Beth Tabler

I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land is a special edition hardcover novella from Connie Willis published by Subterranean Press. I received this ebook from Netgalley.com for an honest review.

I hate giving Connie Willis's work a “meh” rating. Normally her work is absolutely wonderful and you can't put it down. This time the novella fell very flat. It felt much more like a rough draft that needed some buffing out and pruning. It probably would have worked much better as a short story.

To her credit though, I love the idea of a depository for books. No book shall be lost to damage or antiquity. I am a book lover myself and the story resonated with me deeply on that level. That is where the idea ends though. It is one note.

A Dead Djinn in Cairo is the third story by P. Djèlí Clark that I have had the pleasure to read and review. In all three stories, Clark demonstrates a keen ability to tease out small details to the reader and build an evocative and confident story.

He manages to do all this within the confines of a short story. I think he is one of the best fantasy short story writers working today.

A Dead Djinn in Cairo is the tale of investigator Fatma el-Sha'arawi in 1912 steampunk Cairo. A confident, articulate, and intelligent detective tasked with the case of a dead djinn.

Why is the djinn dead?
What are the repercussions to the magical community?
What is Fatma's part in all this?

All questions that get answered within a wildly atmospheric and richly detailed steampunk setting. There are flying machines, and streetcars, beautifully tailored suits, and a kickass female Nubian magic wielder named Siti.

A Dead Djinn in Cairo is an exciting addition to Clark's catalog of already outstanding short stories and is definitely worth the read.

I am flummoxed. I very much wanted to like this book. I feel like it would increase my “cool” factor exponentially if I did, but alas I was confused and slightly perturbed.  As a reader I don't have a whole lot of experience with Manga as a genre. I have dabbled in it, but never went swimming. That being said, I have quite a bit of experience in reading the cyber punk genre which is one of my favorites. Manga absolutely excels in it. “Ghost in the Shell,” and “Akira” are bonafide classics and rightly so.  But “Blame!” just didn't do it for me. I can appreciate the quality of the artwork and the simplicity of the dialog: the dialog is minimalistic and it relies on the stark visuals to convey meaning and tone. But, I think it reached to far into starkness and loses any sort of context for the story. I got lost repeatedly and the characters ended up meaning nothing to me. Any die hard manga fan should check out this novel but the average reader trying to branch out would be well served to check out “Akira” or “Ghost in the shell”.

Eh maybe I am just not cool enough.

Johnathan French's Grey Bastards is a story of family, loyalty, and duty all taking place within the magnificent setting of The Lot Lands. The main characters of the story are a group of half-orcs. Half-orcs are Half-breeds. They are accepted by no single group, human, orc, or elf. But a combination of two or three. They call themselves the pejorative name mongrel. So they become a group and a society very much unto themselves. Their group is called a ‘Hoof,' and it resembles much of what a motorcycle gang would look like if the gang was half-orc and rode giant war-pigs into battle. They ride literal “hogs” into battle their foes. The Hoof protects their land, they protect their interests, and they protect the young and orphans that come in search of refuge. Much like a gang, there is a very ordered pattern for behavior, code, and honor that is ingrained into the Hoof members. There is a leader, and he takes the lead on what the Hoof does and how it interacts with other groups. He is supposed to bring order and offer shelter to The Hoof's members. There are members who in charge of different things. Some are in charge of armaments, some are in charge of protection, but they all work at the behest of the leader. The crux of the story involves a young Hoof member named Jackal.

Jackal is a very dynamic character and reminds me very much of Jax from Sons of Anarchy. Jax was a morally gray character as is Jackal. Jax was good looking, young and charismatic. Same for Jackal. Jackal has ethical personality aspects, but he does things for the benefit of his crew and family that could be seen as ignoble. Same as The Grey Bastards. Much of the narrative exists within the grey area of morality. There are no good guys and bad guys, much like real life. Instead, Jackal does what he thinks is right. I believe this is a much more believable and dynamic protagonist. A reader may not agree with Jackal's choices morality-wise, but they can empathize and understand why he chooses to do what he does.

Along with Jackal, there are many well-developed and stand out characters. First, are Oats and Fetch, Jackals best friends and childhood playmates. They all grew up in The orphanage that is run by The Hoof. Because there is so much history and easiness between them all fueled by shared personal accounts, the interactions between the three come free-flowing and natural. French does an excellent job creating believable relationships with dynamic language and dialog. Although I don't want to spoil anything, the stories antagonists are also well done. Again, they are morally grey. You can almost side with them and their actions.

The worldbuilding is reminiscent of The First Law series. It is gritty, grimy, and dusty. So much so that a reader might actually believe they could dust their brow while reading. It is immersive and dark. Not only is the setting fleshed out, but the orcs backstory is well done. Bits and pieces of the shared character histories are given piecemeal as the narrative progresses. This sets a dark past for the half-orcs that echos through the present. Along with the half-orcs, we have some typical fantasy archetypes playing important roles, but they are done well. Nothing feels overdone, or lame.

The Grey Bastards is what I wish most adult fantasy novels were. Fleshed out and fresh while being exciting and just damn good. Everything is top notch. I seriously cannot wait till the next book comes out. I want to know more about The Lot Lands and what Johnathon French has in store for us readers.

Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton is a melancholy story with uplifting moments that did not entirely connect with me as a reader. I picked it up initially because I liked the cover and the blurb on the back. I saw a trailer for the movie adaptation of the novella starring George Clooney but did not connect the trailer I saw and Lily Brooks-Dalton's book. I was going in blind, which is a great place to be. You can internalize a story without it being overshadowed by what you had heard about it.

”. . .as the silence wore on it grew cacophonous.”

Good Morning, Midnight follows two characters. Augustine is an aging Astronomer on a work trip in the Arctic. He now resides in isolation, as all his team and coworkers fled some unknown cataclysm. Augustine decides to remain behind. Not for the betterment of the situation for anyone; he is older and likes it up there. Sully is returning to Earth with a crew from a protracted visit to Jupiter. All they are met with is silence as they return. And, no idea what they are returning to.

The narrative follows a dual structure and switches each chapter jumping from Augustine and Sully's perspectives. We get little tastes of each of the characters, wondering the whole time whether these characters were going to meet somehow. It is the will they or won't they. Or does it even matter if they do.

“Only the cosmos inspired great feeling in him. Perhaps what he felt was love, but he'd never consciously named it. His was an all-consuming one-directional romance with the emptiness and the fullness of the entire universe. There was no room to spare, no time to waste on a lesser lover. He preferred it that way.”

Style aside, this is a thought-provoking novel. It is novella lengthed, so Brooks-Dalton entirely focuses on the relationships that the lead characters, Augustine in the Artic and the Astronaut Sully, use intense and descriptive imagery arctic and space. Both of the main characters have different experiences; the arctic and space are different areas. But, also very shared experiences of loneliness, isolation, pain, depression, and regret from their past lives led. Both Sully and Augustine are selfish characters in their lives before event X happened to the Earth. I am labeling it as X as we readers have no clue anything that has occurred beyond Augustine's coworkers evacuating the Arctic station very quickly. All the astronauts know is that there are no radio signals, and the power is out and is blanketed in uncertainty.

Author's make purposeful choices when talking about everything in their books. But, I am not sure that Brooks-Dalton decided not to discuss what has happened to the Earth as a means of this being a purely character-driven novel, and on the grand scale of things, it doesn't matter. Due to the short format, there isn't a lot of space available to go into it for length worldbuilding. If the choice was the former, I think that was a hard pill for me to swallow as a reader. Without spoilers, choices at the end of the book necessitate info like that being valuable. To the readers specifically because otherwise, it seems rather hopeless. It is pure indeterminateness and an uncomfortable position for the characters to be sure, but for the readers certainly.

My detachment from the story might be that I am not the perfect reader for the narrative's somber and subtleness. Brooks-Dalton is a tremendous writer. There is an ephemeral way she describes things, almost as if she is seeing things through a mist and describing them. This style was complex for me to read; I don't tend to get hooked on the characters and stories as much as I would have liked. This detachment is not the author's fault, just stylistic differences. Even though this wasn't the perfect choice of storytelling for me, this is an excellent book written by a very skilled writer. And, if you like open-ended type storytelling, I am sure you will love it.

The Ballad of Black Tom is the reimagining of the Lovecraftian tale, “The Horror at Red Hook” and is one of those rare books that can straddle the dividing line of fiction and urban fantasy. It is a book of many hats.

The story is one of a street hustler named Charles Thomas Tester of Harlem in the 1920s. Charles, who goes by Tommy, makes his way as best as he can by a variety of hustling gigs. Whether it's as a Delivery man or guitarist, Tommy does pretty much anything to make some money. Along with the hustles are the obvious and not so apparent undercurrents of racism present in 1920's Harlem. Tommy is an African-American man and deals with Racism and prejudice on all sides. The writing about the racism of that era is poignant and well done. Tommy gets involved with some occult figures throughout the story, and different types of tragedy ensue. He begins to take matters in his own hands, and the story ends on a bit of a cliffhanger.

The original story “The Horror at Red Hook” was stunningly racist as was Lovecraft is as a person. It makes sense why LaVille would respond to that story from the angle of an African-American Protagonist. I think it is fitting. That being said, I have not read “The Horror of Red Hook.” Matter a fact, when I originally picked this up I was reading it blind having known nothing about the back story of this novella. I was familiar with the writer and the stories status as a Hugo award nominee which guided me in selecting it to read, but that's it. I have got to tell you overall I was not impressed. I found LaVille's writing to be excellent. He has a way with both the structure of his sentences and the imagery his sentences evokes. However, the pacing of the story was slow and frankly a bit boring for my tastes. That might be because I am unfamiliar with the original Lovecraft story and style. Or, I just was not in the right mind frame to read it. Either way, I am not the right reader for this story.

If you would like to read more of my reviews - beforewegoblog.com

Where have I been? Apparently under a rock because there is a bit of a Nnedi-naisance going on. Her work, whether short story, novella or full-length novel are everywhere and very well respected in the science fiction/fantasy community.

This story is pretty straightforward. A fish out of water tale. However, what is not straightforward is the depth of character that Okorafor created in such a short novella.

Binti is a 16-year-old girl from the isolated Himba region on Earth. She applies and is accepted into the prestigious intergalactic university Oomza Uni, and is the first person of Himba descent to ever be admitted let alone attend the prestigious school. Right away, we as a reader know that Binti is stepping way out of her comfort zone. Both culturally, physically and emotionally. Her people are very traditional and are not one to reach out to change. This in itself is a huge internal conflict for Binti that is artfully addressed throughout the story. While in transit, Binti's ship is attacked and hijacked by the warlike Medusae people. A jellyfish-like species that has been at war with the Khoush aka other earthlings. The entirety of the ship's inhabitants save for Binti, and the pilot is murdered with little regard. To escape Binti retreats to her personal living quarters after which she attempts to wait out the trip to make it to Oomza Uni alive.

In the process of trying to survive, Binti makes some startingly discoveries. First, the piece of technology that she brought from earth, called an edan, enables Binti to communicate with the Medusae. Something that had previously not been accomplished. Secondly, the red clay like substance that Binti uses from her homeland called otijza has healing properties to the Medusae. Binti tentatively coordinates a truce between the occupants of Oomza Uni and the Medusae averting a war and subsequently, makes Binti loved by the Medusae tribe and both esteemed and feared by other Oomsa Uni students. She then begins her mathematical studies at the university. That is the end of this particular novella, but not the story. Okarafor has gone on to write two additional novellas that flesh out Binti's character even further.

First, let's address some of the high points of the story and writing style. Nnedi Okorafor is an authentic writer. In that, I mean she feels entirely at home within the prose of her words, and it reads comfortably. There are no forced situations or scenarios, every scene flows smoothly and transitions from one scene to the next. This is a rare trait in a writer, especially at a short story or novella length when much has to happen in a short period. Okorafor is an author that shows instead of tells. The technology that she has created naturally doesn't exist, and its use in the story is a huge and essential plot point. Instead of just saying that the edan that she brought from her does this and that, Okanfur shows us. She shows us the machine, to the point in which we as readers can almost feel it in our hand. Lastly, I feel like I know Binti. Okorafor has described Binti so vibrantly that I feel like I could hold her braids in my hand, smell the red clay she coats her body with, and the electrical currents she can harmonize. Oddly enough, it has little to do with how tall Binti is or other physical features and entirely on the content of Binti's character, quality of writing, and a feel for her as a person.

At the end of this novella, we learn that knowledge comes with a significant cost, a cost that Binti has to pay. The ending is both bittersweet, a punch in the proverbial gut, and an opportunity for her to become more. Well worth the read. Not only is this a feather in the cap of Afro-futurism, but of science fiction at large. This is a damn good story.

Two Brothers is a graphic novel written by famed Brazilian brothers Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá, of Daytripper fame, loosely based on Brazilian novelist Milton Hatoum's 2000 novel “Brothers.” The story is generally about two brothers, one dark in spirit the other light all set in the Brazillian port of Manaus during the rubber boom in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. The story is multi-generational with the twin's mother being the central focus of the story and at times, the narrator.

The central theme of the story is jealousy: jealousy of brother versus brother, or father jealous of the attention his wife bestows up their children. As the characters in the story age, their perspectives change as well. Some of the jealousy and passions displayed earlier as a younger person that were destructive, are put to higher uses and channeled into something much more positive as an adult. Aside from that, the plot of the story is a meandering labyrinth of story and perspective, to sum up. It is best read to be understood.
As much of a fan of the authors, this story left me cold. It has an overly complicated plot, made even more so by the shifting time frames. The art, of course, was well done. The authors are master artists, but even with such great art, it was too convoluted for me to get the full meaning out of the characters and stories. I found myself not caring after awhile. There are many great works put out by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá, and I would skip this one and read one of their other great ones such as Daytripper, or How to Talk to Girls at Parties which they wrote with Neil Gaimon.

Never mistake a children's book for something simple. It takes a lot of skill and finesse to make something both easily understandable and profoundly beautiful. Bickford-Smith's books are both. This book is no exception. The pictures are delicate and beautiful. But they jump right off the page at you as if you are a fox leaping through the forest. The writing is superb and the story brought a tear to my eye. It is truly a beautiful read.

J. Zachary Pikes Orconomics on the surface, looks like your typical fantasy story. Not bad, but nothing to write home about. The thing is five pages into the book; you know that you are entirely wrong. There is nothing standard about this exciting, hilarious story told from the multiple points of view of the “heroes.” But at its heart, Orconomics is a scathing and effective satire. It is capitalism and the dangers of, set in a magical world.

I did not see that coming.

The Plot
The plot of the story, as mentioned before, is about a group of reluctant heroes. They are gathered together to go on a quest looking for treasure and finding lost relics. There are quite a few different political and economic plays by various groups around this quest. Things are not what they seem. At times the plot was a bit hard to follow, but as the story reaches its conclusions, everything becomes clear.

The Satire
The questing party, professional heroes down on their luck, are being supported by a local religious community and a cadre of investors who invest in quests in exchange for a portion of the loot. This usually comes from non papered characters or shadowkin that are seen as fodder and regularly killed and hunted to increase hero rankings. Their only mistake is that they are a nuisance to humans and possibly have pillagable loot. The higher ranking the hero is, the better the quests. It sounds like a very familiar scenario, that of Hollywood movies. Movies get made with a well-known actor; interested parties then fund the film in exchange for a portion of the generated revenue. The actor and their following is a commoditized asset that rises and falls based on the actor's successes and failures. Orconomics is more cutthroat in the successes and failures, literally, but the economic system is the same.

This book's satire takes on some pretty hard-hitting ideas. Firstly, we have the whole questing system. It treats the heroes as commodities bought and sold, as I said earlier—a very Hollywood idea. Orconomics also touches on the toll of drug addiction, specifically opioid or pain killer addiction, which is rampant in cities across the world. One of the main characters, who once was a huge and well-known adventurer, had too many injuries requiring healing potions. Eventually, the healing potions become what she lived for, and addiction occurred. She then became a shell of her former self, always looking for a reason to get high. The author addresses this in a scene talking about people out on the street, cutting themselves so that they need to use a healing potion.

