Martha Wells's Blog, page 37
April 29, 2020
Post on Tordotcom
I've got a post on Tor.com, What Martha Wells is Reading Right Now: https://www.tor.com/2020/04/29/what-martha-wells-is-reading-right-now/
Though actually it's what I was reading a couple of weeks ago when I wrote it.
comments
Though actually it's what I was reading a couple of weeks ago when I wrote it.
comments
April 27, 2020
JoCo Cruise
They posted the short (3 minute) video recap of this year's JoCo cruise, and there's a bit of me in it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-ATTDz2Qko&feature=youtu.be
comments
comments
Monday Book Recs
(If you've been following my book rec and new book listing posts for a while, you may have noticed this already, but while most book lists emphasize books by popular straight white men, this one emphasizes everybody else. I include books by straight white men, but in about the same percentage that other book lists include everybody else. I also try to highlight books that are less well known.)
(All the book list links below are to Bookshop (Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support independent bookstores and give back to the book community), but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
(Buy your audiobooks from an independent store here: https://libro.fm/story)
* Short Story: <https://www.tor.com/2020/04/22/an-exp... Explorer's Cartography of Already Settled Lands by Fran Wilde
* The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
Born with a gift for music, Nannerl Mozart has just one wish--to be remembered forever. But even as she delights audiences with her masterful playing, she has little hope she'll ever become the acclaimed composer she longs to be. She is a young woman in 18th century Europe, and that means composing is forbidden to her. She will perform only until she reaches a marriageable age--her tyrannical father has made that much clear. And as Nannerl's hope grows dimmer with each passing year, the talents of her beloved younger brother, Wolfgang, only seem to shine brighter. His brilliance begins to eclipse her own, until one day a mysterious stranger from a magical land appears with an irresistible offer. He has the power to make her wish come true--but his help may cost her everything.
* Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst
Life, death, and rebirth--in Becar, who you are in this life will determine your next life. Yet there is hope--you can change your destiny with the choices you make. But for the darkest individuals, there is no redemption: you come back as a kehok, a monster, and are doomed to be a kehok for the rest of time. Unless you can win the Races. After a celebrated career as an elite kehok rider, Tamra became a professional trainer. Then a tragic accident shattered her confidence, damaged her reputation, and left her nearly broke. Now, she needs the prize money to prevent the local temple from taking her daughter away from her, and that means she must once again find a winning kehok . . . and a rider willing to trust her.
* The Silence of Bones by June Hur
1800, Joseon (Korea). Homesick and orphaned sixteen-year-old Seol is living out the ancient curse: "May you live in interesting times." Indentured to the police bureau, she's been tasked with assisting a well-respected young inspector with the investigation into the politically charged murder of a noblewoman. As they delve deeper into the dead woman's secrets, Seol forms an unlikely bond of friendship with the inspector. But her loyalty is tested when he becomes the prime suspect, and Seol may be the only one capable of discovering what truly happened on the night of the murder.
* Preorder Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her previous life, family memories, or her childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at a local university seems like the perfect escape--until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus. A flying demon feeding on human energies. A secret society of so called "Legendborn" students that hunt the creatures down. And a teenage mage who calls himself a "Merlin" and who attempts--and fails--to wipe Bree's memory of everything she saw.
* Preorder Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar
The daughter of a star and a mortal, Sheetal is used to keeping secrets. Pretending to be "normal." But when an accidental flare of her starfire puts her human father in the hospital, Sheetal needs a full star's help to heal him. A star like her mother, who returned to the sky long ago. Sheetal's quest to save her father will take her to a celestial court of shining wonders and dark shadows, where she must take the stage as her family's champion in a competition to decide the next ruling house of the heavens--and win, or risk never returning to Earth at all.
