Outlaw Planet by M.R. Carey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's a western, and I'm not a huge fan of westerns.

That being said, I got through the veiled references to all things wild wild west and the American Civil war and hungrily ate up all things that made it alternate universes, settling an alien word, high tech, many races, and, of course, the revenge story.

I'll be honest. It took me well over half the novel before I truly got into it, and by then, it was all about seeing new places and killing new people. And sometimes old people. And the intelligent gun.

But by then I liked it just fine. Entertaining.

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ソードアート・オンライン10: アリシゼーション・ランニング by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

New life to the series. It's full-on modern LitRPG now, but with a MUCH more solid foundation of multiple books deepening and enriching what is now to be the de facto standard of the genre.

Total praise.

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ソードアート・オンライン9: アリシゼーション・ビギニング by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a turning point for the series, I believe. Or rather, it takes on a whole new life, aka, ANY of the LitRPG novels that have come out AFTER this.

Indeed, my interest had been waning for the last couple of novels, but this one makes me feel like it's all brand new again. :)

Revitalized. :)

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ソードアート・オンライン プログレッシブ 8 [Sōdo Āto Onrain Puroguresshibu 8] by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

At this point, it's just about enjoying the world and characters in short stories or novellas. Specifically, early days and late days. I really enjoyed about half of them, and thought the others were fine. A nice combination of cuteness and battles.



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Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 7 by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think I do like the fact that these books take on different styles of storytelling as they go. Virtual reality games are now just a part of life, after all, and people change... and use them differently.

But this? It's about connections. True connections. Trying to give a little kindness out of a deep-seated need to pass along something good--because that's what she needs for herself.

Out of all the books in this series, this one is the most healing, the most down-to-earth. It's a nice change.

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ソードアート・オンライン 6: ファントム・バレット [Sōdo āto onrain 6: Fantomu Baretto] by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mysterious murders seemingly happening through the protected online rigs. Great gun battles. And enough trauma to choke a horse.

Really a fascinating arc and my favorite after the original. I even stayed up late because I was engrossed in it.



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ソードアート・オンライン 5: ファントム・バレット [Sōdo āto onrain 5: Fantomu Baretto] by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Part one of Phantom Bullet. I honestly enjoyed this setup more than the fairy world. Not just the world itself, but the characterizations and developments.

Gun trauma meets gun game. Pretty classic, all told, but tastefully done on all counts. Western/cyberpunk tones.

Can't wait to see where it goes. I don't think I saw further in the anime, and now I'm wondering why not.

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ソードアート・オンライン プログレッシブ 4 [Sōdo Āto Onrain Puroguresshibu 4] by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Maybe not as interesting as the first parts of this story, but it does complete the "save the princess" storyline begun in the previous book. I think my main problem with it is that he starts off OP instead of truly grounded. I wanted to like it more, but that's the risk with OP stats. Oh, the pitfalls for storytelling.



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Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 3 by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It feels like the aftermath story, but damn, I prefer it this way. Picking up the pieces, trying to get answers... and some semblance of a life back. Or bring someone back who is still lost.

Beautiful.

Plus, damn those companies. Seriously.

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Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 2 by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I can tell right away that many of the side-stories from the anime were taken from this volume while the main story was taken from the first volume. Together it makes up the whole first season. I have no complaints. They're both good. :)



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Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 1 by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Originally, I watched the anime when it came out and was fairly blown away by the quality of what I now know to be the LitRPG genre. But even this wasn't my absolute first introduction to it. It just happened to be the Then-Best example of it. And it remained so for many years.

And then I got into the genre for real. And somehow, I just forgot about this.

I'm back. I wanted to see if it really WAS as good as I remember. I'm doing it as a light novel this time, however, and it really WAS as good as I remembered. :)


Classic storyline, told well.

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Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-Read 12/23/25

I've been enjoying all of Heinlein in order of publication and it's neat to finally come this far again. To me, it feels like a real turning point for the author, and obviously this is one of those all time favs.

Indeed, it's the classic MilSF. :)



Original Review:

One of the original Mil-SF classics!

I've read this before. Several times, even, back when I was a newb when it came to Heinlein or SF in general. You know, pick up the Hugo Award winners and see if I like the author enough to continue on. Twenty books later, (THAT YEAR,) I discovered something. I like Heinlein. A lot.

But not ALL of Heinlein equally. Starship Troopers seemed kinda preachy to me, a little slow, and RAH, RAH, RAH Civic Duty. :) Suffice to say, I liked it pretty well. Caveats: it did come out in 1059, riding the social wave following the Korean War and very reminiscent of WWII war stories, updated for SF and focusing less on the horrors of war and more on Heinlein's usual Self-Reliance, Responsibility, and Duty.