Pike also touches on class system dynamics; market commoditized objects such as magic swords, religious zealotry, and the business of making money from it, and lax laws for weapon ownership. A stand-in for lax laws around gun ownership. You will read this thinking that Pike is brilliant as hell, and be a little sad that our world is so near in line with the one in Orconomics.

Characters
Firstly, the main character is a dwarf named Gorm Ingerson. Much of the story is told from his perspective. He is a tenth level hero, who, twenty years ago, “supposedly” made the mistake of running to save himself when most of his party perished. He was left shammed while another party member who stayed to fight became one of the land's best-known heroes. The rest of the hero party is full of misfits. They all have a reason to be there and are hoping for another shot. This leads to a sense of urgency in the questing; they all need to succeed in this quest.

Because each party member has a distinct voice written well by Pike, the dynamics of interpersonal relationships between the questers and character development truly come through. We are told very early what each of the characters are facing and working with. One is a drug addict who is addicted to healing potions and alcohol. Gorm, as I mentioned earlier, is fighting his past. Another is a very skilled mage that is not useful in a fight. At the same time, the other mage is an excellent brawler but has no finely honed skills. Another is a shadowkin just trying to survive. The shadowkin's, a goblin, and his relationship with Gorm are the book's best parts. Best and certainly funniest. I laughed for a good two minutes after reading how Gorm found out how to say the goblin's name. Finally, we have one who rarely speaks, and another running from a mobster—all work to play off each other and develop as characters.

The Conclusion
Man, this is a great book. And, five minutes into reading it, I understood all the love for it. It was the SPFBO4 winner, and now I can see why. The relationships, the story, and the allegory to everyday economics are so cleverly done that they might go under people's radar. I didn't figure out half of them until I sat down to write this review. It all started to come together, and I realized how creative Pike is. The book was funny, and heartfelt which, in the face of some pretty hard plot ideas, is important and kept the tone light. Had he not done that, this book might be too depressing to read. But, as it stands, it is a perfect balance. I am a fan of this book, obviously, and will be jumping into the next book, Son of a Liche, as soon as possible.

It is a worth it read, so check it out.

Blindness by Jose Saragamo is not a book that you read more than once.
It is a suffocating immersive dive into the failings of human nature. It is chaos. Blindness tells the story of an anonymous city that is stricken with a mysterious illness that blinds a majority of the population. A man is suddenly and mysteriously blinded. He yells for help, and a supposedly helpful passerby takes him home but subsequently steals his car. The man who stole the vehicle is then stricken blind. And so on, and so until chaos rolls across the land. Everyone who comes into contact with a blind person is then blinded. People are forcibly quarantined in an attempt for the government to stymy the plague. An ophthalmologist who treated the original person is stricken, and his wife, who seems to be immune to the disease, joins him in quarantine. The question is, “what is her role?” Does she tell the people around her that she is blind, or that she is sighted? What is her responsibility to the people around her? For me, that was the crux of the novel.

The asylum devolves into madness. Food and medicine become a traded commodity. Once the food runs out, there is not much left to trade but sex. Rape and violence follow. Gangs form, the worst of human nature rears its ugly head. Amongst the constant barrage of excrement that is human nature, moments of kindness periodically twinkle like stars passing behind a cloud. You want more, but Saragamo delivers only the briefest of moments to remind the reader that the soul of humanity is not all garbage, just most of it.

Life collapses, this is the new normal. The survivors make due the best that they can. New relationships form and human connections. When in crisis, it is said that you can see someone's true nature. It breaks open, and people are their true selves. We recognize that again and again in Blindness. Saragamo pulls no punches and there are few heroics in this book, just raw emotional pain.

Would I reread this, absolutely not. Hell no. Can I recognize genius when I read it? Yes, of course. Saragamo won the Nobel Award for this story. And rightfully so. It is that good, but it is not pleasant. It made me feel greasy and dirty inside. It made me question humanity and how much humanity relies on the cushion of technology. It was in its way terrifying. Do I recommend you read this? Honestly, I have no idea. This book was a deep reaming of the soul. If that is the kind of experience you want, read it. I gave it five stars because it is good, great even. But god is it an emotionally hard read.

If you would like to read more of my reviews check me out at beforewegoblog.com

Are you too fat?

Too thin?

Too ugly?

Too slutty?

Too queer?

Are you non-compliant?


If you are, I have the place just for you! A place ordained by God and man. Your sins “are such that you are beyond correction or castigation.” This place, the Auxiliary Compliance Outpost, also known as BITCH PLANET, will excise you from this world... “lest your sickness spread.”

BITCH PLANET is the name of a genius satirical series written by Kelly Sue Deconnick. A wild and almost cinematic romp through a technicolor 1970's grindhouse dreamland all tightly packaged inside of a speculative science fiction world not so far outside of our own. Look deeper, there is so much more than meets the eye behind the lurid cover.

“I can't see you, But I feel you...judging me.”

Penelope Rolle – Bitch Planet

The story opens on a line of naked, ethnically diverse women walking in a line surrounded by faceless guards swinging billy clubs. There is a corseted holographic nun in the center of the room conversationally welcoming the newest non-compliers. “Welcome to the Auxiliary Compliance Outpost, intake facility two. Uniforms and supplies are issued at stalls to your left and right, divided by identification number.” We meet our heroine and main protagonist Kamau Kogo, a former athlete who within the first 8 pages of the book attempts and fails to save a fellow inmate from the guards, subsequently being framed for the murder herself. The way in which the AI speaks to Kamau is insidious:

“Marian Collins was 42 years old, Kam. She had a life you took from her.”

