Stanislaw Lem: A Masterpost

The first book by Stanislaw Lem that I read was The Star Diaries which I absolutely loved and it got me itching to read more from him. And thus I bring you 3 different books in one post. XD

Source: Amazon

Spoiler alert: I didn't find Solaris nearly as compelling as its predecessor. The premise is that a scientist is sent to Solaris (a planet with a space station) only to discover that the 3 inhabitants which he was meant to meet have been reduced to two. Our main character, Kris Kelvin, arrives hoping to crack the enigma of the alien ocean which comprises the whole of the planet (and which is sentient). Once he arrives, strange and disturbing things start to happen such as resurrection of the dead into corporeal beings. Is the entity aware of its cruelty? Is it conducting an experiment on the scientists like the ones that it has been subjected to over the years? Have they actually gone mad?! The overarching message that Lem seems to be making is that humanity continually seeks out new worlds and beings only to impose their own values and agendas to further their reach. (Think colonialism of other cultures and peoples.) He likens it to religion and the search for redemption. (Sci-fi and philosophy go hand-in-hand more often than not as most lovers of the genre will know.) For me it's a 4/10 as I found myself putting it down and grabbing other things to read instead.

I'm kind of obsessed with these covers, ya'll. [Source: Amazon]

Now The Cyberiad completely got me back on board the Stanislaw Lem fan train. It was absolutely hysterical. This is a collection of short stories all about the adventures (or rather misadventures) of 2 (in)famous constructors as they make their way across the universe. (These journeys are called sallies which is a detail I adore.) Our heroes, Klapaucius and Trurl, are constantly trying to one-up each other not only with their creations but also with their status as constructors and benefactors to the cosmos. These robots are constructed for all kinds of constructive and inane reasons like storytelling, poetry, making war, etc. And the words that Lem makes up! I'm trying to think of a better word than delightful to describe my reading experience but honestly it was a treat to read a bit of this every night before bed. (If you don't laugh at the depiction of 'palefaces' i.e. humans then you have no sense of humor at all.) An absolute 10/10 for me. (And wait til you read the twist. O_O)

Source: Prosecraft 

Memoirs Found in a Bathtub caught my eye simply for the novelty of the title and that bizarre cover. This book is difficult to sum up or even to rate as it truly has no discernible plot. Lest you dismiss it immediately because of this fact, let me assure you that there's much to recommend this title. The word play and circuitous path of our main character (who remains nameless) is satire at its finest. Espionage, counterespionage, and counter-counterespionage abound in The Building where our character has been given a very important Mission...if only he knew what it was. He is continually beset by obstacles in the form of bureaucrats, winding halls with nondescript doors, and instructions that keep vanishing. What would happen if humanity was forced to abandon its cities and move into an underground bunker? Would society, culture, and technology survive and continue to advance?  Lem weaves a provocative tale of paranoia, confusion, and ultimately betrayal. 5/10 but would have been higher had there been a plot to follow.

What's Up Next: Exhalation by Ted Chiang

What I'm Currently Reading: The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

For fans of Isaac Asimov

The Star Diaries by Stanislaw Lem (my first Polish translated work!) came into my life due to an observant patron recognizing my Star Trek tattoo as the nerd alert that it is and recommending it to me. [Hallelujah!] The book is organized into short stories touted as the numbered voyages of Ijon Tichy. [A/N: Don't be thrown by the fact they aren't in order. Read my note at the end of this review for a better understanding.] The beginning offers an introduction which has the reader questioning the 'validity' of Tichy as a narrator and the last voyage really solidifies that doubt. [We are given to believe that these chronicles are studied by dedicated scholars and that Tichy is a great explorer.] We follow Tichy as he makes his way across the universe on a solo trip which ultimately turns into a philosophical journey about the nature of being and how he fits into the grand picture of the universe. One particular story was a standout for me (and absolutely terrifying) featuring robot monks, wild furniture, and a type of humanity that was horrifying for Tichy (and the reader) to behold. (Really dig into the underlying message here.) Lem, like most good sci-fi writers, is looking at what it means to be human by tapping into our curiosity for all things that are decidedly alien or other. Tichy is our lens into a world that is as ever changing as the various voyages that he makes. I absolutely loved it. 10/10

A/N: A note at the back of the book explained that the voyages were written out of order because Lem wrote the book over the course of 20 years and his writing style changed somewhat across the span of the stories.

