Publisher: Tor

This one of those rare books that made me think “how does someone come up with this?” The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a difficult book to describe or categorize due to how many different elements and themes it incorporates, but one thing that is easy to summarize is how ambitious and beautiful V. E. Schwab’s writing is. And by that I don’t mean flowery lyrical language or awe inspiring visuals (which the book does feature at times), but by its poignant pondering and wistfully quiet tone coupled with incredible portrayals of emotions. This is all on top of a wildly creative premise that takes the common plot of an immortal person and devil deal and runs in a completely new direction. I will attempt to review just why I found this book to be brilliant in execution shortly (i personally was in awe of the book despite not necessarily being emotionally attached to it like many other readers were), but know that this is easily one of the most impressive and critically strong books I’ve read since getting back into reading. I initially had mild reservations about the premise on paper considering it vaguely sounded like some other…

Bury Your Gays’ title alone is one way to get someone’s attention followed by an earnest bit of social commentary on media culture wrapped up in a comedically ridiculous premise. Sub 300 pages complimented by a casual and functional prose, Chuck Tingle’s Bury Your Gays is a light campy horror novel that is easy to like and has a lot of things going on. With bits of body violence/gore, homophobia, and child neglect, it’s not always a rosy read, but it’s still quick and generally light-hearted. Despite appreciating its aspirations and blend of different elements, I personally found it to be a bit dry to read and disjointed in content. It’s certainly ambitious with its themes and plot, but it feels like it was trying to do too much without excelling at any one area. An established screenwriter known for campy horror movies/tv-shows with underlying queer elements, the narrative switches back and forth between the present day in LA vs Misha’s memories of his upbringing. Without giving away too many spoilers, these flashbacks are told out of chronological order and are meant to give the reader insight into how Misha’s interest in storytelling was shaped by a tumultuous childhood where…

Don’t let the page count and novella length fool you, Martha Wells is a literary wizard for packing so much action and content into All Systems Red’s 150 pages. I kept seeing The Murderbot Diaries popping up in book lists and booktuber recommendations, and winning a Hugo Award certainly helps give it some critical street cred. Despite its short length, I thoroughly enjoyed this and breezed right through in one day. This is a pretty short read so I’ll try and keep this review appropriate short. While many sci-fi works get bogged down with heavy exposition and detailed world-building, All Systems Red doesn’t have the luxury of length and immediately takes off running from the get-go. This novella is pure plot, though surprisingly a bit light in terms of fighting/gunfire action. Despite being called Murderbot, Murderbot isn’t a killing machine (at least on paper) and acts as a defensive security unit for hire. And they’re a weaponized tool that could care less about what happens to their human clients, at least initially. The premise of an indifferent narrator is clever in concept, allowing the book to get away with skirting heavy world-building with an effective mechanism of “I never bothered…

The House in the Cerulean Sea has a plot, genre and tone that ordinarily isn’t quite my taste, but T.J. Klune’s execution and lowkey sarcastic humor kept me going. Hopefully optimistic, sweet, and a very comfortable easy read, this is not my typical read but it’s still a novel I don’t regret picking up. The plot is predictable and some extended metaphors and social commentary are a bit on the nose (this has a tone and approach better suited for YA, apart from a few rare adult-natured jokes), but it’s unapologetically warm and has so much mass-appeal. Other reviews describing The House in the Cerulean Sea as a modern fairy tale are quite appropriate. The style of narration told from the perspective of the main character Linus Baker evokes that nostalgic fairy tale feel that’s felt through Klune’s descriptive visuals and dialogue (the house for example screams fantasy fairy tale aesthetic, including the gorgeous interpretation on the cover). While reading this, I could instantly see this being adapted as either an animated or live-action miniseries. Linus Baker is a refreshing, atypical main character aged 40, overweight, uptight, queer, no frills government worker who serves as the perfect foil to the…

Picked up on a blind Goodreads algorithm suggestion (dangerous choice, I know), I had no expectations or experience going into Robert Charles Wilson’s Spin. Obviously I assumed it would be at least competently plotted with a high-concept as the coveted 2006 Hugo Award winner for best novel. What I did not expect and was pleasantly surprised by was the highly restrained, nuanced, yet incredibly character work that carried me all through Spin. This is notable particularly when some of the science-fiction elements, pardon the bad pun, occasionally spun a bit out of control. A 4.5 rounded up, this rating is not necessarily a rating for a fun or entertaining time, but for a rating that respects the quality of the writing and the execution of the story. Some of my 5-star reads are entertaining or a thrill ride to read; Spin is slower and smart one that I know will stick with me for a while. The main plot of Spin asks the age-old question, what happens when a potentially catastrophic, maybe even apocalyptic event occurs? When faced with possibility that the end of the world is ending, how do people react and grapple with their impending death? (a possibility…