“Light from Uncommon Stars” Review

“Light from Uncommon Stars” by Ryka Aoki

Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six.

When Katrina Nguyen, a young transgender runaway, catches Shizuka’s ear with her wild talent, Shizuka can almost feel the curse lifting. She’s found her final candidate.

But in a donut shop off a bustling highway in the San Gabriel Valley, Shizuka meets Lan Tran, retired starship captain, interstellar refugee, and mother of four. Shizuka doesn’t have time for crushes or coffee dates, what with her very soul on the line, but Lan’s kind smile and eyes like stars might just redefine a soul’s worth. And maybe something as small as a warm donut is powerful enough to break a curse as vast as the California coastline.

As the lives of these three women become entangled by chance and fate, a story of magic, identity, curses, and hope begins, and a family worth crossing the universe for is found.

Review

This was a very cool and very strange story. Other reviews have said it felt like multiple stories being told at once and that’s sort of true. But really it feels like multiple lives intersecting in a time and place in various complicated ways and we’re just going along for the ride. Which is how life works. Books usually focus on one story but this one was a bit more realistic to life with multiple people and their stories connecting. It’s also multi-genre in that it’s a bit science fiction and a bit fantasy and a bit coming of age general fiction for one of the characters. And I really enjoyed getting to know all of the characters – even Shizuka Satomi and her complicated history. Some would say she’s evil but it feels more complicated than that. There’s a couple places where I think things could have been explained a little more but overall everything was great about the book. Hopefully all continues to go well for everyone!

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “Light from Uncommon Stars”.

Book Details

The majority of the cover is a view of space with stars and patches of nebulas in lighter blue. there's a spaceship flying across the top of the cover and the title of the book is written in large font across the middle of the cover with the authors name at the bottom

Author’s Website
Ryka Aoki
Publisher / Date
Tor Books, September 2021
Genre
Fantasy, Science Fiction
Page Count
372
Completion Date
March 29, 2024

“Real Sugar is Hard to Find” Review

“Real Sugar is Hard to Find” by Sim Kern

A collection of short stories by Sim Kern, REAL SUGAR IS HARD TO FIND explores intersections of climate change, reproductive justice, queer identities, and family trauma. Whether fantasy, science fiction, or terrifyingly close-to-home, the worlds of these stories are inhabited by flawed characters whose lives are profoundly impacted by climate change and environmental degradation.

Arranged in a progression from dystopian to utopian worlds, the stories chart a path from climate despair towards resilience and revolutionary optimism. Even in the bleakest of futures, however, Kern offers reasons to hope, connect, and keep fighting for a better world.

Review

This was a great collection of stories! I enjoyed all of them though there were a couple I did want to know more about what was going to happen next. That said most of them did feel complete and even the ones that didn’t ended in a way that made sense for what was being told. As the description says even with the darker stories there was always a sense of possibility and hope. I’d read anything by Sim Kern at this point.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “Real Sugar is Hard to Find”.

Book Details

The cover is taken up by hills and fields with drones flying over head and a dark brown sky. There is a person standing in the front center of the cover holding a container with a cake inside and wearing a respirator mask. They're wearing brown clothing and red boots. The title is across the top and the authors name is near the bottom right corner.

Author’s Website
Sim Kern
Publisher / Date
Android Press, August 2022
Genre
Science Fiction, Dystopian, Short Stories
Page Count
206
Completion Date
March 25, 2024

“Breakout” Review

“Breakout” (The Altayih Chronicles No. 1) by Alek L. Cristea

Malek dreams of owning his own ship and escaping the prison he’s been unjustly held in. When his escape plan collides with the agenda of a Shinarian girl, he must choose between trusting her and going alone.

Trystan, on the radical colony Eden One, discovers his father’s involvement in a terrible project and must decide whether to act despite risking everything.

Làhn, a skilled thief, is framed for a crime he didn’t commit and must piece together his past to clear his name.

Together, they must confront Berik Corp, a powerful entity threatening the galaxy’s stability.

