/lit/ - Literature

>>22383658
Void, The Far Reaches - Veronica Roth (2023)
Ace is a janitor on an interstellar passenger ship that experiences considerable time dilation. It's basically the only of its kind that will transport people and not exclusively cargo. Those who come aboard rarely are ever seen again and the crew have become entirely detached from time and to a lesser extent being able to relate to people. Ace generally stays apart from everyone, but now's time for her to play detective because a murder has been committed and she gets really into doing so. There's no one else who cares to do so, so why not?

I was surprised that I liked this novelette the most of this collection, but barely not enough to rate it higher. I wouldn't have expected that considering what else she's written, despite its popularity, isn't really my thing. The author that I do like didn't have good showings this time. I may only have this liked this one relatively the most because it's also the only story of this Amazon collection of notable writers that didn't feel futile.

>>22383658
How It Unfolds, The Far Reaches - James S. A. Corey (2023)
Slow light allows for the duplication of matter over the vast distances of the galaxy, including of people. Thousands of colonies can be started from a single origin point. The baton race to ensure the eternal existence of humanity has begun. Survival is all that matters, regardless of the cost, or how it must be accomplished, or the living conditions there. Out of desperation eternal recurrence has been achieved, but how meaningful is it?

I have a lot of issues with this novelette, but none of them are major aside from being baffled that a certain decision is endlessly repeated when better options must have existed. It could be that I'm rating it as I am because of the author, but I hope not. I primarily see it as a metaphor and it's not one that I like. As with almost every other story in this collection I can only see the overarching theme as being about futility. Maybe others can see it differently, but I'm unable to. I consider this a fail considering who the authors are.

>>22383658
Electric Forest - Tanith Lee (1979)

Magadala Cled, called Ugly by everyone she knows, is a twenty-six year old naturally born person who lives on planet Indigo. Seemingly literally everyone else was born through genetic engineering that selected for only the best examples of every trait. As to expected of a natural birth, she's considered deformed, hideous, and stunted. When others look upon her they're visibly unable to contain their revulsion. She doesn't let anyone know that this bothers her, but inside she intensely seethes and loathes everyone. Even if she could afford it, she knows that cosmetic surgery couldn't help her in any way. A life-changing opportunity comes her way when an ultrawealthy and extremely attractive young man offers her a new body. All she has to do is whatever he wants and she'll never have worry about anything again. Magadala is very suspicious and doesn't give in easily, but offer is so tempting, regardless of its cost.

Your enjoyment of Electric Forest probably will mostly depend on your perspective on and tolerance for the specific events of the story. I don't know how much you'd get from this if you approach it in an adversarial manner or believe it to be in bad taste. Magadala has understandably severe body image issues, low self-esteem, and a festering resentment for everything. She becomes part of a psychosexually domineering relationship, though she isn't submissive. Her situation is treated as a sort of voluntary horror that she endures because she believes the benefits to be worthwhile. I found its exploration of bodily autonomy, identity, and a host of other psychological issues to be enjoyably written. While there's a bit of flirting and sex, the primary focus of the plot is a mystery thriller. Magadala's new body was designed for a specific purpose, which she's not informed of, though it clearly involves social manipulation. The more involved she becomes, the more she realizes how little control she has over her life now.

There are several mentions of other literary works in the text that are used to describe what is being read. There's Frankenstein, Dracula, Pygmalion, Shakespeare, and others. It made me think of a few more as well. At first I thought it was a bit much, but given how it ends, their inclusion makes sense. I enjoyed this from the start until the end, and up until the epilogue this was a solid four stars. I found the epilogue to be hilarious because it reminded me of one of my all-time favorite movies. It was quite the unexpected experience and I found myself somewhat in disbelief that I wanted to give it five stars. I then looked at the reviews and many others had almost the exact opposite reaction to the ending, which is reasonable. I found it to be less reasonable though to include unmarked spoilers for the ending in a number of them, including the most liked. This book has greatly improved my opinion of Lee and eventually I'll have to read more from her.

Rating: 5/5

>>22376230
Servant Mage - Kate Elliot (2022)

Thirty years ago the Dragon Queen was slain, along with the rest of the royal family and many of their supporters, the Monarchists. The Liberationists, led by The Council, came to power. They're the sort that claims to be for the people, but really is only interested in empowering themselves. It's never made entirely clear how life is for the common people, though it doesn't seem like it's all that much better, but it's certainly worse for anyone who held higher station. Mages were once respected members of society and had their own guilds. Now they are feared and indentured at the least. Their powers may only be used in service, never for the self, and they may learn only the basics of their powers. A mage may be fire, water, air, earth, or aether. A dragon-born has all five.

Fillian is a nineteen year old fire mage in her fifth year of servitude, in which she cleans privies and provides light as a lamplighter. In her spare time she secretly continues the same crime for which her parents were executed, teaching people to read. She dreams of one day escaping and returning to the surviving members of her extended family. She has no love for either the Monarchists or the Liberationists. Both sides are bad, but choices have to be made of which to support. The Monarchists offer freedom for services rendered versus lifelong oppression, so for her, there's not really much choice until she's free to make her own choices.

The way that the novella is written makes it either seem like the set-up for a trilogy or a long prologue for a very long standalone book. The ending is all talk about the future, and what can be done now to prepare for what could be done in the years to come. For those who want a complete epic fantasy story, you won't find that here. Maybe it could eventually be, but as it is, it's the story of a single person's escape to freedom. Whatever other plans the future holds are outside its scope.

I don't know if it was intended, but what it made me think of most was political parties. None of the choices may be suitable, but one tends to be worse for you personally. A third party would be better, but that's much easier said than done. That at least sets it apart from many works that assume the binary of either being part of the system or directly opposing it. It may be best for some to wait until the system collapses on its own. The common folk suffer regardless.

Overall, everything about this novella is fine. It gets the point across. The characters, plot, setting, magic, whatever else are simply there. There wasn't anything I especially liked or disliked about this novella. It's all rather standard and makes for a decent read. The weakest part to me was probably the dialogue, as I thought it was silly at times but I didn't dislike it, but I see how others could be annoyed by it. After reading this I'm neither more likely to seek out or avoid anything written by Elliot.

Rating: 3/5

>>22376230
Sunset Mantle - Alter S. Reiss (2015)

I'm going to call this a speculative historical military fiction. There are unrealistic scenes, but there's nothing fantastical, so I prefer not to call it fantasy. A secondary world that mimics the real world without any meaningful divergence isn't fantasy to me. Historical Fantasy is defined in far too vague terms for my preference. That's entirely a personal issue though.

The simplest way to describe this would be a Logen Ninefingers, from Joe Abercrombie's First Law World series, continuation story. The relatively aged protagonist is a wandering veteran who was a hero of a tribal people and has a tendency to go berserk. He finds himself in a a settlement that is obviously doomed and knows it's time to move on. However, he then sees the sunset mantle, and decides it's the greatest piece of fashion that he's ever seen and is smitten with it. Since he can't have it for himself he commissions the blind seamstress to make something for him and he instantly likes her as well. With no other option available he joins the town's military despite assuming it will be his death, because he needs the money for the commission. Problems ensue because insubordination because he knows best, but there's also loyalty.

Sunset Mantle is mostly about the military and large battles, though there's also romance, political maneuvering, and revenge. None of it is a strong point though. It's all rather standard stuff, which provides for a decent experience, but nothing more than that. The setting, writing, characters, plot, and everything else merely suffice. The setting is unclear. It could be anything from Ancient Greek colonization efforts to much later European tribal conflicts. Clans are very important. I saw some mentioning it had an Old Testament feel, but considering how religion is used in this I didn't see that.

Theoretically this is something I ought to like, but I found myself surprisingly indifferent to it. Mostly I couldn't get over what I wrote in my opening paragraph and how it didn't favorably compare to what it made me think of. It made for a strange experience of me being rather uncertain of whether I liked it or not. I thought about it for a while and I still don't know whether I'd want reading any more from this author despite it being fine. Ursula K. Le Guin's Planet of Exile is a mildly similar story that I enjoyed more.

Rating: 3/5

Light Chaser - Peter F. Hamilton & Gareth L. Powell (2021)

Amahle is a Light Chaser, a person who flies a circuit of planets trading for the memory collars that record all the experiential data of its wearer. Due to relativity she makes it back around to each planet after around a thousand years. Regardless of the technological level of the planet everything remains stagnant as each planet has been intentionally designed to never progress beyond its current state. She's been doing this for a very long time, not that she can remember as her memories are continually overwritten as time passes to make room for new ones. Between planets she's free to do whatever she wants. Life seems good.

A mysterious individual appears across space and time in the memories contained within the collars to tell her the truth. Amahle begins to remember some of her memories that were thought to be long lost. After that, there's no going back to how things were before. There's no other choice than to do what must be done. Humanity must prevail. That which seeks to impede humanity must be eradicated no matter the cost. The very essence to be human is to continue on relentlessly and do what must be done regardless. Life is change. A lot of this can seem handwavy, especially if a reader only allows fully scientific explanations.

I haven't read any of the novels by either author, but based on what I know about them and the short fiction I've read by them, Powell probably has much more of an influence on this than Hamilton. I suspect Powell made the plot and wrote the main characters while Hamilton did what remained. I've only read a few works that have had multiple authors collaborating together, but overall I think too many problems arise from doing so. Most probably would've been better as two separate works. I have no doubt that it's an interesting experiment for the authors though.

The story is one I've seen several times in media, but it's one that I like. The main problem I have is whether to take the narrative at face value or to see it as something else. I interpreted much of what I read to be saying that this was a deeply gnostic tale. What I know about Gnosticism mostly comes through Xenogears, which has at least some thematic parallels with this. I've come across Gnosticism at various other times, but I've never made a study of it. The most amusing interpretation that comes to mind though is that it's a meta take on gatekeepers of culture.

This was somewhat enjoyable. I had considerable difficulty deciding whether to rate this 3 or 4, so I went back and forth several times, until I decided that there were a few too many things I didn't like about it. What I do like about it is probably more so because of what Powell did than Hamilton, so I'm inclined to give the former more of a try sometime. The latter already has his advocate among those I talk with.

Rating: 3.5/5

>>22368603
Permafrost - Alastair Reynolds (2019)
So go copypaste fails since the previous paste didn't need the author or title.

>>22366203
In 2080, the final human generation is dying out. The world is no longer habitable. A tipping point of no return was reached around 2050. Research into time travel had long been underway. The scientists, under the auspices of the last remaining authority, The World Health Organization, have recruited five individuals to travel back in time from their base in Antartica. The protagonist, a 71 year old Russian woman, is the first to time travel by sending her consciousness back in time to pilot a woman in around 2030, 50 years ago. The question remains of whether altering the past to save the present will doom the future.

I appreciated the detailed explanation of how any of this could be even theoretically possible. There are many different ways presented in media of how time travel functions and I find their comparisons interesting. The narrative has a few twists and surprises, mostly resulting from the alternation of being told from the present and past. Time travel shenanigans are present, though they're easily understood. For some the the largest problem may be in how anticlimactic it may seem to be. I found that to be rather amusing and certainly the best usage I've seen of Reynolds suddenly skipping stuff and not writing any of it. Unlike much else of Reynolds's work there's only a minimal amount of body horror, the weird, and identity problems. This novella could possibly be considered significantly divergent from his usual work.

