Books: Ancillary Cadavers, Imprudent Fire, & Black Future Month

[woodwardiocom]

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

Award-winning first book in an SF series about a starship AI who has been reduced to a fraction of what she was. Dark politics and weird mind control ensue in the Empire of Radch. Highly recommended.

Cadaver & Queen by Alisa Kwitney

Delightful steampunk horror romance from my friend Alisa, in which American Elizabeth Lavenza, the first female medical student at an English school, falls in with assorted Frankensteins and the question of undead personhood. Entertaining, highly recommended.

Imprudence by Gail Carriger

Also on the horror-steampunk-romance spectrum, this is 2nd in the "Custard Protocol" series, and Nth in Carriger's overall "Soulless" series. Our hero Rue is in the doghouse with the Queen due to her unilateral handling of last volume's events in India, and also needs to deal with her immortal werewolf father getting old. The best solution seems to be a trip to Egypt, with attendant romantic complications and zeppelin pirates. Recommended.

The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi

Sequel to The Collapsing Empire, in this volume our heroes continue to deal with the ongoing collapse of interstellar travel, and the following risk of mass starvation, as almost everyone lives on interdependent space stations. Plus, the noble house that failed to secure the Imperial throne last volume does damage control, and contact is made with another civilization. Recommended.

How Long 'Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin

A collection of 20+ short stories from famed, award-winning author Jemisin. They are quite varied, with a tendency toward urban fantasy, and a direct approach to issues often avoided by the white, male old school of SF&F. Highly recommended.

Comments

[blk]

Had you not read the Ancillary books yet? Oh boy, you've got two more to go, lucky you! I liked them increasingly as I read through the three, although I have met others for whom it was the opposite.