Tag: sci-fi

book review · books · Star Trek

Maps, Mystery, and Mayhem in Star Trek’s The High Country

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The High Country (Star Trek Strange New Worlds) by John Jackson Miller
Genre: sci-fi
I read it as a(n): hardcover
Length: 371 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 4 stars 

Pike and the gang are headed out to test an experimental new kind of shuttle. It is a miserable failure, but not because the technology is flawed. It’s because they stray into a region of space where absolutely no technology works. They crash on a planet, Skagara, their emergency transporters sending the shuttle crew all across the planet. To the surprise of everyone, not only is there a thriving blended civilization there, but a close friend of Pike’s. 

The people of Skagara come from many places. The humans are descended from a lost ship that harkens back to an episode of Enterprise. The thing they all have in common is that they were brought to Skagara to follow a tech-free way of life. To Pike’s friend, Lila alley, it is paradise, but to Pike and the rest of the Enterprise crew, it’s awful. They set off on a mission to reconnect with the shuttle crew and also solve the mystery of why nothing works so they can escape from the planet. Unfortunately, Lila and many others will do anything to prevent Pike from doing what they think will ruin their way of life. 

Ok, first things first. This Star Trek book has MAPS! I fucking love maps in sci-fi books! I have never seen a map in a Star Trek book before, and not only is there A map, there are five maps! THERE! ARE! FIVE! MAPS! I fully support putting maps in Star Trek books and I wish every one of them that is based even in part on a planet or moon or planetary body of any kind came with a map. 

Next, the story itself was quite fun. It is a pretty typical Trek story – crashes and planets and a Problem That Will Destroy the Universe unless Our Heroes can fix it! The civilization on Skagara is very Old West, so there were plenty of parts of this book that read like an episode of Firefly. I ALSO approve of Trek that reminds me of Firefly! And vice versa! When can we get more Firefly books as well as Star Trek books, please and thank you? 

We got to see a lot of good character development for Uhura in particular, which was nice. Not everything the shuttle crew experienced was good and some of it will leave scars. Not even Utopia is perfect. There was also some good back story for Pike, which I always like. I dig a good back story. 

For me, Number One had the least interesting story line and least amount of character growth. Spock had the most “yeah, right” story line. Fun, but yeah, right, like that would happen. 

I also liked that this book had short chapters. It felt like I was making faster progress than I was, and also made it a lot easier to read in bed at night. I could say that I was going to read 2 chapters and actually make it through 2 whole chapters without my book hitting me in the face. 

Anyway, it was a fun story, nothing too unexpected at all. A solid Star Trek brain candy book.

book review · sci-fi

Character-Driven Stories in The Wayfarers Series

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I had done a very short review for The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet in a catch-up round a while back. So I don’t really want to redo it here, even though there’s a lot I could say about it. Mostly I will say that I loved it and that it had spicy, diverse characters. The characters were the primary drivers of the story more than the plot, though that was ridiculously fun as well. I love the trope of Found Family and Chambers created a beautiful one on the Wayfarer. I give it 4.5/5 stars

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Moving on. A Closed and Common Orbit is, I think, my favorite in the series. As fun as TLWtaSAP was, this one sat me down and fed me a delicious story of self-discovery AND a character backstory. I do love a good backstory. I like seeing how all the stories and characters are intertwining across these books. Pepper was a minor character in a couple scenes in the first book, and now she has a whole book of her own, along with Lovey, the Wayfarer’s AI. Other characters that got a small mention elsewhere show up as well. I love that kind of world-building. Very meta. 

I also loved this story because it was fun to get to know one specific setting well. The primary story was set in Port Coriol, and the descriptions of that city were vivid and tangible. It was a vibrant city and Pepper’s little neighborhood, Six Top, felt like a place I would love to stay. 

5/5 stars

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Record of a Spaceborn Few covers the Human fleet, called the Exodans. They are the remnants of the people who left Earth and who decided to remain in space rather than settling on a planet. As with the other books in the series, there are references to other characters from previous books. One of the POV characters in this is Ashby’s sister. Ashby, for those who may have forgotten, is the captain of the Wayfarer. It was fun to get “updates” about Ashby by way of a random comment here and there, a reminder of what the Wayfarer crew was up to at the same time the events in the Fleet were unfolding. 

