SFF Hot from Printers: New Releases discussion

I loved this thread on last year's releases that Eva initiated. So I just kidnapped her title to start one for this year. Thank you, Eva!

This thread is for sharing your spoiler-free impression of 2021 releases we haven't yet read with the group.

For novels so far I've read:

Bear Head by Adrian Tchaikovsky - 4 stars - a good sequel to his 'Dogs of War', this time set on Mars and featuring an underdog workman who suddenly finds his head shared with an academic brain. The banter between the two consciouscnesses (if there is a plural to this) gives some lovely, lighthearted dialogues in this otherwise serious and more grim outlook on human society.

A Complicated Love Story Set in Space by Shaun David Hutchinson - 3 stars - is exactly what the title states. I was expecting something more (can't say why I did), and thus was dissappointed.

Machinehood by S.B. Divya - 4 stars - will be read by our group next month. I was positively surprised by this novel.

A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine - 3 stars - I wanted to like this much more than I did. A good first contact story, but it was cluttered with too much description, dialogues, explanations ... words in general.
Since the first book already won I guess this one will end up in the short lists next year.

The Fall of Koli by M.R. Carey - 4 stars - A real good ending for this series. Definitely one of my favourite SF series.


Novellas are only AT so far:

The Expert System’s Champion - 4 stars - is a worthy sequel to Expert System's brother with a different emphasis. It concentrates more on the interaction of the human settlers with the non-fitting flora and fauna.

One Day All This Will Be Yours - my first 5 stars 2021 release - is a crazy, humorous, dark and mindboggling timetravel story that takes the kill-your-grandfather trope ad absurdum. For my taste simply perfect.

Thanks, Gabi! I enjoyed that thread too. I’ll update with what I have so far later.

Persephone Station - I decided to dnf this one. It kept changing povs and being really confusing. I wasn’t connecting with the characters and I wasn’t feeling the sympathetic assassin/gangsters.

Fall of Koli- a good finale to the trilogy. I feel like the first was weakest, second strongest, and third almost as good as the second....eh, or maybe better in some ways. It ended weaker, but the first 3/4 was amazing.

I'm glad to hear Machinehood is good. I'm hoping to like it.

@Kristenelle: thank you for your opinion to Persephone Station. I was very reluctant for this one. I don't like the cover (well ... I know that this is an idiotic way to approach a book, but I can't help it ^^'), and I'm still no big fan of space opera. Hearing that you dnf'd it puts it waaaaaay back on my 2021-reads list.

@Kateblue: it has an interesting concept and a good execution. If I have time I will re-read it with the group next month.

Oh, thank you, Gabi! It's great to have it back!

I've only read a single 2021 release so far (I'm focusing on reading the books I already own and finishing y series this year):

4 stars - very tense and gripping but went a bit too much into the horror direction for my taste. I prefer the Mercy Thompson series, but I'll still read anything Briggs writes immediately upon release. 😊

But there are a few I plan to read soon, probably this year:

About to start A Desolation Called Peace. I really enjoyed the first book so I’m hoping.

A Desolation Called Peace is the only 2021 novel I've read so far, and I found it enjoyable and a worthy sequel (4 stars). On the novella front, I loved Across the Green Grass Fields, and its readable standalone. Given McGuire's past performance and Hugo nomination habits, its probably a strong candidate for the shortlist. I tried Remote Control, but didn't like it - dull, not my thing, but I at least finished it and it wasn't a hate-read (2 stars). YMM may of course V.

The only 2021 book I read so far is Winters Orbit, essentially a gay romance set in outer space. Technically sci-fi. Easy, fun, but unremarkable. I think I gave it ⭐️⭐️⭐️.

Thanks for the info MH, Rebecca, Kristenelle, Gabi and Eva. (Hope I didn't forget anyone.) It really helps

I am reading We Could Be Heroes, and I have almost stopped a couple of times. It is NOT a superhero book, I don't care what it advertises itself as. And I don't really like the characters. I also feel kind of removed from the writing style. I don't really know how to describe this feeling, but it's certainly not sucking me in.

Great! I just looked at the rating here on GR and it is only 3.47! But since I'm at 58%, I'll at least skim through. I'll report back and let you know.

