July 20, 2017
Penric and the Shaman (2016) Written by: Lois McMaster Bujold Pages: 160 (Kindle) Publisher: Spectrum Literary Agency, Inc Why I chose it: I’ve read (and adored) Bujold’s Sharing Knife series and have been wanting to read more of her work. When this Penric novella was offered as a Hugo reading, I took the opportunity to expand my Bujold repertoire. The…
May 16, 2017
Every Heart a Doorway (2016) Written by: Seanan McGuire Genre: Dark Fantasy Pages: 174 (Kindle) Publisher: Tor.com Why I chose it: I first heard of Seanan McGuire back in 2009 when I picked up Feed by Mira Grant at the bookstore. Feed is a novel about an internet blogging team covering a presidential campaign about 25 years or so after…
August 19, 2016
Ancillary Mercy (2015) Written by: Ann Leckie Genre: Science Fiction Pages: 368 (Trade Paperback) Series: Book Three of The Imperial Radch trilogy Publisher: Orbit Why I Chose It: I have to admit that when I read Ancillary Justice (the first of this trilogy), I got kind of obsessed with the idea of a sentient spaceship seeking justice. I was delighted…
August 18, 2016
The Aeronaut’s Windlass (2015) Written by: Jim Butcher Genre: Steampunk Pages: 768 (Kindle) Series: Book One of The Cinder Spires Publisher: Roc Why I Chose It: As part of a Speculative Chic dare to review this year’s Hugo Nominees. And because my editor told me there were talking cats in this book. TALKING CATS! Premise: Since time immemorial, the Spires…
August 17, 2016
Uprooted (2015) Written by: Naomi Novik Genre: Fantasy Pages: 448 (Kindle) Series: Stand Alone Publisher: Del Rey Why I Chose It: I’ve been a fan of Naomi Novik since she first introduced us to Temeraire 10 years ago. I’ve always enjoyed her writing style and humor, so I had my eye on this to read even before it turned up…
August 10, 2016
Seveneves (2015) Written by: Neal Stephenson Genre: Science Fiction Pages: 744 (Nook) Series: Stand Alone Publisher: William Morrow Why I Chose It: Title was selected as a part of the Speculative Chic retrospective on the titles nominated for a Hugo. I’m quite possibly the only person on earth who actively liked the Librarian info-dumps Snow Crash, which still counts as my…
August 3, 2016
The Fifth Season (2015) Written by: N.K. Jemisin Genre: Fantasy Pages: 512 (Trade Paperback) Series: Book One of The Broken Earth Publisher: Orbit Why I Chose It: As lead up to the Hugo Awards, and also because I have a strange relationship with Jemisin’s writing. I very often love the individual scenes but have a harder time connecting with her…