I can't say I mind that at all. In fact, it just made me feel rather warm and cuddly and proud to be an American. Just a few years later, Kennedy would ask us what we would do for our country. We would feel responsible enough to take on those other things we called a social wrong. Like Red Scares. Cuba. Vietnam. But that wasn't this. Not yet.

Patriotism was at an all-time high. And this novel reflects that. Wide-eyed wonder and hope and gritty realism when it came to doing What Was Right.

Coming from another generation, this novel didn't quite hit the same buttons for me. But that's all right because some really smart people made a different movie by the same name but using MOSTLY the same story in the 90's that rocked hard with it's updated sensibilities and satire. :) And yet, the core RESPONSIBILITY remained very much intact. Amazing, no?


This novel is far from being Heinlein's best, but damn if it isn't excellent in its own right. I don't always have to agree with the sentiments as they apply now to appreciate the idealism on parade then. :)

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Commerce Emperor 2: A Progression Fantasy Epic by Maxime J. Durand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First, the caveats: it's not really a Progression Fantasy the way the genre has developed. It's more of a fantasy that seems to borrow beautifully from Jim Butcher's Caldera fantasy (in style) and the demon arc in Dresden. Mind you, I LIKE that. But beyond that, it's not so much about growing more and more powerful as it is about doing the strategy thing, building relationships, and defeating the Blight and Wrath.

Which begs the question... what does commerce have anything to do with this? And it's a fair question. Buying and selling skills, time, effort is neat and all, but it's always in service to the greater plot, not a deep exploration of its abuses.

I can admire the way the text holds the line even if I kinda wanted to see the abuses. :)



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Commerce Emperor by Maxime J. Durand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This hits a solid political fantasy note with extremely solid magics--specifically, being the ultimate deal-maker. Not like Trump. More like any fair exchange is immediately and irrevocably binding. A lock of hair for gold? Instant. All your skills for swordsmanship for 10 gold? No problem. Your soul for your freedom?

Ehhh... yeah, that's where this could get very dark, very fast. Fortunately, heroes exist, as do gods and demons. Fun stuff.

I think Maxime Durand is threading some great fine lines between all their fiction. I still love the timey-wimey SF best, but between this dark and serious fantasy versus the humorous dragon, I think I prefer this. They're all quite decent, mind you. But I'm digging how serious this is.

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The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For a hot minute there I was worried that the whole hard-fought peace from the previous books would be shattered. (Damn that title.) Fortunately, it's okay. It's OKAY. We can blame all our troubles on someone else. Thank goodness. Gigantic super-smart aliens wanting to "fix" all the lower species. That's FINE. I just hate it when the crunchy peacemakers break down and let everything go to shit because they can't keep their colonies in their pants.

That being said, it IS a fun book. Snarky in the way the others were also snarky. Considerate in the way all these books are considerate. And ultimately--peaceful.

That's a strange thing to say about war stuff. But it's true, nevertheless.

I will say one thing, tho: it feels like a book out of another age. One where we are all working TOWARD a more positive future. It's an odd one for that. No?

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Halcyon Years by Alastair Reynolds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Truly entertaining.

Yuri, the first cosmonaut, works as a 40's noir detective. Such a sweet premise. I'm reminded of other great SF that pulls similar conceits be it Hitler as a Noir detective or the inestimable Dark City premise, but who cares, right? It's FUN.

Especially when it takes off with generational starship stuff, bringing Yuri right back into space, continuing a wicked mystery plot, this novel takes us so many great places.

Truly entertaining. :)

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Krampus: The Yule Lord by Brom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brom always hits it out of the park. I haven't read any of his horror that wasn't both overflowing with rich lore and mythology approached in fresh and very, very interesting ways. And the stories are overflowing with great characters that always get a full progression, if not revamp.

Krampus is no different. Indeed, I thought it was meant to be a rather jokey, in the spirit of getting a grimdark version of Santa Claus, etc, but we get more than just that. We get SEVERAL revenge stories, an American Gods treatment colliding Norse and Christian faiths, AND an honest-to-Brom REDEMPTION story in the best tradition of everything Xmas. Or rather, YULETIDE.

Muahahahahaha

I love it. All the sad-sacks really got their own by the end. And damn Baldur. I'm rather fond of Krampus now.



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Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Definitely a good horror read if you A: like writers being messed up, B: like psychological mindfucks that carry over directly to the plot, C: like massive PoV jumps that make sense in the way that you like to string up facts on a pin-board like a detective OR a conspiracy theorist.

Me? I could have gone either way on this book.

