Walking to Aldebaran by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Walking to Aldebaran by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a standalone novella centred around a “big dumb object” in a science fictional sense. I haven’t read any of the author’s novels, but apparently did read his novella in Monstrous Little Voices, which was not very memorable. I think Walking to Aldebaran is a definite improvement on memorability, if nothing else.

My name is Gary Rendell. I’m an astronaut. When they asked me as a kid what I wanted to be when I grew up, I said, “astronaut, please!” I dreamed astronaut, I worked astronaut, I studied astronaut.

I got lucky; when a probe sent out to explore the Oort Cloud found a strange alien rock and an international team of scientists was put together to go and look at it, I made the draw.

I got even luckier. When disaster hit and our team was split up, scattered through the endless cold tunnels, I somehow survived.

Now I’m lost, and alone, and scared, and there’s something horrible in here.

Lucky me.

Lucky, lucky, lucky.

This book starts a little slowly with our first person protagonist walking through crypt-like passages in space. We get a feel for the crypts and the backstory is slowly meted out over the course of the novella. At one point I started to wonder whether there would be much plot to it or whether we would just a description of the space-bending alien artefact from the inside. But then we get some fresh hints about backstory still to come and the plot progresses. By the end, I found myself enjoying the book more than I expected to.

We get a reasonably detailed description of the crypts and the weird physics inside them. We get enough backstory to understand why the astronauts went there and (eventually) why Gary ends up alone. There was a reveal that came right after I thought “wait, was that <spoiler redacted>?” But another similar thought was not followed up my confirmation either way, since it’s not something Gary could have known and was not in a position to guess. Things like that open the text up for a lot more discussion and speculation than I would have expected, making this all the more satisfying a read.

Overall, Walking to Aldebaran was an interesting read, exploring a nifty alien artefact. Where it shines is towards the end, where the true story is revealed and we see Gary’s journey as a whole. I found myself pleasantly surprised although I wasn’t bored by the first half of the book either. I recommend Walking to Aldebaran to fans of philosophical science fiction or fans of big dumb objects.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: May 2019, Rebellion
Series: No
Format read: eARC
Source: publisher via NetGalley

Short stories 21 to 25

Two stories in this batch written as something like diary entries: the first and the last, and they couldn't be more different. One is told through a cooking blog during a pandemic, while the other is disturbing diary entries during an alien war. In between there was time travel, spaceships made from humans connecting a vast colonial empire, and some kind of transcendence.

So Much Cooking by Naomi Kritzer — This is the story of a flu pandemic told through the medium of a food (cooking) blog. It pulled me into the story as soon as I opened it and, despite not being into food or particularly interested in the recipes, I couldn’t put it down. A surprisingly good piece of writing. Source: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/kritzer_11_15/

Oblivion is a Crease Left By Memory by Chen Qiufan — Following the theme of a flight that lands 20 years in the future, this story is about an artist who was going to run an exhibit in San Francisco. Instead, they learn about a new form of art made possible by technology that taps into your brain and experiences. I found it an interesting read and not what I expected (the previous story I read from this anthology, by Charlie Jane Anders, had a very different, comical vibe). Source: https://seat14c.com/future_ideas/17F?utm_source=author&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=seat14c&utm_content=ChenQiufan

These Constellations Will Be Yours by Elaine Cuyegkeng — A story of colonialism and a future where spaceships are built from a particular group of people. Told from the perspective of one of the ships watching a woman who was not similarly made into a ship. I really liked the ideas in this story though it wasn’t a happy read. Source: http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/these-constellations-will-be-yours/

Worlds Like a Hundred Thousand Pearls by Aliette de Bodard — Eh. A flash piece about grief and transcendence. It was OK but didn’t really grab me. Source: http://dailysciencefiction.com/hither-and-yon/the-numbers-quartet/aliette-de-bodard/worlds-like-a-hundred-thousand-pearls

Diary of War by Joyce Chng — Somewhere between a prose-poem and diary entries, this story tells about war waged by alien invaders, who turn out to be very invasive. The sparse style is moving, especially with this subject matter. Source: http://www.anathemamag.com/diary-of-war

Provenance by Ann Leckie

Provenance by Ann Leckie is set in the same universe as the Imperial Radch trilogy (which starts with the Hugo Award-winning Ancillary Justice), but stands alone. It's set after the events in the Imperial Radch trilogy but can be read completely independently of that series. It's set on a planet outside of the Radchaai Empire and there are only a few mentions of an event that happened right at the end of the Imperial Radch trilogy (and which is sort of a spoiler but not in any important ways).

Following her record-breaking debut trilogy, Ann Leckie, winner of the Hugo, Nebula, Arthur C. Clarke and Locus Awards, returns with an enthralling new novel of power, theft, privilege and birthright.