“She had a son, Kam.”

“Why did you kill her?”


The readers all know that Kam did not commit the murder, but instead, it was the prison guards. Kam screams, “You lie!” Of the bat, we know that Kam is a strong character. Instead, the prison blackmails Kam into creating an athletic team for a gladiatorial game called either Duemilla or Megaton.
Depending on whom you talk to. It is a no holds barred free for all with fluid rules. The girl's team, a hodgepodge of different offenders, comes together to basically be humiliated. All of this has a Deathrace feel. Populist bread and circuses entertainment for the masses. Under it all, we have political machinations, hints of intrigue, and the possibility of prison break.


This is the first volume of a ten-volume set, and the author lays out the protagonists and the plot beautifully setting us up for adventures to come. Plus, this Vol. has one of the most magnificent panels I have ever read involving one of the main characters Penny Rolle. I literally cheered. Kamau Kogo is an interesting character as well. She seems like a truly authentic person, one who excepts nothing from this broken circus-like system. To be affected by the system, aside from physically be housed in prison, is in a way, passively excepting it. She does none of that. The system is broken, and she knows it, as does Penny.


Non-compliance can be seen as an allegory for today's woman. Gay, straight, queer, trans, fat, thin, ugly or beautiful. We are all something that is non-compliant and the media and society at large hums quietly along telling us in a thousand ways how this is true. I empathize quite a bit with Penne Rolle. I am heavy and six feet tall. I tower over most other women, and I cannot tell you how many people have told me how much better my life would be if I lost the weight. I am non-compliant.

“Let the games begin.”

The artwork is that of a crazy 70's grindhouse film decked out in intense colors. “Intensity in Ten Cities” kind of colors. It works well in the story and is a nod to the great work of Taki Soma (Illustrator), Valentine De Landro (Artist), and Robert Wilson IV (Artist). This is a book of extremes, and the art is entirely apart of that.

My recommendation, buy the damn book. Buy artwork from this book, hell, get a tattoo of the bitch planet logo. Whatever we can do to support the awesome that is Kelly Sue DeConnick. I am a big fan, and I hope you will be too once you give it a whirl.

It is hard to figure out what kind of book Dune is. First, let's classify what Dune is not. Dune is not easy; it is not the kind of sci-fi book that tells you about something, or how to feel about the story. Dune shows you what the Sands of Arrakis look like, and it shows you how they feel under your feet, and you can hear the sandworms crashing through the red hot sand if you listen close enough. That is the magic of Herbert's writing. It isn't flashy, and you might feel like it is a little bit dated — you blasphemer. But, the world building is so good that Dune helped define what epic science fiction is. We are here today in storytelling because of stories like Dune that came before us.

The plot is complicated, but summed up Dune is the story of the rise of Paul as a religious leader and savior of the Planet Arrakis causing the fall of the human emperor of the galaxy 10,000 years into the future. Humans have raced towards all corners of the universe, colonizing habitable planets. Arrakis is a colonized small desert planet plentiful with a valuable drug resource called Melange. Melange is the drug of choice for the rich and elite of the galaxy. The powers that be want the drug and control of the planet. Paul, the son of a powerful family house, seeks refuge with the desert people of the planet. There he discovers his innate powers and matures into the religious leader and figurehead of the Sand people. Plus ecology, how religion affects the masses, and familial drama.

The compelling thing about Dune is not the world-building, which is impressive, or the storyline, which is detailed, it is the social commentary. Maybe some people do not want a dash of social commentary with their sci-fi, but I do. Books that have the extra layer of writing and thought always stay with me as a reader and linger for years. Dune talks about feminism, ecology, power struggles, and family... so much. If you haven't read it, do it. First, watch the hilarious 1980's movie, get that out of your system, then go read the book. I highly recommend it. I mean, it's Dune, what else can I say?

Let's hear it for independent publishers and let's hear it for writers who get better and not worse from book to book. Specifically, Pack of Lies by Annie Bellet. I thought the first book in this series was serviceable. Decent. Fun, but obviously Anne Bellett was snuggling in, and getting comfy with these characters.

Book three, Pack of Lies is an entirely different and better offering than the first two books in the series. She is happy with the personalities she has created and they just keep getting better and better. The love angle is also a whole lot more enjoyable to read and more believable. He is not some cardboard cutout but is evolving into a more fleshed-out person.  Less of a go-to hot guy and more of a person with feelings and personality.

As far as the story goes, I think Anne Bellett excels at both pushing the main story forward inches at a time while having a contained separate story arc for each book. This is no exception.

“Recovering from a broken heart and coming to terms with her family history, all sorceress Jade Crow wants is to resume running her comic book store and gaming with her friends. With a town full of strange wolf shifters, a hundred-and-fifty-year-old peace accord hanging in the balance, and the Justice who broke her heart back in her life, Jade's plans go out the proverbial window.

Wolves are killing wolves, innocent human lives are caught in the crossfire, and not everyone in town is who they appear to be. As the bodies stack up and the doubts build, Jade and her friend's race to find the true killer. “

Talk about exciting action. Wolves, 150-year-old peace accord, and a weird baddy to deal with; this story really had it all. I totally dug it.  Plus it was short and mighty. Perfect for winding a couple of hours in the afternoon away. Check out Pack of Lies.

Whether for good, like in this story or evil like HAL 9000 from 2001 Space Odyssey, emotional artificial intelligence is a well-used trope in science fiction. It hits on all the essential aspects that make readers empathize with the characters. Computers are objects that humans know intimately. Yet, they are “other.” Not human and never will be until becoming sentient. Then all bets are off, and we get an engaging and thoughtful story like in Damage by David D. Levine.

Damage involves a sensitive AI protagonist, JB6847, but affectionally nicknamed Scraps. Scraps is the combination of parts from two space crafts joined anew like Frankenstein's monster. She refers to herself as a Frankenship. Scraps is made up of not only the parts of the two broken ships, but also the memories of those ships—even the moments before death and the death of the ship's crew. Ships can have conscious thought within parameters and with that a sense of right and wrong. The reason why the ship is sentient never came through quite clearly, but sentient ships are also a well-loved trope in science fiction.

“Whereas I—I was a frankenship, a stitched-together flying wreck, a
compendium of agony and defeat and death unworthy of so fine a pilot.”

The one consistency in the coding of the scraps consciousness is the love and adoration of her commander. In this case, Commander Ziegler. But he sees her as nothing more than a means to end. It is a troubled relationship, as we see and hear Scrap's pain and obeying while the commander is unaware or does not care. At the same time, Scraps fights off PTSD from her memories from the other two ships and how they met fiery ends. She is terrified of dying, but soldiers on because the commander wills it so.

All of this leads up to the terrifying choice that Scraps will have to make. Will her own experience and ethics prevail over the commander's decisions and her love for him.

Damage touches on a lot of familiar ground, but I found the story engaging and moving. I empathized with this AI and the emotional drain of having to please two masters, herself and the captain. As a reader with an outside of the story, I had a different view of the situations she faces. And could see and understand her moral quandary and commander's personality when not blinded by love. But Levine writes this well by adding a bit of ambiguity to some of the choices Scraps makes. Life is rarely about black and white choices, but the shades of gray. No bad guy truly believes they are the villain. Scrap's choices added more humanity to Scrap's character because if a computer starts to understand nuance, pain, and fear, the line that divides what is human and what is not blurs.

“Yes, sir.” Valkyrie had used chaff, of course. Memories of fear and pain and tearing metal filled my mind; I pushed them away. My pilot's talents, my speed and skill, and my enduring love for him would keep us safe. They would have to, or the Free Belt would fall.”

The commander's character is one dimensional; he is a figurehead, an idol in Scraps world. However, the tech's role that patched up Scraps and had initially named her has a much larger and more critical role in Scrap's life. Tech shows Scraps kindness. It is in stark contrast to the commander's ambivalence. I viewed The Tech as Scraps's mother, while the commander is the father whom Scraps always wants to please. Scraps had to make her own choices, outside of the influence of her father to grow up.

I enjoyed this story, and I found it deserving of it's Hugo nomination. Scraps is a lovable character. The plotting was well done, and the moral quandary that Scraps faces, although I wasn't surprised by, but I still enjoyed reading. Damage is an excellent story to read, and at 7k words is a nice bite-sized piece of science fiction.

Yaaaassss. Queen. Slay all day. This series keeps getting better and better. Jade Crow is just killing it. (pun intended)

This book has more of all the fun stuff. More magic, more gore, more action and definitely more backstory. We are learning a bit about her past and that maybe

‘“We fight with what we have,” he murmured. “Not what we wish to have.
“Okay, Obi-Wan.” I nipped his chin and settled into his arms.
“I am not quoting Star Wars,” he said, glaring down at me in mock annoyance.
“No, but you sound wise for your years.”
“Protect you, I will,” he said. “Love you, I do.”'“

there is something special about her. Ya. I know, not exactly the most original plot device. But, you know what that is ok. It is a plot device because it is useful. Bellet is not slamming us over the head with the fact that there is something unknown about Jade. There just is. Deal with it and we will find out in due time.

Also, I have to say that I totally dig all the gaming and pop culture references. On one hand, it gives a subtle nod to those of us out there who appreciate geekdom, on the other hand, it might make it so this book doesn't have the longevity for reading that other series might have. It is one of the reasons I enjoyed “Ready Player One” so much. I am a child of the eighties and totally got the references. It was a roller coaster in pop culture awesomeness.

Also. Unicorns. My head just exploded a little.

This is a fun romp through two Dr. Who episodes, one episode involves sentient sun creatures, the other episode involves time and India. Was it perfect? No, but for the discerning Whovian, this was a fun romp with the doctor. The characterizations were pretty good. Peter Capaldi's Doctor is done rather well, you get the gruffness and snark. Clara is whiny and snarky as usual. The artwork for the two stories was decent although I think the quality fell off sharply at the end of the first story. There are plenty of the usual one-liners that add just enough of cheek to know that you are, in fact, in an episode of Dr. Who.

Overall this was a fun read and I recommend it. Plus, next to David Tennant, Peter Capaldi is my favorite doctor so it was fun to see him in this format. Check it out. 

A Head Full of Ghosts by horror master Paul Tremblay is an experience which I would sum up as, “What the hell happened?” 

A Head Full of Ghosts is about the familial strife of the Barret family. The mom, distant and frustrated. The dad, on the brink of religious zealotry. The younger sister Merry, both a part of the craziness and separate from it due to her age and naivete. And Marjorie, a 14ish-year-old young woman who may or may not have a head full of ghosts. The story covers the small amount of time before Marjorie's exorcism. Yes, I said exorcism. A Head Full of Ghosts isn't your typical ghost story as it is a story of horror but also one of psychological trauma. 

“On the morning of the exorcism, I stayed home from school.”

