Nanoreviews: Overgrowth, Aunt Tigress

Overgrowth by Mira Grant

It’s been fifteen years since Mira Grant published Feed, the first of the Newsflesh novels. It’s been ten years since Chimera, the conclusion of the Parasitology trilogy, followed by the phenomenal Into the Drowning Deep in 2017. Since then Grant has published a kickass YA Alien novel and a handful of novellas, but even so, it’s been a while since we’ve had what feels like a “proper” Mira Grant novel, for whatever exactly that means.

Overgrowth asks what it would look like if a little girl told anyone who would listen that she was really an alien in the form of a human and the alien armada was coming… and that girl was telling the truth. As told by Mira Grant, the open pseudonym of Seanan McGuire, which is important because there is a sort of personal narrative style that Grant/McGuire works in, where most characters speak in a very specific explanatory descriptive way, and it’s something that I’ve appreciated reading a LOT of McGuire’s work over the last decade.

The Mira Grant name is where McGuire writes her more horror-themed science fiction novels and novellas (rather than as Seanan McGuire, which gets more urban fantasy/fantasy). Overgrowth is absolutely horrifying. That little girl at the heart of the novel’s premise—she walked into the woods one day and didn’t come back. Something else did, and that something else looked like the girl, moved like the girl, and sort of talked like the girl, but not exactly, and when she said that she was an alien, most people thought it was trauma, but the parents also knew that something was wrong.

I’m not going to say that this is a sort of horror that only parents can understand or relate to, because I don’t think that’s actually the case at all—but it is a horror that I feel more viscerally as a parent. It’s the combination fear of something happening to either of my children, but I know my kids. I know who they are as growing people, and I can scarcely imagine the raw horror of my son or daughter being there but being “not right”. It’s terrifying.

That’s also not truly what Overgrowth is about, because it’s about what happens when that kid (and others) are grown, still telling the same story, and the the aliens actually show up. What happens *then*? How does the world respond to those people who said they weren’t human in the face of evidence that something is coming? We can guess how governments would react based on years of evidence of how they treat actual humans they choose to deem a threat or a “security concern.” We can guess how other people will react to someone truly “other” because we’ve seen that in our lifetimes and our parents’ lifetimes. We know the stories.

All that is before the aliens actually show up, which isn’t really a spoiler. It’s kind of the premise behind the setup. If those kids weren’t lying, *something* has to arrive, and more than likely given that this is a Mira Grant novel, they’re not gong to be coming in peace.

If you’re down for this premise and for Mira Grant’s light touch with horror and characterization, Overgrowth is one of my favorite books of the year so far. There’s a lot to like here. Overgrowth is not going to open up your veins and make readers viscerally feel every bit of fear and terror and gore. It’s not that sort of book, and Grant (so far) has not quite been that sort of writer (though it’s been a very long time since I’ve read Newsflesh or Parasitology), but that’s also not what you go to Mira Grant for. You read Mira Grant for one hell of a premise, fast-paced storytelling, and a very specific characterization. Overgrowth hits the mark.

Aunt Tigress by Emily Yu-Xuan Qin

I often think of urban fantasy debuts the way I remember Seanan McGuire’s Rosemary and Rue or Jim Butcher’s Storm Front: there’s enough to interest me, but not quite to hook me into the series, but I absolutely need to read one to two more books because the hook is almost certainly coming, and once it sets, I’ll be fully invested for another twenty books.

Aunt Tigress is an exciting debut urban fantasy from Emily Yu-Xuan Qin set in Calgary and wrapped in Chinese and First Nations mythology. I’m… interested. Tam Lin is part magical tiger, with a human mother and a tiger on her father’s side. Everything starts with the death of Tam’s titular Aunt Tigress, who appears to have been a truly awful person, and it turns out that perhaps Aunt Tigress was murdered, and Tam wants to find out what happened despite her withdrawing from her magical heritage. A university classmate, Janet, latches on to Tam and helps her on her quest. Misadventures ensue.

I bounced off this idea during the novel, but I wonder if there will be more Tam Lin novels, and if so, in what way the mythology of Tam Lin and Janet and faerie might play into that. Having a character named Tam Lin is one thing. Tam having a love interest named Janet is something else. That’s not really germane to Aunt Tigress, but given some distance, it’s something I’m thinking about.