* Creatures of Charm and Hunger by Molly Tanzer
In the waning days of World War II, with Allied victory all but certain, desperate Nazi diabolists search for a demonic superweapon to turn the tide. A secluded castle somewhere in the south of Germany serves as a laboratory for experiments conducted upon human prisoners, experiments as vile as they are deadly. Across the English Channel, tucked into the sleepy Cumbrian countryside, lies the Library, the repository of occult knowledge for the Société des Éclairées, an international organization of diabolists. There, best friends Jane Blackwood and Miriam Cantor, tutored by the Société's Librarian--and Jane's mother--Nancy, prepare to undergo the Test that will determine their future as diabolists.
* Driving the Deep by Suzanne Palmer
The Shipmakers have convinced Fergus to finally deal with unfinished business he's been avoiding for half his life: Earth. Fergus hasn't been back to his homeworld since he was fifteen, when he stole his cousin's motorcycle and ran away. It was his first theft, and nothing he's stolen since has been anywhere near so easy, or weighed so heavily on his conscience. Many years and many jobs later, Fergus reluctantly agrees that now is the time to return the motorcycle and face his family. Unfortunately, someone has gotten to the motorcycle before him. And before he can figure out where it went and why the storage unit that held it is now filled with priceless, stolen art, the Shipyard is attacked. His friends are missing, presumably kidnapped. Accompanied by an untrustworthy detective who suspects Fergus is the art thief and the sole friend who escaped the attack, Fergus must follow the tenuous clues to locate and save his friends. The trail leads them to Enceladus, where Fergus plans to go undercover to the research stations that lie beneath the moon's thick ice sheet deep in a dark, oppressive ocean.
* Dragon Dancer By Joyce Chng and illustrated by Jeremy Pailler
It is the eve of Chinese New Year. Lanterns are hung in the shopping malls and Yao is preparing to wake the ancient sky dragon, Shen Long, from his year-long sleep. From the moment Shen Long opens his great amber eyes and unfurls his silver-blue tail, Yao will be propelled on a magical journey to battle the bad luck of the previous year and usher in the good. Will he succeed? Will his grandfather watch over him and protect him from harm?
* Preorder Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
D. W. Griffith is a sorcerer, and The Birth of a Nation is a spell that drew upon the darkest thoughts and wishes from the heart of America. Now, rising in power and prominence, the Klan has a plot to unleash Hell on Earth. Luckily, Maryse Boudreaux has a magic sword and a head full of tales. When she's not running bootleg whiskey through Prohibition Georgia, she's fighting monsters she calls Ku Kluxes. She's damn good at it, too. But to confront this ongoing evil, she must journey between worlds to face otherworldly nightmares--and her own demons. Together with a foul-mouthed sharpshooter and a Harlem Hellfighter, Maryse sets out to save a world from the hate that would consume it.
comments
(All the book list links below are to Bookshop (Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support independent bookstores and give back to the book community), but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
(Buy your audiobooks from an independent store here: https://libro.fm/story)
* Short Story: <https://www.tor.com/2020/04/22/an-exp... Explorer's Cartography of Already Settled Lands by Fran Wilde
* The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
Born with a gift for music, Nannerl Mozart has just one wish--to be remembered forever. But even as she delights audiences with her masterful playing, she has little hope she'll ever become the acclaimed composer she longs to be. She is a young woman in 18th century Europe, and that means composing is forbidden to her. She will perform only until she reaches a marriageable age--her tyrannical father has made that much clear. And as Nannerl's hope grows dimmer with each passing year, the talents of her beloved younger brother, Wolfgang, only seem to shine brighter. His brilliance begins to eclipse her own, until one day a mysterious stranger from a magical land appears with an irresistible offer. He has the power to make her wish come true--but his help may cost her everything.
* Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst
Life, death, and rebirth--in Becar, who you are in this life will determine your next life. Yet there is hope--you can change your destiny with the choices you make. But for the darkest individuals, there is no redemption: you come back as a kehok, a monster, and are doomed to be a kehok for the rest of time. Unless you can win the Races. After a celebrated career as an elite kehok rider, Tamra became a professional trainer. Then a tragic accident shattered her confidence, damaged her reputation, and left her nearly broke. Now, she needs the prize money to prevent the local temple from taking her daughter away from her, and that means she must once again find a winning kehok . . . and a rider willing to trust her.
