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SUMMER CHALLENGE 2025
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Kelly L New US release now available: Black Salt Queen
Black Salt Queen, a debut novel from Samantha Bansil, surprised me - I got off to a slow start, but ended up flying through the second half. I really enjoyed the world-building, the relationships between characters, and the pre-colonial Philippines-inspired setting. I especially liked that the complexity of the romantic relationships between characters, with positive bisexual representation.
My biggest issue was a plot hole facilitating the climax of the story - it was much too convenient. I also didn't realize this book would begin a series, so I expected a more conclusive ending, but I am intrigued enough to pick up #2 when it comes out!
I would recommend for fans of Children of Blood and Bone, or the TV series "Wheel of Time". 3.5/5 stars
Kelly L New US release now available: Ordinary Love by Marie Rutkoski
Ordinary Love was an emotional, sexy, and thoughtful exploration of bisexuality. I'm a sucker for late-bloomer sapphic stories, and this struck that chord for me. (view spoiler) Gen was an excellent foil to him, and her cast of queer friends was a lovely group for Emily to meet as she revisited their relationship, having experienced it in more isolation the first time around.
I think this book could be a good fit for readers of All Fours by Miranda July, or those who enjoy the Sex and the City reboot, ...And Just Like That.
MasoodahThe Heiress: The deliciously dark and gripping new thriller from the New York Times bestseller by Rachel Hawkins
“...you can put miles and mountains between you and home, but eventually, home will call you back.”
I picked this book up from my local The Works craft/bookshop and I was pleasently surprised.
Being a mystery and/or thriller lover, this book had exactly what I needed. The element of mystery had me perching at the end of my seat.
(view spoiler)
The ending also leaves you thinking but not enough for a sequel. It ended in the perfect way.
MasoodahPeople We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
“I still have a lot to figure out, but the one thing I know is, wherever you are, that’s where I belong. I’ll never belong anywhere like I belong with you.”
This book was so cute, adorable, cute, funny, cute!
It was just so cuuuute
The main characters (Alex & Poppy) had such good chemistry. The story itself was so well laid out.
Second Emily Henry book I've read after Beach Read and I can say that this one has topped the list so far.
MasoodahFirst-Time Caller by B.K. Borison
"I know what falling in love feels like because I've been falling in love with you."
*squeals*
I have a new favourite author guys! *rushes to pick up another book from same author*
I listened to the audiobook version of this and wouldn't have it any other way. The narrators were just brilliant at bringing both Lucie and Aiden to life!
Has a bit of everything:
❤️Forced proximity
❤️Friends to lovers
❤️Smexy scenes
❤️Humor
❤️Problematic relationships
I hope there is a prequel to this as I want to know more about Lucie and Graysons story... *hint hint*
Kathy KSWhen We Were the Kennedys: A Memoir from Mexico, Maine by Monica Wood
Author Monica Wood and I have different childhood memories. Her's include a small Maine town (pop. [, 4000?) Catholic community where most of the men worked at a paper mill, and many families lived in "blocks" which seem to be up and down duplexes or something. Mine also included a small (pop. not quite 1000) town, halfway across the country, in Kansas. It was definitely protestant (no Catholic church); the men I remember worked a variety of places: they were farmers, local small business owners/employees, clergymen, doctors/dentists/veterinarians, educators (my father was a teacher/coach and, later, a school administrator), and I know many commuted thirty miles to the state capital to work at plants or the railroad or state jobs). I don't really remember what I would call an apartment; all my friends lived in farmhouses or single family houses in town.
But... Monica and I did share several common things: growing up in the 1950s/60s in small towns and all that the post-WWII world offered. We both remember vividly when we learned (at school) about the assassination of JFK; as either a fifth or sixth grader. We read Nancy Drew, we had a best friend we shared so many things with, and we had a nuclear family... That is, until Monica's father died suddenly on the way to work in early 1963. Our lives diverge, here, on that last important item. Every family grieves differently, ours certainly did, but while her mother and the children were still nearly inconsolable for months, I remember November 22, 1963, as the day our parents told us we were expecting a new sibling; this was their way of cheering up my brother and me on that awful turning point in our country.