This one focused on the ways we come to discover Home, and what that means to each of us. We saw this exploration through the eyes of several Humans, some who were Exodan and some who grew up on a planet. Some wanted out of the Fleet, some wanted back in, and others weren’t sure where they belonged. Chambers teased out the threads of their stories and wove them together to create a lovely, rich story.

3/5 stars

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The Galaxy, and the Ground Within. Yes, yes, it was chock full of complex characters and a little bit of splody space excitement and getting to know people and their various cultures. I dig all of that, don’t get me wrong. But! Did you know there is a whole scene dedicated to cheese? And how revolting it really is when you stop to think about it? And how, despite that, humans are “all so fucking bonkers for cheese that they’ll ingest a dose of the enzymes [needed to digest cheese] beforehand so that they can eat it.” I feel so seen.

As with the other three books in the series, this one was full of deep characters, lots of self-discovery, and growth. Also as with the rest of this series, it really isn’t an action-packed, standard space adventure kind of story. All of the books in this series are more like examples of kishotenketsu, where there isn’t a traditional hero or call to action or conflict. The characters interact and learn about each other and through them, their own biases and blind spots. Some of them try to figure out what they can do about those to do better. Their circumstances made them think introspectively, and I think it should do the same for any reader as well.

4/5 stars

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Overall, this entire series is the sort of generally happy, hopeful sci-fi I love. It’s reminiscent, in that way, of the original series Star Trek. I think we need more of the fun, optimistic, cozy kind of sci-fi and less of the dystopian, doom and gloom, we’re all going to die screaming kind. We already know we’re going to die screaming. I, for one, would like not to have to think about it for a minute. The Wayfarers series is the thing you are looking for to help distract you from…everything.

fantasy · sci-fi

Thorn Hedge, Hell Followed With Us, and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet – A Catch-Up Review

kristen1 Comment

Thorn Hedge by T. Kingfisher
Genre: fantasy
I read it as a(n): hardback
Length: 116 pp 
Her Grace’s rating: 4 stars

A retelling of “Sleeping Beauty,” Thorn Hedge asks, “What if Briar Rose slept not because she was cursed but to protect everybody else?” Not all curses should be broken, as the blurb says, and it’s true. Kingfisher takes a beloved fairy tale and breathes new life into it. I loved everything about this story – the atmosphere, the self-discovery, and the anxiety it gave me to think about what might happen if the Princess woke up. Also, I think there needs to be a cat at some point in my future that I will name Toadling.  

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White
Genre: SF
I read it as a(n): paperback
Length: 398 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 3 stars

I had read White’s second book, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, a while back and loved it. My daughter read this one first and begged me to read it, too, so I did. I enjoyed it but I was kind of grossed out. I dig a good cult book and escaping from said cult, but the body horror in this one was over the top. I loved the characters, though, and the dynamics between them all.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Genre: SF
I read it as a(n): paperback
Length: 441 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 5 stars

I’ve had this one on my TBR for several years and I don’t know what took me so long to get around to reading it. I loved it! In some ways, it felt a bit like a more lighthearted version of The Expanse books. Not in terms of plot at all, but more in the sense of found family. It had enough action but also plenty of terrific world-building and character development. 

book review · sci-fi · Star Trek

Boldly Exploring Home: A Review of Somewhere to Belong

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A book cover featuring the title 'Star Trek Discovery: Somewhere to Belong.' The cover showcases a cosmic backdrop with the iconic Starfleet insignia, a vibrant blend of blue and purple hues, and the silhouette of a starship soaring through the stars. There are 4 people on the cover. The largest is the face of a young Black woman with long braids. The other 3 are in a semicircle around her and depict a young white woman with curly hair, a young Hispanic man with goatee and short hair, and a cleanshaven white man with blonde hair.
Image from Goodreads

Somewhere to Belong (ST: DSC) by Dayton Ward
Genre: sci-fi
I read it as a(n): paperback
Length: 333 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 2.5 stars

Spoilers for anyone who hasn’t watched the show.