* The Silence of Bones by June Hur
1800, Joseon (Korea). Homesick and orphaned sixteen-year-old Seol is living out the ancient curse: "May you live in interesting times." Indentured to the police bureau, she's been tasked with assisting a well-respected young inspector with the investigation into the politically charged murder of a noblewoman. As they delve deeper into the dead woman's secrets, Seol forms an unlikely bond of friendship with the inspector. But her loyalty is tested when he becomes the prime suspect, and Seol may be the only one capable of discovering what truly happened on the night of the murder.
* Preorder Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her previous life, family memories, or her childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at a local university seems like the perfect escape--until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus. A flying demon feeding on human energies. A secret society of so called "Legendborn" students that hunt the creatures down. And a teenage mage who calls himself a "Merlin" and who attempts--and fails--to wipe Bree's memory of everything she saw.
* Preorder Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar
The daughter of a star and a mortal, Sheetal is used to keeping secrets. Pretending to be "normal." But when an accidental flare of her starfire puts her human father in the hospital, Sheetal needs a full star's help to heal him. A star like her mother, who returned to the sky long ago. Sheetal's quest to save her father will take her to a celestial court of shining wonders and dark shadows, where she must take the stage as her family's champion in a competition to decide the next ruling house of the heavens--and win, or risk never returning to Earth at all.
* Creatures of Charm and Hunger by Molly Tanzer
In the waning days of World War II, with Allied victory all but certain, desperate Nazi diabolists search for a demonic superweapon to turn the tide. A secluded castle somewhere in the south of Germany serves as a laboratory for experiments conducted upon human prisoners, experiments as vile as they are deadly. Across the English Channel, tucked into the sleepy Cumbrian countryside, lies the Library, the repository of occult knowledge for the Société des Éclairées, an international organization of diabolists. There, best friends Jane Blackwood and Miriam Cantor, tutored by the Société's Librarian--and Jane's mother--Nancy, prepare to undergo the Test that will determine their future as diabolists.
* Driving the Deep by Suzanne Palmer
The Shipmakers have convinced Fergus to finally deal with unfinished business he's been avoiding for half his life: Earth. Fergus hasn't been back to his homeworld since he was fifteen, when he stole his cousin's motorcycle and ran away. It was his first theft, and nothing he's stolen since has been anywhere near so easy, or weighed so heavily on his conscience. Many years and many jobs later, Fergus reluctantly agrees that now is the time to return the motorcycle and face his family. Unfortunately, someone has gotten to the motorcycle before him. And before he can figure out where it went and why the storage unit that held it is now filled with priceless, stolen art, the Shipyard is attacked. His friends are missing, presumably kidnapped. Accompanied by an untrustworthy detective who suspects Fergus is the art thief and the sole friend who escaped the attack, Fergus must follow the tenuous clues to locate and save his friends. The trail leads them to Enceladus, where Fergus plans to go undercover to the research stations that lie beneath the moon's thick ice sheet deep in a dark, oppressive ocean.
* Dragon Dancer By Joyce Chng and illustrated by Jeremy Pailler
It is the eve of Chinese New Year. Lanterns are hung in the shopping malls and Yao is preparing to wake the ancient sky dragon, Shen Long, from his year-long sleep. From the moment Shen Long opens his great amber eyes and unfurls his silver-blue tail, Yao will be propelled on a magical journey to battle the bad luck of the previous year and usher in the good. Will he succeed? Will his grandfather watch over him and protect him from harm?
