Genre: Science Fiction

An appropriate title for a unique and colorful twist on the familiar Ocean’s Eleven formula, Makana Yamamoto’s Hammajang Luck is a futuristic, high-tech, Hawaii-inspired queer romp that I never thought to want yet quite enjoyed. A scrappy breaking-and-entering story at its core featuring an entirely queer roster, Yamamoto’s debut is full of social and cultural representation. Incorporating very strong community and family values, local Pidgin English, and a familiar blend of cultures that can only be found in Hawaii, this unorthodox pairing with a cyberpunk space station aesthetic is unlike anything I’ve read before. Growing up and living most of my life in the islands, Hammajang Luck has that hidden element that only long-time locals can tap into and has my full Hawaii-resident stamp of approval. Yet underneath all the science fiction elements, queer reworking, and Hawaii cultural flavor, Hammajang Luck’s story is surprisingly simple, predictable, yet comforting. However, from a narrative perspective I often found myself wishing Hammajang’s story and cool concepts went further or more time was spent exploring the Kepler station’s intriguing world. That said, the flavors and decorative details around the story are so fun, they can almost sell the premise on their own. When I…

“If the world was ending you’d come over, right? You’d come over and you’d stay the night…” because you broke your leg in a bear trap- Never has my heart felt so warmed by a post-apocalyptic survival road trip adventure, but Erik J. Brown’s debut novel All That’s Left In the World did that and so much more. A YA survival story of two lonely teenage boys finding a home in each other after most of the world died all around them, the book’s characters, tone, pacing and plotting feels pitch-perfect and is an incredibly well-crafted novel. A lot of other reviewers had previously mentioned how wholesome and cute it is, which had me raising an eyebrow given the genre and premise (I sometimes find post-apocalyptic stories slow and repetitive), but it really is such a hopeful and heartfelt book that far surpassed all of my expectations. Providing much needed queer representation is a sub-genre of science fiction that lacked clear standouts while avoiding being too graphic, harsh or scary, All That’s Left In the World is an outstanding and well-rounded book that’s sure to satisfy a wide variety of readers, even adults as well despite its YA classification and…

A mysterious parasitic ailment, a medical institute that isn’t what it seems, and the occupants of an isolated, frost-covered chateau sets the scene for an incredibly unique, ambitious, yet often confusing and disjointed read. I wholeheartedly agree with many other reviews of Hiron Ennes’s debut novel Leech that describe it as being positively weird (that’s a good thing) and unlike anything else within the horror and science fiction genres. With strong initial horror elements that vary from body, medical, and psychological horror (nothing too graphic, at least by my desensitized standards) to light elements of supernatural and monster horror, there are a lot of conceptually great ideas that make Leech a riveting read, at times. Unfortunately more often than not, the execution of these ideas and the narrative presentation severely drags down the enjoyment and cohesion of the story, resulting in a puzzling reading experience and a feeling of missed opportunity. The success of any parasite is proportional to its harmlessness. Some are intelligent; they avoid detection, allowing their carriers to lead healthy lives until obsolescence. Fewer, in brilliant acts of symbiosis, foster dependence in the host. But too many are loudmouths and fools… most parasites cannot think far enough…

What if you stumble across odd coincidences between seemingly unrelated incidents and your brain starts working overtime in the background to try to make sense of these odd occurrences? Random connections abound, that is the concept and world of Terry Miles’s novel Rabbits. Taking place in a realistically and authentically portrayed version of Seattle, Rabbits explores a mysterious hush hush game played in real-time that involves players following strange connections and coincidences that shape and alter the world and reality around them. A self-contained story taking place within the world of a 2017 pseudo-documentary podcast of the same name, no knowledge of the podcast is required to read and understand the novel, though it certainly enhances the read. Conceptually great and full of details and references that will make any internet junkie or video-game geek jump with glee (sorry the pun was too tempting), its actual execution is a bit of a mixed bag and one that many readers may find frustrating or disappointing to read. This is one of those novels that I appreciated the ambition and ideas while finding the actual reading experience less enjoyable. Easily the biggest highlight and strongest element of Rabbits is Terry Miles’s attention…

The following review is based on a complimentary copy for review purposes provided by Melville House Publishing via Netgalley, thanks for the reviewing opportunity. Part speculative fiction, part Asian American character drama, Jinwoo Chong’s debut novel Flux is an incredibly complex story filled to the brim with incredible character work details. Despite being billed as a science fiction/time-travel associated story, the sci-fi elements largely take a back seat to Chong’s frank and startlingly good exploration of topics including biracial cultural identity, queer labels, the power of image, Asian portrayals in media, and the ever present theme of guilt. A unique blend of genres, this is easily one of the most ambitiously written novels I’ve read this year while simultaneously being one of the most difficult novels to recommend to others due to how tricky and alienating its presentation can be. While I found it to be an amazing and fascinating read, I acknowledge I’m also the exact match for the type of reader this book is clearly suited for; one that is a critical reader fully immersed in the story, reading between lines. One of the primary reasons why I believe Flux has such polarizing reviews is due to the…