At the end of 2018 I set a goal for myself of reading all of the books on the Top 100 Fantasy and Top 100 Science Fiction book lists. It was ambitious.
I went on vacation for basically all of September, and got a lot of reading done. As a result, I finally broke the halfway mark for Sci-Fi books and I’m now at 53. Here’s what I thought of the latest batch:
| Dawn | Butler, Octavia E. | Let me start by saying that I found the imagery of the other beings and the plot line so disturbing that I chose to ‘cleanse my palate’ by reading Anne Rice. All kudos to Butler for writing such a thoughtful and interesting story about race, origins, survival, and choice. |
| Everfair | Shawl, Nisi | I really truly wanted to like this steampunk re-imagining of the tragedy of the so-called colonization of the Congo. Sadly, the shifting perspectives muddied the narrative and kept me from *caring* about enough of the characters to make my way through the carnage. In the end, I found this to be another story about how awful humans are to one another. |
| Ninefox Gambit | Lee, Yoon Ha | Opens in the midst of a terrible war and I just could NOT get into the story. May be great, but not for me. |
| Planetfall | Newman, Emma | A complicated story told in unfolding layers and encompassing themes of societal norms, love, madness, and god. Brilliant and disturbing with a dash of horrifying. |
| Shards of Honor | Bujold, Lois Mcmaster | Although initially dismayed by the obvious romance about to happen between the two leads, I was nonetheless captured by their individual and complementary strengths. A particularly well-done update of a story as old as Shakespeare. |