Now that the threat from the Emerald Chain is dealt with and the source of the Burn has been identified and corrected, Burnham and the crew of Discovery are able to take some down time to reflect on what the implications really are for them now that they’ve arrived in the 33rd century. Dr. Culber had been standing in as the counselor for the crew, but now that they’re at a starbase, a temporary replacement counselor has been assigned. Then they all get sent out to continue their mission of reconnecting with formerly allied planets that had been cut off from the Burn. They answer a distress signal and discover a ship of Xaheans, staunch allies of the Federation in the 22nd century. Only now, the Xaheans have by necessity become a wandering society and are isolationist on the verge of xenophobia. Capt Burnham has to try her hand at diplomacy to resolve a potentially deadly situation from exploding, and taking her ship and crew with it.

I have never taken so long to read a Star Trek book in my life. I was carting this around with me for the better part of a month! It was barely 300 pages, it should have taken me maybe a week even with work. It was. So. S L O W. I have never DNFed a Trek book but I came very close to doing so on this one. It was so out of character for Dayton Ward’s novels that it was kind of shocking how fucking bored I was with this one. It felt like he wrote himself into a corner and had no options for resolution other than cheesy and unbelievable ones. 

The overarching theme in the story is, of course, finding where one belongs. Ward explores the topics of what makes a home, how we create a found family, if home is a place or a feeling, and so on. At times, the exploration was a bit ham-handed. It felt sermony, which is usually reserved for Burnham although she managed to refrain from sermonizing this time. 

Also, this is kind of a weird observation. To be fair, I haven’t read every Trek book Ward has written so I could be wrong. But this book makes me think that he does not know how to write gay male characters. Stamets and Culber were definitely not right in this book. They were always saying something petulant or acting moody. Even though the characters recognized that and corrected it, it was still the first thing that was described. None of the other characters were handled that way. Maybe he just doesn’t like Culber or Stamets, which is fine if so. We don’t have to like all the characters. But I hope he figures out how to write those two characters better if he writes more Discovery books in the future. And I DO hope he does! He wrote Drastic Measures, which is one of my favorite Disco books, partly because it focused mainly on a young Lieutenant Gabriel Lorca, and he’s played by Jason Isaacs who I’m in love with. And partly because of that little tidbit at the very end that was obviously a confused and scared Prime Lorca stuck in the MU and I want to read that story!

book review · sci-fi

Exploring Otherworldly Tales: A Review of The Ghost Machine, Generations (in the Firefly Series), and My Best Friend’s Exorcism

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A book cover with a dark haired young woman in the background, a man with brown hair in the middle ground, and a black haired woman wearing a necklace in the foreground, with a spaceship in front.
Image retrieved from Goodreads

The Ghost Machine (Firefly) by James Lovegrove
Genre: sci-fi
I read it as a(n): hardback
Length: 336 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 3.5 stars

The crew of Serenity are hired by Badger to ship a device to a client on one of the outer worlds. Mal, though, gets a real bad feeling about it and declines to take it on board his ship. That doesn’t stop Jayne from bringing it on himself. Unfortunately for all, it is a device that attacks brainwaves, sending people into a coma-like sleep in which they have vivid hallucinations. They start out like everyone’s greatest dreams come true, but gradually change to their worst nightmare. Only River seems able to enter into the others’ visions, which she does in a desperate attempt to wake someone up before the ship crashes into a moon. 

I enjoyed this one, even though I don’t remember tons of details about it. It only took me 2 days to read. I liked it because it gave us a “what if” glimpse into what the crew’s secret desires are, though some are not hard to guess. The thing I seriously disliked was that Lovegrove seemed not to know what to do with Shepherd Book and Inara, so he shipped them off on an errand off-ship and they didn’t come back until the crisis was averted. I think he missed a great chance to fill in some of Book’s backstory in particular.