A power-driven young woman has just one chance to secure the status she craves and regain priceless lost artifacts prized by her people. She must free their thief from a prison planet from which no one has ever returned.

Ingray and her charge will return to her home world to find their planet in political turmoil, at the heart of an escalating interstellar conflict. Together, they must make a new plan to salvage Ingray's future, her family, and her world, before they are lost to her for good.

I have to admit, I was a reasonable way into this book before I worked out what it was about. I didn't mind, though, because I found the the main character, Ingray, interesting to follow. We start off not knowing very much about her or her motives and learn piecemeal as we watch her actions and choices (and as various backstory is filled in as necessary). We know even less about the other characters, with the narrative holding a tight third person perspective, and learning more about them certainly held my interest.

By the time I was sure about what kind of book this was, I decided the best way to describe it was as a "comedy of diplomacy". Like a comedy of errors, but with more people from different planets inadvertently getting in each other's way. And a main character who didn't set out to get in the middle of it all, but did, to quite a significant extent. It was very entertaining.

This is a standalone novel, and the story is very much tied up by the end of the book. However, it's very much whet my appetite for more (possibly standalone) stories set in the same universe. We learn about one alien species in Provenance that were only mentioned in the Imperial Radch books (the Geck) and I am keen to learn more about some of the other aliens. I feel there are some key questions left unanswered in general.

But Provenance isn't a story about aliens. It's a story of a comparatively small civilisation, it's cultural quirks and its neighbours (with their own cultural quirks). They bear little similarity to the Radch (and in fact, seeing the Radch from their point of view was fascinating) and exist far outside of the Radchaai sphere of influence. Unlike the Imperial Radch books, this is not a story about colonialism, but rather about cultural history and the significance this takes in society. It's also a much more light-hearted story than that of a sentient warship. Just saying.

I highly recommend Provenance to fans of science fiction who are looking for a relatively light-hearted read. It's full of amusing or perplexing social and diplomatic situations and, while I wouldn't classify it as an outright comedy per se, I laughed out loud many times while I was reading. I hope Leckie writes more books — standalone or series — set in this universe.

5 / 5 stars

First published: September 2017, Orbit
Series: No, but set in the same world as the Imperial Radch trilogy, after the events of those books
Format read: ePub
Source: Purchased from Kobo shop

Terra Nullius by Claire G Coleman

Terra Nullius by Claire G Coleman is a book I picked up because of the Australian Women Writers Challenge. A few people had reviewed it and, from how they were alluding to the spec fic element without giving it away made me intrigued. I downloaded the sample chapters off iBooks and, finding the writing to be very good ended up buying the whole book. Regular readers will know I don't like to give away spoilers willy-nilly but in this case, I find it necessary to properly be able to discuss the book (I was also frustrated by those allusive reviews). I will keep the actual spoilers under a spoiler shield, so if you don't want to read them, don't hover your mouse over them or highlight them.

Jacky was running. There was no thought in his head, only an intense drive to run. There was no sense he was getting anywhere, no plan, no destination, no future. All he had was a sense of what was behind, what he was running from. Jacky was running.

The Natives of the Colony are restless. The Settlers are eager to have a nation of peace, and to bring the savages into line. Families are torn apart, reeducation is enforced. This rich land will provide for all.

This is not Australia as we know it. This is not the Australia of our history.

The opening of this book was very well-written. There's a lot of set up of different characters and although the direction of the plot is not entirely clear from the beginning, I found it compelling reading. I also found myself spending the first 41% of the book trying to guess what the big reveal would be (the blurb ☝️ and other reviews I'd read made it clear there was one). This was also especially well done since Coleman does not so much drop hints as studiously avoids anything explicit. I did pick up on one thing, but even then I wasn't entirely sure if it was relevant until I hit the actual reveal.

My issues with Terra Nullius arose once I actually got to the reveal and the book became more distinctly science fiction. Now for a spoilery discussion. Skip the next paragraph (do not hover or highlight the grey/purple section) if you do not want to be spoiled.

My first issue, post-reveal, was the abrupt change in quality of the epigraphs. In this case, they were fictional quotes at the start of each chapter. Pre-reveal, they mostly just set the tone and highlighted the general horribleness of colonialism. After the reveal there were several which were more along the lines of "look at my clever comparison of the British with aliens, let me explain it in too much detail" which made me feel bashed over the head with obviousness. They were entirely unnecessary and would have been better replaced with something more subtle. Towards the end they settled down a bit, and there were some which explained the background of the aliens, which I found less blatantly obvious and more useful. I suspect that these are a product of insufficient science fictional research/reading (let's face it, this is not an original trope, only the intense Australian-ness of it brings something new to the table). Those quotes were definitely my biggest problem in terms of how the aliens were presented. Everything else more or less worked well, albeit there were a few (less annoying) infodumps in the main text as well.