Aunt Tigress is a wild adventure that starts relatively grounded and ends up on a truly magical mystery tour (™) through a mystical cosmos of sorts. I didn’t love this, but I’ll read another from Qin to see how she develops as a storyteller.

PUBLISHED BY: Joe Sherry - Senior Editor of Nerds of a Feather. Hugo and Ignyte Winner. Minnesotan.

Nanoreviews: In the Shadow of Spindrift House, Middlegame, Assassin's Price

Grant, Mira. In the Shadow of Spindrift House [Subterranean Press]

In the Shadow of Spindrift House seems like a blending of the storytelling of Mira Grant and Seanan McGuire, not quite fitting the expectation of either persona. It is horror, though, and that says Mira Grant. Certain aspects of the novella reminds me of a weird unholy blend of Gormenghast (if I actually liked Gormenghast) and Lovecraft, with the storytelling touch that is all Mira Grant.

This isn't as easily accessible as a more traditional Mira Grant novella. There is an interstitial that feels like Grant is stretching what it means to tell a Mira Grant story (although, Into the Drowning Deep did that, too). The introduction of Harlowe, her friends, and the central mystery of the novel is pure Mira Grant, and then the creeping existential dread and horror hits.
Score: 7/10

McGuire, Seanan. Middlegame [Tor.com Publishing]

Middlegame is perhaps the most ambitious novels from Seanan McGuire and is a showcase for her skill at telling a good and complex story. Twins, math, alchemy, murder, time-bending, family, secret organizations, impossible powers, and just about everything McGuire can throw into this wonderous novel. Seanan McGuire has blended together as much as she possibly could stuff into one novel and she makes the whole thing work.

Middlegame is a novel about separated twins struggling to come together and the people that are keeping them apart in order to better build them into something that can open a road to an Impossible City that will grant unbelievable power. The novel is grounded in what seems like an almost normal reality of Roger and Dodger, the two incredible intelligent and gifted twins mentioned previously. It is that grounding that allows the rest of the novel's structure to work, the hints that there is more to the story than we're even seeing through the different viewpoint characters. Seanan McGuire goes big with Middlegame and she hits the mark.
Score: 8/10 

Modesitt, Jr, L.E. Assassin's Price [Tor]

Few of Modesitt's fantasy novels feature a non-magic-using protagonist, but this is one. Charyn, son of the Rex Lorien and tired of waiting for his father to give him responsibilities of a proper political education to prepare him for future rule, has taken it upon himself to get that education. Meanwhile, threats and attacks against Rex Lorien's family have begun and the political situation have worsened.

For all that Assassin's Price is the eleventh novel in Modesitt's Imager Portfolio series and the third in a subseries, it might actually be a reasonable place for a reader to pick up the series. Charyn is a new viewpoint character (the previous two books have featured Alaster, an incredibly powerful magic user) and while knowledge of the events of Madness in Solidar and Treachery's Tools might help for a richer background, Modesitt gives more than enough to fill in the blanks.

The success of Assassin's Price for a given reader lies entirely with how much the reader appreciates Modesitt's house style of slow burn, slow burn, slow burn, big reveal and action. The atmosphere is built and the story is told through the smallest of every day actions. Modesitt is a master of the form, but readers need to appreciate the form. If they do, Assassin's Price is a fully satisfying novel.
Score: 7/10


Joe Sherry - Co-editor of Nerds of a Feather, 3x Hugo Award Finalist for Best Fanzine. Minnesotan.

Nanoreviews: Kingdom of Needle and Bone, Alice Payne Arrives, State Tectonics

Grant, Mira. Kingdom of Needle and Bone [Subterranean Press]

Kingdom of Needle and Bone is a bit more didactic than I've come to expect from Mira Grant. The opening of the novella leans hard on the anti-vaccination movement and Grant doesn't much let up. She grounds her story with horrifying science, how outbreaks and pandemic spread, and ties into into the grief of one particular family. The, and only then, Grant twists the knife in what the spread of "Morris' Disease" means for the world. Kingdom of Needle and Bone is gripping, horrifying, and excellent. As Mira Grant does.
Score: 7/10

Heartfield, Kate. Alice Payne Arrives [Tor.com Publishing]

