Sci fi. Centuries ago, humanity fled Earth on generation ships. The ship at the centre of this book has survived because it came upon a herd of massive, vacuum-living space beasts. Originally, the beasts were just a source of resources, killed and harvested, but for many generations now the humans on this ship invade a …
Science fiction, I suppose, or maybe fantasy – anyway, kind of comic book-y in feel, and a world different from our own in that a small number of people have super powers, though this seems to be relatively new and not yet commonly known. Follows a not-very-good small-time super villain who robs banks, and a …
Literary fiction. Two interspersed narratives set in London, England, one in the Victorian era and one in the present day, each following an employee of the same encyclopedic dictionary. In the older time period, it is a bustling concern, with dozens of lexicographers filling a massive building, working slowly towards the hoped-for publication. That blessed …
An unfortunate photo that seems to show more than it actually does starts rumours about a Hollywood powerhouse and her assistant, leading to gossip, paparazzi…and maybe something more. Sweet, fluffy, heart-warming, and fun. Felt reasonably plausible in terms of the character journeys, which is not always true of this sort of book. One smaller plot …
Science fiction. Humanity has found a gate near the earth that leads to another solar system with a world inhabited by sentient life. Which they have conquered, or at least they think they have. The story is set in the English west country, which has declared itself independent and adopted a kind of isolationist and …
Science fiction. Future earth, a couple of generations post apocalypse. There are the walled cities where the privileged live in carefully controlled environments of plenty and ease, their security ensured by jealously guarded gates and the invisible violence of citizenship, and there are the settlements beyond the cities where everything has a Mad Max-like vibe. …
The…I guess fourth book (if taken in internal chronological order, which is not the same as publication order but is how Bujold recommends reading them) in the classic space opera series, the Vorkosigan Saga. Originally published in the ’80s. It is the first book to centre the character whom I believe is the protagonist from …
Literary fiction. Australian. The novel takes place over one evening – a woman getting ready for a party, at the party, and then back home afterwards with a man she met at the party. The main character is autistic (as is the author). The book is a detailed portrayal of her incredibly rich inner life …
Weird sci-fi. An invasion, of sorts, or an infection, or an infestation. An alien life form comes to earth, joins with humanity, and brings about a new world, a utopic world, a vaguely unsettling world, a world without the great harms that define ours, a world of community and met needs and amazing new tech …
YA historical fiction. I don’t read much historical fiction, but I’ve been a fan of this author since her first novel, the Cinderella retelling *Ash*, and I’ve followed her as she has worked her way across a range of genres. This book traces the story of a teen Chinese-American girl in 1950s San Francisco as …