I appreciate the messed up bits a lot, but by the time it was CONTINUING to get more messed up and I'd had to throw out all my working theories at least three times only to circle full back to the ORIGINAL theory, I was wondering if I even liked the tale at all.

Turns out, I did. But mileage may vary.



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Two Truths and a Lie by Cory O'Brien
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a pretty damn sharp cyberpunk Noir mystery that has all the markings of a Marlowe while being a clever different kind of bait-and-switch that I honestly admire in any kind of tight plot.

Of course, I'm not going to spill the beans here, but I can say right off the bat that I really enjoyed having an old combat vet with experimental anti-AI tech in his noggin, living practically on the streets and drinking his life away, turning into a real fact-checker in this cyberpunk world.

Feels fresh even though it has deep roots in the mystery genre.

Bonus, it's a cool as hell m/m romance dressed up in PKD nightmare scenarios.

Definitely worth the read.





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The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

*twangs banjo*

Hello West Virginia. Hello claustrophobic Southern Family Horror.

I can't really say much here without giving away all the little discoverable treats in this book, but I can say that the atmosphere is both strange and neat. A family that stays together--ah, well, let's not QUITE go there, yet, unless you start reading.

*twangs banjo*



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Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Strange book. It feels like a 70's pulp horror novel, complete with the same setting, types of characters, everything, but it's modern.

Vamps, revenge, massive disadvantages as a vamp, and every character is super flawed and grounded.

So, I should say it's a good novel in that it succeeds in all the ways it sets out to succeed.

And yet, I've read a number of novels quite like this and it'll never hold up to say, Interview, or many others. Indeed, it's a true-crime level, low-level thugs and regular people forced into hard circumstances type. It would have made a decent 70's hard-boiled movie with undertones of King but mostly like Bloch.

Not bad, all told.

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Shadows Upon Time by Christopher Ruocchio
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a wild, impressive ride.

I'm on the record for having issues with the first novel, it feeling rather derivative as a straight SF title, but after a few books in, it establishes itself as a monumentally good SF series. Not only great characters and plotting and SFnal ideas in a grand panoramic worldbuilding backdrop, but an adventure both deep, varied, and genuinely fascinating.

A few more books in, and it just gets deeper and mythical and even god-like in scope and adventure.

And then, by this book, the last, it managed to floor me.

This is a great SF series. Period. I can easily ignore the shades of the greats that were on full display in the first book--because Ruocchio twisted it all into his very own beautiful creation by the end.

And this is a genuine end. Full circle from where it began, with ALL the glory it promised and so much more.

And the tragedy.

Damn it. I really hate the tragic parts. I know it makes for a deeper story, but if only I could have stopped at the right point... I wouldn't have such a heavy heart.

It's like stopping Dune at book one. You could ignore the deeper tragedy and sit in the dark glory. But life and good art is never really that clean. And neither is this. Indeed, we were always warned what kind of story it would be, and yet we find the true heights and lows, nevertheless.

Sigh.

Truly delicious. It has just about everything SF has to offer, too. A full course meal with desert. :)



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First Lensman by E.E. "Doc" Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second Lensman book definitely hits all the classic Buck Rogers feel (while also predating Buck).

Notably, however, is the fact that this is where they go to the mysterious planet where they get the mysterious wristwatch that gives them mysterious powers.

It's funny. I kept wanting the book to SPELL OUT the powers. I'm so spoiled by today's fantasy with all its highfalutin rules and strict limitations. And it's even worse for SF, or rather, hard SF, which often tries to limit itself by its own rule-set!

But I digress. This is simply pure adventure. High adventure, complete with wars, vast attempts to understand strange creatures and cultures, and even politics at its most high-minded.

It definitely FEELS like Golden Age SF. Complete with that vaunted optimism.

I can't say I dislike it, either. Whatever else it is, it's high-minded and hopeful.



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Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel by Guanzhong Luo) Roberts Moss (trans)
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can now say I've read the full Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

In English. With very little context. lol

BUT, I did flow with it even if I often got lost in a sea of names, often always those names dying in quick, gruesome manners. It reminds me a lot of how I felt when I first read the Iliad. An endless progression of the dead and soon-to-be-dead. But this is war, and at this point, GENERATIONS of war. It's beautiful and rich and as I said before, rather requires a full map with markers for troops.

Am I happy I finally got through it?

Yep.

Was I often overwhelmed?

Yep.

But since I am not studying to be either an ancient Chinese scholar or an armchair tactician, I still feel like I got a lot out of it.

Challenge accepted and met.

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Three Kingdoms, Volume 2 by Luo Guanzhong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I may be five starring this simply because I'm overwhelmed, but there ya go.

