Haunted kids, ancient horrors in the garden shed, mad science gone wrong - this short story collection does it all. Mohamed writes dark fantasy and horror with a deft, captivating hand. Creepy fun!
I read this book over Thanksgiving and that is exactly what "Legends & Lattes" is about, being thankful for the people (or hobs, rattkins, succubi...) in your life.
Viv is a retired orc with a love of coffee, a magic stone and her life savings-enough, she hopes, to make a new life for herself. But new lives don't come easily without the help of others and it will take employees and neighbors, rivals and old friends to make Viv's dreams come true.
Nona broke my heart.
Like any fan of the Locked Tomb Series, my gaze was focused on Alecto, the anticipated final book of the trilogy with its shifting publication date and promise of answers to all our questions. I did not expect Nona with her enormous heart, her love of dogs (all shapes and sizes!) and her gang of school friends. Nona with her vaguely familiar features, extremely familiar “family,” disturbing dreams and shocking role to play in all this.
When I thought I could not care more about Gideon, Harrow and the others, I met Nona. And she broke my heart.
"This book is dedicated to anyone who has ever fallen in love with a culture that was devouring their own."
If you like Dune you need to read this, if you like Ann Leckie books you need to read this, if you like language or court intrigue or spy novels you need to read this, if you like action movies that are actually mostly incisive barbs and diplomacy - you need to read this. Picture a delicate mashup of the Giver and the Expanse series but set in an ancient empire (one could also call it a militaristic death cult) that names its warships after poetry.
Arkady Martine absolutely deserves to be up there with science fiction greats like Herbert, Leckie, and Tepper.
This is the kind of campy sci-fi smut that Fox Mulder would be reading in a motel room as Scully tries to convince him (unsuccessfully) that it's not aliens.
Read it and squeal.
Dystopian, sci-fi inflicted short stories, with moody feminist speculations about technology, gender, queer identity, violence... Written 30 years ago but only published this last year! What a privilege to read a time-capsule, yet be absolutely terrified at the realization that her foreshadowings were not far off from coming true. I will forever hold love and grief for Izumi.
There is so much warmth, hope, and humanity between the covers of this book. Make yourself a cup of tea and settle in.
Recently translated into English for the first time, Izumi Suzuki's strange and disconnected prose creates a meandering trail of science fiction vignettes with apathetic and drug-addled characters, bored to death with life, or as one teenager addicted to television puts it, "tangled up in fatalistic resignations." The perfect beach read for anyone who really hates the beach and loves Black Mirror.
A delightful queer romance with a fun sci. fi. setting. There's a nice balance between cute relationship moments and unraveling an interplanetary mystery full of political intrigue. I listened to the audiobook on Libro.fm and it was top notch.
If you want something that will pull you in and be a great time, pick this one up, you'll thank me later.
P.S. Your heart is NOT ready for Prince Kiem and Count Jainan <3 <3
Here is a narrator that I will always love! Storytelling is the heart of this book, and Kvothe is the ultimate storyteller. Our hero is cocky and confident, but rightfully and satisfyingly so. Rothfuss has nested tales within fantastical tales in this epic world, complete with its own deep lore, history, and mythology. The Name of the Wind is overflowing with tavern tables, tearful ballads, murder, magic school, and true love-- everything you want from a fantasy novel and so much more. It is my top pick in this category. I regret devouring this book too quickly on my first read. What I wouldn't give to experience it once again for the first time!
