Rakesfall, by Vajra Chandrasekera

What to say here? This is one tough read. I got through it, and I can see the through line (with help from the author at the end). I cannot discern the why of it. It is based in Sri Lankan culture and its fight for independence. Maybe if you have deeper knowledge of that you will appreciate it more. There's a lot of good and interesting parts, but it only comes together by juxtaposition. Oof. 3 stars for the parts my poor mind was able to comprehend.

My Goodreads Review

Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang

I've been reading some of the individual stories in this volume as they came out over the years. It's a really different experience reading all of them together, and I don't think it's better. There's a pattern to Ted Chiang's writing--taking an idea and playing with it through characters, but really focusing on the idea--that works better when you experience it fresh, as opposed to repeating it in a story collection. Still, there were stories I really enjoyed:

"Understand": Some reviewers compare it to "Flowers for Algernon". I see that, but what I like about this one is that it has the best attempt at conveying what it is to be superintelligent in language non-superintelligent people (everyone) can understand. The rest of the plotting was needed to bring forth the idea.

"Division by Zero": Didn't like this one. I am familiar with Godel's Incompleteness proof--that there are true statements in mathematics that cannot be proven--and to me it has just as much impact as the equality in the story. If that's not enough try the history of the concept of infinity, and how it drove Georg Cantor mad.

"The Story Of Your Life": I enjoyed reading the short story, but to really experience the plot you need to see the movie "Arrival". This is the one and perhaps only time I have thought that the movie was better than the book. The Eric Heisserer screenplay intensifies the choice the linguist makes in having a child. And having visuals for a nonlinear orthography helps a lot.

"The Evolution of Human Science": I don't think this story was impressive in its time, but it takes on new meaning as we develop AI. Artificial intelligences could very well do science we can't comprehend.

"Hell Is the Absence of God": A really good one. The idea of a world in which the presence of angels is apparent, disruptive and not entirely positive is fascinating.

My Goodreads Review

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

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying, by Django Wexler

In my mind this is better than a 2 but not quite a 3. Lots of problems. I think the content warning was clear enough, and if it isn't you figure that out within a page or two. Grisly Groundhog Day. I was able to get past the problems enough to read the whole thing, and even enjoy parts of it mildly. The importance of friendship and thinking outside the box are always good for a plot.

But like pretty much every other reviewer I find that Wexler doesn't come close to bringing off a female character. All the sexual references pretty much come off as porn. A book full of this is cloying and leaves a bad taste.

We have a character who's lived over 200 lives, each multiple years, so she's been at this a long time. And hasn't really reflected on what kind of time loop she's caught in. And claims to have forgotten much of her previous life, but remembers enough to drop every current cultural reference the author knows.

The plot so far is just too shallow to justify the over-the-top grossness of the character. I could have used my time better.

My Goodreads Review

One Man's Treasure, by Sarah Pinsker

I think One Man's Treasure has a great premise, maybe could use more development to give the conclusion a heavier hit. Sarah Pinsker is an amazing author and other work I have read by her sets the bar really high. The discarding of magical items as a premise is great, and using that process to dispose of a body is great too. A novel could have a lot of twists and turns before getting to the reveal. A fun story to think about.

My Goodreads Review

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, by Shannon Chakraboty

The title describes this book quite well. And the first pages of the book describe Amina al-Sirafi very well. The book is a straight up adventure read with a female protagonist. She is a giant and strong, but also revels in her appreciation of men and sex. The book comes in halves--some people like the first half, some the second more. In the first half she and her adventures are more on a human scale. Then she undergoes a magical transformation and from there her character and the action are more bombastic. I liked the transition, for me it refreshed the book at the halfway point. In the end I give it 4 stars rather than 5--it left me entertained but not moved. If you want entertainment with a strong female protagonist this is your story.

My Goodreads Review