Beth Tabler's Blog, page 185

First Chapter, First Paragraph – The Deep By Rivers Solomon, Daveed Diggs, William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes

 

“What is belonging?” we ask. She says, “Where loneliness ends.”What is The Deep ABout?

The water-breathing descendants of African slave women tossed overboard have built their own underwater society—and must reclaim the memories of their past to shape their future in this brilliantly imaginative novella inspired by the Hugo Award nominated song “The Deep” from Daveed Diggs’ rap group Clipping.

Yetu holds the memories for her people—water-dwelling descendants of pregnant African slave women thrown overboard by slave owners—who live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly, is forgotten by everyone, save one—the historian. This demanding role has been bestowed on Yetu.

Yetu remembers for everyone, and the memories, painful and wonderful, traumatic and terrible and miraculous, are destroying her. And so, she flees to the surface, escaping the memories, the expectations, and the responsibilities—and discovers a world her people left behind long ago.

Yetu will learn more than she ever expected to about her own past—and about the future of her people. If they are all to survive, they’ll need to reclaim the memories, reclaim their identity—and own who they really are.

Inspired by a song produced by the rap group Clipping for the This American Life episode “We Are In The Future,” The Deep is vividly original and uniquely affecting.

 

First Chapter, First Paragraph

“IT WAS LIKE DREAMING,” SAID Yetu, throat raw. She’d been weeping for days, lost in a remembering of one of the first wajinru.
“Then wake up,” Amaba said, “and wake up now. What kind of dream makes someone lurk in shark-dense waters, leaking blood like a fool? If I had not come for you, if I had not found you in time…” Amaba shook her head, black water sloshing over her face. “Do you wish for death? Is that why you do this? You are grown now. Have been grown. You must put those childish whims behind you.” Amaba waved her front fins forcefully as she lectured her daughter, the movements troubling the otherwise placid water.
“I do not wish for death,” said Yetu, resolute despite the quiet of her worn voice.
“Then what? What else would make you do something so foolish?” Amaba asked, her fins a bevy of movement.
Yetu strained to feel Amaba’s words over the chorus of ripples, her skin drawn away from the delicate waves of speech and toward the short, powerful pulses brought on by her amaba’s gesticulations.

Read The Deep

The post First Chapter, First Paragraph – The Deep By Rivers Solomon, Daveed Diggs, William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes appeared first on BEFOREWEGOBLOG.

Review – Conqueror’s Blood by Zamil Akhtar

“‘Perhaps once you’ve wizened up the nature of things, you’ll learn that no gain is too tainted to refuse. You may one say find that the tower you’ve been building all your life is missing a foundation. It comes crashing down, crushing everything you love, and you’ve to pick up the pieces and rebuild whatever you can – ill-gotten or not.'”

Conqueror’s Blood is the second book in the Gunmetal Gods series, and the follow-up to the outstanding Gunmetal Gods, which is Book One. Gunmetal Gods is one of the first books I read in 2022 and still firmly sitting in the top five books I’ve read so far this year.

So you can imagine how jazzed I was to get my hands on the sequel. While it was completely NOT what I was expecting, author Zamil Akhtar has somehow managed to outdo himself with this second book in the series, which is no easy accomplishment.

To be clear, Conqueror’s Blood feels not so much like a sequel, but a completely new entry, in a different part of  the sprawling, lush, incredible Middle-Eastern inspired world that Akhtar has created. While some key characters from “Gunmetal Gods” show up, and have significant impacts on the story, they more or less are cameos appearances of some of my favs from that first book, including Kevah (protagonist from Gunmetal Gods), and another major character who readers thought was done for, and whose appearance shocked the hell outta me!

Other big names from Gunmetal Gods, such as Micah the Metal, Murad, and others are referred to in “Conqueror’s Blood”, and Akhtar cleverly inserts them on the lips of others in this new book, to only add to their legend, and backstory.

“‘I don’t recall the details of the fight, but it was over rather quickly…for some reason instead of finishing me off, he simply backed away and returned to the line while his army cheered his name – Murad! Murad!'”

But Conqueror’s Blood is not about the Sirmian Shah (one of my favs), or other great male characters, though there are plenty to choose from, with incredible new (old) ones like Hadrith, Kato, Eshe, Pashang, Kevah, Cihan, Kyars, Mansur, Khizir Khaz, and more gracing the pages. No, this novel is all about the astounding women, and the main characters of Conqueror’s Blood, Cyra and Zedra, are extremely complicated, messy, ambitious, obsessed, beautiful, dangerous, and utterly enthralling.

Politics, fanaticism, poetry, possession, power plays, blood magic, and hellish gods using mortals as bait, waiting to pounce on each other are afoot, and the kingdom of Alanya is the centre of all that. Steering all those elements are the two powerful female leads.

Cyra is a Sylgiz (an Endless Waste tribe) by birth, and royalty (albeit it minor) in exile, as the daughter of Khagan Yamar. But she has spent adulthood as a favourite – as close as a daughter – of Shah Tamaz of Alanya. Tamaz is a clever, long-reigning, pious, and mostly benevolent ruling monarch. Cyra’s estranged brother Cihan is now the powerful warlord of her old tribe.

Cihan wants his sister back in the fold. He also wants revenge on Cyra’s new people of Alanya. Cihan believes that Tamaz has wrongfully executed some of Cihan’s men. Cihan is ready to wage war on Alanya, for this cause alone, and also to feed his own ambitions.

Though due to her familial relationship, Cyra is sent to treat with Cihan on Tamaz’ behalf, Cyra has no intention of rejoining her real family and being a minor noblewoman among nomads in the Endless Wastes. She wants power and prestige, and the opulence of Alanya’s Sand Castle and its court. The upstart Cyra aspires as high as the wife of the future Shah.

But Cyra hides lots of secrets that could compromise her plans. Among them, due to searching for love in all the wrong places, boredom, desperation, and a desire to be useful, has driven her to become entangled in the plots of the scheming Hadrith, her paramour.

Hadrith’s causes might seem outwardly just in the end, but he also might be using Cyra to destabilize Alanya, to increase his own gain. The consequences of his schemes could harm all Cyra holds dear.

Meanwhile Zedra, as well, is favoured by Tamaz, and like another daughter to him. Little more in actuality that a concubine to Tamaz’s heir, Kyars, Zedra has borne Kyars a son, and the potential future Shah of Alanya.

As the mother of the Crown Prince’s child, and being beloved of Tamaz, Zedra wields some measure of influence, like her best friend Cyra, in Alanya. But Zedra is keeping far darker secrets than Cyra. For an ancient sorceress, tied to those who worship Father Chisti – called the Children – lurks inside the body of Zedra. A shapeshifting being, obsessed with restoring the faith of the Children, and in the process, potentially destroying the world.

For me, of course, the most important thing about a book is always the characters. I loved what Akhtar did with Conqueror’s Blood, following a similar format in Gunmetal Gods, where we alternate POVs between two people who are on opposite sides. This time, the two female leads are close friends, and it is only as things unravel we see how diametrically opposed they are.

Even if one character is obviously more sinister than the other, that other character is highly flawed, makes horrible decisions, and does bad things. Cyra is tortured by what she does to find comfort, and guilty over whose arms she find comfort in. But she is exceptionally cunning, brave, and fundamentally, a good person at her core.

Consequently, the “bad” main character, Zedra, also internally feels remorse for her crimes, and might even evoke sympathy from the reader, as we gain insight and understanding into why she is the way she is. Powerless to escape her long history of brutality, both that she has committed, and what has been enacted against her family, all in the name of religion and the gods, Zedra was my favourite character of this book. So compelling, sometimes so sinister, and yet so vulnerable, I was drawn to this main player, to see if there was any redemption possible for her.

Moreover, the secondary characters are all highly grey, with murky motivations, continually shifting loyalties, willing to do the worst to further their aims. And, with varying factions within factions, the reader’s emotions will roller-coaster as they change sides too, uncertain of who truly to root for in terms of who deserves to ultimately emerge victorious, as Akhtar pulls us along like puppets on a string, through a bloody trail of deceit, siege, and primeval gods.

As with Gunmetal Gods, Akhtar is on the top of his game in terms of the mind-boggling world building, in Conqueror’s Blood. He makes me want to take a stroll through the streets of Alanya, soaking in the poetry in Laughter Square, eat a bowl of tamarind sherbet, and inhale all the spices. The world is so layered, beautifully textured, replete with different customs, cultures, faiths, languages, attire, idiosyncrasies, literature, and everything else that makes it feel completely real.

We get so many amazing and interesting themes in this novel, but again, the heart of it is religion and faith. We see and hear more of the gods, and the main one who dominates the last quarter of the book is about as despicable as they come. The scarier thing is that he might not be the MOST despicable of what IS coming.

And we see mortals (and sort-of-mortals) completely not only at the mercy of the capricious gods’ ambitions, but also paralyzed by their own faith, their prejudices against the faiths of others, and driven to terrible, inhumane acts by zealotry. The end always seems to justify the means, in the mind’s of the faithful, and by the time there is any real kind of self-reflection, and examining of what one is willing to do for one’s gods, and if those gods are worth all the horror, it’s usually far too late.

Akhtar may have created an intellectual, sophisticated world where poetry is appreciated, even revered, but I find much of his writing to be poetry itself. I keep finding myself re-reading passages, for the beauty of the words. I attach one of my favourites below:

“Did she want me to say sorry? Sorry I destroyed your life…I wished I’d never done it, but I couldn’t hold that remorse. True remorse requires repentance, and true repentance requires justice, and if I were to face justice, then who would protect my son?”

The magic in the books is eerie. Blood magic, where everyone’s blood has a different value.

“And worse…it can only be written with saint’s blood, angel’s blood, or god’s blood. Three of the rarest flavors.”

Zedra uses blood as the engine for her powers, and it is truly chilling to behold. But besides the blood magic aspect, it is the gods in the book that really make things fascinating. The epic climax, when some of them come calling, is completely breathtaking.

This book leaves a lot of futures in question, a lot of character arcs incomplete, and the reader begging for more.

Conqueror’s Blood is an extremely dark book, violent, haunting, beautifully written, and simply marvelous. Far better than five stars, and there is no way I will ever miss out on reading everything Akhtar writes. I have no idea where he is taking me next, but I’m going definitely going along for the ride. It promises to be wild!

Read Conqueror’s Blood by Zamil Akhtar

The post Review – Conqueror’s Blood by Zamil Akhtar appeared first on BEFOREWEGOBLOG.

Review – STARSHIP FOR SALE by M.R. Forbes

STARSHIP FOR SALE by M.R. Forbes is a delightful homage to THE LAST STARFIGHTER and EXPLORERS, which is a movie I bet you probably haven’t heard of. The premise is Ben Murdock, a teenage boy who finds out that he has cancer, finds himself contacted by a strange man who claims that he has an actual shapeship for sale. Having nothing to lose but time, Ben goes to visit this individual with his best friend Matt, and discovers that the offer is all too real.

I really enjoyed this book. I was a big fan of M.R. Forbes’ Mindfracked so I was intrigued when I saw he’d also done a space opera. Isekai stories where heroes enter fantasy worlds are pretty common but the science fiction equivalent where a young man is taken into outer space is less so. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is the most famous example but it’s still pretty rare.

Much of the first half of the book is getting Ben to the point where he’s willing to take a chance on an offer as obviously insane as the one presented to him by Keep. Ben has to endure cancer, a chance encounter at a virtual reality video game arcade, and his friend revealing he’s inherited millions before he’s fully onboard. Even then, he only accepts after an appropriate amount of evidence that this insane situation is real. I appreciate M.R. Forbes taking the time to ease audiences into this despite the fact most of us would have been likely to accept events on the title alone.

Unfortunately, the galaxy turns out to be a not particularly nice place. I really liked M.R. Forbes justification for why it is filled with humans, though. Apparently, humans from the future went through a wormhole and ended up colonizing the galaxy in the past. It’s so ridiculous and absurd that I used something similar in my Star Trek Adventures game. I love when science fiction jiggles around the whole fossil record and evolutionary history of the planet.

The bigger problem than the galaxy being colonized by an insane and violent race of nutters (humans) is the fact it is also a feudalist future like Dune. There’s Empresses, Dukes, Duchesses, and Barons as well as all that other stuff we’ve since left behind. Unfortunately, that comes with an insane and evil warlord who wants the micro-star inside their newly acquired starship. Oh and it turns out that they owe some seriously expensive storage fees on their machine, ones they have no way of paying and the punishment is death for.

I enjoy the fact our protagonists are flat broke once they get into space. It turns out rather than being like Star Trek, poor Ben and Matt are going to be living more like Han Solo. Thankfully, they have the help of a shapechanging (?) alien who used to be an assassin. Yeah, I don’t think they signed up for the right space opera. I like that despite the silly premise, our heroes are rapidly confronted with the Firefly-esque realities of living in space. They even try to be pragmatic about things and offer to sell the Macguffin to the bad guy but, of course, he sees no reason to pay when he can just take.

There’s a lot of great world-building and characterization here. This is a setup story, mostly, and ends on a cliffhanger but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It’s hard to sell me on a new series when there’s already so much good stuff out there but I am intrigued by the setup here and the characters. If I have one regret, it’s the fact that Ben doesn’t bring along the girl he asked on a date into space.

Indie Military Science Fiction and Space Opera books – Part 1

Check Out Starship for Sale

The post Review – STARSHIP FOR SALE by M.R. Forbes appeared first on BEFOREWEGOBLOG.

Review – Illborn by Daniel T. Jackson

 

must-read for anyone who enjoys character-driven fantasy, complex and psychological interrogations of religion, the fallibility of humans, and propulsive, well-written narrative.

 

Illborn is a chonky 700 page book is brimming full of compelling character-driven fantasy, intriguing religious concepts, unique geographical and cultural diversity, and a prologue that will absolutely leave your jaw on the floor.

Daniel T Jackson’s debut novel is an assured and confident start to the Illborn saga. Following four young men and women who start to exhibit strange supernatural powers, Illborn takes us through their journeys of discovery. They have to contend not only with what is happening within themselves emotionally, spiritually, and mentally, but also with all the external factors around them. How their family and friends might react, and how the religious establishment of the Holy Church of the Lord Aiduel will see them. Are they prophets? Angels? Heretics? What do each of the four individuals’ unique powers mean and what is their purpose? The author tells four disparate stories of young men and women divided by class, culture and geography, all linked together in one shared dream that they must learn to understand.

Illborn is set in a medieval world, ruled by the established Holy Church of Lord Aiduel who, 800 years ago, united all the peoples of Angall before ascending to heaven. Make no mistake, the church is an overbearing presence throughout this book, something that not all readers may get along with. But, being someone who finds the history of the crusades fascinating, I really enjoyed this aspect of the world. This book’s approach to religion really reminded me of the crusades and the conflict in the middle east at that time. Daniel T. Jackson definitely explores the concepts of faith and the establishment, how those two are vastly different, how the establishment is a human construction prone and vulnerable to corruption, self-service and the festering of dark secrets. Always it is human fallibility that taints the faith, not the religion itself.

The world-building here is tremendous, Jackson presents a living, breathing world, each separate country has its own class system, its relationship to the church, if any at all, and its own army and culture. The approach to the magic system, though not completely understood even at the end of the book, is a really fascinating concept, very much internal and of the mind. Linking it with a possibly connection to a religious figure very much had me wanting more information.

Let’s talk about the four-character povs that we follow. We have Arion son of Duke Conran Sepian, the third greatest noble house in Andar, who has a complicated relationship with his father and who dreams of joining the Royal Academy of Knights against his father’s wishes. Next, we have Allana who, after committing murder, is on the run. Her morality and limits dissolves as her motives become darker and more selfish. Leanna is the most devout to the Holy Church and swearing an oath, against her parent’s wishes, joins the Holy Church as a sister. After experiencing a vision, her faith becomes stronger, but she soon learns of corruption within the establishment. Lastly we have Corin, the youngest son of Akob who belong to the people of Karn, a clan in a far off continent to the other three. After being expelled from the clan for being a coward, he soon learns to survive in the wild, and through his growing power, becomes a different man.

Each of these stories were so different and unique, all of them had compelling arcs, even though I found a couple of the characters quite unlikeable. Allana, who I initially liked, who underwent trauma from a sexual assault, soon becomes a manipulative and selfish character who’s motivations and actions I found difficult to sympathise or agree with. But the beauty of Jackson’s writing is I needed to know what happened next in her story. His ability to end every chapter, of each pov character, on a cliff-hanger, made for an exciting, propulsive read. As mentioned, its 700 pages, but I flew through this in a week. The pacing is near pitch-perfect throughout. Leanna’s internal thoughts and prayers were constant and sometimes overbearing, but I understood why she was written that way. Her devout, almost blind faith in the Holy Church is at once a blessing and a crux to her character.

Corin’s story felt very different from the other three, as it took place on a different continent, far from the Holy Churches influence. The culture and social structure was reminiscent of Norse social structures and I really got into Corin’s story. I felt for him the most being outcast and ridiculed for not wanting to be what his society expected him to be. Physically and psychologically he is very different from the rest of his family and clan and what he goes through and his fascinating character growth, I found really compelling.

Daniel T. Jackson’s Illborn is a must read for anyone who enjoys character-driven fantasy, complex and psychological interrogations of religion, the fallibility of humans and propulsive, well-written narrative. I am really looking forward to his next book and revisiting these four characters, to see how their powers evolve and the true meaning behind their shared dream.

This is a strong 4/5 for me.

Check Out Illborn

The post Review – Illborn by Daniel T. Jackson appeared first on BEFOREWEGOBLOG.

