A short write-up on why I loved this novel despite its flawed ending (or alternatively, why this novel has a flawed ending even though I loved it.)
Category: 5 star
THE PLAGUE by Albert Camus
The Plague by Albert Camus My rating: 5 of 5 stars The last time I read a Camus book was 17 years ago, and it was a life-changing experience. Ever since then, I have studiously avoided Camus' writing in case his other novels were similarly affecting. But with the onset of Covid-19 and so many …
NOPHEK GLOSS by Essa Hansen
Nophek Gloss by Essa Hansen My rating: 5 of 5 stars Caveat: This is not your usual book review; I've included some "behind the scenes" musings for once. If you prefer my usual reviews, this may not be your cup of tea. Okay, caveats out of the way--let's go! There's a lot of mutual back-scratching …
THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR by Amal El-Mohtar
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar My rating: 5 of 5 stars Beautifully written: go read this. Eloquent, subtle, atmospheric; fast paced but still carrying depth. So much wordplay; if you delight in reading such things, as I do, then you will find the writing itself to be so much …
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THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN by Paula Hawkins
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins My rating: 5 of 5 stars Intriguing and nuanced I stayed up late to finish this, which is always a good sign! Extremely well done, and much better than Gone Girl (imo). I am reluctant to give spoilers so won't; the twists were less plotty than i …
The Best Of Gene Wolfe by Gene Wolfe
The Best of Gene Wolfe by Gene Wolfe My rating: 5 of 5 stars Awesome Obviously, I loved it. My favorite was The Eyeflash Miracles. Absolutely stunning story on every level. Here were my other standout stories: “The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories,” copyright © 1970 by Gene Wolfe; first appeared in Orbit …
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel My rating: 5 of 5 stars A cautious but thorough endorsement I had to consider for quite awhile what rating i wanted to give this novel. The fact I had to think about it is, of course, its own sort of endorsement. Let's start with some context. I …
The True History of the Elephant Man by Michael Howell
The True History of the Elephant Man by Michael Howell My rating: 5 of 5 stars Well-written and well structured as a book. Far kinder than the only other book I've read on Joseph Merrick (which, I think, was from the point of view of the doctor, and rather distasteful if memory serves.) I am, …
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The Garments of Caean by BJ Bayley
The Garments of Caean by Barrington J. Bayley My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is one of those odd little gems that has stood out in my memory as a really sublime sf novel. On the outset, it's a book about a psychic suit that bonds with, controls, and manipulates its wearer for amazing …
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North My rating: 5 of 5 stars I am so fucking angry over how good this book is. I might have to go void-scream into an abyss because of its incredible scope and ambition, of the depth and the beauty of its writing, of the sheer …
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Borne by Jeff VanderMeer
A review of Borne (or, "How I Fell In Love With a A Murderous Tentacle Monster")
Wolfwater by Alia Hess
Wolfwater by Alia Hess My rating: 5 of 5 stars Disclaimer: I read an Advance copy of this novel, although I think it is now for sale. I've been following Alia's work for awhile, quietly amazed to watch as an already-strong writer has continued to grow from strength to strength. I enjoyed Travelers (book 1) …
City of Saints and Madmen, by Jeff VanderMeer
City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer My rating: 5 of 5 stars This type of narrative is usually a difficult sell for me. CSM contains a number of shorter stories (novellas and novelettes) which are loosely connected, and weaves a single narrative thread through them. The reason I find this sort of thing …
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Keys to the Kingdom – Elliott Downing
The Keys to the Kingdom by Elliott Downing My rating: 5 of 5 stars Surprising and fantastic story Pretty much everything I look for in weird fiction. First person present tense always gets a thumbs up from me. If you are one of those readers who are dubious about FPPT, give this a try; it …
The Brief History of the Dead, by Kevin Brockmeier
The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier My rating: 5 of 5 stars I seem to be having an AMAZING reading month. I can't remember the last time I read so many 4+ star stories in a short time frame (we'll give 'Consider Phlebas' a pass, and roll it into the Culture books …
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The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks My rating: 5 of 5 stars Late to the party, but this was excellent. I stayed up far later than I should have done to finish it; the kind of story that reminds me why I love scifi so much. This is what I mean about Banks …
Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer
When Strange Horizons asked me to contribute to their 2016 Best of the Year wrap-up, I immediately knew my entry would have to discuss Too Like the Lightning, my favorite novel not only of 2016 but of the last decade. The natural question to ask me, then, one I certainly asked myself, is if it’s so great, why haven’t I actually written a review of it? Well, for a variety of reasons I haven’t reviewed much of anything in a while, so with the sequel arriving today it seemed like a great time to both reread Too Like the Lightning and actually write about it this time.
The novel takes place in a future where humanity has flying cars, a moon base, and robots that make full time jobs strictly optional. Humanity is also enjoying lasting world peace, having given up geographic nation states, organized religion, and even gendered…
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Too Like the Lightning – Ada Palmer
Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer My rating: 5 of 5 stars If I could define Too Like the Lightning in a word, it would probably be "overwhelming". That perhaps seems at odds given my rating, but it is fully immersive, carefully thought out and planned, densely written, complex, layered, intelligent, powerful. There aren't …
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins My rating: 5 of 5 stars Ambitious and dramatic--a riveting story of how a group of people are changed by their traumatic childhood, told through the filter of a speculative fiction novel about a woman who is trying to become God. To understand my review, let me …
The Etched City by K J Bishop
The Etched City by K.J. Bishop My rating: 5 of 5 stars Simply brilliant. It does require a lot of patience, this novel, since around 60% of it is setup for a series of events which, at the beginning, seem to bear no relation to anything else that is going on. My advice is to …
On Blue’s Waters – Gene Wolfe
On Blue's Waters by Gene Wolfe My rating: 5 of 5 stars Retro Thursday, you cry? Well, I've studiously avoided anything to do with Blue/Green/Whorl for years, out of a deep-seated but legitimate terror that I'd discover Patera Silk had actually died, either at the end of Long Sun or in the intervening time. He …
Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey
Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey My rating: 5 of 5 stars I would describe this book as "masochist woman with slightly magical vagina conquers the world". Note - this is not a criticism. It's well written, amusing, intricate, interesting. It's nice to read a book where people don't have sexual hangups, which is straight faced …
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Uprooted by Naomi Novik My rating: 5 of 5 stars Much like the heroine herself, this book should not work. It has all the ingredients for something foppish and cliche and yet it is a very good fantasy novel. Confidently written, well paced, enjoyable (even funny in many places), with refreshingly angst-free protagonists. View all …
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula Le Guin
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin My rating: 4 of 5 stars Like many LeGuin books I wasn't sold on the beginning; the psychiatrist stuff is quite dated and poorly done. However the book is excellent conceptually and many of the "dated" concepts can be explained away by the narrative functions existing …
A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book is valuable, not only for introduction it provides into philosophy, but for the compassion and integrity with which it is presented. Bertrand Russell writes, "When an intelligent man expresses a view which seems to us obviously absurd, we should …
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Wings of a Falcon by Cynthia Voigt
The Wings of a Falcon by Cynthia Voigt My rating: 5 of 5 stars Fantasy books get a lot of flack from "established" literature. Children or young adult fantasy books get ignored by adult fantasy readers. So between the two, I guess it's not surprising to find that this book is an undiscovered gem. But …
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