The cover on the book that I read. [Source: Amazon]

I just love this cover. [Source: Goodreads]

What's Up Next: So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

What I'm Currently Reading: Inside Out: A Memoir by Demi Moore

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

A unique solution to the energy crisis

The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov is organized into 3 distinct parts. The first follows a young physicist doing research on the history of the Electron Pump which is a nifty invention providing unlimited energy for all of humanity. He comes to believe that the 'Father of the Electron Pump' is merely a puppet of the entities living in the para-universe (where the energy was being siphoned) and that the Pump itself poses a grave risk to our Universe. The second part occurs in this para-universe and follows a group of entities that are composed of an amorphous substance which allows them to merge with one another and form 'triads'. In this universe the Sun is dying which creates a ripple effect on the creatures which inhabit the planet. A member of this species (it's hard to describe these creatures) has a theory that the Pump they're employing is dangerous to them all and is the reason that procreation has nearly ground to a halt. [A/N: This might be the first instance where a description of alien sex is described in fairly explicit detail and as the alien beings are so different from ourselves it was super weird but certainly showcases Asimov's ingenuity.] And then we come to the third and final part which takes the reader back to our universe. We follow a (retired) scientist named Denison who has moved to the Moon where an entire society has taken residence (most of which are natives to the Lunar colony). Denison has his own suspicions about the Pump and believes he knows how to counteract the negative effects of the Pump but he soon discovers that the Lunarites may have their own agenda.

Overall, I didn't love this book but I did appreciate Asimov's writing (it's always cutting edge even though it was written decades ago) so my overall rating is a 5/10.

The cover of my book. [Source: Amazon]

A scene from the third part of the book. Did I mention the Lunarites are a nudist society? [Source: tvtropes.org]

What's Up Next: Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon

What I'm Currently Reading: 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (reread)

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

So hard not to give spoilers

HiLo: Then Everything Went Wrong is the 5th book in the continuing series by Judd Winick about the boy who fell to earth and turned out to be a superhero robot. [A/N: If you've been around for a while then you might recall that I reviewed the other books in 2 separate posts (1-3 and 4) so if you need to catch up then go read those posts first.] Winick is notorious for his cliffhangers in this series and the end of book 4 was no exception but fear not because MANY questions are answered in this book (although several more are posed). The true history of Razorwark and his creator are revealed. It's actually quite believable based on real life events (I'm talking Robopocalypse of course). Additionally, HiLo uncovers more about his past and how exactly Izzy and Dr. Horizon fit in (you're going to be shocked so prepare yourselves). This continues to fit the bill of 'excellent middle grade graphic novel for sci-fi nerds' so no complaints from me on that point but the gaps between books are lengthening. The next book doesn't hit the stands until January 2020!

P.S. The government finally figures out who the Comet is.

Source: Amazon

What's Up Next: Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

What I'm Currently Reading: The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Space Chicken sounds like the name of a new wave band

Space Dumplins by Craig Thompson utilized all of the keywords that normally make me sit up and take notice: space adventure, hi-jinks, talking chickens... I absolutely loved the super colorful illustrations but as far as the story...it didn't completely blow me out of the water. Our main character, Violet, is a little girl living in the Roids which is a space community comprised of members of the working classes (classism is an issue). Her father is employed in a dangerous (and morally suspect) line of work gathering space whale nuggets (poop) which are manufactured to be used as fuel. Things have become increasingly dangerous especially for those living on the fringes as the whales have started to invade populated areas of space and cause massive damage in their wake including Violet's school. So when Violet's mom is offered a swanky job in fashion at the space station (where the extra swanky live) she snaps it up without hesitation and takes Violet with her hoping to earn more money and get her daughter a high class education. But things go from bad to worse in the Roids while they're away and Violet's father is somehow all mixed up in it. With the aid of her friends Zacchaeus (looks like a talking bean) and Elliott (actually is a talking chicken) Violet sets off on a mission to save her father and bring an end to the destruction and terror wrought by the wild space whales. Why are they on a path of devastation and mayhem? And what exactly does her father have to do with all of this? If you're interested in finding out the answers then check out Space Dumplins. My take: 4/10 mostly for the awesome illustrations.

Slightly spoiler-y warning: There are vivid depictions of animal cruelty in this book so if you can't deal with that (and I don't blame you because I had a lot of difficulties) then give this book a pass.

Source: Amazon

An example from the inside of the book. [Source: Craig Thompson Books]

