John Hamm
This was my first Clarkesworld Magazine and it exceeded my expectations. The Bots story was spectacular and the short-story fiction was diverse and engaging. I particularly liked the sci-of-life story “Sensation and Sensibility. It gave off a really cozy vibe and was a would be existential scenario for droids. “Better Living Through Algorithms” was another one that stood out for me, and seemed like it was rather realistic of something that could legitimately happen. Overall I very much enjoyed this edition and look forward to many to come!
4.25 stars rounded down.
This third (and potentially last) installment of “The Chilling Effect” series capped everything off with tons of high stakes action with an undercut of some humor.
Witty, exciting, and sweet; this is the best of the trilogy! Because of my enjoyment of this trilogy and “Where Peace is Lost” I'll be reading whatever Valdes comes out with next.
Such a great book! The characters are enticing and dynamic, the plot is full of life, and the themes are thought provoking. It reads like historical fiction with a sprinkle of fantasy. Very excited for whenever the sequel comes out.
I really enjoyed this edition. The stories in it are a bit darker than the previous one but I would say are more moving as a whole. Some standouts for me were “...Your Little Light” and “Vast and Trunkless Legs of Stone”. I look forward to reading more by these authors as well as more editions of Clarkesworlde.
4.25 stars rounded down.
What a comfy, cozy book! I actually read the last half in a coffee shop which felt very fitting and added to the experience. Would recommend that as well as this book to anyone looking for a warm fantasy read.
3.75 stars rounded up. Was not exactly what I expected. The sci-fi was very cool and the I enjoyed the AI concepts. I liked the counterintuitive incorporation of Buddhism in the novel as well. The authors writing was neat and I appreciated the technicality of it all.
Overall a pretty good crime book with a twist.
Pros:
King's writing is easy follow, accessible, and conveys great storytelling.
Decently creepy/scary even for a hard crime book.
A fast paced plot once it gets going.
Avoids being too predictable.
Cons:
Not a whole lot of characters and only two are really developed.
Really wasn't a fan of one of the choices in plot near the end.
Holly Gibney returns to solve another compelling crime. Holly is a remarkable character but just doesn’t carry the book for me. The main plot point is far fetched for a crime novel. The horror aspects are unsettling at times but aren’t very haunting.
A decent book but not one of King’s best.
I could probably consume thousands of pages of this story! Which is good because I saw a TikTok from Yarros that there will at least be 5 books in this series.
I loved the dragons and other fantasy aspects to this book. The school was killer! The plot was so fast paced that it felt like a couple books in one. The writing kept me engaged and was enjoyable. There were a lot of cool twists and plot points that made the read super fun!
I normally just happen to not read books with steamy romance in them so that was new to me. There was a lot of lusting and thirst that I just am not used to reading. I still am digesting how I felt about it.
The book as a whole was good but I felt it lacked some originality. The fantasy aspects were all things I've read before put in one spot and the romance felt predictable and a little cliche. It still all worked, don't get me wrong, but it would have been nice to have some outside of the box stuff. I think the world building was good too, but there were parts that were just thrown at you by the main character and it was a lot to remember all at once with no context.
Overall a solid 4 star read.
A really neat YA read! The Nightland Express mixes Western with Fantasy for a unique experience. The story moves rather quickly alternating chapters between two main characters who, for the most part, are driving the same plot. Lee really sets up a special environment that made the Western United States feel magical. While I did like the characters and their development, I felt they needed fleshed out more. Overall a very nice, refreshing read.
An informative and rather quick way to get up to speed on the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict and even covers up to 'The Deal of the Century'. There are a string of 'The Shortest History...' books and would like to dive into those as well.
I don't think I can pick just one quote from this book and put it at the top of my review as the whole novella is next to poetry. After my first read of this (and there will be more), I can say it is one of my favorite books I've read.
The sci-fi aspects of this book that were touched upon were explained just enough to make sense and leave the rest to the imagination. The romance of the book felt exactly the same as well. This felt like a modern day Shakespeare story and there were so many lines that I read and then re-read because of how profound it felt.
An easy 5 star read!
‘Life is terrifying. None of us have a rule book. None of us know what we're doing here. So the easiest way to stare reality in the face an not utterly lose you s*** is to believe that you have control over it”
I pretty much love everything Becky Chambers writes so this being a 5-star read is not a surprise for me. An AI in human form is something I haven't read yet surprisingly (although the Ann Leckie series that does this is on my list). “A Closed and Common Orbit” had more conflict than the other books I've read by Chambers but it was still a cozy sci-fi nonetheless. If you are interested in reading a cozy sci-fi about an AI in a human body you actually do not have to read the first book in the series to read this one, although I recommend that one too! There are some nice twists in this novel too which is a nice addition as I don't recall any in the first one or in the Monk and Robot series.
I really look forward to reading the next one in the series!
4.25 stars rounded down.
A gripping, chilling fantasy full of all kinds of magic. Kell and Lila are both great characters with different motivations that makes the story captivating. I wish the magic system was fleshed out a little more or at least explained better. The action sequences were great! I cannot wait to read the rest of this trilogy and dive more into the magical Londons.
“The comfort of it was sweeter than her kisses had been, and that was very sweet indeed.”
A sci-fi/mystery/romance all rolled up in a ~160 page novella. If you are a fan of “Even Though I Knew the End” like I was you will like this story. Pleiti and Mossa team up on Jupiter's colony to solve a murder while trying to figure out how it pieces back together with Pleiti's profession as a “Classicist” (studying Earth as the Classic in this case). Reading about the Jupiter colony was just as interesting as the story for me. While it was like the novella mentioned earlier it did not feel as full as it and the romance seemed like it was missing some life. Overall a good read.
“She had the biggest heart, a tiny bit bruised and full of love. How she wound up with me, I'll never know, but she'd made the last two years an unending song”
An enticing book from start to finish. Even Though I Knew the End is a romantic fantasy noir novella that melds all those genres perfectly. Polk writes in the first person bringing Helen to life and giving the reader a wonderfully painted portrait of a bloomed romance.
I've been making my way through the Nebula finalists and much like the other ones I've read so far, this seems very deserving of a finalist status for the Novella category.
A wonderful short fantasy with a splash of folklore. At just roughly 80 pages the read was packed with action, adventure, as well as great twists. It's absolutely amazing what the author packed into this short novella! I really enjoyed the theme of oppression by a ruling empire as well as the symbols and metaphors throughout the book that accompanied it. I am really glad to find out this will be a series and am excited to see how it will unfold and where the author will take this world he has created!
The beginning and middle of this book were a lot better than the ending which sort of felt rushed to me. I appreciated the sardonic tone and fast pace of the novella as well as the mini debates the characters had throughout. Overall an entertaining read!
The poetic prose alone gives this book some stars! Spear is the tale of a cave dwelling girl's King Arthur-esque journey. It mixes the slow descriptive narrative scenes with fast paced action. It was a rather quick read, but still solid nonetheless. However, I feel there was something missing from the book that makes it the weaker of the Nebula finalists. I do wish her tale goes on more with other adventures though.
A wonderfully bundled political and sapphic novella. I felt the imagery was what stuck out to me the most. There were also some lines that left an impression on me.
My personal favorite quote of the read: “And where the merchants are the politicians follow.”
I was really happy to learn after I finished this that it's going to be a trilogy, but I probably should have been able to figure that out by the title!
The Genesis of Misery reads as an epic mystic sci-fi. Even at the start of the book you can tell that the story will be a large affair. It is all driven by the destiny of the main character, Misery, and is constantly moving forward. Yang also uses what I would call an advanced set of pronouns for each character, which is very inclusive and I'm hopeful to see this trend continue in future books.
The biggest drawback of the book is I feel it doesn't explain the antagonists too well, I felt that could be fleshed out more. There are also a couple other things I would have liked fleshed out more but won't go into since it would include spoilers.
“Girl, every choice we make is a new tomorrow. Whole worlds waiting to be born”
Ring Shout puts a satisfying fantasy twist on dealing with racism. By that I mean it was gratifying to be able to read about killing racist summoned monsters. The book was jammed pack full of action with a very exciting climax. Clark narrates in the first person, to bring a lot of life to the main character. He does a great job of melding fantasy and horror, keeping me very engrossed in the book.
A nice short read that is somewhat of a modern darker fairy-tale. I very much liked that the main character had extensive knowledge of the tales she found herself in. It definitely added to the book to learn some of the fairy-tale backstories and some that are not quite as popular. The book felt complete on its own but is a series and I am excited to read the next one!
A fantastic follow up to “She Who Became the Sun”. I didn't think the characters could gain more depth but somehow they did. This one felt like it had more mature scenes than the first one, and I would definitely look at the TWs beforehand just in case.
The politics and interworking's of the key players felt very complex and required my full attention. The plot was solid and, much like the first, the prose were noticeably good. Overall a great historical fantasy that makes me want to read more of the genre!