Categories
Review

“Nucleation”

Kimberly Unger

For the most part, I like the tech that provides the setting for this book, but it’s got a couple things that are very clearly “it needs to work this way for the story to have the right amount of tension” and instead broke the illusion. “There isn’t enough bandwidth for us to talk to you while you’re remote controlling the robot”? You’re in the same room; bandwidth constraints don’t apply, because why would you be round-tripping that data through the remote thing?

That aside, though, this was quite a fun read. And hey, most of the tech makes a lot of sense—if you can make a little wormhole, you send through some little tech, and use that to build bigger stuff. The insistence on calling nanobots “eenies” instead of, y’know, nanobots, felt a bit odd, but kinda worked as a way to displace it from ‘near future’ to… ‘slightly more distant future.’ It is an inhabited colony that this is happening on, and not Earth, so some amount of linguistic drift makes sense.

And while I griped a bit about the tension overtaking the illusion, the book did a great job of maintaining that narrative tension throughout. There were a couple times in there where I really couldn’t put it down, because I had to know what was going to happen next. Or, one notable time, where I already knew what was going to happen next, and was desperately hoping I was wrong.

In short, this is a good read, not too long, and while there’s room for a sequel, it feels like it was written to be a stand-alone story.1 Give it a go.2

  1. The ending feels less “alright, see you next book!” and more “a movie ending a note that would let them create a spin-off show if they wanted.” ↩
  2. This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩
Categories
Review

“The Outside”

Ada Hoffmann

Two books in a row that get a lot of use out of the word ‘heresy,’ that’s a bit of an odd coincidence.

I also quite enjoyed this. Midway through I texted a friend of mine that I could very clearly see one of the influences of this book—Nick Bostrom’s Superintelligence. I stand by that. It took a bit of hand-waving about the way AI works, but Hoffmann found a reasonable explanation for why AI would bother keeping humanity around. Frankly, it’s one of the good outcomes; sure, we’re basically cattle, but hey, at least we’re wagyu.

And that, right there, was what made the setting so fascinating. Humanity as the tame feedstock for the AIs, which went ahead and declared themselves Gods. (And, yes, they are referred to with the capital ‘G’ throughout.) They are the Gods, and they grant us useful technology like interstellar travel and clean energy, but we’re also kicked back to 1950s computer technology, because anything more modern gets too close to their turf. And that’s where the use of ‘heresy’ comes back into play.

It gets more interesting than that, but that’s also getting into spoiler territory, so I’ll stop there.

One other thing to note that I quite liked about the book was how well it fit in a diverse cast. The protagonist is neuroatypical, and her love interest is a woman—a fact which is, in fact, never remarked upon by anyone. To borrow a meme, this is the future liberals want.1

All in all, I found this to be quite a good read, and do recommend it. Check it out.2

  1. Another thing I’ll stand by. Seriously, go read Superintelligence – being feedstock, after our death, for the AIs is pretty close to the best-case scenario for humanity. ↩
  2. This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩
Categories
Playlist

Playlist of the Month: February 2022

In theory we’re approaching spring, but given that it snowed a few days ago, it doesn’t particularly feel like it.

How It Was – Yoste on A Few Brief Moments – EP

twentyfive – Yoste on twentyfive – Single

Oh Dear, Oh Beaux – beaux on A Love Letter To the Moments Spent Outside

All Eyes On Me – Bo Burnham on Inside (The Songs)

Body Heat – ItsLee & Vide on Body Heat – Single

Daniel – Will Young on Crying on the Bathroom Floor

The Wire – Vancouver Sleep Clinic on The Wire – Single

Only Human – Philip Ayers on Only Human – Single

Picture of You (feat. Hayden Calnin) – Axel Flóvent on Picture of You (feat. Hayden Calnin) – Single

Fall Creek Boys Choir – James Blake & Bon Iver on Enough Thunder – EP

Wisdom, Justice, And Love – Linkin Park on A Thousand Suns

Lonely City – Mokita on Lonely City – Single

u hurt me hurts u – Anson Seabra on Feeling For My Life

Perfect Teeth – Petey on Lean Into Life

Holy Ghost and Hallelujah – flora cash on Our Generation

Funeral – James Blake on Friends That Break Your Heart (Bonus)

What I Loved About You – Fyfe on Games

Sights Like These – Edwin Raphael on Sights Like These – Single

Sky High – Octavian on Sky High – Single

The Middle – Cal Trask & StayLoose on The Middle – Single

Fix You – Thorin Loeks on Fix You – Single

Lost Angel Nights – James Blake on Friends That Break Your Heart (Bonus)