Book cover with a man in brown shirt with brown hair pointing a gun in front of him with a dark haired girl in the background
Image retrieved from Goodreads

Generations (Firefly) by Tim Lebbon
Genre: sci-fi
I read it as a(n): hardback
Length: 281 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 2.5 stars

Mal wins a strange star map in a game of poker and immediately the bad luck begins. Someone else tries to steal it and kill everyone in the process, River gets crazier because of something in the map, and there’s a Big Bad Secret that the Alliance has hidden in orbit around a far-outer planet. But, if the crew can manage to get there and back in one piece, there is a trove of historical relics worth a fortune on the black market. X marks the spot, I guess.

This one wasn’t as well developed as the previous three Firefly books. The characters seemed less complex and we didn’t really get a good view of things from River’s POV, even though she was the main protagonist in this one. Also, if I’m being honest, it was kind of slow. Not much actually happened. Probably my least favorite Firefly book so far, but I still enjoyed it because I will take Firefly in any way I can.

Book cover with a blonde girl with red eyes, owls and bats in the background, a clock tower, and 2 little girls holding hands
Image retrieved from Goodreads

My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
Genre: horror
I read it as a(n): audiobook
Narrator: Emily Woo Zeller
Length: 10:11:00
Her Grace’s rating: 3 stars

Abby and Gretchen are best friends and have been ever since Gretchen saved Abby’s 10th birthday party from being a total disaster. The girls are inseparable until high school when, after a weekend spent at another girlfriend’s house, Gretchen starts acting strange. She stops washing or changing her clothes, she is cruel, and she dumps Abby in favor of richer friends. Abby eventually figures out that Gretchen is possessed by a demon and sets out to help her. Of course no one believes her.

So I got this one because I thought it would be funny. I mean, the title alone kind of implies humor. Also, demon possession is fucking hilarious. There are people who actually believe it’s real. But it was really not funny. It was a straight-up horror story, which is fine. I don’t usually care for actual horror because I can’t suspend my disbelief. See above comment about people actually believing in demon possession; I am not one of them. So that’s on me for not looking into it further before I got it. 

Mainly, though, it’s a story about friendship, growing up, and changing as you grow, which is a good enough theme. 

I listened to this on audio and the narrator, Emily Woo Zeller, did a good job, as usual. She may not be on my list of very favorite narrators but she is definitely good and I wouldn’t decline to listen to a book just because she’s narrating. 

book review

To Be Taught, If Fortunate

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To Be Taught, If Fortunate

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
Genre: SF
I read it as a(n): audiobook
Narrator: Brittany Pressley
Length: 4:30:00
Her Grace’s rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

This novella tells the story of 4 astronauts who volunteered for a decades-long mission to explore other worlds. Because of the distances, travel between planets would be done by the ship so the crew could be in suspension. They don’t explore in hopes of finding a planet to terraform. Instead, each time they wake up in orbit around a new planet, they have different bodies that are adapted to the planet’s environment. They send their research home to Earth, which changes drastically in between their sleep cycles, even though to the crew, they only left a few months ago.

So this was the first anything I ever read by Becky Chambers. I fucking loved it. One of my coworkers said that I needed to read Chambers’ debut novel, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. I have actually had it sitting on my shelf for a few years and have gotten around to it yet. To Be Taught…was a book club selection and I’m really glad it was. It will be the impetus I needed to finally read Chambers’ other books. 

I thought that altering the humans’ bodies to fit the planet rather than the other way around was a cool idea. I would think it would be so much easier to do that than to terraform a whole planet just for 4 people. 

The worldbuilding, history, and character development were all phenomenal, especially considering that this was such a short book. I listened to the audio version which was only 4.5 hours; the print version is 153 pages. The crew were all diverse and had a distinct voice within the story. I thought it was all very nicely done.

