“Melody” by David Hoffer- An SPSFC Semifinalist Review

I’ll be reading and reviewing every semifinalist for the Self-Published Science Fiction Contest! Check out my list with blurbs, covers, links, and first impressions for all the semifinalists here. Please let me know what you think of any/all of these books! I love comments, and love talking about books.

Melody by David Hoffer

Stephen Fisher had disturbing visions and continues to hear a song in his head. Through therapy, he has mostly managed to get past it, but his lingering doubts are sparked when his daughter claims the same affliction. When he loses her, he’s suddenly thrust into a struggle for control over an alien device that could change the world.

Melody is a compulsive read. Hoffer weaves a tale that kept me as a reader constantly wanting to know more without feeling unfulfilled in the present moment. The interlinked questions of what’s going on with the alien device, how it’s tied to the music Stephen hears, what and who the aliens are, and what the government(s) of Earth will do with some of this information continue to drive the story forward. It reads like a thriller as Hoffer utilizes these questions to keep the reader enthralled, turning page after page as time flies by.

The latter half of the novel has some opacity with a few major events. The sudden shift forward in time at one point around the halfway mark had threw me off enough to have to re-read a bit to ensure I didn’t miss something. This happens a couple more times in the second half, to the extent that I have a few questions remaining about the most important details in the novel. Those interlinked driving forces I mentioned above get answers, but some are answered so swiftly that I’m not sure they made the impact they should have. These answers could have been tightened up a bit more to make the novel even better than it is. By tightened up, I don’t mean made shorter–I mean clarified and perhaps worded in a better way. That’s not to say Hoffer fails here–it’s just that I wanted more out of some of the concluding sections than we got.

I find Melody a cerebral read that has kept me thinking on it for quite some time. It explores themes of loss and grief in a quite different way than I’ve encountered in science fiction. I can’t say a lot more about another theme in it, but it also utilizes a worldview that isn’t often utilized, at least in the sci-fi I’ve read. The ending is good, and I’m left thinking about how Hoffer handled some of his answers.

Melody is a unique take on unexpected themes in science fiction. It’s also a thoroughly captivating read. Recommended.

Links

 Check out my many posts from the SPSFC (scroll down for more).

Science Fiction Hub– I have scores of reviews of Hugo nominees, Vintage Sci-Fi, modern sci-fi, TV series, and more! Check out my science fiction related writings here.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

“Our Lady of the Artilects” by Andrew Gillsmith- An intersection of science fiction and religion

A most disturbing event has happened at the beginning of Our Lady of the Artilects: a synth–an AI-driven humanoid robot–claims to be possessed by a demon. Not only does this rouse the interest of the pope, it also brings other religious figures–and secular authorities–running to find out what’s happening. As the tension ratchets up and multiple people and factions try to figure out what’s happening, the religious implications of the event become even more important.

Andrew Gillsmith has woven a fascinating story in this novel, which combines religious and philosophical themes with questions in science fiction to make a coherent narrative. What’ remarkable is that the farther into the plot you get, the more ties you see to some questions in “real life” and the present. The plot is inspired by questions about the Uyghur people and supposed secret prophecies of Fatima.

Despite these heavy themes, Gillsmith moves the plot along quiet well. It becomes compulsive reading as you get farther in. The story intertwines secular and religious authorities with a more traditional thriller-like core that works well as a whole. Gillsmith brings the story to a satisfying conclusion, and apparently there is a sequel on the way as well.

Our Lady of the Artilects is one of those indie gems that you always hope you’re going to come across as you read indie science fiction. I recommend it highly.

Links

Science Fiction Hub– I have scores of reviews of Hugo nominees, Vintage Sci-Fi, modern sci-fi, TV series, and more! Check out my science fiction related writings here.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

The Great Honor Harrington Read-Along: “Honor Among Enemies” by David Weber

The Great Honor Harrington Read Along is a read along led by me with critical analysis and SPOILER FILLED looks at the Honor Harrington series and related works by David Weber and collaborators. I’ve read the whole main series and the overwhelming majority of the offshoots, but some of these will still be first time reads. However, spoilers will be abundant throughout these posts, including for much later books in the series.