The Bright Lights – flora cash on Our Generation

Their Superhero – Jack in Water & Alaskan Tapes on Their Superhero – Single

Pyralone – Jónsi on Obsidian

Lost in Space – Emmit Fenn on Lost in Space – Single

Graves – Aisha Badru on The Way Back Home – EP

How It Is – Majik on Under the Influence – EP

If I Die – Ed Prosek on If I Die – Single

Soul Mate – flora cash on Our Generation

Interiority – Fyfe & Iskra Strings on Interiority – Single

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait – Isak Danielson on Good Things Come To Those Who Wait – Single

I Miss You – Amber Run on I Miss You – Single

Untold – RY X on Unfurl

Liberation – BUZZ on Liberation – Single

Down (Acoustic Version) – Landon Austin on Down (Acoustic Version) [Acoustic Version] – Single

Your Love – The Outfield on Big Innings: The Best of the Outfield

nomore – Addict. & Rewind on nomore – Single

Operator – Fyfe on Games

Self Control – Frank Ocean on Blonde

Wrangelstrasse – The Irrepressibles on Superheroes (Deluxe Edition)

Burn – Juice WRLD on Fighting Demons (Lyric Video Version)

It’s Not U – King Henry on It’s Not U – Single

Roses – Teflon Sega on Roses – Single

Let Me Swim – Yoste on Let Me Swim – Single

Diner – Charles Fauna on Diner – Single

Chamomile – slenderbodies on Plastic Parts / Chamomile – Single

laisse moi entrer – La Femme Pendu on VAMPYR1

The Best Part of Life – SAINt JHN on The Best Part of Life – Single

Love Me Or Leave Me – Munn on Love Me Or Leave Me – Single

In Limbo – Munn on In Limbo – Single

F33l Lik3 Dyin – Playboi Carti on Whole Lotta Red

Her Revolution – Burial, Four Tet & Thom Yorke on Her Revolution / His Rope – Single

How To Save a Life (feat. Max Schneider) [Acoustic] – Tyler Ward on How To Save a Life (feat. Max Schneider) [Acoustic] – Single2

Sweet Home – SYML on Sweet Home – Single

Ride or Die – Hippo Campus on LP3

Blindsided – Landon Austin on Blindsided – Single

Go Hard 2.0 – Juice WRLD on Fighting Demons (Complete Edition)

Try To Forget – Tyler Ward on Try To Forget – Single

Brividi – Mahmood & BLANCO on Brividi – Single

I’ll Look After You (feat. Haux) – Luno on I’ll Look After You (feat. Haux) – Single

Moviestar – Addict., Rewind & Diego R. on Moviestar – Single

The Chase – Emmit Fenn on The Chase – Single

Dreamer – Hayden Calnin on Dreamer – Single

Cigarettes – Juice WRLD on Cigarettes – Single

A Giant’s Chair – Jack in Water on You Once Were Home – EP

Something Just Like This – The Chainsmokers & Coldplay on Something Just Like This

You Found Me – The Fray on The Fray

Real – Majik on NOON // 2153

You – Emmit Fenn on You – Single

You You You – GERD on In It To Lose – EP

Say What You Will – James Blake on Friends That Break Your Heart (Bonus)

Don’t Look Back – EMBRZ on Don’t Look Back

Funeral – James Blake & slowthai on Friends That Break Your Heart (Bonus)4

Deletia (feat. Mysie) – Fyfe & Iskra Strings on Deletia (feat. Mysie) – Single

You (feat. Tusks) – Axel Flóvent on You (feat. Tusks) – Single

Saab 900 – Big Kill on Big Kill Future

Made of Stars – DJ Taz Rashid on Be the Change

4r Da Squaw – Isaiah Rashad on The Sun’s Tirade

The Freshmen – The Verve Pipe on Villains

  1. I just really love Allison Scagliotti, okay? ↩
  2. Apple Music recommended this, and then I wound up listening to The Fray’s entire first album and realizing that there’s only like two tracks on there that I don’t know by heart. ↩
  3. I miss Majik… ↩
  4. Kinda fun having both versions of Funeral on this playlist, it’s a bit like a ‘drop the needle’ quiz. ↩
Categories
Review

“Ninefox Gambit”

Yoon Ha Lee

I post many book reviews here, but one thing that I tend not to mention, is that I don’t actually review every book I read. If I give up on the book—in disgust, in boredom, for whatever reason—I won’t review it. If I make it through the whole book, sit down to write my thoughts, and can’t come up with a single positive note, I won’t review it. (There’s already enough negativity in the world, I’m not going to add to it.)