I also loved the title. It is a quote from NASA’s Golden Record, the recordings from Earth that were sent out with the Voyager 1 and 2 space probes. Specifically, it is from the then-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kurt Waldheim, who wrote, “We step out of our Solar System into the Universe, seeking only peace and friendship, to teach if we are called upon, to be taught if we are fortunate. We know full well that our planet and all its inhabitants are but a small part of this immense Universe that surrounds us, and it is with humility and hope that we take this step.” I can hardly even write the words down without tearing up. Look what we can do when we put aside petty irrelevancies like religion, skin color, sex, or geographic boundaries. Imagine what we could do if we eliminated all these superficial limitations and really became a true global society.

Cosmic Cliff of the Carina Nebula (JWST)

book review

Catch-up reviews

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Romeo + JulietRomeo and Juliet by David Hewson
Genre: Historical fiction
I read it as a(n): audiobook
Narrator: Richard Armitage
Length: 11:05:00
Her Grace’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Hewson took the Bard’s play and turned it into a narrative historical fiction. I loved the touches of actual history, such as talking about the Borgia Pope or the occasional outbreak of bubonic plague. Beginning with this story, or reading it in tandem with the play, would make it so much more fun for high school students just learning about Shakespeare. That, and let them swear all they want if they use only Shakespearean swears. 

I listened to this as an audiobook and now I would listen to Richard Armitage read the phone book if that was all that was available. 

Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
Genre: SF
I read it as a(n): audiobook
Narrator: Mary Robinette Kowal and Will Damron
Length: 30:00:00
Her Grace’s rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I really wanted to love this book but I only mostly liked it. I really enjoyed the first three-quarters or so of it. All the parts where they were figuring out the logistics of getting as many people off Earth as they could before the Hard Rain began. I liked the complexities of the politics and the more sciency aspects of the story. Once the plot jumped ahead in time, though, I lost interest. I didn’t like the characters as much then and felt that ending the novel before the time jump would have made it ambiguous and generally better.

The Invisible HourThe Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman
Genre: magical realism
I read it as a(n): hardback
Length: 252 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars


Alice Hoffman does it again – a magical and lyrical story about a woman just trying to do the best she can for her child. Problem is, she gets sucked into a cult, which is not good for anyone. Her daughter takes stock of the life she leads and makes her own decisions from there. It is full of Hoffman’s typical atmosphere of magic hovering just at the edge of your vision. I loved it so much.

A Stitch in Time by Andrew Robinson
Genre: SF/ Star Trek DS9
I read it as a(n): audiobook
Narrator: Andrew Robinson
Length: 12:28:00
Her Grace’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This may very well be a perfect audiobook. Andrew Robinson, who authored and narrated this, also played Garak. So having him be Garak while reading Garak’s story to us is just *chef’s kiss* to this Trekkie. 

Screenshot 2023-10-16 160640

Second Self by Una McCormack
Genre: SF/ Star Trek Picard
I read it as a(n): hardback
Length: 305 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars


Another terrific story and it happened also to feature Garak. I didn’t realize when I started reading it that he was in this one. So I accidentally had a Garak readalong of some kind. This one was a wonderful insight into Raffi’s character. I liked the dual timeline and how it resolved at the end, though McCormack went and killed one of the best characters in the book and that made me sad.  

Girls and Their Horses by Eliza Jane Brazier
Genre: contemporary/mystery
I read it as a(n): hardback
Length: 400 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 4 out of 5 stars


Toxic horse rich person environment on full display! I burned through this book – I am an adult lady who loves horses and horse books – but even if it wasn’t about horses, the writing style made it imminently readable. I enjoyed the mystery, lowly finding out who the dead person was in the barn and who killed them. I figured that all out before the end, though whodunnit was easier to figure than whohaditduntothem. 

Mercy Rule by Tom Leveen
Genre: YA
I read it as a(n): hardback
Length: 436 pp
Her Grace’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars

When I first bought this book, I had thought it was a horror since the other books my Tom Leveen I’ve read were horror. So I was a bit confused at first. But it didn’t matter because this is one of the best, most anxiety-making books I read this year. Told from multiple points of view, it is the events and wind-up to a school shooting. Every character was unique and well-crafted – they were all individual people, not one of whom was a blank or someone you could confuse with another. I liked most of them, except a couple that maybe you weren’t supposed to, and one in particular was my very favorite. Heartbreaking book, but a very necessary story to read. 