Honor Among Enemies by David Weber

Here it is, Honor back in action after being “exiled” due to her legal killing of Young. The Manticoran Navy needs her too badly to allow her to languish in another fleet. She’s recalled and set about piloting a Q-ship, a modified merchant designed to ambush pirates. Honor Among Enemies places her outside the reach of Manticore or Grayson, off in the fairly lax Silesian Confederacy, surrounded by–you guessed it–enemies.

Of course, those enemies aren’t all just enemies in the sense of military enemies. Hauptman shows up as well, though he only really makes an appearance to Honor late in the book. Early on, however, he supports using her as a captain in the region, as do others, hoping that maybe her “recklessness” will finally do her in, much to their supposed benefit.

The book has quite a bit going on, from introducing an entire new region of space to the readers to major pirate raiding to shipboard violence to Havenite expansion to new potential allies to politicking. Watching all these balls in the air, its somewhat surprising to see them all come to fairly satisfying conclusions by the end of the novel. Not only is Silesia introduced here, but we also get a small sense of the Andermani Empire as well.

Does anyone know the story of the flipbook in the corner of the pages? The edition I has shows a ship slowly exploding as you flip through the pages. I’m wondering how it ended up as an idea for the book.

Anyway, the high points here are fairly similar to other books in the series so far, just rearranged. You’ve got some solid space combat (it’s immensely satisfying when the Q-ship manages to ambush some pirates), some “ice” running through Honor as she deals with infighting with the crew, ramping up of hostilities, etc. One of the more satisfying moments in the series is when Aubrey Wanderman puts the smack down on his bully and then the tap on the wrist Honor gives him after the fact. This is another great book, though I think it’s fair to say it doesn’t quite reach the greatness of some of the previous entries. A lot of this novel is setup for broader conflict. Indeed, many, many side characters take the spotlight from Honor throughout this book.

Treecats are still being built up as an idea–Samantha is introduced as a mate for Nimitz. Indeed, Treecats seem to be an idea that Weber percolated for a while early in the series before really making them as fascinating as they become later. Sure, there are isolated scenes of Nimitz kicking butt and Honor reflecting on how smart they really are, but so far they’re kind of just quirky side characters more than anything else. Get ready, because that’s going to change in the next couple books.

Honor Among Enemies is another great entry in this series. It gives more growth to secondary characters, shows Honor challenged in some new ways, and sets up future conflicts.

Links

The Great Honor Harrington Read Along– Follow along as I read through and review all the books and offshoots in this series!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

Author Interview: Drew Melbourne, author of SPSFC2 Semifinalist “Percival Gynt and the Conspiracy of Days”

I’m a judge for the Self-Published Science Fiction Contest (SPSFC), and wanted to spotlight some of the authors in the contest.

Drew Melbourne, Author of Percival Gynt and the Conspiracy of Days

(Questions in Bold)

What was your gateway into speculative fiction? What made you decide to write it?

Oh gosh. So many things! My childhood was a perfect storm of geekery. My brother John was my first Dungeon Master and the clerk at my local comic shop. My mom was deep into the 80s Doctor Who fan community. In prose, I was mostly getting fantasy early on. CS Lewis and Lloyd Alexander and Susan Cooper, but then I discovered Douglas Adams when I was in maybe 5th grade, and the damage was done. I can’t remember when I found out, but my mom was actually working on a kids sci-fi novel when I was a baby. She was home with me, and I was — I dunno — spitting up on myself in my crib, and she was at the dining room table writing out a whole book longhand. Multiple complete drafts! Hundreds and hundreds of pages. I don’t think she ever got as far as sending it out to editors, etc. but it shaped her. And us! I grew up just… *intrinsically* aware that stories aren’t just a thing that’s given to us. They’re things that anyone can create — that *everyone* can create — and share with the world.

