Paradise by Craig Alanson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one was pretty neat if what you want is a bit of payback and resolution set up in the first book. The abandoned world of Paradise is a pretty big thread, especially for all those humans left behind.

Sure, the "oh, btw, look what knowledge I squirreled away for plot reasons" *IS* a bit heavy handed, as is the whole "see what I can do if I have a good AI at my fingertips as long as no one else has him" crutch, but it it *IS* still fun.

It's getting to be old hat in SF now, however. And fantasy, as well. Snarky god-like advisors, alas.

And yet, fun.


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SpecOps by Craig Alanson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If I were to be a bit more critical, or just on par with the snark of Skippy the ever-brilliant AI, I might remark that these two books are nothing more than space adventure with an ever-revolving door of "You stupid monkey, this can't be done."

"But I'm stupid, that's why it'll work."

"Oh, golly, you ARE right!"

But in the end, I'm still having fun. And having fun is not half the battle. It's the WHOLE battle. Because I, too, am a stupid monkey.


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Nova by Samuel R. Delany
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-read. I was always pretty much overwhelmed by just how GOOD Delany's SF is. I mean, shockingly so, on so many different levels.

His characters are rich, varied, and memorable. His worldbuilding, more so. And best of all, and especially in this particular novel, it's downright mythical.

It's true SF, straddling the line between adventure, mystery, REVENGE, empire economics, and obsession. The grizzled old pilot hunting his white whale in the form of compressed energy stolen from a nova. The traveling artists, whether sensory-immersion or a pure novelist (two new friends signing on the crew). Interstellar political schemes between two great powerhouses, boiled down to their eldest sons and their everlasting hate.

It's mythical, gorgeous, and so rich.

When I think back over all of the SF I've read over the years, some truly stand out. This is one of them. Bigger than life, as mythical as Moby Dick, but much more present and readable.

I totally recommend this for anyone. Some things ought not to be forgot. And this one ought to stand the test of time just fine.



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An Adventure Brewing by JollyJupiter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Straight Isekai, this has a single job--to give us dwarves and beer--and it succeeds admirably.

Of course, we're meant to believe it's a cozy fantasy, and for the most part, it is, if all you want is a beer-fetish alchemy-lite build your own brewery adventure.

Fortunately for me, that's all I expected, and it has its funny moments. There's something admirable about a drinking adventure if you've a mind and hearty constitution for it. Real fantasy at its roots. True escapism.

Still, not bad.


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Columbus Day by Craig Alanson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was frankly just hoping for some long-range SF with higher scope and action, and I suppose there's some of that here, seeing a few new planets and Earth a few times, but this is, at its core, a Mil-SF series.

I won't get into it, but it has all the see new places, kill new people feel. And just because the aliens are all asshats, it doesn't make us any less of one, either.

Fast forward, I was getting a little worn out by the frankly slightly dull mil-life of being shuffled about, made a mushroom, and having nothing greater than dumb luck to help you survive. It wasn't until a certain beer can showed up that I really started getting into the book.

Sure, a snarky companion always livens things up, and this whole addition is ALL trope at this point, but I still enjoyed it. The series may never be my go-to, but it IS enjoyable enough to want to see where it leads.

Adventure. I miss a good adventure.


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The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four, and Five by Doris Lessing
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Simultaneously a high-fantasy with highly stratified zones of consciousness and social development (different zones = primitive to high culture, sometimes vital to stagnant) and a hard look at sexual-social context, with all the sadness, misunderstanding, violence, and yes, love that's involved, the novel is both ambitious and highly unsettling.

It's mythical and even slightly satirical, but less so because it's painfully honest and clear-eyed.

The higher zones are more rarified, well-off, balanced, while the lower zones are increasingly war-like and even barbaric. The fact that the "providers" (call them orders from angels or whatever) demanded that the queen of Zone 3 marry the king of Zone 4, comes with a lot of shocking baggage and a wake up call to both societies.

None of these marriages are made in heaven. But it did break up the stagnation between them, allowed people to hope for better in zones 4 and 5, while bringing pain and suffering to zone 3, which was ostensibly MUCH better off and happy before.