I neither know most of the names or their importance, nor do I know all the provinces in China, ancient or otherwise, and frankly, I think I'd need a full map and a whole board of figures and footnotes to show me each and every battle in its entirety just to GET what the hell just happened here.

But unfortunately, I'm ACTUALLY just trying to read this to say I've read it, if not for enjoyment's sake. And trust me, I did enjoy swaths of it. Both the history and some of the stories are just fantastic--those I followed, those I outright recognized, and those that made me wonder and wonder.

Let me be honest: I'm more fascinated by the role this has played in the formation of all of Chinese history and culture than any personal desire to learn tactics and wartime strategy. But if I was to want to get into all that seriously, then I'd do worse than to seriously study this text again with a different focus.

So, with that, volume 2 is done. On to volume 3.



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Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was very, very enjoyable for many reasons. Okorafor has pulled off either an amazing hat trick or has just bared her soul to us readers with a book that is simultaneously a deeply interesting read and a rather personal one.

Of course, I can only assume it's a personal one. I do not know and haven't researched anything. But TRUTH rarely needs facts to display its nature.

I was just as interested in the tale within the tale as I was the author's life. And death, in either case, was something rather more than the surface. Beautifully so.

As I was reading this, I was reminded very positively of similar books that made me feel this way, like The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Almost meta, very personal, switching back and forth between mediums, but always soulful.

I especially loved the commentary on fandom and the artist, the stressors, the expectations and the betrayals. It's doubly funny how GRRM was quoted on the cover-and Okorafor nails the fundamental reply.

This book is simply a wonderful conversation. Art and artist, culture versus individual, family versus autonomy, mind versus body.

I wholly recommend.

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Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have nothing really bad to say about this book. Not really. It's a Flannagan-era take on demons and a haunted house as seen through a young influencer's eyes and how she grew up.

Put simply.

It's giving the popular crowd and the newly popular take on the horror genre exactly what it desires. I, too, really enjoy Mike's takes, and this gives us more. So, bon appetite!





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The Merged: A multi timeline cosmic horror of shattered realities by T.M. Yomide
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was asked by the author to read this and I did so quite willingly because I have a natural soft spot for this kind of thing. I mean, shattered realities, cosmic horror, timey-wimey stuff in one shot? Hell yeah.

Diving right in, it had some massive hard SF feels to it AND major classic Fantasy feels in different sections. Indeed, we're thrown into into three timelines of the deep past with sword and sorcery, WWI getting weird, and the far future, complete with AIs, VR, and hacking.

It was almost like I was reading the Elric Saga, classic Conan, a hint of Tad William's Otherland series, and a modern technothriller all in one.

One caveat to your enjoyment, however: It's a very rich novel in terms of imagery and mythos. In some places, I wished we had slowed some to get to know the characters in times of rest, but it isn't that kind of story. It's epic and fraught throughout. As it probably ought to be, with stakes this pervasive.

In the end, however, it's very much a standard quest story and very satisfying for that reason.

Highly recommended for anyone wanting a rich brew to sate themselves.

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Deep Black by Miles Cameron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Much better than I thought it might be after reading the (1.5). Indeed, it's a great space opera full of mystery, action, rising through the ranks, and learning. And let's not forget the overarching plot and how it makes me worry. :)

It's an all-rounder of a story. A little merchanting, a little war, a little romance, a little first contact, a lot of OP spoilery stuff that I won't mention here for the sake of future readers' enjoyment. All said, I had a great time. And I really can't wait for the next.

One thing I'll mention, however. I do NOT recommend reading the Beyond the Fringe: An Arcana Imperii Collection book until AFTER reading this second book. Very little is necessary in it to enjoy book 2 and indeed, I probably would have gotten a LOT more out of it after reading this book first. Your mileage might vary, but I'm serious. :)



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The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Definitely an uncomfortable, even rage-baiting read. But then, where else should we be in a horror about real life child abuse, institutional-style?

It may have taken place in the 1950's at the height of the Jim Crow era, and the kinds of reform schools for boys, especially black boys, are a well known tragedy just one step to the side from actual slavery, but that doesn't make it any the less resonate with today.

Racism is absolutely rampant and it takes a whole village to create a slave and the slavery mindset.

I can't tell you how happy I was to see some kind of happy ending to this novel.

Ghosts aside, abuse and death aside, I have to say this book was rather soul-killing. I guess that CAN be a mark of a good horror, no? I just wish it wasn't hitting so close to home.



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Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 231 by Neil Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Tomorrow. Today." by R.T. Ester -- (4*) A fairly interesting ship of Theseus story revolving uploadable bodies.

