02.02.26
An interesting premise, poorly executed. The author needed to spend less time thinking about how it would adapt for Netflix and more time improving her writing skills.
Showing posts with label sci fi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sci fi. Show all posts
The Bones Beneath My Skin - TJ Klune
12.01.26
The genre might vary but a Klune novel will always have a male/male romance, found family, a supernatural element, awkward dialogue and jokes in surprising (sometimes inappropriate) places. This was essentially an action thriller with an eye on a Netflix adaptation but that made it feel rather superficial and I doubt I'll remember much about it in six months.
The Frozen People - Elly Griffiths
13.06.25
Griffiths' depictions of North Norfolk have always been fanciful, so perhaps it's no surprise that she's gone full sci fi with her new time-travel series. It made no sense, the characters were poorly developed and the plot full of unresolved (worm)holes but it was a lot of fun - the culture-clash scenes set in Victorian London were particularly engaging.
Silver - Olivia Levez
04.05.25
'Gripping', says the cover, 'Unforgettable', 'Extraordinary'. It was none of those things, but it was a prettily written - if unsubtle - examination of what makes us human. I suppose all novels are about that, but this refreshingly British sci fi shone a specific silvery light upon it. The romance was overdone, and stars could shine through the plot holes, but the ending was just right.
Starter Villain - John Scalzi
11.12.24
Talking cats! Comedy villains! What a shame the premise was better than the execution. It just all seemed so half-hearted - it needed more action, more conflict, more coherent plot, more character development, more humour - and less pointless paragraphs of nothing. And how disappointing (spoiler) that the main character gave up villainy before he even got started.
Mister Magic - Kiersten White
"What did I just read?", as the young people like to say. I enjoyed the writing style and the ideas but I had no idea what was going on most of the time. I think that was intentional, to some extent, but it did mean that nuances and any deep messages were lost, considering it was supposed to be a comment on Mormonism. Still, points awarded for offering something different.
Shades of Grey - Jasper Fforde
24.05.24
Billed as an eccentric futuristic romance, this was actually more of a terrifying dystopian satire - funny at times, certainly clever and inventive, but neither cosy nor reassuring. Which isn't a bad thing, especially as some of the ideas are oddly plausible, but it suffered from a lack of emotional connection to the characters' rather desperate plights.
Pretties - Scott Westerfield
This suffered from the usual 'second in a trilogy' problem of being more of a bridge to the last book than a destination in itself. It had moments of brilliance but mostly the author seemed not to know where the story was going, so it was hard to care. And the heroine's superpower for attracting the attention of useful young men - just bogus, as she might say.
The Space Between Us - Doug Johnstone
59%
The last book of the year and it was a pretty good one - although I've deducted marks for the incessant comma splices that made it a struggle to read - I wouldn't have liked to have been the copy editor having that argument with the author. But the story - Scottish sci-fi road trip - was fun (if emotion-free) and raised some interesting metaphysical points. I even liked the open ending - perhaps a bit of a cop out but it could go anywhere from here.
The Book of Koli - MR Carey
Carey specialises in post-apocalyptic dystopian survival stories, lovingly worldbuilding often at the expense of the plot. The Girl with All the Gifts worked better than this, which meandered about, much like the rather passive narrator. I wonder whether this was originally the first third of a longer book rather than the first in a trilogy.
My Murder - Katie Williams
70%
The idea of a clone trying to solve their own murder isn't new but I really enjoyed this take on the theme. It's strikingly well written on both a sentence and chapter level, the characters are interesting, the worldbuilding is clever and the issues of identity, parenthood, death and the ethical use of technology are well explored. What spoilt it was the annoying ending that exposed various plot holes and didn't address its own implications. But the first 90% - fantastic!
Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir
59%
Beyond all the tediously detailed science (which I mostly skipped) and the ultimately pointless backstory (which I mostly skimmed), this is a sweet story about an unlikely inter-alien friendship that saves two worlds. I didn't warm to Weir's rather amateurish writing style, and would have liked to know much more about the journey to where they ended up, but it gets points for the lovely interactions between the two main characters.
Klara and the Sun - Kazuo Ishiguro
72%
I loved this. I described Never Let Me Go as 'science fiction with depth' and this explores the same themes from a different angle. You don't need a thrilling plot to create a compelling story, and this beautiful, gentle and detached narrative encompassed the nature of humanity, of diversity and love and life and death. And how I cried for poor, sweet Klara at the end.
Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes
15.01.19
A friend sent me this for Christmas, or I'd never have read it. And I'm glad I did, from an intellectual point of view at least. Despite being nearly 60 years old, it's a strikingly modern look at, well, everything - prejudice, culture, morality, academia, the nature of intelligence, sexual and emotional development, Freudian psychology... the term 'science fiction' seems rather limiting for this classic.
The Girl With All the Gifts - MR Carey
18.10.16
As derivative zombie thrillers go, this was quite a page turner, at least at first. The second half sagged a little with its own self-importance.
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet - Becky Chambers
17.07.16
Yes, it's written well enough, and the space-worlds and characters are carefully thought out. It's nice to have a generally upbeat story... but should a good book really be 'nice'? Shouldn't it be a little challenging, a little subversive, a little less derivative, a lot less, well, twee? I enjoyed it well enough but I doubt if I'll remember it in a month or two.
The Circle - Dave Eggers
17.01.16
A carefully considered cautionary tale featuring some interesting (and concerning) issues at the expense of a proper plot and character development. Great cover. though.
The Bees - Laline Paull
18.05.15
Dystopian science fiction? Political fable? Over-researched anthropomorphised animal story? Well, yes, all of those. Which is quite an achievement. Even more of an achievement is that it's also a good story - I had to wrench my library copy off my mum and buy her one for herself. Overall, I'm not entirely sure what to make of this odd novel with its improbably near-immortal multi-skilled bee heroine but I think I enjoyed it.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
28.11.12
A quirky but fairly standard time-travel/fantasy story based around a collection of real, decidedly unsettling, vintage photographs. It's the photos that make it come alive and distract from the laboured plot and 1940s British characters speaking like the modern American narrator. Fun and inventive, though - apart from the unresolved ending which suggests an assumption that readers will demand a sequel.
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
10.04.12
The bodycount just kept on rising as characters new and old died in a variety of gruesome ways. But otherwise what should have been the big ending to a thrilling trilogy was shocking only in its understatement. Did it prove that war is futile while simultaneously glorifying graphic violence? Perhaps it does, in the sense that the whole thrust of the plot turns out to be rather a waste of time. Important and complex moral and political issues are raised in ways that adult novels often shy away from, but when it loses its focus, it loses the reader's loyalty.
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