Alice Payne Arrives is a pure delight from start to finish. This is a time travel story where factions from the future are working at odds to write / re-write the past in order to get the future just right. We learn early on that Prudence has lived the same day over and over and over again in the attempt to nudge future history just right and nail her objective. Time travel isn't easy. Alice is a biracial noblewoman in England who just happens to be moonlighting as a highwayman, robbing those wealthy who have done wrong. Sort of a robin hood figure, except that she's paying off her father's debts. Alice gets tumbled into the time mess and between Prudence and Alice we have two formidable and delightful characters to follow. Kate Heartfield's novella is breezily serious and I immediately wanted more.
Score: 8/10

Older, Malka. State Tectonics [Tor.com Publishing]

If taken as something that is important by itself, the execution of the plot of State Tectonics is perhaps less effective than its description: there is a rebellion and conspiracy against Information, the Google / UN / Election Management / All Knowing / All Seeing organization. Where Malka Older shines is the working out of her ideas about democracy / micro democracy, politics, the power of information (lower case), self determination, corporations as governments, and so much more. All in a tight package.

While I understand that history is not a straight line towards progress and better and more equitable societies, Malka Older offers optimism of what one way forward might look like while being open about the challenges. If this is the future of democracy, I think it's one worth striving for and moving beyond simple national boundaries.
Score: 8/10


POSTED BY: Joe Sherry - Co-editor of Nerds of a Feather, 2017 & 2018 Hugo Award Finalist for Best Fanzine. Minnesotan.

Top Nine Books Published in 2017

Some people do a top ten list, others do a top eleven (insert your Spinal Tap joke here), yet others may only do five. My list is 9 books long. Why? Partly to be a little bit different and partly because I want the tenth spot on my list to be reserved for that really great book which I simply did not get the chance to read during 2017. That really great book may also be something I have only heard whispers about and I may not discover for several more years. Whatever that tenth great book is, I’m holding a spot for it on my list.

Also, there is no doubt that this list, like every other list out there is built entirely on the combination of the books I've actually read with my own prejudices, taste, preferences, and the choices I made when selecting books to read across the breadth of 2017. That's really what we're saying when we say we've put together a list of the "Best Books of the Year". It's the best we've read, the best we can remember, the best based on what we appreciate in speculative fiction. One of the other best books I've read this year is Alison McGhee's latest novel Never Coming Back, but this is a speculative fiction blog focusing on more nerdy endeavors, so for the sake of theme I'll limit this list to science fiction, fantasy, and everything in between and around the edges. With that said, I adore Alison McGhee's fiction and

This Top Nine List is more or less in order.  The top slot is a complete lock, but ask me tomorrow and some titles may shift around a bit.  Whichever order the list is in, these are the nine novels published in 2017 which I feel were the strongest titles of the year.

1. The Stone Sky, by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit): From my review "The Stone Sky caps off a stunning epic fantasy trilogy, one which began with the threaded narrative of three orogenes and concludes with the story of a woman and daughter finally coming back together. If you think there's going to be a truly happy ending, you haven't been paying attention. That's not the story N. K. Jemisin is telling here. The Stone Sky weaves deep personal drama and trauma with the overarching racial commentary that underpinned the entire trilogy.

The Broken Earth is a monumental achievement in fantasy fiction. The Stone Sky is the culmination of the best fantasy trilogy written today and that might be an understatement." It is not simply the best fantasy or speculative fiction novel of the year, it is the best novel I read in all of 2017.

 

2. Assassin's Fate, by Robin Hobb (Del Rey): If this is the last time Robin Hobb invites readers into the Realm of the Elderlings, Assassin's Fate is a fitting and wrenching end to the series and of the story of FitzChivalry Farseer. The writing of Robin Hobb and Assassin's Fate is beautiful and painful and aching and rippling with pain, but sprinkled with moments of pure grace. (my nanoreview)

3. The Stars Are Legion, by Kameron Hurley (Saga): As I wrote in my review of The Stars Are Legion, instead of "just focusing on all the cool and nasty stuff Kameron Hurley uses to build her novel, we should also discuss just how kick ass The Stars Are Legion is. Hurley has packed The Stars Are Legion with action, space battles, invasion, the exploration of worlds, betrayal, murder, adventure, and pretty much everything you might want out of a novel. I suppose I can't realistically claim that it i everything you want, but it's definitely everything I want."