What's Up Next: Sanity & Tallulah by Molly Brooks

What I'm Currently Reading: Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

When aliens meet the Internet

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green is a sci-fi sociopolitical commentary about the perils and pitfalls of Internet fame as well as social cooperation on a global scale. In Green's debut novel, April May finds what she thinks is an art installation in the heart of New York City so in true millennial fashion she enlists the help of her friend Andy to film their first interaction with what they dub as 'Carl' the robot. While this may be the first video of its kind with one of these robots it turns out that there is one in every major city in the world...and they're clearly alien to our planet. What follows is a realistic look at the arrival of Internet fame and someone completely unprepared to deal with the visibility and responsibility of such a mantle. Trolls, flame wars, sycophants, corporate deals, possible planet-wide destruction, and girlfriend drama are just a few of the myriad dilemmas that our main character finds herself facing. I didn't find April May to be a particularly likable or endearing character which made it difficult for me to feel any sympathy for her plights. I'm not certain but perhaps Green intended for the reader to feel rather indifferent towards her to illustrate how as a society we tend to place any kind of 'celebrity' up on a pedestal but like any human being they have faults and foibles. If that was his goal then he accomplished it I think. Some of the pros: I really enjoyed the shared dream aspect as it felt like a callback to The Giver and A Wrinkle in Time but I felt like it could have used more detail/descriptors instead of focusing so much on April's inner turmoils. I also liked how Green wrote about a topic that has only really been touched on in nonfiction formats (although Zoe Sugg's series Girl Online discussed it too) and couched it in a sci-fi framework. Some things I didn't love: Uneven attention to detail and the ending was less than stellar. (I'd go so far as to say it was crappy.) Overall, this wasn't the best sci-fi novel I've ever read (not by a wide margin) but it also wasn't the worst. For a debut attempt, I think it was pretty well executed and I'd be interested to see what he might create in the future. 4/10

Source: Amazon

I choose to believe this is an aerial shot of the shared dream. [End paper source: Noteworthy]

What's Up Next: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

What I'm Currently Reading: Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Triumphs are not always absolute...but sometimes they are

Star Trek Destiny #3: Lost Souls by David Mack concludes the trilogy that began with Gods of Night and continued with Mere Mortals. If you've been following along with my reviews over the last several days you'll recall that I wasn't completely blown away by the last two books and a lot was riding on the final installment. *drumroll* My faith was justified and I was not disappointed! While it did take me ages to read, I definitely enjoyed this one the most. My suspicions about the Borg were confirmed (don't worry no spoilers here!) and all of the loose ends were neatly tied up. (As in any good Star Trek episode!) It's pretty much impossible for me to go into any details about the plot of this book without completely giving away everything from the first two so if you haven't read them read no further. Essentially, Erika Hernandez has essentially joined the crew of the Aventine and the Federation is in a much better position to counteract the Borg attacks since the Caeliar's powers have adapted her to telepathically link to the hive mind and impersonate the Borg Queen. O_O Things get super serious super quick and the puzzle pieces really start to fall into place about the Borg origin. It has it all: tearful farewells, emotional death scenes, close calls, and happy reunions. I personally think this would have worked better with two books instead of the three but if wishes were horses I would definitely never have gone horseback riding. 9/10 for Lost Souls.

PS Picard finally starts to resemble himself and I like him again.

PPS I still haven't watched Nemesis but I know a key plot point and I am not happy.

That floating woman is Erika Hernandez. [Source: Memory Beta]

What's Up Next: Calypso by David Sedaris

What I'm Currently Reading: Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Subspace tunnel sounds like a euphemism

Star Trek Destiny #2: Mere Mortals by David Mack continues the trilogy that I began discussing on Monday. We find our crews separated across not only vast distances but also by time itself. Hernandez and 3 members of her crew are stranded with the Caeliar in the 1500s trying to find a suitable planet to inhabit without any hope of returning to their lives back on Earth in their time. Riker and the crew of Titan have reached the homeworld of the Caeliar in the present day and things do not go according to plan...in fact events quickly snowball out of Riker's control. Meanwhile, Picard and Dax are going through subspace tunnels in the style of eeny, meeney, miney, moe trying to find the one which will lead them to the Borg's point of origin and hopefully onto a path of defeating them.

The best parts of this installment were those which followed Hernandez's struggles to adjust to her new existence and the glimpses of the Federation President scrabbling to put together a formidable force to defeat the approaching Borg Armada. There are two reasons I think that I preferred these two storylines: I still haven't watched Nemesis and still feel confused by this reality and Mack's depiction of familiar faces did not sit right with me particularly in regards to Picard. Sometimes I find that the best Star Trek novelizations are the ones where the author focuses more on the storyline element and less on the characters which the audience typically knows really well. In this case, Mack's description of the Caeliar race and their culture coupled with the (unknown to me at least) Captain Hernandez and her never-ending quest to escape/understand her captors was exactly what I wanted in a great sci-fi novel. Conversely, the dramatic characterization of Riker's faltering marriage and Picard's inner struggles against the Borg felt stilted and forced.

By this point, I was way too invested not to continue so if you're wondering how I felt about the conclusion you can check back next week for that (although hopefully you're checking every day (-:). 7/10 for book 2 in this trilogy.

