This is the first volume of a four-volume release of the Sandman series of comics/graphic novels from the 1990s, that were released by DC Comics. The series has become popular through the recent Netflix series, but the series has always been a popular one for comic fans and Neil Gaiman followers.
The series is a fantastic exploration of horror, fantasy, and science fiction concepts, with a collection of mysterious and intriguing characters. The art is amazing in this series, and the writing from Neil Gaiman is superb, as he brings to life a lush and imaginative world. This is absolutely worth picking up, and being absorbed by.
Book Review – The Ten Percent Thief – Lavanya Lakshminarayan
Book Details:
Title: The Ten Percent Thief
Author: Lavanya Lakshminarayan
Genre: Science Fiction
Year of Release: 2023
Read 366-page hardcover edition in November 2023
Book Review:
In Apex City, formerly Bangalore, technology and productivity are key to life. The top 10% and middle 70% of the population live in relatively good conditions, while the bottom 20% are considered unproductive, lazy, and throwaways of society. They are segregated, have little access to resources, and can be used for horrible purposes by the elite.
This novel had a very unique and interesting structure. Rather than it be structured where we follow the same characters throughout, instead see numerous characters, sometimes for only one chapter. Told through a number of vignettes, we see how this society functions, how people live in the various classes and strata of society, and what happens when dissent builds.
The novel had a great concept around how technology and social media might impact our society, especially for the worst, in the near future. Many of these concepts are already happening now, and the author simply took it to the next level and evolved it further.
One interesting piece for this Indian science fiction was that other than the majority of character names having Indian names, there was not a lot of Indian culture or feel to the novel. In some ways this was unfortunate, as it was a great opportunity to read a novel by someone outside of North America or Europe. That being said, perhaps part of the author’s purpose was to portray a society where a future metropolitan society didn’t really have a cultural context at all, and it was simply about technology and individual image on social media feeds.
At times it felt unfortunate that we didn’t have a chance to follow all of the characters throughout more of the novel, but the approach of showing a number of vignettes that did connect to a bigger picture was a unique approach, and made for an enjoyable and thought-provoking read.
After a horrible nuclear disaster on earth destroys most of life, Lilith wakes up on alien ship hundreds of years later, and is told she and other humans have been saved, and they will be modified by the aliens and will eventually repopulate earth, with the alien life. However, they will not be entirely human any longer.
This was a fascinating science fiction novel by renowned author Butler, who explores what happens post nuclear disaster when aliens are involved in our salvation. Butler explores themes of survival, coping with change, and what it means to be human. She also does a great job creating a very strange alien species that is very different from humanity, as well as a spaceship environment that is very different from your typical spaceship we see in most science fiction entertainment. Butler’s imagination has to be commended when reading this novel.
The only thing detracting this novel was the middle of the novel where there was a bit of a lagging period. The novel had a very fast paced and exciting beginning and end, but the middle third felt a little bit slow in terms of the pacing.
Overall though, this is a classic masterwork of imaginative science fiction, and worth the read.
As NASA prepares to launch a lunar mission, Apollo 18, the public does not know that behind the scientific exploratory nature of the mission, there is also a militaristic mission as well. The Russians have built a station in orbit with weapons capabilities, and they have recently been to the lunar surface and found powerful minerals with radioactive properties. The NASA mission hopes to discover what is going on and intercede.
However, when murders begin happening before the mission even begins, it is up to the NASA crew and senior administration to ensure safety and security of the mission,and uncover what is happening.
In this mystery, alternate history, sci-fi novel, we see retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield take us on a knowledgable, suspenseful adventure. Hadfield knows his science and his history, and as such this novel feels very fresh and real. It is enjoyable reading a convincing novel, when we know the author has knowledge of what they are talking about. Further, Hadfield does a nice job of creating some fictional space and story within his framework of understanding.
The characters and settings on earth are believable and enjoyable to read about, and the mission in space and on the Moon makes for suspenseful scenes.
At times, the story does feel like it’s dragging a little bit, and it doesn’t always feel like a page turner. That being said, the book is enjoyable, and well worth a read.
