Okay, as of May 19, 2020 even if it took two days to finish…
This was supposed to be mid-month, but is a little late.
Working backwards through my Kindle Paperwhite:
Chaos and Cosmos Sampler, Parts 1 and 2 Kindle. This is a free series of “some of 2020’s most deliciously chaotic new sci-fi and fantasy” from Tor. I don’t know how “delicious” all of it was, but there was indeed some good stuff. I particularly appreciated the excerpts of Ryan Van Loan’s The Sin In The Steel; Kate Elliott’s Unconquerable Sun; and Alaya Dawn Johnson’s Trouble the Saints. And by “particularly appreciated” I mean, “preordered” -- so at some point this summer, you’ll see longer reviews of all three. Trouble the Saints in particular is not something I’d have looked at hard without having read the excerpt in this series but it looks good. I’m glad I invested some time in the sampler. I guess Tor’s efforts to spark some interest worked...and [WARNING: commentary follows] having spent loads of time on indie and self-published fiction, it was a relief to read things which were are least competently edited even if they weren’t great stories. So there’s that. Read again: N/A
Tor.com Publishing 2020 Debut Sampler Kindle. This is...also a freebie. This was short, and a mixed bag. Finna is Narnia meets Ikea. Docile was a little too dystopian for the pandemic season. The Empress of Salt and Fortune, a novella by Nghi Vo, was the standout selection. The world Vo evokes just right: enough detail to make sense, but still be a bit mysterious; enough detail in the characters to make them interesting, but not so much that there weren’t surprises. Really good writing, and it’s gone on my “buy later” list. Read again factor: N/A
Joe Coffin, Season One by Ken Preston. Preston does a really nice job here. The book started off a bit sluggishly, with a double murder that was rendered a bit more flatly than I’d have preferred -- but sticking with the story was a treat. This offers plenty of blood, gore, mayhem and supernatural evil. The plot I thought was above-average for the genre. There aren’t really good or bad people in this story, just more or less evil ones--and that’s probably the main weakness. They’re less characters than caricatures or stenotypes. That said, on the whole this is good, solid, sleazy mindless fun. Four stars--and my first-ever Goodreads review. Read again factor: Probably high.
Network Effect (Murderbot Diaries #5) by Martha Wells. This is the latest in a series of “memoirs” of sorts from a self-aware security appliance with mad skills in the mayhem and death-dealing areas. Oh, and Murderbot is adjusting at the same time to the whole adulting thing. Well-written and snappy, this was a pre-order after reading the first four, novella-length books. I can’t wait for more and may re-read the earlier ones. Read again factor: Oh yes!
The Perfect Perfume and Other Tales by Anthea Sharp. This came from a steampunk bundle. Well written and entertaining, these were great pre-sleep reading. I particularly liked the haunting Clockwork Harp, and the star of the book is The Spider’s Salon about an interesting turn in an average day for a Parisian family’s maid. The namesake title was good, although a little on the cute side for me. Solid, entertaining writing. Read again factor: Probably not.
Alchemical Solutions (The Dreamless City Steampunk Series Book 1) by Tracy Cembor. This was a middling good read. Cembor writes fairly crisply and has a nicely vivid but not overdone turn of phrase. The heroine is on a two-part quest which evolves in an entirely reasonable direction at a respectable pace. The characters are less vivid in action than I’d have wished, but overall it was a pleasant enough distraction. Read again factor: Unlikely.
A Curious Invasion (The Adventures of Smith and Jones #1) by Marie Andreas. Andreas introduces us to the Society of the Exploration of the Unexplainable, in the person of Dr. Nettie Jones. Pure escapism. Decent writing, an interesting plot, and a good set-up of future romantic tension? As the steam-powered gear turns... Read again factor: Fairly high.
Clockwork Gears and Magic Swords by Louisa Swann. Another one from the steam punk bundle I’ve been working my way through. This was not a hard read. Swann’s writing is solid, and she spins a series of good stories in this anthology. Her main characters are compelling, and I particularly enjoyed Bella’s Rules, in which Bella, well, lays down the rules in a way I didn’t see coming at the beginning of the story. Solid stuff, and I’d look forward more from the “Gears, Stones and Souls” universe. Read again factor: Medium-high.