"Imperfect Simulations" by Michelle Z. Jin -- (5*) Lots of great probability ruminations butting heads against friendship. Great worldbuilding, too.

"The Cold Burns" by Anne Wilkins -- (5*) Great dystopia. Utopia. Lol. A pretty hard-hitting capitalist nightmare. I'd say cyberpunk, but this is one step beyond.

"The Hole" by Ferenc Samsa -- (4*) A pleasure-filled and debased vision of a future. Feels distinctly post-humanity, post-bodies, while reveling in the the same--as a mystery story. :)

"Between Here and Everywhere" by Robert Reed -- (5*) I'm reminded, AGAIN, how much I enjoy the Greatship series of Reed's. Memory and quest, yet again. :)

"This Sepulchral Aegis" by Rob Gillham -- (5*) Thank goodness for strange, disturbing, layered post-human space fiction. :) Best because it'll always be horribly human.

"Home Grown" by Madeleine Vigneron - (3*) Birth, direction, future. Pretty simple. Not sure I found it all that interesting, though. At least, not written like this.


I suppose I simply loved Imperfect Simulations. Between Here and Everywhere was great for its own story and how it builds on all of the rest of Reed's stories. I loved This Sepulchral Aegis for its oddities.

Not a bad month.


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The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I cannot rightly say this has been my favorite magical fox tale, whether couched in historical magical realism or not, but I can say it was a solid tale of slow-burning love, trickery, and even a good helping of mystery.

The plot was slow and meandering but that should be everything you might want in a slow and meandering tale that's more about a lifetime of a fox than it being about the many, many trickeries.

And yet, if you, dear reader, are fond of asian fox tales, I'm sure you'll have a good time with this. There's a lot to snack on, here. Fried tofu or otherwise.

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Beyond the Fringe: An Arcana Imperii Collection by Miles Cameron
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

To be honest, I was hoping to continue with the characters I'd grown to love in the first book, but these mostly just have the feel of dirtside warfare, more MilSF, and some more MilSF without the charm that I'd grown to love in the first book.

As a short story collection, I won't say that they were all bad. Indeed, some were fairly entertaining, but as a whole, I hope this isn't just a way to tease the plot threads for the second book--that may be nothing but new characters.

I WAS invested in the rest. I hope this is just a one-off.

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Artifact Space by Miles Cameron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This really was pretty much perfect if you're looking for a merchant marine space opera. It has all the best aspects of keeping secrets, investigation, battle, and, of course, making good with your ranks.

The best part is that it's a bit more detailed and has slightly better characterizations than, say, Honor Harrington. Or maybe that's just me. I think I'd put this on the same level, or even above, Elizabeth Moon.

Make no mistake, this is absolutely a MilSF, but the focus is more on a grand sweep of ship life than rah rah rah. It's there, of course, and I even felt the pressure of Battlestar Galactica later on in the novel, but I'm honestly really happy with the balance.

Good stuff.

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The Compound by Aisling Rawle
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Ah, alas, this is a total bust for me. It has everything I disrespect: voting off the island crap, reality tv crap, desperate-for-fun/survival kids who're too stupid they're being used and discarded for cheap thrills crap.

I mean... crap. I avoided a whole decade and a half of tv because of this shit. Why would I want to READ it, too?

So, yeah, you're in the compound and you have to find and share a bed with a stranger for ratings, but all the time, the sponsors will make you eat grass or pull stupid stunts for food.

What the hell is this? An allegory for work, society? Or just a bargain-bin reality tv show knockoff in text? Prolly both. And honestly, it's annoying as all hell.

Sorry, it's me, not you, Compound. Or maybe it is you. Oh, well.

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King Sorrow by Joe Hill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was freaking amazing. I was simply unprepared for what this became.

Decades of story, this epic horror revels in an old myth so modernized and psychological and nastily PRESENT that I'm frankly a bit shocked that it COULD be St. George versus the Dragon.

Because, let's face it, that's what this is.

Of course, it's so much more. 80's satanic panic, occultism, friends getting in WAY too deep, and the fact that a single stupid moment can ruin the rest of their lives. But that opening is just the beginning.

But let's take another look at this novel. I should mention that it is a horror that NEEDS to be read on Easter. Trust me. Easter. It's an Easter horror. A dragon Easter horror.

And don't listen to the trolls.

Muahahahahahaha. Great novel. Truly.

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Triplanetary by E.E. "Doc" Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Honestly, I have to admit that I almost bounced off this book twice. The first, time, I wanted to read it to simply get to the fourth book which was considered one of the great Golden Age of SF books. I DID bounce the first time. Instead, I just hopped ahead and read what I consider one of the best Buck Rogers books of Buck Rogers books.