Seen as an allegory, it's pretty obvious, but as a fantasy, it's a bit more interesting, complicated, and multi-faceted than anything a normal allegory might attempt. Indeed, I finished this book over 2 hours ago and it has had me re-evaluating everything about it, making me appreciate it even more.

It's really about the hierarchy of needs, and more than that, a hierarchy of spiritual development. Sometimes we have to get in the mud to appreciate the finer things, and sometimes the finer things must give way to finer refinement--even if it leads to massive unhappiness.

It's not an easy or happy book. But it sure as hell feels honest.




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The Wizard's Crown by Michael G. Manning
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So, I managed to rip through the last book in this series, literally putting down everything and anything else in my life to see how it finished, simply because I was just THAT invested in the tale. I loved it through the first three, started getting angry at certain characters' decisions in book 4, and then got utterly flabbergasted by the full turn to evil.

You know, the whole Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely thing?

Yeah. I ENJOYED the hard choices and the ruthlessness for most of the series. Now, I did love the magic and the OP setups and especially the cat, and even really appreciated the end of grandma, but the rest?

Dark. Very, very dark. Depressing, even.

And yet, it was a good book as long as you have a high tolerance for tragedy. No Hollywood ending here. It is ENDED, and the timing for the end is not in any way conducive for a good night's sleep.

So, in that respect, I want to give this a 1 star for how it pisses me off. But otherwise, it's rich with fantasy and great plot and wonderful action and a lot of character-changes that don't feel forced. If it had been done in such a way as to give us SATISFACTION, then I'm sure I'd have thrown a 5 star on this. I still devoured it without hesitation. I HOPED that it would pull off a hat trick.

Sigh.


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Disciple of War by Michael G. Manning
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book, but I have to say that I'm a bit curious about the choices our MC makes. Slippery slope things.

I mean, sure, it makes for great conflict and drama, but any kind of descent into evil generally is.

And yet, we're MEANT to believe that he's doing all this for perfectly good reasons and all his allies, including a certain incorporeal one, aren't really calling him out on it. Maybe they can't, and maybe they're just pragmatic, and maybe they truly have no problem turning a blind eye because reality IS messy and the stakes and the alternatives truly are that much worse.

And yet, here we are. War and the results of it in exchange for evil magic used for ostensibly good ends. Slippery, slippery slope.

Good thing I'm really enjoying the tale, right?



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Scholar of Magic by Michael G. Manning
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As this series is dead-set on proving that a truly PROPER foundation for magic is absolutely necessary, it's a breath of fresh air to get to truly spread your wings and show off as a proper sophomore in magical high-school. Or as a husband to the daughter of the king, where the king would rather flog you than speak to you.

But, hey, he's a USEFUL idiot.

I having a genuinely great time with this series. No real power-creep, despite the whole vampire-infestation of the city and hey, let's vaporize everything to solve the issue type plot. Everything follows quite naturally, and the plot threads are being laid in truly delicious ways.

I can't WAIT for the next.


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Secrets and Spellcraft by Michael G. Manning
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can't believe how much fun I'm having with this YA fantasy. After joining the army and doing many impossible things, he should have come out of it in chains and on the king's shit-list, but here we are...

A perfect shunt into Wizard School with the king's own sponsorship. Muahahahahahahaha

I love magic school stuff so this was all kinds of great, and getting away with murder just sweetens the deal.

But you know what really gets me going? Besides all of it? The end. That twist had me rolling with amusement. What a great, great end. And what witnesses!!! Whew.

I can't wait to move on to the next book.



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The Choice of Magic by Michael G. Manning
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is easily a great YA fantasy, one of the most engaging I've read in some time.
It's full of pretty normal tropes, but who cares when it's all deliciously executed. Early childhood, apprenticeship with a mysterious mentor, tragedy, war and mishaps and a mysterious female interest, and yet more mishaps. Normal, yes?

The proof is in the pudding, and I've read quite a few YA fantasies that are easily worse than this. Indeed, this is in the top 90%.

Worth it. Very fun.


