The Man Who Saw Seconds, by Alexander Boldizar

I rarely give a book five stars and I did for this one. I did not do it because it is a perfect book. It has rough edges and incongruities. I did it because it was a fascinating and challenging read in a way that has become very rare in speculative fiction. It won the Locus Award for SF in 2025, because it should have. And it was not nominated for many other major awards because the Hugo and Nebula nominators have traveled a path of renominating the usual suspects writing comfort novels and retreads (sorry, "retellings").

The basic form is a thriller that builds incredibly quickly. Boldizar takes an idea--that our consciousness is always lagging our actions--and spins up a premise for an action novel. The protagonist can very accurately predict the future within about 5 seconds. Boldizar uses this to explore how people, men in particular, make decisions to escalate violence. There's a lot of great stuff on the law, on military training, and political machinations.

[It is important that you don't read this if you're considering reading the book. A whole lot of the enjoyment comes from not being able to anticipate the ending, but I have to discuss it. The book does not have a happy ending. It has a logical one. That's an incredibly daring choice. I kept waiting for some way that he was going to pull the chestnuts out of the fire, and he didn't, really. Nor did he really leave room for a sequel. From the last paragraph and line of the book we know how the next one would end, and Boldizar would be seriously challenged to come up with a way to even make it interesting. (hide spoiler)]

I am one who enjoys leaving some suspense for my next reading session, but I struggled to put this one down and when I did, I didn't sleep well. If you like SF you will love this book.

My Yelp Review

The Mercy of Gods, by James S. A. Corey

I enjoyed this book from start to finish, mostly because I think the craftsmanship of the authors shines through. It is not part of or related to the Expanse novels--the science McGuffin that allows FTL expansion in this universe is something called "asymmetrical space". Much closer to ideas in other SF series where one species that got a head start is dominating all others. And humanity beats them. This is disclosed in the chapter headings, so there are no spoilers possible--humanity wins. The story is in how, and even that gets a lot of disclosure (many hints about a single human that directs humanity in service to the big baddies the Carryx, but who eventually subverts and defeats them). So how does the story hold our interest?

The secret sauce is in the details of the relationships of the characters, and what they go through. Some reviewers compare this group unfavorably to the Expanse characters, but 1) That's setting the bar insanely high, and 2) Give them a little time to grow! The novel is deliberately paced. It's planned as a trilogy but I'm already seeing one "filler" story in between 1 and 2 so there could be a lot of content here. It's very enjoyable reading if you're an Expanse fan and willing to not compare this to the Expanse too closely.

My Goodreads Review

Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings, by Christopher Moore

Well, I wanted a funny book and I got one. Lots of places to laugh out loud, sometimes really crudely. Most of the characters have varying degrees of dry in their sense of humor, but Kona the faux Hawaiian was great slapstick. The whale researcher obsessiveness seemed very real, the part that grounded the book and supported the speculation. For me the plot fell apart as the book went further--we kept getting new revelations about what was going on, but it simply felt less relevant. The book held my interest and I had a good time, but if people weren't telling me that there are much better Christopher Moore books I would not be able to make time for another one.

My Goodreads Review

Someone You Can Build a Nest In, by John Wiswell

I really like what I've read of John Wiswell so looked forward to this one. And it was intriguing enough to read all the way to the end. But I gotta agree with the reviewers who found Shesheshen's therapizing and take on humanity both unreal in a way that's hard to handle (I mean it's fiction, it's not supposed to be real) and in some ways patronizing. You could sort of imagine how Shesheshen would acquire a take on humanity by way of ingestion, and what she does with ingested parts. But since she only seems to eat bad people (at least during the events of the book) I would think she'd have a pretty evil orientation if she's literally absorbing their attitudes. And she is basically good. Unlike her mother that somehow got more instruction and knowledge about how to be a monster (Shesheshen often laments her lack of ethnology on how to be a monster, as though in other circumstances she could have done better). Homily and Shesheshen make a very human pair, in the end. Now I know what cozy horror is.

My Goodreads Review

I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons, by Peter S. Beagle

This is a fun little book. Peter Beagle is an accomplished storyteller at this point, and this story absolutely delivers. The characters follow familiar growth arcs to become more fully themselves. I agree with others that this is a YA-accessible story, definitely beneficial for a young reader. Maybe not enough depth to blow away a seasoned speculative fiction reader like me. At the end Robert's denial of his true interest and destiny gets a bit wearing. The description of how dragons take up residence in a home makes me think of highly intelligent cats. The royal castle in the story has become a kitty house, something that happens regularly to elderly people living alone. And the process to remove those cats gets sad in just the way described in the book.

Overall a pleasant read though.

My Goodreads Review

The Long Earth, by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

Like many I think this book is stronger in concept than in execution. The Long Earth is a cool idea--that alternate versions of Earth are available to us with a thought, perhaps guided by a machine powered by a potato. The scope of the book is huge, potentially infinite, which is something I am drawn to. But Terry Pratchett is known for his humor, and this collaboration with Stephen Baxter takes all that away. The idea dominates the book. The main character, Joshua, is close to a cipher in terms of personality. Lapsang the artificial intelligence has something more going on, and I am aligned with his desire to explore all the way to the end of the Long Earth. Sally and Helen offer possibilities but are also pretty stiff. In the end, I blame the collaboration. The strengths of both authors are watered down.

My Goodreads Review

Service Model, by Adrian Tchaikovsky

This is a very serviceable (ha ha) stand-alone novel. Tchaikovsky is very good at main characters, and this is no exception, but it might take some effort to see that. Charles the robot valet is designed to derive satisfaction from ticking off his assigned tasks, and is "conscious" of this. I put it in quotes because it's hard to say that Charles thinks of himself as conscious (see how hard this is? How does a robot that explicitly denies that it has consciousness and free will demonstrate it?). This tension becomes a core of the book as Charles has to leave his manor job and become Uncharles, in search of employment. The plot is a pretty standard robot rebellion with hero's journey, but that tension between Uncharles's developing consciousness and explicit denial that this is happening makes it interesting. Tchaikovsky is an ambitious writer and wants to take on big questions. He is also a prolific writer, and these two drives sometimes interfere with each other. Service Model is a really interesting read and wrestles with the biggest question of all, but in the end he needed to finish the book and get on to the next project.

My Goodreads Review