Ardent Violet and the Infinite Eye

 Ardent Violet and the Infinite Eye by Alex White, 452 pages.

This sequel to August Kitko and the Mechas from Space follows several months after the first book, as Gus, Violet, and the other conduits continue trying to find someway to stop the seemingly evil AI who nearly exterminated humanity with giant robots. But this time they have help! A whole lot of aliens with a shared enemy and giant robots of their own are here to help; although alien politics is a whole other complication, and one there isn't much time to solve.

This book is as self-indulgent and fun as the first one! I enjoyed the dual perspectives between Gus and nonbinary pop star Ardent Violet. The aliens were very creative and diverse, which is something I always enjoy with Sci-Fi. I do think the pace of this book dragged a little compared to the first book, and it definitely feels like the middle book in a trilogy. That being said, I am excited to read the conclusion and see how everything comes together! These books are a great example of the kinds of things space opera can do, and I would definitely recommend them for anyone interested in the genre. 

The Two Lies of Faven Sythe

The Two Lies of Faven Sythe by Megan E. O'Keefe, 352 pages

Faven Sythe is a cryst-born navigator, a semi-human capable of creating faster-than-light pathways between the stars. When her mentor, Ulana, mysteriously disappears into the Clutch, a cosmic graveyard that even the most intrepid interstellar travelers avoid, Faven is convinced that something fishy is going on. Luckily (or perhaps unluckily), she crosses paths with notorious pirate Bitter Amandine, who is one of few who has been to the heart of the Clutch and lived to tell the tale — though she won't, as it was that scarring to her psyche — and the odd pairing embarks on a mission to track down Ulana and figure out what could be going on.

Generally speaking, a standalone space opera with pirates and human/alien hybrids is right up my alley, reading-wise. But something about this one didn't quite catch and hold my attention. The plot felt a bit repetitive, I couldn't really see much character growth in Faven or Amandine, and the cryst backstory felt a bit confusing and flimsy. There are better space operas out there.

The Red Scholar's Wake

 The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard, 336 pages.

When Xích Si is captured by pirates she expects to be murdered or indentured into service, in either case she won't be able to ever go home to her daughter again. Instead Rice Fish, Mind Ship and leader of the Red Banner pirate fleet, offers her a much stranger deal. If Xích Si helps her to investigate her wife's mysterious death, she will marry her (for her own protection) and make sure she has everything she needs. Xích Si is soon pulled deeply into the politics of the five pirate banners, and the walls seem to close in from every side.

I thought this Vietnamese-inspired space opera felt very fresh and interesting. Unfortunately, I also found many of the actual science fiction aspects hard to understand, which made it much harder to follow. More unfortunately, this is a book with an emotional conclusion that I found so flawed it made me retroactively dislike the rest of the book more. It had many elements that I like individually, but they came together in a way that felt lacking. This book was very interesting, but I'm not sure if I would call it good. 

Cascade Failure

Cascade Failure by L.M. Sagas, 405 pages

Jal is a genetically enhanced former Guild ranger on the run when he ends up on Ambit's Run, a Guild-adjacent ship with a tiny crew made up of AI Captain Eoan, medic/mechanic Nash, and grouchy old soldier Saint, the latter of whom happens to be an old friend from Jal's past. The Ambit crew isn't sure if they can trust Jal (and vice versa), but when they receive a distress call from an otherwise dead planet, they put aside their differences to rescue programmer Anke, the sole survivor on the planet. She has evidence of a conspiracy to destroy populated worlds in the name of commerce, and as expected, there are people after her who are determined to stop her from revealing the truth. The crew and visitors of Ambit's Run are soon on a mission to save themselves, and various unsuspecting planets, complicated by the fact that they don't know who to trust, including each other.

I love a good space opera, especially one with a found family like the one found in this book. I loved the characters and their unique flaws, and while the overall plot made sense, there were a few portions where I was a bit confused as to who was playing against whom. But it's a fun book, and I'll look forward to reading the next book in this series, which is due out later this year.

You Sexy Thing

You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo, 292 pages

A few years ago, Niko achieved the near-impossible and exited the Holy Hive Mind military force without dying or having her brain absorbed into the hive. How'd she do it? She claimed artistic need (which is a recognized exception), and with the help of her crew, left to build the Last Chance, a gourmet restaurant on a distant space station. When an attack on the space station leaves Niko and her crew fleeing on a sentient spaceship (the titular You Sexy Thing, in fact) with a renowned restaurant critic in tow, they find themselves pulled into a complex revenge plot created by an old enemy.

I love a good space opera, and this book has all of the elements to create one: a diverse and quirky crew of aliens, a sentient spaceship that thinks its being stolen, a fight against an evil space pirate king (yes, really), and a captain with a desire to right a long-festering wrong. There were times when the plot seemed a bit rushed, as well as places where it seemed slow, and the omniscient point of view was a bit jarring at times. But all in all it was a fun book, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the Orcs & Aliens think of it on Monday.

(Also, if you can read this book without getting the song stuck in your head, you have a stronger mind than mine.)

Calamity

Calamity by Constance Fay, 305 pages

Temperance was banished from the powerful Reed Family by her narcissistic bully of an older brother. Such an act comes with an unremovable glowing tattoo that makes it clear that she's not welcome in most civilized parts of the universe, so when the place where she found to land, the scouting ship Quest, sold off by its former captain, Temperance does the only thing she can — she goes into a massive amount of debt to buy the ship herself. Such debt leaves her unable to choose her clients for future scouting missions, which is why she ends up on a mysterious scouting job for the Escajeda Family. The Quest crew is ostensibly there to search for a rare but potentially game-changing mineral, though that doesn't explain their insistence on Arcadio Escajeda, second son of the powerful Family, riding along. And, unfortunately for the mission (but fortunately for her love life?), Temperance finds his smoldering good looks a bit too distracting in such tight quarters.

In recent years, romance and fantasy have spawned the poorly named "romantasy" subgenre, and Calamity is basically the science fiction equivalent (thank goodness there's not a mashup name for this subgenre yet). Fay manages to get the enemies-to-lovers romance trope just right, but the more science fiction elements are a bit rougher around the edges. Biggest complaint though is the massive overuse of the word "calamity," which started to lose meaning after a while. But I liked the worldbuilding though, and the characters are intriguing, and it was a pretty quick, easy read, so whenever the inevitable sequel comes out, I'll probably pick it up. 

Record of a Spaceborn Few

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers, 359 pages

Hundreds of years before our story starts, humans fled the dying Earth in search of a new place to settle. What happened to the Exodus Fleet instead, however, was generations of humans living on the ships of the fleet, floating in outer space even after they make contact with other sentient species. Record of a Spaceborn Few is just that — the stories of a handful of mostly unconnected Exodans who live on a ship of the fleet. There's a caretaker who handles the composting and recycling of the dead; a teenager who can't wait to leave the fleet after graduating; a cargo worker whose husband's off-ship job leaves her caring for her kids and aging father solo; an archivist who is hosting a very non-human anthropologist on a research trip; and a young man who comes to the ship from a planet in search of a new life. 

As with all of Chambers' books, this one is created with care and intention. All characters are three-dimensional and have understandable motives for their actions, even if we the readers don't agree with them. And as with all of her other books, I loved this one too. Highly recommended.

Binti

 

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (2015) 96 pages

I previously read Okorafor's memoir Broken Places & Outer Spaces: Finding Creativity in the Unexpected about her personal experience as a teen star athlete who becomes paralyzed and finds purpose as a writer of science fiction, specifically africanfuturism.

I listened to the audiobook, the start of a trilogy, on Hoopla. It is narrated by Robin Miles. It is super short and sets up the characters and world in a way that leaves me wanting to find out what happens next. This is a story of diplomacy and stopping a war between alien species. Binti is from a desert community in Africa on Earth. Her peoples' culture and habits seem foreign to the Western majority culture. She loves mathematics and wants to go to the prestigious Oomza University on another planet. She is accepted, but all her friends and family discourage her because they think she will never truly be accepted as representing the larger Earth culture, so she runs away. The spaceship is a sort of living giant shrimp thing with hollow spaces for the humans to inhabit. Binti's new Uni life is interrupted en route by a Medusen attack. There has been a long-standing armed conflict between Earth's majority culture and the Meduse. I picture the Meduse as human-sized jellyfish. Binti's position as an outsider even among humans, coming from a long line of diplomats called "harmonizers," and an alien piece of tech that she does not completely understand makes her unique in position to stop more violence when the spaceship arrives at the University. We meet more diverse alien species at the University, and the resolution happens a bit too quickly. But, perhaps, it is the diversity that leads to quickly accepting the wrong that has been done, apologizing, and ending the war.