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The Four Sisters Overlooking the Sea by Naomi Kritzer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Muahahahahaha

A beautiful story. So grounded, interesting, relatable.

And what a great twist!

It won the Hugo in '25 and I absolutely see why. It's not hugely fantastical or science fictional, but it IS wonderfully written, engaging, and alive. The fact that it has that little hint of mystery, a larger hint of satisfaction, and a great deal of things that just made me smile the entire time I read it was everything I needed.

Oh, also, this woman keeps writing really great short fiction. I've pretty much adored everything I've ever read by her, and this one would have been loved by me even without knowing a damn bit else.

It was so delicious. Seriously. A great story.



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Drowned Country by Emily Tesh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Solid novella, improves the characters IMHO, but sometimes in a slightly annoying way. I was all for a bit of mystery and hidden strength in my expectations, but alas. At least we got a bit of magical variety and more depth in other ways.

Not bad, great atmosphere.


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Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had to read this pretty much entirely because I loved the author's take on SF and UF, how she showed her writing chops.

In this, we've got a riff on the Greenman story, with old magic, love in the woods, and the whole atmosphere of age, longing, and slow growth.

I very much like the atmosphere.

My only complaint is that I feel like a lot of story got glossed over. Perhaps that's just the nature of a novella beast, of course, but I suppose I wouldn't have minded a decent chunk of worldbuilding and lore to fill my mental belly, let alone space to expand an actual adventure.

I'm curious to see how the second novella does on that score.



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

I'd always wanted to read this classic ever since I played a video game years and years ago that seemed to be never-ending strategy and kingdom conquering.

Indeed, that's exactly what this is, in historical fiction. I assume it's better in the original Chinese, but I can't help but feel awed in reading the first third of the whole long tale for how many huge war arcs take place, how many names grace the page, and how many people come to glorious and inglorious deaths.

So far, however, a few really stick to my mind: Cao Cao the Prime Minister, Kongming the wily advisor, the Three Brothers. So many of the others have had such ignoble ends at the end of this dynasty. It's crazy to see the fall of an empire one betrayal and battle at a time.

But honestly, it's no easy read. The number of names is as (or more) daunting than the Iliad. The lack of proper context (since I only have a random spattering, although pretty decent, knowledge of Chinese history and geography) made me wish, more than once, that I had laid out a full map of China before me, drew battle lines and movements of troops out before me, and generally did a full mock-up to better SEE the movements, defeats, and regroups. It reminds me less favorably against the History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, back when I read that, as well, but mostly because it was simply harder for me to pin down ALL the names without little tools like personality traits or descriptions of any kind that we happy modern folk get with modern historical fiction. We're pampered, no? But, there IS a decent amount of that in Three Kingdoms. Just not enough for my ease of reading, alas.

So, it takes a lot more time to get through this than normal. Good thing I like my occasional challenge, no?

All told, it's brilliant for tactics and strategy and for anyone fascinated by history. And now, on to the next two volumes. :)


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Red Limit Freeway by John DeChancie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I generally want to like this more than I do. I mean, I enjoy a different kind of SF, and one with truckers in an SFnal situation is just weird enough to tickle me (I mean, space roads, really?)

And honestly, that is pretty great.

As for this novel in particular, it was ... kinda all over the place with fractured and even half-baked plots designed more for the comic value and snark than a cohesive thread. The stake-creep was pretty obvious and not very well grounded. And even if I may be a bit un-generous compared to my normal reading habits, I will say it kinda matches the whole 80's shtick--half Smokey and the Bandit, half Piers Anthony. Which isn't bad, always, but it CAN get old. And having done my time with both as a kid, I think I'm gonna tap out again.

Not bad if you want this kind of thing, of course, I think I would have preferred more plot, less throwaway tv-episode feel.


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Hell Difficulty Tutorial: Book Four by Cerim
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm totally hooked by now. The first book was easily the worst and the rest are just gravy.

By now, finishing world 4 with his cute as a button disciple and avatar of himself is both sweet and bittersweet and I found myself going "awwwww" even during epic bloody battles and Curse of Bambis.