If poorly written quotes were my only issue, I would have given this book an additional half-star rating. As it is, only the high quality of (most of) the prose pushes it up to four stars. The other issue I had was that I was expecting the plot to pick up after the reveal and gain a clearer direction. It did not. Individual characters had goals and/or motivations but these did not come together as one would expect from a genre book. My guess is that this was intentional, and I think I see what the author was trying to achieve, but I found it disappointing and insufficiently rewarding for pushing through to the end.

Ultimately, I don't think this book was aimed at science fiction readers. That said, other SF fans might be less annoyed than I was and enjoy it more. It certainly brings a lot of colonial context to the story, particularly from an indigenous perspective, and a strong Australian setting, which I enjoyed.

4 / 5 stars

First published: August 2017, Hachette
Series: No
Format read: ePub
Source: iBooks
Challenges: Australian Women Writers Challenge

Trees Vol 2: Two Forests by Warren Ellis and Jason Howard

Trees Vol 2: Two Forests written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Jason Howard follows on from the first volume, titled In Shadow, which was one of my favourite comic trades ever. After waiting for a long time for Two Forests to come out, I then left it on my shelf for rather a while before I got around to reading it... but at least that means I'm now closer to the eventual (hopefully) release of volume 3?

A survivor of the Blindhail Event looks for signs of imminent global disaster among the megaliths and relics of Orkney, while the new mayor of New York plans to extract his revenge for the awful thing that happened the day the Tree landed on Manhattan.

The first volume had a lot of point of view characters but, due to events, there are fewer in this second volume. The two main story lines follow a biologist who was close to the action in the first volume, and the soon-to-be mayor of New York. We only get a small hint at the end of what some of the other characters are up to (and we don't hear from all of them) and the overall story remains incomplete, as is expected for an ongoing series.

I enjoyed the opportunity to delve into some of the story lines in more depth. It was nice to get a larger chunk of two stories rather than smaller chunks of more stories, which are harder to keep track of when the volumes are so spaced out. (There is currently no anticipated release date for Vol 3 due to the creators spending time on a TV pilot of Trees.) What we are presented with develops both personal stories and the overarching story of the Trees, and what they might be doing — not that any key questions about them are really answered.

I enjoyed this instalment but don't have quite as much to say about it as the first volume — mainly because all the background and basis for awesomeness has already been covered. If you haven't read Trees before, I highly recommend that you do and that you start with Vol 1: In Shadow. This isn't the kind of series you can pick up mid-way and expect to make full sense of. I recommend the series to fans of darker science fiction and comics/graphic novels.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2016, Image Comics
Series: Trees vol 2 of ongoing series (with two volumes out so far), collecting issues #9–14
Format read: Trade paperback
Source: Some sort bricks and mortar comic book shop (I have forgotten which country it was in though)

Mars Evacuees by Sofia McDougall

Mars Evacuees by Sofia McDougall is a fast-paced YA or younger (the main characters are 12) book about kids being evacuated to Mars during a war with aliens. I picked it up not realising the characters and target age group were younger than the YA I usually enjoy, but I ended up enjoying it a lot. It was also a good book to read on a plane and while jetlagged.

The fact that someone had decided I would be safer on Mars, where you could still only SORT OF breathe the air and SORT OF not get sunburned to death, was a sign that the war with the aliens was not going fantastically well.

I’d been worried I was about to be told that my mother’s spacefighter had been shot down, so when I found out that I was being evacuated to Mars, I was pretty calm.

And despite everything that happened to me and my friends afterwards, I’d do it all again. because until you’ve been shot at, pursued by terrifying aliens, taught maths by a laser-shooting robot goldfish and tried to save the galaxy, I don’t think you can say that you’ve really lived.

If the same thing happens to you, this is my advice: ALWAYS CARRY DUCT TAPE.

What made Mars Evacuees such an enjoyable and fun read was the voice of the first person protagonist, Alice. Her narration is full of snide and sarcastic remarks and seeing everything through her eyes brought the story to life. The mostly likely problem I am to have with younger reader (middle grade for you yanks) books is being talked down to by the narration, which was absolutely not the case here.

Another thing I appreciated about Mars Evacuees was the pretty accurate science/physics of space travel and stuff on Mars. There were only a few small bits that raised my eyebrow, but they were also glossed over by the author with no details, making it easier to ignore and harder to pinpoint actual sciencefails (if that's what they were). Much as I generally appreciate accurate science in my science fiction, I think it's even more important when it comes to kids books that can be quite formative.

Overall I really enjoyed Mars Evacuees. The characters were fun, the story was exciting and the resolution felt finished. This is the first book in a series but it certainly doesn't feel like the story is unfinished. I am interested in picking up the next book, but I don't feel like it's necessary.

