Ahoy there me mateys! I picked this sci-fi novella up from a local library as soon as I saw it was published by Tor. I adore their novella line. Five out of the six novellas nominated for the Hugo this year were published by them. I have read four of them so far and highly enjoyed them all.

This particular story was published in 2017. I have heard of Dave Hutchinson and have his work on me ports for plunder list but have not read any of it yet. I have to admit that the author’s name didn’t even register when I saw this. I saw the sci-fi sticker and the Tor logo and snatched it up.

The premise is that a group of colonists, led by scientist Isabel Potter, fled Earth due to its restrictions on genetic engineering. The problem was that they stole a ship with colonists on it when they left. Potter and the colonists’ descendants have been trying to eke a life outside of Earth’s influence for generations. Duke Faraday, a lawyer, has been drawn into the conflict. Why is Earth still hunting Potter and her gang? Will they ever give up? And what is Duke going to do about it?

It was a quick, fun read and I devoured it. I absolutely loved the whole story, the set-up, the conflict, the ending, the writing style, the plot, and Duke himself. A fabulous novella that ye should read if ye can. I will certainly be picking up more work by Dave Hutchinson. Arrr!

Side note: For lists of the 2015/2016 novellas released by Tor click below. I kinda want to read them all! If any of me crew knows of a definitive list of novellas released after that please let me know! Me search was fruitless.

Tor.com Publishing 2015/2016 Novella Lineup

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Ahoy there me mateys! I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .

This was one of those times where the stars aligned and the read was the perfect fit for me mood. I read it in one sitting. It was entertaining, engrossing, and a bit violent (Arrr!!). I even refused to get shut-eye and instead stayed up into the wee hours of the morn turning pages because I just had to know how it ended.

The story follows Edrin Walker, a magician, who has been on the run for over 10 years. He left his hometown in order to keep his two friends and their daughter safe. The price - his memories of the reason why. Talk about a fun set-up!

His time on the run is brought to a sudden halt when his friend Lynas is murdered. Edrin feels his death through the secret mind-link that they share. He is so far away that there is scant information on the who and why of the murder. The how however was all too clear. Edrin is determined to avenge his friend no matter what the consequences. He just has to figure out who killed him first.

Edrin is infamous, distrusted, and a rascal. I absolutely loved him. I adored how loyal he is to his friends. I enjoyed the magic in the world and especially how Edrin uses it. I thought it was fantastic that Edrin had an intense phobia that he struggled to overcome. I loved that daemon cats are out to kill him. I frickin' loved his dagger - seriously it is awesome.

This is seemingly a standalone but I wouldn't mind having other novels written in this world. Pick this one up and hopefully enjoy it as much as I did.

So lastly . . .
Thank you Angry Robot!

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This was so boring and confusing. What happened to the fun that the first book promised? Abandon ship!

Ahoy there me mateys! I received this children's nonfiction biography in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .

Anne with an E is one of me favourite characters of all time. I have reread the stories about Anne Shirley often. L.M. Montgomery was featured in Broadside No. 18. I even made the ma (hi ma!) take me to PEI as a wee girl so I could visit this beloved island in person. So when I saw this title on NetGalley I jumped at the chance to read it and luckily got a copy.

At first I found this hard to get into. It was rather slow and had a curiously odd writing tone that is difficult to explain. As I got used to it, I truly was fascinated by Maud's life. It was altogether a bleak one at times. Her relationship with her grandparents, step-mother, and husband were extremely disheartening to read about. Yet many of the circumstances in Maud's upbringing were used as fodder for her writing. Maud and her husband also suffered from mental illness. Ye also get an interesting look into the treatment of women in general, women as teachers, and women as professional writers.

Maud was truly an unique and fascinating woman. She was prolific, intelligent, and endearing. I was very happy to get a more in-depth understanding of her life, her stories, and her legacy. I do recommend this read for all folk who love this author's work.

So lastly . . .
Thank you Candlewick Press!

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Ahoy there me mateys! I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .

This book was a bit of a stretch for me given that it is more hard sci-fi and physics is not me friend. At all. But I have always heard wonderful things about this author and the premise was too awesome not to give it a shot. And I be very glad I did.

So basically this story is told from the perspective of Sunday Ahzmundin. She is a human crew member aboard a ship named the Eriophora which is on the mission to create wormhole gates across the universe. The crew expected their task to end and to be called back to rejoin the rest of humanity. Except they are still onboard over 60 million years later. So what is really going on?

AI runs this ship and at the heart of the story is the relationship between Sunday and the AI who they call Chimp. Ye see the crew is only taken out of stasis when the AI thinks they are necessary to the mission. This usually is a handful of days at a time every 10,000 years or so. And of course there is a rotation so only a small handful of anywhere from 1 to 15 get thawed out at a time. Some of the humans want to revolt against the AI and the mission given the circumstances. Should Sunday join them? And if so how can a hostile takeover succeed under the conditions imposed by Chimp?