Fault Tolerance

Fault Tolerance by Valerie Valdes, 406 pages

After dealing with an interstellar mafia and a devious plot involving mind-controlling Pokemon-esque creatures (just go with it), the crew of La Sirena Negra is ready for a bit of downtime. But then some ominous monoliths (is there such a thing as non-ominous monoliths?) have to go and appear at every intergalactic gate, blocking traffic between star systems and threatening to destroy everyone who doesn't bend to the will of those who control the monoliths (who this is isn't exactly clear at the start). And OF COURSE La Sirena Negra's co-captain, Eva Innocente, is the being chosen to hunt down some super-powerful, super-huge mechs to fight the monoliths' creators. Cue a dangerous universe-wide scavenger hunt, complete with plenty of fighting, running, and off-the-cuff decisions that are equal parts stupid and brave.

I really love this series (start with Chilling Effect), which is equal parts space adventure, found family wonderfulness, and cat jokes. My only complaints about it are completely my fault: it's been two years since I read the last installment in this series, so I'd forgotten what was going on when the story picked up; and I recently read a different book with giant space robots, which certainly colored my mental image of the mechs in this book. (Thankfully, the other book had a different enough plot and characters and relationship between robot and human that I was able to keep the stories straight.) Anyway, this was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to read what Valdes comes up with next!

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K. Eason, 408 pages

When she was born, Rory Thorne was given 12 gifts and one curse from 13 fairies (as is the tradition for princesses born to the interstellar Thorne Consortium). The one curse, however, may be the most useful thing of all though: the ability to see through flattery and lies, which will likely come in useful in her future, when she's promised in a marriage that's meant to stop a war.

Rory's "curse" is pretty cool and she does have some neat diplomatic abilities, but there's no multiverse in this book, nor is said non-existent multiverse destroyed. This was a fun mashup of fairy tales and space opera, though perhaps not my favorite book ever. Still, it made for a good discussion last night!

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse

 How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K. Eason, 416 pages.

Rory Thorne is the princess of an inherited monarchy which is also a space corporation. She's also a direct descendant of Sleeping Beauty, and as the first girl born to the line in centuries, she receives thirteen fairy blessings on her naming day. Some are grace and harp skills, but the most dramatic is the ability to see through any lies and flattery. 

When her brother is born she is no longer the heir, and before too long learns that the political role of daughters is often as bargaining chips for marriages. She's shipped off to the space station ruled by her betrothed (who doesn't seem to be around) to wait for the two years before she comes of age and gets married. And if some extremely shady stuff is going on with the regent? Surely she can't be expected to just ignore it.

I really, really liked this book. I was expecting a space opera with sort of fairy tale aesthetics, and was very impressed with how much the author committed to this book truly being both fairy tale and science fiction. I also really liked Rory. She plays a little against type for the archetype of the strong, brash heroine by actually listening to and genuinely respecting her mentors, which I found very refreshing. This book was a whole lot of fun while also having the ability to take it's serious moments seriously, and overall it's something even better than the fun, silly book I was expecting. Also apparently Rory is a space pirate in the second book and oh boy am I excited to read THAT.

Nemesis Games

Nemesis Games by James S. A. Corey, 563 pages.

I keep expecting to be let down by the Expanse books and it has yet to happen (we're in book 5 here). The author's have not, to this point, been afraid to introduce new characters, and big shifts in the story, while keeping true to the themes and arguments made in the earlier books. The greater good for humanity, equity for all people, regardless of who or where they are, and how sociopaths who are willing to follow good people can themselves be good people are all paths we follow here, regardless of the big shifts in the series's universe. In book 5 we meet Filip and his father, Marco. They both have a strong connection to the core characters and they work with some other newish characters to totally upend the environment in which everyone is living.
Naomi Nagata reconnects with members of the OPA, Amos reconneccts with Clarissa Mao, and Alex reconnects with Bobbie. Holden is sort of left to find his lonely way for a while, but it all comes full circle. Good fun.