Douglas Adams is who I thought of immediately when my group previewed your book, “Percival Gynt and the Conspiracy of Days.” To me, it had that same fun vibe without having the comedy detract from the story. Other than Adams, what inspirations did you draw on for “Percival Gynt”?

I’m a neurodiverse author. I have ADHD. And one of the things I’ve learned about myself over the years is, whether as author or audience, my brain is really geared to fiction that tries to do everything. That’s funny and scary and sad and exciting and thoughtful and ridiculous and and and… I actually have a bad habit of falling asleep watching TV or movies, even stuff I like, if it’s just the same tone over and over. My brain has a hard time maintaining focus.

There’s a movie I saw this year called EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE that I adore, and I caught an interview with the directors on NPR where they described the movie as “maximalist.” As in, the opposite of minimalist. And it was a real light bulb moment for me, because I never had a word for it before, but that’s absolutely it. I write maximalist fiction. So a lot of my inspiration is just “everything I’ve ever loved in a blender” but I also have these touchstones, creators or works that really exemplify what I’m trying to do. I go back to a comic book guy, Kieth Giffen, who was doing this amazing stuff with JUSTICE LEAGUE and LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES in the late 80s. To BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, which magically sprang into existence without a writer. To PRINCESS BRIDE. The movie and, maybe more importantly, the book. And to Shakespeare, when I’m feeling fancy!

I definitely get a sense of “everything and the kitchen sink” in this book, but you make it work! There are at least 3 possible sequels teased in the novel–will we be seeing more of Percival Gynt and/or others?

Indeed! The one I can talk about is PERCIVAL GYNT AND THE INEVITABILITY OF FIRE AND OTHER CASES which, if the stars align and fate finds favor, should finally be out in 2023. It’s a short story collection, set mostly before the events of CONSPIRACY OF DAYS, and structured so that it can be enjoyed equally by new and returning readers. In it, Percival catches killers, slays monsters, exorcizes ghosts, and saves Christmas! And plays bridge. Not well, but he’s a good sport about it. Oh. And the title novella, THE INEVITABILITY OF FIRE, is structured like an old-time Choose Your Own Adventure!

So lots of fun ridiculous stuff, and along the way we’re watching this flawed young man grow into the hero of CONSPIRACY OF DAYS.

I can’t wait to read about Percival saving Christmas, among other things! Where can readers find you?

Folks can pick up a copy of CONSPIRACY OF DAYS from Amazon.

I’m @drewmelbourne on Twitter until it implodes and I’m forced to decamp to Instagram, Hive, Mastadon, or Fnargle. And my website, https://drewmelbourne.com, is a great place to find out more about my work, with links to reviews, interviews, merch, and more.

Thank You!

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Links

The Self-Published Science Fiction Contest (SPSFC) Hub– Check out all of my posts related to the SPSFC here!

Science Fiction Hub– I have scores of reviews of Hugo nominees, Vintage Sci-Fi, modern sci-fi, TV series, and more! Check out my science fiction related writings here.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

“Shakedowners” by Justin Woolley- An SPSFC2 Semifinalist Review

I’ll be reading and reviewing every semifinalist for the Self-Published Science Fiction Contest! Check out my list with blurbs, covers, links, and first impressions for all the semifinalists here. Please let me know what you think of any/all of these books! I love comments, and love talking about books.

Shakedowners by Justin Woolley

Captain Iridius B. Franklin seems to have astronomically bad luck as a starship captain. No matter what he does, something always goes terribly wrong. That’s why he’s relegated to hauling land whale dung and mining waste around rather than flying a more glamorous ship. But it’s also why he gets selected to do a shakedown cruise to test out the Gallaway, a top-of-the-line ship that they want to be sure has all the kinks worked out. Well, Franklin of course runs into trouble, and the barebones crew of hard-on-their-luck people he selected for the shakedown journey has to help him solve a galaxy-threatening problem.