Book Review – A Complicated Love Story Set in Space – Shaun David Hutchinson
Book Details:
Title: A Complicated Love Story Set in Space
Author: Shaun David Hutchinson
Genre: Young Adult / Queer
Year of Release: 2021
Read 453-page hardcover edition in July 2023.
Book Review:
In this queer romance, characters Noa, DJ, and Jenny wake up in a spaceship ins pace, unsure why they are there and what happened to transport them in an instant from earth onto this ship. They must work together to operate the ship and figure out what is going on around them, also facing obstacles that get in the way. Noa and DJ also begin to feel some feelings between them, but are unsure what that means for them.
This 2SLGBTQ+ young adult fiction novel written by Shaun David Hutchinson did have a lot of great things going for it. the characters were often fun to read about, particularly Jenny. The plot was propulsive, and there were often new situations and problems the three of them had to work together on.
However, there were a couple of items that detracted from the story. First, the character of Noa was often very frustrating. He was quick to become whiny, difficult, and moody. Perhaps this is not unrealistic for his archetype, but it became tiresome to read about for chapters upon chapters. Second, the story itself felt a bit ludicrous at times. It would have been great if there had been more clarity in the first half of the book to obvious questions, like how can three teenagers truly operate a spaceship. That gets cleared up near the end, but it was a hanging question in the first half that made it feel unbelievable.
Hutchinson has a collection of wonderful queer young adult novels, and usually I enjoy them much more than this one. This is still worth reading, but a little bit weaker than his other books.
In this fast-paced tech thriller, CIA Analyst Quinn Mitchell is sent into the field to utilize her strong problem solving skills to try and solve the mysterious assassinations that are occurring across the world. At the same time, she is trying to get over huge personal loss and move forward in her life.
The novel is truly a page-turner, and combines some of the things we expect from a spy thriller with some new concepts and new technology that we might expect in the near future.
The novel does a great job of exploring Mitchell as a human, complex, and ultimately likeable character, and watching her come up against intense challenges that continue to fly at her quickly. The combination of a techno thriller and a near sci-fi adventure is great, and works to make an enjoyable story.
Book Review – How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? – N.K. Jemisin
Facts:
Title: How Long ‘Til Black Future Month?
Author: N.K. Jemisin
Genre: Short Stories / Science Fiction and Fantasy
Year of Release: 2018
Listened to 400-page book on audiobook in August 2022.
Book Description:
This collection of science fiction and fantasy stories, with its title taken from a popular essay written by Jemisin, is an impressive collection of thought-provoking tales that has the reader thinking about challenging concepts of our world today, but in fascinating and fantastical concepts.
Book Review:
This collection of 22 short stories by Jemisin has some amazing pieces within it. I am going to list the 13 short stories that to me rise above the bar and are truly good stories, either because the plot is creative and enjoyable, and/or because the characters are intriguing and the reader wants to learn more about them and spend more time with them:
L’alchimista
The Effluent Engine
Valedictorian
The Storyteller’s Replacement
The Evaluators
Walking Awake
The Elevator Dancers
Cuisine des Memoires
On the Banks of the River Lex
Henosis
The You Train
Non-Zero Probabilities
Sinners, Saints, Dragons, and Saints, in the City Beneath the Still Waters
Even though 9 of the short stories are not listed because they didn’t quite feel like a great story to me, the fact that Jemisin has such a full collection with 13 great stories listed above is an accomplishment. Personally, I felt some of the non-listed ones could have been removed as they were not quite as strong, but this may also have been personal preference and the type of story I gravitate to as a reader.
The fact is many of the stories are thoughtful, and touch on real world issues and challenges we have today, particularly racism, and consider it from other perspectives. This allows us to probe the issues of today and come at them from another angle, which is valuable in our age today.
Of the above stories, Cuisine des Memoires stands out for me as one of the very best, and I would say this is one of my favourite short stories of all time. The way Jemisin describes food, atmosphere, setting, and character in this story, while also developing a unique plot, is nothing short of incredible. Her ability to create feeling like melancholy through words demonstrates her talent as a writer.
This is a great collection overall, and definitely worth reading.