Source: Amazon

What's Up Next: The Fourth Age: Smart Robots, Conscious Computers, and the Future of Humanity by Byron Reese

What I'm Currently Reading: Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond and The Science of Supervillains by Lois H. Gresh & Robert Weinberg

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

I bet the Borg Queen never got invited over for slumber parties

Star Trek Destiny #1: Gods of Night by David Mack is the first part in a trilogy which was a journey from beginning to end. Firstly, let me start by saying that when I initially ordered these I did so not realizing that they were written quite a few years ago which did cause me some confusion early on. (I bought them at a discount rate as an ebook set so I really should have put 2+2 together.) Secondly, let me give you the heads up that I didn't have (because I really went in blind, ya'll) that you need prior knowledge about The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, AND Nemesis (which is the one I had not seen (and still haven't seen)) if you want to have any hope of following along. If you haven't seen these you are going to be 1. lost and 2. very much spoiled for future events.

Now that that's all out of the way let's delve into the meat and potatoes of the plot of this book. Like most books that begin a series Gods of Night really lays down a lot of foundation for future action. And there is a lot of information to get through because there is a mess load of time travel back and forth with many, many different characters. (Hint: I didn't love this.) The reader follows 4 different Starfleet crews through multiple time periods which are denoted at the start of each new chapter. You have to be paying a lot of attention and since I read these as ebooks I found it a bit more challenging. Basically, the Caeliar are chanced upon by the Columbia and her crew and found to be so much more technically advanced that there is no chance of overpowering, negotiating, or escaping. The Borg are back and instead of assimilating they have changed their mission to one of annihilation. The Federation is trying to muster up the forces to stop the Borg without any success and the crew of the Columbia are just trying to get back home. SO many characters and so little time (ha time travel pun). I didn't love this book but I did continue the series because by the time I'd gotten to the end of this segment I was too invested to stop...and I'm glad I kept going because by the third book the action was intense, guys. (Wait til you get to the end!) For Gods of Night a 6/10 but check for the reviews of Mere Mortals and Lost Souls in the coming weeks to see what I thought of those and my overall series rating. ;-)

Quick rundown of details:
The Columbia captained by Erika Hernandez, the Aventine captained by Ezri Dax, the Titan captained by Will Riker, and of course the Enterprise captained by Jean-Luc Picard. The aliens encountered: the Borg and the Caeliar. The times explored: too many to recount.

Source: Amazon

What's Up Next: Robot Dreams by Sara Varon

What I'm Currently Reading: Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

It would be hard to sit in a chair if your legs faced backwards

Believe it or not, this is my second time writing this particular post. The first one which was ready for publishing was accidentally deleted in its entirety by yours truly. Well, I guess after this many years I was due a massively huge screw up. IT WAS SUCH A LONG POST, GUYS. I'm afraid this is going to be missing some essential points as a consequence but I'll do my best to recreate what I hardly recall writing (even though it was earlier this week).

Today I'm going to be reviewing Only Human which is the third and final book in The Themis Files trilogy by Sylvain Neuvel. If you've forgotten (or never knew in the first place) this series began with Dr. Rose Franklin who found a giant robot hand when she was a little girl and from that moment a series of events led to a giant robot (definitely of alien origins) being pieced together. Things spiraled out of control pretty quickly after that especially once other governments outside of the U.S. discovered that this behemoth could be piloted and used as a weapon. Moreover, raising this robot from the depths of the earth alerted the alien race which left it here and prompted their return to reclaim their property with mass genocide being the result. Cut to Only Human which opens years after the conclusion of Waking Gods with 2 pilots inside huge robots killing civilians in a war being waged between the U.S. and Russia while thousands of others are being held in interment camps because of impure bloodlines (sound familiar?). (This is where the dystopian tag on this post comes in by the way.) Meanwhile on a distant planet called Ekt, Rose and her team (Vincent, Eva, & the General) are trying to acclimate/come up with an escape plan back to earth. They are essentially refugees on this world which is wildly different from anything they've ever known. The parts where Neuvel focused on describing the planet, its people, and their customs were by far my favorites of this book, ya'll. So original and engrossing. The most distinguishing factor of the Ekt (besides their backwards facing legs) is that they have a strict policy of governmental non-interference which forbids them from any further action against or for the people of planet earth (even though they were the cause of its current state of awful). This is sci-fi political angst at its finest.

If I had to rank the books in this series it would be 1, 3, and then 2. A lot of the magic from the first book came from the total originality of the plotline and Neuvel's descriptive capabilities. A lot of that was lost in the second book which in my opinion was super dry. He got a lot of that oomph back with this book though. Taken as a whole, it's an excellent series and I wouldn't say no to checking out more of his work in the future. 7/10 for Only Human.

[A/N: To catch up with the first two books check out my posts on Sleeping Giants and Waking Gods.]

