Tag Archives: Tor.com

remote control

Book Review: Remote Control, by Nnedi Okorafor

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I borrowed and audio copy of Nnedi Okorafora‘s Remote Control from the local library.
remote control nnedi okorafor

“She’s the adopted daughter of the Angel of Death. Beware of her. Mind her. Death guards her like one of its own.”

The day Fatima forgot her name, Death paid a visit. From hereon in she would be known as Sankofa­­—a name that meant nothing to anyone but her, the only tie to her family and her past.

Her touch is death, and with a glance a town can fall. And she walks—alone, except for her fox companion—searching for the object that came from the sky and gave itself to her when the meteors fell and when she was yet unchanged; searching for answers.

But is there a greater purpose for Sankofa, now that Death is her constant companion?

my review

I quite enjoyed this piece of Africanfuturism*. It has a near-future, Ghanian setting that is alive and real to the reader. The writing is sharp and visceral and the narrator brought it to life well. The main character, Fatima/Sankofa is marvelous to spend time with as she becomes a living myth. All in all, I seem to have no real complaints. It’s a short little thing, so I guess it gets a short, little review

remote control

*I have been using the wrong term and was corrected. I’ve learned something today, Afrofuturism vs Africanfuturism and I apologize to Dr. Okorafora for having gotten it wrong. She’s apparently spoken widely about this distinction.

network effect fugitive telemetry

Book Review: Network Effect & Fugitive Telemetry

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I pre-ordered a hardback copy of Martha Wells’ Network Effect and received an e-copy of Fugitive Telemetry through Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:

Murderbot returns in its highly-anticipated, first, full-length standalone novel.

You know that feeling when you’re at work, and you’ve had enough of people, and then the boss walks in with yet another job that needs to be done right this second or the world will end, but all you want to do is go home and binge your favorite shows? And you’re a sentient murder machine programmed for destruction? Congratulations, you’re Murderbot.

Come for the pew-pew space battles, stay for the most relatable A.I. you’ll read this century.

Review:

OMG, full length Murderbot book; cue incoherent and excited babbling. Except, I do this weird thing when I’m really excited to read a book. I buy it and then I sit on it. Not literally, I just mean I don’t immediately read it. I don’t know why. But I do it often enough to recognize a pattern and I did it with Network Effect. So, I’ve had the book and the anticipation for a while now. But I read it yesterday. So good.

I did think the beginning a bit rough. Murderbot has a tendency to sarcastically name thing and make internal commentary. The result was several passages I had to read more than once to grasp the meaning. At one point, for example, Murderbot entered a room with what I thought was 2 people (and Amena). I had to go back and read it again and again because I couldn’t figure out how some were dying and still running away. Turns out it was 4 people; I’d just misunderstood Murderbot’s naming structure.

It did smooth out and I loved seeing Murderbot grow. I think there is more emotional growth in this book than all the others combined. And please give me more of ART and Three. I’m so curious about Three! I, as always, look forward to continuing the series.

network effect

fugitive telemetryDescription from Goodreads:

No, I didn’t kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn’t dump the body in the station mall.

When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the body is (was), how they were killed (that should be relatively straightforward, at least), and why (because apparently that matters to a lot of people—who knew?)

Yes, the unthinkable is about to happen: Murderbot must voluntarily speak to humans!

Again!

Review:

After stepping away from Preservation Station in Network Effect, we’re back during Fugitive Telemetry. It was a little jarring, because it didn’t feel like it fit the timeline, like maybe FT should have come before NE. But either way I enjoyed it after those first few disconcerting “when am I” moments.

As always, Murderbot is wonderfully sarcastic. Here we see it working with people who aren’t (or aren’t yet) it’s people. It’s a struggle sometimes. As was Murderbot trying and do it’s job while ham-stringed by not being able to hack the computer systems. It was forced to interact with outside individuals more. All of it was a lot of fun.

The writing is readable and editing clean, as it has been with all the books so far. I can’t wait for more.

fugitive telemetry

magic for liars

Book Review: Magic For Liars, by Sarah Gailey

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It was chore day, so I wanted to listen to an audiobook while I slogged away at them. But none of the ones I have on my Audible cloud looked appealing. Thus, I borrowed Sarah Gailey‘s Magic For Liars from the library.

magic for liars sarah gailey

Ivy Gamble has never wanted to be magical. She is perfectly happy with her life. She has an almost-sustainable career as a private investigator, and an empty apartment, and a slight drinking problem. It’s a great life and she doesn’t wish she was like her estranged sister, the magically gifted professor Tabitha.

But when Ivy is hired to investigate the gruesome murder of a faculty member at Tabitha’s private academy, the stalwart detective starts to lose herself in the case, the life she could have had, and the answer to the mystery that seems just out of her reach.

I’ll admit that this was a tad on the slow side, but I generally enjoyed it. And I’ll tell you what I liked about it. I too am a salt-n-pepper woman (like the main character). That makes me 43. I figure Ivy was a bit older, though it’s not explicitly stated. She’s stuck in a high school dealing with teenagers. I have an almost 14 and almost 12 year old. They roll they eyes at me constantly, and generally think they know everything and parents are idiots, as teens are wont to do. The teens in Magic For Liars are the same. And like adults everywhere, Ivy sees right through their act. But because she has a mystery to solve she uses her adult knowledge to get the information she needs. She doesn’t posture and ensure the children know they’re children. As is always so tempting when their mien of superiority gets to be too frustrating. She lets them go right on thinking they’re the smartest people in the room. What parent hasn’t had that feeling while dealing with their teen? Maybe because I too am stuck dealing with tweens/teens in my real like, I found her manipulation of them with their own artifices superbly satisfying.

I did feel sorry for Ivy. She wanted to desperately to be loved, not too unlike all those teens. But her sister just wasn’t capable of it. I really hope the open ending, with the possibility of happiness on that front comes to fruition for her.

Interestingly, this could be read as a parable on the importance of providing access to safe contraceptives and/or abortions. There are certainly some interesting reflections of life and death, beginning, middle, and end of life going on in the book.

All in all, a winner for me.

magic for liars