The Big Trip Up YonderHappy Throwback Thursday! This week we read The Big Trip Up Yonder. This is a short story by Kurt Vonnegut which was originally published Galaxy Science Magazine. These days it can be found in a myriad of books and eBooks, sometimes coupled with other Vonnegut short stories.
ArenaArena by Holly Jennings is the first book in a new science fiction series set in a near future where e-sports are now dominated by fully immersive virtual reality games. The story is told from Kali’s point of view – a twenty year old half American half Chinese woman who is making history as the first female team captain in the tournament bracket. Then her world starts to fall apart – her teammate dies of an overdose, she’s fighting an addiction herself, and corporate sponsors along with their team owner wants to sweep Nathan’s death under the rug.
Welcome to Night ValeHave you ever listened to the Welcome to Night Vale podcast? Heard of it? Well, this is Welcome to Night Vale the book, written by the podcast’s creators Joseph Fink and Jeffery Cranor. Those who’ve never listened to the podcast, don’t be afraid. The book doesn’t require any previous knowledge of the world or plot of the podcast, though I do feel as though fans will get just a little more from this book than others as it does wrap up the Man in the Tan Jacket subplot.
ChampionAgain, this time I didn’t tear through Champion. I was anxious to read this book and finish the series so once I got past the second chapter I went through it fairly quickly.
We open with Day and June apart, Day working within the military and June as the Princeps-Elect. As the Republic struggles towards a peace treaty with the Colonies a biohazard plague starts ripping through the Colonies.
InfomocracyMalka Older’s debut novel Infomocracy is a brilliantly written story of political intrigue set in the near future. Every ten years sees a world-wide election. Instead of individuals competing for leadership, it is political bodies with vastly differing ideologies. Whichever government will win the most votes will take the coveted position of Supermajority. Above all of this is Information, a global corporation providing information about everything and everything. But this governmental system is fairly new, the election filled with contention, and things quickly go from bad to worse.
Beacon 23: The Complete NovelSo, I’ve had a Kindle for years. Somehow, I missed that you could check out a book from the Amazon store as a library book. Once I figured out that (a) this was a thing and (b) how to do it, I borrowed Beacon 23: The Complete Novel by Hugh Howey. Despite actually owning his first novel, Wool, this is the first of his books I’ve read. (I know, I know. I’m a serial tbr pile neglector.)
The Flicker MenThe Flicker Men by Ted Kosmatka is a fast paced science fiction thriller about a washed-up scientist with a serious drinking problem who suffers from depression and has a family history of suicide and mental instability. When an old friend presents Eric with a second chance and research position, he takes it. The job comes with a stipulation, though – produce some kind of results within three months – and Eric has no ambitions of trying to meet this. When the unthinkable happens and his easy, safe reproduction of the double-helix experiment produces new results not everyone is happy with him.
Dark MatterAs a fan of books and anime that touch on multi-verse theory, Dark Matter by Blake Crouch quickly caught my eye. Though the author has a hefty list of books to his name – all fitting snuggly within the genres I read the most – this was the first of Crouch’s books I read. Dark Matter is a science fiction thriller with fast pacing and alternate worlds set in the modern day.
LegendI freely admit that sometimes I try to avoid new series. Not because I don’t love series (let’s face it, I adore series) but sometimes you aren’t ready to commit to a new series just yet. Every time I’d gone into Barnes and Noble I’d look at Legend by Marie Lu. I’d read the book jacket, the quotes from the New York Times review and other authors and I’d read a few lines on the first page. I just couldn’t commit to the series yet.
The fact is, I’m mad I waited to read this series! I know I’m a bit behind in joining the Legend fandom and if you’re waiting to join in and read the series please don’t wait much longer.
Made to KillI can’t begin to describe how happy I was when I first found Made to Kill by Adam Christopher. I was in the library right after Fallout 4’s Far Harbor DLC was released, and really wanted to find a book somehow involving cyborgs, androids or the sort as main characters. (Because Nick Valentine is a great character, and I need more of that in my life.) And lo! Right there, directly at eye level was Made to Kill with a robot on the front cover just begging me to read it.
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