#sffbookclub

See tagged statuses in the local Velha Estante community

Anton Hur, Djuna: Counterweight (Hardcover, 2023, Pantheon) 4 stars

Counterweight

4 stars

Counterweight is a nearish-future scifi thriller set on the island of Patusan, which I have just learned today has a long literary legacy.

The plot follows an unnamed employee of the LK Corporation as he attempts to unravel a series of events revolving around the world's first space elevator, erected by LK on Patusan. I enjoyed the originality of the setting, but I found the whole thing fairly convoluted and somewhat difficult to follow.

The dystopian corporation-state future where having a literal worm implanted in your brain is a condition of employment is becoming all too plausible at this point.

#SFFBookClub

Waubgeshig Rice: Moon of the Crusted Snow (2018) 4 stars

"A daring post-apocalyptic novel from a powerful rising literary voice. With winter looming, a small …

Moon of the Crusted Snow

4 stars

Content warning plot discussion

Content warning now with spoilers!

Suyi Davies Okungbowa: David Mogo (Paperback, 2019, Abaddon) 3 stars

Nigerian God-Punk - a powerful and atmospheric urban fantasy set in Lagos.

Since the Orisha …

David Mogo: Godhunter

4 stars

In a lot of ways, this reminds me of the Akata series, but for adults - Nigerian setting, making friends and enemies with supernatural entities, Nsibidi script as magic writing, etc. (This is not a criticism of the Akata series, I love them.)

The setting was the best part of this for me - I enjoyed postapocalyptic, god-ravaged Lagos.

I appreciate that David is imperfect and fallible - he makes mistakes, fails, etc., and it has real consequences for him.

The first section (book? sub-book?) was my favorite, followed by the second - as the story progressed, I felt like it kept getting progressively more frantic and less coherent.

Overall, I enjoyed it, though, and I'm looking forward to more.

#SFFBookClub

reviewed Crossing the Line by Karen Traviss (The Wess'har Wars, #2)

Karen Traviss: Crossing the Line (2004, EOS) 4 stars

Shan Frankland forever abandoned the world she knew to come to the rescue of a …

Crossing the Line

4 stars

It kept very much to the themes of the original: genocide, greed, betrayal, and the sheer amount of damage a few bad-faith actors can do in a system not designed to account for them

Finished just in time for #SFFBookClub sequels month 😅