* Preorder Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
D. W. Griffith is a sorcerer, and The Birth of a Nation is a spell that drew upon the darkest thoughts and wishes from the heart of America. Now, rising in power and prominence, the Klan has a plot to unleash Hell on Earth. Luckily, Maryse Boudreaux has a magic sword and a head full of tales. When she's not running bootleg whiskey through Prohibition Georgia, she's fighting monsters she calls Ku Kluxes. She's damn good at it, too. But to confront this ongoing evil, she must journey between worlds to face otherworldly nightmares--and her own demons. Together with a foul-mouthed sharpshooter and a Harlem Hellfighter, Maryse sets out to save a world from the hate that would consume it.
comments
April 25, 2020
Murderbot Events So Far
This is a preliminary schedule and some things might change, though hopefully not, and some links aren't up yet.
* Until May 8, you can order a signed personalized copy of Network Effect from https://www.murderbooks.com/event/martha-wells Murder By the Book in Houston, TX.
* On Tuesday, May 5, at 6pm CST In conversation with John Scalzi, author of The Last Emperox, at Tubby & Coo's New Orleans Bookstore. It'll be on FaceBook and YouTube live. You can order our books through the store's Bookshop link: https://bookshop.org/shop/tubbyandcoos
May 5th, 8 PM Eastern: Online reading with the New York Review of Science Fiction
* May 6th: AMA on Reddit r/fantasy
May 7th, 6 PM Eastern: In conversation with N.K. Jemisin, author of The City We Became, on Crowdcast https://www.crowdcast.io/e/murderbot/register
May 12th, 7 PM Central: In online conversation with Ann Leckie, author of the Imperial Radch trilogy, at Left Bank Books
* On May 13, at 7:00 PST I have a reading on Mysterious Galaxy's Facebook Live. You can order signed books here: https://www.mystgalaxy.com/Wells-05-2020
comments
* Until May 8, you can order a signed personalized copy of Network Effect from https://www.murderbooks.com/event/martha-wells Murder By the Book in Houston, TX.
* On Tuesday, May 5, at 6pm CST In conversation with John Scalzi, author of The Last Emperox, at Tubby & Coo's New Orleans Bookstore. It'll be on FaceBook and YouTube live. You can order our books through the store's Bookshop link: https://bookshop.org/shop/tubbyandcoos
May 5th, 8 PM Eastern: Online reading with the New York Review of Science Fiction
* May 6th: AMA on Reddit r/fantasy
May 7th, 6 PM Eastern: In conversation with N.K. Jemisin, author of The City We Became, on Crowdcast https://www.crowdcast.io/e/murderbot/register
May 12th, 7 PM Central: In online conversation with Ann Leckie, author of the Imperial Radch trilogy, at Left Bank Books
* On May 13, at 7:00 PST I have a reading on Mysterious Galaxy's Facebook Live. You can order signed books here: https://www.mystgalaxy.com/Wells-05-2020
comments
April 24, 2020
Murderbot and ART interview
This is the transcript of Murderbot and ART's instagram interview yesterday:
https://www.tor.com/2020/04/24/feelings-redacted-what-happened-when-murderbot-and-art-talked-to-instagram/
comments
https://www.tor.com/2020/04/24/feelings-redacted-what-happened-when-murderbot-and-art-talked-to-instagram/
comments
April 22, 2020
Things that are happening
* On Tuesday, May 5, at 6pm CST I'll be doing an online panel on space opera with John Scalzi via Tubby & Coo's New Orleans Bookstore. It'll be on FaceBook and YouTube live. You can order our books through the store's Bookshop link: https://bookshop.org/shop/tubbyandcoos
Tubby & Coo’s is a local queer-owned, progressive, nerdy, new and used book shop and tabletop gaming store in Mid-City New Orleans. The shop is named after the owner’s grandparents, Tubby & Coo, who grew up in the same neighborhood where the shop is located.
* You can also order signed copies of Network Effect to be shipped to you via https://www.murderbooks.com/event/martha-wells Murder By the Book in Houston, TX.