Of course, I don't know, even now, whether that's a good thing or not. It's cowboy stuff in space, white hats and black hats and big explosions, derring-do, and swooning maidens. Where real men are real men.

In other words, the perfect stereotype of SF of yesteryear, well into the genre's infancy and teenage years.

Ah, but I kinda wished I had stuck it out. And so I returned to the first book and once I got through some rather heavy-handed exposition, I was able to enjoy some rather cool ancient and modern and then future action. Indeed, this volume is a pretty great INTRODUCTION to the universe. That is, if you can get over the handwaviums and obvious cultural BS of Real Men being Real Men. Then again, maybe that kind of thing will be a bonus in today's climate. Who knows?

My personal take:

I've always been a pretty big fan of the mythos of Green Lantern.
Now, this pre-dates Green Lantern, to be sure, but DAMN, it's like I'm getting a whole mythos and setup FOR the Green Lantern and its Corps. Taking it this way, I'm actually really enthusiastic for the story. Show the heroes in their less-than-powered up states, give us a very solid grounding and showcase their actual heroism, and THEN give them the extra powers to deal with the truly bad baddies.

It's pretty classic storytelling, and it actually works.

Yes, this book is ACTUALLY pretty good. Science fantasy, to be sure, but FUN. And it's a bit more expansive and crossing much time and space than I gave it credit for. It's true space opera.

Color me impressed. I think I will go through the rest. It's very much on the same level as Conan, with the obvious differences. Solid and fun if not particularly sophisticated.



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Red City by Marie Lu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Easily a fun, dark read. This is quite a bit like Jade City, its crime family vibes with a huge splash of full metal alchemist thrown in, was a lot of fun.

Of course, in this particular novel, the R&J vibes are VERY strong, too, and you know what? I'm all for it. Ari and Sam are great characters and I love them both.

I do classify this as Urban Fantasy, but really, it feels more like the Godfather with magic and a star-crossed romance. I can't wait to keep reading more.

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Neverness by David Zindell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-Read 11/25/25:

I said I'd re-read this back when I first read it, and I did, having been thinking about it for years in-between.

Indeed, I've been Remembrancing it.

It is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. It required, and requires careful reading, mindful reading, and careful attention to one's soul. And that's something perhaps a bit unusual to say about a science fiction novel. Or, indeed, a hard SF novel. An epic that spans many star systems and living among primitive people close to home. Or dealing with Warrior-Poets. Or vast machine entities who remember being human. Or best friends. Bitter enemies.

Truly, it's a book about life. The meaning of life. The quest for the secret. The truth of all the exploding stars, the truth of immortality, the truth of memory, information, creation, and destruction.

It's a book as valuable as it is creative as it is epic.

It's hard. And it's gorgeous. It's disgusting. And it's poetry.

It's as messy as all of life. And it made me cry. Many times.

It's a book that should never be forgot. Indeed, it should be known so much more than it is. If there is justice in this world, it will be remembered. Hopefully more than just by Remembrancers.




Original review:

This one kinda came out of nowhere and hit me up the side of my head.

I mean, you'd have thought I would have known all about the grand classics and any book THIS good has GOT to have about a million readers, RIGHT? At least, this is the grand assumption we (and I mean, me, sadly,) tend to make.

And yet, I've BARELY heard of this book and there's no sign of it ever becoming an audiobook and aside from a few brave glowing reviews that compare it favorably to Dune and La Morte Darthur, my skepticism remained high... UNTIL I read it.

And now, even though I've read something like 2.5k SF novels, I have to come right out and say it: I'm putting this book in my top 20 novels of all time. I'm both squeeing and deeply, deeply impressed.

This is a good thousand years in our future and the galaxy is populated with post-humans who have changed themselves into creatures both alien and familiar and often very, very strange. We begin with Pilots, a version of King Arthur's knights only with high esoteric maths, the need for immense courage because, as it is written in stone, "Pilots Die", and a somewhat simple story of a young journeyman pilot who, showing great bravery, explores a machine intelligence spanning a moon -- and more.

This interesting quest only raises a ton of new questions, and while it seems pretty straightforward, it really isn't. This is a story of the meaning of life. The search for immortality. Of friendship, of love, of parentage, of memory, and of everything from the deepest parts of our past as humans (living as cave-men takes up a great deal of the tale) all the way to immensely futuristic worldbuilding that includes folding space, speeding cognition, vast artificial intelligence, seas of godlike aquatic creatures, nanotech worlds, and... immortality.)