What I'm most surprised by in this standalone near future SF thriller novella is that Reynolds wrote something that doesn't need to be reduced in length. That hasn't been the case for anything other than the shortest fiction I've read from him. It also reads better to me than most else I've read from him. As a probably unrelated note this was published the year before Tenet, the movie, screened in theaters. There's not that much similarity between them aside from both being time travel thrillers where much doesn't go as planned. I enjoyed this more than Tenet, which was far more concerned with coolness than science. That's nice and all, but it didn't work out that well to me, unlike Permafrost. There are also some similarities with the videogame series, Zero Escape.

Somehow this novella is now what I've personally enjoyed most of what Reynolds has written at of least novella length. He has a few works of short fiction I've enjoyed more. Inversion would've been better if it weren't so repetitive and hadn't gone so wrong. So, this being the best isn't a high bar for an author that I initially rejected, then tried again at the urging of someone, and have since then found to be decent overall. Apparently I prefer his near future work to his far future space opera, though I don't believe that would be the same for the vast majority of those who read him. I hope he does more that's similar to this. I'll be reading more from him regardless.

Rating: 3.5/5

>>22358944
Rose/House - Arkady Martine (2023)

At the end of the 22nd century in China Lake, California, there's an AI called Rose House, which is a literal house in the desert, a desert rose. I don't mean that there's an AI installed in the house, I mean the house itself, and maybe more than that, is the AI. That's what it says right away and several times afterwards. There's a few attempts to play up the creepiness of the house basically being alive, but not nearly enough in terms of intensity or frequency. That sums up everything overall as well, there's not enough substance. This lack isn't merely because of its length, but rather seems to be a conscious choice, or at least I hope that it is.

The story could be construed as a murder mystery, but I think that would be misleading. There's a murder, but only minimal mystery. The real mystery is what Martine is going for. Instead, this is a story about unrequited desire, anxiety of influence, and a few less important things. It's possible that everything that happens is an allegory, but I'd only be guessing about what. There's a lot of rose symbolism, though I don't know much of it is intentional or coincidental references.

As for characters there's Selen(ite), which is a mineral also called desert rose. She's the only one the house will allow inside. Detective Maritza investigates the mystery, though that's describing it charitably. She's mostly just there to have the story told at her. There are other viewpoint characters, which function as plot devices, though not very effective ones. If the other characters have symbolic meanings they weren't readily apparent to me. At times it felt more like a performance that was being put on because its conductor wanted to amuse itself. Everyone else was merely a prop to be used for its play. That's a fine meta idea, but doesn't make for that entertaining of a story, for me at least.

I don't really any see reason for it to be set when it is, aside from trying to make the premise a bit more plausible. The only other indications of it not being contemporary are that people are casually mentioned to be regularly killed for their water rations and that there have been various police reforms. Nothing is seen of the former and the latter is mostly for plot convenience.

The ending is unsatisfying, not for its lack of resolution, because I think that's one of its primary themes, but because it's basically an antihumor joke that I'm unable to appreciate. There are multiple times where a characters tells you that the story is mocking noir tropes, though it didn't really have that many of them.

Overall, this is inoffensive and well-enough written. I feel that it needs to either be considerably shorter or longer, probably shorter. At least them it could be entirely about its gimmick and nothing else. Despite all that I've written above, I didn't dislike it. That's just how feelings work. Maybe it's me imagining what this could've been.

Rating: 3/5

>>22358944
The Warren - Brian Evenson (2016)

The opening dedication of The Warren reads, "for Gene Wolfe". That's true in that it's in Wolfe's style of writing stories that are puzzles and has an unreliable narrator. This could also be dedicated to Joseph W. Campbell Jr. or Jeff Vandermeer, as seen on the cover. The story is set somewhere that isn't Earth at some time when some person realizes they exist. The unnamed initial first person viewpoint quickly comes to understand that there are many people within their mind. Some are whole and others are corrupted. Some barely exist and others seek control. Some panic and others are curious. All of them are alive and none of them are. It's difficult to make decisions smoothly and consistently when any action may require consensus. There's also an AI that responds to voiced queries and then one other person who serves as a foil.

I had several theories as to what was going on and why, mostly meta rather than plot level ones. I came upon an interview with Evenson where he discussed his intentions for this novella. I liked it less once after I knew its purpose. Mostly in the confirmation this is entirely about vibes, feels, atmosphere, and little else. Usually I'm unable to enjoy something in exclusively aesthetic terms, which is likely what half of this is. The other half is what Evenson calls epistemological horror. I haven't read Peter Watt's Blindsight, which may be similar, and I was reminded of Victor Pelevin's The Helmet of Horror. As to what happens, it's mostly the viewpoint character(s) going around and pondering their existence and circumstances. That may be sort of like a walking sim horror game made by an indie art videogame studio. Initially I found this to be somewhat reminiscent of the Fallout series, but the similarity is superficial.

A puzzle missing pieces is different from a puzzle that never had the pieces and is considered complete without them. For the latter, which the author says it is, the assembler can appreciate that as an artistic choice, create their own pieces, or feel some other way. I appreciated the pieces that exist, have no interest in creating my own, and think it's an incomplete puzzle. I find myself irritated knowing this was intentional. Up until the ending this was moderately pleasing and maybe I could've been fine with it all remaining a mystery known only by touch in the darkness. The revelatory light of brute force explanation spotlights its true form, and it's unsightly. The ending says only enough to remind you how much is being intentionally withheld and obscured because it's not meant to be relevant.

This was suggested for me to read by someone. I've read four other works of short fiction by Evenson, all horror. I had forgotten that I had read any until I looked at my short fiction spreadsheet. Apparently I disliked them. I won't be avoiding Evenson, but I won't be seeking out what he's written either.

Rating: 3/5

>>22358944
Walking to Aldebaran - Adrian Tchaikovsky (2019)

An inexplicable cosmic anomaly has been sighted out past Neptune. As per their inclinations humanity has no choice but to try to understand that which cannot be understood. Thus the cosmic horror of a planetoid that defies the fundamental principles of the universe is dubbed the Crypts, a reassuring name if there ever was one. The spaceship the crew travelled on is called Quixote, because being aware of your folly but doing it anyway is what it means to be human. The story, which alternates each chapter between the past and present until they merge, is narrated by Gary Rendell, who also has an appropriate name. I would know, wink wink, nudge nudge.