I loved the way all of the covers looked especially when next to one another. [Source: Goodreads]

What's Up Next: Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts

What I'm Currently Reading: Space Dumplins by Craig Thompson

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

On a roll but not the good kind

Nnewts: Escape from the Lizzarks by Doug TenNapel is another summer reading selection for middle grade readers. This is the first in a series of graphic novels which follow the adventures of Herc, a Nnewt, who is on both a literal and figurative journey of self-discovery. From the beginning, the reader is launched into this fictional world of creatures called Nnewts and their enemies the Lizzarks. There was a sense that one should already be familiar with characters and backstory. The narrative seemed to be all over the place which compounded the issue. I feel like the author was trying to put a spin on the classic 'underdog who surprises everyone to come out on top' but it was all a bit rushed in my opinion. Also, if this is a series I see no reason why the pacing had to be so hurried.  I went into this one with fairly high hopes as the first couple of pages seemed quite interesting but this is one of those books that just didn't work for me. However, I'm betting it will appeal to a younger audience. (It is after all not marketed for me so this makes perfect sense.) It will probably come as no surprise to any of you that I have no plans to continue this series but I have recommended it to some of my younger readers who like a lot of blood, guts, and gore. No complaints thus far. :-) The best thing I can say about this particular book is that the color illustrations were very imaginative but the rest of it left quite a bit to desire. 2/10

Spoiler alert: Straight out of the gate most of the characters are killed off and I feel like this was a lazy way to move the hero's journey ahead. Also, because it happened so early on there was really no emotional attachment or buildup so it served very little purpose (at least from a reader's perspective).

Source: Amazon.com

An example from the first couple of pages. [Source: Scholastic Canada]

What's Up Next: Graveyard Shakes by Laura Terry

What I'm Currently Reading: Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions by Russell Brand

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

What's Izzy up to?

Judd Winick's series continues with book 4 titled Waking the Monsters and we find ourselves back with HiLo and his friends as they continue to fight off the monsters that are being unleashed on earth by Razorwark. Two heroes are born: Comet and Star Burst. This is the book where we finally discover just exactly why Razorwark wants to destroy humanity and where all of the robots are coming from. If you've been following the series from the beginning, you'll be happy to learn that Gina finally expresses her true feelings about being a cheerleader to her mom. Eagle-eyed readers should pay special attention to the background of the illustrations for an especially funny jab at the U.S. government (unless you're a Trump supporter in which case you probably won't think it's that funny). It continues to be an action packed, humorous book about friendship and doing the right thing. Winick knows how to capture his audience's attention and keep it even when books are spread out (the next is sadly not due out until 2019). You're not even ready for the ending of this one, guys! I think the best part about reading the HiLo series is that I have quite a few kids here at the branch that are reading it right along with me. Since I'm always here I have the benefit of reading it first so when they come and check out the shelves and see it I can gush about how much they're going to like it. (Maybe I crow over reading it before them a bit but that's neither here nor there.) 10/10 for readability and 'inside' jokes + making a connection with my kids.

Source: Amazon

An example of the humor. [Source: Bam Smack Pow]

What's Up Next: Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

What I'm Currently Reading: The Murderer's Ape by Jakob Wegelius

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

What thoughts do eggs have?

Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too by Jomny Sun was an odd little book.  The reader follows our main character who is an alien (or aliebn if you prefer) sent to earth to learn about humans but because he's never met one he assumes every living thing he sees is a human. Therefore, he becomes good friends with a tree, beaver, egg, etc. Reminiscent of Find the Good, this book is chock full of life lessons about what truly matters. Our little alien friend learns how to be content and happy, what loneliness is, how to be a good friend, the value of creativity, and most of all how to accept oneself. There's also an underlying message about doomsday and what the planet would be like without human habitation. Is this actually an apocalyptic tale cloaked behind a cute alien story?  I have to point out that the misspelling (as you see in the title) was highly annoying even after I managed to somewhat successfully ignore it and took away some enjoyment from the overall reading of the book. However, if you are able to look past that (and I was mostly successful) then it's a nice little read with great messages. This author isn't afraid to tackle tough subjects and I believe he does so with sensitivity and insight. This would make a great gift for that introspective friend (or a great addition to your own collection). I'd say it was a solid 7/10 because while it was a really nice book it didn't blow me out of the water. (The best graphic novel remains The Gigantic Beard That Was Evil by Stephen Collins.)

Source: Barnes & Noble

Source: Sweet

What's Up Next: Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan

What I'm Currently Reading: it's 1 day til Christmas...do you think I'm reading?