I read Across the Green Grass Fields a couple of months ago and forgot to record it. It was one of the better ones in this group. Sometimes I like the Wayward Children books, and sometimes not.

I gave 5* to The Russian Cage by Charlaine Harris I think it's maybe her best series ever. This is the third book. Review (kind of a non-review to keep from giving away stuff.) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I recommend these books to anyone, but definitely start at the beginning of the series:
1) An Easy Death
2) A Longer Fall
3) The Russian Cage
They are just fun.

I read Later by Stephen King. Not as good as his usual. It's three short pieces. The first is great, but the second and third, not so much.

Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters by Aimee Ogden seemed very impressionistic and beautiful description, but not much plot. Some of you might really like it, but it was not for me. 2*. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... I probably would not have finished it except I was waiting somewhere. It was short, so I read it on my phone.

I dinged Faithless in Death (In Death #52) by J.D. Robb for technical problems in the plot. Long review with lots of spoilers: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... Even though I dinged it, it was a much better book that quite a few of the previous ones. It had at least one good subplot and good interactions with beloved characters. I just could not suspend belief because of the factual errors. Too bad.

That's all of the 2021 I have read so far. I keep getting them from the library, but then I don't read them because I don't have time. I do try to read the first few pages of each so I know whether I will be interested in them. But sometimes I don't even do that. It's because I am catching up on some series that I know I will really like, and many of those books are 10-15 years old.

Thanks Gabi for starting the thread and all members for participating. I've only read Bear Head and I liked it too

Gabi wrote: "@Kristenelle: thank you for your opinion to Persephone Station. I was very reluctant for this one. I don't like the cover (well ... I know that this is an idiotic way to approach a book, but I can'..."

Lol, I kind of like the cover, but yeah, not worth your time. I haven't heard any better than "it was ok" from anyone else who has read it so far.

I read Across the Green Grass fields which I liked pretty well although it was not my absolute favorite from the series. I think the Novella length is just right though.
Looking at Desolation Called Peace and Galaxy and the Ground within soon too.

Hello all!

I, too, enjoyed The Fall of Koli. I had fun with all three books, and the series is high on my list. To be honest, I tend to fall deeply into the worlds of the books I am reading, most times - and this was no exception. I thought about the world for days after finishing, and still do from time to time.

Additionally, I have completed A Desolation Called Peace, Klara and the Sun, A History of What Comes Next, and The Galaxy and the Ground Within. They were all lovely reads. Klara and the Sun was very different, and thought provoking. A History of What Comes Next was hard to get into - and at some points hard to keep reading through - but I absolutely loved the information at the end of the book, and the whole concept continues to make me smile, so, a worthwhile read!

I really love Arkady Martine’s books, but A Desolation Called Peace was slow for me. I enjoyed it, but wanted more breadth, action, and impact.

My favorite so far though is unquestionably The Galaxy and the Ground Within. I absolutely loved this book. A fast read, and lots and lots of fun!

Kimberly wrote: "I really love Arkady Martine’s books, but A Desolation Called Peace was slow for me. I enjoyed it, but wanted more breadth, action, and impact. "

Oof, if Desolation is even slower than Memory I'm going to skip this even if it's nominated for awards next year. I found Memory interminable.

Kimberly wrote: "Hello all! I, too, enjoyed The Fall of Koli." . . . The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

I am reading both The Fall of Koliand The Galaxy, and the Ground Within right now. I have a question for you, and when you respond, please feel free to put the answer in a spoiler, if necessary.

I will preface my question by saying that I have trouble remembering series. And I am really having trouble with this series because it is not so much a series as a bunch of novels in the same world. So my question is, are any of the characters in this book the same a characters in the previous books? I am at about 7%, and I have met several characters. Have I met any of them before? Thanks!

I created buddy reads for Road Out of Winter - here https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
and A Desolation Called Peace here https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I've read some more new releases, fortunately most of them on the good side of my taste :D

novels:

All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter: a tale about a family whose tradition and history is connected to mermaids. Not bad per se, but very predictable in the story structure and thus it wasn't exactly interesting for me.

Birds of Paradise by Oliver K. Langmead: a novel about Adam, the first man, who roams the earth as immortal, getting weary of his long life and killing people who murdered animals of paradise (who live in human forms). The book is dark and sometimes brutal, yet slow, more for the atmosphere than for story. I liked the prose very much.

Sistersong by Lucy Holland, is about three royal siblings (two romantic girls and a transboy) in Britain during the conflict times of Christian/pagan believes. It has a lot of typical themes of those books and the prose is heavy on the inner monologue side with too much emotional emphasis for my taste. So I wasn't really onboard in the first half. Later it gets a great twist and I was sucked in. Unfortunately after reading others' reviews I learned that the twist was taken from an old ballad and wasn't the author's own invention ... which dampened my final enthusiasm a bit.

The Memory Theater by Karin Tidbeck - my favourite 2021 novel so far: surreal, weird, crazy, brutal ... perfect! A fairy tale told in creative way, off the usual more conventional types of fairy tale retellings.


Novella:

We Shall Sing a Song Into the Deep by Andrew Kelly Stewart is the next good novella this year. Already the novellas look more promising than last year's. This one is finally a SF story. In a postapocalyptic world an order of monks live on a submarine with little knowledge of the world above. They own the last working nuclear weapon and intend to use it to bring the final judgement to the world. The author writes aptly in a style to bring across the claustrophobic atmosphere of the environment. I liked it a lot.

Oh a new Karen Tidbeck! I loved Amatka - this three will increase my TBR...

Re: The Galaxy and the Ground Within - none of the characters are the same as previous books, to my knowledge. I agree - they are more like totally separate stories in the same universe. Same species, but not same characters.

And, the species are presented in very different perspectives than in prior stories, so that was super interesting.

I hope you love it, Kate. Can’t wait to hear.

Great suggestions, Gabi, added two to my TBR pile

Question: does anybody know a good source for looking up new SF releases? Most sites I've found have either SFF, with most of the books being F, or just the usual suspects. I'd like to find hidden treasures like the ones that i.e. end up in the PKD award list.

Yes, check out Rising Shadow: https://www.risingshadow.net/library/...

It's a great resource. :-)

(They also have a separate Fantasy list: https://www.risingshadow.net/library/...)

And here are their genre-separated lists for new releases that are already out: https://www.risingshadow.net/library/...

@Eva: fantastic! Thank you so much!

Eva wrote: "Yes, check out Rising Shadow: https://www.risingshadow.net/library/...
."

Thanks, a truly great resource. I usually use http://locusmag.com/ to check reviews and lists of new books, but with my current load I do it less than in the past

Kimberly--I have stopped reading The Galaxy, and the Ground Within for right now because I have to start over. I could not keep the characters straight. I decided at the beginning to just push through even though I was confused and I would figure it out eventually. Mistake. Still confused 1/4 of the way in. I will write down names and descriptions the next time. I'm sure once I get it straight, I will love it.

But I have TA DA! Fugitive Telemetry from the library. Starting tomorrow

Eva. Thanks for the rising shadow website.

Which reminded me, I will get Chaos on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer soon. The first one I loved, though I was sorry the author made the protag a kid. I didn't think it was necessary. It could have been a young adult. But it's just the silly little kind of story I like. So I will be excited to get the 2d book from the library in a week or so.

Kateblue wrote: "Which reminded me, I will get Chaos on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer soon. The first one I loved"

I liked the short story, but was afraid that a novel version is too much

I just started Machinehood, looks like some of you already read it and I think its up next for our monthly reads (or that might be a different group). I'll share my thoughts in a few days!

I'm also holding out for the audio of Fugitive Telemetry but might just buy the e-book since the waiting list is pretty long at my library.

yup, machinehood is the May monthly read here.

Another 2021 release I've listened to (this one in a multi-narrator performance, which was really good): The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird: The story of a virus which resembles a lot our Covid-19 situation, this time, though, only men get sick and die. I've read that the author wrote the book before the current pandemic, so it is interesting to see the parallels to real life.
There were some clunky parts in prose and scientific explanations, but those were second to the strong and sensitive take on the emotional and societal impact the author provided. A strong debut novel and the second novel I would put on a Hugo recommendation list - should I pay for a membership this year.
Warning: Perhaps not suited for readers who lost someone to the pandemic (I was in tears several times) or for readers who don't like multi-POV structures.

Gabi wrote: "Another 2021 release I've listened to (this one in a multi-narrator performance, which was really good): The End of Men by Christina Sweeney-Baird: ...the second novel I would put on a Hugo recommendation list"

Sounds great, adding to my TBR pile

Has anybody read Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun? I haven't got my copy yet, just wondering about other readers' first impressions.

Khira wrote: "Has anybody read Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun? I haven't got my copy yet, just wondering about other readers' first impressions."

It's on my list, but I haven't read it yet.

Khira wrote: "Has anybody read Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun? I haven't got my copy yet, just wondering about other readers' first impressions."

I started it, probably got to maybe 20%, was really liking it, and then a new month started and it was due back at the library, so I quit. I have to say, I'm glad you reminded me.

Kateblue wrote: "Khira wrote: "Has anybody read Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun? I haven't got my copy yet, just wondering about other readers' first impressions."

I started it, probably got to ..."

I'm waiting for my copy from the library too :). I've recently re-read his book The Remains of the Day - not sci-fi, but it reminded me of the writer's skill, especially in conveying information 'between the lines', so I'm really looking forward to reading his latest release.

Gabi wrote: "Khira wrote: "Has anybody read Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun? I haven't got my copy yet, just wondering about other readers' first impressions."

It's on my list, but I haven't..."

I love the machine-human relationship theme, so really looking forward to reading this one :)

I read Klara and the Sun. I really enjoyed it - fascinating and worth the read. 💕

Kimberly wrote: "I read Klara and the Sun. I really enjoyed it - fascinating and worth the read. 💕"

Thanks, Kimberly, it's at the top of my TBR list now. Interestingly, I was listening to a book review discussion on the radio about this novel the other day and they had an AI expert weighing in on the technical aspects. His main point seemed to be that 'that's not quite how AI works'. Which I thought missed the point, because we don't have Klara-like generalised AI yet, and because, to me, that's not really the point of the book, as much as it is about the structure of relationships and society.

Khira wrote: " they had an AI expert weighing in on the technical aspects.."

Upon my first reading I thought that they had an AI that was an expert :)

Oleksandr wrote: "Khira wrote: " they had an AI expert weighing in on the technical aspects.."

Upon my first reading I thought that they had an AI that was an expert :)"

Lol, my bad - I need to be more careful with wording. The expert was definitely human :)

I read an ARC of A Master of Djinn this month and really liked it...I think I wrote this in my review (and other another group thread) but it reminded me Sherlock Holmes set in Cairo while speaking to modern social challenges/themes. It was fun, fast paced, but not groundbreaking. I love that world and liked the novel just as much as the novella/short story.

I also received an ARC of Unspoken, another fantasy book heavy with romance. It reminded me of the Deavabad series (i.e. The Kingdom of Copper). It was good...more of a political machinations and not as much fantasy as I would like. The magic system was quite interesting but since it wasn't fully explored this fell a bit flat.

A Desolation Called Peace - Not as good as my absolute favorite books, but very enjoyable and a solid read. 4.5 stars. If you've read A Memory Called Empire this is very much more of the same.

Fugitive Telemetry - I was disappointed. The Murderbot Diaries are getting really repetitive at this point. This was downright generic.

Ariadne - Incredible! I can't recommend this enough! It was glorious, sweeping woman-centered Greek mythology. I suspect this will be my favorite fantasy read of 2021.

Remote Control - Meh. This is my least favorite that I've read by Okorafor.

Finished the Machinehood. Then started Project Hail Mary. High expectations, so we will see. Am only on Chapter 4 so far.

Adding Ariadne to my tbr.

Onward!

I also plan to read Mary this month

I just got it from the library. Shall we read together? This will be the first Weir book I have read. I saw the movie of the martian, and I started that other one on the moon, but never finished

I cannot get Adriane for months (missed that it was coming out) so I cannot join you on that

Yes, let's buddy read Project Hail Mary!

regarding his other books, The Martian was very good, Artemis less so for many - female lead (like RAH he doesn't do good female characters I guess), who often to be seen like a next guy tells double-meaning jokes linked to porn slang, like
The biggest time sink was when I had to run and hide from the debris. I knew what I had to do—I just didn’t like it. I’d have to blow the remaining two at the same time.

Please don’t quote that last sentence out of context.

I would join a BR for Hail Mary. I've never read anything by this author.

When? I have three books in the next couple of weeks, but I need to fit this one in. Start tomorrow?