4. Into the Drowning Deep, by Mira Grant (Orbit): A terrifyingly good novel which will completely change how readers think about mermaids. Forget Disney, forget the cutesy fairy tales, Mira Grant reinvents (or restores) mermaids to their rightful and frightful place as horrifying terrors of the sea. Into the Drowning Deep is compulsively readable and is perhaps the best novel Grant has written thus far. (my nanoreview)

5. City of Miracles, by Robert Jackson Bennett (Broadway): "Oh, this is so good. With each novel of The Divine Cities, Robert Jackson Bennett raises the bar - to the point that going into City of Miracles I was nervous. Yes, it was well established that Bennett is a fantastic writer, but could he hold that level of excellence for one more novel and truly stick the landing. He does, and then some. He opens the novel with Shara's murder and nothing about what follows is expected. All of it is great. All three of the Divine Cities novels were excellent. City of Miracles is outstanding and a near perfect ending to the series. My only regret is that this closes the book on the series." (my nanoreview)

6. The Power, by Naomi Alderman (Little, Brown): Alderman's novel flips the world's power structure and examines some of the asburdity (and evil) that can be done when one gender has an overwhelming amount of political and social power. Alderman does this by having women develop (or re-develop) the ability to conduct electricity and shock others. It puts the power literally in the hands of women and then pushes that concept out on a global scale. One of the ideas I found fascinating was the framing device of the novel, which looks at this book as historical fiction with the idea of how it is being used as subversive literature in a world where women have always had the power. The Power is intense and, well, powerful. It is excellent and compelling.

7. Amberlough, by Lara Elena Donnelly (Tor): I somehow managed to never review Amberlough, which is a bit of a shame because it was spectacular. Part political thriller, part spy thriller, part Cabaret, part callback to early 1930's Berlin, Amberlough is doing a lot of heavy lifting in a compact package. Donnelly's Amberlough is a smooth, charming, and brutally compelling novel that is near the top of the class of 2017.

8. Gluttony Bay, by Matt Wallace (Tor.com Publising): Come for the madcap gonzo writing, stay for the wrenching emotion. Regular Nerds of a Feather readers with any degree of perception will recognize just how much I love Matt Wallace's Sin du Jour novellas. Gluttony Bay is the penultimate tale and it is the best of the series so far. (my review)

9. Six Wakes, by Mur Lafferty (Orbit) - A locked room murder mystery with clones, in space. It's a hell of a concept that Mur Lafferty more than pulls off. She absolutely nails it. Six Wakes is a novel you just don't want to put down. (Shana's review)

***


As I mentioned in the introduction, for as many books as I read in a year, there is always something amazing that I missed and that I just didn't have time to get to. Or, as plugged in as I try to be, that I just haven't heard of (or heard enough about). As much as I wanted to, I did not read The Stone in the Skull (Elizabeth Bear), Oathbringer (Brandon Sanderson), An Unkindness of Ghosts (Rivers Solomon), and Barbary Station (R.E. Stearns). The list of highly recommend and presumably stellar novels that I just didn't get to read this year is long and distinguished. That's the reason for the tenth spot on the list. 

Also it is worth noting the seven books that just missed the list but were in serious contention: The Murders of Molly Southborne (Tade Thompson), The Wanderers (Meg Howry), The Collapsing Empire (John Scalzi), Phantom Pains (Mishell Baker), Winter Tide (Ruthanna Emrys), The Last Good Man (Linda Nagata), An Unkindness of Magicians (Kat Howard)



POSTED BY: Joe Sherry - Co-editor of Nerds of a Feather, 2017 Hugo Award Finalist for Best Fanzine. Writer / Editor of the mostly defunct Adventures in Reading since 2004. Minnesotan.

Nanoreviews: Into the Drowning Deep, Treachery's Tools, The Wrong Stars

 Grant, Mira. Into the Drowning Deep [Orbit, 2017]

Forget everything you think you know about mermaids. This isn't a Disney movie and there's nothing cute about this novel. In her 6 Books Interview with Nerds of a Feather, Mira Grant said that Into the Drowning Deep "does for mermaids what Jurassic Park did for velociraptors." Reader, it does. These mermaids are terrifying, compelling, and all too plausible as Mira Grant spins the story. Into the Drowning Deep is the sort of novel you need to read one more page, one more chapter, and keep reading deep into the night. Into the the Drowning Deep rocketed up my list of the best novels of 2017. It's terrifyingly good.
Score: 9/10

Modesitt, Jr, L.E. Treachery's Tools [Tor, 2016]