I highly recommend Mars Evacuees to science fiction fans, especially those that enjoy YA books or books for younger readers. That said, I think this is a fun read that most adult fans will also enjoy. And while I said the science was accurate, it's not dwelt upon enough to make it hard SF, if science overpowering the story is something you prefer to avoid.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2014, Egmont
Series: Mars Evacuees book 1 of 2 so far
Format read: ePub
Source: purchased from Google Play

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor is a novella that was on my radar for a while, but particularly came to my attention when it was shortlisted for ALL THE AWARDS this year. I purchased it for being the most interesting-seeming novella on the Hugo shortlist.

Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs.

Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti's stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach.

If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself - but first she has to make it there, alive.

Binti starts off as a lovely story about a young woman with strong cultural ties stepping outside of her comfort zone and leaving her planet and her home for the first time. Leaving her family behind is difficult and she knows they will be angry with her for going. But she holds onto her heritage, taking her traditions with her when she leaves Earth. Although Binti begins as a story of adjusting to new experiences and being surrounded by new people, all of them from different cultures, it takes a sharp turn for the dire, partway through Binti's journey to university.

The story of Binti's belonging — or not belonging — turns from a story of potential social awkwardness into one of survival when Binti is confronted by hostile aliens. I quite liked that Binti was physically changed by her traumatic and otherwise life-changing experience.

I have to admit, I wasn't expecting this shift in story, but it definitely made for an interesting read. In particular, the final resolution was not entirely expected, but was very satisfying. That said, I would've loved to have read the conversation Binti has just after the close of the novella! Perhaps if there are more stories set in the same world (which I have heard may be the case), we can find out how that played out.

I highly recommend Binti to all fans of science fiction, novellas, and stories about diverse cultures. It's not a long tale — I read it in a single sitting — but an engrossing and exciting one. I will certainly be keeping an eye out for more of Okorafor's work, which this was my example of.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2015, Tor.com novella
Series: Apparently more stories in this world are forthcoming
Format read: ePub
Source: Purchased from iBooks

Dangerous by Shannon Hale

Dangerous by Shannon Hale is a YA science fiction book and the first I've read by the author. I picked it up a while ago (I think it was as part of my "let's read all the books with disabled protagonists" thing in the lead up to Defying Doomsday). I finally got around to reading it, partly because I was in the mood for some YA, and partly because of the recent announcement that she'll be writing Captain Marvel and Squirrel Girl tie in novels. I figured I should make sure her writing was all right before getting too excited.

Maisie ‘Danger’ Brown needs excitement. When she wins a harmless-sounding competition to go to astronaut boot camp, that’s exactly what she gets . . . But she never imagined it would feature stumbling into a terrifying plot that kills her friends and might just kill her too. Now there’s no going back. Maisie has to live by her middle name if she wants to survive – and she’ll need to be equally courageous to untangle the romance in her life too. A clever, suspenseful thriller-adventure by New York Times bestselling author and master storyteller Shannon Hale.

The thing that stood out for me most, reading Dangerous, was how not formulaic it was. For whatever reason, I was expecting a fairly formulaic read set in space about a girl with no arm. It wasn't set in space either, except very briefly. It was about a girl with no hand on one of her arms, so that part was right, although note how it's not mentioned in the blurb while the space bit is. No wonder I was surprised. Actually, the only expected element of this book was the part with the world being saved. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.

Maisie is a smart teenager whose two scientist parents have decided to home-school her. (And hence she has one friend, a fellow home-school-ee.) She enters a competition on the back of a cereal box to go to astronaut boot camp and wins a spot. I always enjoy female protagonists that are into science and Maisie definitely doesn't disappoint on that front.

In terms of plot, I was surprised that the astronaut boot camp was over pretty quickly and was just a set up for the next phase of the novel. Even more surprising was that the next phase was also fairly transient. (I realise these statements are vague, but I'm trying to avoid spoilers.) The story does not take the most direct route to get to the end, which kept me wondering what would happen next until more than half way through (at which point the saving the world part became more obvious).

I liked the romantic story line in Dangerous for a few reasons. First it was absolutely not the main part of the story, second, it wasn't a love triangle, despite how it first may have appeared. Most importantly, Maisie prioritises saving the world and the safety of her family over any boys she may or may not have feelings for. She's also not too blindly trusting, especially once she has reason to be suspicious, which I appreciated.

Oh and I should mention the science. There was only one physics thing the author got wrong that bothered me (the space elevator trip did not take them high enough to be weightless, they would have felt a diminished gravitational pull the entire time). Which did bother me but didn't make me angry, just disappointed. It's at the level of physics knowledge that the characters themselves should've had, which is the most irritating part. But everything else was fine or at least hand-wavingly explained away by alien magic.

