Of Monsters and Mainframes

I was so completely charmed by Barbara Truelove’s Of Monsters and Mainframes (publication day June 3, 2025) that I just about read it in a single sitting! Space travel meets vampires, werewolves, Frankenstein, a mummy, and cthulhu-people! Primarily told from the perspective of two spaceship AIs, with interludes told from the perspectives of others whoContinue reading “Of Monsters and Mainframes”

Project Hail Mary

I read Andy Weir’s first book, The Martian, years ago, but hadn’t read any others until my book group picked his 2021 Project Hail Mary. As the book opens, an unnamed man is awakening without knowing who or where he is, and he slowly realizes he is alone on a spaceship, the medical robot havingContinue reading “Project Hail Mary”

Luminous

Luminous (publication day March 11, 2025) by Silvia Park, starts out slowly, but as it picked up speed I was enthralled. Set in a hypothetically reunified Korea, robots have become ubiquitous, so much so that the police have a “robot crimes” unit to investigate crimes against robots. Jun is a detective assigned to the robotContinue reading “Luminous”

The Deep Sky

The Deep Sky (2023) is Yume Kitasei’s first novel, and a nominee for Best Science Fiction that year on Goodreads. It’s a fascinating blend of true science fiction, with the exploration of space, and locked-room mystery/thriller–I was completely hooked! Told from the perspective of Asuka, daughter of a Japanese woman and an American man, whoContinue reading “The Deep Sky”

All the Water in the World

I absolutely loved All the Water in the World (pub. date January 7, 2024) by Eiren Caffall! This literary climate story is told from the perspective of Nonie, a 13-year old girl who has lived on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History for eight years, with her father, and older sister Bix,Continue reading “All the Water in the World”

The Sound of Stars

The Sound of Stars (2020) by Alechia Dow blew me away! I wish I remembered how I found out about it, given that it’s been out nearly 4 years and I want to read more just like it. Ellie (Janelle) Baker is 17, living in a building in New York with her parents, after anContinue reading “The Sound of Stars”

The Future

The Future (pub. November 7, 2023) by Naomi Alderman was just as good as her 2016 The Power (now an Amazon Prime limited series I still need to watch) but in a different way. Where The Power highlighted feminism and what could happen if women suddenly obtained an innate power to protect themselves, The FutureContinue reading “The Future”

Alone Out Here

Alone Out Here (2022) by Riley Redgate, has been described as “Lord of the Flies on a spaceship” and there are similarities between the two. But Alone out Here is better, in that it’s more inclusive (Redgate includes women and girls, and people of color as lead characters) and, though there is still brutality, theContinue reading “Alone Out Here”