As a natural result of that, there’s a solid amount of very generic science fiction that I don’t post reviews of. Stuff that’s… fine. Uninspiring, cliche, trite, but not offensively bad.

“Ninefox Gambit” stands out because it is none of those things. It is unabashedly strange, gloriously new. Disconcerting and disquieting. It actually took me quite a while to be certain that all the characters are human—and, later, to determine that they’re not just pan-human, but human human, and the different classifications are a matter of culture.

In short, I absolutely loved this book. For all that I want to rave about the fascinating setting, the technological backdrop underpinning everything, I won’t, because a good part of the fun was in figuring out what, exactly, all of that was. Please, get a copy of the book, set aside some time to read, and lose yourself in this masterpiece.1

  1. This is an Amazon affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I prefer Bookshop affiliate links to Amazon when possible, but in this case, the book wasn’t available there, so it’ll have to do. ↩
Categories
Review

“Beyond the Rift”

Peter Watts

I had this book down as science fiction, and while that’s true, I don’t think that’s really the primary genre. It’s an anthology of horror sub-genres — there’s some body horror, a bit of existential dread, some psychological horror. Really runs the whole gamut! Frankly, if I’d realized it was going to be this creepy/bleak/depressing, I don’t know that I would’ve picked it up, but I’m glad I did. For all the gloom, it’s also captivating, and very well-written.

“The Island” was my favorite of the stories. Given the setting, it seems like something I’d love — more of that gigantic infrastructure, a road crew building a highway but for a civilization a couple of notches up the Kardashev scale from us. But for all that mind-boggling technology, I pictured it all as very dark; the aesthetic I imagined for the ship would fit just as well in a Diablo game as it does in this story. And the scary part of it is the sheer scale of time that passes, has passed, and will continue to pass.

“A Word for Heathens” was the most interesting concept, I think, although “The Things” is also a strong contender. I was a bit biased against the latter, as I haven’t seen the film it’s based on; if you have, you’ll probably like it more.

“Home” definitely wins the award for Most Horror; something about the body horror/creeping change over time really gets to me. Vaguely similar vibes to The Enigma of Amigara Fault. Or possibly that’s just my go-to for body horror? Cronenberg, you have been unseated.

“A Niche” hits on some of the same imagery, and thinking back, I believe they’re actually a shared universe. Which works… pretty well, overall. As does putting “Home” before “A Niche” — it predisposes you to think about that aspect of what’s creepy about it, and that’s really not where “A Niche” is going.

All in all, I absolutely loved this. My only regret is reading it at night because I suspect I’m going to have a rough time trying to get to sleep after this. Whoops.

So, if you want some gloomy (but surprisingly not doom-y) science fiction, give it a go.1

  1. This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩
Categories
Review

“The Chiral Conspiracy”

L.L. Richmond

Starting off with an infodump is a bit aggressive, but as I was looking up the author’s name, I realized that this is a novella in part of a larger series, so it makes a bit more sense. Less of a Star Wars scroll, more of a “previously on…” vibe to it, with that context.

That said, I really like the setting here. Just enough hand waving to the science fiction that I don’t get too caught up in it, but also some great details — like, at one point, the fact that a space station doesn’t have the advantage of a natural magnetosphere becomes very important. I quite like stuff like that — because, if you’re gonna give me big things happening in space, I want some acknowledgement of the sort of infrastructure work that makes all that possible.

Beyond that, this is a nice… not quite detective story, though it’s inspired by those. ‘Military thriller’ would be the other key influence/genre. The existence of NCIS says that there’s a solid market for that crossover, and this delivered quite well. Give it a read.1

  1. This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩
Categories
Review

“Annihilation Aria”

Michael R. Underwood

This was a very fun read. I’m skimming the acknowledgements as I start to write this, and the author says that the inspiration for Annihilation Aria was “what would it look like to try to write something that made me feel the way the Guardians of the Galaxy movie did?” In my opinion, Underwood achieved that—big galaxy, lots of different species each doing their own thing, and some truly epic scaled Big Bads. And, of course, a single human who stumbled into it all, trying to make his way through.

