Here begins my thread of books I've read in 2024!
System Collapse by Martha Wells
⭐⭐⭐⭐
The latest installment of the Murderbot Diaries finds our favorite SecUnit, their adopted humans, and Asshole Research Transport dealing with the aftermath of the events that occurred in Network Effect. Events that have caused Murderbot to deal with unique form of trauma. As usual with this series, the combination of Murderbot's snarky narration and outstanding action writing made this book an absolute pleasure to read for me. Can't wait for the next one.
Saga, Book Three by Brian K. Vaughn & Fiona Staples
⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm still really enjoying this science fantasy series following the child of star crossed lovers from opposing waring planets as she grows up. But there is a thing these books do, where they surprise you with the most unexpected thing, and the fact that it happens regularly makes it less surprising. Doesn't stop the thing from being upsetting, though. I have to wait to see what happens next since I'm reading in these giant hardcovers.
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
⭐⭐⭐⭐
A book that is almost impossible to describe. A god who owns a library containing all the knowledge in the universe goes missing leaving his adopted children locked out and trying to find out what happened. But that doesn't even scratch the surface of what is in this book. It's filled with bonkers, over the top action, violence, and larger than life characters, all in the service of a story about dealing with the trauma of having a bad Dad.
Fast Girl by Suzy Favor Hamilton & Sarah Tomlinson
⭐⭐
A memoir of an Olympic long distance runner who became a high-priced Las Vegas call girl. I went into this wanting to root for Hamilton in her struggles with mental health, but I found her to be a thoroughly unlikable person. Any message about getting proper diagnosis and treatment were drowned out by the prurient way the prostitution sections were treated, and the unhealthy, in my eye, way she used her bipolar disorder as a catchall excuse.
Swords in the Mist by Fritz Leiber
⭐⭐⭐
Somewhere there must exist a perfect Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser story, but I didn't find it in this collection. Lean times in Lankhmar, in which our heroes split up and end up on opposite sides of a religious dispute was my favorite. The Adept's Gambit was the most disappointing, starting out with some of the best Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stuff I've read, but then devolving into a half baked cosmic horror slog. I plan to read more, but not immediately.
Heart of the Comet by David Brin & Gregory Benford
⭐⭐⭐⭐
The story of a 2061 mission to ride Halley's Comet and change its orbit to park it in the inner solar system where it can be mined for resources. Things go wrong in a myriad of ways with technical difficulties, sociological friction, and unexpected biological problems. I found some of the relationship drama to be grating at times, and it felt too optimistic in the crew's ability to overcome issues, but otherwise it was a fascinating book.
Priest of Bones by Peter McLean
⭐⭐⭐
A fantasy about an army priest, Tomas Piety, who returns home from war with is squadmates and uses them to take back his family's criminal empire. I was hoping there would be some interesting friction from Piety being both a Priest and a crime lord, but nothing much was done with that, and the story also suffered from there being no doubt that he would complete his goals. There was some good, gritty action in this though, which did make it worth reading.
Frontera by Lewis Shiner
⭐⭐⭐
A science fiction about a rescue mission to a Mars colony which has been quiet for over ten years. This was a fairly entertaining, fast-paced, space techno-thriller that reads like an 1980s action movie. Most of the characters are jerks with their own personal, political, and corporate agendas, surrounding a mysterious technological discovery, all of which converge in an explosive climax. It was fun while I was reading it, but lacked any real depth.
None of This is True by Lisa Jewell
⭐⭐⭐⭐
A thriller about a British podcaster who meets a woman who has the same birthdate as her and decided to make a podcast about her and things go very much sideways from there. Jewell does an excellent job through both the main characters' POVs slowly ratcheting up the tension until it became actually uncomfortable to read for me, all of it paying off in a inevitable, yet shocking climax. And then There's an added little surprising stinger at the end.
Wild Cards II: Aces High edited by George R.R. Martin
⭐⭐⭐⭐
The second book in a long running alternate history anthology series about people given superpowers by an alien virus. It felt like Martin had a tighter reign on this one, getting authors to drive overarching plotlines. Some thrived at this, like Walter Jon Williams, others seemed too constrained by it, like Roger Zelazny, and one, Pat Cadigan, failed at it, flubbing the climax of a major story arc. But overall this was a good time.
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
⭐⭐⭐
A gothic horror about a woman scraping by in a Tennessee mining town trying to give her younger brother a better life who gets a job at the local haunted house. While the story and characters were fine, I think i finally have to admit to myself that I just don't get along with Harrow's prose. Add to that some immersion breaking nitpicks like Corvettes with back seats, and swallows that come out at night, and I think this may be the last book of hers I read.
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Another Murata book in which she looks at human society from an unusual perspective to point out its absurdities, this time following a woman who grows up believing she is an alien. The child sexual assault in this is hard to read, but central to showing how society fails the main character, and how trauma leads to a series of choices that culminate in a truly bizarre climax. If that sounds rough, the author's other books do similar things with a lighter tone.
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
⭐⭐⭐
A fairly entertaining contemporary fantasy about magic books which are created with the blood of special people. The characters were good and enjoyable to follow, and it did a nice job of playing out it's mysteries as the story went along, but once I got to the end, the plot felt very linear to me. Part of this was set in Vermont and it captured the local atmosphere well with only one immersion breaking detail. I give that part a solid B+.
Ron Payne