What you see is what you get in this novel. The description above tells you most of what you’re going to get. While there are twists–I was a big fan of what happened with the primary threat in the novel–the core of it is a silly adventure in space with stakes that are comedically high for the crew we’ve got. Mileage on this one will vary wildly with how much readers enjoy that kind of fun romp. For me it was a good read and an excellent listen. The narrator for the audiobook is top notch and makes the novel even more enjoyable than it otherwise would have been.

I appreciated the thoughtfulness of the main threat, too. I can’t say much more than that without seriously spoiling some of the best parts of the story, so I want to just say that if the idea of a fun afternoon read with a pretty compelling main villain is what you’d like, you should check the book out.

Shakedowners is an enjoyable romp that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It will appeal to fans of the speculative fiction/humor mashup.

Links

 Check out my many posts from the SPSFC (scroll down for more).

Science Fiction Hub– I have scores of reviews of Hugo nominees, Vintage Sci-Fi, modern sci-fi, TV series, and more! Check out my science fiction related writings here.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

“Riebeckite” by O. R. Lea – An SPSFC Review

I’m reading and reviewing many books from the Self-Published Science Fiction Contest as a judge. Check out my many posts from the SPSFC (scroll down for more).

Riebeckite by O.R. Lea

An asteroid strike to the moon leads to unknown particles falling on Earth. Are they dangerous, are they benign? Some time ago, Tahira made a promise that the ordeal would bring humanity closer together. Fast forward to now, and that isn’t true. Humanity seems to go on as it always did, with petty rivalries and oppression as the stark reality for so many. When Tahira discovers the Riebeckite is more than meets the eye, many factions are drawn into the fold to find out more or stop her from telling all.

The tension ramps up quickly and maintains the pressure throughout the novel. O.R. Lea does a good job balancing plot exposition with intensity, making the book compulsive reading after a while. There’s enough hard sci-fi mixed in to make the conflict realistic, even as the conflict spans nations. Tahira and Zareen make a great lead pair, with a complex relationship that is believable and touching at times.

I did wonder at times why more people weren’t caught up into the conflict. The nature of the Riebeckite is a central aspect of the book, and one would think that it would be studied by far more people and that many more people would be taken into conspiracy theories, scientific research, and more related to it.

The audiobook was read well, with a pace that was neither too slow nor too fast, and the sound balancing was done well.

I found Reibeckite a fascinating read that combines elements of hard sci-fi, a touch of horror, and even some inspirations from comics together into one coherent whole. I was glad to see it was book one of a series, because I’m interested to read more. Thanks to Lea for a copy of the audiobook!

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Links

The Self-Published Science Fiction Contest (SPSFC) Hub– Check out all of my posts related to the SPSFC here!

Science Fiction Hub– I have scores of reviews of Hugo nominees, Vintage Sci-Fi, modern sci-fi, TV series, and more! Check out my science fiction related writings here.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

“Hammer and Crucible” by Cameron Cooper- An SPSFC Semifinalist Review

I’ll be reading and reviewing every semifinalist for the Self-Published Science Fiction Contest! Check out my list with blurbs, covers, links, and first impressions for all the semifinalists here. Please let me know what you think of any/all of these books! I love comments, and love talking about books.

Hammer and Crucible by Cameron Cooper

Hammer and Crucible starts with a mystery- what happened to Danny Andela and her family? When questions begin to arise about her son, she gets thrown in with her granddaughter to solve a mystery that might have much wider implications than they realize.

What follows is a slow burn that builds up as Cooper peels away layer after layer of the complex world that’s been created for this series. One of the great joys of reading this book was how Cooper integrates technology into the story. One of the great joys of science fiction is seeing how authors manipulate existing ideas and tech to come up with new uses of existing technology or extrapolating new technology and inventions entirely, and I loved how Cooper used this to great impact throughout the story. Whether it was the anti-aging treatments or the extremely fun nanotech-driven spaceship later in the novel, the technology felt seamlessly real in this futuristic story and continued to impress upon the reader the setting.