This tenth volume in the Imager Portfolio picks up some thirteen years after Madness in Solidar (my review). Alastar's command of the Collegium is fully established, he is married with a ten year old daughter, but the threats to the Collegium and the stability of the nation have not lessened. There are plots to upend hundreds of years of legal structure to restore ancient power to landholders and reduce power to everyone else. This is a Modesitt novel and that means deliberate pacing with much of the drama built up piece by piece through the every day lives of the characters. Like Madness in Solidar, when the plotting comes to a head we have explosive action. As with many Modesitt heroes, Alastar does not act until he absolutely has to - though he is a bit more threatening and just tired of everyone's crap in Treachery's Tools than he was in the previous novel. Treachery's Tools is a solid Modesitt novel. You know what you're going to get and Modesitt delivers.
Score: 7/10

Pratt, Tim. The Wrong Stars [Angry Robot, 2017]

The Wrong Stars is a charming and breezy space opera with some big action, a looming galactic threat, and a whole lot of fun. The Wrong Stars is reminiscent of the science fiction of Becky Chambers and John Scalzi. Pratt has that smooth and easy storytelling down and there's no real barrier to entry here.  There are a few downsides. First, there's the opening moves to a sex scene that borders on the absurd and I think firmly lands in the bad sex category, though I'll acknowledge that I may not know what a good sex scene looks like. Pratt is also a bit over the top with casual pop culture references that are apparently holding up 500 years in our future. Some of those are overt and part of the storytelling, others are throwaway reference lines that distract from the otherwise good job Pratt is doing. Those are both minor quibbles. As a whole, The Wrong Stars is a delightful space opera and I'm excited to read what comes next.
Score: 7/10



POSTED BY: Joe Sherry - Co-editor of Nerds of a Feather, 2017 Hugo Award Finalist for Best Fanzine. Writer / Editor of the mostly defunct Adventures in Reading since 2004. Minnesotan.

New Books Spotlight

Welcome to another edition of the New Books Spotlight, where each month or so we curate a selection of 6 forthcoming books we find notable, interesting, and intriguing. It gives us the opportunity to shine a brief spotlight on some stuff we're itching to get our hands on.

What are you looking forward to? Anything you want to argue with us about? Is there something we should consider spotlighting in the future? Let us know in the comments!

Corey, James S. A. Persepolis Rising [Orbit, 2017] 
Publisher's Description

AN OLD ENEMY RETURNS

In the thousand-sun network of humanity’s expansion, new colony worlds are struggling to find their way. Every new planet lives on a knife edge between collapse and wonder, and the crew of the aging gunship Rocinante have their hands more than full keeping the fragile peace.

In the vast space between Earth and Jupiter, the inner planets and belt have formed a tentative and uncertain alliance still haunted by a history of wars and prejudices. On the lost colony world of Laconia, a hidden enemy has a new vision for all of humanity and the power to enforce it.

New technologies clash with old as the history of human conflict returns to its ancient patterns of war and subjugation. But human nature is not the only enemy, and the forces being unleashed have their own price. A price that will change the shape of humanity — and of the Rocinante — unexpectedly and forever… 

Why We Want It: Persepolis Rising is the eighth volume of The Expanse and at this point you're either all in or you're never going to get this far. If you're in, you know what's up. The duo behind James S. A. Corey puts out winner after winner with this series and it's some delightful science fiction. I'm very much looking forward to seeing what they do with Persepolis Rising.

Grant, Mira. Into the Drowning Deep [Orbit, 2017]
Publisher's Description

New York Times bestselling author Mira Grant, author of the renowned Newsflesh series, returns with a novel that takes us to a new world of ancient mysteries and mythological dangers come to life.

The ocean is home to many myths, 

But some are deadly…

Seven years ago the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a mockumentary bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a tragedy.

Now a new crew has been assembled. But this time they’re not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life’s work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.

Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves.

But the secrets of the deep come with a price. 

Why We Want It: I'll be straight up with you. I've already read this and it is so very good. So very good. Grant's Newsflesh series was a delight, but Into the Drowning Deep is on another level entirely. It is deeply compelling, unsettling, and I did not want to put it down.

Martin, George R. R., ed. Wild Cards: Mississippi Roll [Tor, 2017]
Publisher's Description

Perfect for current fans and new readers alike, Mississippi Roll is an adventurous journey along Ol’ Man River, featuring beloved characters from the Wild Cards universe. 

