I like a good exploration adventure tale, and this one delivers. Exploring in his attic one day, Ben comes across correspondence between his great graI like a good exploration adventure tale, and this one delivers. Exploring in his attic one day, Ben comes across correspondence between his great grandfather and Arthur Conan Doyle which leads him to believe that The Lost World from Doyle's books was based on a real expedition to the tepuis in Venezuela. All he has to do is uncover a lost notebook from his great grandfather to point the way to a land where dinosaurs still roam. However, the pathway is only accessible every 10 years for some reason.
Of course, the book wouldn't be complete without millionaires to fund the trip and a race with villains to get to the dinosaurs. After all, what is an author going to feed all the dinosaurs with if he doesn't have extra sacrificial characters? And when a random character pops up 100 pages after a brief mention, you know he's going to make a nice dinosaur dessert, too.
I spent a good chunk of time watching real tepui exploration videos before reading this because I wanted a good visual of what they're like. The National Geographic one called "The Last Tepui" reveals just how alien they look at the top. They're so other-worldly that it's no wonder they inspired Doyle to write The Lost World. However, there's certainly not a jungle scape at the top, so you'll have to let yourself roll with the setting a bit until the author explains what's going on.
I always like a good Greig Beck book because he keeps you turning the pages. I don't feel absolutely compelled to pick up the next book in the series like I did with The First Bird, but it was still a fun read. I just wish his books were available from the library. But, alas....more
A woman wakes up on a sailboat with no memories and a note saying she shouldn't dig into her past. She doesn't recognize her face or the name on her pA woman wakes up on a sailboat with no memories and a note saying she shouldn't dig into her past. She doesn't recognize her face or the name on her passport: Sarah Jane Song. Oddly enough, she does remember how to sail. Of course, it's human nature to ask questions, so she navigates to every port that might hold a clue. And it seems that she's being followed.
Sarah -- or "Ess" as she begins calling herself -- feels off-kilter without a history, but she slowly starts to develop a sense of belonging with the friends she meets in Nanaimo in British Colombia. And I can't blame her because I liked them, too. I love the characters the author has created as much as the storyline.
The book takes place in near-future Canada, where many people are fleeing because of climate change. There's a bit of sci-fi and mystery to the book, but there's also a nice warmth from the characters and how much value she's getting from life even without knowing her past....more
The world's tallest mountain suddenly appears in the middle of the sea, and various types of scientists are called upon to climb it to figure out its The world's tallest mountain suddenly appears in the middle of the sea, and various types of scientists are called upon to climb it to figure out its secrets. That premise sounded intriguing enough, and the book starts with meeting one of the people who climbed it who has gone mad, H.P. Lovecraft style. In fact, the more I read this book, the more it started to remind me of At the Mountains of Madness. A few other reviewers have made the same deduction.
I was intrigued with this book for a while, but my interest started to wane about halfway through. Still, I climbed onward with the adventurers. It's an interesting concept book, but Lovecraft did it better....more
Wow, did this book not deliver. I was drawn to it because it was set in a near-future world struggling with climate change and takes place in a snowy Wow, did this book not deliver. I was drawn to it because it was set in a near-future world struggling with climate change and takes place in a snowy settlement in Canada full of scientists. The blurb calls it "mysterious," "mesmerizing," "transportive," and promises "suspense, endlessly surprising twists, and abundant heart." The blurb lied. It was not suspenseful in the least and barely had a plot until 70% when a few things started happening. It centers on a settlement filled with construction workers and prostitutes and a science research settlement a little farther north. The book is nearly over before you find out how they're connected. I didn't find myself attached to any of the characters, and the plot was boring. Where were all those endless twists they promised? There was just one twist really, and it happened nearly at the end. The only suspense I felt was to wonder how much longer I had until the end. And the characters certainly had no heart. Did the person who wrote the blurb for this book even read it? Probably not.