The novel is driven by its plot, which goes through a fairly step-by-step journey to solve the central mystery. Since the characters don’t have much to work with at the beginning, they basically just follow a logical path of chasing the one lead they have, following the lead that one gives, etc. until the end of the novel. Again, this plays into the slow burn nature of the story. While the impact of the story is big, the way it plays out is quite intimate and even plodding at points. I would have liked to see perhaps a quicker lead in to the major events of the novel.

I enjoyed that we had a main character who wasn’t a teen or twenty-something. There’s nothing wrong with people that age as main characters, but they seem to dominate a lot of speculative fiction, so having a grandma as the main perspective made for a refreshing difference. I also thought the main story was well-done. The characters grew into relationship with each other through the book, and I thought that was a great way to bring dramatic tension and resolution about.

Hammer and Crucible is a solid read with big implications, interesting plot points, and great tech. I recommend it for fans of story-driven space opera.

Links

 Check out my many posts from the SPSFC (scroll down for more).

Science Fiction Hub– I have scores of reviews of Hugo nominees, Vintage Sci-Fi, modern sci-fi, TV series, and more! Check out my science fiction related writings here.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

“Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Volume 5- Mobilization” by Yoshiki Tanaka

The Legend of Galactic Heroes is a… well, legendary anime series. What far fewer people have experienced is the novels upon which it is based. I’m probably something of an outlier here–having only read some of the books while not having seen the anime. I wanted to write about the series of novels to encourage others to read them.

Volume 5: Mobilization

Phezzan has fallen, but what next? Many, many battles is the answer, but here we have a shift in tone for the series. Tanaka introduces a core concept of the series that changes the tenor of it somewhat. The “Tyranny of Distance” is referenced in chapter 6, noting that it “was a phrase used to indicate just how difficult unified rule of a human society that had grown by a third would be through military force alone” (125). And while Tanaka doesn’t directly confront the use of that concept within discussions of colonialism on Earth, the implications are all there. The Galactic Empire has gotten almost too large for itself. Control must turn to a personality cult, as it reads in some places, or straight fascism in others.

There is no small amount of analysis that could be done here. Tanaka continues to tell the story in an impersonal style, even citing invented historical accounts to say what historians “would say” in the future of this future about the present of the future he’s telling (hopefully that made sense). In doing so, as narrator, he distances himself from the events depicted, in which literal millions are wiped out over the course of a drawn out battle that is named a war within a war. Individuals rise and fall, but the steady march towards fascism isn’t found only within the Empire but also within the Free Planets Alliance, making one wonder even more what Tanaka is doing behind the scenes here.

Battles are the name of the game through most of the latter half of the book, and they’re huge. It’s one aspect of the series that Tanaka’s style both lends itself to such huge scales and also makes the huge scale battles go so quickly. While he describes literally thousands of ships moving in a double-headed snake formation and the combat that happens, as the descriptions whip past of hundreds of ships getting blown away, it can become whiplash. I would like a bit more description of the battles themselves, though I get why he does it the way he does, as it lets the story continue more readily, and avoids potential pitfalls of revealing poor tactics when describing tactics more fully. The series does not try to make it realistic military action, but rather goes for grandness of action to make up for it. It usually works, and it does work quite well in the second half of this novel. Tanaka also cleverly takes the occasional aside to zoom in on action, whether at the level of an individual fighter pilot being blown away by a cruiser or the impact of an explosion on a single ship.

We still get very little by way of women having any impact on the series. While a few get elevated to higher positions of leadership here, their voices are almost never heard.

Mobilization reads like a turning point in the series. The stakes are higher than ever, but the characterization is getting stronger even as the battles get larger. I can’t wait to dive into the next book.