It sticks a pin in everything, and the characters are truly wonderful. They are so damn human. Belligerent, idiotic, sometimes wise, violent, lovers of poetry, funny, and lustful. And let's not forget that they are mathematical geniuses, prone to rage, and they're extraordinary skaters. :)

The worldbuilding is all kinds of amazing and it not only holds together as well as Dune, it feels nearly as vast, as creative, and as interesting as Dune. That's not to say it actually FEELS like Dune except in the ways that certain vast build-ups coalesce, but the comparison is still quite good.

I'm all aglow. I'm probably going to re-read this again in a few years, but first I'm going to be flying into the next book. :) Soon.


To sum up: READ THIS BOOK. It needs to be known. It needs to be talked about among all the SF fandom. If you LIKE SF at all, this ought to be a must-read. It's all kinds of amazing.

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The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have a special place in my heart for poetical works, ones with beautiful language and comforting pacing -- regardless of subject material.

I mean, murders oughtn't have a pastoral feel, right? But this, and the fae, the appeasement, and the tale of the sisters, is definitely one that feels comforting, even so.

Magical, even.

Recommended.

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The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is a pitch-perfect example of a boring dystopia. Its actual SF features literal dream police, making the Minority Report into a coasting middle-management nightmare. Social, credit scores are latched onto your literal dreams. Having issues? Are you cranky?

It can and will be used against you if you don't conform.

The problem with this is that it's OUR reality already. Digital surveillance, AI analysis, and systemic assholery makes us live this NOW.

It's a horrible novel because we're already living it. Or it's a great novel because we're already living it. Either way, it's rage-inducing.

And yes, it's an indictment of capitalism. Creating prisons and prisoners for the profit motive. Creating a rule system that can't be beaten, but can easily be abused to keep people in their place.

Again, we're already here. And it's pitch perfect for how it describes people's reactions, how they just want to get along, carry the burden because it can get so much worse if you don't, and how utterly cowed we are.

Bringing up a strike, and how effectively it is squashed, is also accurate to our lives.

And just as depressing.


Do I like this novel?
No.

Do I think it is true to life?
Yes.

Take from that what you will.

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The Strength of the Few by James Islington
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What originally seems to be a unique choice in narration, our MC lives three alternate lives, and we, with him. I honestly thought it might be somewhat disorienting, but instead, I found myself loving every second of it. Growing, finding new friends, abilities, plumbing his own depths, while just barely touching parts of his other selves.

Fascinating. Hell, I'd say it'd make great science fiction, too, but it's still prime fantasy. IMHO.

Islington rocks. No two ways about it.

And while I do miss the scholomancy aspects of the first book, this one is all about growth. And hard decisions. And really nasty ones, those.

I love great worldbuilding, and we've got THREE here. Oh, the riches for us readers. :)



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Death's Master by Tanith Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you're looking for a Jack Vance-ish panorama of a fantasy earth filled with demons, lord death, and cruel magicians, look no further. This is full of old-school mythologies, dark hearts, sex, hate, and fantasy of the crueler persuasion.

Well, what else can we expect when you're a pet project of the master demon of the realm? It may take some time to mature into something quite evil, but give it time. Give it time.



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You Weren't Meant to Be Human by Andrew Joseph White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well now. That was chaotic and disturbing as all hell.

Ignore normal body-horror fiction for a moment and just settle in for a little pregnancy fiction.

Oh, never mind, settle in for some serious body-horror pregnancy fiction.

Nightmare fuel.

Oh, and it's very much a LGBTQ transitional piece, too, as well as some nice cthuhlu tones. But no matter what you might expect, expect to be bleed from many orifices.





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Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had a really fun time with this. Lagos-centric fantasy, a pantheon true to the area, with all the crossovers we've come to expect, building an American Gods-type story, with a nightmare god and a succubus's love story through centuries. With all the power-politics and Spirit Company BS that implies.

I definitely had some cool vibes, thinking of Clive Barker's Abarat. The trials and tribulations of love within immortals.

What can I say? I love pantheons of gods and the down-to-earth ways to write them. The adventure, the whole "one last job" vibe was simply a lot of fun.



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Luminous by Silvia Park
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm a lover of SF (duh) and I almost always appreciate it when the writing is as elevated as the concepts, pushing the genre to new heights.

This one attempts to do just that, focusing on beautiful language and complex themes surrounding relationships, death, memory, and obvious moral quandaries. As should be obvious for any novel dealing with robots and people.

However, while there is some mystery in this novel, it's not Asimov. And while there are some fairly big concepts being explored, they aren't precisely the focus of the tale. Indeed, there's quite a bit of circuitous plotting that, while jumping between PoVs, tends to laser in on bad choices and desires that ultimately conflict with happiness--and hell, isn't that just about everything in life?