Of course, getting to the Tournament between worlds was just beautiful. I loved seeing all the old friends again and getting a chance to see some truly OP battles in a "safe" environment. I'm a sucker for that kind of thing. Have been ever since Dragon Ball Z.

I can't wait for the next installment.


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Hell Difficulty Tutorial: Book Three by Cerim
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oddly enough, this series is really starting to grow on me. Is it perhaps because a general asshole of a character actually starts growing as a freaking human being even as he becomes truly beast in power?

Yep.

Old trope, but damn if it doesn't WORK.

I really enjoyed finishing up world number 3 with all the great calamities, interpersonal stuff, nyaa, and the whole point of the tutorial: to get beast. The fact that these remnants are so memorable is rather heartbreaking, though.

For world #4, I think I just fell in love.

It got very simple. Train a disciple. Of course, he gets a 6 year old half-demon girl who's had it real rough before she almost died before getting plopped in his lap.

There is no worse trap. And I'm all here for it. Asshole will protect.


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Hell Difficulty Tutorial: Book Two by Cerim
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kinda like two books in one, just like the first book, in that we have two full story arcs and (almost) two whole levels for each story, with whole new worlds. And we're not even stuck on hell difficulty the entire time. Indeed, it can get WORSE.

Frankly, I'm really enjoying it all for the creative uses of mana--and perhaps even more than before. Just how beast can Nate get with his mana obsession, anyway?

I wanna see him go Absolute. Honestly. Big Boss level. It's gonna be funny as hell.


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ONE PIECE 巻百十二 by Eiichiro Oda
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One Piece is still fantastic. This one is a bit slower than before, but hey! Sometimes they need a little light break with good people. So what if they're giants known to terrorize the world, right? Colon is funny. But really, it's GREAT to see all these guys and have old stories tie into the new.

Oh, yeah, and getting the big worldbuilding. Primo stuff. :)



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King of Duels by Pirateaba
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love, love, love this series. It FEELS endless, emotional, funny, serious, heartbreaking, and generally a fantastic romp that I wish could continue forever and ever.

I might be a fan.

I may have stayed up all night to read it, too.

Here's the cool bit: While there are great scenes that had me sitting on the edge of my seat--um, like six of them--making me actually quiver in fear for the characters, it's actually the times where it's everyday life, with funny shit going on, that I cherish the most. There's simply a little bit of everything that I love in fiction in these books. Vast armies, quirky characters, love, care, and even a bit of sex, dealing with massive temptations, great evils, pride, public relations, and of course, LitRPG goodies of leveling and classes, but even more importantly: a timelessness of storytelling, of damn finely-drawn characters both familiar and subverted expertly, and the reality, at least to me, of my LIVING there.

I breathe and live here. It's just that good. And I will be happy to have 40 more of these books, please.


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The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The best I can say about this Medieval dark fantasy/horror is that it maintains a very specific vibe well. I was thinking of Doomsday Book and Between Two Fires for a great deal of the beginning, and a romp through (view spoiler)[fae-vampire (hide spoiler)] territory during the second half.

I don't think it was bad at all.

However, it did feel a bit like it was straying into overdone territory a bit. There have been quite a few novels over the last couple of years that keep on revisiting bits and pieces of this and I personally got a bit tired of the direction it took.

Mind you, that's just me and the fact that I read a lot. Taken on its own, without having read the sheer amount of things I've read, I'd have probably enjoyed this a great deal more. But that's just it. The originality doesn't shine. It's crafted well and it has interesting leads and baddies and considering the time and place, it has a pretty solid plot. Beyond that, I can't say much else.



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Hell Difficulty Tutorial: Book One by Cerim
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Here's a funny divergence. I briefly looked at a ton of reviews that said they hated this book and thought the MC was a sociopath, but I just laugh.

In reality, he's just a thinker. He makes the hard decisions, thinks that everyone should toughen up, hates being used and will go full Lannister on those around him. He's at home in hell difficulty because it's heavily implied that his life before going full LitRPG was pretty much the same.

You know, abuse. And now he's acting out as something of an abuser.

I'm not saying I particularly like him a character, but at least with these circumstances, it actually fits and he thrives.