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Science Fiction Hub– I have scores of reviews of Hugo nominees, Vintage Sci-Fi, modern sci-fi, TV series, and more! Check out my science fiction related writings here.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

“Of Mycelium and Men” by William C. Tracy- A diverse hard sci-fi adventure

Of Mycelium and Men is a novel of human colonization that builds into being a truly wonder-filled story. Humans have traversed the stars for far longer than they thought would be necessary, leading to the colony ship becoming a generational ship. Now that they’ve found a planet that has at least some possibility for survival, the hard work begins.

The planet itself, Lida, is found to be covered in a biomass that is relentless in its efforts to take back over the ecological hole that appears when humans burn it away at their landing site. What they don’t realize–but we, as the reader, do–is that the biomass seems to have at least some capacity of awareness/thought/categorization processes. And so even as the humans fight against what they see as a fungal-animal-plant invasion of their new home, we readers realize more is going on. That makes for some incredible storytelling moments as Tracy manages to bring forth elements of horror to the reader as they experience the awfulness of combat with such a relentless, adapting foe even as they know there is a bigger story behind it all.

The book moves more quickly through time as it goes on. It starts off with detailed overviews of the action sometimes even a day at a time, but eventually skips ahead year(s) and gives a broader perspective of how the events have shaped the planet and the characters. And those characters are excellent, too. There’s some political drama going on between the Generationals–those who were in charge on the ship–and the Admins, who are genetically enhanced to live for centuries. There is a military group bread for quick reactions and warfare, and Anderson, our perspective from their side, turns into a much deeper person than it initially seems. There is familial drama, even heart-rending drama. Characters are a big strength.

I loved how Tracy implemented thoughtful science into the book. The biomass seems utterly believable and sent me to search elements of the background info multiple times–fungi are weird! I also loved the combination of this level of hard sci-fi with the horror and space colonization. It made the book feel familiar and unique all at once.

Another thing I love about this book is that it has diverse characters simply as a product of humanity. It doesn’t feel forced in any way. People just live their lives, love who they love, and move on. Religion is only briefly mentioned (I’m religious myself, so I love seeing how authors treat it in sci-fi) basically as something the people practice in whatever way they grew up with. People are just… people, and it feels very real and natural.

A final note: Tracy nails the landing on this one. He manages to combine the urgency of needing more with having enough satisfaction and closure on several characters to make it not feel like a pure cliffhanger to make you want more. Hopefully that lengthy, run-on sentence makes sense. I guess what I’m saying is I loved this book on its own but I definitely need–not want–the next one.

Of Mycelium and Men is a phenomenal sci-fi novel. It’s got hard sci-fi, diversity of characters, and elements of horror to make it compulsive reading. It’s free on Kindle Unlimited, but well worth the price of admission at whatever price you pay. Get it, read it, come back here and talk about it. I recommend it highly.

All Links to Amazon are Affiliates

Links

The Self-Published Science Fiction Contest (SPSFC) Hub– Check out all of my posts related to the SPSFC here!

Science Fiction Hub– I have scores of reviews of Hugo nominees, Vintage Sci-Fi, modern sci-fi, TV series, and more! Check out my science fiction related writings here.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

SDG.

My Read-Through of the Hugos: 1984

I’m a huge science fiction fan, and, having read a list of what are alleged to be the top 200 science fiction novels, I decided to next tackle a read-through of all the Hugo Award winners and nominees for best novel. Let me know your thoughts and favorites. I’ve marked the winner as well as my own choice for which novel would win, had I the choice among the nominees. I’ve also dropped a short reflection on the year’s Hugo list at the end.

1984

Millennium by John Varley (My Winner)- Grade: B-
The concept here is pretty awesome. On a future Earth, the present is bleak, so they send back time travelers to grab healthy humans from the past to try to reinvigorate their present. They’re spotted, and hijinks ensue. It’s a great thread, and one of the better uses of time travel. I love time travel abstractly as an idea for a story, but it’s so rarely used in ways which make it actually integral to the plot. Varley, however, uses it in a way that is impactful without ever feeling like it’s just there for the sake of the plot or throwing people into past situations. The characters aren’t terribly compelling, which makes it difficult to get into the book. Ultimately, the ideas behind the story are what kept me going as a reader. It’s definitely of the better time travel-themed novels I’ve read recently.