* Today 4/22 Murderbot & ART have agreed to answer your questions! Head over to our instagram (![[profile]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1491408111i/22407843.png)
tordotcompub) where you can Ask Murderbot (& ART) Anything:
https://instagram.com/tordotcompub/
comments
Tubby & Coo’s is a local queer-owned, progressive, nerdy, new and used book shop and tabletop gaming store in Mid-City New Orleans. The shop is named after the owner’s grandparents, Tubby & Coo, who grew up in the same neighborhood where the shop is located.
* You can also order signed copies of Network Effect to be shipped to you via https://www.murderbooks.com/event/martha-wells Murder By the Book in Houston, TX.
* Today 4/22 Murderbot & ART have agreed to answer your questions! Head over to our instagram (
tordotcompub) where you can Ask Murderbot (& ART) Anything:https://instagram.com/tordotcompub/
comments
April 21, 2020
Behold, the extended Legends of Tomorrow trailer: https:/...
Behold, the extended Legends of Tomorrow trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbCh5g6sc0A&feature=emb_logo
comments
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Murderbot Ebook Giveaway Day 2
Today the giveaway is for the ebook of Artificial Condition. You can see all the details at this link: https://ebookclub.tor.com/indexfb.aspx
This is a giveaway by the Tor.com Publishing ebook club, and only they can answer your questions.
***
Also I am on the Coode Street Podcast, talking about books: https://jonathanstrahan.podbean.com/e/episode-391-ten-minutes-with-martha-wells/
***
I have to go back to the RA clinic today to get my bloodwork done because they couldn't find my veins yesterday. So that will not be fun.
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This is a giveaway by the Tor.com Publishing ebook club, and only they can answer your questions.
***
Also I am on the Coode Street Podcast, talking about books: https://jonathanstrahan.podbean.com/e/episode-391-ten-minutes-with-martha-wells/
***
I have to go back to the RA clinic today to get my bloodwork done because they couldn't find my veins yesterday. So that will not be fun.
comments
April 20, 2020
Murderbot Ebook Giveaway
https://www.tor.com/2020/04/20/download-all-4-murderbot-books-for-free-before-network-effect-arrives/
Murderbot’s first novel arrives on May 5th.
But before that happens, Tor.com Publishing and the Tor.com Ebook Club are giving away ALL FOUR PREVIOUS AND OFTEN TIMES AWARD-WINNING NOVELLAS!
This is a giveaway by the publisher, Tor.com, and they set all the rules and only they can answer your questions. Check for more information at this link: https://www.tor.com/2020/04/20/download-all-4-murderbot-books-for-free-before-network-effect-arrives/
comments
Murderbot’s first novel arrives on May 5th.
But before that happens, Tor.com Publishing and the Tor.com Ebook Club are giving away ALL FOUR PREVIOUS AND OFTEN TIMES AWARD-WINNING NOVELLAS!
This is a giveaway by the publisher, Tor.com, and they set all the rules and only they can answer your questions. Check for more information at this link: https://www.tor.com/2020/04/20/download-all-4-murderbot-books-for-free-before-network-effect-arrives/
comments
April 17, 2020
Book Rec List for Friday
(If you've been following my book rec and new book listing posts for a while, you may have noticed this already, but while most book lists emphasize books by popular straight white men, this one emphasizes everybody else. I include books by straight white men, but in about the same percentage that other book lists include everybody else. I also try to highlight books that are less well known.)
(All the book list links below are to Bookshop (Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support independent bookstores and give back to the book community), but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
(Buy your audiobooks from an independent store here: https://libro.fm/story)
Short Story: A Guide For Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad
* Goldilocks by Laura Lam
Despite increasing restrictions on the freedoms of women on Earth, Valerie Black is spearheading the first all-female mission to a planet in the Goldilocks Zone, where conditions are just right for human habitation. It's humanity's last hope for survival, and Naomi, Valerie's surrogate daughter and the ship's botanist, has been waiting her whole life for an opportunity like this - to step out of Valerie's shadow and really make a difference. But when things start going wrong on the ship, Naomi begins to suspect that someone on board is concealing a terrible secret - and realizes time for life on Earth may be running out faster than they feared . . .
* Preorder Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man's mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain.
