Daughter From The Dark, Marina Dyachenko, Sergey Dyachenko, Julia Meitov Hersey (Translator), (2020, original 2006)
This is an interesting and unusual book. The main characters are the hedonistic and slightly neurotic DJ Aspirin; a young girl, Alonya, whose background is puzzlingly obscure; her brother, for whom she needs to play a complex musical piece; and a stuffed bear with unusual attributes. The story traces the evolution of DJ Aspirin and Alonya’s relationship, along with their own efforts to understand who and what each of them are. It’s fantasy in a modern form, suffused with subtle magic and some fascinating, beautiful prose. More literary than my usual fare, this was enjoyable and tantalizing from start to finish.
Smirk factor: Acceptable: 1 pt (Six smirks, 304 pages.)
Immersion factor: Chest-high: 1.5 pts
Writing quality: High: 2 pts
Character/plot development: High: 2 pts
Innovative/interesting: Above-average: 1.5 pts
Total: 8/10 (4.0 stars)
The Riddle of the Sands, Erskine Childers (1903)
Started this out of curiosity–it’s the progenitor of the spy genre, apparently–and kept going to the finish largely for the historical perspective. Riddle is dominated by sailing, and is more of a slow-moving nautical mystery than a thriller. There is a lot of sailing around sandbars and mudflats near the Frisian Islands. You’ve been warned. It’s also interesting in that it’s written from the perspective of an English gentleman of a certain social status and background, which can be a bit of a challenge to interpret or decipher. This will reward readers who are patient or have an interest in the period.
It’s interesting how extremely, well, literate the whole thing is. There’s clearly a tacit expectation that readers would put together the pieces of the mystery for themselves to a greater extent than one sees in a lot of writing today. Narratively, this book is all about showing, not telling, what’s going on. Childers himself had a fascinating life that led to a violent end, and would make good fodder for one of his own books.
Smirk factor: All clear: 2 pts (This book is a holdover from a vastly more literate era.)
Immersion factor: Shallow tidal channel: 1 pt
Writing quality: High: 2 pts
Character/plot development: Average: 1 pt (For modern readers, vast patience is required.)
Innovative/interesting: Above-average: 1.5 pts
Total: 7.5/10 (3.75 stars)
Last Quest of Fire’s Blood (A Fabled Quest Chronicles Novella), Austin Dragon (2023)
I was introduced to Austin Dragon from a story in Jessie Kwak’s super collection Crooked, V.2 (click and scroll down a bit.) This is likely the first stand-alone piece of Dragon’s that I’ve read. I liked it – it was light and not overly challenging, but Dragon tells a good story. It wasn’t hard to figure out the outlines of the universe Dragon’s built here, even though I had no previous experience with it. The Traveler, a sort of itinerant caravan-master, was sketched out nicely and was relatable. I’m not a giant fantasy reader, but there was enough here that I could relate to that I wanted to keep reading. Well-done entertainment, and a bit above-average for the genre. I look forward to reading more from Dragon.
Smirk factor: All clear: 2 pts (2 smirks in 73 pages. Not a great omen, but good enough.)
Immersion factor: Chest-high: 1.5 pts
Writing quality: Average: 1 pt (Written with an effective, but not riveting style.)
Character/plot development: Above-average: 1.5 pts
Innovative/interesting: Average: 1 pt
Total: 7/10 (3.5 stars)
Mephisto’s Game (Tyrus Rechts: Contracts & Terminations 4), Jason Anspach and Nick Cole, (2023)
This is a continuation of a series from 2018-21, to be followed by a fifth volume soon. As with volumes 0.5-3, this was solid and well-written mil SF from a pair of pros. No ground gets broken here, but neither did I ever find myself stopping to wonder if anyone had edited the book. The authors left no inexplicable logical gaps or randomness to confuse their readers. The basic plot sets up fun, very highly kinetic action: Rechts is servicing a contract on a galactic crime lord, but discovers the hard way that he’s the subject of a countering contract. Great stuff, gripping without being overdone. Book 5, Uncommon Valor, flows out of this one, and is waiting in my queue. I’m excited that this series is getting new additions–and that’s not something I say very often!
