Category Archives: Reviews

QUICK REVIEW: Compulsory – Martha Wells

Previously published by Wired Magazine and now available as a standalone e-short from Subterranean Press, Martha Wells’ Compulsory is a very short but satisfying story that acts as a prequel of sorts to the main body of her Murderbot Diaries series. Set before the events of All Systems Red, but after Murderbot hacked its governor module, this sees everyone’s favourite SecUnit paying its usual scant attention to a contract guarding mining machinery, preferring to watch The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon. When one of the humans on the contract finds themself in danger, Murderbot has to choose how to respond – a choice that might just set it on a particular path.

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The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch – Melinda Taub

Pride and Prejudice meets Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrell, with added witches, in Melinda Taub’s The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch, coming in October 2023 from Jo Fletcher Books. In this re-envisioning of Jane Austen’s beloved novel, we see the events of Pride and Prejudice – and more – through the eyes of the youngest Bennet sister, whose magical abilities offer intriguing new explanations for familiar events. But as Lydia’s story unfolds, the truth of her high spirits, troublesome behaviour and relationship with the devilish Wickham proves to be unexpectedly dark, and her story filled with wild magic and terrible dangers (not all of which are her own fault).

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QUICK REVIEW: The Cure – Guy Haley

Published in Grimdark Magazine issue 34, Guy Haley’s short story The Cure is a short, sharp blast of mud-splattered action and black humour that blends fantasy and science fiction into an intriguing whole. When Velth and his companions set out on their latest contract – escorting a priest and an unwell priestess to a remote temple in search of a cure to her ailment – their mercenary company numbers ten, under the leadership of their captain, Arnolli. The further they travel though, through rotten forest and stinking marsh, the harder their journey becomes, and as they begin to fall through accident, illness and battle, Velth has his work cut out to protect their charges and keep faith with the contract.

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Short and Sweet – Aconyte Edition

Hello and welcome to this instalment of my Short and Sweet review roundup series, where I take a quick look at some recent reads that I haven’t been able to write full reviews for. Normally I do one of these per month, but for various reasons (you can read about how mad a lot of the last month was for me in this monthly roundup post) I didn’t manage one in June 2023. To make up for that, this instalment is a special Aconyte Books edition, in which I’m talking about a trio of Aconyte titles that I’ve recently read – two Arkham Horror novels and one Marvel: Legends of Asgard book. I’ve been trying to catch up on books I’ve been meaning to read for ages, and I’ve had these on the shelf since 2020/21, so it’s been great to finally find the time for them.

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Signal to Noise – Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Published in 2015 by Solaris Books, with a nice new paperback edition released in 2022, Signal to Noise was Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s debut novel, an intriguing tale of music, magic and the recklessness of youth that introduced the world to her genre-swapping talents. In Mexico City in the late 80s, three school friends – Meche, Sebastian and Daniela – learn how to cast spells by listening to vinyl records, using their newfound power to get the things any teenager wants: money, attention, love, freedom. Twenty years later, Meche returns to Mexico City for the funeral of her absent father, and finds herself reliving those early years, and the inevitable pain that came as a result of her dabbling in power she didn’t understand.

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QUICK REVIEW: Altar of Maws – Peter Fehervari

Released in May 2023 as a standalone Black Library e-short, Peter Fehervari’s Altar of Maws is the 18th instalment in the Dark Coil, and another example of just how dark and interesting 40k can be in the right hands. Set between A Sanctuary of Wyrms and the novel Fire Caste, this sees a flotilla of T’au barges pulled off course as it journeys along Fi’draah’s winding rivers, and confronted with a ghastly enemy in the midst of an impossible, hidden lake. Jhi’kaara, the ‘broken mirror’, has confronted this sort of darkness before, but for her fellow Fire Warrior Tal’hanzo the monstrousness of what they’ve stumbled across is enough to challenge his beliefs at a fundamental level.

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The King of the Spoil – Jonathan D. Beer

The fifth novel in Black Library’s Warhammer Crime range, Jonathan D. Beer’s The King of the Spoil is another gritty tale of everyday life on the brutal streets of Varangantua, this time exploring the socio-political implications of a power vacuum forming in perhaps the poorest sector of this gargantuan city. When Andreti Sorokin is murdered, the vast gang of which he was the undisputed king – the Har Dhrol – begins to fall apart, bringing chaos to the Spoil. As the shockwaves caused by Sorokin’s death race through the city, information broker Melita Voronova is tasked by the Valtteri cartel (for whom she begrudgingly works) with uncovering the culprit behind Sorokin’s murder. Meanwhile Haska Jovanic, a wannabe ganger on the fringes of the Har Dhrol, finds herself swept up in the upswell of anger forming on the streets of the Spoil, which can only lead to violence and pain.

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I Am AI – Ai Jiang

A story about a cyborg called Ai who moonlights as an AI writing tool, written by an author was name is also Ai – it takes a moment to wrap your head around this, but Ai Jiang’s intriguing and darkly powerful tale novelette I Am AI is definitely written by a human (not an AI) and is very, very good. In a distant but utterly believable future, the city of Emit is dominated by a single, monopolistic corporation – the creepily titled New Era – with vast numbers of citizens living in poverty. Cyborg Ai works herself into the ground trying to earn enough to pay off her crippling debts and strip away her inefficient human flesh, even while doing what she can to support her neighbours and make their lives a little better. As her battery wanes though, and work pressures mount, her choices come increasingly into question.

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The Sleepless – Victor Manibo

Victor Manibo’s debut novel The Sleepless is a sharp, thought-provoking science fiction mystery with an instantly compelling premise and some strong commentary on technology and corporate power. In a near future in which large swathes of the population have become physically incapable of sleeping, Jamie Vega is a journalist for a global media outlet, and a hyperinsomniac himself – one of the Sleepless. When he finds the body of his beloved boss and mentor in the buildup to a huge takeover bid, Jamie can’t believe that it’s a case of suicide, and puts his investigative skills to use in trying to uncover the truth. The deeper he digs, as he uncovers dangerous secrets and reopens old wounds, the more he realises that not only can he not trust many of the people around him, but he might not even be able to trust his own mind.

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Winter’s Gifts – Ben Aaronovitch

Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London crosses the Atlantic with Winter’s Gifts, the fourth novella in this hugely popular series. Not only is this the first time the series has ventured to America though, with FBI agent Kimberley Reynolds stepping into the spotlight for her own story, but it’s also the first time the series has really delved into the realm of the horror story. It’s a classic horror setup – a small town in Wisconsin, snow blanketing the ground and cutting off access, a missing man, locals hiding secrets, and a lone FBI agent trying to piece together a mystery which might involve a lost 19th century expedition, while dealing with the inimical weather and a lurking darkness (which inevitably steps out of the shadows soon enough).

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