I absolutely adored this (longer) novella. I thought the premise, writing, characters, and ship were awesome. Sunday's inner conflict was fascinating as was her reasons behind the choices she makes. I gobbled this up and was completely engrossed. The only flaw was that the ending happened and I just don't get it. Despite multiple readings. Those couple pages confused the heck out of me. But I thought that perhaps I just missed some crucial point. Well perhaps I did.

Side note: Claudia @ goodreads' review (which is excellent) did explain just a wee bit. As she says:

"First of all, this novella is not meant to be read on its own. Could be regarded as a standalone, but you’ll feel like something is missing. And that’s because it’s part of a series of stories, entitled the Sunflowercycle, which includes three more short ones (so far).*

Publication order is: The Island (2009) - Winner of Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 2010, Hotshot (2014), Giants (2014) and The Freeze-Frame Revolution (June 2018).

Now, after reading all, my advice is they are to be read in this order: Hotshot, The Freeze-Frame Revolution, The Island, Giants. It will not answer all your questions, but it will bring some light into this universe and its perpetual travelers . . .

* all three available on the author’[s] site: http://www.rifters.com/real/shorts.htm"

So while the crazy ending hurt me brain and made me feel like I was missing something, I loved the story and circumstances enough to go back and read the other stories. I even think I will follow Claudia's readin' order. So seriously even if physics intimidates yer noggin', do give this story a chance. I certainly don't regret a thing!

So lastly . . .
Thank you Tachyon Publications!

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Ahoy there me mateys! I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here are me honest musings . . .

labyrinth lost (Zoraida Cordova)

Title: labyrinth lost

Author: Zoraida Cordova

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: currently September 6, 2016

ISBN: 9781492620945

Source: NetGalley

This novel was just plain magical and engaging. The author mixes Latin American religions and cultures, Mexican holidays, Afro-Caribbean religion, and other things. I have to admit my knowledge of Latino and Hispanic culture is woefully low. What I do know tends to be about the Incas, Mayans, and early Central and South American culture. And very little mind you. So this novel with its lush imagery and foray into unknown cultures was mesmerizing. I love learning about new ports, places and people.

The main focus is on Alex, a girl born into a magical family who wants nothing more than to be ordinary, go to school, and live a life of her own choosing. She has long struggled to exclude magic from her life. So of course when her attempts to hide her burgeoning powers fail, she has to find some other way of ridding herself of this burden that is threatening to ruin all of her plans.

Alex is a wonderful, complicated, intelligent, and loving character. Watching her coming to terms with both her place in her family and with the larger world as a whole was a gratifying journey. Speaking of family, every family has its problems, but I adored the close knit community that Alex has. Her mother, sisters, uncles, aunts, etc. all play a role in this novel. I like that Alex literally cannot win working alone. In addition to her family, she also has an awesome friend named Rishi. I adored Rishi’s part in this book and how the relationship develops. Add in a young dude named Nova and you have a quite a mix of personalities and conflict.

Also the magic was wonderful. There is a family book of magical cantos. There are apparitions, spirits, fairies, avianas, and lots of creepy creatures like maloscuros. Add in an in-between world and a creature trying to take over the world. Awesome.

Now this book could be a stand-alone but I am hoping there are more novels that tell the further adventures of the family. I would certainly read the next one.

So lastly . . .

Thank you Sourcebooks Fire!

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Ahoy there me mateys! This be the second read in me April BookBum Club Challenge! This read is long overdue. Ye see it all stems from a post I read from me matey Jackie @ deathbysundoku back in October 2017. She be on the Great Newbery quest wherein she be reading all Newbery medal winners by January 2022 when the 100th Newbery Award happens! Worthy goal indeed. I meself had embarked on this journey many years ago before adverse winds and scads of other adventures sent me off course. I had managed 24 of them at last count.

So this be number 25. Arrrr! As always I love me sea yarns. This one is short but sweet. It is the story of Maftu who grows up on an island. A childhood mishap caused him (rightly) to be afraid of the sea. Due to the fact that the sea supports the livelihood of the tribe, Maftu is known as a coward. The day comes where he resolves to face his fears. So he steals a canoe and takes off with his trusty dog companion to sail on the sea only to be thrust into an even bigger adventure. Can he face his fears, learn to accept himself, and survive long enough to make it back home?

As me matey Jackie says, “Yes, this 1940 Newbery Award winner certainly has some representation issues. Yes, Call It Courage does play on all the noble-savage action-adventure boy serial tropes, such as those in the Tarzan serials. Yes, it portrays sexism, bullying, and submitting to peer pressure in a positive light. Yes, it does fall into a bit of a predictable storytelling mode where our protagonist magically conquers everything.”

That said, I also very much enjoyed this tale when cultural context is taken into account. Ye cheer on Maftu in his journey and come to respect his resourcefulness, hard work, and fortitude. From the modern perspective, it is interesting to note that Maftu would not have survived his ordeal if he hadn’t mastered the “women’s work” that is scorned by the men of the tribe.