* The Stone Weta by Octavia Cade
With governments denying climate science, scientists from affected countries and organisations are forced to traffic data to ensure the preservation of research that could in turn preserve the world. From Antarctica, to the Chihuahuan Desert, to the International Space Station, a fragile network forms. A web of knowledge. Secret. But not secret enough. When the cold war of data preservation turns bloody - and then explosive - an underground network of scientists, all working in isolation, must decide how much they are willing to risk for the truth. For themselves, their colleagues, and their future.
* Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu
This genre-bending novel is set on Earth in the wake of a second civil war...not between two factions in one nation, but two factions in one solar system: Mars and Earth. In an attempt to repair increasing tensions, the colonies of Mars send a group of young people to live on Earth to help reconcile humanity. But the group finds itself with no real home, no friends, and fractured allegiances as they struggle to find a sense of community and identity, trapped between two worlds.
* Preorder: A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
The first in a gripping fantasy duology inspired by West African folklore in which a grieving crown princess and a desperate refugee find themselves on a collision course to murder each other despite their growing attraction--from debut author Roseanne A. Brown. Perfect for fans of Tomi Adeyemi, Renée Ahdieh, and Sabaa Tahir. For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in the prosperous desert city of Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts his younger sister, Nadia, as payment to enter the city, Malik strikes a fatal deal--kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia's freedom.
* Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
One of the most highly praised novels of the year, the debut from an astonishing young writer, Freshwater tells the story of Ada, an unusual child who is a source of deep concern to her southern Nigerian family. Young Ada is troubled, prone to violent fits. Born "with one foot on the other side," she begins to develop separate selves within her as she grows into adulthood. And when she travels to America for college, a traumatic event on campus crystallizes the selves into something powerful and potentially dangerous, making Ada fade into the background of her own mind as these alters--now protective, now hedonistic--move into control. Written with stylistic brilliance and based in the author's realities, Freshwater dazzles with ferocious energy and serpentine grace.
* Preorder The Burning God by R.F. Kuang
After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead. Despite her losses, Rin hasn't given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much--the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges--and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation.
* Critical Point by S.L. Huang
Math-genius mercenary Cas Russell has stopped a shadow organization from brainwashing the world and discovered her past was deliberately erased and her superhuman abilities deliberately created. And that's just the start: when a demolitions expert targets Cas and her friends, and the hidden conspiracy behind Cas's past starts to reappear, the past, present, and future collide in a race to save one of her dearest friends.
***
Network Effect is coming out on May 5, in about 17 days, something I've been waiting for since last March. I loved what Liz Bourke said about it here:
https://www.tor.com/2020/04/14/sleeps-with-monsters-what-to-read-when-the-whole-worlds-falling-apart-part-4/
I suspect that there are very many people waiting with bated breath for Martha Wells’ Network Effect, the first full-length Murderbot novel. I may have read my ARC more than five times since it arrived, so I can assure you it’s well worth the wait. Murderbot is... slowly, reluctantly... adjusting to having a human team that cares about its wellbeing. It is prickly and resentful and awkward at social interactions, as always. Then it finds itself in the kind of trouble where it’s been dragged aboard the corpse of an old friend and still has way too many squishy humans to protect, and it’s having feelings all over the place. And things just keep getting weirder and more dangerous.
comments
(All the book list links below are to Bookshop (Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support independent bookstores and give back to the book community), but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
(Buy your audiobooks from an independent store here: https://libro.fm/story)
Short Story: A Guide For Working Breeds by Vina Jie-Min Prasad
* Goldilocks by Laura Lam
Despite increasing restrictions on the freedoms of women on Earth, Valerie Black is spearheading the first all-female mission to a planet in the Goldilocks Zone, where conditions are just right for human habitation. It's humanity's last hope for survival, and Naomi, Valerie's surrogate daughter and the ship's botanist, has been waiting her whole life for an opportunity like this - to step out of Valerie's shadow and really make a difference. But when things start going wrong on the ship, Naomi begins to suspect that someone on board is concealing a terrible secret - and realizes time for life on Earth may be running out faster than they feared . . .