The story has many distinct parts of a horror possession story. It has plenty of nods to The Exorcist, arguably the most famous possession story in the history of writing and cinema. Like The Exorcist, Marjorie vomits, spews profanities, makes inappropriate sexual comments, dark and sinister voices, and levitation. And, just like The Exorcist, all of the actions terrify Marjorie's loved ones. They scare them to the point of madness. 

The difference between The Exorcist and A Head Full of Ghosts is that while the acts Marjorie performs are terrifying, we aren't sure what is going on. We are, as readers, able to make a decisive call on whether she is or is not haunted as Tremblay plays his cards close to his chest. He plays every scene both ways. Is Marjorie a person who has an extreme mental illness? Or is she a child that has been invaded by an unearthly demonic presence? 

“Ideas. I'm possessed by ideas. Ideas that are as old as humanity, maybe older, right? Maybe those ideas were out there just floating around before us, just waiting to be thought up. Maybe we don't think them, we pluck them out from another dimension or another mind.”

The story is told, mostly, through the eyes of a no grown Merry. A somber woman living a life of quietude and off the earnings of the TV show about her family. Marjorie's experience was televised to be consumed by the masses. Television is not the truth. This adds to the unease about the original story of what happened to Marjorie. Merry meets with a writer to discuss writing Merry's life and experiences at age 8 to be put into a tell-all book.

The book bounces back and forth between the recollections of a now older and wiser Merry and the young child Merry who sees everything through the lens of an 8-year-old. The memories are painful for her to live through again. Because she is an unreliable narrator and children see a lot of what they want to see, we get mostly a child's view of the monstrous happenings in the household. While Merry talks very candidly about the events that tore her family apart and were filmed for live television, she admits that these were her memories, and things could be different. 

“I sneak into your room when you are asleep, Merry-monkey. I've been doing it for weeks now, since the end of summer. You're so pretty when you're asleep. Last night, I pinched your nose shut until you opened your little mouth”

At the beginning of the story, Marjorie has been acting up. There is strain and tension between the children's parents. When someone has a mental breakdown, that puts natural pressure on parents, they want what is best for their child. However, what is best differs significantly between Merry's mother and father. Merry's mother wants Marjorie to see psychiatrists and be put on medication, while Merry's father wants Majorie to rely on the church and ask God for help. 

As events progressed and the family suffered severe financial hardship, the family agreed to have Marjorie's exorcism and the preceding psychological trauma that she was inflicting on herself and the household members to be televised. This pain will be televised.

“After your performed the exorcism, how did you know that demon wasn't still in there, hiding? How do you know it didn't go in a hibernation state, quieting down to come out later, years and years later when no one would be around to help? Hey, how do you know if the wrong spirit left? What if you expelled the person's real spirit and only the demon's spirit was there to take its place? If I believed in any of that stuff, I'd be afraid that was going to happen to me.”

It is a gross sort of consuming and voyeurism that the audience participates in, the blogger/reviewer/reader included. The cut-ins to the blogger's critiques, which jarring, play an essential role in the narrative. What is truth? What is a ghost story? Merry does not speak the truth, the reality show does not speak the truth, and indeed, the conjecture of a random horror blogger doesn't. So what the hell happened? 

Everything could be true, or all of it could be a lie. 

 Beyond the terrifying scenes of vomit spewing like fountains and gore, what the hell is going on? I, as a reader, spent many pages screaming, “Please, someone, help this child.” But the only adults in the room seem to want to abuse her in different ways? Is abuse ok if you are trying to save this child's mortal soul? Or is she faking the whole thing for attention? Is she mad, is she possessed? We shall never know. 

“There's nothing wrong with me, Merry. Only my bones want to grow through my skin like the growing things and pierce the world.”

A Head Full of Ghosts is all about perception. What is horror to one person is entertainment to another. What is psychological trauma to one person is trafficking in demons in another. At the heart of it is either a confused and terrified girl or a mastermind of manipulation. It is levels upon levels. Tremblay showed some serious skills crafting such a meta psychological story. 

Also, Head Full of Ghost has terrifying visceral scenes. Terrifying! They are spread throughout the story like one would sprinkle salt on food. Tremblay never lets the reader relax or become numb to the gore. They are surprised on you like a popping balloon. He never lets you forget that, yes, this is a psychological story in a meta form, but he is also a damn fine gore writer and will scare the hell out of you. 

I feel trapped by this story in an ethical and psychological spiral, one that can never be satiated. The story is done, the ending has happened, and no conclusion shall be found, which in itself is another kind of horror—ones of the mind, feelings, rationality, and spirit. We readers are dirty in our voyeurism and consumers shoveling the contents of Marjorie's descent into madness into our minds page by page. If you read this, you will not be satisfied. But, this is a brilliant and compelling story. The ideas will cling onto you like a crusty barnacle that draws blood if you try and scrape it off. That in itself is worth the price of admission. 

Was she or wasn't she? We will never know, but damn, is it an interesting book to read. 

I am new to the church of Charlie Jane Anders, but consider me a convert. Earlier this year, I had the fortune of reviewing an advanced reader copy of The City in the Middle of the Night gifted to me by the author herself after seeing me lament my lack of access to the advanced reader copy for review. She was kind enough to send over a copy via her publisher for me to review it. It was an atmospheric and almost ethereal story about darkness and light and the weight of history and tradition. Charlie writes as if words are the only substance that gives her life, and she wants to share that life with you. And this is why I was delighted to find a short written for Tor.com by her about the apocalypse.