Startide Rising by David Brin (Winner)- Grade: C-
Conceptually, Startide Rising–and indeed, the rest of the series–has quite a bit going for it. The idea of “uplifting” other species to sentience and then traveling through the stars with them is a good one that I have surprisingly not really run into much anywhere else. My issue with this book and the others in the series is that it drags out the concept for far too long and without as much payoff as I’d like. The cacophony of viewpoints becomes more than a bit annoying to try to follow as aliens, dolphins, and humans each chime in on galactic affairs and the events surrounding one specific ship, the Streaker, on which the humans and dolphins reside. The reader is shifted back and forth so frequently that settling in and trying to experience the story is impossible. The book is also quite lengthy, which adds to the difficulty of trying to manage so many sporadically appearing characters. I found myself wondering occasionally if I should remember a character encountered in one or another part, and it became a chore to read after a while. With a more tightly focused narrative, I think this would have been a much better read. As it stands, it shows flashes of brilliance throughout.

Tea with the Black Dragon by R. A. McAvoy- Grade: C-
Sometimes you read a book and you can tell it’s probably much better than it feels. For me, Tea with the Black Dragon was one of those books. There’s a quietude in the novel that is both appealing at times and also off-putting at others. I found myself feeling a bit bored. I know that’s a strong indictment, but its nevertheless true. I found my mind wandering off to other novels or locales, hoping that some action would occur, or that something would break the tone of the novel. I don’t really know how to describe it; I was underwhelmed here. I acknowledge the craft while at the same time noting it’s not for me.

Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern by Anne McAffrey- Grade: B-
McAffrey takes readers back to an earlier time in Pern, making this book one of the potential entry points into the series. The science fantasy world of Pern has humans using dragons to fight voracious alien invaders known as Thread which falls whenever a sister planet gets close enough for them to cross the space between planets. In Moreta, a disease is spreading throughout the Weyrs to the point where effectively fighting against Thread is in danger. That puts the whole planet at risk, and Moreta must muster up the people of the Weyr to finally fight off the incursion, which is only successful when they rediscover vaccination. Reading the novel post-Covid makes it feel like a somewhat pointed and possibly refreshing science fantasy defense of vaccination as a proper way to combat disease. The book is, as I said, a good entry point into the series, but for those who’ve read everything so far, it could feel formulaic. At this point McAffrey definitely has a pattern in the stories of the novels and even in tropes of characters that show up. Fans of the series will enjoy it, and those who are new to the series may find it a good point to jump in. Those already unimpressed or with waning interest in the series will find this one another tough read. I enjoyed it pretty well, and continue to find the series a kind of comfort read. You get what you expect to get out of them.

The Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov- Grade: C
I enjoy Asimov’s Robots series overall. They tend to have stronger characters than the Foundation series (let’s be honest, basically any characterization is stronger than that series) and I enjoy mystery novels, so combining that with sci-fi makes for a potent mix. We revisit Elijah Baley and see what he’s up to as he tackles yet another mystery, this time mixed with a heaping helping of agoraphobia. It’s a fairly good mystery story in which Asimov continues to use the setting to his advantage. The problem is that it seems almost interminably long with very little action to drive the plot forward. It’s a fine novel, but it serves much more as a springboard for discussions of Asimov’s pet issues than it does anything else. It’s a fine read, especially if you enjoyed the other books in the series, but there’s nothing extraordinary about it.

1984- A somewhat disappointing year for the Hugos. None of these books are runaway winners for the award, but none are egregiously bad, either. It’s more of a milquetoast feel to the whole thing. I chose Millennium as my personal winner over Moreta only because the former feels much fresher as a read. Each book on this list has some difficulties, but each has enough qualities to make them worth at least sampling. Not a bad year, nor a good year. Look, even the cover of the winner, Millennium, is boring! What did you think?

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SDG.