Smirk factor: All clear: 2 pts (No smirks given -- outstanding stuff)
Immersion factor: Chest-high: 1.5pts
Writing quality: Average: 1 pt
Character/plot development: Above-average: 1.5 pts
Innovative/interesting: Average: 1 pt
Total: 7/10 (3.5 stars)
Artifact Space (Arcana Imperii #1), Miles Cameron (2021)
This was a pleasant surprise, with overtones of David Drake’s Starliner but taken in different and interesting directions. The protagonist is Marca Nbaro, orphaned child of nobility, who was raised and abused in the dystopian Orphanage. Her dream is to escape to space, and by hook or crook she makes it to the Greatship Athens, one of the unimaginably huge megaships which keep humanity’s vital long-distance space trade moving. But someone’s targeting the giant ships, and Nbaro isn’t safe either.
This was fantastic. Cameron writes well, and the characters and situations are believable and lively. There’s a strong, well-constructed space opera element, but the book also has a nicely-crafted set of interlocking mysteries built in alongside the SF. Nbaro is a great main figure who suffers from a completely believable set of fears and flaws, and Cameron surrounds her with excellent supporting personalities, including the all-too-fallible AI who keeps the ship running. Even the weaker moments–Nbaro’s unlikely inclusion in the secret council of war and the transparent traitor within it–are still well-done. Worth the read.
Smirk factor: All clear: 2 pts (1 smirk in 486 pages. Way to write!)
Immersion factor: Chest-high: 1.5 pts
Writing quality: Above-average: 1.5 pts
Character/plot development: Above-average: 1.5 pts
Innovative/interesting: High: 2pts
Total: 8.5/10 (4.25 stars, rounded up to 5)
Reckoning, Ken Preston (2021)
This was disappointing. Not bad, but after bingeing my way through Ken Preston’s Coffinverse, I had high expectations which were half-met. Maddie is a widow whose family has been targeted by shadowy powers for reasons she’ll only slowly uncover. It’s an ambitious plot, and Preston populates the book with some memorable figures in strong scenes. The first chapter, for example, starts with a delicious portrait of an assassin at work, starting with his weakness for Mozart. The downfall of the kidnappers also gets strong desciptions and is fun to read. The problem comes later, as Maddie in particular makes some terrible choices with implausible outcomes–the net effect was that the book felt like it was about a revision away from being ready. I don’t think I’m ready for volume 2.
Smirk factor: All clear: 2 pts (No smirking, and generally well put together.)
Immersion factor: Shallow water: 1 pt
Writing quality: Average: 1 pt
Character/plot development: Average: 1 pt
Innovative/interesting: Average: 1 pt
Total: 6/10 (3 stars)
Absence of Blade (The Expansion Series #1), Caitlin Demaris McKenna (2020)
Mose Attarish, Gau Shesharrim, and Shomoro Lacharoksa are front-line combatants in a vicious, no-holds barred war against a genocidal alien speices that wants them dead. That species: humans. Told largely from the point of view of these Osk warriors, this is an very complex story. It started off very slowly, and the twisted skeins of the plot took a while for me to sort through mentally. By the end this was moving fast and building to a very satisfying and dramatic confrontation (which, of course, presumably sets the stage for sequels to come.) This was among the closest things I’ve read to 007 in space.
Smirk factor: All clear: 2 pts (2 smirks)
Immersion factor: Shallow water: 1 pt (Started as bone dry, but got more immersive as I went on.)
Writing quality: Above-average: 1.5pts
Character/plot development: Above-average: 1.5 pts (Although wow, it started off slowly.)
Innovative/interesting: High: 2pts
Total: 8.0/10 (4.0)