Archive by Author

Outstanding Stories in Outer Space: The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles and Chilling Effect

7 Feb

Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles
by Malka Older
The second in The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti series, Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles, by Malka Older comes out February 13. We will be discussing the first book in the series The Mimicking of Known Successes during our February Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Discussion Group. Although both books clock in around novella length they are packed with interesting world building and fun mysteries. Mossa is a detective while Pleiti is a professor who studies the classics, as in the classical way things were done on Earth and that the human’s who are now living in Space hope they may be able to return one day. Platforms built around Jupiter, a Gas Giant, as well as life on IO one of the moon’s is detailed in the story with clever details like a bunker home being referred to as a “Hobbit” style. Although a couple in their younger days, the two women, have only have become reunited after Mossa’s last case and the tentative attempts between them to develop their relationship further add another sweet element to the plot. I hope we will see more adventures starring the couple in the future.

Chilling Effect
by Valerie Valdes
Chilling Effect is the first in the three book trilogy by Valerie Valdes that revolves around a spunky Cuban Captain Eva Innocente and her rag tag crew of La Sirena Negra (the black mermaid). I haven’t read a lot of Space Opera incorporating Latin American influences and it was cool seeing how Valdes incorporated cultural details and Cuban idioms in the novel; my favorite is arroz con mango or mango with rice which Eva uses when she gets in sticky situations (they happen often enough she also uses it as her code word at one point in the story in answer to what her favorite food is). Much of the story revolves around her blood family causing dramatic situations for her found family of crew. In this story she also is being stalked by a creepy space emperor and has a slow burning romance with one of her fellow crew members whose species gives off different scents based on their emotions and thoughts, which Valdes uses to clever effect. There is a great deal of humor and heart in the novel and if you are looking for cozy Space Opera (a colony of space cats lives on board the ship) than check this one out. I look forward to also reading book two, Prime Deception, and book three, Fault Tolerance, in the series.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

Tags: , , ,

Creating Perfect Memories: A Quantum Love Story and The Tainted Cup

31 Jan

A Quantum Love Story
by Mike Chen
A Quantum Love Story came out yesterday, just a few days before what is probably the most iconic of all time loop stories settings, Groundhog’s Day. In A Quantum Love Story, Mariana Pineda is grieving the loss of her step sister/best friend, which has nudged her into making changes in her life like finding a new job to replace her current role helping to develop memory targeting drugs. She can’t resist though holding on one last week so she can be involved with a project with a top secret particle accelerator, a project that would have been her bff’s dream job. What was supposed to be a new start, becomes a constant loop though as Mariana is one of only two people who realize they are in a time loop when something with the generator goes horribly wrong. As Carter, with his eidetic memory, and Mariana, whose memory has been pharmaceutically enhanced, try to break the cycle, they discover love under the most unusual circumstances. The characters of Carter and Mariana are well developed and their romance is sweet. The second half of the novel took it in a direction I wasn’t expecting and although romance is is in the title, this novel has much more to say about life and relationships. First you see what the characters do when there are no consequences and then what must be done if even the smallest thing could end the world. The novel is set in the near future and has very positive view of AI as having potential for not only research assistance, but also companionship. If you love Groundhog’s Day, this is definitely one to checkout.

The Tainted Cup
by Robert Jackson Bennett
The Tainted Cup draws inspiration from the partnership of famous detective duos from the past like Sherlock Holmes and Watson, but with a huge helping of amazing fantasy world building. Ana Dolabra is an eccentric detective who often chooses to go about blind folded to hone her other senses. Her recently acquired assistant, Dinios Kol, has been enhanced so as to have perfect recall of anything he sees or hears. The two must uses their detecting skills to resolve a mystery surrounding high powered officers who are killed by trees secretly germinating inside of them and sprouting unexpectedly from their body, which might be part of larger scheme involving the giant leviathan beasts that lurk in the seas around their walled cities. I like that the border between magic and science is blurred in the story and that the focus is on biomechanical inventions and enhancements. It reminded me a bit of another creative biomech novel The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach. The novel will be released on February 6. This is the first of the Shadow of the Leviathan series and with such a richly developed fantasy world, I can’t wait to see what will next be in store for Ana and Dinios.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services



Tags: ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →