Fleet of Knives, by Gareth Powell

This is just barely 3 stars for me. It's big in scope but small in imagination. The ethical dilemma at the heart of the book (the genocide of a particularly advanced species) is a good starting point, and the protagonist, the Carnivore class ship Trouble Dog, is appropriately conflicted. But how it's brought off is not particularly inspiring. Most of the metaphors are 20th century British, and slide in without comment, though on one occasion we do see Ona Sudak (another main character, implementer of the genocide, then poet, then back to implement another one) explain her familiarity with those metaphors as a fascination with history. FTL ships are built and last for generations--and all of them have inscrutable Druff (an alien species) engineers.

So as space opera it sort of works, except when it aspires to something higher. If you're looking for some time-killing candy, the book is fine--it never drags and the POV changes keep it kind of fresh. But if you like to stretch a little, look for something else.

My Goodreads Review

Empress of Forever, by Max Gladstone

This book started out like it might be some kind of near future commentary on a more authoritarian United States, as so many stories have been for awhile. Then our protagonist (Vivian Lao) gets yanked out of that picture and thrust into another universe that feels like the very far future, where we have something called the Cloud that is kind of like an IT Cloud, in that all the information in it is available everywhere, all at once. And we have an Empress ruling over all of the civilized part, saving it from a more wild part by destroying it, maybe.

The book repays thinking about it after you read it. The story line is a bit tired and familiar, as the Guardians of the Galaxy comparison suggests. But the plot twists lead it in very interesting directions. The ultimate point is an exploration of friendship and connection--and the point is not very subtly made.

Overall I'm glad I read it, even though a lot of the ground is familiar. There's enough good stuff going on to make it entertaining and worth the read.

My Goodreads Review

Wanderers, by Chuck Wendig

 Reading this book was like being at a bad diner, where they burn your french fries so they give you extra to make up for it. It was both bad and long. Some reviewers say it had potential, but given how it was written I don't see where.

Not that the writing was bad. It was competent, other than being twice as long as necessary--maybe more. It was just so basic. I am sympathetic to where Wendig is coming from, but when I read something that reinforces my point of view I want to learn something. Literally nothing new here. Evil Trump-analog politician tears at the political fabric (he might as well have just used Donald Trump) while a white supremacist rapist militia leader (yep, there's a graphic man-rape scene) hobnobs with powerful right-wing leaders. A weak-willed pastor that loses his faith. Cardboard characters all (Shana, sister of the first Wanderer, comes closest to being human but Wendig just can't quite pull it off). Oh, and to top it off we have an artificial intelligence engaged in finding the cause of the disease that causes wandering, and another world-ending plague happening at the same time (Is the AI involved? What do you think? Gawd.)

It is probably too late for most who would consider it, but you really don't have to read this book. Just imagine the end of the world from the perspective of MSNBC and you pretty much have it. It got nominated for a Locus award. Don't know what they were thinking...and I want three weeks of reading life back.

My Goodreads Review

Ancestral Night, by Elizabeth Bear

Well...Ancestral Night is a decent book. I cannot say better. It ticks all the boxes--a premise that facilitates galactic adventure (the Alcubierre-White drive) that she leverages in the plot, some decent characterization, and lesbian sexual tension that I think comes closer to what sexual aggression between women would be like than anything else I have read. But it was a long and kind of hard slog. Our protagonist (Haimey) has a complex history that is slowly revealed--she has been highly regulated with personality overlays. She is a true fan of galactic government and prosocial behavior in the form of the Synarche. She has an engineering mind that lends itself to hard SF.

You would think it would be nominated for the major awards with this kind of pedigree. But I'm not surprised it wasn't. It's good, but not quite good enough for that company. What is the lack? Editing, maybe? We are treated to a lot of semi-preachy soul searching from Haimey. And her nemesis, Zayna Farweather, is kind of a cartoon. Somewhat self-consciously so, since she is a pirate and they embrace the lifestyle almost to the point of saying "Arrr...". A major subplot is the tension and psychological combat of Haimey and Farweather, but Farweather is too much of a cutout and Haimey spends most of it talking to herself.

There's a lot of room for sequels--inscrutable aliens and codes written into the structure of the universe itself leave a good work space. But it is a work of competency more than anything. I am happy enough to have read it.

My Goodreads Review

A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine

My whole approach to reading this book was shaped by the dedication--"to anyone who finds themselves falling in love with a culture that is swallowing theirs". We have an ambassador from a tiny nation (space station), not even a Tuvalu to America, trying to save it from being swallowed and digested by a huge empire. Even though it's already happening through cultural exchange. And Teixcalaan is beautifully crafted to play the part--an incredible façade of high culture and wealth. A place where official business is conducted in poetry. Obviously the author is a poet, and a literary person, since the book is suffused with inside baseball commentary on the literary worthiness of state pronouncements.

It is also spot on in the high handedness of upper class Teixcalaan citizens (we only briefly meet any other kind). The Lsel ambassador is a "barbarian", and all complements on their intellect are backhanded. We get brief glimpses of the brutality of the empire, but mostly we get the glitter.

Teixcalaan culture is sort of Aztec, but the approach is British. The empire expands and brings its own version of "white man's burden" to the colonies. This is only hinted at, since the protagonist is from a still (but not for long) independent state. The ambassador has studied them and knows the very literary way in which Teixcalaan views the universe (or world, or city--in Teixcalaan, the words are all the same and only understood in context).

It's a fascinating read, and the relationships between the characters are special and well-drawn. Being around such literate folks makes us feel good and smart ourselves. It will be interesting to see where he takes this.

My Goodreads Review

Omphalos, by Ted Chiang

Omphalos was nominated for the Hugo for Best Novelette this year.  At first it's hard to tell where the story is going, as it is done in the form of prayers.  But it is soon apparent why the scientist author is devoted--this is a small universe where the act of creation is readily apparent in the fossil record and in the stars.  The earliest trees have solid cores.  Cliffs with exposed sediment layers have solid granite not far beneath.  What is science like in a world like this?  Basically an exposition of God's ideas.  

But the people of earth are human, and have human conceits.  They believe they are the pinnacle of creation and the center of the universe.  But what if one of those incontrovertible facts is that we are not, in fact, in the center?  

Another truly amazing read.  It seems like everything Chiang writes gets nominated for multiple awards.  In fact I think this is true, because he is not particularly prolific.  He seems to write when he has something to say, and not otherwise.  Always worth it.

Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom, by Ted Chiang

 Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom is one of the original stories in Ted Chiang's Exhalation collection, and was nominated for a Hugo for Best Novella this year.  My very favorite thing about all of Chiang's stories is that in each one he takes on the biggest of topics--some aspect of the meaning of life.  I can't think of one that couldn't be a sermon (in a somewhat liberal, intellectual church).  The driver is a speculation that is sometimes possible, sometimes not, but always grounded in reality.  In this story the driver is a device that forces a quantum choice, causing possibilities to diverge, then showing you yourself living in that alternate possibility.  What would we use that for?  What would it teach us?  Well, we'd exploit it for money, but also use it for connection, for collaboration, and for science.  In the protagonist, Nat, we see someone who has gone down a difficult road but is trying to make better choices, and trying to find reasons to do so.  My favorite idea is that of making choices that influence our future alternate selves--each positive choice makes it easier for those alternate versions to make positive choices as well.  Made my day.

Goodreads Link