Monica's family, especially her mother, seemed to draw strength from Jackie Kennedy's public demeanor after tragically losing her husband and her children's father. The shared experience, even though one woman was rich, famous, and the First Lady of the USA and the other was a smalltown widow with two adult children and three grade school aged daughters living in an upstairs apartment.
I found the shared memories with Monica to be very nostalgic, even when I couldn't relate to the loss of her beloved father at such a young age. I faced that at forty-six with children of my own, so that part is definitely different. But the reliving of my own childhood was nice and I'm glad I was able to see that world through Monica's eyes. Recommended for others who lived through that era, as well as younger readers who might think of the 60s with a long ago ideal. Perhaps younger readers will recognize our commonalities, as well as how the world has changed.
Calypso, Oliver K. LangmeadReviewed by trishhartuk - 5*
It's rare nowadays that a book catches me completely by surprise, but this managed it. While the underlying story is relatively common in SF, the way Calypso does it is unique, at least in my experience.
June/July is my usual time for reading the year's Hugo nominees, and Calypso is up for Best Poem (the Seattle committee's choice for their one-off award). I started off taking one look at the length of this - 224pg, a true epic - and thought is this really a poem? I put it aside, read the other, more normal poem nominees, and then made myself give it another look.
The "POV" character awakens from cryosleep as the generation ship she's on arrives at its destination. She awakens alone, surrounded by empty pods, and from there she tries to find out what happened to everyone else in the centuries in which the Calypso was travelling. So far, quite similar to other SF/space opera/colony ship stories.
Except.
The whole story is told in metre like the epics of old, such as The Iliad / The Odyssey. It has the epic feel, with three larger-than-life characters, a "Herald" who tells of the past, and the descendents of the crew who left Earth as the "chorus".
Rochelle is the main story teller, and the official "disagreer" with Arthur Sigmund, the (mad?) genius behind the Calypso project. And then there is Catherine, the bioengineered bioengineer who is key to terraforming the new world when they arrive.
Calypso touches on the epic journey, the sacrifice that Rochelle left her family behind to make the decades/centuries long trip to the new world, the schism in the crew, and various other elements of a classic Epic poem. Meanwhile, in and among it all, the author also played with the meter and typesetting, so that the text the changes from straight metre to making word patterns as it tells the story and picks up the POVs of the other characters.
It wasn't at all what I expected, but it worked - at least for me - as it was so different to anything I've read in a long time. Recommended for fans of space opera, and also those who like something a bit different to read. Make sure you read it either in a physical copy, or on a screen that can show the word pattern.
I read the kindle version, and there is a HB available. The PB is due out this September.
MasoodahPart of Your World by Abby Jimenez
5-⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“There is a peace in knowing the one thing you can’t live without. It simplifies all things. There was her, and then there was everything and everyone else. And only she really mattered. It was easy to know it.”
*sigh*
You know when a book leaves you thinking about it the day after you read it, then you know...
This was a goooood book.
I absolutely adored everything about it. The plot, the characters, the world-building... Abby , you are a phenomenal writer.
After reading the first two books of The Friend Zone Trilogy by Abby Jimenez (I know, I still need read to the final book in the series!), I knew I needed to jump into the Part of Your World series and boy oh boy, I was right to! I love Abby's writing, its just so simplistic yet in-depth?- if that makes sense. Like it's really hard not to understand yet there is so much meaning and symbolism to the story itself and this is portrayed so beautifully in the words she writes.
What this book has:
❤️Friends to lovers
❤️Age gap
❤️Smexy scenes
❤️Humor
❤️Problematic relationships
❤️Family/Work issues
❤️Traumatic themes
Getting to the story, we have Alexis Montgomery, a 38 year old ER doctor who has the world on her shoulders. She's rich af. She was married to Neil , another doctor but more popular than Alexis however they split up (view spoiler) and so she is now a single woman.