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Fortunately, I've posted a new review

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman with illustrations by Skottie Young is simply delightful. It's hard for me to decide which was more enjoyable: the writing or the drawings. Honestly, I think that the reason I enjoyed this book so much was that the two of them paired so well together. This is exactly the kind of story that an imaginative parent would tell their child and embellish over time. The main character of this book is a father who is left alone to watch the kids and who goes out to get milk for breakfast and takes forever to get back home.When he finally returns he spins an impossible yarn to explain his tardiness to his extremely skeptical children. Anyone who has read Gaiman's writing knows that he's an absolutely wonderful fantasy author but it's his sense of humor that makes this book unique. Maybe you've heard of 'dad jokes' before? Well, this is basically one big dad joke accompanied by super cute ink illustrations. 10/10 on all fronts.

I absolutely love the illustrations by Skottie Young. This is another one of those books where you want to hang up the illustrations on the wall of your house...at least I do. Here are a few examples so that you can see what I'm raving about. ;-)

Source: boingboing.net

Source: littlekulture.com

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

A different kind of robopocalypse

By chance, I saw that the second book in The Themis Files series by Sylvain Neuvel had hit the shelves. You may recall that I posted a review of the first book, Sleeping Giants, not quite a year ago and I really enjoyed it. It's a unique story that blends aliens and robots *shudder* with a heaping dose of science-y adventure and intrigue. In the sequel, Waking Gods, we're reunited with our mysterious narrator who continues to record his interactions with the team tasked with uncovering the mysteries surrounding Themis, the robot pieced together and purportedly left on earth by an alien race in the distant past. In the first book, the lid was blown off the super secret agency housing the alien creation. This book starts 10 years later where Themis and the EDC (Earth Defense Corps) are now household names. However, years of study haven't revealed all of the answers about this alien race or why they left pieces of a scattered robot across the globe. In fact, Dr. Rose Franklin is starting to wonder if maybe they were never supposed to find the robot at all... It becomes an even more pressing issue when another giant robot (larger than Themis) materializes in the middle of London. Is it a sign that they want to make contact? Is it a threat? How will the human race react? All of this and much more is explored in this book and if you thought the first was fast-paced and action packed then this one is sure to knock your socks off. 10/10

Source: Goodreads

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Natasha Murray on the possibility of alien life on Earth

Hi, readers! Today's post is going to be a little different because I'm not the one who wrote it. :-) Instead of telling you why you should check out Natasha's books, why not find out about the inspiration for them from the author herself? Terrified of what might happen to humanity in a century? Look no further than 3004 and 3006!



Synopsis

London covers the whole of England and is protected by an invisible shield.  The shield is there as protection from terrorists and from criminals.  Lawbreakers are cast out of the cities and into the wilderness.  The Isle of Wight hosts ‘lifers’, A-class criminals, murderers, and the insane, who are left there to fend for themselves.  Thieves and anarchists, ‘wasters’, are sent to the wilderness around London to live a feral lifestyle.

London is run by a secret underground society who created software named the “Think Tank Program”, which, over time, has orchestrated a communistic life style due to the lack of resources, the rise of the Aids II virus, and the decline of man.  Love and sexual relationships are banned. It’s rumoured that women have hideous bodies beneath their clothes.  Only mentor partnerships are permitted, with one child and occasionally two lab reared children allocated to them.

   

At the age of sixteen, boys become ‘taskers’. They are taken into the wilderness and have to find their own way home.  This story is about two taskers, Kayleb Heinz and Rowan Gellpen, and their struggle to return to London. It is about their emotional journey as well as all the challenges they face. As they battle to get home, they meet David, leader of the Veenans, who has come to Earth seeking sanctuary for his people. Is this our future? What will become of us?

Author Bio

My name is Natasha Murray and I am a West Sussex author and artist. I am a diverse writer and as well as writing and illustrating children’s books, I write for adults and teenagers too. 3004 and 3006 are dystopian adventure stories for 12+ set in London and Paris a thousand years from now.

I have always looked up at the sky and wondered if we have ever had visitors from outer space and if they came from another planet similar to ours and discretely integrated. We are now able to look at our blood and DNA and work out what part of the world our ancestors originated from. I am quite sure there will be a few anomalies.

We have always feared being attacked by aliens. What if a population of another planet came to us seeking sanctuary as their planet was dying. Would we turn them away? So this is the idea behind 3004 and 3006. These dystopian novels look at life when we have become overpopulated. World population is increasing at 1.13% per year so unless we throw ourselves off cliffs like lemmings, then by 3004 we will be overpopulated and all be battling to survive. I do not believe that we will perish. Thankfully, despite acting barbarically at times, humans are resourceful, inventive, and the majority show kindness. Good will always conquer evil.

You can learn more about Natasha and her books by visiting her website at www.nmurray.moonfruit.com.



Sci-fi MEGA post

Today's post is going to be quite ambitious and it's been a good long while in the making. I'm going to attempt to review 9 novels that were compiled into 3 volumes. O_O As you all know, I'm a big fan of Star Trek (I just remembered that my last post was Trek related as well. Oops?) and the recently rebooted original (created through an alternate reality timeline) is what got me hooked. These books are in a similar vein in that they feature some of our favorite characters but in reimagined universes. it's been an interesting experience to say the least so I'm quite excited to share my reviews of them. Let's go!

