anyway, this was a great, strange mystery with a satisfying ending.

A Theory of Missing Affections -- (4 stars) This turned out to be a pretty cozy, even-headed SF archeology tale. Sometimes these really hit the spot. I really think we ought to have a lot more of these in general.

A world of Milk and Promises -- (4 stars) A short, strange little story about family. Really, really close family. :)


Non-Fiction:

A Genetic Recipe for Future Baby-Making -- A decent super-quick primer for genetics leading to -- you guessed it -- babies. With good SF biblios.

Disaster Queers and Romance: A Conversation with Aliette de Bodard -- A quick interview with the author.

Mashing Tropes: A Conversation with A.C. Wise -- Interesting short interview for a short fiction artist. :)

Editor's Desk: On Being Weightless -- A big Yay! for Neal. :)

View all my reviews

To Reign in Hell by Steven Brust
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm a big fan of Steven Brust's Vlad novels, so I was surprised when I came across this book, having missed it. But to be sure, it's not a Vlad novel.

It's a retelling of the fall from heaven. That might be rather obvious from the title, or maybe not, but this is exactly what it is. The war in heaven.

Honestly, I'll always like Milton's more. This was still a good prose rendition, decent writing, with a fairly interesting take on scheming angels and the gradual duping of Satan, rather than Lucifer being the prime instigator.

I'll say this: for any fans of this particular genre, Brust is a must-read, if only to grab one of the better renditions.

View all my reviews

Defiance of the Fall 13 by TheFirstDefier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Consistency is a great thing. Where this book is great--progression lit, action, and very interesting Tao's, skills, soul-crafting, and massive Truth skills--it's great. Where it's merely okay, in the characters besides Zack, it's just meh.

Fortunately, I enjoy all the skills, power-ups, OP vistas and battles, and the fact that we've got so much more adventure ahead of us.

Yes, thirteen long books, and I've got the impression we're only half done. :)

It's a pretty awesome thing when you're still having fun, no?

View all my reviews

Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Well now, I think I might be reaching the end of my patience (or rather, current patience,) with "novels filled to the brim with unlikable people whom I want to see die horribly".


Before starting this novel, and admittedly not reading any blurb or review, I kinda hoped I'd see something like: "Oh! Let's PoV this from local tourist trade workers encountering and subsequently killing them!"

As I read the novel, I wanted to see this get the full Stephen King treatment, where we read from the PoV OF the bad summer people and watch them all pop off later in glorious ways.

As I finished the novel, I just wished anything glorious had happened. Unfortunately, at the end, it's a pretty average setup. Rich assholes in their summer homes behaving badly. Most of it was just banal. Later on, when chaos reigns, the chaos is still rather mild.

Spicy-level 1.5 out of 10. Too mild for my palate. Alas.

View all my reviews

Defiance of the Fall 12 by TheFirstDefier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have to say I'm long-past hooked on this series. Each one is huge, progressive from the last, and addictive as all hell. But then, that's true of most LitRPGs. Some, more than others. And some have great strengths, like this one: it's endlessly evolving Tao cores, skill upgrades, bloodlines, inheritances, and all the different combos of each that can evolve into entirely new OP classes.

Do I love this kind of thing? Absolutely. Just shake in some character development, new, interesting realms, alternate universes, heavenly or hellish cores, and godlike spaces, and we've got an endlessly creative environment to build upon.

See? This stuff is pretty fantastic.

View all my reviews

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Throughout my read, I was simultaneously on the cusp of thinking this was brilliant and too annoying to continue. That's just me, however.

Let me explain: While I DID like the whole color thing as a mirror to our horrid society, it was also laborious. The core story with its characters was fine--school stuff with a good comedy of manners thing going on--and while I've read much better, this was solid.

The whole idea of a future society that runs a gene-like thing based on all different colors, was a bit hard for me to follow. I mean, sure, we have doctors that use extremely specific palates to heal others, and mold is an issue, and we get that whole feel that their world-s are paintings, or something like. But that part of the worldbuilding was just too thin for me. I kept butting my head up against it to flesh it out and couldn't.

So. While I LIKE the idea of it and the core story was just okay, it just never quite got under my skin. At all. Sorry, Jasper. I just couldn't do more.

View all my reviews

Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World by Rutger Bregman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm pretty sure anyone reading the title for this book will either fall into one of two camps: "Oh, of course, we have to hope and plan!" or "Oh, god, this is real claptrap."

Well, let me point out one little thing for those in the first: Hope is useless. Planning based on real data and the real efforts of those who know what is going on is the only real way.

For the second camp:

Ignore the damn stupid title. This is really good stuff, backed up by thoroughly researched studies, carefully analyzed and stupidly shelved past research, and amazingly simple common sense. Do yourself a favor and pick up the book despite your preconceptions and read it.

It addresses the real stakes of the barrel we're staring down. Worse than when this was written, we're facing screws that are tightening on our thumbs more than ever before. Be it the widening poverty, the automation-to-extinction of the workforce, or the simple fact that poverty can only be solved by GIVING PEOPLE MONEY and no thoughts and prayers or efficiency experts, the real solution is pretty simple.

House the unhoused. Feed the unfed. Clothe the unclothed. I mean, seriously. It all boils down to a basic, surprisingly unsurprising tenet: When everyone is lifted from poverty, EVERYONE benefits. That big gap we're seeing? It will only create disaster. The big banking industry and all the parasites that provide nothing to the world other than obfuscation, theft, and then bail on all their victims are one of the biggest issues. A fraction of a fraction of the huge bonuses some of these assholes make could afford to house everyone -- but that hurts their bottom-leeching-line. The solution? Break through the propaganda, organize however we can, and bring honesty and fairness back to our lives. I honestly believe there are a lot more good people out here than bad. We just happen to have these stupid societal structures that absurdly reward the very worst of us, and that needs to be stopped. Most of us do not get a single damn thing out of it except exhaustion, existential woes, our own increasing poverty, and rage.


