If Tomorrow Comes, by Nancy Kress

If Tomorrow Comes by Nancy Kress

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I read a lot of the reviews, and I think I understand why this book isn't doing better--Kress refuses to give in anywhere in a time when that's what people expect. We have over-the-top Rangers who are nonetheless neither heroes nor villains--so our reviewers see heroes or villains because that is what they want. Some characters play to type, in a time when it is expected for them not to. Some characters do not play to type, and that is either too much or not enough.

Kress mostly walks this line successfully most of the time, but it's not a popular line. However I got a lot out of the story and am glad I read it. I do agree with other reviewers that the characters, while interesting, are not deeply engaging. Seems like most of them are at least partly unsympathetic--part of Kress's efforts to portray them as full and complex people. So, there's a lot of successful storytelling here that still doesn't quite make a thrilling book. Am not sure what to make of this, but I like the challenge of thinking about it.



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Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


So I just now read this, 30 years after its first publication. I think it would work well as a book to recommend to someone younger--the humor mostly holds up and you get a kind of aside look at what technology was like in 1990. Cell phones were an anomaly, requiring antennas on top of the cars. Most people didn't have computers. Traffic was awful, just as today.

And it's a nice fun romp of a book, plenty of visual possibilities in it, so it's kind of hard to say why it didn't get made into a show sooner.

If you think of angels and demons representing Good and Evil, then this book will confuse you. Pratchett and Gaiman treat them more as representatives of different political parties--different public positions but working together on the side to keep things going. Of course that's in well-functioning democracies, of which there are fewer and fewer.

Definitely worth reading, then and now.



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Mother of Invention, by Nnedi Okorafor

Mother of Invention by Nnedi Okorafor

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Our protagonist was the mistress of a wealthy man, and is kind of squatting in one of his smart homes, Obi 3. She has a severe allergy to periwinkle pollen, and a "pollen storm" is about to hit. She is also very pregnant. Though the affair is over, as long as she occupies the house he will not evict her. So she does not want to leave. Now what?

Okorafor has a very different take on hard SF that requires some work to appreciate, but it's definitely worth it. Her characters have a unique relationship to technology that is very rooted in African culture, so it's a great learning experience for white folks. This story deserved its Locus award nomination, I enjoyed it.



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Mother of Invention by Nnedi Okorafor

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Our protagonist was the mistress of a wealthy man, and is kind of squatting in one of his smart homes, Obi 3. She has a severe allergy to periwinkle pollen, and a "pollen storm" is about to hit. She is also very pregnant. Though the affair is over, as long as she occupies the house he will not evict her. So she does not want to leave. Now what?

Okorafor has a very different take on hard SF that requires some work to appreciate, but it's definitely worth it. Her characters have a unique relationship to technology that is very rooted in African culture, so it's a great learning experience for white folks. This story deserved its Locus award nomination, I enjoyed it.



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The Starship and the Temple Cat, by Yoon Ha Lee

The Starship and the Temple Cat by Yoon Ha Lee

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This story is a tribute to the fealty of cats--odd for me, we own 3 and I believe their fealty to be much more ephemeral than what is depicted here. But the story itself is a nice fable, a good example of Lee's talent. I enjoyed it.



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Firelight, by Ursula K. Le Guin

Firelight is a short epilogue story from Earthsea.  Ged is at the end of his life, reflecting on the rewards that giving up his wizard powers brought to him.  Maybe easier to say, having had them for awhile.  It received a Locus nomination, which was more of a recognition for her whole body of work, I think--she passed away in 2018.  This story is representative of her work, though--very rich, and very jumpy.

Queen Lily, by Theodora Goss

Queen Lily crept onto the Locus Award list, probably because Theodora Goss has written some other good things.  I just couldn't get into this one at all.  The point of view changes without warning or sense, and is just confusing.  The setting is Alice In Wonderland, which has had a lot of rework over the years so if one is going to go back there one has to have something really new to say.  About all there is here is that Lewis Carroll was a pedophile--we knew that already.  I have to rate this one down.

The Donner Party, by Dale Bailey

The Donner Party is a Locus Award finalist in the novelette category.  It has nothing to do with the historical Donner party.  So that name just has a hard go of it.  Because it actually does have to do with the Donner Party--in that the people in the story eat human flesh ("ensouled" flesh).  In this case by choice, with full awareness.  The story is set in Victorian England, and the protagonist is a social climber--it's more of a horror story than anything speculative, but it's pretty darn horrible.  Weak 3 stars from me.