In retrospect, Ryka Aoki's “Light from Uncommon Stars” is the best new science fiction / fantasy release of 2021, and, it's a little bit of both genres all mashed up together. This one book is so cute and fuzzy but dead serious at the same time - I mean, can an author pull off a somber comment on LGBTQ rights, alien invasion, and Doctor Faustus in the same novel (not to mention some great musical references) - but then make that story into Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? This a novel that had me smiling, chuckling, and rolling my eyes all the way through. I loved it. I recommend it highly (and it's, gasp, not a doorstop!).
September 25, 2021