I had great difficulty putting this book down once I got started. It begins with a teenage girl getting ready to be teleported to live with her parentI had great difficulty putting this book down once I got started. It begins with a teenage girl getting ready to be teleported to live with her parents who are studying a volcano on a Goldilocks planet that had an extinction event millions of years ago in order to see if it's safe for humans to live there. Their method of teleportation is key to the storyline, as your original body burns up with the laser that scans you, and you're printed elsewhere -- like across the universe. When Jessica exits the printer at her destination, she finds that there's been a terrible accident and she needs to get to a remote location to alert someone to reprint the bodies of those who have "been broken." The book is written from two timelines, so you slowly learn what happened to the crew as Jessica treks across uncharted terrain. Along the way, she accidentally discovers that the planet had been inhabited before the extinction event. There's so much I'd like to say about this book, but it would be too spoilery. It does bring up some interesting philosophical ideas about teleportation and kind of leaves you wanting more. It's definitely one of the books I've enjoyed most this year. It's labeled as young adult, but it doesn't really have a YA feel. ...more
The Ferryman is set on an island isolated from a post-apocalyptic society. You know there’s some sort of Matrix element because reincarnation is possiThe Ferryman is set on an island isolated from a post-apocalyptic society. You know there’s some sort of Matrix element because reincarnation is possible. Still, it kept me guessing until the big reveal. ...more
I didn't realize I'd chosen a novella when I got started with this, so it felt like it was done before it had barely gotten started. The premise is thI didn't realize I'd chosen a novella when I got started with this, so it felt like it was done before it had barely gotten started. The premise is that everyone lives in a utopian world where we don't have to worry about diseases, travel without teleportation, hormonal emotions, or even sleeping anymore. However, high school kids can take a Scarcities class that allows them to experience some of the old, inconvenient problems we used to face. Our hero decides to try giving up 8 hours a day for sleep, while his friends experience things like regular teenage hormones, the common cold, and blindness.
The novella was an interesting thought experiment, albeit a short one. ...more
This is simultaneously a beautiful and painful piece of literature. Every chapter is something new and surprising. However, every chapter explores difThis is simultaneously a beautiful and painful piece of literature. Every chapter is something new and surprising. However, every chapter explores different facets of death. At first, I was intrigued and captivated by the author's imagination. But it eventually just became too much. Of course, we all die, but we don't want to think about it. And I don't mind thinking about death, but I apparently have my limits. The chapter on assisted suicides for pandemic-afflicted children was definitely a rough one.
The novel is inventive. Each story follows a different character, but the main characters are all interconnected in different ways. The first character we follow is on the site of an archeological excavation that uncovers a virus in the Arctic that unleashes a deadly plague. Then we follow other characters, including a worker from an amusement park for dying children, a crematorium operator, and other people who have direct connections to the death and suicide industry that has grown up as a result of the plague. The storyline goes back to the earth's origin story as well as to events surrounding our eventual exploration of outer space. So, it has a pretty far-reaching story arc.
Overall, it's a five-star book, but I have to knock it down to four stars because it's depressing as heck. I honestly don't think I came out mentally okay after reading it, and books don't usually phase me. So, read it at your own risk. If you think it might be too emotionally difficult to read, it will be. ...more
My husband love this book so much as a kid that he borrowed it permanently from his teacher's collection. The cover is tattered, the pages falling outMy husband love this book so much as a kid that he borrowed it permanently from his teacher's collection. The cover is tattered, the pages falling out, and it has that delightful old Scholastic book sweet oatmeal smell. Since I'm on a robot-story kick, this was the perfect next read.
This book was published in 1965, so it's old enough that science fiction writers were still imagining us encountering intelligent life forms on other planets in our solar system or moving to places like Jupiter's moon Ganymede. They could imagine video phones, but we still have phone booths. And spaceships still needed ticker tapes for blasting off.