Review of Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang

 

“I’m not going to stand here and be eaten by some bitch’s dinosaur. I am finally doing something with my life.”

― Brian K. Vaughan, Paper Girls, Vol. 1

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Summary

From the publisher, “In the early hours after Halloween of 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time. Suburban drama and otherworldly mysteries collide in this smash-hit series about nostalgia, first jobs, and the last days of childhood.”

 
 
 

My Thoughts on Paper Girls Vol. 1

I am just starting Paper Girls, so my review is limited to the first volume. With that said, I can tell you volume 1 is an absolute rabbit hole. Half the time I had no idea what was going on. There are dinosaurs, crazy disfigured teenagers from the future, and some old dude with an Apple logo on his shirt. I have no idea what the four girls’ names are that star in the story. All I know is one is Vietnamese, one is adopted, one is Jewish, and one is a spirited red-head on her way to being a criminal. I wish I had a bit more than cliches to tell you, but I honestly have no idea.

“…you girls… reminded us… of us…

…kids just trying… to make a living…

are always… the good guys…”

― Brian K. Vaughan, Paper Girls, Vol. 1

Here are the things I absolutely know for sure. First, this series is an unmistakable nod to the 80s and pop culture. The book is full of Bon mot’s about 80’s fashion, movies, music, language, and general attitudes about the world. This speaks to me. I remember being one of these girls in the eighties. Secondly, this book is no Saga, but that is ok. It doesn’t have to be. It has badass girls, friendship, space, time travel, and dinosaurs. I mean cmon. It is pretty damn impressive. Thirdly, it has tons of room to grow and develop. The first book is apparently setting the stage for more awesome. I am not in love with it, but the characters are fresh and exciting, the story is rad if not slightly confusing and the graphics are clean. Lastly, don’t get too deep into why this series is called Paper Girls. It isn’t some clever allusion to young girls with paper-thin identities or emotions. The girls run a paper route… I am on to volume 2. Looking forward to it. It can’t get any weirder or more confusing but it sure is fun

Check Out Paper Girls Vol. 1

.

Read Some of Our Other Review

Review – Against All Odds by Jeffery H. Haskell

Review of John Dies at the End by David Wong

 

The post Review of Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang appeared first on BEFOREWEGOBLOG.

Review – Picard The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack

Jean Luc is confident that everything will work out for the best with sufficient grit and determination.

 

Babylon Five was our last best hope fo…oh wait, wrong franchise. It’s actually an Abraham Lincoln quote but that’s what the title of this book reminded me of. I should note that I am an enormous Star Trek fan. I am an enormous Star Trek fan that is also a fan of Star Wars. I am a double agent of both franchises and cannot be trusted because I have violated the sacred taboo of loving both. However, I will say how much I love the fact that both franchises are still going strong. While not without its flaws, Discovery was awesome and I was tickled when I got to see Picard. I watched that television show three times.

Star Trek: Picard is a sequel series to the era of TNG, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. It’s been decades since Star Trek: Nemesis both in and out of universe with the supernova of Star Trek (2009) forming a major part of the plot. Romulus has been destroyed, the Federation didn’t do much to help its refugees, Data is dead, and synthetic life-forms have been banned after the Federation’s equivalent of 9/11 that ended up destroying Mars. It’s a solid series and while people think I’m criticizing it by saying it reminds me heavily of Mass Effect, I love Mass Effect and enjoyed its complicated plot of secret societies, synthetic lifeforms, and post-War on Terror politics.

There’s a lot of unanswered questions about Picard, though, that are primarily the result of how we got from Point A to Point B. As much as I loved the series, I felt like the best possible opener would have been a two part episode that pretty much depicts this book’s exact series of events. I wanted to see Admiral Picard at the top of his game, evacuating Romulans by the thousands, and non-sentient synth labor on the verge of automating Federation labor to the point the Singularity was one step closer. I wanted, somewhat sadistically, to see all of that torn down in order to lay the foundation for the events of the show.

This book delivers and more.

I’m a huge Una McCormack fan and consider her Cardassian novel, The Never-Ending Sacrifice, to be one of the highlights of all Trek literature. She had a really formidable task ahead of her with the job of addressing all of the questions that fans of the show had about events. She had to detail the politics of the Federation, Romulan Empire, and the galaxy as a whole while telling an interesting story. In a very real way, this is a novel that consists entirely of running the logistics of a large-scale evacuation. There’s no pew-pew and it’s almost entirely characterization that show-watchers will know is destined for the mother of all downer endings. The fact she also has to keep track of continuity across movies, series, and a few books makes the task seem nearly insurmountable. Yet, she manages to pull it off.