Star Trek: Myriad Universes #1: Infinity's Prism

A Less Perfect Union by William Leisner explores a world where Christopher Pike remains the captain of the Enterprise while James T. Kirk is at his side as First Officer. Where's Spock? Well, Vulcans are not a member of the Federation of Planets...in fact, Earth is at odds with the Vulcans due to an incident many years earlier which devastated San Francisco. Kirk has his own bone to pick with the Vulcan people and it all comes to a head when the Enterprise picks up T'Pol for a diplomatic mission to try to repair relations with their alien neighbors. Stranger still, McCoy has joined the crew and he and Kirk immediately butt heads over what McCoy perceives is Kirk's racist feelings toward the Vulcans. Of course, longtime fans of TOS will find this humorously ironic. It's politically and racially charged with tons of action just like all the great Trek episodes. 9/10

Maybe my favorite of the entire lot was Places of Exile by Christopher L. Bennett. I've never seen any episodes of Voyager (I know, I know) so I found this one extremely easy to accept as canon. I guess it might have been harder if you already knew the "real" events of this universe. For those unfamiliar, the crew of Voyager is stranded in the Delta Quadrant and are trying to find their way back to planet Earth while navigating the unknown (and dangerous) stretch of space in-between. In this version, their ship is crippled and they must make an emergency landing on a planet where they are essentially refugees forced to make new lives for themselves. It delves into how each member of the crew reacts to the knowledge that they will most likely never reach their homes in their lifetimes. I love character studies so this one was right up my alley. 10/10

What would happen if Khan had actually succeeded in his quest to rule Earth and create a dominant race of superhumans? Well, Seeds of Dissent by James Swallow has a truly terrifying answer. After Khan's victory, augmented humans become the norm and Khan is viewed as a deity. Princeps Julian Bashir (from Deep Space Nine) is in command of the Defiant and he comes across a most unusual ship named Botany Bay. (If you're a Trekkie, then you most certainly heard ominous music playing just then.) When fictionalized history clashes with the harsh truth of reality the world crafted under Khan's descendants begins to fragment. (This book was the push I needed to continue my Trek tutelage by beginning DS9 by the way.) 9/10

Star Trek: Myriad Universes #2: Echoes and Refractions

I was mostly unfamiliar with Andorians except beyond knowing they were blue, hairy, and had antennae. The Chimes at Midnight by Geoff Trowbridge gave a most thorough background into this alien race. The reader follows two separate characters: Thelin (an Andorian) and David Marcus (James T. Kirk's estranged son). Thelin is Kirk's closest friend and First Officer of the Enterprise. David is a scientist who creates the Genesis Project in the hopes of making uninhabitable worlds fertile and livable for those looking to colonize new areas of space. When the secret of this innovation is leaked to the Klingons war is threatened. (Note: There's a rather explicit scene of torture in this book so if you're squeamish be aware.) Most troubling of all in this universe, Spock never lived beyond childhood. :'-(  7/10

War, war, war. A Gutted World by Keith R.A. DeCandido is chock full of violence and destruction as war rages across the galaxy. The Cardassians still occupy Terok Nor (DS9 reference for the uninitiated) and the Klingons and Romulans are at each other's throats. The Federation is pulled into the fray and devastating losses are piling up on all sides. Kira Nerys with the aid of Garak and Odo are trying to convince the Federation that all is not as it seems. I don't want to give too much away because it's pretty spoiler-y for Deep Space Nine even though it's an alternate reality timeline. 7/10

Brave New World written by Chris Roberson was absolutely brilliant. In this iteration, Data is not the only Soong-type android in existence. In fact, he's one of the earliest of many. When the Federation decides to limit their rights to full citizenship Data and many of his fellows resign their Starfleet commissions and drop off of the grid entirely. The story picks up 10 years later when Data inexplicably returns with a request for assistance from the Enterprise. Many familiar faces are still onboard including Chief Engineer Wesley Crusher and First Officer Geordi La Forge. (They've also perfected brain uploads in this universe which is frankly terrifying.) I so badly want to tell you the big shocker of this book but that would really kill it for you. Just read it! 10/10

Star Trek: Myriad Universes #3: Shattered Light

One of my favorite episodes of The Next Generation was the one where Data created a daughter named Lal. Unfortunately, that episode ended rather sadly for the android but in David R. George III's The Embrace of Cold Architects this has been rectified. However, there have been other casualties due to the Borg and now Will Riker is captain of the Enterprise. This book continues the questions raised by the episode The Offspring mentioned above such as 'Do androids have rights or are they property of Starfleet?'. Full of moral dilemmas and governmental obfuscation, this story will have you shaking your fist at 'the man' in no time. 9/10