Review

This was a fun and exciting read. I really liked that along with the Trans / Queer representations there were various disability and mental health representations as well. The characters are great and I really enjoyed learning about them. Each of the three main characters has their own group of friends that are going along for the journey which makes things more exciting. The book ends in a way that makes it feel like a pilot episode for a tv show with a long story arc but will have standalone episodes along the way to completing the arc. Definitely a lot of story possibilities! I’m looking forward to reading the next book.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “Breakout”.

Book Details

The cover is a view of space with several colors purple, blue, green among the stars. There is a planet at the bottom of the core with two visible moons and a space ship over the planet. The title is at the top of the cover with the author's name.

Author’s Website
Alek L. Cristea
Publisher / Date
Self published, February 2023
Genre
Science Fiction
Page Count
324
Completion Date
March 24, 2024

2024 Trans Rights Read-a-Thon

Information graphic announcing the read a thon and the dates March 22nd through 29th and my two goals to raise money for OUT MetroWest and to read at least three books. The covers for the books are displayed in the picture and are also named in the text of the postThe 2024 Trans Rights Read-a-Thon has begun and this year I am fundraising for OUT MetroWest located in Framingham, Massachusetts!

“The Trans Rights Readathon is an annual call to action to readers and book lovers in support of Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) on March 31st.”

My Fundraiser for OUT MetroWest

More information about the Trans Rights Readathon

I will be reading the following books this year:

“This Arab is Queer: An Anthology by LGBTQ+ Arab Writers”
Edited by Elias Jahshan

“Real Sugar is Hard to Find” a collection of short stories by
Sim Kern

“Breakout” – first novel in new series by Alek Cristea, described as a “space-opera/cyberpunk adventure featuring queer teens in space fighting back against oppression.”

Previous books I’ve read with Trans characters or written by Trans individuals include:

“The Thirty Names of Night” by Zeyn Joukhadar

“Seeds for the Swarm” by Sim Kern

“Transcendent: The Year’s Best Transgender Speculative Fiction” by K.M. Szpara et al.

Other books written by or with Trans individuals

“Lakelore” by Anna-Marie McLemore

“Depart, Depart!” By Sim Kern

“Hell Followed With Us” by Andrew Joseph White

“We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir” by Samra Habib

“VenCo” by Cherie Dimaline

“The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester” by Maya MacGregor

“The Wicked Bargain” by Gabe Cole Novoa

“The Evolving Truth of Ever-Stronger Will” by Maya MacGregor

“The Free People’s Village” by Sim Kern

“The Gilded Ones” trilogy by Namina Forna

#TransRightsReadathon
#TRR24

“The Infinite” Review

“The Infinite” (The Outside No. 3) by Ada Hoffmann

Time is running out for the planet Jai. The artificially intelligent Gods who rule the galaxy have withdrawn their protection from the chaos-ravaged world, just as their most ancient enemy closes in. For Yasira Shien, who has devoted herself to the fragile planet’s nascent rebellion, it’s time to do or die – and the odds are overwhelming. Enter Dr. Evianna Talirr. Talirr, the visionary who decimated the planet and began its rebellion, is not a woman to be trusted. But she’s returned with an unsettling prophecy: the only way to save Jai is for Yasira to die. Yasira knows it can’t be that simple. But as she frantically searches for other options, what she finds will upend everything she knew about the Gods, the galaxy she lives in, and herself.

Review

This was a great conclusion to the trilogy. I enjoyed reading how everything ending. I liked the way the story was formatted as a method to explain some of what had been happening in the past to lead to the current issues. That was a good way of doing things. There were a couple interesting plot twists along the way that made things more interesting as things developed. The ending felt realistic for all that had happened and how things were going. All and all a great series.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “The Infinite”.

Book Details

The cover is mostly blue and orange and has the figure of a person in dark clothing standing on a ledge pointing at a tentacle that is reaching out - there is light between them. Above is the body or head of a creature with serial eyes and more tentacles around the head.

