The nitty-gritty: Low-tech and futuristic space travel combine in surprising ways in this entertaining series opener. Last year I thoroughly enjoyed R.W.W. Greene’s Twenty-Five to Life, and so I jumped at the chance to read his latest book from Angry Robot. Mercury Rising is just as compelling but in a different way. Where Twenty-Five to […]
The nitty-gritty: A unique multiverse tale with high stakes and engaging characters, Prison of Sleep is a satisfying series wrap-up. Tim Pratt concludes his high energy sci-fi multiverse duology with Prison of Sleep, and just like Doors of Sleep, it was a ton of fun! This is a series that needs to be read in […]
The nitty-gritty: Full of effortless humor, imaginative world-building, and complex characters, Stringers is a smart, bold sci-fi adventure—with pickles. “The Chime sounded, like, well, a chime. A really big chime. But still. If there truly was a sound evil enough to destroy the galaxy, wouldn’t it be something like pre-Black Album Metallica, or Justin Bieber? […]
Bluebird was a blast, and I’m so glad I had the chance to read it. According to the publisher’s description, you can expect “Lesbian gunslingers in space!” And yes, you get all of that, but Bluebird is so much more. Ciel Pierlot has written a thrilling adventure complete with spies, thieves, betrayal, secrets, gunfights, and […]
The nitty-gritty: Deep Dive is a fast-paced, science fiction thrill ride with an engaging mystery and some interesting twists. Deep Dive was such a thrilling read, and I could not tear my eyes away from the page. Ron Walters’ story is a twisty, mind-bending sci-fi thriller that keeps the reader guessing. It evokes both The […]
The nitty-gritty: Dan Hanks blends 80s nostalgia, portal fantasy and parenthood in this fun romp/quest to save the world. Swashbucklers was a lot of crazy fun, and I do mean crazy—think Ghostbusters meets Stranger Things. Dan Hanks does a good job of combining humor, action and nostalgia, and he even tugged on my heartstrings a […]
The nitty-gritty: The Offset presents a grim future, but gives readers plenty of food for thought. I’m not sure what I was expecting when I picked up this book, but it ended up surprising me in many ways. This is a dark, gritty look at a future where things are so bad that extreme measures […]
“Gotta get used to making choices. It’s your will or someone else’s. Get mad and stay that way. It’s a lot safer. You got a gun? It’s not always whimsy and bullshit out here.” I love when a book surprises me, and that’s exactly what happened with Twenty-Five to Life. At first glance, it seems […]
The nitty-gritty: Tim Pratt brings his readers three stories that focus on the side characters from his Axiom series, and while I enjoyed the stories overall, I really loved the last one in particular. Tim Pratt mentions in his forward to The Alien Stars that he wanted to revisit some of his favorite characters from […]
The nitty-gritty: A peculiar, melancholy but ultimately uplifting futuristic story, beautifully written. Composite Creatures is a strange, heartbreaking story that completely took me by surprise. I want to make sure my review is spoiler free, because this is one of those books where you should discover its secrets for yourself. And in fact, it wasn’t […]