A random list of books based on an IG challenge
book review · books · fantasy · random · sci-fi

A random list of books based on an IG challenge

kristenLeave a comment

Greetings, fellow book nerds! I hope your summer is off to a good start and that you have many adventures to look forward to. I am looking forward to a couple short trips and, of course, making some kind of dent in my TBR. Which is hard because I seem to be in a reading slump and I haven’t read very much lately. 

Sometimes when I’m in a reading rut, I will try reading a genre that is completely opposite of the book I just finished. That often helps me get back on track. That doesn’t always work, though, and then I have to try something else. This time, I went to Instagram and dug around in the #bookstagramchallenges hashtags. I also follow the bookstagramchallenges channel to see a variety of book and reading challenges. Sometimes those are great for kicking me out of a reading rut. Plus, they’re just fun! Also, they’re like lists! I love lists. I love getting to cross things off of them. 

For this, I absolutely cherry-picked the prompts I wanted to use from a few different challenges. I went with an all science fiction and fantasy theme for these, since I’m in a big sci-fi mood. I also recognize that there are entirely too many books listed here. I had a hard time picking just one for some of the questions! 

  1. Last, current, and next reads: The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro; The Big Book of Science Fiction, edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer (print) and Seveneves by Neal Stephenson (audio); The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow. 
  2. Favorite SFF series: Sci-fi – The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey; Fantasy – The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey.
  3. Side characters you wanted to see more of: Kamazotz, the Death Bat from Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I guess it isn’t really a proper sidekick, but I would have a ball flapping around on a death bat while on epic quests. 
  4. Quick reads: All Systems Red by Martha Wells. We need more Muderbot in our lives!
  5. Sad reads: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro; “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury; and several of the stories in Alexander Weinstein’s excellent collection Children of the New World, in particular the titular short story as well as “Saying Goodbye to Yang.” 
  6. Funny reads: Job: A Comedy of Justice by Robert A. Heinlein (possibly the most hilarious book I’ve ever read); Redshirts by John Scalzi; How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu. 
  7. Weapon on the cover: The Rising of the Moon by Flynn Connolly.
  8. Favorite mentor: Ged from The Earthsea trilogy by Ursula K. Le Guin. 
  9. Books and drinks: Split and Scumble, both from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series! And, although these aren’t from books, honorable sci-fi drink mentions are: Green (AKA Aldebaran whisky) from the episode “Relics” from Star Trek TNG and A Warrior’s Drink (prune juice eww!) from the TNG episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise.”
  10. Unpopular opinions: Only Dune is good in the Dune series. The first rule of reading the Dune series is that you should only bother with Dune, not the rest of the books.
  11. The chosen one: Bastian Bux from The Neverending Story by Michael Ende.
  12. Revenge plotlines: Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie.
  13. Favorite creatures: Mother Thing in Have Space Suit, Will Travel by Robert A. Heinlein; the Tendu, the frog-like beings in The Color of Distance by Amy Thomson; and the hen with a demon in her in Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher. 
  14. Loyal and noble: Robbie the robot, the titular character in Isaac Asimov’s short story “Robbie.”
  15. Book that I would recommend to new SFF readers: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. For fantasy, I’d go with Spinning Silver by Naomi Novak or Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier.
  16. Maps: There’s an awesome map in Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh. Also, I know I mentioned her several times in this post,  but the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey has some excellent maps as well. I spent hours as a child poring over those, visualizing the various weyrs and halls of the planet. 
  17. Favorite anthology: The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu; Black Thorn, White Rose, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (any anthology edited by either of these women are excellent); and Mirrorshades, edited by Bruce Sterling. Click on the clicky-link! It takes you to a free, online version of the Mirrorshades anthology, which is awesome since it’s almost impossible to track down a copy anywhere. 
  18. Book that takes place during winter: City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders. Well, it isn’t winter so much as the night side of a tidally locked planet. Cold counts as winter, right? 
  19. High-flying characters: Sirantha Jax in Grimspace by Ann Aguirre.
  20. Favorite villain: Sydney from The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden; The Gentleman with the Thistle-Down Hair in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke.
  21. Cool animal companions who aren’t main characters: The Wolf in The Witch’s Boy by Kelly Barnhill; Solovey, the horse in The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden.
  22. Hopeful characters: Keyne from Sistersong by Lucy Holland.
  23. Rogues and scoundrels: Trouble and Her Friends by Melissa Scott.
  24. Ocean or beach setting: The Mountain Under the Sea by Ray Nayler.
  25. Bounty hunters or assassins: Warcross by Marie Lu.
  26. Droids and robots: Starship Grifters by Robert Kroese.
  27. Purple book stack: Star Trek TNG: Q-In-Law by Peter David; Sword Stone Table, eds. Swapna Krishna and Jenn Northington; Flames of the Dark Crystal by J.M. Lee; Prickle Moon by Juliet Marillier; and Smoke by Dan Vyleta. 
  28. Monthly book haul: Print books – The Rex Nihilo series by Robert Kroese, Star Trek Discovery: Somewhere to Belong by Dayton Ward, Loki’s Ring by Stina Leicht, The Blighted Stars by Megan O’Keefe. Audiobooks: Bacchanal by Veronica G. Henry, Anathem by Neal Stephenson, The Municipalists by Seth Fried, The Fold by Peter Cline, and the Themis Files trilogy by Sylvain Neuvel.
  29. Monthly wrap-up: I’ll be working my way through The Big Book of Science Fiction for quite a while. I haven’t been reading as much as usual. Also, Seveneves will take me forever to listen to because I can usually only listen when I’m driving. WFH and my kid’s summer break means that I hardly drive anywhere. So I expect that my reading stats for the month won’t be too much bigger than those two books plus The Buried Giant that I read for book club. 
book review · sci-fi · Star Trek