Cibola Burn

Cibola Burn by James S. A. Corey, 581 pages.

After the Ring Gate opened in the third book of the Expanse series, the fate of humanity has shifted. People from Earth, Mars and the Outer Planets are all heading for the new frontiers and getting ready to take their chances on one of the 1300 gates to see and claim the planets those gates lead to.
One planet quickly becomes the focus of a violent disagreement between a group of refugees from the Jovian moon Ganymede, who snuck through the gate, and a corporate expedition whowant  claim the planet as their own. The Rocinante, with its crew of Nagata, Holden, Burton, and Kamal, is nearby enough for Fred Johnson of the OPA (the Outer Planets Alliance) and Chrisjen Avasarala of the UN to both ask them to mediate the disagreement.
James Holden finds he has another reason to head to the disputed planet, his dead friend, Detective Miller, speaking on behalf of the protomolecule, wants a look at the machinary under the planet.
It all sounds convoluted and complicated, but by the time this is over, you're over 2,000 pages into the series and it all makes sense. At the core of this book, as with many in the series, is the battle between those who are trying to do the right thing, and those who are in it for their own gain. Good, solid characters and a fast-paced, interesting story, make it all work; the Expanse books are always a joy. Bobbie Draper shows up briefly, and new recurring characters, Elvi Okoye, and Fayez Sarkis, make their first appearances.

Abaddon's Gate

Abaddon's Gate by James S. A. Corey, 566 pages.

So, the third book of the Expanse series takes us into some new territory.  Sure, Fred Johnson, Bobbie, and Avrasala are back, and Miller is too, in an altered form, anyway, but the solar system, the galaxy, and maybe the universe are all altered.
Everyone, the new and the old, in this volume are heading out to the Ring, the latest project from the beings that brought you the protomolecule, and the thing that lets everyone know that things are now a bit different.
Mostly it's the crew of the Rocinante again, at least half of the time, letting us see what is going on. They're really solid characters by this time and they're back to try and accidentally save humanity again. Julie Mao, the young-woman-turned-protomolecule-vector isn't really present, but because of her, younger sister Clarissa makes her debut.  There are lots of twists and turns, with interesting characters and a believable universe. An interesting book in a really enjoyable series.

Caliban's War

Caliban's War by James S. A. Corey, 611 pages.

The second volume in the Expanse series keeps the action going. James Holden, Naomi Nagata, Amos Burton, and Alex Kamal are now officially the crew of the Rocianante (the Canterbury is long gone and they've convincingly renamed the Martian Corvette class ship, Tachi) and the protomolecule is still a big worry for all of humankind. The protomolecule shows up on the Jovian moon, Ganymede, and because of that we're introduced to recurring characters Bobbie Draper, Prax Meng, and (I think) Chrisjen Avasarala. Holden and his crew find themselves saving everyone again. A good solid middle book that doesn't seem like it when you're reading it. Really enjoying this series.

The Worst of All Possible Worlds

The Worst of All Possible Worlds by Alex White, 528 pages

Given the title of this book and the state of the world today, it would be understandable to think this was a non-fiction book on current events. (That's certainly what Google thought when I did an image search for the cover.) Thankfully, it's not. Instead, this book is the final book in White's Salvagers trilogy, about the magically inclined, not-always-law-abiding, highly talented crew of the starship Capricious.

This volume finds the crew once again fighting through perilous worlds and situations in their final attempts to take down the power-drunk Gods of the Harrow, a cabal of powerful galactic movers and shakers intent on... well, it seems like they just want to live forever while killing other people. The important thing is the Capricious crew is intent on stopping these jerks. Along they way, they acquire a snarky new AI in the form of a supercar/tank, and manage to track down some incredible archaeological finds to help them on their quest.