I quite enjoyed Dangerous and I am definitely interested in reading more books by Shannon Hale. I'm not sure all her books are for me — for example, I'll stick with the movie of Austenland and probably won't bother with the books for younger readers, but I am definitely up for Captain Marvel and Squirrel Girl. Marvel tie-ins aside, I will definitely be keeping an eye out for any future books from Hale that align with my interests. I definitely recommend Dangerous to all fans of YA science fiction.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2014, Bloomsbury
Series: No.
Format read: ePub
Source: Purchased from iBooks

Abducticon by Alma Alexander

Abducticon by Alma Alexander is a book that tickled my fancy when I first read the blurb. What's not to like about the idea of a science fiction convention that gets abducted by aliens?

It's the Friday before a science fiction convention weekend. Hundreds of fans are lined up at the registration desk. The posters for the Media Guests of Honor aren't done, there's a problem with the Program Booklet, the Author Guest of Honor has gone AWOL, and the coffee in the Green Room is DREADFUL. The convention chair's boyfriend has just smashed up his car.

And now the entire hotel has been kidnapped by time traveling
androids. At least something is going right.

Welcome to AbductiCon.

This book was pretty much what I expected it to be. It's a fun and very, very geeky story about some of the people who attended a small, local (US) spec fic convention, a few innocent by-standers and the handful of aliens that throw their weekend into disarray.

There are several point of view characters and the story is split between them, depending on who is in the right place at the right time. A few notable characters are the con chair, a few others of the con committee — including one that got left behind, much to his confusion — and a few guests. There are also the aliens, of course, but they are never point of view characters. Their role is mainly to instigate events and be mysterious. They do have an agenda, but it takes a back-seat to the humans simply trying to cope with the situation, until near the end.

I found the book a funny and entertaining read. I would say if the premise tickles your fancy, then definitely pick this book up. If you have little to no interest in SFF fandom or conventions, then this is probably not for you. I enjoyed it and I think it was a good book to read while travelling.

4 / 5 stars

First published: March 2015, Book View Cafe
Series: No.
Format read: eARC
Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers programme

Yesterday's Kin by Nancy Kress

Yesterday's Kin by Nancy Kress is a novella and the first longer work I've read by the author. I've previously read some miscellaneous short stories. It's near-future science fiction and I didn't quite enjoy it as much as I'd hoped to.

Aliens have landed in New York.

A deadly cloud of spores has already infected and killed the inhabitants of two worlds. Now that plague is heading for Earth, and threatens humans and aliens alike. Can either species be trusted to find the cure?

Geneticist Marianne Jenner is immersed in the desperate race to save humanity, yet her family is tearing itself apart. Siblings Elizabeth and Ryan are strident isolationists who agree only that an alien conspiracy is in play. Marianne’s youngest, Noah, is a loner addicted to a drug that constantly changes his identity. But between the four Jenners, the course of human history will be forever altered.

Earth’s most elite scientists have ten months to prevent human extinction—and not everyone is willing to wait.

This wasn't a bad read, but it didn't excite me with its ideas. Yesterday's Kin focuses on a scientist who has just made a fairly interesting discovery at a minor university. But it doesn't seem like an Earth-shattering discovery until the aliens who have recently come to Earth take notice of it. As the blurb above says, the aliens also reveal that a deadly cloud is floating through space towards Earth. Marianne, the scientist, becomes involved in the scientific effort to save humanity and the story is told in alternating chapters between her point of view and one of her sons'.

I think I would have been more excited by this story if it had taken a "scientific mystery" angle. That's not quite what it did though. The mystery and race to save humanity is one of several threads in the story, not given more urgency that other threads (in terms of how it made me feel, anyway). It seemed to be given equal importance as Marianne's feelings towards her family and her son's ambling journey through life before and after he becomes involved with the aliens. Not to mention the fact that I felt a bit let down my the resolution.

As science fiction, this isn't a bad read, but I wanted more from it. It wasn't actively bad or offensive or anything like that, but it just left me feeling "meh" about it. I would recommend Yesterday's Kin to fans of science fiction, particularly near future SF with biological influences.

4 / 5 stars

First published: September 2014, Tachyon Publications
Series: No
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Adaptation by Malinda Lo

Adaptation by Malinda Lo is the first book in the author's YA science fiction series. I have previously reviewed Ash, which was a lesbian retelling of Cinderella. Adaptation is set in the almost-present in the US.

Flocks of birds are hurling themselves at aeroplanes across America. Thousands of people die. Millions are stranded. Everyone knows the world will never be the same.

On Reese's long drive home, along a stretch of empty highway at night, a bird flies into their headlights. The car flips over. When they wake up in a military hospital, the doctor won't tell them what happened.

For Reese, though, this is just the start. She can't remember anything from the time between her accident and the day she woke up almost a month later. She only knows one thing: she's different now. Torn between longtime crush David and new girl Amber, the real question is: who can she trust?