So, yeah, let's read a book that gives a clear eye to this issue, shall we? Not everything is doom and gloom. We DO have good ideas going forward. We just need to start telling those who say we've exhausted every option to shut the fuck up.

People who suddenly wake up without a boot on their neck won't start causing havoc. They start doing the things they've always wanted to do. How many artists out there are dying inside? How about would-be teachers who are disgusted with the way things are? How about ANYONE in a bullshit job stuck there just for the paycheck even as their minds rot?

THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER WAY. And, indeed, there is.

View all my reviews

Logan's Run by William F. Nolan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Here's a little kick in the pants for ya.

This is the book that the classic SF film was based on, written way back in '67, the counterculture just revving up.

Here's the skinny: It holds up fantastically well to today's SF. Fast-paced and sharp. And even if the characterizations are a bit obviously '60s, the tale is so short that I'm surprised we got any depth at all. It's just that fast and furious.

As a side note, it lets me settle in to the idea that no matter how old you are or what your setting, people are stupid. The new norm of killing anyone off the moment they turn 30 seems pretty on-target for the same kinds of social norms we have now. It's modular stupidity. Pop out one, add another, it's all stupid.

Even if we've got a little commentary here, it's still a great action film.

View all my reviews

Slay by Laurell K. Hamilton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Once bitten, twice shy, third needs a safe word.

Damn it. So. I went into THIS one expecting a big blow-out scene against a vampire dragon, and did get one, but it was far too short. And even then, I was annoyed by the whole end of book 29's setup being utterly squashed like a baby were-kitten beneath the dragon's claw.

Where's my setup-payoff, damn it! Hints, teases only. In the meantime, I actually enjoyed all the action and suspense and character-cameos that used to spend so much time on the pages, while complaining about how SHORT they all were.

UGGHH. Yes, I keep coming back to this because I'm simply having fun. That's IT. I guess I need a safe word, too.

View all my reviews

Smolder by Laurell K. Hamilton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Muahahahahahaha

Ok. So. The bad:

What plot is here is just spat out and glared at, while the marriage preparations, which have been going on for, what, 8 books, are still running at us readers like Lancelot running to the wedding ceremony in Monty Python's Holy Grail. We have had 29 books, minus, what, 4-5 books leading up to the FIRST almost-four-marks between Richard, Jean-Claude, and Anita, only to be sprung on us after SO MUCH FREAKING DRAMA and THIS late in the game, and we STILL don't get a resolution of any kind in THIS book.

I'll just gloss over Anita's 1000 other polyglutonous sexcapades for a moment because it didn't go overboard this time. There WAS some magical action and a big bad that reminds me of that one earthquake guy, only this one is a freaky undead dragon that spits greek fire, because, why not?


THE GOOD:

I'm laughing my ass off because I actually had a good time.

And it's NOT just because of the FINAL fourth mark on the original triumvirate, although I was actually pretty glued to my seat for that. I just see this book as the prologue to a big blow out and the character interactions are all pretty great. I may not like all the additions to the mystical pack, mainly because this reads like a GoT menagerie that has even MORE sex than GoT, but many of my all time favorites are here and we're actually getting somewhere with the OP buildup.

So here we are. I'm on board despite massive amounts of bitching, and I'm actually rearing to go.

WHAT A CRAZY ASS WORLD WE LIVE IN.

View all my reviews

Sleepwalk by Dan Chaon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This one is a weird, funny, wild ride. I didn't know what to expect, but I easily fell into this easy-going psychopathic murderer-mercenary ethos.

What really surprised me was the total surprise family reunion quirky SF dystopia played off as nothing-burger because he's JUST THAT LAID BACK. Very funny. Delicious.

It's what I'd expect if the Dude Abides had a spiritual baby with Tank Girl and was stuffed in an awkward, "Hi, dad, I'm your daughter" comedy.

And I loved ALL the characters. I totally recommend this weird road-trip SF.

View all my reviews

Murder on Lake Garda by Tom Hindle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I gave this a fair shot, but it just came across as thoroughly average cozy murder mystery. I suppose I could have gotten into rooting for the murderers of these unlikable people, but the actual murdering took a long time to get to and then we were given too many explanations why we should have liked the victims and I just wasn't feeling it.

It was OKAY. Unfortunately, I feel like I've read a million just like it. I'm a bit sad. But alas, at least it wasn't actually BAD.

Onto the next!

View all my reviews

Defiance of the Fall 11 by TheFirstDefier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Obviously, by book 11, I've found something good in this series. I am anxious to pick up the next.

Why? Because it gives me all the fan service I'd ever want with progression novels. Always working hard to that next level up. Sure, we're still on the high E-grade path, with D, C, B, and A still ahead of us, but damn. The promise is there and so is all the incremental additions to his power.

Addictive? Like a video game? Absolutely.

And that's why I'm still here.

View all my reviews

Defiance of the Fall 10 by TheFirstDefier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one had a pretty nice balance between cultivating and action, as most of them do. Story is sometimes interesting, however, or at least a good enough hook that I just don't care. I love the LitRPG elements more than just about anything else, so it just doesn't matter.

But I should say one thing: I love how he keeps the so much larger OP stakes interesting.

Basically god levels here, but it doesn't matter because there are so many gods. :)

View all my reviews