Why and for whom is Gary is telling this story? Oh, you're so silly, Toto, it's all for you. Once we're back in Kansas I hope you better appreciate all that I've done for you. I thought we had already moved past that stage in our relationship, or maybe it hasn't yet begun. It can be difficult to tell. Anyway, I hope you enjoy pop culture references and meta dialogue, because you'll either be reading it, are reading, or have already read it. As you either already know or not, the present chapters pertain to my wanderings around in the mostly lightless Crypts seeking out others for companionship and nourishment. You'd think that considering the Crypts possibly has passages to everywhere in space and time there would be more random encounters, but you'd be wrong. Toto, I feel that I can confide in you that loneliness can be the most deadly foe of them all. Now, as for the past chapters they're a story about how my life got flipped-turned upside down and I'll take a minute, just sit right there. I'll tell you I became the wanderer of a galactic labyrinth called Crypts.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled write-up, already in progress.

...and that's why despite its various flaws, Walking to Aldebaran is moderately amusing and worthwhile. As previously stated, if pop culture infused myth retellings aren't your style, then you may not want to add this to your reading pile. If reading about a lone wanderer describing the various monstrosities and peculiarities they come across is more your speed, then this you should read.

Rating: 3.5/5

>>22349911
Burn - James Patrick Kelly (2005)

Spur is a firefighter who awakens traumatized from nearly being burned alive by a suicide firebomber terrorist who until moments earlier had been his colleague, best friend, and brother-in-law. His marriage had already been troubled and he knows that divorce is now inevitable. He's a resident of the Transcendental State, as in the early 19th century movement, which has a consensual cultural quarantine covenant for all its new settlers. This is made possible by that fact that the entirety of the planet is owned by a single man, Jack Winter. He bought it in a fire sale, as the original colonizers who can trace their lineage back to the early generation ships, had ruined the environment. The solution for that is to make the whole planet a forest. While Spur is recuperating in a hospital that's mostly exempt from the quarantine he takes the opportunity to randomly call Upsiders, the term for anyone off-planet. There's at least a thousand inhabited worlds, so the choices are nearly endless. One of the calls actually goes through and then life isn't so simple any longer.

This novella has the interesting circumstances of both having won the 2007 Nebula award and being relatively badly rated, 3.41 as of this writing, on Goodreads. I fully understand how that's possible. I don't think it's so much that this is a polarizing work as it is that enjoying it requires a specific perspective and certain tolerances. It also helps that I've generally enjoyed Kelly's short fiction. This is a pastoral SF that as the author explains in the postword that allowed him to both carry out his grudge against David Thoreau and to write about the research he had been doing on wildfire fighting. As a result, almost all the science fiction technology and concepts are only mentioned and little else due to the ban on technology to promote a life of simplicity. Everything really is simply background for the accidental chain of events the protagonist sets in motion. There's not really any plot and the characters when they have any development is questionable because their motivations are mostly implied. Almost nothing is explained, which is intentional, so the reader will have to speculate as to why anything is happening. I find that to be a rather hit-or-miss approach, but for me it was a hit this time. This would've been better as a novel, but that wasn't what Kelly was contracted to write.

I had quite a bit of fun reading this despite its many shortcomings and it reminded me once again that I want to read more Pastoral SF. Any form of it really would be fine, regardless whether it's for or against it. The problem is as always finding an author who can write it in a way that I enjoy. I was pleasantly surprised by this as it turned out to be different than I thought it'd be and because of its relatively low rating. I wonder if it had a more favorable reception from its general readership at the time of its release.

Rating: 4/5

>>22349911
A Year in the Linear City, Linear City #1 - Paul di Filippo (2002)

How much I enjoyed this weird fiction novella shouldn't have came as a surprise, as I've read twenty-eight works of short fiction from di Filipo, mostly from a single series, and was pleased with the majority of them. Yet, somehow I haven't read any of his novels, but I will sooner than later now. Much of the weird I've read has been mediocre, but this gives me hope for it again. This alone may have made my novella binge worth it.

The premise of the world is that it's an endless city two blocks wide in both linear directions. These two separated blocks are more distinct than you'd think. They're basically complementary binaries. The world is probably a (spoilered to maximize the sense of wonder when reading) moebius strip atop a literal ouroboros. Each iteration of the city is slightly different from the next. There's unlikely any beginning or end, as zero would be an arbitrary point as on a number line. That doesn't make any sense, but why should it have to? It's weird for that reason. The closest thing in the real world to any of this is the proposed linear smart city that would be called, The Line, which would be in Neom, Saudi Arabia, assuming it's ever completed.

This novella has far more ideas crammed in than there reasonably should be, but even only a cursory examination of them was still more than enough for me to overlook all the shortcomings. For example, when people die they're visibly and physically taken to the afterlife by one of two groups. Nothing is ever explicitly explained, so if that's something you need, you won't find it here. The characters are almost as baffled about their world as the readers are. There's a bit of a meta aspect to their pondering, and especially to the writer protagonist's speculative writings.

There isn't a plot. It's simply the characters' daily lives, which is shown in a way that I especially prefer. Only maybe one of the characters develops in any significant way, not that there's all that many pages for many of them to do so. Despite that I liked all the characters. Almost everything is in service of worldbuilding. At first I was annoyed by Di Filippo's thesaurus plundering and the character names, but then I realized that the contrasting vocabularies and absurd names were part of the worldbuilding and it became quaint.

My only complaint is that it isn't longer, because I could read so, so, much more of this. It's absurd how much fun it became the more I read. I was going to rate it lower, but by the end anything that I disliked while reading became irrelevant. There's a sequel which is much lower rated and although it's apparently in the same setting, it's very different. Considering what I spoilered, that makes sense, and even though the probability of disappointment is significant it's still something I'll definitely be reading.

Rating: 5/5

>>22338542
Comrades in Arms - Kevin J. Anderson (2012)

After being nearly killed in action, Rader has been remade into a Deathguard, an elite cyborg berserker with minimal organic parts and a very limited lifespan. His Werewolf Trigger demands that he KILL! KILL! KILL! (all caps in the text as well) and so he does, more and more, until he finds someone he doesn't want to kill. Thus begins the unlikely story of finding a Comrade in Arms in the enemy. Friendship and treason bloom on the battlefield.

In terms of word count, this barely crosses the threshold to be a considered a novella. In terms of enjoyment, it straddles the borderline of being mediocre and decent. What I found most notable about it is that it's a great example of a 2.5/5 rounded up to 3 story. It doesn't satisfy at all but doesn't leave me unduly dissatisfied. It tells an adequate story of "They want us all to kill each other, but what if we didn't?" The specifics suffice, but I don't think they matter all that much. That's really all there is to it. I don't recommend for or against it. It's just something short to read if you're in the mood for Humans vs Bugs military SF, though the bugs are on a similar civilizational level, have open dialogues, and both sides are idiotic. It's definitely not pro-war as there are various attacks on the military, patriotism, following orders, and the general concept of warfare.

As per the title, it finds that the grunts and the officers both have more in common with the their counterparts on the other side than with each other. If this were longer and better written it could've potentially been a story about solidarity among the troops on both sides rebelling against their officers and the leadership in general. That could've been amusing. As it is, it's more about how insubordination among one's own ranks is to be despised far more than the enemy. For an officer, the loss of troops is impersonal and expected. The refusal to respect their authority is personal and unforgivable.

This novella went how I expected it to, which is unfortunate, but not disappointing, as that would've required having higher expectations. As a tangential note, the more and more of Anderson's short fiction I read, the less and less interested I am in ever reading the Dune novels he wrote. I'll probably avoid reading anything else from him aside from when I see him in anthologies or magazines. It doesn't feel worthwhile for me to do so, despite it being that not that bad overall.

Rating: 2.5/5

>>22338542
Acadie - Dave Hutchinson (2017)

500 years ago a rogue scientist did some extreme genetic engineering and escaped with a space habitation filled with settlers and the Earth governments didn't like that, so they've been hunting them down ever since. All they want is to live free from Earth governments who don't understand their choices to be whomever they want themselves to be, so they are on the move rather often, living a relatively meager existence. They believe that's a cost worth paying for them to be free. Anyone who wants to leave is allowed to do so.

Regardless of what's said about this novella, it all comes down to one undeniable truth - the entirety of the story is for a gimmick. The gimmick is one that I enjoy, and even though I've read several times before, I didn't like it any less. It was enough to raise this from being rounded up from 2.5, to barely being a 3. It's an adequate read despite intentionally being what it is. Aside from the gimmick, there's nothing that I found notable about it. Everything else about it barely suffices.

I admit I took it at face value until the gimmick came into play. That was a problem because it was trying to tell me that it was a gimmick but instead I took it seriously and as a result I enjoyed it less than I otherwise would've if I had been in on it. For me that's a problem with the narrative structure. Sometimes retroactive enjoyment is possible, but that wasn't the case for this. Maybe that's only because I'm disappointed in myself for not seeing it for what it was. Talking about the specifics would be too much of a spoiler.

Depending on your preferences for reading, a gimmick may not be substantial enough, especially if you don't like the gimmick. This is a short novella, a bit more than a novelette based on the word count I've seen, which is the appropriate length. If it were shorter, the gimmick may not have mattered, and if it were longer its structure wouldn't have worked. I often complain about length, so I appreciate when it's done properly.

I've almost only written about how it's a gimmick without saying what it is, which may not be that helpful for whether you want to read this, both in terms of saying too much and not enough. The following is a major spoiler for what kind of gimmick it is, without saying specifically what it is: "Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?"

That I see this entirely as a gimmick both helps and hinders Hutchinson from whether I'd read more from him. I like the gimmick, but if that's what he mostly does, I don't know that I'd want to read a novel based around a mildly amusing one. I'd probably rather read a similar sort of author who I believe does better with execution. I may give him a try eventually again, or not, it really depends on whether a relevant whim comes up again or not.

Rating: 3/5

>>22338542
City of Truth - James Morrow (1991)

Jack Sperry lives in Veritas, the City of Truth. All its citizens are subjected to brainburn, which conditions them to feel excruciating pain if they say anything less than the complete truth. Jack works as a deconstructer, which means he destroys any and all lying art. He incinerates fiction, paintings, and films, demolishes statues, destroys counterfeits, and otherwise eliminates anything straying from the empirical. Truth is all the beauty ones needs.

I've read eight works of short fiction by James Morrow previously and haven't particularly liked any of them. I thought this this Nebula winning satirical novella might be better based on its premise, and it definitely was, for the duration that it was satirical. That's to say that it was comedy, a rather funny one for me, but that didn't last and I didn't take the tone shift well. It was quite the ride to go through three distinct moods in a novella. Narratively the experience of the protagonist and the reader are inverted. As the protagonist falls away from their idea of truth, the reader goes from mocking satire to sincere reality. For me it was like a friend telling you a funny story that has everyone laughing that segues into a trauma dump. To which my reaction was, "What? No. Stop." I wouldn't quite call it a bait and switch, but I'd really would've preferred that it stuck to the satire. Unfortunately, what comes after is probably the heart of the story.