Where this is better than Guardians is that character: instead of Peter Quill’s constant posturing and hamming it up, Max is a scholar, a nerd, and… secure in his masculinity. He makes an excellent foil for Lahra, who’s something akin to a warrior princess from a lost tribe; where Quill would likely default to insecurity and trying to feign warrior prowess to match, Max is quite happy to let her shine, and be the expert in his own domain. The two of them have a very positive relationship, and it was genuinely delightful to read—seeing healthy interactions like that isn’t nearly as common as it should be, and I’m all in favor of good role models.

The actual plot is quite fun, as well. Somewhere between Indiana Jones and Stargate Atlantis, and the combination feels very cinematic. I’d love to see a movie adaptation of this, although the special effects budget would have to be on par with the latest Star Wars film.

All in all, this was a great read. I highly recommend it—check it out.1

  1. This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩
Categories
Review

“The Future of Feeling”

Kaitlin Ugolik Phillips

I was expecting this book to have more of a takeaway, more action items, but here at the end of it I don’t feel like I got that. It was a good overview of some of the issues in the tech industry, but as a member of that industry none of it was particularly news. Oh, technology isn’t magically solving problems, it’s just an amplifier for existing problems and solutions? shocking

But then, maybe I’m not the target demographic. I do remember that Netflix documentary about the problems of the social media algorithms, and that was apparently big news to a lot of people, but I was one of those who reacted with a yawn and a “yeah, I know!”

Which leaves me, again, wishing there’d been more of a call to action. I suppose that’s the failing of the book, for me: it established that this problem exists… but paired it with interviews and discussions with people who are working to solve those problems. It implies “oh, don’t worry, they’ve got this!” but I can’t help but think that’s the wrong implication. Sure, it’s good that there’s hope, but I want to feel like I’m being pointed towards how to help instead of complacency.

Ah, well. I’ll do what I can. And if you, unlike me, don’t already know about this stuff, the book is, as I said, a good overview of the topic, and worth a read.1

  1. This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩
Categories
Playlist

Playlist of the Month: January 2022

Definitely didn’t write 2021 in the year there at first. Nope. Not at all.

How It Was – Yoste on A Few Brief Moments – EP

twentyfive – Yoste on twentyfive – Single

Oh Dear, Oh Beaux – beaux on A Love Letter To the Moments Spent Outside

All Eyes On Me – Bo Burnham on Inside (The Songs)

Politicians – Hayden Calnin on Politicians – Single

In This Shirt (Original) – The Irrepressibles on In This Shirt – Single

Body Heat – ItsLee & Vide on Body Heat – Single

Daniel – Will Young on Crying on the Bathroom Floor

Broken (Live at Södra Teatern) – Isak Danielson on Live in Stockholm – EP

We Go On Walks – Petey on Lean Into Life

The Wire – Vancouver Sleep Clinic on The Wire – Single

Righteous – Juice WRLD on Legends Never Die

Only Human – Philip Ayers on Only Human – Single

Should Have Gone Over – Jolé & Christof Van Der Ven on Great Parade – EP

Picture of You (feat. Hayden Calnin) – Axel Flóvent on Picture of You (feat. Hayden Calnin) – Single

False Hope – Cal Trask on False Hope – Single

Somebody Who Knows You – X Ambassadors on The Beautiful Liar

One Right Now – Post Malone & The Weeknd on One Right Now – Single

Fall Creek Boys Choir – James Blake & Bon Iver on Enough Thunder – EP

Moth To A Flame – Swedish House Mafia & The Weeknd on Moth To A Flame – Single

Wisdom, Justice, And Love – Linkin Park on A Thousand Suns

Lonely City – Mokita on Lonely City – Single

Take Me Apart (Recorded at St. Mark’s Cathedral) – SYML on Sacred Spaces

The Most Beautiful Boy (Strong Outside a Man But Inside a Boy) – The Irrepressibles on Superheroes (Deluxe Edition)

UNWELL – Enrique Iglesias on FINAL (Vol.1)

u hurt me hurts u – Anson Seabra on Feeling For My Life

Killer – CHVRCHES on Screen Violence: Director’s Cut

Perfect Teeth – Petey on Lean Into Life

B******t – X Ambassadors on The Beautiful Liar

Hollow – Emmit Fenn & Shallou on Hollow – Single

Wish You Well – Forester on Wish You Well – EP

Holy Ghost and Hallelujah – flora cash on Our Generation

colorblind (acoustic) – Mokita on colorblind (acoustic) – Single

Palo Santo – X Ambassadors on The Beautiful Liar

We’re Not in Kansas Anymore – Anson Seabra on Feeling For My Life

Around the World / Harder Better Faster Stronger (Live) – Daft Punk on Alive 2007 (Live) [Deluxe Edition]