* Preorder Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man's mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain.
* The Stone Weta by Octavia Cade
With governments denying climate science, scientists from affected countries and organisations are forced to traffic data to ensure the preservation of research that could in turn preserve the world. From Antarctica, to the Chihuahuan Desert, to the International Space Station, a fragile network forms. A web of knowledge. Secret. But not secret enough. When the cold war of data preservation turns bloody - and then explosive - an underground network of scientists, all working in isolation, must decide how much they are willing to risk for the truth. For themselves, their colleagues, and their future.
* Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu
This genre-bending novel is set on Earth in the wake of a second civil war...not between two factions in one nation, but two factions in one solar system: Mars and Earth. In an attempt to repair increasing tensions, the colonies of Mars send a group of young people to live on Earth to help reconcile humanity. But the group finds itself with no real home, no friends, and fractured allegiances as they struggle to find a sense of community and identity, trapped between two worlds.
* Preorder: A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
The first in a gripping fantasy duology inspired by West African folklore in which a grieving crown princess and a desperate refugee find themselves on a collision course to murder each other despite their growing attraction--from debut author Roseanne A. Brown. Perfect for fans of Tomi Adeyemi, Renée Ahdieh, and Sabaa Tahir. For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in the prosperous desert city of Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts his younger sister, Nadia, as payment to enter the city, Malik strikes a fatal deal--kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia's freedom.
* Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
One of the most highly praised novels of the year, the debut from an astonishing young writer, Freshwater tells the story of Ada, an unusual child who is a source of deep concern to her southern Nigerian family. Young Ada is troubled, prone to violent fits. Born "with one foot on the other side," she begins to develop separate selves within her as she grows into adulthood. And when she travels to America for college, a traumatic event on campus crystallizes the selves into something powerful and potentially dangerous, making Ada fade into the background of her own mind as these alters--now protective, now hedonistic--move into control. Written with stylistic brilliance and based in the author's realities, Freshwater dazzles with ferocious energy and serpentine grace.
* Preorder The Burning God by R.F. Kuang
After saving her nation of Nikan from foreign invaders and battling the evil Empress Su Daji in a brutal civil war, Fang Runin was betrayed by allies and left for dead. Despite her losses, Rin hasn't given up on those for whom she has sacrificed so much--the people of the southern provinces and especially Tikany, the village that is her home. Returning to her roots, Rin meets difficult challenges--and unexpected opportunities. While her new allies in the Southern Coalition leadership are sly and untrustworthy, Rin quickly realizes that the real power in Nikan lies with the millions of common people who thirst for vengeance and revere her as a goddess of salvation.
* Critical Point by S.L. Huang
Math-genius mercenary Cas Russell has stopped a shadow organization from brainwashing the world and discovered her past was deliberately erased and her superhuman abilities deliberately created. And that's just the start: when a demolitions expert targets Cas and her friends, and the hidden conspiracy behind Cas's past starts to reappear, the past, present, and future collide in a race to save one of her dearest friends.
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Network Effect is coming out on May 5, in about 17 days, something I've been waiting for since last March. I loved what Liz Bourke said about it here:
https://www.tor.com/2020/04/14/sleeps-with-monsters-what-to-read-when-the-whole-worlds-falling-apart-part-4/
I suspect that there are very many people waiting with bated breath for Martha Wells’ Network Effect, the first full-length Murderbot novel. I may have read my ARC more than five times since it arrived, so I can assure you it’s well worth the wait. Murderbot is... slowly, reluctantly... adjusting to having a human team that cares about its wellbeing. It is prickly and resentful and awkward at social interactions, as always. Then it finds itself in the kind of trouble where it’s been dragged aboard the corpse of an old friend and still has way too many squishy humans to protect, and it’s having feelings all over the place. And things just keep getting weirder and more dangerous.
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