The author was well known for his travels to the South Seas and the stories he brought back. The tale of Maftu was one such tale that was still told around the fires of the Polynesian islands. One of the highlights of the book were the author’s own illustrations. He became known for this artwork and illustrated over 40 books and magazines. His pictures of Maftu adventures and island life were wonderful.

I do think all readers could find something to enjoy in this tale. I highly encourage all the crew to read Jackie’s review because it is basically perfect in its representation of the book and its impact.
Much thanks to the BookBum Club for giving me the incentive to finally read this delightful “short and sweet” book (128 pgs).

Ahoy there me mateys! These novellas keep getting better and better. This one might be me favourite. Though I can't say with any true certainty because I adore them all so far. In this one a group of kids from Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children go on a quest to save a girl named Rini from being erased out of existence. They travel through several different doors but the majority of the time is spent in a world that one of me crew called "Candyland." I was once again enchanted by the author's writing style and ability to take me to amazing magical places. I seriously have spent much time trying to figure out where me door would take me. It would have to have the sea of course. I don't have the wonderful imagination of Seanan McGuire but I wish she could tell me where me door is. I recommend this with all me heart. Goodreads claims that there be two more novellas scheduled so far. I will be waiting for them. Do read them if ye haven't. They be wonderful! Arrr!

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Ahoy there me mateys!  This be me read for the June BookBum Club Challenge where the theme be "movie night - a book adapted into a movie."  Well this be a tv series on Fox which hasn't happened yet.   But I claim it counts because the trailer is out.  Arrr!

The very basic premise is that the government does research on 12 death row inmates with a vampire virus.  They are looking to maximize the healing properties of a particular virus and to weaponize the vampire traits it gives the subjects.  Of course everything goes wrong, civilization breaks down, and vampires overrun the country.  The only hope be one small child named Amy.

Now I read this as an audio book.  A 36 hour and 52 minute audio book.  Even at 1.8 speed that be a lot of time.  The paper edition is 766 pages.  Apparently the first mate binged all three of the audio books in a row.  Sheesh!  He is the one who told me about the tv show and the bad casting choice of Mark-Paul Gosselaar as the main FBI agent.  I can't fathom it.

Anyways, this ended up being an ambivalent read for me.  I actually thought the first half of the story was brilliant.  I loved the FBI agent, how the vampirism was introduced, the secondary characters, and the opening plot.  It was extraordinarily written with a flow to the narrative that made all the point-of-view transitions smooth and the mystery of the events suspenseful.  The details made the story seem so well thought out.

Those same details later lead to me disliking the later writing.  Part of it was that we never actually witness the destruction of human civilization except through some excerpts of diaries.  Plus, once the main group gets together, the character and world development decline.  Instead there is the group's travel through the country.  And for me the plot died.

I still was engaged enough to keep listening but began growing frustrated with the endless travel where every detail is discussed ad nauseam, the lack of satisfying answers, and how the girl who is supposed to save the world doesn't do much.  Seriously the book is so long and there are long periods of time where nothing really happens to further the plot.  I feel this book would have been much better if the second half was half as long.  Amy was the biggest disappointment of the book and even the vampires don't make many appearances.  I was ready for the book to be done long before it was.

And I also did something I don't normally do and asked the first mate for spoilers to certain questions I had because I was bored and wanted to know if things would pay off.  I couldn't bear to listen to two more books in the series though I still wanted to know how the story ended.  So the first mate gave me a run down of the rest of the events of the series.  The absurd direction the author took the series is not what the ending of the first book suggested.

I will not be reading the rest of the series.  I am grateful to the book for the fun and thought-provoking discussions that the first mate and I enjoyed.  And also I truly loved the first half and am glad I read it.  It was very popular back in the day so me thoughts seem to be in the minority.

Much thanks to the BookBum Club for giving me the incentive to read this "movie night" novel.

Side note: The first mate made me watch the trailer despite me misgivings. No to Mark-Paul as the FBI agent.  No to the changes they made.  I should have listened to me misgivings.  Ugh.

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Ahoy there me mateys! I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .

Well mateys. I have to admit that this was just an okay read. This book takes place in a small town in the U.S. with a varied cast of quirky if somewhat two-dimensional characters. Their problem is that plastics all over the world begin to melt and humanity has to deal with the consequences. No one knows what started "The Change" but the townsfolk love to speculate.

The small town seems to have relatively little problems overall with losing all the plastic. Part of the problem with this book is that the stakes seem so low and the town adapts in surprisingly good fashion. This just seemed unrealistic. In addition, the core group that ye follow is always poorly debating what caused the Change. It got old after a bit.

I did enjoy the character interactions and it was a quick read but in general I felt that the execution of the premise was lackluster. Too many old folk around who can do things like make horse-drawn carriages. Too much focus on townsfolk interpersonal relationships. Not really enough description of the plastic problem and the true impact losing it would have on the world.

A pleasant, if forgettable read but I will certainly not be reading any more of the series. Unfortunate because I liked the concept.

So lastly . . .
Thank you Macmillian-Tor/Forge!

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