I'm going to be honest and say that The Tears of Eridanus by Steve Mollmann and Michael Schuster was probably my least favorite book from all 3 volumes. This universe's central power is controlled by the Andorians and Sulu is the captain of one of their ships. As mentioned previously, I had little to no knowledge of this alien species but from what I read they aren't going to be one of my favorites. Sulu is tasked with visiting a planet where the residents have captured a science team tasked with observing the native peoples. The inhabitants are viewed as primitive and dangerous with little chance of their being admitted into the Interstellar Union. Sulu has a vested interest as his daughter is one of the members of the captured team. This book ended without any kind of real conclusion and with a barely discernible plotline. It was pretty meh in my opinion. 5/10

And finally there's Honor in the Night written by Scott Pearson. This covers the events of Tarsus and the conflict between the Klingon Empire and the Federation. Dr. McCoy (yay Bones!) is a minor player in this book but it's really Nilz Baris who steals the show...and a certain man named Arne Darvin. A reporter is trying to piece together the story of Nilz Baris and his role in the Klingon-Federation alliance by interviewing key players in his past. There are a lot of flashback scenes and many, many secrets are revealed. It read just like an episode of Trek and felt totally believable as canon to me. 9/10

And there you have it. I hope you all enjoyed those mini reviews and if you do decide to read any or all of these please let me know by writing a comment down below. Happy reading! :-)

**If you're interested in buying these books or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Exploring a new universe

Until quite recently, I was very much a Star Trek: The Original Series kinda gal. I never investigated the other realms of the Trek universe and I had no real desire to...and then Netflix recommended I watch Star Trek: The Next Generation. After that it was kind of a given that I was going to fall head over heels in love with that particular cast of characters. (If you're wondering, I'm torn between Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Data as my favorite.) This of course meant that I had never really explored the literature of ST unless it revolved around my boys Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. My first foray into worlds unknown was the movie tie-in for First Contact by J.M. Dillard. I'm going to be up front and tell you that I still haven't seen this film but I'm going to be rectifying this at my earliest opportunity. This book features the ST:TNG cast as they come face-to-face with their old enemies the Borg Collective. dun dun DUN There's a time travel element to this book which I found a bit squidgy but honestly anytime Trek goes down the time travel route it's questionably done. They're not going back to just any era, however. They end up going back to the time of Zefram Cochrane and to Earth's first glimpse of another planet's inhabitants. The Borg aren't just going back to witness history in the making. (Wouldn't that be a funny concept for a movie? And here's the Borg kicking back in recliners with buckets of popcorn to watch the human race exploring the vast unknown for the first time.) So the crew of the Enterprise must pull out all of the stops to try and defeat this formidable foe. This is a Picard/Data heavy storyline so I was definitely on board with it. It wasn't the most fantastically written Trek novel that I've ever read but it was probably the quickest. I read it in between panels at Star Trek: Mission New York to give you an idea of its length (276 pages). If you're a fan of ST:TNG then you've most likely read this before but if you're a Trek noob then you'll most likely find this an interesting tie-in to the film version. If you're not a Trekkie then you're probably going to pass on this one although honestly why isn't everyone a Trekkie at this point? ;-)

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

The kind of art I'd frame and put on my walls

Thanks to Jen Campbell over on BookTube I was turned onto the magic that is Shaun Tan. Thus far, I've only read one of his books but I already know I'm going to have to READ ALL THE THINGS. (Note: I've just picked up two more and put another one on hold.) Until that day, however, here's a review of Tales from Outer Suburbia. :-)

You guys know how much I love all things creepy and dark. You also know that 2016 has turned out to be the year of the graphic novel for me. So it's no wonder that Shaun Tan is right up my alley. Tales from Outer Suburbia is a collection of short stories and illustrations of a typical suburban neighborhood turned on its head. Think The Burbs meets Home and you're in the right neighborhood. (Didn't even plan that little pun out. You're welcome.) It was his art style that caught my attention but his writing is really haunting and beautiful. It's also super snarky with political undertones. His "style" is a mixture of fine line drawing in pencil, bold paints, watercolor, and just plain unique which is why I feel like he can't really be pigeonholed into one genre. From the inside cover to the very last page this book is full to bursting with creepy, weird, and beautiful art with short stories to match. Some of the pages have no words at all which I've learned is one of his fortes so get excited for that in the near future. XD If you're a fan of Grimm's Fairy Tales or Neil Gaiman then this would very likely appeal to you. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about I'm including a few pictures below. This was a definite 10/10 for me.

This is from the inside cover. No two drawings are alike.

You see what I mean about vaguely political?

This little dude is adorable.

This book is in the children's section by the way.

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **