Fiction
K.J. Charles, Subtle Blood: Third Will Darling adventure-Kim’s brother is arrested for murder and sure looks guilty, but Kim definitely doesn’t want to take his place, so they investigate and find more shenanigans going on. Good fun with some sexytimes-with-meaning attached.
Shawn Inmon, The Redemption of Michael Hollister:Second in a series about linked people who relive their lives until they get them right. Hollister was the evil villain of the first book (which I didn’t read) and when he wakes up as a little kid he spends a while killing his abusive dad before he gets bored with that and tries to forge a different path. Meanwhile one of his prior victims is on her own journey. If you enjoy redemption arcs and like “cranky adult in kid body, but no sexualization of that kid or his relations with other kids” (but note the past sexual abuse) then it might be something you’d enjoy.
Samit Basu, The Simoqin Prophecies: Packed with references both to Western texts I recognized (Robin Hood, Arthurian legend, even some Harry Potter) and to Asian ones I largely didn’t, this book tells the story of the chosen one destined to stop the rise of the Dark One, who is going to return to life after his previous defeat. Or are there two chosen ones? It’s all a bit unclear and knowing. It wasn’t the right tone for me but if you like send-ups of chosen one narratives it might be pleasant.
Garth Nix, Terciel and Elinor: This is apparently a prequel for other books about (spoiler) Terciel and Elinor’s kid/s. They are magic users-Terciel the heir to the Abhorsen, which is a job fighting evil magic/Free Magic using marks, which are a language of thousands of symbols that are hard to learn. Elinor was kept ignorant of magic until the day it tried to kill her, in the form of an evil magician who wanted her death for a working. They meet early on but then part to have separate adventures, then meet up again. I think if you already liked the world, this would be more fun.
Charles Stross, Accelerando: This is Stross on the transition to post-humanity as waves/generations increasingly augment themselves with computer assistance to memory and personality, including running different versions of themselves or their children. I found it weird and unaffecting, which may be in part because it’s really nine shorter stories stapled together, though it’s nice to see someone care about economics in future sf.
Charles Stross, Singularity Sky: Rachel Mansour, UN rep, is traveling with a backwards planet’s military to try to stop them from violating causality, which will cause the AI intelligence that caused/is the Eschaton to destroy them and perhaps the systems around them; they’re worryingly close to Earth. OK but now I’m looking to see whether Stross’s obsessions (bureaucracy, artificial intelligence, Cherenkov radiation and glowing-green eyes) will show up the same way in the Merchant Princes series, which is next on my list.
comments on DW | reply there. I have invites or you can use OpenID.
Shawn Inmon, The Redemption of Michael Hollister:Second in a series about linked people who relive their lives until they get them right. Hollister was the evil villain of the first book (which I didn’t read) and when he wakes up as a little kid he spends a while killing his abusive dad before he gets bored with that and tries to forge a different path. Meanwhile one of his prior victims is on her own journey. If you enjoy redemption arcs and like “cranky adult in kid body, but no sexualization of that kid or his relations with other kids” (but note the past sexual abuse) then it might be something you’d enjoy.
Samit Basu, The Simoqin Prophecies: Packed with references both to Western texts I recognized (Robin Hood, Arthurian legend, even some Harry Potter) and to Asian ones I largely didn’t, this book tells the story of the chosen one destined to stop the rise of the Dark One, who is going to return to life after his previous defeat. Or are there two chosen ones? It’s all a bit unclear and knowing. It wasn’t the right tone for me but if you like send-ups of chosen one narratives it might be pleasant.
Garth Nix, Terciel and Elinor: This is apparently a prequel for other books about (spoiler) Terciel and Elinor’s kid/s. They are magic users-Terciel the heir to the Abhorsen, which is a job fighting evil magic/Free Magic using marks, which are a language of thousands of symbols that are hard to learn. Elinor was kept ignorant of magic until the day it tried to kill her, in the form of an evil magician who wanted her death for a working. They meet early on but then part to have separate adventures, then meet up again. I think if you already liked the world, this would be more fun.
Charles Stross, Accelerando: This is Stross on the transition to post-humanity as waves/generations increasingly augment themselves with computer assistance to memory and personality, including running different versions of themselves or their children. I found it weird and unaffecting, which may be in part because it’s really nine shorter stories stapled together, though it’s nice to see someone care about economics in future sf.
Charles Stross, Singularity Sky: Rachel Mansour, UN rep, is traveling with a backwards planet’s military to try to stop them from violating causality, which will cause the AI intelligence that caused/is the Eschaton to destroy them and perhaps the systems around them; they’re worryingly close to Earth. OK but now I’m looking to see whether Stross’s obsessions (bureaucracy, artificial intelligence, Cherenkov radiation and glowing-green eyes) will show up the same way in the Merchant Princes series, which is next on my list.
comments on DW | reply there. I have invites or you can use OpenID.