I had mixed feelings about this book. Some of the time it was a mix of irritation and meh, but ultimately I enjoyed the read, I just didn't love it. I'll say up front that I do intend to read the sequel when it becomes accessible.

The first thing that irritated me was the airport scene at the start. After — as the blurb says — flocks of birds hurl themselves into aeroplanes, all the flights in the US are grounded and no one in the airport the main characters are stuck at behaves like sensible travellers would in that situation. It wasn't particularly relevant to the plot but it annoyed me. Especially when Reese's friend tells her they're worried airports are going to run out of food because they can't fly more in. WTF? She's at Phoenix Airport, a reasonable-sized city. Also, food is generally shipped to airports in trucks, especially when they're in cities (I mean, maybe super-remote ones, OK, but that is not the case here). Anyway, as I said, it wasn't relevant to the plot, but it pissed me off, not least because of the amount of time I've spent in airports of late.

Most of the book leaves the the science fictional aspect on the back-burner and focuses on Reese recovering from the car accident and Reece's budding relationship with Amber. I found this part of the book enjoyable but a little bland, apart from the hints of weird stuff having happened post-accident. The action picks up again as Reece and friends start investigating why her and David's accident treatment is so top secret.

There was a particular trope used during the climax — I won't say what because spoilers, but it wasn't a YA-specific trope — which I am sick of seeing and which almost pushed the book down half a star. But Lo subverts it quite satisfyingly, which salvaged the ending nicely.

There wasn't a love triangle in this book — although Reece had two love interests — and I liked the very accepting way everyone treated Reece's relationship with Amber. It was nice to see a homosexual relationship not being treated as a big deal, which I think is exactly what Lo was going for. I have to say, though, I felt ambivalent about Amber as a character.

Ultimately, it was a pleasant read, though not a remarkable one. I liked it, but I did love it. I recommend it to YA fans, especially those looking for a bisexual main character, which doesn't come up in many books (I can only think of one other series off the top of my head). I hope the science fiction element is stronger in the sequel, as that was the aspect I found most interesting.

4 / 5 stars

First published: April 2014, Hodder Children's Books in the UK/ANZ and 2012, Little, Brown Books in the US
Series: Yes. Adaptation series, book one of two so far.
Format read: eARC of UK/ANZ version (mind you, it retains US spelling, of course, apart from the blurb)
Source: (ANZ) publisher via NetGalley

Under Nameless Stars by Christian Schoon

Under Nameless Stars by Christian Schoon is the sequel to Zenn Scarlett and continues that story immediately where it left off. As such, I definitely do not recommend reading Under Nameless Stars without reading Zenn Scarlett first. This review will also contain spoilers for the first book, as the set-up is crucial to understanding the context (the blurb also spoils the ending of the first book). I'll also have a review with Christian Schoon at the end of the month, so keep an eye out for that.

Zenn Scarlett’s novice year of exoveterinarian training on Mars isn’t quite going to plan…

After barely surviving a plot to destroy her school and its menagerie of alien patients, could things at the Ciscan cloister get any worse? Yes. Yes they could: Zenn’s absent father Warra Scarlett has suddenly ceased all communication with her. Desperate to learn what’s become of him, Zenn stows away aboard the Helen of Troy, a starliner powered by one of the immense, dimension-jumping beasts known as Indra.

With her is Liam Tucker, a towner boy who is either very fond of her, very dangerous to her, or both. On the verge of learning the truth about her dad, Zenn’s quest suddenly catapults her and Liam thousands of light years beyond known space, and into the dark heart of a monstrous conspiracy. Braving a gauntlet of lethal environments and unearthly life forms, her courage and exovet skills will now be tested as never before.

With the fate of entire worlds hanging in the balance, Zenn is racing headlong into trouble… again.

I enjoyed Zenn Scarlett as I was reading it (apart from some minor weird physics) but it didn't stand up all that well to retrospective contemplation and discussion. The redneck Martian farmers, particularly, continued to bother me. Happily, Under Nameless Stars isn't set on Mars at all, so the closest thing to a redneck is Liam, Zenn's sort-of love interest. I say sort of, because they spend most of the story apart and the ending very much emphasises that there are more important things to teenage girls than finding and settling down with a boy. That made me very happy.

Back to the setting, though. Picking up right where the first book left off, Zenn and Liam find themselves in a container on an interstellar spaceship. Most of the book, then, is set in space on ships among a variety of sentient alien species, a few humans and some alien animals (for Zenn, exo-vetinarian to heal, of course). My favourite character in Under Nameless Stars was Jules, a dolphin (yes, from Earth) who spends most of his time in a "walksuit", which is basically what it sounds like. I was actually a bit sceptical of him at first, until it was revealed that he was only 18 — calibrated in Earth/human years, as far as I could tell — and hence allowed to be a bit of an idiot. I say that in the nicest possible way, however. He's very into mystery and adventure novels and frequently orients his expectations based on popular tropes. It comes across as so ridiculous as to be funny, which is part of what made me like the character. The only thing that could have improved him further, in my opinion, is a more in-depth exploration of the walksuit as a "blending in with other sentient life-forms" aid and more time spent dealing with swimming vs walking.

