the_siobhan | 2023 books: 1-5 (Reply)

I was looking at my bookworm tag and realized that I haven't posted anything I've read yet this year. I can't say I've read much, what with being so busy, but it's definitely more than zero.

So I'll try and compile a list from memory.

The Martian by Andy Weir
I borrowed this one from the girlfriend. I had seen the movie and enjoyed it so I wanted to read the book.

And it did not disappoint. The main character is very likeable, the story is interesting, there are enough dips and turns in the plot that it kept me engaged even though I knew he was going to make it out. Loved it. Five stars.

Side note, back when this was in the theatres I was going to see a movie with my father and I suggested this one. He demurred because he doesn't like science fiction and I was genuinely surprised by that because I don't think of Mars as science fiction any more. Yeah, we aren't actually doing manned flights to Mars yet, but the tech isn't out of reach. I'm not sure where the dividing line is in my head, but apparently humans on Mars has crossed over it.

Starlings by Jo Walton
I think this was a TOR freebie. A collection of short fantasy stories assembled by Jo Walton.

The collection is excellent. I usually find there are at least a couple of stories in any collection that I don't really care for, but that wasn't the case with this one. All of the stories have some kind of twist or factor that makes them a slightly unusual take on the genre and they were so much fun to read.

Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders
Another freebie, the first in a YA trilogy.

I once saw a question that said "Are you a swapped out by fairies autistic, or are you a secretly from an alien planet autistic." I was very much the kid who thought I must have been left behind by aliens and so is the main character of this story, only in her case it's actually true. Her enemies find her and she has to return to space and reclaim her memories and abilities.

It's a fun read and I enjoyed the story. It did feel that in Anders attempts to be inclusive she occasionally veered into collect-the-whole-set territory. It may be the case that individuals from alien civilizations will routinely give you their pronouns on first meeting, but I assure you that humans from earth do not reliably do that.

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
I think I got this one as part of a Humble Bundle. It's the first of a trilogy.

Baru Cormorant lives in a country that was occupied and absorbed by a colonial superpower when she was a child. They killed one of her fathers, caused a plague that decimated the local population, and made serfs of the survivors. She is gifted at math and is able to get an education in one of their schools and works towards her dream of becoming powerful enough to eventually dismantle the whole system.

There are segments were Baru is trying to figure out how the various threads of power and influence work around her, and those parts reminded me a bit of The Goblin Emperor. But that's where the comparison ends, because this book is dark. Baru knows she must become a monster to gain enough power to change the power structures she lives under and so a monster is exactly what she intentionally makes herself into.

I am Legend by Richard Matheson
This one came out of the lawn library.

I've never seen the movie, and now I'm curious as to whether or not they changed the ending, because it's not at all Hollywood. Also the main protagonist is almost comically unlikable, and I can't see Will Smith being cast in that kind of a role.

It's also a lot shorter than I expected and the book also included a bunch of his short stories. A bit dated, but otherwise an interesting take on the apocalypse-by-vampires genre.