Now on its final voyage, the historical steamboat Natchez is known for her super-powered guest entertainers. But after the suspicious death of a crewmember, retired NY police detective Leo Storgman decides to make this incident his personal case. His findings only lead to a growing number of questions. Is there some truth behind the ghostly sightings of the steamboat’s first captain Wilbur Leathers? What secret does the current captain seem to be hiding? And could the Natchez be ferrying mysterious – and possibly dangerous – cargo onboard?

 Edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin, Mississippi Roll features the writing talents of Stephen Leigh, John Jos. Miller, Kevin Andrew Murphy, Carrie Vaughn (Martians Abroad), Hugo-Award winning author David D. Levine (Arabella of Mars), and Hugo and Nebula Award finalist Cherie Priest (Boneshaker). 

Why We Want It: We may be a touch behind on our Wild Cards, but a new novel is always a good thing and a reminder that it's time to jump back into the series. Though the 24th volume, Mississippi Roll looks to be a good entry point into the series for new readers as well as those who may be lapsed.

 
Sanderson, Brandon. Oathbringer [Tor, 2017]
Publisher's Description

The eagerly awaited sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling Words of Radiance, from epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson at the top of his game. 

In Oathbringer, the third volume of the New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive, humanity faces a new Desolation with the return of the Voidbringers, a foe with numbers as great as their thirst for vengeance.

Dalinar Kholin’s Alethi armies won a fleeting victory at a terrible cost: The enemy Parshendi summoned the violent Everstorm, which now sweeps the world with destruction, and in its passing awakens the once peaceful and subservient parshmen to the horror of their millennia-long enslavement by humans. While on a desperate flight to warn his family of the threat, Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with the fact that the newly kindled anger of the parshmen may be wholly justified.

Nestled in the mountains high above the storms, in the tower city of Urithiru, Shallan Davar investigates the wonders of the ancient stronghold of the Knights Radiant and unearths dark secrets lurking in its depths. And Dalinar realizes that his holy mission to unite his homeland of Alethkar was too narrow in scope. Unless all the nations of Roshar can put aside Dalinar’s blood-soaked past and stand together—and unless Dalinar himself can confront that past—even the restoration of the Knights Radiant will not prevent the end of civilization. 

Why We Want It: Brandon Sanderson has proved himself to be a fantasy institution and each new novel, especially those of The Stormlight Archive are big event books, tentpoles of the fantasy reading year. Oathbringer has been one of my most anticipated fantasies since I closed the last page of Words of Radiance three years ago.

Scholes, Ken. Hymn [Tor, 2017]
Publisher's Description

Ken Scholes completes his five-book epic that began with his acclaimed first novel Lamentation. The battle for control of The Named Lands has captivated readers as they have learned, alongside the characters, the true nature of world called Lasthome.

Now the struggle between the Andro-Francine Order of the Named Lands and the Y’Zirite Empire has reached a terrible turning point. Believing that his son is dead, Rudolfo has pretended to join with the triumphant Y’zirite forces—but his plan is to destroy them all with a poison that is targeted only to the enemy.

In Y’Zir, Rudolfo’s wife Jin Li Tam is fighting a war with her own father which will bring that Empire to ruin.

And on the Moon, Neb, revealed as one of the Younger Gods, takes the power of the Last Home Temple for his own. 

Why We Want It: After a five year wait, Ken Scholes is back and has delivered the fifth and final book in his Psalms of Isaak sequence. There's a lot going on here, with plots upon plots and, astoundingly, even a trip to the moon. I'm interested to see how he wraps this one up.

Weir, Andy. Artemis [Crown, 2017]
Publisher's Description

Jasmine Bashara never signed up to be a hero. She just wanted to get rich.

Not crazy, eccentric-billionaire rich, like many of the visitors to her hometown of Artemis, humanity’s first and only lunar colony. Just rich enough to move out of her coffin-sized apartment and eat something better than flavored algae. Rich enough to pay off a debt she’s owed for a long time.

So when a chance at a huge score finally comes her way, Jazz can’t say no. Sure, it requires her to graduate from small-time smuggler to full-on criminal mastermind. And it calls for a particular combination of cunning, technical skills, and large explosions—not to mention sheer brazen swagger. But Jazz has never run into a challenge her intellect can’t handle, and she figures she’s got the ‘swagger’ part down.

The trouble is, engineering the perfect crime is just the start of Jazz’s problems. Because her little heist is about to land her in the middle of a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself.

