Winter Respite 2021

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2021 Winter Respite Goodreads Shelf

Review: THE HOLLOW PLACES

5 Speculative Stars 

I got to about 25% expecting the narrative to open up into a comfortable Lovecraftian multiverse of Cosmic Horror.  Then, suddenly,  I reached a particular scene, and as the protagonist (feckless, female) and sidekick (Southern, Gay) were simultaneously screaming internally, SO WAS I!! From that point on we were off on a wildly inventive, tremendously dangerous, roller coaster of Cosmic Horror and I don't think any of us have stopped screaming yet. WOW.

 

Review: ALIEN PEOPLE by John Coon

4 Speculative Stars 

The discovery of alien life! What could be more exciting? Only that such life is both Sentient and communicating! For Astronomer Calandra, this discovery of hers reaches beyond her wildest dreams. Even more astonishing is that Calandra and her colleagues reside on the planet Lathos, in a different solar system...and that the alien probe sets forth from a very aggressive,  cruel,  global government...on Planet Earth....

I was reminded pleasurably of early Twilight Zone episodes and of Golden Age Science Fiction as author John Coon capably flips the Alien trope on its head, reversing the kaleidoscope so that Earth is the destructive alien civilization. Delightful!

 

Review: PRIVILEGE by Bharat Krishnan (The WP Trilogy Book 1)

 

5+ Speculative Stars 

I got a lot of fun out of this novel, by which I mean I found it entertaining,  engrossing, AND enlightening.  In the first couple of pages I thought, "What's interesting about some Wall Street tycoon with a drug habit?" Well that was selling short the story. It's not "any" drug, it's not "just" a thriller. 

In 2020 a lot is addressed about the lives of Blacks and Latinx. I don't think we read as much about those whose genetic heritage is of the subcontinent of India. So first of all, the enlightenment: I'he learned at length about Indian-Americans,  and how they still suffer as Celtic immigrants and Chinese immigrants did in the 19th century.  I learned about friendships and the importance of family to those who don't have it. I learned about a controlled substance which is solely the property, the entitlement,  of Caucasians, forbidden to all other ethnicities. 

Author Bharat Krishnan enabled me to see and feel what it is like to be excluded,  and how the excluded experience inclusion (through the acquisition of the controlled substance "WP"). I came away thinking how little progress Society has made toward inclusion (ethnicity,  race, religion,  orientation,  gender). I also am totally eager to read the sequel. 

Review: FULCRUM OF ODYSSEUS by Eric Michael Craig (Shan Takhu Legacy Book Two)

5 Speculative Stars!

SHAN TAKHU LEGACY Book Two

After the mind-blowing revelations of Book 1, LEGACY OF PANDORA,  FULCRUM OF ODYSSEUS leaps into an electrifying emergency situation leaving readers wondering,  "Is there a viable solution? Will anyone escape, alive?" Don't devalue the Captain and crew of the "Jakob Waltz," despite the very real dangers, and the fact that the Alien matrix in which they may be trapped does not and cannot relate to nor even recognize human emotions and elements of danger.

Philosophy,  politics,  Artificial intelligence,  Rebellion & Resistance,  Alien Mindsets...it's all here in a fascinating novel of serious science fiction. Fans of SF author Daniel Gibbs' characters of integrity and conscience will find much to delight in here.

Review: THE CARRION SEA by Steven McCumaskey

5 Speculative Stars!

Beautifully lyrical in execution,  this Oriental-setting, medieval-style fantasy strums all the themes of Man against Nature, Man against Monster,  and Man against Himself. In a small village of fishermen and hunters, an anomalous Winter refuses to end. Fishing is poor, animals are scarce, elderly and newborns can't survive.  Is this a freak weather event--or something more?

The answer is the proverbial lone brave warrior,  a man formerly of battle and now of peace, the one who will sacrifice all to save his village. 

Review: LEGACY OF PANDORA by Eric Michael Craig

5 Speculative Stars 

LEGACY OF PANDORA is an engrossing "hard science" science fiction novel,  first in the SHAN TAKHU LEGACY Series.  By "hard science, " I mean that a diligent focus of the story is on the sciences, astrophysics for example,  but also other sciences, as well as on character and plotting [think for example of SF authors Larry Niven and Peter F. Hamilton and Arthur C. Clarke.) As with these, while I enjoyed the story, I could feel my brain awakening and my mind stretching to accommodate new scientific concepts and creative, cosmic, possibilities.