Funeral – James Blake on Friends That Break Your Heart (Bonus)

Touch It / Technologic (Live) – Daft Punk on Alive 2007 (Live) [Deluxe Edition]

What I Loved About You – Fyfe on Games

Sights Like These – Edwin Raphael on Sights Like These – Single

Silence (feat. Khalid) – Marshmello on Silence (feat. Khalid) – Single

Paper Trails – DARKSIDE on Psychic

Here – Shallou on The Long Way Home – EP

Corners – Shallou on The Long Way Home – EP

In My Heart – Moby on 18 & 18 B-Sides

Sky High – Octavian on Sky High – Single

Open Hearts – HAEVN & Birdy on Open Hearts – Single

The Middle – Cal Trask & StayLoose on The Middle – Single

Under the Wild Sea – REUNIØN on Under the Wild Sea – Single

Fix You – Thorin Loeks on Fix You – Single1

Lost Angel Nights – James Blake on Friends That Break Your Heart (Bonus)

Anxiety. – JVKE on Anxiety. – Single

Your Eyes – APRE on Your Eyes – Single

Beat Of My Drum – Fyfe on Games

Another year like that and we’d all be dead – FLØRE on ROMANIAC – EP

The Bright Lights – flora cash on Our Generation

Their Superhero – Jack in Water & Alaskan Tapes on Their Superhero – Single

Pyralone – Jónsi on Obsidian2

Lost in Space – Emmit Fenn on Lost in Space – Single

Graves – Aisha Badru on The Way Back Home – EP

When I Was Young – flora cash on Our Generation

Too Close – Daniel Allan & bloody white on Too Close – Single

Lucky Charms – Anson Seabra on Feeling For My Life

How It Is – Majik on Under the Influence – EP3

Friends (Under the Influence) – Majik on Paralysed / Friends (Under the Influence) – Single

If I Die – Ed Prosek on If I Die – Single4

Thirsty – Trevor Daniel on That Was Then

Another F*****g Year and I Went Nowhere – latency & Andy HD on Another F*****g Year and I Went Nowhere – Single

Sacrifice – The Weeknd on Dawn FM

The Box – Roddy Ricch on Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial

Veridis Quo – Daft Punk on Discovery

Paradise (feat. Dermot Kennedy) – Meduza on Paradise (feat. Dermot Kennedy) – Single

Starry Eyes – The Weeknd on Dawn FM

Come Close – Anson Seabra on Come Close – Single

Love Goes (On & On) [feat. H. Kenneth] – Dubdogz & TEN TONNE SKELETON on Love Goes (On & On) [feat. H. Kenneth] – Single

Soul Mate – flora cash on Our Generation5

Interiority – Fyfe & Iskra Strings on Interiority – Single

The Village – Wrabel on The Village – Single

How Do I Make You Love Me? – The Weeknd on Dawn FM

Undeniable (feat. X Ambassadors) – Kygo on Undeniable (feat. X Ambassadors) – Single

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait – Isak Danielson on Good Things Come To Those Who Wait – Single

I Miss You – Amber Run on I Miss You – Single

Gone By the Morning – Munn on Gone By the Morning – Single

Signals – Regard & Kwabs on Signals – Single

Only a Lifetime – FINNEAS on Optimist

Untold – RY X on Unfurl

Liberation – BUZZ on Liberation – Single

Down (Acoustic Version) – Landon Austin on Down (Acoustic Version) [Acoustic Version] – Single

Human – Ross Copperman on Human – Single

Not Enough – Juice WRLD on Fighting Demons (Lyric Video Version)

Your Love – The Outfield on Big Innings: The Best of the Outfield6

Don’t Break My Heart – The Weeknd on Dawn FM

Dadada – Trevor Daniel on That Was Then

nomore – Addict. & Rewind on nomore – Single

Operator – Fyfe on Games

Self Control – Frank Ocean on Blonde

All the Things We’ve Never Done – Portair on The Ice That Breaks – EP

Wrangelstrasse – The Irrepressibles on Superheroes (Deluxe Edition)