If the humor doesn't work for you, it did for me, and what comes after doesn't, I can't say that you should read this. Some examples are, Jack, who is married, saying to a woman he just met: "I'd like to have sex with you", after noticing how voluptuous she is, or as is later said, zaftig. After a bit she replies with, "I feel only a mild, easily controlled desire to copulate with you." As soon as he meets with his wife they discuss how wants to have sex with this new woman. I found the deadpan dialogue to be amusing. The humor carries over into the exposition as well, with brutality squad members carrying Remington Metapenises, politicians openly proclaiming their corruption, businesses being entirely transparent, and men proclaiming how much they enjoy masturbating to beatoff magazine and make no pretension to reading its articles. The government even readily admits that there's no rational reason for their troops to be where they are and continually dying, but they're going to have them keep doing it anyway.

I can appreciate it for its allegory, but that doesn't mean that I have to enjoy it. I have no doubt that its message of, as interpreted by me: You can mock how others are living all that you want, but eventually you have to face yourself and take responsibility for your own life. You can't rely upon the assurances of certainty or the comforts of delusion. Regardless of whether I agree with it in theory, let alone practice it, it's not what I want to read.

Rating: 3/5

>>22338542
The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday, #1 - Saad Z. Hossain (2019)

This satirical science fiction fantasy novella is hilarious. It's very much my preferred sort of humor, so take that as you will. I'm certain there are all sort of flaws to be criticized, especially by those who take it overly seriously, but I had too much fun reading this to be concerned about anything other than my own enjoyment. I was reminded of several different works across various media. It's also a subversion of sword and sorcery, in a loving and mocking way.

At some unclear point within possibly the next few centuries humanity in its hubris has destroyed nearly all the world and themselves through its reckless disregard for consequences. Life outside the few remaining functioning cities is hellish and death is a promise. Kathmandu is a city run by Karma, an AI beyond the understanding of other AI, which owns and judges everything and assigns value to it as according to its algorithms. No one owns anything, no one has money, and no one has to do anything. All basic needs are provided for at no cost for Zeros, those who don't have any Karma points. Those who have points are able to spend them to have Karma do as they request. Aside from the initial distribution, the points are earned by one's actions and through trade. Neither ethics nor morality have any place in the market. All that matters is value as determined by Karma.

Melek Ahmar is a Djinn, a being that is able to manipulate reality, who has awoken from his millennia-long imprisonment. Bhan Gurung, a gurkha who has mastered knives, seeks revenge against one of the top ranked citizens of Kathmandu. If the entire city is destroyed in the process, it matters not at all. He is a recidivist who has forsaken all of Karma's blessings and as such is not under her surveillance. The djinn, not knowing what has become of the world, follows Gurung to Kathamandu. His goal is to PARTY HARD, and maybe, if there's time, to become the ruler of everything and have everyone know how great he is, once again. Though, really, only the former matters. Hamilcar Pande serves Karma in whatever seems the right way, because he's her sheriff, and the failsafe, or so he likes to think. Colonel Kanelia Shakia is his lover and a deadly warrior. She lives an entirely regimented life, which includes a requisite one day per week of wild and inventive sex, none of which is included. There's also a female djinn drug dealer who loves retro K-pop. All of the characters were great and this story is very much about the characters.

I have only two disappointments. There's only one more book in this series currently and there probably won't ever be an adaptation. It's been a long time since I felt so strongly that something needs an animated adaptation like this does. I'll definitely have to try reading what else he's written. Hossain may possibly end up being my favorite SFF comedy writer. The potential is there anyway.

Rating: 5/5

>>22328631
Hardfought - Greg Bear (1983)
There are some authors who have a writing style that I can only appreciate in a technical sense because their aesthetic either does nothing for me or actively disengages me. Sometimes this even happens for authors I'm intentionally trying to enjoy. After reading some of his short fiction and attempting to read his novels, it's evident to me that this is the case for Greg Bear. It's not only because of the heavy usage of neologisms, a few of which are explained, though several have to be inferred from limited context available. Probably what it is most is how he handles his characters. I just couldn't care about them at all or otherwise feel anything towards them, which may have been intentional.

In the distant future, at least several 100,000s of years, what passes for humanity has been fighting the Senexi, a reticent elder race whose history spans roughly twelve billion years, for a few 100,000s of years. It's a situation of experience versus adaptability. Both store their collective histories, though the Senexi become it rather than be informed by it. The Senexi strive for uniformity and to be one of one mind where difference is death. Humanity, at least in terms of the combat shown, use mass produced personnel based on their greatest individuals believing that will lead to the best outcomes. The narrative is presented from both of their viewpoints and neither one is favored over the other. Both are certainly alien. As to why they're fighting, it's because the other exists, more or less.

The story is mostly about the characters, though primarily in how they're pawns with minimal agency. They do as must be done as a resource to be expended. For the humans it's "how can we best kill the Senexi" and for the Senexi it's "how can we best infiltrate the humans". I didn't care for it on a plot level either. There's probably a considerable amount I'm missing, but I don't have sufficient interest for that to matter to me.

Rating: 2/5

>>22328631
Press Enter - John Varley (1984)

Victor Apfel is a fifty year old Korean War veteran recluse who has mostly shunned the world. His landline phone won't stop ringing from what he believes to be an automatically dialed phone call. Eventually he answers and visits his neighbor, who he finds dead from an apparent suicide. Was it though, and why call him? The mystery begins.

This beautiful mess of a novella won the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, SF Chronicle, and Seiun awards. I call it a mess because the story is a science fiction horror murder mystery slice of life romance. Almost forty years have passed since its publication which now provides a different perspective that both weakens and strengthens the story. The popular view at the time surely was "I never thought of that. Could this really happen someday? How terrifying." Now instead it'd be "I think about this all time. Not only will it happen, it probably already has. I'm terrified." Though the latter may be alarmist. What it loses in surprise is balanced by how much more credible it now seems, which allows it to retain its horror.

A funny thing with technology is that people may start by underestimating its capabilities and then as it becomes more and more familiar they begin to overestimate what it can do. It's entirely possible that people in 2024 will be more likely to believe the key premise of this story than in 1984 despite it being ridiculous, though fun, regardless of the year. I say knowing that some would say, "In 2084, it's an integral part of society and not ridiculous in the slightest." Yeah, sure it is.