Star Trek Picard: Rogue Elements

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STP rogue elements

Star Trek Picard: Rogue Elements by John Jackson Miller

Genre: sci-fi

I read it as a(n): paperback

Length: 406 pp

Her Grace’s rating: 4 out of 5 stars 

John Jackson Miller’s Star Trek Picard: Rogue Elements offers readers an escapist journey through the Federation’s seedier underbelly, a slightly different approach than the typical Trek novel. The author’s note indicated that it was written specifically to serve as a much-needed escape from the grip of the COVID pandemic lockdown. I, however, am several years behind in all of my reading, including Trek, so I only just now read it. It was still perfect escapist reading. With a focus on the charismatic Rios, the acquisition of the ship La Sirena, and seamless connections to the TV show Star Trek: Picard, this novel is a delightful addition to the Star Trek universe.

One of the standout elements of Rogue Elements is the exploration of Cristóbal Rios’s character and back story. I am a major sucker for a good back story, as anyone knows who has had the least contact with me and my bookish preferences. In fact, I’m pretty sure even the Awá people are aware of my love of back stories. Miller expertly delves into Rios’s past, unravelling the layers of his personality and providing readers with a deeper understanding of this complex character. Through actiony adventures and poignant moments, we witness Rios’s growth, gaining insight into the experiences that shaped him into the man we see on the TV show. 

The acquisition of La Sirena, a ship that holds its own aura of mystery, brings a new dynamic to the story. Miller paints a vivid picture of this ship, portraying it as a character in its own right. I also really fucking love it when inanimate objects are their own characters. Oh hi, The One Ring! Excalibur! Rocinante! As readers explore the ship alongside Rios and his ragtag, accidental crew, there is a palpable sense of adventure that permeates every page. 