Time Machine – flora cash on Our Generation

Burn – Juice WRLD on Fighting Demons (Lyric Video Version)7

SAPORE (feat. Tedua) – Fedez on DISUMANO

It’s Not U – King Henry on It’s Not U – Single

Roses – Teflon Sega on Roses – Single

  1. This cover hits surprisingly hard – “Lights will guide you home/and ignite your bones/and I will try to fix me” is such a small change, but wow does it change the song. ↩
  2. Jónsi’s music remains simultaneously wonderful and achingly lonely ↩
  3. God I miss Majik. ↩
  4. I like this song, but I can’t read the name without my mind immediately going to “If I Die Young” instead. ↩
  5. It’s taken me a while to listen this whole album, but it’s excellent! ↩
  6. Listen, sometimes you just have to blast some music from your childhood and sing along at the top of your lungs. ↩
  7. If it weren’t for the Fix You cover, this might win for “most sing-along-able” song this month. ↩
Categories
Review

“A Fall in Autumn”

Michael G. Williams

One of the reviews I saw for this book called it something along the lines of “a private eye novel without all the toxic masculinity,” and that’s what sold me on reading it. What kept me reading, though, was the absolutely wonderful world building. It’s thousands of years in the future, and there are passing references to legends of space travel, and references to the collapse of our current civilization, lost knowledge of the ancients, all that. But the single line that most sold me on the whole thing was a passing reference to “Arthur Kennedy and the betrayal of Camelot”. Given a couple thousand years, even with written history, it absolutely makes sense that two legendary figures would get merged together.

I really enjoy things like this; I like science fiction where a lot of different things have happened, with one Big Deal technological change that gives us all sorts of implications to explore. If I had to track it down in this one, I’d say there were two things: CRISPR allowing for genetic modification, and a nuclear war that was small enough not to cause nuclear winter, but large enough to EMP everything digital to oblivion.

All in all, this was an excellent read, and I highly recommend it. Check it out.1

  1. This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩
Categories
Review

“Two Suns at Sunset”

Gene Doucette

I really, truly, had no idea what I was in for with this book. And I absolutely loved it — devoured the whole thing in an evening, and promptly added the sequel to my wish list. I desperately want to know where the whole series is going, because it’s a wonderful mystery.

The setting feels near-feature, and has some things that are very clearly influenced by what’s going on in current events.1 Except for the whole “this isn’t Earth” thing, which combines with some of the linguistics and a few mentions of a distant-past Collapse, to have me think that it’s actually far-future, and we’re looking at a colony that’s building itself back up towards interstellar travel after a galactic-scale human civilization… well, collapsed. Which means that the founding mythology, and some of the hand-wavey end of the world prophecy stuff going on could, in fact, be leading up to some large-scale science fiction things. Hey, look at that, we’ve looped back around to “I desperately want to know where the whole series is going,” how about that.

Sitting on top of this wonderfully rich setting, though, is a very fun police procedural/murder mystery thing, and that is also a delight. A murdered monk, a cynical cop, his new upbeat rookie partner, it’s a hodgepodge of well-worn tropes and new twists, and it works so very, very well.

If any of this sounds interesting, please read the book — I greatly enjoyed it, and hope you will as well.2

  1. There’s a two-page interjection explaining a cryptocurrency that’s Definitely Not Bitcoin. To my knowledge, it’s fairly accurate, and highlights one of the key potential failings of the technology, while leaving out the primary failing of it. That said, this world apparently has nuclear power pretty figured out, which mitigates the energy concerns, so, I’ll allow it. ↩
  2. This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩
Categories
Review

“When You Had Power”

Susan Kaye Quinn

The author bills this book as ‘hopepunk,’ but the term I’m more familiar with is ‘solarpunk.’ Either works, though — the vibe is that of a hopeful future, where we make our way through the energy transition and wind up not, y’know, climate changing ourselves into extinction. Which is a future I sincerely hope we wind up in, because I like not being extinct!

To put it shortly, I adore the setting of this book. It’s near-future, with technology that all feels very believable for a near future, and a very fitting backdrop of the global energy transition. And I’m always here for a found-family story — Tamora Pierce really established that archetype for me with the Circle of Magic, so I can’t help but love it.

The only failing of this book is that it isn’t finished. We see the B plot through, but the A plot is left entirely hanging, and having just skimmed over the descriptions of the other books in the series, it looks like that thread won’t get tied up until the fourth book, which is due for release nearly a year from now. I want to know what the bad guys are up to! I’m not nearly patient enough for this.

If you, like me, are impatient, wait until September 2022, then read all four books at once. If you’d like to get started now, go check it out.1

  1. This is an Amazon affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I prefer Bookshop affiliate links to Amazon when possible, but in this case, the book wasn’t available there, so it’ll have to do. ↩
Categories
Review

“The Hammer Falls”

Travis Heermann

I’m of mixed feelings about this book. It’s a fun setting — a little post-apocalyptic in places, but mostly it’s that ‘megacorporation rule’ that feels closer to cyberpunk than any other genre. And while I hate that as a possible future, I do think that this book handled it better than I could’ve expected, so that’s a positive.

