This was a really enjoyable story, but not a series or author that I’ll be reading further. I definitely enjoyed my foray into Lallo’s world, but I wasn’t supremely attached to it. Plus, for me, this worked kind of well as a standalone – there were no major cliff-hangers and answers that I needed at the conclusion of this story.
One of the things I loved the most about this story was that it is a space pirate story filled with hijinks and insanity. Mostly I just enjoyed the random insanity of those flying through the skies as they try and survive raiders and robbers. Plus, just pure insanity and hijinks.
Nita is a really fun and engaging lead, and I love that she’s admittedly impulsive but also incredibly intelligent. Unlike some books, there is little commentary on her looks, and a focus on her privilege and smarts. Actually, there is little physical description throughout, more of a focus on characters and plot line. Which I enjoyed thoroughly.
Title: Any Way the Wind Blows Author: Seanan McGuire Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Science fiction Pace: Fast Format: eBook, Novella Year: 2019
This is a fun short story – it’s a bit of a departure from the ordinary world into something that’s a little extraordinary. And, as with all McGuire books on my shelves, I enjoyed this thoroughly. Particularly as it packs a whole lot of information into very few pages – I mean, there’s literally a whole world created in about 50 pages. That takes a lot of talent, and makes it very interesting.
I love the idea of an airbus transporting between layers of reality. Layers which are overlapping, mostly I just loved the idea of reality as a baklava. And now, everytime I think of this story, I think of food. And reality. And time travel…
Sven was a fun character in Halcyon, particularly as it was incredibly obvious that he had a pretty major crush on Allie that was totally unrequited. Which meant that it was quite nice to read about his love story. Like Halcyon, this was a pretty simple and pleasant novel. One that I enjoyed but maybe wouldn’t read again.
It was fun to have a crime to solve alongside the romance. Especially since it was the lead detective on the case who ended up falling for one of the potential suspects. It gave a little more insight into the world of the Colony and the mix of humans and Titans. Sven might not have truly been a suspect, but the potential did leave a little more conflict to the beginning of the relationship. Plus, you know, it was fun to try and figure out who was running around trying to kill Titans.
Poseidongives a little more information to understand the dynamics of Titans and humans. Particularly that of the merfolk. I love that a paranormal which I’ve not seen as overly scary in most books is almost the big boogie man of this world. One that half the population just doesn’t know about. It was kind of cool to think about how deadly such a population could be.
I’m kind of disappointed that this is the end of this series, but not overly so. I absolutely adored the world building and ideas behind this series. But I didn’t necessarily fall completely in love with the characters. Definitely a fun and light read, but not one that I will dive back into in the future.
This was my first ever Demelza Carlton book, even though they’ve been suggested on my shelves for quite a while. And now I’ve put even more of these books on my shelves… because Halcyon was an absolutely amazing story! One that I seriously enjoyed because it was an intriguing journey. A good couple. And fantastic world building. It’s been a while since I’ve read a sci-fi romance, and man did I enjoy this!
Allie is such a sweet and chilled lead character. Or at least, she seems to be until her backstory is revealed. I definitely guessed at what it was a little while before the first overt hint was actually revealed. I love that she chooses a calm, peaceful life when there are obviously a whole heap of other options available. And that she is so calmly in control of herself.
Galen on the other hand was a little too instalove for me. I mean, he decides on Allie pretty much immediately, knowing absolutely nothing about her. Then, when he actually discovers that she’s the one he’s been hunting… he just gives up on his revenge? Something that has driven him his whole life? Without much of a fight? I think this needed a whole lot more angst and difficulty to overcome that little problem in their relationship…
All in all, although I thought Galen needed a little more development throughout this, I did thoroughly enjoy the story. It was a great SciFi romance and one that I would like to read again in the future. I can’t wait to see what else Carlton writes now that I’ve stocked up on some of her books…
For a short story that didn’t have a lot of action, I loved this to a ridiculous level. It was just… thought provoking. And kind of sweet. It made me wonder, if I could find out more about my lover’s “heart”, then would I do it? Would I risk our happiness to get some concrete answers? I don’t know that I would… but then the temptation of knowledge shouldn’t be underestimated…
Although there are comments about what Grace and Marcus’ hearts contain, there is no way to know which heart belongs to whom. And, what kind of love is being discussed. You get the feeling at the end that they’ve realised they want happiness together, but it’s still really open ended. Which, is how it should be. Love and relationships are not a happily ever after and finished kind of story – they are open ended in real life.
As someone who has been with their significant other since they were quite young (almost half of my life), I get how difficult it is to grow together. It’s interesting that some of these challenges are highlighted. How love might not ever be lost, but does growth, change and curiosity alter the stakes? How do you know when it’s worth continuing with the known and when you should strike out to a new future? For me, these questions might not have been that difficult, but I also completely understand why both Grace and Marcus find themselves asking them…
This was a very intense and emotional short story. A little slow to get going, but once it picked up speed… it was hard to put it down. Kristoffdoes a great job of world building and bringing you into the intrigue that is to be The Lotus Wars series.
Kristoff’s world building is absolutely phenomenal in this short story. I was expecting good world building, but this was of a totally different calibre. I can’t wait to dive into the rest of this series. I mean, this is a steampunk, dystopia feeling world. Full of politics, conflict and magic.
I absolutely adored this short story, and now I can’t wait to read the first book in The Lotus Wars series. I mean, I kind of expected that from Kristoff, but it was nice to have the confirmation.