Author’s Website
Ada Hoffmann
Publisher / Date
Angry Robot, January 2023
Genre
Science Fiction
Page Count
400
Completion Date
March 6, 2024

“The Fallen” Review

“The Fallen” (The Outside No. 2) by Ada Hoffmann

The laws of physics acting on the planet of Jai have been forever upended; its surface completely altered, and its inhabitants permanently changed, causing chaos. Fearing heresy, the artificially intelligent Gods that once ruled the galaxy became the planet’s jailers.

Tiv Hunt, who once trusted these Gods completely, spends her days helping the last remaining survivors of Jai. Everyone is fighting for their freedom and they call out for drastic action from their saviour, Tiv’s girlfriend Yasira. But Yasira has become deeply ill, debilitated by her Outside exposure, and is barely able to breathe, let alone lead a revolution.

Hunted by the Gods and Akavi, the disgraced angel, Yasira and Tiv must delve further than ever before into the maddening mysteries of their fractured planet in order to save – or perhaps even destroy – their fading world.

Review

This was a fun and interesting sequel to “The Outside”. It sort of has the usual problem of being the middle of a trilogy so things can’t be completely resolved but it also does a good job of setting up where everyone is at and the conclusion that is coming. I really liked that Tiv took the main point of view in this story as she struggles to deal with everything and help Yasira. Their relationship in the book is great. Yasira is struggling to deal with a lot of changes and Tiv continues to be by her side as much as she can. I think some might get a little frustrated with Yadira’s attitude but it really made sense for all that had gone on and the complete change to her reality. The other characters in the book are great and I liked that we got to see more characters and how they are involved with everything going on. I’m looking forward to reading the last book in the series.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “The Fallen”.

Book Details

A person is sitting on a road that is broken in pieces and looking into the distance. Around and above them large structures can be seen as if the road was picked up and twisted into air with green branches coming off in various angles. A yellow sun is visible at the middle left side of the page and the sky is purple and blue.

Author’s Website
Ada Hoffmann
Publisher / Date
Angry Robot, July 2021
Genre
Science Fiction
Page Count
258 pages (some places say 368 but the digital version has less)
Completion Date
February 17, 2024

“The Outside” Review

“The Outside” (The Outside No. 1) by Ada Hoffmann

Autistic scientist Yasira Shien has developed a radical new energy drive that could change the future of humanity. But when she activates it, reality warps, destroying the space station and everyone aboard. The AI Gods who rule the galaxy declare her work heretical, and Yasira is abducted by their agents. Instead of simply executing her, they offer mercy – if she’ll help them hunt down a bigger target: her own mysterious, vanished mentor. With her homeworld’s fate in the balance, Yasira must choose who to trust: the gods and their ruthless post-human angels, or the rebel scientist whose unorthodox mathematics could turn her world inside out.

Review

This was a strange but really good book. The “AI Gods” were essentially created by humans a long time ago out of their computer systems and then grew to become god-like figures because they’re so powerful. People believe in them and worship them like they would other gods, except these gods are real not like the old religions of the past to paraphrase the book. Makes for an interesting read. What also makes it interesting are the two main characters who are both autistic but were both treated very differently. Yasira was given all the supports she needed growing up while another character was beaten into being “normal” – didn’t work out so well. The world building is interesting and I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll just leave it at wanting to know if what I suspect about the universe they’re in is true based on various plot points that came up.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “The Outside”.

Book Details

The cover is filled with black metal spirals that look like snake skin - squared areas with bolts. There is a character in a red spacesuit standing on one of the spirals. The book title is at the top of the cover and the authors name at the bottom.

Author’s Website
Ada Hoffmann
Publisher / Date
Angry Robot, June 2019
Genre
Science Fiction
Page Count
400 pages
Completion Date
January 6, 2024