Rogue Elements effortlessly weaves its story into the broader tapestry of Star Trek: Picard. Fans of the TV show will appreciate the integration of familiar faces and storylines, providing a sense of continuity and further expanding the world created on screen. Miller’s attention to detail ensures that the novel feels like a natural extension of the television series, making it a must-read for any true Trekkie.

book review · sci-fi

Starship Grifters

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starship grifters

Starship Grifters by Robert Kroese

Genre: sci-fi

I read it as a(n): audiobook

Narrator: Kate Rudd

Length: 7:26:00

Her Grace’s rating: 4 out of 5 stars

We’ve been lucky to have a ton of sci-fi space opera to read, and recent additions to the canon have been both full of action as well as making some astute social, religious, or political commentary amid various interstellar adventures and cosmic battles. Robert Kroese’s Starship Grifters is another refreshing and hilarious addition. This satirical space opera combines elements of classic science fiction tropes with a witty narrative that grabbed my attention (almost) from the start. I had a moment where I wasn’t in the mood for sci-fi the way I thought I was, and so it took me a little bit to get into this story. Once it got me hooked, though, all I wanted to do was listen to it.

I think the character development is a strength of the book. The protagonist, Rex Nihilo, is a lovable scoundrel with an insatiable appetite for trouble. Kroese skillfully crafts Rex as a charming yet flawed character (actually, he might be kind of a sociopath. I’m not entirely sure), whose resourcefulness and smart mouth often lead him into outrageous situations. As the story progresses, Rex just keeps landing himself in a series of progressively crazier calamities. At the same time, he also shows some surprising layers of depth beneath his initially superficial exterior. He’s still mainly superficial and does things that are the best for him, but he managed to surprise me on several occasions.

The supporting characters in the novel are equally memorable. Sasha, Rex’s robot sidekick, adds a touch of practicality and grounding to their escapades. She is the voice of reason that Rex decidedly ignores at every opportunity. Kroese infuses each character with unique traits and motivations, making them each well-rounded and fully-realized. The interactions between the cast are lively and entertaining, creating a dynamic ensemble that kept me interested in them and their adventures.

The setting overall is a delightful blend of futuristic technology and retro aesthetics. Do you remember that movie The Rocketeer? Sort of a steampunk/mid-century/detective noir aesthetic? This book was kind of like that, but in space. Kroese constructs a vivid universe filled with bustling spaceports, eccentric alien species, and advanced gadgets. The author’s attention to detail creates an immersive experience in this universe. It was pretty easy to visualize the places described and see the story as though I were a character observing from a distance. The world-building is done in a way that embraces the absurd and eccentric elements sometimes (but not always!) associated with science fiction, complementing the overall tone of the book.

Speaking of tone, humor permeates every page of Starship Grifters. Kroese combines witty banter, situational comedy, and clever wordplay to great effect. The narrative tone is lighthearted, and the author’s comedic timing shines throughout the story. That timing is further enhanced by Kate Rudd’s masterful narration. She nails Sasha’s dry tone perfectly and that deadpan delivery made for more than one laugh out loud moments. The humor is not only used for entertainment purposes but also as a vehicle for social commentary, poking fun at various aspects of human nature and society. This satirical approach adds an additional layer of depth to the story and elevates it beyond a simple space adventure story.

Going back to the audiobook and narration, as soon as I finished this book, I wanted to go and get the next one to listen to. Imagine my supreme disappointment when I discovered that Kate Rudd does NOT narrate the rest of the series! What the fuck? Why would you change a narrator from a good one to a not good one? The sample of book two wasn’t too promising and my skepticism regarding the skill of the new narrator seems to be borne out by many, many reviews saying that the story of the next two books are fun but the narration sucks. So unless the next books are ever an Audible daily deal or something, it is not very likely that I will bother listening to them. Maybe I’ll buy the print versions, though my self-imposed moratorium on buying new books is putting a crimp in that idea. 

All told, Starship Grifters is a highly enjoyable space opera that combines character-driven storytelling, an imaginative setting, and a comedic tone. Robert Kroese’s skillful development of the protagonist, engaging supporting cast, and the vibrant universe they inhabit make this novel a standout in the genre. Fans of science fiction with a penchant for humor will find themselves thoroughly entertained by this intergalactic romp. The main caveat I have is, if you are inclined to listen to the audiobooks, just know that Rudd won’t be narrating them all. You might want to steer clear of starting an audio series without knowing about the change in narrators. I wish I had known before I got this one.