Anyhow, the story is about Rex, a robot that Paul's parents bought for him as a companion in a Ganymede mining community since there aren't a lot of kids his age there. When Paul's family has to move back to Earth, they plan to leave Rex (the robot) behind because of the shipping expense. Rex escapes from his new owner and Paul escapes off the ship leaving for Earth because neither of them can bear to be parted. The rest of the story is about their adventures trying to get to Earth together without Rex the robot being apprehended as a runaway or kidnapper.
It's a fun story that holds up to an adult reading. There's even a bit of contemplative robot/human philosophy tucked in for good measure. If you're lucky enough to ever run across the book in a used book store, it's worth grabbing if you like robots or adventure stories....more
Ever read a book that made you sad that it was going to end when you were only at about 15%? In A Psalm for the Wild-Built, a non-binary monk drives aEver read a book that made you sad that it was going to end when you were only at about 15%? In A Psalm for the Wild-Built, a non-binary monk drives an electric-bicycle-powered tea caravan through the wilds, teaming up with a robot companion. It almost sounds like a plot created from drawing random story elements out of a jar and just running with it, but the effects are perfect.
I absolutely love this genre, but it doesn't have a name. Thought-provoking nature science fiction perhaps? It seems that the only authors I've read in this genre so far have been women, including Sheri S. Tepper, Jennifer Foehner Wells, Sue Burke, and Mary Doria Russell. It also falls into a genre I like that I've named "monks in space." Science fiction monks are something different than I feel real monks probably are. Their religions seem more reality-based than spiritually-based, with more of an appreciation for nature and an admission that they don't really know anything. The stories in their religions seem more symbolic and metaphorical than something they believe as fact.
I absolutely adore Dex the monk in their unsurities and in their decision to leave the village to find a cricket alive in the wilds. And the robot that they encounter, Mosscap, is full of surprises, too. The two make an unlikely but interesting pair, and I'm sad I have to wait another three months to get to read book #2 in the series since this was a too-short novella. I felt like I was just getting to know the characters when the book was already over. I'm just glad that wasn't the end of them because they need more adventures together....more
There's this new trend I've noticed lately in sci-fi books that I'm not enjoying, and this book falls prey to it. The main character is plunged into aThere's this new trend I've noticed lately in sci-fi books that I'm not enjoying, and this book falls prey to it. The main character is plunged into a situation and spends the entire book being introspective without the book really going much of anywhere. This book felt like it wanted to be a Tom Clancy novel with even less soul.
Our hero is genetically upgraded without his permission, which causes him to become intellectually and physically superior to other humans in every way. He encounters another person with the same upgrade, but they're at odds about whether to find a way to upgrade all of humanity to become better people and thus save the planet from our climate change woes and extinction or not. Much introspection and chasing each other ensues. And I don't agree with our hero's stance on the issue.
The final 10% of the book is nearly unreadable as our hero climbs the stairs of a tall building in search of his foe, cocks his gun a lot, pretends to be a Tom Clancy hero, and lists off the floors as he searches. 10. 12. 13. Nobody on 14. 15...
I've been a fan of Blake Crouch for a while and was extremely excited to read his latest book as an early reviewer, but this thing needs to go back to the editing table. Heck. It needs a complete reboot. There are some interesting concepts here, but it feels like it was lacking the right vehicle to carry them. I'd honestly rather see the results of a genetically upgraded humanity than follow this storyline.
Reading this was a chore. Yes, I'll buy the next Blake Crouch book, but I can't recommend this one at all.
I'm normally a big Becky Chambers fan, but this book just didn't do it for me. It's designed to follow one of about 6 main characters in each chapter,I'm normally a big Becky Chambers fan, but this book just didn't do it for me. It's designed to follow one of about 6 main characters in each chapter, and every scene feels like its main job is world building. Don't get me wrong; I love the author's worlds. But at some point, I wanted there to be a more compelling storyline.