That being said, this book really stands out when it comes to creative use of skills. Even if everything else was average, the fights and the imaginative twisting of mana makes this a very enjoyable tale.


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Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert A. Heinlein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-read.

I have to say I like this better the second time around. I think I judged it harsher for the whole David Copperfield in space kind of vibe--but now? It's really a full circle kind of story, from slave to slaver-busting, with many interesting, educational stops along the way.

Honestly? I think I rather love this novel. It's easily one of Heinlein's best, objectively.


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Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've read a number of other Murakami novels, but this is the first one that feels truly wild, fast-paced, and weird.

I felt the whole noirish vibe butting right up against a grand SFnal unconsciousness-hopping exploration, hopping back and forth between the SF adventure and the eerie fantasy with great ease.

The questions, the foreshadowing, the subconscious bleeds, the who final resolution that boils down to love makes it all very dream-like, and that's interesting, because the writing style is very close to a noir mystery.

Best of all, I was fascinated to see that this had come from the mid eighties, and all the subsequent similar novels I've read are now obviously riffs on this original classic.

I'm quite happy. I love truly original works of fiction, and this one absolutely fits the bill.


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ONE PIECE 巻百十一 by Eiichiro Oda
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So, yeah, catching up with One Piece is always a trip.

I was just loving wrapping up Egghead Island and heading to Elbaph and it was all just as much fun as I expected, but I did NOT expect to be blubbering and getting all snot-nosed at the end of the volume.

What the hell, Oda. What the hell. It's not FAIR. This is just too much.

I'm stunned into tears.



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アスペル・カノジョ 12 [Asper Kanojo 12] by Sohachi Hagimoto
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So, this final volume finally snuck up on me and gobsmacked me in just the right way.

It's like I've always been keeping my distance from this story, just a bit, to keep from getting hurt. But then it got under my skin at just the right moment, yeah, a whole 12 volumes in, and then made me burst into freaking tears.

I'm still sniffling. It got me in the feels.

I recommend this for anyone who was bullied, who can't deal with other people, or anyone who just has a very hard time getting through each day. I won't say that it won't also bring you down, because it probably will. But its honesty, its openness, and its clear view is worth every minute of your time.



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アスペル・カノジョ 11 [Asper Kanojo 11] by Sohachi Hagimoto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One day at a time can eventually become a habit, and it's great to see that here. Despite hiccups, things can still stabilize. Sometimes it's really good to read this kind of thing.

The bad can get better.

Amazing, but true.



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Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 227, August 2025 by Neil Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"A Shaky Bridge" by Marissa Lingen - (4*) Buyer's remorse and an EXTREMELY plausible advertising tack our modern companies would pull on the most vulnerable among us. Easily a rage-bait story if there ever was one.

"And The Planet Loved Him" by L Chan - (5*) I love a great first-contact story and this one was rich with depth and speed, getting to the heart of the question of choice. I may not agree with the decision by the end, but it certainly put me right to the edge.

"Sleeper" by R.T. Ester - (5*) Beautiful SF that has a lot of everything I love: virtual clones, black site mystery, cults of personality, and truly interesting murder. Rich story. It was only after reading it that I realized I had already read the author's debut novel--which I also loved. So, bonus!

"Memories Are Only Valuable if They Can Be Lost" by Ai Jiang - (4*) Delightfully detailed look at the lifestyles of a rich future, from a laid off worker now stuck in the floating city, now unable to survive or return to his home.

"Sea of Fertility" by Bella Han - (5*) Probably my favorite story this month. I couldn't help but see it all play out beautifully in my mind's eye. Very colorful, exciting, interesting... and eventually profound. I would absolutely love to see this as a full-out movie. It'd probably become one of my all time favorites if it played out closely to the source.

"Heart of Thunder" by Raahem Alvi - (2*) I honestly enjoyed the back and forth tale of an old augmented soldier, what was done to him, what he'd done, and the endlessness of it. But the end twist? It just stole all the thunder and left me flat.

"A Dream of Twin Sunsets" by Ryan Cole - (3*) An old, old romance tale, with pollen filled SFnal trappings.