Unlike some of the short stories that I’ve been reading lately, the title of this short story really didn’t give me any kind of hint as to what this tale was actually going to be about. The most I could assume was that the name had at least some allusion towards freedom. And it kind of did, although not exactly in the way that I was expecting. In fact, although it was kind of an underlying hint of a theme, it really didn’t take centre stage the way I was expecting.
Liberia is literally just the name of the ship that this young cohort of settlers is aboard, travelling through space to a better future. And here the freedom / liberation feeling of the story pretty much ends. Mostly, this tale is (for me) about our family and our ancestors. About those things that get passed down to us in our day to day lives. For me it is baking with my grandfather, for some of the members of this crew, its Cassava and its propagation.
Having never had Cassava, and it not being an important part of my culture, I love how this food source was highlighted as not just a food. It was, again, about ancestors and family. There is a whole lot of cultural significance in a lot of what we eat, and I think it’s great that I got to read a short story that focuses on this idea. It’s not about physical sustenance, but also mental, emotional and social… something we should really keep in mind if we’re ignorant enough to mock another’s food.
I love that there is constant conflict throughout this story – with the lead of the tale constantly at loggerheads with their captain. And, again, highlighting how something that is seen as maybe a little bit “everyday” is actually seriously important. And worth fighting for. A fantastic short story, and I would love to read more of Mbalia’s world and writings.
Love, love, love the Alien Bachelor. I mean, you get introduced to a whole range of different peoples, there is ridiculous drama and it’s just all around fun. I might not be a fan of shows like The Bachelor in real life, but if they were like this with death and aliens… maybe I’d actually have half an interest in actually engaging with such nonsense. Alongside all of this drama, there is also some wonderful more clues to Dina and Caldenia’s pasts and how they ended up where they are.
For starters, I loved finding out more about just how Caldenia managed to end up having so many bounty hunters on her tail. And why she ended up being such a well-known murderess. And, without giving anything away. It was actually kind of sad. I mean, totally not the motivations that I had expected and it made me like this character even more. Which was surprising, because I freaking love Caldenia anyway – she is all sass, pomp and careful manipulations.
Then, you also get to fit another piece of the puzzle into just what happened to Dina’s parents. There are still SO many unanswered questions. And probably actually created a few more unanswered ones if I’m being honest. But, I finally feel like there is progress as to just what is going on in the background of the innkeeper world. The big mysteries continue, making me need to dive in again and again to this series… I’ll just have to continue doing rereads until the next one is published.
Although you do spend the whole time wondering just who from the Alien Bachelor is going to win, you also spend about half of that time wondering just who it is that’s trying to kill the bachelor. My first impressions are often fairly spot on in these instances and I thought I would be able to guess exactly what was going on… I was wrong on literally every single account. I loved that my first impressions were basically universally incorrect, and it makes me want to read this again all that much more. Now that I know the true motivations for characters, I want to see if I can pick up on all of these nuances!
Yet another book that I absolutely loved and can’t wait to read again. I also love that it gave a little bit of closure to the George and Sophie story and gave us a little bit more time with Gaston. I loved these characters in the other Innkeeper books and The Edge series.
I really love the whole idea of an innkeeper specific holiday. I mean, most religions have something similar. And then there’s the fact that it falls just after Christmas (which in One Fell Sweep meant quite a bit to Dina). Then there’s the fact that it’s based on the first innkeepers and that the three main individuals who were present at their first lunch managed to be present at Dina’s celebration.
The idea of a warrior, pilgrim and philosopher being in the inn at the same time, some of whom wanted to eat each other was fun. I also loved that this novella also introduced me to a whole slew of new alien peoples. Particularly the Koo-ko (who we get the pleasure of spending time with again in Sweep of the Heart).
I also love that, where at the end of One Fell Sweep, Sean and Dina finally start to take the steps into their new relationship. Then, as this novella unfolds, they start to actually ease into the daily activities and nuances of a relationship. That, and the fact that they are acting as innkeepers together. Sean’s approach was definitely more my speed and happiness.
The illustrations in this just help to expand on the images that parade through my mind. Although, admittedly, when I showed my partner some of the illustrations, he was incredibly confused. Just how I like it.
Holy wow. This is a FANTASTIC ending to a seriously amazing series. I’m honestly seriously disappointed that this is over and still kind of in shock. But it was totally worth it. Definitely one of those series that I’m going to read again and again and recommend to all my friends and family and total strangers on the street…
I really wasn’t expecting a few things in this – particularly the ending with AIDAN. I’m still really confused about my emotions towards him (it?) I mean, some seriously disgusting and horrible choices. But also some really good moments. I’m not used to feeling so conflicted about my emotions towards a character. And even if AIDAN is a machine, it’s (he’s) still a pretty phenomenal character throughout the series.
I love that throughout Obsidio it actually shows how the Illuminae Files came to be and how they were compiled. It’s a great way for you to look back (particularly at the video transcripts). And I like the idea of rereading this series with that context in mind. It also tied out the different romances in a way that made you smile with happiness. Not going to lie, there were a few of these moments that bought a tear to my eye.
Although Asha and Rhys aren’t necessarily my favourite couple from the series, they’re still pretty cute. I probably just didn’t connect as much to them because they get the least time on the page. But, they still work, particularly for the little surprising twists and turns that they take throughout.
At its heart the Illuminae Files are based around a mass genocide. I love that of all the books, it’s Obsidio that shows the casualties of war. Not those on either side of the conflict. But all of the innocent lives that are lost for no damn good reason. It was probably this that truly bought those tears to my eyes and a soaring to my heart. Truly an amazing finish to an amazing series.
Earth and Skye 