So, yes, it is, absolutely, a decent Lit-SF entry. It checks all the boxes for a rich piece on perception and expectation and the injustices that come from both.

But did I fall in love with it?

No, unfortunately. Sometimes, less is more. And sometimes, more is more. And the balance in this one just feels off, even under-baked. If we're to come away with something more than, "oh, that's rather depressing," then it failed. Otherwise, well done. And, at least to me, that's not precisely well-done.

It's me, not you, Luminous. You tried hard to be my perfect significant other, but the failing is mine alone.

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Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some hard truths: I expected/wanted some extremely low-stakes feel-good relax-time learning to get along with people and build relationships, all in a fantasy setting that seems suspiciously like our world. You know, like the first Legends and Lattes. That was its selling point and its emotional-satisfaction point.

This one, while continuing with at least one character from the original, the bookseller Fern, winds up being a series of misadventures and outright travel-adventure that is almost entirely a "standard" fantasy adventure. One, I might mention, could have been taken out of any cookie-cutter fantasy novel with a small group of adventurers from the last four decades of fantasy novels. D&D or otherwise.

Its selling point isn't the same as the original, alas. You have to be invested in the original character and have to want to see what running away from your emotions will get you. That's pretty much it.

Of course, that's not to say that the novel was bad. It isn't. But taken on its own merits, I have to say it's just average. Standard. And frankly, because I was wanting the cozy friendship-building mechanics of the first, I found myself sometimes getting downright annoyed by how much action and adventure was in THIS novel.

Isn't that odd? Downright strange?

Well, it is what it is. By losing the cozy edge, it moved into standard light fantasy fare, losing a bit of my trust in the series. I can only hope it comes back to the cozy-core later.

Wandering Inn, this is not.

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The Einstein Intersection by Samuel R. Delany
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After this re-read, I have to say that this is one of the best novellas I've ever read. At least, it's within the top ten. It kept a space in my heart and mind for the last 30 years and I'm sure it'll keep a space there for thirty more. Assuming I live that long.

But being memorable is hardly a claim to true excellence. I could say it's an Orphic western featuring post-human aliens appropriating our culture, riding dragons like horses and living above ancient AI labyrinths. But that's just the spice to the tale. The core is very, very human, full of longing, then revenge, and a youthful quest to do the impossible. Or several impossibles.

And all the while, we, the reader, are balanced on a knife's edge between a deeply literal read and a full-blown metaphorical one. Or we could go the full mythological route, and this novella is full to the brim and overflowing with it.

Or we can read it simply as a fantastical adventure full of music, a psychic devil, and another knife's edge of surviving despite being "different".

No matter how one reads it, it's a rich, rich story and engaging on every level.

Should it be required reading in colleges? Yes! Should it have pride of place in your favorites bookcase? Yes!

Some things are just plain brilliant, and some things are emotionally fulfilling. And sometimes, we get both at once.



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Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 230, November 2025 by Neil Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"The Stone Played at Tengen" by R.H. Wesley -- (4*) Monolithic power and the importance of playing through -- life as Go. Interesting.

"Jade Fighter" by D.A. Xiaolin Spires -- (5*) Honestly delightful friendship in unusual circumstances. I actually rather love this story.

"The Apologists" by Tade Thompson -- (5*) Tade rocks some wonderfully weird tales. Murder mystery gone hard SF. Totally my kind of mystery.

"Trees at Night" by Ramiro Sanchiz -- (4*) I got a very Roadside Picnic vibe from this one. Only for a librarian. :)

"Prerequisites for the Creation of a Possible Predicted World" by Chisom Umeh -- (5*) On-target tale of perception and reality-building. Doubly current for our own amusement park we call life.

"Ratlines" by Brent Baldwin - (3*) While I like the idea of a brain-in-a-box being forced as a starship getaway driver, I think I might have preferred a slower, more detailed story. Alas.

"The Fire Burns Anyway" by Kemi Ashing-Giwa -- (5*) This was a massive gut-punch to me. As a writer, myself, facing the same issues, it feels like death... and yet we all still keep going, if in despair.


Decent collection this month. I prefer Jade Fighter and Apologists the most, but The Fire Burns Anyway hit the hardest.

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A Judgement of Powers by Benedict Jacka
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Seriously enjoying this UF. It's seriously grounded and not overpowered and full of extremely relatable issues of wealth, wealth disparity, power, and how to survive at the bottom.

The fact that Jacka is pulling this off with flying colors shouldn't come as any surprise, especially with all things magic, but the fact that I'm totally sucked in is an even greater pleasure.

Let's make some sigils and try to survive, shall we? May have to finally make a serious choice, too. Loving it.



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