"Vwooom!" by Uchechukwu Nwaka - (5*) Sharp, rich writing in this short story. Evocative, stimulating, and smart. It's a whole thing in a spicy package.



Sea of Fertility was easily my favorite. The richest sensations. Followed by Vwooom! for the experience. Sleeper came in really close, though. I could live in all these words.





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アスペル・カノジョ 10 [Asper Kanojo 10] by Sohachi Hagimoto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's really pleasant to see her going the extra mile to chip in and help him after all he's done to help her. It's even great to see him try to break free of his own fetters, even if being social is such a painful thing. (Oh, how I get that.)

All said, I'm really enjoying the kindness and the true effort they're putting into their odd, careful relationship.

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アスペル・カノジョ 9 [Asper Kanojo 9] by Sohachi Hagimoto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Burdens work both ways. It should be obvious, but this is a heavy one to face. I can't blame him at all for needing help at this point and I'm happy that she's willing to help. The dynamics are hard, however.

It's a relatable read.



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アスペル・カノジョ 8 [Asper Kanojo 8] by Sohachi Hagimoto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes you just need to find the right way to fight back. To actually ask for help and accept the consequences for asking for that help.

This one was rather hard-hitting for me, personally, as a person with social anxiety. I was right there in the pages. The rest, well, bullying is a special kind of hell, and I'm extremely glad something like this got a little closure.



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アスペル・カノジョ 7 [Asper Kanojo 7] by Sohachi Hagimoto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Progress, with some slippage. Of course, that's to be expected, but facing one's past, even facing the source of your pain is still progress.

Hard stuff to read, but powerful.

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The Last Adventure by Maxime J. Durand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From 1 to 100 levels in 4 books, now complete. Our little (rather large) dragon has finished his adventures with his little minion, Victor.

I honestly thought this was a pretty great capstone. Epic battle against the Fae, the domination of the whole world, godhood. It's all here and satisfying as one gigantic RPG satire AND humorous adventure.

No complaints. Just fun.


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アスペル・カノジョ 6 [Asper Kanojo 6] by Sohachi Hagimoto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's fascinating to see that she seems to be getting a better handle on herself, taking all these tiny wins and beginning to do just a little more than survive, while his depression, even a slight paranoia, takes a turn for the worse.

I mean, let's face it, it was his understanding of all these issues in the first place, his need to not only feel, but act on his compassion, that allowed her into his life. But that also means that he has his own issues, too. They may not ever be as dire as hers, but long-standing clinical depression and social anxiety is nothing to sneeze at.

And, at least, it was never about sizing up either of them. It is always about being the support that each of them needs, and it's frankly quite beautiful.

After putting up that mirror of their own circumstances against another couple who invited them over, and after a rather huge boundary-invasion by the landlord's son, I think they're both navigating things rather well.

On the other hand, casually mentioning a non-joking offer of a suicide pact rather underscores the seriousness of it all. One good year doesn't make up for a lifetime of pain, no, but damn. This manga had hit HARD.

It holds up a really hardcore mirror to reality.


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アスペル・カノジョ 5 [Asper Kanojo 5] by Sohachi Hagimoto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Every good day is precious because the pain never quite goes away. But that is rather the whole trick, no?

The EXPECTATION of the pain becomes a preemptive attack to prevent new pain from taking root. Or in this case, lashing out at a stranger so you protect yourself from the inevitable danger/loss.

Abuse doesn't even have to be standard abuse. It can just be deep learning from deep immersion in pain.


And it's still no excuse. I love how this volume makes a serious point about making amends, about understanding the other side, about understanding who you might have hurt after lashing out, and even if you never meet eye-to-eye, to at least make the effort.

Sometimes, it's just so difficult. It's also so right to see this portrayed so well in this art. Nothing is glossed over. It's painful. It's also just a tiny bit... healing.


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アスペル・カノジョ 4 [Asper Kanojo 4] by Sohachi Hagimoto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Getting deeper into the neuro-atypical woods now, the deepening friendship, careful love between a suffering social-anxiety type and a girl with spectrum autism. I love the focus on just getting through each day, building happier memories, the simple fact of kindness being the most valuable thing in the universe.