Ultimately, I would characterise Under Nameless Stars as an action-packed space adventure story. It doesn't take itself too seriously and Zenn gets into strife very frequently. It was an engaging read and, unlike some books, I found myself not bothered by the physics of it all, mostly because all the physics — including the quantum tunnelling space horses — was pretty hand-wave-y and not specific enough to be problematic.

That said, I wouldn't recommend it to readers after a hard science fiction novel. It's probably closer to space opera, although I admit I'm a little hazy on that definition. I recommend it to anyone looking for a fun space adventure and, of course, to anyone who enjoyed the first book. As I said at the start, I definitely wouldn't recommend reading Under Nameless Stars without reading Zenn Scarlett first. And don't forget to keep an eye out for my interview with the author in a few weeks!

4 / 5 stars

First published: April 2014, Strange Chemistry
Series: Yes. Book 2 of 2.
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Alienated by Melissa Landers

Alienated by Melissa Landers is the author's début novel. I have to admit, the main reason I picked this up was because of the gorgeous cover. Isn't it lovely? I was dreading finding out that the book wouldn't live up to it, but I think it more or less worked out.

Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them.

Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.

Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.

But when Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn't safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara's locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class.

Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.

There's a lot to discuss in Alienated, more than I expected actually. This is partly because the blurb and cover make it look like it will be primarily a romance novel, low on issues. It wasn't really either. The aliens are played very much as the other that many people (I would say somewhat red-neck-y people) fear for not necessarily valid reasons. Basic xenophobia. Cara, as the host of an alien teen, bears a lot of the brunt of the xenophobic fear, including from people she was previously on good terms with.

I felt that Alienated did use aliens as analogues for racism, especially in the kinds of slurs and reactions of by-standers and the anti-alien lobby/terrorist group. Your mileage may vary on that point. Landers doesn't pull any punches with people's reactions to Aelyx and the aliens generally. There's a build-up throughout the book in terms of what Cara actually witnesses, culmination in very dramatic events. There was one scene near the end that really made me cringe at how horrible some people were being, especially when it was directed at Cara, rather than being more generalised and diffuse anti-alien sentiment. I wouldn't be surprised if people more knowledgeable on the topic than I am will see direct parallels to historical racism events.

I can't review a science fiction book without making some comment on the science. In general, Alienated was was science-lite so there's not much for me to directly complain about, just a lot of hand-wavey technology. BUT. The aliens cane from another galaxy, which struck me as kind of ridiculous. There's one bit where Aelyx explains to Cara how hard it was for them to find humans — ie other intelligent life — and the way he explains it makes more sense if taken as though he is talking about searching within part of the Milky Way. The numbers are off, not to mention the very practicality he's talking about. There's also a few passing comments about how the alien light-speed travel and a reference to relativity which don't actually gel with character experiences. Despite mentioning the possibility there was no actual time-dilation. Also, the aliens are genetically compatible with humans, which is just weird, but I hold out hope that there might be a plot-based reason for that (other than convenience, I mean).

So the science wasn't awesome (but not the worst ever) but the story was better than I expected. I have to admit, when I got up to the climax, I became very sceptical of how the story was going to end — that is, whether it would be satisfying — but it didn't quite go exactly how I expected. I will probably pick up the next book in the series (it's US YA, of course it's a series) to see what happens next.

I would recommend Alienated to fans of YA and YA SF. In particular, those looking for a read that can be confronting at times will find much to like here. The story deals with Cara's alienation from her peers — which while having an unusual cause is not unusual for a teenager to experience — as well as more extreme levels of vilification for hosting an alien (which she didn't actually have a choice about) and being nice to him (because she's not a terrible person). I suspect the cringe-worthy scene I mentioned above might be more confronting for some people than others. Anyway, it's not a bad read, and I encourage others to have a look at it.

4 / 5 stars

First published: February 2014, Disney Book Group
Series: Yes. Alienated, Book 1 of ? (my guess would be 3, but not sure)
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

I picked up I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore as part of Penguin's "Thriller Trilogy", partly because the movie wasn't bad and piqued my interest. Let me open by saying the movie was better. I posit that even the science was slightly less violated in the movie, and this is Hollywood we're talking about. It was also the last book I read in 2012.

In I Am Number Four, Lorien, a planet which is smaller than Earth but for some reason hosted aliens similar to humans and had similar gravity, is attacked and obliterated by evil aliens from another planet. The Loriens fail to defend themselves, somehow, despite having spaceships and magic powers and despite the fact that the battle is fought on the surface, pretty much had to had but with bonus hellbeasts. Also, the flashbacks to the apocalyptic war are exceedingly trite and shallow. Somehow we're supposed to believe that Four gains a whole lot of understanding and compassion just from watching a battle? But I'm getting ahead of myself.

