Tag: Book Review

A Long Way for Cozy Sci-fi

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Fleeing her old life, Rosemary Harper joins the multi-species crew of the Wayfarer as a file clerk, and joins them on missions throughout the galaxy. Looking forward to a simpler life, she soon discovers it’s not what she was expecting; everyone has secrets, and there’s more than enough to keep her busy.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Published 2014 via Kickstarter
Bingo Category – Space Opera (Hard Mode)

This comfy, cosy, Firefly-esque space opera hits the spot in terms of an easy going, character focused novel. The plot is good, the writing is good, the characters are fully fleshed out and feel real, and plot arcs get resolved. It’s all very satisfying. I enjoyed it, but it almost felt too cosy. The stakes were relatively small, everyone was polite and nice and friendly and mostly everything was resolved in a nice, polite, friendly way. I know there is loads of love for Becky Chambers and I’m not surprised, because what she writes is great, but this book and most likely the rest of the series, is just not for me.

Saving Grace – Project Hail Mary

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Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mision – if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

But right now, he doesn’t know that. All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time, and he’s just woke to find himself hurtling through space, millions of miles from home.

It’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery, and he’s got to do it all alone…

This is the first Andy Weir book I’ve read. It’s also one that I decided to listen to the audiobook of – for which I’m very glad because the audiobook just adds to the experience. I’ve listened to it more than twice. I’ve joined communities about this book. I am looking forward to the movie that’s upcoming (although I’m not a Ryan Gosling fan, I hope he can pull off the role.)

I don’t do science. Or maths. Or anything like that to be honest; and I was worried when all of the scientific aspects came into play that I wouldn’t be able to follow what was happening – turned out it wasn’t an issue, and the accuracy (or lack thereof) would have made no difference to me anyway, but, I got caught up in the narrative and felt Grace’s excitement about it all, and felt like I was learning stuff, even though I can’t remember the ins-and-outs of it all! I think I may have even enjoyed science lessons with Mr. Grace.

But I digress.

I’ve read plenty of things about Project Hail Mary since I finished it – some positive, some negative – but I can say I’m definitely in the positive camp for this. I absolutely love Grace, I both love and hate Stratt at the same time, and Rocky is by far one of the most interesting characters I’ve met.

From the first 2 plus 2 equals, I was hooked. Weir’s writing style just clicked for me straight away and I tore through the book like a mad-woman. I could not put it down. When I listened to it, I didn’t want to stop listening. It was that compelling, I re-read and listened almost immediately after finishing.

The plot, the stakes, the characters, the awkward situations – the togas, the mechanical hands, the flashbacks – all of it just came together amazingly and I rode the journey with Ryland all the way through. Stratt was frustratingly annoying, amazing and awful all at once and was extremely believable given the circumstances. But I connected with Grace more. I mourned his losses, fist-bumped at his achievements along with him, was frustrated when he was. I adored his relationship with Rocky and the friendship they built regardless of the boundaries of language and race, light years upon light years away from their own homes; believing and hoping even when all belief and hope seemed lost. I was right next to Grace when he realised what was really important. I was with Rocky when he realised what Grace had done. I went through a rollercoaster of emotions.

I love character driven stories, and PHM is no exception to that. Weir created a scenario where success was minimal, stakes were ridiculously high, and where above all, friendship and love were proven to be the ties that bind. The ending was extremely satisfying.

This is a tale that will stay with me for a long time, and I will most definitely re-visit it again, probably regularly. Andy Weir most certainly did his job well, and I, for one, am most definitely a fan.

This is in my top reads of 2024.

Rated 5 stars.

Dream a little Dream

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In a mysterious town hidden in our collective subconcious, theres a department store that sells dreams…

What a wonderful idea! The concept caught my interest straight away and I would have given this book a go even if it didn’t fit my book bingo 2024 list, but it happens to do that quite well in the category of Author of Colour, and it fits for hard mode, which is another bonus. Interestingly, the book was published as a debut in 2020 and funded entirely through a crowd-funding service in Korea – and became a bestseller! How awesome is that! It’s also my local Waterstones pick of the month for August 2024, and there’s a book club meet about it at the store in September, so I’ll be going to that!