Truly, this isn't a universal manga, or maybe it truly is, but it takes a certain heart to get the most out of it.

With so much unhappiness in the world, it's always the tiniest things that mean the very most.


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アスペル・カノジョ 3 [Asper Kanojo 3] by Sohachi Hagimoto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When not fitting into this life equates with heaven being having someone who UNDERSTANDS you, treats you with kindness, who actually CARES... a story can hit REALLY hard.

Seriously. This equates to some hardcore Care-Core lit.

Sometimes it's impossible to find for a lot of us. So this is VERY nice to read.


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アスペル・カノジョ 2 [Asper Kanojo 2] by Sohachi Hagimoto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really quite fascinating.

I'll admit I'm reading it primarily because it shows two people trying to desperately show and learn kindness with each other, to give a bit of solidity and stability to each other, to create a life that is WORTH living.

But it's not an easygoing manga by any means. Suicidal ideation, past abuse, Asperger's all make it feel rather desperate and tragic at the same time. But this is what makes the KINDNESS feel so striking and beautiful.


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アスペル・カノジョ 1 [Asper Kanojo 1] by Sohachi Hagimoto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was something of a departure for me, catching my eye in comments and the oddity of it in the first place, but I can't say I'm disappointed.

It's a simple slice of life between a suicidal autistic girl who was pretty heavily abused, and how the magaka, also suffering from isolation and depression, help each other.

I guess this is pretty damn niche, but it's still interesting because it's no kind of fantasy (in that there's some fantastic payoff) except some realistic, if painful, human kindness.

But, let's face it, sometimes some basic human kindness is extra-ordinary.


Oh, yeah, this manga is hella awkward. You are warned.


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Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This cozy SF novel is entirely worth the wait. It isn't going to be anything groundbreaking, but it does slap.

Noodles, that is.

Authentic, bot-made noodles.

So yeah, post-war, poverty-ridden, just trying to stay alive, this rag-tag team of bots and a single human down on his luck band together to defeat review-bombers and empty stomachs.

It isn't groundbreaking, as I said, but it is entirely welcome. Sometimes we need a rest. A tiny foodie rest, with care, friendship, and a dream.


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Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gladiator meets Free Market Authoritarianism, with a rather massive side dish of social critique.

Frankly, I can't argue against the conclusion. Massive incarceration build-up doesn't do a damn thing to improve the lots of ANYONE. Not the people who are afraid, not the people who get locked away, not anyone except those who profit on the big, grinding machine.

When you start turning it into a reality show with bloodsports as a way to get out of a sentence or two, it just dehumanizes everyone further and further until we all just have to sit back and say that cruelty was the entire point.

To couch this in a novel of attempted redemption, of survival in the ring, of love in despair, of feeling that grand, disgusting disquiet that will quease your stomach during the entire read, is just an artistic choice.


Honestly, it's a pretty decent novel the way that goes. I can also absolutely see us all going this horrible route as all other opportunities dry up and survival at ANY cost becomes the only road forward--and that is the main reason why this novel made me want to hovel in a corner.

I would hate to see this become our reality. And yet, when cruelty is the purpose, the novel might be a blueprint.

It certainly wouldn't be the first.



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Starrigger by John DeChancie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this on recommendation and just felt a bit tickled by the premise -- since it's not something I usually see -- and was immediately enjoying it for the oddball physics and the potential timey-wimey hijinks of an open-road (or road-galaxy) adventure.

About half-way in, I was thrilled to see it turn into Smokey and the Bandit with mach-speed racing.

The rest was pretty entertaining, with spies and betrayals and wacky religious people and hitch-hiking the starways.

I didn't realize how much I missed this crap until after I thought nobody wrote this kind of novel anymore.


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World Tour Edition by Maxime J. Durand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The humor works just right. It's a buddy series to the very end. A Dragon and his Minion, bros forever.

And this time, they get the road trip they've always wanted, to see new places and kill new people all in the name of gold. Precious, precious gold. Or power-ups. One or the other.

The zinger at the end may or may not be my cup of tea (Vic's escapades) but it seems like it (and he) might turn out all right. Still, fun stuff, all the way.