2023 in Review

Reading Stats

61 Books

20,992 Pages Read

Average length 346 pages

Average reading time 4 days

50 Fiction / 11 Non-Fiction

18 Fiction Anthologies

41 Novels

2 Non-Fiction Anthologies

5 Memoirs

4 Essay Collections

Top Ten Books in No Particular Order with links to my reviews

“Being Ace: An Anthology of Queer, Trans, Femme, and Disabled Stories of Asexual Love and Connection”
Edited by Madeline Dyer
Type: Fiction Anthology
“We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir”
Written by Samra Habib
Type: Memoir
“The Thirty Names of Night”
Written by Zeyn Joukhadar
Type: Novel
“A Master of Djinn”
Written by P. Djèlí Clark
Type: Novel
“The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey Into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred”
Written by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Type: Essay Collection
“We Don’t Swim Here”
Written by Vincent Tirado
Type: Novel
“Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019”
Edited by Ibram X. Kendi with Keisha N. Blain
Type: Non-Fiction Anthology
“Invisible Son”
Written by Kim Johnson
Type: Novel
“To Shape a Dragon’s Breath”
Written by Moniquill Blackgoose
Type: Novel
“The Free People’s Village”
Written by Sim Kern
Type: Novel

“Mata Oti: Eyes of Death” Review

“Mata Oti: Eyes of Death” by Lani Wendt Young

From reclusive librarian to warrior guardian… Iva must safeguard her two nieces as Samoa battles a mutant variant of the deadly virus that’s raging across the world. It transforms people into savage creatures beyond all hope. She’s afraid, but determined to get the children through hordes of the infected to an emergency evacuation plane. It’s a race against time though as the variant rampages through her own veins. Can she fight off the Change for long enough so they all survive?

Review

This was very good book – I really liked the characters and how things played out. The situation starts out very similar to the COVID pandemic with everyone trying to stay safe. The island of Samoa manages to keep the virus out for a while but things go from bad to worse pretty quickly once the virus hits. It also ends up being an engineered virus that got out of a lab accidentally which makes things much worse for everyone. There’s a lot of things going on beyond it just being a virus and the ending makes that very clear as well.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “Mata Oti: Eyes of Death”.

Book Details

The cover is mostly blue and shows the upper corner of a persons face so just their eye and cheek are visible. The eye is bright yellow while the rest of the faces is tinted blue. There is a strand of DNA displayed diagonally across the cover as well.

Author’s Website
Lani Wendt Young
Publisher / Date
National Library, National University of Samoa, August 2021
Genre
Dystopian, Science Fiction, Horror
Page Count
295
Completion Date
December 25, 2023

“A People’s Future of the United States” Review

“A People’s Future of the United States: Speculative Fiction from 25 Extraordinary Writers” edited by Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams

In these tumultuous times, in our deeply divided country, many people are angry, frightened, and hurting. Knowing that imagining a brighter tomorrow has always been an act of resistance, editors Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams invited an extraordinarily talented group of writers to share stories that explore new forms of freedom, love, and justice. They asked for narratives that would challenge oppressive American myths, release us from the chokehold of our history, and give us new futures to believe in.

They also asked that the stories be badass.

The result is this spectacular collection of twenty-five tales that blend the dark and the light, the dystopian and the utopian. These tales are vivid with struggle and hardship—whether it’s the othered and the terrorized, or dragonriders and covert commandos—but these characters don’t flee, they fight.

Thrilling, inspiring, and a sheer joy to read, A People’s Future of the United States is a gift for anyone who believes in our power to dream a just world.

Review

This was a really dark and interesting anthology. All of the stories take a potential dystopian scenario and run with it. All of them involve marginalized and oppressed people becoming more so due to things that are already problems in this country. The book was published in 2019 so a lot of ideas come from the actions of then President Trump – only catastrophic for a lot of people. It’s interesting reading it now in 2023 knowing that things did in fact get worse because of the COVID Pandemic. And while we don’t have President Trump anymore, we’re will dealing with COVID and various other issues that that have developed. The stories all show how the various characters are fighting to survive against what has happened. All of the characters still have hope for a better future despite everything that has occurred.

Warnings and additional reviews are available on the StoryGraph page for “A People’s Future of the United States”.

Book Details

The title of the book is written across the black cover - one word on each line in various colors. The names of the editors are at the bottom of the cover.

Editors’ Websites
Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams
Publisher / Date
Random House Publishing Group, February 2019
Genre
Science Fiction, Dystopian, Short Stories
Page Count
432
Completion Date
December 24, 2023