Jeff

YA romance + Alien is not a combo I expected to ever come across, yet here we are. Not only does it exist, but it works!

The main character having some xenobiology background was an interesting choice too; proves that understanding a little more of how the monsters work doesn't make them any less monstrous.

It’s funny, but the gag gets old fast. Don’t try to read it all in one go, put it down for a while after each tale to keep it fresh — it’s not like there’s an intricate plot to keep track of lol.

From the sounds of it, the audiobook would be a better medium too. I’ll try to find that for the next book.

God, my feet hurt just reading this.

This was good for some light chills, but (ironically) it felt about as deep as the pixel-thin façade alluded to in the descriptions of the willow world. I kept expecting it to tie back in to the divorce or something. All the stuff to do with the willow world was very effective though. I'd watch a film adaptation of this for sure.

Took me a bit to find my footing with this one, as it starts in medias res following the fifth book, Network Effect, rather than being a standalone or sequel to the previous book. Once it hits its stride though, it's an enjoyable ride.

I can't remember the last time I finished a book in a single sitting — I knew this wasn't going to end on a happy note, but I literally could not put it down.

I haven't even seen the film adaptation yet but already Dave Bautista seems perfectly cast as Leonard.

Bit of an endurance match cause this book is long, but wow does it stick the landing. Final act reminded me of the Last Battle from Wheel of Time with its scope and varying points of view.

I'd never heard of Squirrel Girl until i played Marvel Snap, but after reading this interview I picked up Vol. 1. Been reading it with my girls and giggling our heads off!

Had me at page one with her theme song; the footnotes & background gags are so good

Finished reading it to the girls — seemed to be enjoyed by all, even the 6yo, although the 9yo gave it a pretty stiff 4 stars. I blame the current state of children's media.

But they both want to keep going with Fellowship so I can't complain. We'll see how long that holds up though.

Hopefully not another 20 years until the next one of these...

Melancholy and almost poetic.

I mean, if you find Lift annoying, you're basically Wyndle, alright?

He saw it in her eyes. The anguish, the frustration. The terrible nothing that clawed inside and sought to smother her. She knew. It was there, inside. She had been broken. Then she smiled. Oh, storms. She smiled anyway. It was the single most beautiful thing he’d seen in his entire life.

Felt more cyberpunk and less hard sci-fi than Revelation Space, particularly with all the different explorations of transhumanism. I was worried I'd be too drained after Revelation Space to dip in to this world again so soon but I'm glad I did; this is a gritty companion to that series that was a lot of fun to read!

2001: A Space Odyssey × Annihilation

The bomb lives only as it is falling.

Very nearly a Did Not Finish for me about halfway through. Maybe it was my own circumstances at the time but it really felt like it dragged in the middle and I was getting frustrated with the alternating chapter narratives.

Whatever the reason, the latter half started to gel and gripped me right through to that crushing ending. I definitely want to give this a reread at some point, to piece the flashback details together.

Seven-year–old: I liked it because he thinks he's a narwhal but he figures it out and I like the ending and how he doesn't have to choose between being a land narwhal or a sea unicorn. It's a really great book.

Really wanted to give this a full five stars — the overall premise is absolutely my jam — but the third act had a tricky gear shift, with a lot of technical descriptions of engineering and travel that went a bit over my head. Plus it ends right when it’s getting good!

As strong as the first two thirds are, I’d have loved a more even split between the two halves.

Bro. I started watching the new Hawk Guy series on Disney+ and was reminded of this great arc from Fraction and Aja, bro.

An alternate draft of an Alien³ screenplay? By William Gibson? Adapted by Pat Cadigan? Yes please!

Although I found some of the action a little hard to follow at times, it's as exciting as you'd imagine, given the story's pedigree. Way less Ripley (apparently Sigourney Weaver wasn't confirmed to return at the point the screenplay was drafted) but plenty of Bishop & Hicks, with the requisite Company stooges, rookie Marines, and hapless researchers and technicians; plus a whole communist space station for a Cold War vibe to Aliens' Vietnam.

I was initially put off by the many references to the previous film, but it's part of Hicks's PTSD which puts a tragic spin on it. Between Hicks trying to hold it together while keeping the group together, Bishop dealing with a shoddy repair job, and the newest twist to the alien threat, this is something I would have loved to see on the big screen (although there are echoes of this in the subsequent Alien and Prometheus films).

Starship Troopers × All You Need is Kill × Heart of Darkness

Her pen had a heart inside, and the nib was a wound in a vein. She stained the page with herself. She sometimes forgets what she wrote, save that it was true, and the writing hurt.

Poetry as prose. I don't know if I've ever read something as sensory as this. A little impenetrable at first, but once that surface tension is broken and you pick up the general vibe it just carries you right along.

While Network Effect was heavy on the alien thriller angle — and I do enjoy all the alien remnant stuff — Fugitive Telemetry was more of an almost noir whodunnit, and it really worked for me. There's also a shift from SecUnit as avatar of neurodivergence to SecUnit as subject of casual prejudice/racism, underscoring the story's focus on slavery practices in the CorporationRim.

While it didn't have the same emotional impact/ personal growth of the previous book, it's no less exciting or fast-paced (maybe more so since it's shorter) and I can't wait to find out what's in store for SecUnit next!

I, too, often have complex emotional responses which I can't easily interpret.

Miki