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Re: Colonised Planet 5, Shikasta by Doris Lessing
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I went through a lot of revisions on my opinion of this book as I was reading it.

To summarize: It's a wild grab-bag of an author thumbing her nose at all sorts of conventions, writing exactly and only what she wants to write about, courageously, jumping about in whatever direction she wants to go, and doing it with heart.

She enjoys flights of grand imagination that I can only liken favorably to Olaf Stapledon.

At first, I thought all these ancient alien colonizer official reports, a bit dull and officious, were pretty cute and stuffy, preparing us for a gut punch later, but then the novel turned into a beautifully scientific re-imagining of creation myths as seen with a heartbroken eye, and then into shotgun spread of a skewering condemnation of our modern society.

At almost every point in the novel, I feel its deep SF heart, its observer's eye, its anger, its reliance on nothing but itself.

This is not a normal genre novel in any respect. So, why should anyone care about this SF in particular?
It feels like an Important work. On many levels.

Take your pick: colonization, religion as control, politics, loss of what makes us human, holding on to that one little thing that gives your life meaning when it all falls apart, or just the sensation of deep time and monumental changes. It's all here.

Or perhaps, on a potential re-read, it may hit me differently at different parts of my life. It's simply one of THOSE novels. Worth it, in other words.


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The Year of the Rogues by Maxime J. Durand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Funny, light read. Still enjoying the *slightly* smarter dragon antics, Victor's improved minion status, and the attempts to not go all-out evil while building an evil empire.

Plus, there's always the danger of lead. Evil, evil lead. The bane of all dragons. lol

All told, I'm enjoying the read. It's slightly weird, very comedic, and it has all the goodies of any LitRPG, with tons of familiar class upgrades and level-ups.


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Vainqueur the Dragon by Maxime J. Durand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After reading, I have to say I got everything I expected out of this novel.

LitRPG with an ancient dragon awakening to the class system? Not too smart? Becomes an OP adventurer?

Yep.

It's often funny and weird and it hits all my expectations. It helps that our hapless human minion is also a hoot.


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A Brief History of Chronomancy by Andrew Rowe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I honestly had a great time with this even if the progression-path was wonky. But, hell, timey-wimey stuff is ALWAYS rather wonky. What can you expect with chronomancy, even with a dude whose core is all about enchanting?

Here's what I loved most: Training montages. Endless training montages. Power-ups with training montages. Quests related to training montages nested within training montages that are really recursive grand-training montages hosted by future selves who are, themselves, in training montages.

*wicked glee*

Yeah, perhaps it's fairly predictable, but THIS is what I keep coming back to the series for. Climbing spires and the grand war and the otherwise dire stakes for friends and family are almost a secondary concern, but also fun. I only wish I could get THESE particular books more often. :)


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Overgrowth by Mira Grant
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This one was a bit of a mixed bag for me. A lot of the novel hit a lot of cool notes, especially the start, that was part-way Seanan and part-way Grant-Parasite, and then it was fun with its subtexts, hating-humans for perfectly valid social reasons, etc.

After the signal and the "oh crap everything she said was real" bits, I kinda had a bit of a problem. It wasn't bad, per se, but I just felt like the wish-fulfillment "oh, all her friends really are cool people" thing didn't actually land right. That, or post-signal, I kinda hated the vilification of NASA. One or the other.

The last half of the novel got pretty interesting, tho, and especially so if you hate humanity.

So, yeah, this is a hate-humanity book. Sometimes that's just fine. And if we go about it by way of Little Shop of Horrors, then so be it.

Go, Audrey Two!



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Tigerman by Nick Harkaway
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I definitely wanted to like this one more than I did. It's not like the concept was bad. It's a superhero type novel without degenerating into outright tropes--more like Green Hornet than Batman--with a vast realpolitik situation in an isolated island.

I like the IDEA of it all much more than I was interested in the actual execution. I got bored. But even so, I did enjoy the dynamic between the hero and his adoptive orphan kid. It was heartwarming at points.

But overall? Definitely not my favorite Harkaway. I kept checking how much there was left, and that's not a great sign.


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