Trapped between competing forces, pursued by a killer and the law alike, even Jazz has to admit she’s in way over her head. She’ll have to hatch a truly spectacular scheme to have a chance at staying alive and saving her city.

Jazz is no hero, but she is a very good criminal.

That’ll have to do.

Propelled by its heroine’s wisecracking voice, set in a city that’s at once stunningly imagined and intimately familiar, and brimming over with clever problem-solving and heist-y fun, Artemis is another irresistible brew of science, suspense, and humor from #1 bestselling author Andy Weir. 

Why We Want It: You've read The Martian, right? Weir's story of an astronaut marooned on Mars was charming and thrilling enough that we want to see what he does next.



POSTED BY: Joe Sherry - Co-editor of Nerds of a Feather, 2017 Hugo Award Finalist for Best Fanzine. Writer / Editor of the mostly defunct Adventures in Reading since 2004. Minnesotan.

6 Books with Mira Grant

Photo by Carolyn Billingsley

Mira Grant is the pseudonym for author Seanan McGuire. She was awarded the 2010 John W Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2010. McGuire / Grant has gone on to garner 13 Hugo Award nominations, winning three of them, most recently for her spectacular novella Every Heart a Doorway, which was also a Nebula Award winner.

Today she shares her 6 books with us...

1. What book are you currently reading?

In Other Lands, by Sarah Reese Brennan.







 

2. What upcoming book you are really excited about?

The sequel to Winter Tide, by Ruthanna Emrys.

3. Is there a book you're currently itching to re-read?

I'm probably going to give John Dies at the End, by David Wong, another spin around the floor soon.

4. How about a book you've changed your mind about over time--either positively or negatively?

The Dead Zone, by Stephen King. I originally read it when I was way too young, and thought it was incredibly boring. Revisiting it as an adult was a revelation.

5. What's one book, which you read as a child or young adult, that has had a lasting influence on your writing?

The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle.

6. And speaking of that, what's *your* latest book, and why is it awesome?

My latest book is Into the Drowning Deep, and it's awesome because it does for mermaids what Jurassic Park did for velociraptors.



 



POSTED BY: Joe Sherry - Co-editor of Nerds of a Feather, 2017 Hugo Award Finalist for Best Fanzine. Writer / Editor of the mostly defunct Adventures in Reading since 2004. Minnesotan.   

Nanoreviews: River of Teeth, Feedback, The Autumn Republic

Gailey, Sarah. River of Teeth [Tor.com Publishing, 2017]

Um, did you know there was a serious plan to bring hippopotamuses to America to alleviate a meat shortage? I didn't either, but Sarah Gailey did. I'm so happy that she knew this because it grew into this insanity of a novella that delivers a fantastic story that feels like the wild west as seen from hippoback. River of Teeth is glorious, but it is more than just the wonderful idea of using hippos as beasts of burden and transit (and oh, this idea is so well excuted) - it is also filled with striking characters like Winslow Remington Houndstooth and Regina Archambault, but the whole cast, really. It's great. You should read it.
Score: 8/10

Grant, Mira. Feedback [Orbit, 2016]

Mira Grant returns to her broken zombie infested near future world of the excellent Newsflesh trilogy by stepping back and telling a side story that runs through the timeline of much of that trilogy, but focusing on a different set of blogging heroes. Despite the title, this isn't just Feed Redux and the team of Aislinn, Ben, Audrey, and Mat are not the Masons, though they likewise are pulled into covering a political campaign and it likewise goes poorly for them the more they do their jobs. That's just the nature of this world. Mira Grant has a strong and comfortable authorial voice and reading Feedback is like visiting old friends that you just hadn't met yet.
Score 8/10

McClellan, Brian. The Autumn Republic [Orbit,  2015]

There's just something about compelling characters fighting gods that just gets me. The Autumn Republic is the concluding volume of McClellan's epic flintlock fantasy trilogy and he absolutely sticks the landing.  The Powder Mage novels are a blast to read and I absolutely recommend them.
Score: 8/10



Note: Everyone gets an 8/10 today. This must be what Oprah felt like during her giveaway shows. You get an 8! You get an 8! Everyone gets an 8! Also, all three of these books were a delight to read in three very different ways so these 8's were very much earned.

POSTED BY: Joe Sherry - Writer / Editor at Adventures in Reading since 2004. Nerds of a Feather contributor since 2015, editor since 2016. Minnesotan.