This endearing and whimsical tale follows Penny as she becomes the newest employee in Dallergut’s, supplying dreams to customers with various requirements. It’s reminiscent of Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium in parts but is most definitely something that is unique: and I wanted so desperately to love it, to get swept away in the deliciousness of the concept, but it really didn’t hit home for me.

It’s not the concept – that’s fabulous. It’s not the characters, although I felt they could have been more fleshed out. The translation wasn’t even much of an issue, although I do feel that it simplified the narration somewhat and it may have been more effective as a whole if read in the original language. DDDS (Dallergut Dream Department Store) is a very good book: it’s a feel-good, cosy, slice-of-life tale but it could have achieved so much more. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the Tale of the Three Disciples is just one example that could have been expanded to become something even more wonderful. I know it’s part of a duology, and that in the next book, there is the possibility that it could become something amazing. I also know that it might not be the author’s intent for it to become something other than what it is, which is cosy, slice-of-life as I’ve said, but there is so much potential in the concept that wasn’t executed and it’s such a shame.

I liked DDDS, the characters were quirky, and the idea of dream-making and selling was intriguing and compelling. I loved the messages that were in the book – the themes of friendship, love, grief, loss, loneliness, stress, perseverance, acceptance, identity and more were all covered in this little novelette and were covered well. It is a magical, lovely little tale.

I was just expecting something else, and I can see so much more that could come from it. I’ll still be picking up the sequel so I can find out what happens to Penny, Weather, Dallergut, Maxim, Assam, Babynap Rockabye, Animora Bancho and even Vigo!!

If you enjoy slice-of-life, cosy fantasy, you’ll love DDDS, and even if cosy fantasy isn’t normally your go-to, try this one. You might find you enjoy it more than you think you will.

Hauntingly Evocative

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Welcome to Area X. An Edenic wilderness, an environmental disaster zone, a mystery for thirty years.

The Southern Reach, a secretive government agency, has sent eleven expeditions to investigate Area X. One has ended in mass suicide, another in a hail of gunfire, the eleventh in a fatal cancer epidemic.

Now four women embark on the twelfth expedition into the unknown…

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
Southern Reach #1
Published 2014
Book Bingo: Eldritch Creatures (Hard Mode)

This is a ridiculously difficult book to review.

I picked this book up as part of the Bingo 2024 challenge for the Eldritch Creatures category. I’m a little ashamed to say, especially given that I read a lot of horror, that I didn’t realise these odd entities/creatures had a categeory of their own. Anyway, Emily, another lovely member of staff at my local Waterstones, assured me that I would love this book and that it definitely fitted what I was looking for.

Told from the point of view of “the biologist” although the tale includes others, including her own husband’s experiences, her perspective leads us beautifully through this unique, eerie tale of an exploration team (the 12th expedition according to the text) in a place called “Area X.”

The imagery in this deceptively small-looking novel is just beautiful, although not technically traditional. It lulls and lures the reader into a lyrical dance that undulates in the bizarre, and it stays with you. It’s incredibly immersive, and so odd that it’s difficult to define just how effective it is, because I can see how devisive it could be – the interpretation is completely up to the reader, and the content reflects this in the interpretation given by “the biologist” – there are no correct answers, just mystery.

There are plenty of secrets in this book and as the answers are slowly revealed, the story draws you in to its surreal and distorted and disconcerting sense of reality. You are left stranded in the in-between, a kind of limbo, yet there is a feeling of fulfillment. Still there is a sense of needing to dig deeper, to eke out the mystery, to find the reasoning. You know there is more, just not where to find it.

Atmospheric is an almost perfect descriptor, ominous is another.

Personally, I like hauntingly evocative.

“It was as if I travelled through the landscape with the sound of an expressive and intense aria playing in my ears. Everything was imbued with emotion, awash with it, and I was no longer a biologist but somehow the crest of a wave building and building but never crashing to the shore.”

4/5 stars