It's the story of a generation ship multiple generations after leaving Earth and finding other worlds and cultures. The book explores what it would be like for a group of people to decide to continue living on the ship rather than going planetside and potentially ruining another planet. We have the perspective of a land-born person coming to the ship to live, as well as some ship-born people going to live planet-side. And that's pretty much all there is to the plot on a grand scale.
I feel like I could have skipped this book since all the series books tend to stand alone. It may be a while before I brave the next book in the series after this though....more
There are very few books that read like this one. It feels very much like an episodic tv show located on a space ship but with no real end goal in sigThere are very few books that read like this one. It feels very much like an episodic tv show located on a space ship but with no real end goal in sight. The point of the story isn't to find a new world, win a war, or to fulfill a romance. The storyline is more about the development of the story's quirky characters, but there is no main character because everyone changes in different ways. When I started reading, I was immediately reminded of some of the characters in the Firefly tv show. It's not a book that compels you to read it with a driving force of uncovering the secrets of the plot. Instead, you pick it up to be with friends and see what sort of world they're going to land on next. The author does an amazing job of creating very diverse alien cultures with truly alien ways of seeing the world, and she also is adept at exploring how these cultures interact as well as how the characters are able to (usually) peacefully navigate the differences.
Rather than summarize the plot, I think it's better to introduce the Wayfarer's crew members: *Kizzy-- Kizzy is definitely Kaylee from Firefly. She's the ship's energetic mechanic that is always doing and saying endearing things as she flits through life. You can't help but love her. *Ashby-- Ashby is the captain of the Wayfarer. He's easygoing like the captain from Firefly, Mal. He is also having a culturally forbidden romance with an insanely beautiful woman from another species. *Dr. Chef-- I imagine Dr. Phlox from Star Trek Enterprise when I think of Dr. Chef. He's the ship's cook, gardener, and doctor. His past is a violent one, but on the ship, he's a calm advisor who heals mainly through foods and words. *Jenks-- Jenks works with Kizzy as a mechanic, and he is extremely short in stature. He has a strong unconventional love for the ship's AI, Lovey. *Lovelace-- Lovelace is the ship's sentient AI, warmly referred to by all as Lovey. She has no corporal body but is a very present character in everyone's lives. *Corbin-- Corbin is the ship's cantankerous algaeist. It takes a brush with death and salvation at the hands of his least favorite crew member to mellow him. *Rosemary-- Rosemary is the newest edition to the crew who changes her identity to gain passage, but she turns out to be invaluable in navigating cross-cultural encounters. *Sissix-- Sissix is from a polyamorous reptilian world. The exploration of her culture is one of my favorite bits of the book. I always imagined her as Taystee from Orange is the New Black (but with scales and a tail). *Ohan-- Ohan is a symbiont who is host to a virus--a part of their culture. They refer to themselves in the plural, and the virus allows them extreme computational skills that help in piloting the ship. This storyline is interesting because the virus is killing the host, and they are refusing a cure.
I look forward to reading the next book in the series to join in more adventures with these old friends of mine I've been tagging along with across the universe....more
I can never remember the titles of Becky Chambers's books. They're always so much more ephemeral than her writing. This one's something, something, ifI can never remember the titles of Becky Chambers's books. They're always so much more ephemeral than her writing. This one's something, something, if fortunate. It's a line from the book, and I guess that it does encompass the overall idea one should get from the book, but it's odd.
This novella is about a crew of four astronauts that go on a space exploration mission. They're the first to discover life on other planets, ranging from microscopic life to weird animals. The whole point of the book is to discover these new worlds with them.
I usually don't like books that don't have a definite ending, but this one not having a real ending was okay because I didn't feel like it was heading toward any specific ending that left me feeling unfulfilled. I do wonder a little what happened, although I can guess. In the end, the characters did seem to be on a journey that was about learning rather than gathering data to use to teach others, so I suppose that the title was fitting in a way.