Most of the time, when you read books that are about an apocalyptic event, they are dour, wrung in mire, and misery. Death and destruction are not usually topics for polite conversation and joy. However, As Good as New had something that not many stories of the same ilk have that I found outstanding. It has a vein, a kernel of hope shot through it. Hope is what gets people through the tough. Hope for what is better, or right, or honest. It is hope for more. This story was an apocalypse, but it had hope and a bit of joy and humor. Because that is what life often is shitty. But your ability to laugh and find some pleasure in simple things can get someone through it — pleasure, in say, the entire run of The Facts of Life or West Wing.

Marisol is a woman with a lot of time on her hands. She is currently residing in a luxury bunker with a terabyte of television and movies, tons of frozen dinners, and no company. Somehow, this is not explained, Marisol ended up taking shelter in this luxury bunker when all the rest of the world went to pot. She has a whole lot of time on her hands, and she develops an “intense relationship with the people on The Facts of Life, to the point where Tootie and Mrs. Garrett became her imaginary best friends, and she shared every last thought with them.” It had been a couple of months since the last quake had shaken her in the panic room. She felt that maybe it was safe to adventure outside and see what there is to see. What she finds is a world strewn with a white fungus and a bottle.

“The bottle was a deep oaky green, like smoked glass, with a cork in it. And it was about twenty yards away, just sitting in one of the endless piles of white debris. Somehow, it had avoided being consumed or rusted or broken in the endless waves of fungal devastation. It looked as though someone had just put it down a second ago—in fact, Marisol's first response was to yell, “Hello?” even louder than before.
When there was no answer, she picked up the bottle. In her hands, it felt bumpy, like an embossed label had been worn away, and there didn't seem to be any liquid inside. She couldn't see its contents if there were any. She removed the cork.
A whoosh broke the dead silence. A sparkly mist streamed out of the bottle's narrow mouth—sparkling like the cheap glitter at the Arts and Crafts table at summer camp when Marisol was a little girl, misty like a smoke machine at a cheap nightclub—and it slowly resolved into a shape in front of her. A man, a little taller than she was and much bigger.”

Marisol had found a genie. What does this genie mean for the fate of the world? You know the answer to something like that is never simple.

It is astounding to me that Anders wrote so much about human emotions in only 28 pages. I have IKEA instructions longer than 28 pages. But it works, and it is damn good.

Check it out for yourself. It is at most a thirty minutes read, free at tor.com, and completely worth the time.

Spider is the hero you did not know that you needed. Brash and deranged, Spider yells at the top of his lungs things that make you uncomfortable. And, if you are nervous? Good. Scared to exams painful truths? Good. Because the truth is coming for you, and Spider is going to bringing it with the fervor and intensity of a bulldog on crystal meth.

Transmetropolitan was written twenty-one years ago, published by DC Comics between 1997 - 2002, but it might as well been written yesterday for how current and prescient it is. The story is built around the antics of our protagonist and antihero, an investigative journalist named Spider Jerusalem. He is tattooed, brash, brilliant, sarcastic, caustic, drug addicted, and a wild man of journalists fervor. Often drawn wearing a pair of stereoscopic sunglasses, one red lens, and the other green while streams of smoke curl out of his nostrils and usually sporting a scowl of discontent while gesticulating wildly at the idiocy of passers-by. Describing him, he sounds like a lunatic when in actuality he is the reincarnation of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson dropped into the 23rd century.

The first six issues of the 60 issue story make up Vol. 1 Back in The Streets. It is written as Spider is getting his feet under him after a five-year voluntary sabbatical. Called back to finish his book deal with his editor, lovingly known as Whorehopper, he unwillingly reenters The City and society and is equal parts horrified and fascinated by it. The City, as it is referred to, is Id and hedonism run amok puked out in a cyberpunk Technicolor fever dream. If you can dream it, and have the money, you can do it. All of which sounds impressive when tempered with wisdom and ethics. However, The City is neither of those things. Spider is constantly reminded of why he hid in the wilderness and eschewed all human contact.

Issue three of Volume 1 talks about Spider's first story back into the throes of journalism. He is covering a pseudo-alien messiah named Fred Christ, as he represents the Transcience movement. The Transience movement being a subculture of body modification fetishists who use technology to change themselves to something resembling a new species. In this case, adapting aspects of an alien species. Fred Christ's base is located in the Angel 8 district of The City. After Spider burns a transient guard in the eye with a cigarette, Spider notices how tense the Transient population is. It is a powder keg ready to blow. Spider finds Fred Christ and has a brief interview with him where Spider basically eludes that Fred is puffed up with fake power and that the government is going to come down and stomp out this little movement of Freds. Here is where the writing shines. Eventually, the government does get with the stomping, and Spider gets right in the middle of it and live blogs. He brings the gritty moment to moment of the brutal beating of the Transient population by an uncaring police authority to the people. Eventually, this sways the audience gawking at this display via Spider's writing and causes a public outcry shutting down the beating. Spider helped. I don't think he intended to help but to speak the truth as he saw it; however, his truth saved some transient people.

God, I love Spider Jerusalem. He is everything I wish Journalists still were. Raw, uncut assholes who search for the truth as they see it no matter what they have to go through. In the politically charged climate of now, it seems that those who speak truth to power are not the journalists as we used to know them, but bloggers and users of Twitter.

The question is “Should you read this?” Should you delve into the gritty world of Spider and meet with the truth on his terms. I am of a resounding yes, there is a reason why he is a classic graphic novel series. I think the world needs Spider Jerusalem's even if he is just ink and ideas. All Hail Spider Jerusalem!