After a particularly horrible day, Nora Seed decides she would be better off dead. However, instead, she wakes up in a strange library, staffed by her old school librarian. She is told that this library will allow her access to other lives that she may lead, based on different choices she may have made in the past.
Nora jumps at the chance to see what life might have been life, if she had made other choices and avoided other regrets that are weighing on her. When she starts to explore these other lives though, she starts to learn a lot more about herself, and about life, than she realized.
Book Review:
This was a fascinating book that touched on science fiction and quantum mechanics concepts of the multiverse. What if there is an infinite number of different universes out there for each choice we are faced with? And what if we had access to try them out?
The concept of this book is explored in an adventurous and thoughtful way by Matt Haig. He does a nice job of showing us different windows into Nora’s life based on a variety of distinct options and choices she could have made. This allows us to explore her psyche from many perspectives. Of course, Haig does a wonderful job of also showing the reader, through Nora, some interesting life lessons along the way.
At times, Nora can come across as a needy and annoying protagonist. That can be slightly frustrating from time to time, particularly in the opening stages of the novel. However, one must also remember she is suffering from depression, and so remembering this mental health reality for our main character should also allow us to cut her a little slack as well, and remember that we need to be patient with people around us, as we don’t know what they might be going through.
Overall, this is a fun book exploring the concepts of multiverses and alternate universe theory, and is well worth the read,
Book Review – Sea of Tranquility – Emily St. John Mandel
Facts:
Title: Sea of Tranquility
Author: Emily St. John Mandel
Genre: Fiction / Science Fiction
Year of Release: 2022
Read 259-page paperback edition in May 2022
Book Description:
In this novel of time and space, we meet several characters across the centuries. From a young Englishman in the early 1900s traveling to Canada; to an author on an Earth book tour in the early 2200s, missing her family on the moon colony; to a detective in the 2400s who is trying to understand a mysterious time singularity that seems to link these characters across the centuries.
We see the story play out from these different time periods and perspectives, and slowly start to see how they all connect together. We explore themes of time travel and the simulation theory, but also the human emotions of love, kindness, and exploration.
Book Review:
Canadian author Emily St. John Mandel, who became well known with her dystopian novel Station Eleven, has written a novel with echoes to that novel and her more recent novel Glass Hotel. In fact, some characters and themes are covered again in this latest novel. Although you don’t have to read the prior novels, especially reading Glass Hotel beforehand would provide additional perspective and value in reading this novel.
Similar to her previous novels, Mandel has succeeded in writing a thoughtful, luminous novel. Sea of Tranquility is a breathtaking book, which is woven together very carefully by Mandel. The plot has many disparate pieces, and Mandel brings them together very confidently, with some nice surprises along the way. The book is a quick read because Mandel has chosen to be very sparing in her words, and also because the reader is motivated to find out what happens next.
Mandel chooses to write about big themes in this book, like pandemics, time travel and exploring the question of whether we are living in a simulation or not. However, she also finds the space to explore the beauty of setting, like a forest or moon colonies.
The characters in the book are fascinating and enjoyable to read about, from all the different centuries featured in the book. There is a nice mix of returning characters from prior novels, and new characters as well.
Overall, this is a magical and imaginative book, and is highly recommended.
A team of strange warriors from the Gamma Quadrant comes aboard Deep Space Nine, looking for someone from their species, and asking where the crew are holding them prisoner. When the crew has no idea what this is about, the warriors begin an all-out assault of DS9, not bothering to avoid killing civilians as well as crew members.
As Sisko and team rush to try and find some way to stop the invading force, Odo and Quark are nowhere to be found. They have been shifted days into the future by using a mysterious device that Quark purchased from a shady trader. And the DS9 they have moved to is deathly quiet. They struggle to find out what happened, and if they can reverse it.
Book Review:
This was a great, action-packed, plot-driven Deep Space Nine novel. This outing was more violent and intense then the majority of novels in the DS9 series tend to be, but the author did a great job describing intense scenes and building up page-turning action and suspense.
Although there was not as much character development in the book as there could have been, the obvious focus on action and plot given the scenario made sense. Overall, this was an exciting and intense book to read, and is recommended for any Star Trek fan.
MatthewSean Reviews 