Reviews and Comments

Let's see if I finish this one in time for #SFFBookClub

The #SFFBookClub selection for December 2023

Very much in the same vein as the first one, but it doesn't quite have the same punch now that the setting has already been introduced and explored

I didn't know what to expect from a novella about a convent of space nuns wandering the vacuum inside a gigantic sea slug, and that's what I got

An adequate whodunit set in alternate contemporary Lisbon where a minority of people are gifted with telepathic or telekinetic powers.

There were some oddities - for example, the protagonist talks about the ambient temperature in every scene. I was expecting it to become a plot point, but apparently it's just there. The story revolves around two investigators doing their thing, but they're oddly timid - they're perfectly content with people just refusing to talk to them about the investigation, and they act like getting a warrant for some piece of evidence that all their other evidence points at is an impossible obstacle.

It was enjoyable despite these details, and I'll probably read the subsequent entries eventually.

A great fantasy novel revolving around a civil war in a small country, but focusing mainly on the experiences and interactions of the two main characters. I enjoyed the nuance around the different factions' and characters' motivations, as well as the fact that the protagonists were regular people in particular situations and not Chosen Ones. Apart from being in a different world, the fantasy treatment is very subtle and well-judged. I'm looking forward to finding out what the sequel has in store!

I nibbled my way through this one in tiny chunks, because it's bleak in the same very plausible way that made me walk away from black mirror.

I enjoyed that it focused on a different character than the first installment, which allowed the narrative to come from a different direction and give a new perspective on events. An intriguing (while bleak) look at transhumanism/posthumanism in a setting of unfettered capitalism.

Very novel take on the repercussions of a first contact scenario. It's also a rare instance of a story set in a military environment that doesn't revolve around fighting the war.

This is my third Sarah Gailey book, and every single time I finish one, I think "That woman has lived through some shit, I hope she's ok."

Just Like Home is a book about good and evil and belonging and terror and growing up and death and family, but not in the ways I expected.

A satisfying continuation of the series, but whereas Ninth House was gritty, dark, contemporary supernatural fantasy, Hell Bent is verging into YA supernatural. Which is fine, but the gritty darkness was what I liked most about Ninth House.