The very concise and not at all spoilery summary of the story is as follows: The Romulan star is going to go supernova. This is a slight retcon from Star Trek (2009) but simplifies the physics tremendously. The Romulan Empire has an incredible effort ahead of it but is, begrudgingly, willing to let the Federation assist in the evacuation of some of the citizens. Well, close to a billion of them. Captain Picard, overwhelmed with the sheer scale of the problem, reluctantly accepts a promotion to Admiral in order to supervise the effort. This means saying goodbye to the Enterprise but will allow him to do as much good as virtually anything else he’s done in his lifetime. Unfortunately, the Federation barely has the resources to evacuate a billion people even if it throws everything at the problem. This is, after all, an organization that lost virtually its entire fleet at the Battle of Wolf 359. Starfleet does not possess the ships to move all the refugees and even if it did there’s the matter of finding a place to settle them.

Jean Luc is confident that everything will work out for the best with sufficient grit and determination. For the most part, he has no real reason to think otherwise. The Federation isn’t entirely happy with the Romulan Free State and there are people upset about having to empty their pockets to help a billion “enemy” refugees. However, the Federation is not the people of 21st century Earth nor are the Romulans the war-torn refugees we too often turn out backs against. Unhappy as they may be about emptying their pockets, empty their pockets the Federation does. Geordi and Bruce Maddox also set out to find a science-based solution to the infrastructure problems they face as is typical in Trek. There’s a couple of scheming politicians and Romulan nasties who stand in the way in the greater good but it’s nothing our heroes haven’t dealt with before.

But it’s all going to go horribly-horribly wrong. The greatest twist of this book is that it is not a twist at all. Star Trek: Picard is based around Jean Luc Picard’s greatest failure. Even moreso than being taken by the Borg really. Both times, it’s not really his fault but the end results are catastrophic beyond belief. It’s essential that moment when Kirk fails to raise the shields in The Wrath of Khan because he’s handled this a dozen times, only a thousand times worse. It’s not that the Federation didn’t try to do its part, its not that the heroes of the book (using the term loosely with professional creep Bruce Maddox) didn’t do their best, it’s just that the scale of the disaster is beyond anything that can be dealt with before the supernova goes off. To crib from Babylon Five again, “It was our last best hope for peace. It failed.”

I really liked the depiction of Romulus in this book as it doesn’t really shy away from the fact it’s a totalitarian dictatorship. Trek fans are naturally optimistic but real life has unfortunately shown that authoritarian governments are disinclined to deal in good faith or surrender any power for the benefit of others. The Romulan government would benefit greatly by sharing the data about how screwed they are with its people. They would benefit greatly from not just asking the Federation for help (which they never do, they just reluctantly accept it) but asking everyone else in the Alpha as well as Beta Quadrants. Grand Nagus Rom would only charge slightly above cost, much to the horror of his people. Martok might even lend a shuttle. However, that would mean showing weakness and the Romulan government would rather most of its race go extinct than allow that. Real life shows that this is all too realistic.

If I had any complaints, I would say that I do kind of wish there was a way that this could have been reconciled with novel continuity. That is impossible, though, because the events of Star Trek: Destiny preclude any reconciliation with Picard. The Romulans in the books are also in a far better place alliance and leadership wise than the ones who stupidly lead their people to ruin in the books. Still, I really would love to see how the Typhon Pact would deal with the sudden destruction of Romulus. Another issue is that we don’t see how Spock was dealing with the issue or how his use of Red Matter affected things. I like to think he saved countless billions of lives on the Romulan colonies but I think both the homeworld as well as Remus are out of luck. Bruce Maddox is also a creep, as mentioned, and I would have much preferred Doctor Jurati’s perspective on all this.

In conclusion, if you have watched Picard then you should read this book. If you haven’t watched Picard and are planning to then this is a great book to read beforehand. It’s a darker and grittier Trek but not because of the characters. They’re as idealistic and good as they’ve always been. It’s just this time it isn’t enough. I feel Una also cleared up a lot of mistakes from the 2009 movie and created a realistic (for a bid budget sci-fi universe) problem that is a marathon rather than a race to solve.

I could rate this a 4.5/5 for the Bruce Maddox parts and lack of Spock but I’m giving it the whole enchilada because it affected me that much.

Check Out Picard The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack

The post Review – Picard The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack appeared first on BEFOREWEGOBLOG.