Romance is considerably more prevalent than I thought it'd be and it's difficult to tell what Varley was going for with it at the time. The love interest is literally presented as physically being a racist and sexist caricature. The story is self-aware about that and states that it's irrelevant compared to the inner beauty of a person, which I don't know what to say in relation to a current day context. The concept of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl was popularized in 2005, 21 years later, but the love interest meets the criteria for that and then some. It's somewhat weird to read considering how many other depictions I've seen of it.

The ending gave me tonal whiplash and that was undoubtedly intentional. In terms of the story it's simply following a sequence of events to its logical conclusion, but even so I can't help but feel dissatisfied about it. The resolution does seem more relevant to the feelings of people today than then, though not so much their behavior. As to why it won its awards I believe it's because the core of the story is a neat idea that was highly speculative at the time and provoked a lot of thought while the rest is varying types of fanservice. By the end, the book I was reminded of most was Welcome to the NHK!, which is a strange feeling, and has me yearning for a modern retelling.

Rating: 4/5

>>22269668
Blade of Dream, Kithamar #2 - Daniel Abraham (2023)

Blade of Dreams was far better than Age of Ash, which I enjoyed as well. Its style comes close to what I believe to be the ideal sort of low fantasy. There wasn't anything still present that bothered me from the previous book, so I had no reason to give this any less than my highest rating. Each book I've read from Abraham has only further cemented his status as one of my favorite authors. He's near the top of the most consistently enjoyable authors I've read and possibly has written the most series that I've highly rated.

Age of Ash began with Harvest while Blade of Dream began with the preceding time of Midsummer, which provided what happened before the first book. Although this second book takes place simultaneously with the first book from Harvest onwards the events depicted are almost entirely different. That's to be expected as none of the viewpoint characters from the first book return as one here. Some of the characters who aren't viewpoints this time appear again, but mostly only in the background and they're often left unnamed. I expect that this layering effect will continue in the third book.

The primary viewpoints are Garreth Left, the eldest son of a major trading house, and Elaine a Sal, the heir to the throne, which makes the story take on a significantly more romantic bent when compared to the first. Minor viewpoints include Divol Senit, a captain in the city guard; Lemel Tarrit, the head chef for the royal family; Finar, a bargeman for the Left family, Vasch, Garreth's younger brother, and two that can't be named without spoiling. Not only viewpoint characters matter though as some of the best characters with the most impactful scenes that provide for the most thoughtful consideration are those whom seemingly have the least agency of their own.

The prevalent theme, which each character explored in their own way, was identity and expectations. How much do the expectations of forces outside of ourselves determine who we are? Is the cost of self-determination worthwhile? Are mutually beneficial compromises between the self and society the best possible outcome? There's a particularly well-written passage near the end that lays out an approach to navigating life through knowing which compromises are necessary to have a satisfying though not ideal life. How one ought to live and how that affects others may require painful consideration, though those who don't at all may be ones causing the most pain to themselves and others.

I had some doubts about whether Abraham could tell the same overall story three times, but all of those doubts have been dispelled. A change in perspective can make all the difference. I eagerly await the third book, which assumedly will come out sometime in 2024. This second book will be released on July 18th, 2023.

I received this DRC from Orbit through NetGalley.

Rating: 5/5

>>22260820
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, Cosmere - Brandon Sanderson (2023)

Yumi and the Nightmare painter is different from almost all of Sanderson's other work, as these secret projects have all been, in that it's romance-oriented. I'd specifically describe this novel as a romantic comedy with dramatic elements featuring an atypical body swap that results in a stranger in a strange land scenario, though they stay together. Sanderson explicitly states his inspirations in the postscript. The starting idea came from the manga, Hikaru no Go, though he cites Your Name, Final Fantasy X, and a story he can't remember the name of as influences. I'd also throw Loop Hero in there as well, mostly as a joke. The influences are decidedly Southeast Asian and so is this new setting, as it's based on South Korea (where he served as a missionary) and Japan. The interior art is by Aliya Chen, which in combination with everything else previously mentioned really gives this a feel of being a Western light novel in everything but name.

The two main characters are Yumi and Nikaro. Hoid is the narrator and almost nothing else. Yumi is a priestess of the spirits who has been raised in a very traditional, orthodox, and conservative manner that's filled with with rituals and abnegation of the self. Most of the story is her coming to realize she's her own person. It could be described as her Rumspringa. Nikaro, the Nightmare Painter, is almost always referred to as Painter. To paraphrase Hoid, he's a essential frontline worker who is underpaid and feels unappreciated. As a Nightmare Painter, he, along with his many colleagues, prevent incursions from literal manifestations of living darkness. Although this is basically a romance, it's still Sanderson, so the most they do is some light touching and a single kiss. However, because it's also influenced by manga tropes, it has a few awkward situations of them being nude together, including at a hot springs. The mutual nudity is part of the interior art, though nothing sensitive is shown.

I don't have much to say about the worldbuilding. It suffices. Nikaro/Painter is in a near contemporary setting that somehow has developed to that level despite the entire world being shrouded in darkness and the population seeming to be relatively minimal. The main gimmick is the Hion, which serves as their magic as technology, though in a rather mundane way. Yumi's setting is a harsh wasteland of flying foliage, burning ground, geysers, and a dependence on spirits to be technology. Both settings are rather inhospitable in their own ways. As for the story itself, which seems to take place rather deep into the Cosmere timeline, it's about them trying to figure out why they body swap and how to resolve that. Through the course of doing so they learn more about themselves, each other, and where they're from. The story probably isn't that important by comparison to them just being together.

