Tenth of December by George Suanders

A friend gave me a copy of this book to read. I don’t usually read short story collections, but he seemed so passionate about the author and the stories that I was willing to try it. Since it is a short story collection, I’ll summarize each story and then give my overall impressions.

Published: 2013

Genre: fiction short stories, with occasional science fictional elements

Length: 251 pages

Font: Sabon

Setting: various present day settings in the U.S.

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The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

This book got a lot of buzz when it was translated into English, including winning the Hugo. I was interested because it was Chinese science fiction, and felt like some science fiction next.

Published: 2006 in Chinese, 2014 in English

Genre: science fiction

Length: 399 pages

Setting: China in the late 1960s and present day

Black Site by Michael Patrick Hicks

This is the next short story in the Event Horizon 2017 collection of short stories highlighting authors who are eligible for the 2017 Campbell award for best new writer.

Published: 2016 in CLONES: The Anthology

Genre: science fiction, with a touch of Chthulu

Length: 34 pages

Setting: an asteroid mining base, near future

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

This is a classic science fiction story that is referenced on a regular basis. I had never read it and decided to rectify that hole in my reading list.

Published: 1953 originally. My edition had end notes from 1979 and 1982 as well

Genre: science fiction dystopia

Length: 179 pages

Setting: an American city sometime in an alternate future

Water into Wine by Joyce Chng

I was provided a copy of the book by the publisher to review, although my opinions are all my own.

Published: today! 2017

Genre: science fiction novella

Length: 92 pages

Setting: Tertullian VI, not too far future

What I Will Be Reading #34: Something For Everyone

I’ve got new books to add to all the reading lists this week. Let’s start with my books. Unbound Worlds had two posts about books to read from different decades, the 1980s and the 1990s. I pretty much want to read any series from the lists I haven’t read yet. For the 1980s, I’ve only read Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn (in fact, I happen to own the book). I have started the Belgariad series, starting with Pawn and Prophecy, by David Eddings. I think the same week I saw this post, my friend strongly recommended the book. I’ve read quite a few of the 1990s recommendations, although most of them I haven’t read in over a decade. We’ll see if I revisit any of them for my next reread challenge.

A book for me and Mr, Curiosity is Any Weir’s new book, Artemis. I loved The Martian so much, I’d pretty much read anything by him, but the Penguin Random House newsletter that brought the book to my attention described it as a heist story set on the moon. Yes please! By the way, if you follow that link before October 10th, you can be entered into a sweepstakes to win a bunch of books from NYC Comic Con, including this one.

And for Miss Adventure (but I’m pretty sure Mr. Curiosity and I would enjoy the books as well), I’ve got The Shadow Thieves by Anne Ursu, the first book in the Cronus Chronicles. This is a Greek mythology/Percy Jackson read-alike. With as much as we all enjoy the Percy Jackson series, another book full of Greek mythology is always a safe bet. A post on Lifehacker about how to get boys to read girls’ books brought this to my attention.

So, how do the books look to you? Anything else I should put on my reading list or share with my kids?

If you’re interested in purchasing the book, you can click on the cover image or title to follow an Amazon affiliate link to the book and thanks for supporting my blog!

One More Star, Shining by Anthea Sharp

This is the next short story in the Event Horizon 2017 collection of short stories highlighting authors who are eligible for the 2017 Campbell award for best new writer.

Published: 2016 in the anthology Beyond the Stars: At Galaxy’s Edge

Genre: science fiction

Setting: an asteroid mining colony above the planet Doralfi, far future

Summary: Liza and her girlfriend Selina are making vacation plans  to get away from their difficult mining job. Selina heads down to the planet first and is killed in a shooting at a dance club. Liza makes plans to move away from her mining job and do something better with her life.

Final thoughts: I was amazed how much character building Sharp was able to sneak in to her story without making it feel like an infodump. I felt sorry Liza. She obviously had an easier life at one point and gave it up for a chance at agency. She’s finally found something wonderful (Selina), and that’s taken from her in a random act of violence. My favorite part was how Liza started to heal by playing music. I have also found that playing the piano and even listening to music can be very emotional, and provides a method of healing.

Title comes from: I’m not sure. Maybe it refers to Selina as being a star, shining brightly in Liza’s life?

If you’re interested in purchasing the book, you can click on the cover image or publication title to follow an Amazon affiliate link to the book and thanks for supporting my blog!