A Conversation With Hannah De Giorgis – Author of Threads in Time

In your story Threads in Time, your lead character is named Lyndall Huxley. How did you go about creating her? Is she pulled from life or entirely from your imagination?

Lyndall materialized in my mind as quite a distinctly formed character from the beginning. For me, it was important to create a strong female protagonist (in quite a male-dominated time-travel genre) whose tale is, to a certain extent, a coming-of-age one. And then, as the story developed, her character grew and evolved with it. I would say she’s a hybrid – an amalgamation of imagination and real-life inspiration. After all, we write from what we know. She is named after a wonderful feminist character from a little-known nineteenth-century novel, The Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner, and her family name is a thinly-veiled(!) salute to Brave New World. Lyndall finds herself in an alien world, which leads her on a life-changing journey of many twists and turns.

Book Synopsis

Twenty-two-year-old Lyndall Huxley wakes to find herself thousands of years into the future. Something went wrong with the programme for which she volunteered – a programme that employs Einstein’s laws of relativity to send travellers forward in time. The ruins overrun by green woodland in which she wakes are a far cry from the urbanised world she left behind in the 2200’s. Lyndall embarks upon a journey that will leave her questioning her very identity. She must choose between the new life that beckons and the old life from which, even thousands of years later, she cannot escape. She will discover that the mission was never about sending people into the future. Much more is at stake.

What inspired you to write Threads in Time?

I was preoccupied with Einstein’s theories of relativity for a while. I wrote my master’s dissertation on how T.S. Eliot’s portrayal of time was influenced by the scientific movements of the period. As such, time – or its enigmatic nature – was on my mind. I found myself wondering: if it’s theoretically possible to shoot off into space at such a speed that time slows down relative to the time on earth, what if a program were developed based on that premise? What if something went wrong for one of the volunteers and thousands of years passed rather than a few hundred? How would that feel? What would this new future world look like? I found it intriguing to sketch out two future worlds: the nearer future where Lyndall is from – twenty-third century London, which is over-urbanized and overpopulated – and then the far off future into which she’s precipitated, thousands of years down the line, where any urban civilization seems to have completely regressed and the natural world has taken over again. It offered so much room to speculate, and such an unlimited scope for the imagination. The arc of the story came naturally from there.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I was very young. I loved escaping into stories when reading, but then I discovered that writing them offered a much richer sort of escapism – one that was cathartic too. I knew early on that I would always love creating these worlds to get lost in; and that I could perhaps even one day provide a similar sort of escape for others. As it turns out, my teenage self was right! That profound love for writing only grew.

What was the process for getting Threads in Time published?

A challenging one! The writing of it was only the beginning and that came more naturally. The re-drafting and preparing for publication was probably the most challenging. It doesn’t help that I’m a compulsive editor so recognising the point at which you can tip the balance and overedit was difficult.

What was the first book that made you cry?

The first book that I can remember making me cry was The Peppermint Pig. It’s a children’s book but ends (*spoiler alert!*) with the little-girl protagonist’s best friend – the pig – being sent to the butcher. I was inconsolable! I think I might’ve even rewritten a separate ending for myself…

Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?

For this trilogy, I think I’d like it to be a combination of the two. The first one, especially, could be a standalone but, simultaneously, narrative strands are spun that are calling to be drawn out and tied up. The second and third installments will better fit a trilogy arc, but I hope will be compelling enough, and structured well enough, to also stand alone should someone read just one. Obviously, readers will get much more out of the story if they read the whole trilogy (and hopefully will be hooked enough that they’ll be compelled to in any case!). After the trilogy is behind me, I have ideas for so many more novels that will be entirely separate.

What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?

I think it started with observing the power of delivering language in drama – whether that was a poignant line in a movie or reading poetry in class. I would get so frustrated in school when the most beautiful, emotive poems were read in such monotonous, bored tones. But, even then, I could recognize the power of the words. As I grew up, there were moments when, reading, I would stumble across a thought or an experience that I had imagined was particular to me, captured in the words of someone else but far more eloquently described than anything my teenage self could’ve expressed. It made me realize just how powerful language can be. It captures the human condition: it can be unifying and consoling on the one hand but, equally, on the other, it can also be devastating. Yet language comes in so many different forms and, when it comes to novels, there’s nothing more potent than the magic of being consumed by an enthralling story!