Then comes along, Daniel Grant, a 28 year old or so carpenter who is on the complete opposite life spectrum of Alexis. And also, ten years younger than Alexis, which is something that I usually don't rate in books , where the Female MC is older than the Male MC but I dont know, it just fit really well in this book. Daniel wasn't portrayed as younger but he was on the manly side and so it didnt bother me at all.
They fall in love yet it is a very rocky road to a happy ending, which we all love in a contemporary romance novel. I would say the backstory of the MC's had a major role to play in all of it and I'm glad we got to see the side character going through some trauma as well as a lot of books usually just focus on the MC's however it was nice to see that the side characters also got part of the spotlight- (view spoiler)
All in all, an enjoyful read and I'm definitely reading the second book in series - I've read the synposis which mentions that it is Alexis' best friend Bri's story and I cant wait!
2 starsDaughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict follows two real-life women: Hatshepsut, one of few female pharaohs in ancient Egyptian history, and Eve (Evelyn) Herbert, an early 20th-century aristocrat with a passion for Egyptology. Told in first person, the book alternates their points of views, showing Hatshepsut's rise to power and Eve's quest to find Hatshepsut's tomb. With its brief chapters, the book has a somewhat quick pace, although the action moves relatively slowly. Descriptions of setting are adequate, although tend to be somewhat repetitive. Overall, the sense of place in the novel is secondary to the plot, with perfunctory descriptions that rarely stand out from the rest of the text.
This was my first Marie Benedict novel, although I was aware going into it that she has a reputation for writing strong female characters who have largely been written out of history. As I've been meaning to read one of her books for a while, this seemed like the perfect opportunity. However, I quickly found myself disappointed both by the writing style and the author's interpretation of historical events.
Both of the book's timelines cover substantial portions of time, but skip forward enough that none of the plot points are ever fully developed, and each chapter often feels like "catching up" with what's happened. While this does help the book to move at a quick pace, it makes it difficult to connect to the events that are happening, as nothing is given much space to develop, including the main characters' personalities. I found it hard to connect to the story and to the characters, and hard to care about what was happening.
I found the love interests to be as flat and one-dimensional as all the other characters, and only seemed to exist to support the women in their lives. While some might find this a refreshing change of narrative, for me, the dullness of these characters only served to highlight how flat the main characters were. Further, the presence of Hatshepsut's love interest undermined her authority - all the big decisions in her reign seem to stem from his suggestions, so rather than portraying Hatshepsut as a strong woman capable of ruling in her own right, Marie Benedict shows that Hatshepsut could not reign effectively or gain more power unless a man was around to tell her what to do. Which I highly doubt is the message the author was intending.
In Eve's storyline, the most irksome aspect for me was Eve's growing discomfort around British acquisition of Egyptian artifacts. She seemed not to care that her country was looting Egypt so long as they were doing it "legally," and even when she began to realize that these artifacts rightfully belonged to the Egyptian people, she seemed to care more about law than morality. Even when she does have this revelation that her family's involvement in Egyptian archaeology might be wrong, it happens so abruptly that it almost feels out of character. Up to this point, she didn't care that her family was taking artifacts out of Egypt as long as they were doing it the "right" way, and even after she has this revelation she seems to care more about what it will mean for her than what it means for the Egyptian people. She is so self-centered and selfish throughout the book, and so single-minded about finding Hatshepsut's tomb, that she thinks there's no hope of anyone ever finding Hatshepsut's tomb if she leaves Egypt. Because obviously Eve is so amazing that she alone can make this discovery.
I have so many more things I could say about this book - so many more issues I had with the narrative choices and the author's interpretation of history - but in the interest of keeping this review (relatively) short, I'll stop here. I am curious to know how this book compares to other Marie Benedict novels, but I am reluctant to pick one up lest it have the same one-dimensional characters and poor comprehension of history.
Daughter of Egypt is slated to release in March 2026
Kelly L Bed and Breakup
Since reading an ARC of Looking for a Sign, Susie Dumond has become a go-to romance writer for me. I've been eagerly awaiting her next novel and Bed and Breakup delivers on what I've come to see as her niche: realistic but whimsical stories of queer love in the American South, always supported by a cast of characters you grow to love as much as the main couple. Dumond writes her settings like their own character, and Eureka Springs shines!
This is a great option for fans of Gilmore Girls (historic inns, small towns, lovable supporting characters) as well as fans of Ruby Barrett's The Romance Recipe, one of my first and favorite sapphic romances!
To Chase the Glowing Hours takes place primarily in Egypt in 1922/1923, as Howard Carter discovers the nearly untouched tomb of Tutankhamun. Told through the point of view of Eve Herbert, daughter of Carter's patron Lord Carnarvon, the book describes Carter's discovery of the tomb and the subsequent publicity, and the resulting challenge of cataloguing and protecting this enormous find in the midst of an upheaval within the Egyptian government. A tender romance blooms between Howard Carter and young Eve, mirroring the wonder and uncertainty of this unprecedented archeological find.I can't help but compare this book to Marie Benedict's forthcoming Daughter of Egypt, which covers the same time period and likewise uses Eve Herbert as a point-of-view character. I reviewed Daughter of Egypt recently - in fact, I stumbled across To Chase the Glowing Hours as I was fact-checking some details from Daughter of Egypt. Plot-wise, one of the main differences between the two books is that while Daughter of Egypt splits the story between the 1920s and ancient Egypt, while To Chase the Glowing Hours focuses only on the 1920s. Further, Marie Benedict's book spreads Eve's story out over a number of years, and To Chase the Glowing Hours takes place over the course of about one year in Eve's life.
To Chase the Glowing Hours was excellently researched, and the author even shares her sources at the end of the book. It's evident that Katherine Kirkpatrick has a strong grasp not only on historical detail, but lavish descriptions as well. There's a strong sense of place throughout the book, and in particular the descriptions of Tutankhamun's tomb were vivid. Although the scenes of Eve venturing into the tomb for the first time relies heavily on descriptions of all she's seeing, I didn't find these scenes to be boring or drawn-out. There was the perfect amount of detail, and the descriptions were beautiful and varied enough that it never felt dull or repetitive. These scenes may have been my favorite in the entire book - they were such a joy to read.
There are only a few major characters in the book, but they all felt real and well-rounded, with distinct personalities that shone through in the writing. Katherine Kirkpatrick excelled at writing Eve as a naïve, love-struck girl slowly coming to terms with the realities of her world. The author touched on other subjects in the book - such as Egyptian independence from Europe and the rightful ownership of Egyptian artifacts - and while these were deftly handled, I never felt that the introduction of these topics distracted from the central story. Eve's reactions to these events felt natural and true to her character, and the author didn't shoehorn any of these issues into the story to try to make a point. At its heart, the book is a coming-of-age story as Eve navigates the rush of first love, an unexpected death, and harsh realities about her position in the world and her family's situation. The author never loses sight of this, and as a result the book is an evocative glimpse into the inner life of Eve Herbert.
I rate this book as 4 stars, and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and excellent description, and doesn't mind a somewhat slow-moving plot. I would also urge anyone considering reading Marie Benedict's upcoming Daughters of Egypt to give this book a try as well, as I found To Chase the Glowing Hours to be much better written and researched.
To Chase the Glowing Hours releases on September 9, 2025
How to Suppress Women's Writing, Joanna RussReviewed by trishhartuk - 5*
This was only on my TBR, because someone many years ago wrote a review of it in this group. As it fitted 5.3, I decided I'd finally read it.
This is so much more than just a book about women's writing, and why the work of so few women from the past it still even heard of, let alone read. It's also about the de facto oppression of minorities and their views, both subtly and unsubtly, provoking the reader you to think about the history of literature in a very different way.
Maybe the depressing takeaway is that despite being published in 1983, so very little has changed, and the methods Russ describes for belittling women and their work rings way too true right now, given the resurrection of white patriarchy in the US and elsewhere.
The Alpenhaus, set in Switzerland in the 1830s and 40s, follows young Amalia Grob as she experiences first love amidst the backdrop of increasing hardship in her small community. As harsh winds destroy crops, leading to poverty and famine, Amalia watches the less privileged in her community contemplate emigrating to America in hopes of starting a new and better life. She is confronted with the impossibility of this decision - to go or stay - firsthand when it becomes clear that the only way she can be with the man she loves is to leave behind her home and her family forever.Going into this story I knew nothing about the real-life people - Amalia Grob and Peter Britt - upon whom this story is based. It's clear that the book is well-researched, not only in terms of these people's lives, but also the culture and country that they were raised in. I learned so much about Switzerland while reading this book, which to me is one of the joys of reading anything set in a culture outside my own. The author does and excellent job gently educating the readers about Amalia's way of life, revealing details as they are necessary and never overwhelming or overexplaining. Although I did notice some details were needlessly repeated, this didn't take away from the overall reading experience.
The author also does a great job getting into the character's head. Since this book is very introspective and much more character-based than plot-based, it's essential that the reader has a good sense of who these characters are, which I think was done well. This isn't a character study by any means - we are told early on who these characters are, and they stay pretty consistent throughout. But as this is a pretty gentle, low-stakes story focused more on romance and societal expectations than on character development, I didn't mind that the characters sometimes seemed a little flat.
Overall, this was a fun, easy read - nothing in this story is too complicated, and the star-crossed lovers trope is familiar enough that it's easy to get immersed in the story. A nice bit of escapism with a setting you don't often see in historical novels.
Michelle in AlaskaThe Summer That Shaped Us by Lori Wilde
A heartwarming tale of friendship, second chance romance, forgiveness, and self-discovery. In The Summer That Shaped Us, you'll follow three generations of family as they embark on a summer stay unlike any other on the idyllic Hobby Island. You'll meet naive and people-pleasing Jeanie, who has been accepted to participate in a quilting competition; her daughter, Luna, who keeps everyone at arm's length; and finally, Artemis, the edgy teenager who feels way too cool to be stuck on an island without cell service with a bunch of crafty old ladies.
This book would be a good fit for someone who is looking for a low-stakes summer/beach read, who is interested in exploring complex family dynamics that include betrayal and forgiveness, and/or who enjoys a charming second-chance romance. I personally found myself the most invested in Luna's development and second-chance romance with her old high school flame, casually named Paul Chance. While the romance kept me fed, I found myself underwhelmed and unimpressed by Jeanie's story, despite all the growth that her character made. So many alarming choices were made in her life that it was hard to feel the pity I think the reader was meant to feel. Artemis's story was enjoyable, though the portrayal of a teenage mind was inconsistent. At times, she felt entirely believable, as if the author were channeling her own 21st-century granddaughter, and other times, Artemis threw out some strangely outdated language that pulled away from her story.
Overall, I found the book enjoyable and pleasant enough. Reading it in the summer would probably add the right atmosphere to make it more of a page turner than I found it to be during a snowstorm in February.
Paul Chance is the real hero of this story. We need more men like Paul Chance.
Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for allowing me to read an ARC of this story in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts I've shared here are my own.
Michelle in AlaskaBloodguard by Cecy Robson
"It's too late in the game to develop a personality."
It took me forever to finish this book, but I finished because I'm not a quitter. This quote, spoken somewhat ironically by the main character, about sums up my thoughts on this one. I try to be generous and thoughtful with my reviews, but this book was just not good. It did get exciting once around 70% of the way in, so I gave it an extra half-star.
1.5/5
Michelle in AlaskaFearless by Lauren Roberts
I have a firm "no 1 star reviews" rule. I also have a firm "do not DNF" rule. Hey, at least I didn't DNF it.
This is the lowest rating I have ever given a book. How do you mess something up this badly? Character arc smashing, zero-point lore building, plot points written on scraps of paper and pulled from a hat at random.
If I didn’t love the prequel, Reckless, so much, I would be wishing I could scrub this entire series from my memory. Imagine hating your own characters this much.
1.5 stars rounded down.
Michelle in AlaskaOverlord, Vol. 1: The Undead King by Kugane Maruyama
My first experience with a light novel. Momonga finds himself trapped inside his favorite MMO, suddenly locked away in a new world (isekai) where he is seemingly omnipotent, armed with all the rare treasures his renowned guild has amassed in its years of activity. What happens when an undead character slowly starts to lose his humanity?
I enjoyed this quite a bit. The writing style is a bit simplistic, perhaps to be expected from a light novel, but I really enjoy the artwork, and I find the promise of the premise alluring. I will probably read the second one someday.
Michelle in AlaskaAlone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake
I read nearly the entire book in a single day. It's been a while since I've felt drawn to do that. Olivie, I love you. xo
Not just a love story, but a meditation on identity, obsession, mental illness, healing, and the courage it takes to let someone see you as you are, unrefined, scared, and infinite. Intimate and cerebral, poetic and raw.
Regan, like the author, has bipolar disorder, and what you get here is an honest, lived experience that resounds from every page. If you are sensitive to topics of mental health, please consider checking content warnings.
Olivie's words are living, breathing poetry, her style ever-so-slightly experimental, her metaphors refreshing and lingering like rain. Y'all already know I consider her a wordsmith.
Michelle in AlaskaWintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
Filled to the brim with lovely metaphors and anecdotes, Wintering is a gentle reflection on what it means to radically put one's needs first in order to restore oneself. It is a balm, a meditation on what happens when the driving snow threatens to bury us whole. One's own period of wintering need not always coincide with the calendar's notion of winter. It can befall us at any time, through change, grief, or exhaustion.
I would recommend this to anyone who has ever been knocked down by life and who wants some friendly, perhaps motherly, wisdom on rest and retreat.
Michelle in AlaskaThe Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
“No one here is good. Knowledge is carnage.”
Welcome, babes, to what may just end up being one of my favorite books of all time. I have read this book twice now in 2025, and as I said in March, this will, without a doubt, be the top book of the year for me. Who are the people giving this a 3.6 star rating average on Goodreads? Come here for a sec, I just wanna talk. ;)
“There is no fate so final as betrayal. Trust, once dead, cannot be resurrected.”
The Alexandrian Society, both secret and ancient, has one primary goal: to protect, care for, and contribute to an unfathomable collection of lost human knowledge amassed from civilizations of antiquity. Who better than the most elite magicians (known as Medeians here) to serve as its protectors? After all, this much knowledge is best left in the competent hands of the elite few rather than spread with reckless abandon to the common masses...
Right?
An empire [can] sit successfully only upon a chair of three legs: subjugation, desperation, and ignorance.
Every ten years, six new potential initiates are recruited to compete for a chance to join the Alexandrian Society, which promises a life of wealth, power, prestige, and knowledge beyond imagining. Members often go on to be political leaders, patrons, CEOs, and laureates.
Only people who exist in three dimensions ever believe history to be sacred.
The drama? While six are recruited, only five will be initiated after a year of competition, and the last will be eliminated.Beware the man who faces you unarmed.
If in his eyes you are not the target,
then you can be sure you are the weapon.
The Atlas Six is first and foremost about these six elite Medeian recruits. They all deserve their own full reviews, but I won't do that. Instead, let me give a little nibble of each of them:
LIBBY
“I mean, what is the point of having so much talent in the room if nobody’s willing to see where that takes us?”
NICO
Nico was very sulky when he was not permitted to be incomprehensibly astounding.
REINA
“For every tyrant, there is a ‘free’ society which destroys itself."
CALLUM
“Me? I never despair. I am only ever patently unsurprised.”
PARISA
Dalton was chess; Tristan was sport. Importantly, though, both were games.
TRISTAN
“I find people to be largely disappointing."
The Atlas Six is seductive. Sultry like the taste of a fine bourbon in a smoky room. It is intentionally vague... sometimes disconcerting like a room full of mirrors, and you are invited to peer inward.
Who is the hero, and who is the villain?
The Atlas Six is smart. It will throw quantum physics in your face in a way that feels accessible enough. It is a character study of six+ intricate, deeply flawed, vain, ambitious characters.
Meander through a garden of philosophical intrigue and watch how it slowly turns to brambles.
If you're not rereading whole paragraphs here, you're not reading closely enough.
The Atlas Six is angry. This trilogy is more than just dark academia. It is a story of corruption, chaos, futility, destiny, morality, and mortality.This trilogy feels like holding the whole of the human experience in your hands. I have cried sad tears, happy tears, tender, heart-swelling tears, and tears of pride for some of these characters.
This may also be the most divisive series I have ever read. You either love it or hate it. Guess which camp I'm in. I truly believe that its marketing landed it in the wrong hands, hence the surprising Goodreads ratings. It is still looking for its perfect audience. Importantly, if you don't enjoy the first book, the second book won't get any better for you, so reader, know thyself.
Eternal glory. Unparalleled wisdom. Here they would unlock the secrets the world had kept from itself for centuries, for millennia.
Michelle in AlaskaDead Astronauts by Jeff VanderMeer
If you asked me to sum this book up in one line, I would defer to VanderMeer himself, who said, “Forces in the world that seem so mysterious are at odds. That it is not dark against light but dark against dark against dark against dark” (194).
Science fiction is famously not my go-to genre, but what I do love is a book that is packaged as having taken risks, a challenge, a puzzle to solve. I arrived with questions (have you seen the cover?) and left with more questions. I got it. I didn’t get it. I was left wanting to restart it immediately so that I could accumulate more questions to not get answers to. And you know what? I loved the experience of this book, and make no mistake. That’s what this book is: an experience.
My intuition tells me that the mistake people make with Dead Astronauts is that they expect VanderMeer to care about whether you understand it or not. They expect handholding, some structural guardrails. This is my first VanderMeer, so I cannot say whether he does this in his other books, whether the experience that is Dead Astronauts is unique to this novel; somehow I suspect that he is lauded for the unapologetically dark imagination and wanton disregard for convention and expectation that one gets here. In lieu of expectation, he rewards the reader with the gift of assumed competence or, at the very least, open-mindedness. It is not his job to ensure you have either. What I see here is reviewers telling on themselves when they grouse about the experimental nature or “confusing plot.” My question is, “What plot?”
Dead Astronauts is a journey of vignettes. Here you get impressions, little imprints like Schrodinger’s cat's footprint in a desert wasteland outside a biotech nightmare of a Company. The world VanderMeer has curated for you is simultaneously laid out and left to the imagination. He boasts elliptical writing that is evasive and pervasive and invasive. These pages contain a conceptual trippiness to rival the cover. You’ll appreciate the ultra-precise sub-genre (which I probably made up) of “environmental resignation with a biomechanically engineered heart of hope.” Hope there is — just enough to make you resist throwing these pages into a murky, contaminated river like a madman’s journal.
And y’all — you know what I didn’t expect? A love story at its core. A love story between characters who never should have met, a love story to the earth, a love story to animals, and a love story to humanity, as undeserving as it may be.
I saw someone describe this as “science fiction for poetry lovers”, and yep.
Dead Astronauts feels vital and urgent. It is a warning. It is a reckoning. It is a plea. Are we listening?
Nothing left to do. Nothing you can do. For what could you do. This has all already happened. (201)
But, in the end, joy cannot fend off evil. Joy can only remind you why you fight. (301)
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The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Dead Astronauts (other topics)The Atlas Six (other topics)
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times (other topics)
Alone With You in the Ether (other topics)
Overlord, Vol. 1: The Undead King (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Marie Benedict (other topics)Abby Jimenez (other topics)
B.K. Borison (other topics)
Emily Henry (other topics)
Rachel Hawkins (other topics)
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We will draw a random name from anyone who posts a review in this thread and they will be given the opportunity to create a task in the Fall 2025 season - the more reviews that you post, the more chance of being drawn!
Reviews must be for books read within the current challenge period. You may link to your review on Goodreads, or type the review in the thread. (Please do not link to a review on a site outside of Goodreads).
Your review does not have to be positive but it should be at least a couple of sentences long - "loved it" or "not for me" is not helpful to other readers!
Please remember to include your Readerboard name when posting your review.