But then the negatives: the protagonist is only occasionally likable, and the way women are treated feels almost like someone set out to deliberately flunk the Bechdel Test. Arguably, that’s on purpose, as it’s in keeping with the way said occasionally likable protagonist would think, and it’s told from his perspective, but it still grates somewhat.

In the end, though, I made it to the end of the book, which is the main test I have.1 If you’re interested, you can learn more about the book here. 2

  1. Somewhere, I have a graveyard of books I started and didn’t finish; I’m stubborn, but I won’t force my way through a book if it’s just not enjoyable. Life’s too short for that. ↩
  2. This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩
Categories
Playlist

Playlist of the Month: December 2021

Posting a bit later in the day than usual, because I’ve been away from the internet for a few days, and didn’t plan far enough ahead to get this ready ahead of time. Happy new year!

How It Was – Yoste on A Few Brief Moments – EP

twentyfive – Yoste on twentyfive – Single

Oh Dear, Oh Beaux – beaux on A Love Letter To the Moments Spent Outside

Flow – Vide on Flow – Single

I Only Go South – Yoste on I Only Go South – Single

All Eyes On Me – Bo Burnham on Inside (The Songs)

Politicians – Hayden Calnin on Politicians – Single

Vampires – The Midnight & Magik*Magik on Vampires – Single

Sink – Yoste on Sink – Single

Inner Light – Elderbrook & Bob Moses on Inner Light – Single

In This Shirt (Original) – The Irrepressibles on In This Shirt – Single

Body Heat – ItsLee & Vide on Body Heat – Single

Daniel – Will Young on Crying on the Bathroom Floor

Broken (Live at Södra Teatern) – Isak Danielson on Live in Stockholm – EP

Honest – Yoste on Nothing’s Everything – EP

In the Beginning – Hayden Calnin on What It Means to Be Human

Rise (feat. Abroad) – EMBRZ on Moments

We Go On Walks – Petey on Lean Into Life

Is It Light Where You Are – Art School Girlfriend on Is It Light Where You Are

The Wire – Vancouver Sleep Clinic on The Wire – Single

Broken Mirror – Elderbrook on Innerlight EP

ONE OF ME (feat. Elton John) – Lil Nas X on MONTERO

Tonight – Thorin Loeks on In This Place

Righteous – Juice WRLD on Legends Never Die

Dominos – Elderbrook & Louis The Child on Innerlight EP

Only Human – Philip Ayers on Only Human – Single

The Sunken God – Steve Benjamins on The Sunken God – Single

Should Have Gone Over – Jolé & Christof Van Der Ven on Great Parade – EP

Picture of You (feat. Hayden Calnin) – Axel Flóvent on Picture of You (feat. Hayden Calnin) – Single

False Hope – Cal Trask on False Hope – Single

Somebody Who Knows You – X Ambassadors on The Beautiful Liar

Smalltown Boy – Bronski Beat on The Age of Consent (Bonus Tracks)

Tell The Boys – Petey on Lean Into Life

THATS WHAT I WANT – Lil Nas X on MONTERO

Falling Water – Forester on Wish You Well – EP

One Right Now – Post Malone & The Weeknd on One Right Now – Single

Fall Creek Boys Choir – James Blake & Bon Iver on Enough Thunder – EP

Moth To A Flame – Swedish House Mafia & The Weeknd on Moth To A Flame – Single

No Time For Love Like Now – Michael Stipe & Big Red Machine on No Time For Love Like Now – Single

Wisdom, Justice, And Love – Linkin Park on A Thousand Suns

Blackbirds (Bonus Track) – LINKIN PARK on A Thousand Suns (Deluxe Edition)

The Man I Loved – Richard Walters on The Man I Loved – Single

Lonely City – Mokita on Lonely City – Single

Somewhere (feat. Octavian) – The Blaze on Somewhere (feat. Octavian) – Single

feelings – Clide on feelings – EP

To Feel Alive – Forester & Kidnap on To Feel Alive – Single

Can I Get It – Adele on 30

Soft Landing – JP Saxe on Dangerous Levels of Introspection (Deluxe Edition)

Take Me Apart (Recorded at St. Mark’s Cathedral) – SYML on Sacred Spaces

The Most Beautiful Boy (Strong Outside a Man But Inside a Boy) – The Irrepressibles on Superheroes (Deluxe Edition)