As usual, the author creates a story that's one part character development and one part world-building. I do always enjoy her tales because they're full of the extremes of what-ifs about life out there in the universe. I think I'm in the mood to read something else by her immediately afterward since this just felt like an appetizer book. ...more
I’m probably one of the few people on the planet who has neither read nor watched Game of Thrones. But one has a hard time reading the internet withouI’m probably one of the few people on the planet who has neither read nor watched Game of Thrones. But one has a hard time reading the internet without knowing 2 things to expect from George R.R. Martin's writing: everyone is going to be having sex with everyone else and there’s going to be a blood bath. So combine these 2 ideas with a spaceship sci-fi theme, and you get Nightflyers. I’m still trying to wrap my head around how everyone on the space ship was sleeping with everyone else. I can’t imagine any set of co-workers I’ve had with which this would be remotely desirable. But maybe the difference here is that the crew was thrown together by a xenomythologist on the search for a mythical alien race, the Volcryn. So they’re not just science nerds, but anthropological nerds and language nerds and telekinetic nerds all thrown together for what must become a space orgy. Because that’s just how GRR Martin thinks the world rolls … or should roll.
I like the description of the mythical race that the xenomythologist is chasing: [their ships [move at] only a fraction of the speed of light! .. [T]hey must be ... wise and patient, long-lived and long-viewed, with none of the terrible haste and passion that consumes the lesser races.” Ah. How nice and peaceful this book sounds. Except that you know that it is certainly not going to end peacefully even if you don't walk into the book knowing that it's in the horror genre.
The characters are interesting. I especially enjoyed the slow eeking out of information about the secretive captain of the ship who keeps himself sequestered from the crew that has hired him to take them through space in pursuit of the Volcryn. Why does he only allow himself to be seen as a hologram? Is he real? And is he the cause of the terrible things that begin to happen to the crew members? Of course, he swears that he’s not. Could it be the result of being in proximity to the Volcryn? Or is it something else entirely?
I have no desire to see this enacted as a movie. And I’m glad the illustrator chose less bloody scenes to draw. It also hasn’t convinced me to read Game of Thrones, but it was an entertaining read....more
One night in the near future, an unexpected visitor knocks on the door of Junior and Hen's door. It's an out-of-the-ordinary event because they live iOne night in the near future, an unexpected visitor knocks on the door of Junior and Hen's door. It's an out-of-the-ordinary event because they live in an isolated farm area that never has visitors. Thus begins a novel about a man who may be selected for the chance of a lifetime to live aboard a space station as a part of a government study.
The book is so simply written that there are plot points that immediately stand out and seem to be clues to what might really be happening in the story. The wife seems to know something about the project that the husband doesn't know. The visitor seems familiar. Or are these red herrings? This is the point where I went down a Wikipedia rabbit hole on the origin of the phrase "red herring" (which strangely doesn't have a literary origin).
Yes, this is a sci-fi story. I don't know that I'd label it "horror" or "thriller" as some have. I did turn the pages quickly. But it really seems to me to be more of a novel where things are not what they seem--which in itself is a commentary on marriage and relationships.
The irony did not escape me that I was reading sentences like this during breaks in my state-mandated divorce class: “They stay together because it’s expected, because it’s what they know. They try to make it work, to endure it, and end up living under some kind of spiritual anesthetic. They go on, but they are numb. And the more I think about, the more I think there’s nothing worse than to live your life this way. Detached, but abiding. It’s immoral.”
We often live our lives not being ourselves inside of unhealthy relationships, dying a little on the inside, not going places and doing things that we want. Days move forward and we don't.
"Honestly, I rarely feel happy. And I don’t want to have to tell you everything. I shouldn’t have to. Not if you’re paying attention, even just a bit, considering me in a way that’s not just superficial. I want my own identity separate from being your wife. It’s just how it should be.”