Rating: 3/5

>>22250160
The Artifice of Eternity - Aaron H. Arm (2023)

The Artifice of Eternity is a technically proficient book about human nature, society, family, and religion. After solving many critical problems on Earth, the world's wealthiest and most influential man decides that problem of humanity is intractable and personally selects four thousand, including himself, to begin an intentionally planned civilization with the ideal culture on another planet.

What I expected from this book was a science fiction novel primarily about settling a new planet with the hope of it being a utopia and that it didn't work out as they thought it would. Instead I got a Christian allegory of ambiguous meaning. I greatly enjoyed East of Eden, which was a biblical retelling, but this isn't that. The book's description says it's called Project Exodus and the planet is Eden, but even given that I underestimated how religiously oriented it would be. That's strange because the organizers of the project intentionally excluded the religious. Maybe that's why they were oblivious to the bible verses intrusively added into their dialogue. The verses were relevant and explanatory for the events of the story, but surely there could've been a better way. I was baffled when one character asked the other to meet them at Numbers xx:xx and it wasn't commented upon, though if the character had, I would think they would've declined the meeting.

The book's title and the name of the spaceship, Byzantium, are from the W.B. Yeats poem, Sailing to Byzantium. That's not the only similarity to Dan Simmon's Endymion. There were other science fiction novels that came to mind, but they were either ones that I didn't enjoy or that I think were failed attempts to do as they had. There are others references as well that I thought were a bit too blatant for their content, or as some would say, on-the-nose. I couldn't help but roll my eyes about the Erinyes, and a few others.

There's a major plot point that's been done in the Hyperion Cantos, Dune, Revelation Space, and several other series. It was both an inevitable conclusion for the story and entirely out of place. What I mean by that is that I felt like I was reading two different narratives. One was a family saga about life on a newly settled planet for ideological reasons and how everyone adjusted to the difficulties resulting from that. I would've enjoyed this more if that's all it was about. The other was a metaphysical, religious, and political allegory about how humanity is fallen and cannot escape themselves. The story puts forth that there was only one possible way to return to Eden. All others would be left behind. I found these two ideals being together to be both incongruent and underdeveloped in how they were presented. Worse yet, I found the latter to be nonsensical.

Rating: 2.5/5

I received this DRC from Cosmic Egg Books, an imprint of John Hunt Publishing, through NetGalley

>>22233483
The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, Dungeon Crawler #6 - Matt Dinniman (2023)

Wow, so much happens. This may be my favorite of the series thus far. It's also the longest book yet, listed at ~700 pages for the Kindle edition. Surprisingly I didn't mind the length at all, though what constitutes filler will vary by reader. After the opening recap and prologue, the first few chapters are mostly about going through rewards, achievements, processing what happened from the end of the previous book, and talking over about what the current floor will be about. The story didn't seem to really begin until the 5th chapter and by that point it's already at 10%, so roughly 70 pages. Turns out I didn't mind all the preparatory material. The story continuously goes all over the place, but it's a fun wild ride and I wouldn't have it be any other way.

The background setting for the floor is the real world and there's an explicit focus on folklore, particularly of the cryptozoological sort, though the aliens corrupt a lot of it. There's also various religious sorts included as well. As you may have noticed, there's an Uzi Jesus on the cover. The depiction of Jesus may be offensive to some readers, because Dinniman doesn't hold back. Personally, I found it hilarious in how absurd it was all.

As also shown on the cover, the primary mechanic this time is explicitly stated to be an active time battle version of Pokémon combined with Yu-Gi-Oh. It's quite something, especially their summoning intros and quips. Does it make any sense? No. Is it entirely broken in terms of fairness and balance? Yes. Sometimes they just kill their opponent before a card/trainer match can initiate. Everyone knows how silly it is though and that's part of the fun. The fun is what matters the most for me.

There's considerably more focus on the space opera and events outside of the dungeon in general. I wouldn't be surprised that at the end of the next book the space opera becomes the primary narrative and the dungeon becomes the background. I'm withholding judgment on that because the dungeon is what's so fun about it and while I certainly enjoy space opera, I don't know that that's what I want from this. The space opera could end up being an extremely amusing black comedy though and I wouldn't mind that at all.

Rating: 4.5/5 (tentatively rounded up to 5)

>>22217847
The Butcher's Masquerade, Dungeon Crawler Carl #5 - Matt Dinniman (2022)

The Butcher's Masquerade is a return to the RPG stylings of the second book and to traditional fantasy more generally. I don't know what the primary references for this one would be. Maybe Grimms' Fairy Tales, global folk tales, 19th century literary nonsense, and a splash of webcomics. There weren't any specific games that came to mind. The characters compare what they're doing to media, but they don't really think that's what it is either. I wrote that the first book may not had have had anything that was was original, but with each book that's been less and less the case, or may it be that I know what's being referenced less and less. In that way it may be becoming more accessible with each book rather than less, though that may not have any basis in reality. It's odd. Regardless, I'm still enjoying it quite a lot.

This time the floor premise is that the crawlers are being actively hunted down. As noted in the previous book preparations for a counterattack are now underway. Even so, that's easier said than done, though the new guild system allows for greater cooperation. They're certainly need as it their numbers continue to dwindle, inside the dungeon anyway.

There's certainly no lack of named characters to continue to die, which means that either more will have to be named, or there will be a tighter focus on those that remain. It makes me wonder how this will all end, especially considering that Dinniman wrote that he's never written a happy ending. This is the only series of his I've read so I'm unable to assess that claim. I've experienced various media works that have ended with all the characters dead, or otherwise have a bad ending for everyone, and it hasn't been one that I've preferred almost ever. I've found that it's rarely done well. Even of this series does go that, I don't think that would retroactively destroy my enjoyment.

Unlike the previous books, I don't know quite why I enjoyed this one as much as I did. Maybe it's the shift in focus and the promise of greater scope. I'm certainly very sympathetic to where the story seems to be heading, but less so about the methods and the possible end result. Regardless of anything else, I'm amazed by how much fun it continues to be.

Rating: 4.5/5