DEAD RIGHT NOW – Lil Nas X on MONTERO

Bitter End – CHVRCHES on Screen Violence: Director’s Cut

Stay Close (Recorded at St. Mark’s Cathedral) – SYML on Sacred Spaces

UNWELL – Enrique Iglesias on FINAL (Vol.1)

Hate Me Now – Armen Paul on Hate Me Now – Single

Okay – Harry Strange on Okay – Single

Say Something (Stripped) – Nick Wilson on Say Something (Stripped) – Single

u hurt me hurts u – Anson Seabra on Feeling For My Life

Fear of the Water (Recorded at St. Mark’s Cathedral) – SYML on Sacred Spaces

What It Is – Jaden on CTV3: Day Tripper’s Edition

Bang – Sir Sly on Bang – Single

Killer – CHVRCHES on Screen Violence: Director’s Cut

Writing’s On the Wall – Sam Smith on Writing’s On the Wall – Single

nascar – Devan on Liquid Sunshine EP

Perfect Teeth – Petey on Lean Into Life

london – Wrabel on these words are all for you

B******t – X Ambassadors on The Beautiful Liar1

Gingerbread House – Anson Seabra on a heartfelt holiday – EP

Beat of Song – The Irrepressibles on Superheroes (Deluxe Edition)

Symmetry (Recorded at St. Mark’s Cathedral) – SYML on Sacred Spaces

Hollow – Emmit Fenn & Shallou on Hollow – Single

Pretty Things, Spotlight and Sleep – flora cash on Our Generation

Right Into You (feat. Like Mike) – Claptone & Mansionair on Closer

Wish You Well – Forester on Wish You Well – EP

it’s us – Wrabel & Madi Diaz on these words are all for you

NightChild – World’s First Cinema on NightChild – Single

Holy Ghost and Hallelujah – flora cash on Our Generation2

Meant to Stay Hid (Recorded at St. Mark’s Cathedral) – SYML on Sacred Spaces

LIFE AFTER SALEM – Lil Nas X on MONTERO

TE FUISTE (feat. Myke Towers) – Enrique Iglesias on FINAL (Vol.1)

colorblind (acoustic) – Mokita on colorblind (acoustic) – Single

Palo Santo – X Ambassadors on The Beautiful Liar

We’re Not in Kansas Anymore – Anson Seabra on Feeling For My Life

Around the World / Harder Better Faster Stronger (Live) – Daft Punk on Alive 2007 (Live) [Deluxe Edition]

Friends – Fyfe on Games

kitchen floor – Clide on kitchen floor – Single

Funeral – James Blake on Friends That Break Your Heart (Bonus)3

Games – Fyfe on Games – Single

Touch It / Technologic (Live) – Daft Punk on Alive 2007 (Live) [Deluxe Edition]

What I Loved About You – Fyfe on Games

Sights Like These – Edwin Raphael on Sights Like These – Single

Truth (feat. Kyle Reynolds) – Syence on Bass Pop – EP

DÁKITI – Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez on EL ÚLTIMO TOUR DEL MUNDO

Silence (feat. Khalid) – Marshmello on Silence (feat. Khalid) – Single

  1. Frankly amazed that I managed to find this link, with a title like that. Feels like it’d be pretty immune to search engines. ↩
  2. Favorite find this month; excellent for singing along to. ↩
  3. Weirdly Christmas-y, for a song about a funeral. ↩
Categories
Review

“Cloud Permutations”

Lavie Tidhar

It took me a while to come up with it, but the best description I have for this novella is “impressionistic.” It varies from being told up close by the protagonist, and drifting outwards into discussion of how historians tried to piece together the events of the story years later. It’s a folk tale of the distant future, a Promethean moment as someone pulls this corner of humanity out of a localized Dark Age.

The setting does a great job in establishing a sense of scale. Because you have forgotten technology of the ancients on the scale of “this is a colony, we remember the part of our history where we got here via interstellar travel, but now our highest tech stuff is boat engines”… set against a backdrop of what I interpreted as mysterious nanotechnology and Kardashev tier 2-3-ish feats of engineering.

It’s a pretty quick read, and different enough from the usual fare of science fiction, and I do recommend it. Give it a read.1

  1. This is a Bookshop affiliate link – if you buy it from here, I get a little bit of commission. It won’t hurt my feelings if you buy it elsewhere; honestly, I’d rather you check it out from your local library, or go to a local book store. I use Bookshop affiliate links instead of Amazon because they distribute a significant chunk of their profits to small, local book stores. ↩