This. This. This is the core of what is wrong with so many relationships: the not paying attention, the lack of communication, the need for self-identity, the need for a life that is separate as well as the one that is shared.
I sort of figured out what was really going on in the novel at about 60%. The author was definitely good at putting me off the scent. And the ending really was perfect. Go, Hen!...more
I thought I'd give this a try after reading A Psalm for the Wild-Built since it featured wild robots. Of course, it didn't have the same depth since iI thought I'd give this a try after reading A Psalm for the Wild-Built since it featured wild robots. Of course, it didn't have the same depth since it's not by the same author and because it's really a children's book. I can imagine liking it more as a child than as an adult perhaps. The story is basically about a robot that is shipwrecked on an island. All the animals on the island are initially afraid of the robot, but she eventually learns their languages and makes a home on the island, even becoming the mom of an orphaned gosling.
I wasn't interested enough in the storyline to read the second book in the series, but I'd still recommend this to young robot and nature fans. I think it would be a 5-star book for lots of kiddos, just not so much for me....more
Binti. Hmm... I'm having a hard time coming to a conclusion on this one. Is it great or just mediocre? It won Hugo and Nebula awards, so some must sayBinti. Hmm... I'm having a hard time coming to a conclusion on this one. Is it great or just mediocre? It won Hugo and Nebula awards, so some must say that it's great. I have to say that it stands apart largely for featuring a main character from the Himba tribe of Namibia. This novella is set in a future where the Himba are reviled by nearby tribes and never leave their land. But they have developed an extreme mastery of mathematics and science. Binti, an exceptionally intelligent Himba, is the first of her tribe to be accepted to represent humanity at Oozma University and leaves home against the wishes of her parents in order to attend. At first, she is stared at and talked about because of her strange appearance (she wears a mixture of oil and red clay on her skin and in her hair according to tribal custom). If I reveal much more, I'll give away the entire short plot of the novella.
Science fiction always needs more leading ladies and more obvious minorities to balance out its array of characters. People like to read characters who resemble themselves in some way. This book does that in its appeal to cultural outliers, loners, math and science nerds, minorities, cultural groups who wear distinctive clothing and hairstyles, women, and women of color. For this, it's an important work. However, I didn't realize I was getting a 96-page novella when I started reading, especially since it's the first book in a series. I might have rated it higher had I realized how short it was and if I hadn't been broadsided by such a narrow plot. The next book in the series is only slightly longer at 176 pages. I like a little more meat in my series. Otherwise, why not just turn them into one book? My library doesn't have it, and I really don't want to pay $4 for such a short book, so I just might pass on finishing this series....more
I was so excited to get the second book in this series from Netgalley that I tore through it in all my free time. I had already been anxiously anticipI was so excited to get the second book in this series from Netgalley that I tore through it in all my free time. I had already been anxiously anticipating it, and it did not disappoint. Sometimes sequels aren't as great as original novels, but this one held me captive from page 1. It's hard to talk about this book without spoiling the first one, but I'll give it a try. Let's just say that the world finds itself in the middle of a worldwide apocalyptic situation involving giant robots from outer space that can obliterate a city with minimal effort.
Oh, gosh, that sounds silly. I promise that it's not. Once again, the book is written as a series of interviews with those closest to the drama of the book. And this time, we get to meet the interviewer.
While we do eventually find out why aliens have attacked earth and an unconventional solution to save the planet is finally found, there is still so much that is unknown about the past, present, and future that can lead to a 3rd or 4th book in the series.
I still hypothesise strongly that the Kara of this novel is written with the Kara from Battlestar Galactica in mind. The fact that there's always a toaster reference pretty much solidifies my theory.
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If you haven't read the first book in this series, Sleeping Giants (a nominee for the GoodReads Reader's Choice Award in science fiction in 2016), be sure to do so before this book comes out in April of 2017 and before it becomes a movie (it's already been optioned by Sony). If you like science fiction of any sort, you're likely to enjoy this series....more
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