While this series probably won't win any awards, I absolutely love it for the love, friendship, and snark that makes the crew a wonderful found family. Highly recommended for fans of Becky Chambers, Valerie Valdes, and Firefly.

*This book will be published July 28, 2020.

A Memory Called Empire

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine, 462 pages

I first read and blogged about this book almost exactly a year ago, so instead of rehashing my description of the plot here, I'll simply link to my previous blog post. Basically, it's about the new ambassador from a small space station to an ever-expanding empire that she both loves and fears. It's an incredible novels that has racked up lots of award nominations over the last year, and I'm excited to discuss it with the Orcs & Aliens book group tonight. It's clever, nuanced, and interesting on so many levels, which means it's ripe for discussion.

Chilling Effect

Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes, 434 pages

Eva Innocente is minding her own business, carting goods across the galaxy when she learns that her sister has been kidnapped by The Fridge, a criminal syndicate that's known for cryogenically freezing its victims until their loved ones pay off exorbitant ransoms. And that's just what has happened to Eva's sister, forcing Eva to take on increasingly dangerous missions to pay the ransom. Oh, and in the meantime, she has to figure out how to deal with the massive bounty placed on her by a rich guy who just couldn't take no for an answer when he hit on her.

This book won't win any awards, but it's a fun galaxy-trotting caper with a vibrant cast of alien beings (including the clawed quennians, who emit smells that correspond with their emotions), a great Latina protagonist, and some psychic cats (who I'm pretty sure are just regular cats that they think are psychic). I enjoyed it immensely, and recommend it for fans of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe.

A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe

A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White, 473 pages

Nilah Brio is the best racer in the universe, the pride of Lang Autosports, drawing adoring fans and big bucks sponsorships on every planet she drives on. But during one of her races, she and another racer become trapped in a time-locked spell cast by a spooky old lady that leaves the other racer dead and Nilah teleported to the bad part of town with nobody to trust. Before long, however, she meets up with Boots, a former fighter pilot-turned-celebrity who now sells not-always-correct maps to treasure hunters. Boots is on the run from the many treasure hunters she's duped when she and Nilah meet, and unfortunately, that's when Boots' former captain and crew catch up with her, taking Boots and Nilah aboard the Capricious as they search for the Harrow, a legendary warship that may not even exist. But the spooky old lady is hot on their heels, and way more dangerous than any of them suspected.

OK, that's probably a bit confusing, and it's not even close to the full plot of the book. But holy cow, is this a fun book! One of the blurbs on the back of the book compares it to the gone-too-soon western-in-space TV show Firefly (which is one of my favorites), and it's definitely an apt comparison. I had a bit of trouble making the characters magical capabilities mesh with the galaxy-jumping setting, but once I got that sorted in my head, this was a fantastic adventure. I'll definitely be reading the rest of this trilogy! Recommended for fans of Becky Chambers, Firefly, and not-always-legal capers.

The Sol Majestic

The Sol Majestic by Ferrett Steinmetz, 384 pages

Savor Station is a remote space station best known for The Sol Majestic, the most exclusive restaurant in the universe. People will travel light years to visit, and reservations are made years in advance. But Kenna doesn't know about The Sol Majestic when he arrives. He's a starving teenager, dragged from station to station by his parents, who are attempting to fulfill the Inevitable Philosophies of their religion while haranguing Kenna for not yet coming up with his own Philosophy. Yet by pure dumb luck, Kenna finds himself in the kitchen of The Sol Majestic, falling in love with the work the chefs perform every day and falling in love with one chef in particular, an indentured servant named Benzo. Soon the fate of Kenna's as-yet-unknown Inevitable Philosophy and the grandiose-but-bleeding-money restaurant are intertwined, causing Kenna to doubt the religion of his parents as well as his own humanity.

This book is a love letter to food, to determination, to hardworking labor. In rebelling against his parents' prohibitions against manual labor and mixing with the commoners, Kenna learns about the universe around him as well as about himself. So in that sense, it's a fairly standard coming-of-age tale. But it also delves into the concepts of knowledge, of power, of honesty, of skill, and of time itself. While parts felt a bit slow to me, I ended up loving this book and the way it resolved itself. I'm so glad Ferrett Steinmetz decided to keep writing and created this book.