Weaponized Math, by Jonathan Brazee

Weaponized Math is in The Expanding Universe Anthology, vol. 3.  I think it's a Sad Puppy entry for the Nebulas.  It's pretty much a war story, with minor tweaks to transport it slightly into the future and to another planet.  I think it could be set in a dry area of South America pretty easily.  The protagonist is a female sniper, who has killed gunmen from long range and thus earned the title Hunter of Gunmen.  The story describes the battle and weapons in detail satisfying for a military fiction fan.  The guy has been there and knows how battle goes.  But it's really not particularly speculative.  2 stars.

Dirty Old Town, by Richard Bowes

Dirty Old Town is in F & SF, May 2017.  It's a story a lot like Dust Devil on a Quiet Street, in that it feels very autobiographical but it isn't, quite.  The settings are real, but the TV series described is not. 

The story concerns a childhood--well "frenemy" oversimplifies.  A boy he feared and fought but knew personally becomes an actual friend and lover in adulthood (still complicated).  The guy is a journeyman actor, and wants to produce a story about Bowes' grandfather.  There is a bit of magic involved, in that the protagonist can use an incantation to get inside another person's head and feel what they are feeling.

It's really a very good story, makes you feel quite fine about spending the time to read it.  It's also too complex to describe briefly, and is probably worthy of some deeper criticism.  I can't link to it as it is paywalled, but if you get a chance to read it you should.  I give it four stars.

Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time, by K. M. Szpara

Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time by K.M. Szpara

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is a vampire story, and so many of those have been done already that just mentioning them feels tired. As an exercise in transgender, liminal erotic fiction it's a bit more successful. Lots of unexpected turns. As a description of hurdles trans people overcome, it's a bit better. So it doesn't feel like a groundbreaking story, but it's well told and brings a unique perspective. I would say it's a contender, but probably not a winner, in the Nebula and Hugo awards.



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The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter, by Theodora Goss

The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


If you're going to do a Victorian mashup novel in 2018, after so so many of them have been done, it needs some kind of special sauce to make it stand out. This book was fine, but the special sauce was supposed to be the interjections. Those would have been good if they hadn't ended up being trivial--either semi-spoilers or absolutely pure character development without moving the plot. It read OK, and some reviewers really seem to like it, but I don't know for whom it would really hit the mark--maybe YA readers who have seen kids' versions of the original stories as movies. The Athena Club has lots of adventures and there's lots of girl power, but it's a pretty light snack of a book. All the characters have potential, though, so possibly future books that maybe focus on one character more will be better? I don't know.

For a more interesting kind of interjection, try Ship of Theseus by J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorst. Not sure how that one would work on a Kindle though.



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Amberlough, by Laura Elena Donnelly

Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I read this one since it is nominated for a Nebula award. As a story, the book is excellent. It doesn't grab you immediately but does it soon enough. The story is pretty straightforward in terms of good vs. evil, but has a lot of poignancy. You really get to know and like the sympathetic characters--they are very complex and fully human. Through them you get to know what Amberlough is like as a place--I imagine it as some kind of cross between New York City and New Orleans. Flawed and corrupt, but the interstices allow all kinds of people to thrive.

It's speculative fiction, I guess, but mostly what is speculative about it is that it doesn't conform to Earth's boundaries. Gedda is definitely in Europe somewhere, and it operates a lot like the European Union. The Ospies aren't overt Nazis, they are more like the authoritarian parties and rulers currently on the ascendance in the world. All the culture is European, right down to port bars. Nothing fantastical about it. Us, in a different place.

It's probably a contender, and definitely a really good first novel, but probably won't win the Nebula. Still, I enjoyed reading it and would read more of Donnelly.



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A Human Stain, by Kelly Robson

A Human Stain by Kelly Robson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I read this because it is nominated for a Nebula. But horror is not so much my thing. It's appropriately ghastly and weird. There's a very nicely executed turning point. Ew Gross! A good one for horror.



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The Collapsing Empire, by John Scalzi

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Well, let me say this...I liked the book. I did not love the book. The only other novel-length Scalzi title I have read is Redshirts, which I absolutely loved. This one is witty, as all Scalzi stories are, but it's a setup for a longer series and it started to feel forced. It definitely was forced, at the end. The acknowledgements explain this--he was late with the book, totally distracted by election politics. If he wants to write any more he's going to have to seal himself in a media-proof room. This is an OK novel that can be forgiven, and it's even making some long lists for awards, but I don't think his fans will let him get by with this again.



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