Visit Threads in Time on Goodreads

Hannah’s Website

Facebook

Instagram

About the Author – Hannah Di Girogis

Hannah was born and raised in the Cotswolds, England. After teaching English in Florence, Italy, for a time she moved to London, where she recently completed a Master’s in Modernist Literature at University College London. Prior to that, she studied English Literature at Birkbeck, University of London, where she graduated with first-class honours and won the John Hay Loban prize for the student who shows the most promise in literature. Threads in Time is her debut novel. She now lives in London with her husband. To sample more of her writing – her blog, poetry, and short stories – visit her website.

Purchase Threads in Time

The post A Conversation With Hannah De Giorgis – Author of Threads in Time appeared first on BEFOREWEGOBLOG.

#bookcook Harry Potter’s Pumpkin Juice

Harry Potter is such a wonderful tale and full of recipes that are fun to make. Especially in regards to pumpkin stuff.

This week’s fun recipe is for pumpkin juice. That kinda sounds gross. But, cmon. It is Harry Potter though, so it must be magical.

This week’s recipe is from favfamilyrecipes

Pumpkin Juice

The juice recipe serves 16

4 liters apple cider apple juice works fine too
1 15 oz pumpkin puree
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp. vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS

Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher and stir well.
Pour over ice in individual glasses.
Stir again before each serving.

The post #bookcook Harry Potter’s Pumpkin Juice appeared first on BEFOREWEGOBLOG.

REVIEW – A TIME OF COURAGE – JOHN GWYNNE

the journey ends

 

Well, the journey ends, but it was a wonderful trip. A few days ago, I received “A Time of Courage”, the final installment in Gywnne’s “Of Blood and Bone” saga, which actually wraps up the entire “The Faithful and the Fallen” cycle that began with “Malice”. My anticipation to read this book got the better of me, and since I had a few days away from regular work, I resolved to devour it in a few days worth of reading, which I managed to do, finishing this morning. Wow, is all I can say.

The climatic final battles of the Order of the Bright Star and their allies versus Asroth and his minions made for an incredible read. You will root and cheer for Riv, Bleda, Byrne, Keld, Drem, Cullen, Meical, and the rest, and trust me, they need it. There is plenty of tragedy and not everyone you hope will make it out alive does, is all I can say without being too spoilerish. And some of the loses will definitely bring a tear to your eye if you have fallen in love with many of this saga’s heroes, as I have. There’s also is a tale of the final days of one the long-dead Banished Land favorites and their family that will also have the reader reaching for their tissue box.

Gywnne is a clever, inventive writer who takes the classic fantasy trope of “Dark Lord” versus noble heroes, and throws in enough twists, betrayals, thrilling action scenes, and even some well-sprinkled romance so that you still worry of the outcome, and are glued to every page. I have thoroughly enjoyed everything I have read by Gwynne, and while it is bittersweet to leave the Banished Lands and their characters behind, I can’t wait to see what Gwynne has in store for us next!

Don’t miss out on reading “A Time of Courage”, it is an excellent novel and kudos to Gwynne for not disappointing with the conclusion to this epic series, no let-down here, it was well worth the wait!

Check Out A Time For Courage and the Full Series

The post REVIEW – A TIME OF COURAGE – JOHN GWYNNE appeared first on BEFOREWEGOBLOG.

Netflix’s Altered Carbon – Dark, Complicated and Beautifully Crafted

A dark noir binge-watch It well worth the time

 

Netflix has crafted a dark and enthralling tale of noir that combines science fiction and cyberpunk with a straightforward detective story. It is visually stunning and does great justice to the sourcebook. Better yet, the plot additions to the original story that make it fit for TV add to the richness of the story. I know many people won’t agree with me on this, but I like how the humanized Tak. They gave him a slightly bigger heart.  They also expounded on the cyberpunk themes; what it means to be human and how one holds on to their humanity when facing forever. Humanity basically becomes an ouroboros and is not so subtly hinted through the story.

 

Image courtesy of Netflix.

 

The Netflix version added more substance to some of the supporting characters that fleshed them out. Especially the role of Poe who plays a Hotel and was the most intriguing character on the show. The AI is played by Jimi Hendrix in the source material, but Poe is a much more fitting nod to the stories’ noir influences.  Instead of just going with a creepy over-enthusiastic AI, they gave him a soul and a shotgun. It is ironic because Poe is both the least human and most human character on the show.

 

Image courtesy of Netflix.

 

 

Side by Side comparison.

I can’t say much more about the story because it is a “who done it,” and I don’t want to give it away. However, if you are a fan of cyberpunk, binge-watch it. It is well worth the time.

 

Read the Book that Inspired the Show

 

The post Netflix’s Altered Carbon – Dark, Complicated and Beautifully Crafted appeared first on BEFOREWEGOBLOG.