When the planet was lost, the Loriens managed to smuggle out nine children and their (non-magical) protectors to Earth. Before they left, a plothole spell was cast so that the nine children couldn't be killed except in a specific order. The story opens ten years later with child number three being killed and Four's guardian makes them move to a new town with new identities. As soon as Four walks into his new school, he gets a crush on a girl and targeted by the school bully-jock. It's also the day his magic powers start to awaken and the day he (and to a lesser extent, his guardian) start making poor decisions that lead to a confrontation with evil aliens by the end of the book.

I would definitely call it science fantasy of maybe superhero fiction, but I've seen a few superhero movies that gave a more significant nod to physics than I Am Number Four did (including its own movie which left out some of the WTFier bits). I'm not a fan of science fiction without any accurate science at all, so that didn't help. But the action isn't too bad and I didn't find the book actively offensive. The writing is distinctly pedestrian with stilted dialogue and bursts of summarised conversation which were less fun to read through than the proper dialogue (eg "I told her blah and she said that blah and I agreed").

I wanted to like I Am Number Four, but I didn't by the end. The beginning drew me in, but it went downhill from the first Lorien flashback and didn't manage to climb out again. It didn't make me all that angry, though, which is a bit surprising given that it did drive me to skimming pages of battle. In the end it was entertaining enough to earn it an extra half-star.

I think I Am Number Four would be enjoyed by readers who like action and don't like to think too hard about what they're reading. Or younger teens who are less judgemental of quality. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more when I was 12 or 13.

3 / 5 stars

First published: 2010, Penguin
Series: The Lorien Legacies, book 1 of 3
Format read: ebook
Source: Penguin Thriller Trilogy (not actually a trilogy, but a pack of three books), purchased from iBooks on impulse

Blue Silence by Michelle Marquardt

Blue Silence by Michelle Marquardt was originally published in 2002 and is sadly now out of print. Although I see it's in stock at Infinitas as of this writing. It was a winner of the George Turner Prize (as my edition proclaims on the cover).

The story opens when a mysterious ship docks with one of the space stations in orbit around Earth. The ship is, on the outside, an exact replica of one that was sent out into deep space 180 years ago, and then never heard from again. The difference? This ship has new drive technology which was only invented a couple of years ago. And instead of the seven original crew members, it's full of stasis pods and five hundred creatures, half of whom look human, half of whom look almost human.

None of the aliens know where they came from or why — they have no memories before waking up docked with the space station — and the authorities on the space station don't really know what to do with them either.

Senator Maya Russini is the leader of the group of people who first board the ship. A mission which one of the group does not return from alive. Are the aliens dangerous? What do they mean for the various political machinations happening within the space station's government and between them and other governments?

I liked Maya. She was an excellent example of a female character that doesn't need to run around kicking people in the head to gain power. She's also secretly a telepath (secret because she didn't register when she turned 21), but in a nice twist, she's the weakest kind of telepath, only able to read emotions, not thoughts. I think Marquardt has done a good job of portraying a society in which women are equal without making a big deal of it. (There are, in the end, more male characters, but that's mostly because the two main aliens are male.)

Her friend Ienne, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, also gets involved with the aliens. Unlike Maya who mostly regards them as suspicious and dangerous, Ienne is always looking for a way to use them to his advantage (there's a treaty they and another space station are wrestling over). He also goes out of his way to be rude to everyone with the occasional exception of Maya.

As I noticed when I was past half-way, Blue Silence is a very character driven story, unusually so for science fiction. The world does not need saving, nor does any war break out. Instead the action comes directly from the interactions between the characters, including two of the aliens who I don't think I can say much about without spoiling key elements. There is excitement and there's no missing the climax, but it's not like a plot driven story where all the action was building up to an inevitable climax and world-saving event. In the end, we know more about the aliens, but we don't know everything. Some answers are only hinted at or presented as speculation. In a way, this was slightly annoying because I like to know all the answers (arguably why I'm a scientist in real life), but it worked for the book. The story wasn't about the people trying to study the aliens, it was about people whose paths happened to cross theirs.

Also, the science, which I feel obliged to comment on, was well done. It wasn't a technology-oriented story, but having been published ten years ago, there was a risk the technology would feel a bit dated now. It didn't. They didn't have smart phones, but they did have pagers which were functionally mobile phones and received the equivalent of email on ubiquitous computers.

I highly recommend Blue Silence to anyone looking for something a bit different in their science fiction. It also emphasises the variety we have in the Australian science fiction field, something you might miss if you only looked at the most recent few releases.

4.5 / 5 stars