"Up until Asmodeus spoke up, it had been an uneventful day - or, at any rate, not more eventful than usual." I'm annoyed at myself at still not having got round to reading the Dominion of the Fallen series, but instead started with this series of novellas. I'm told that you can read them as stand alone, and … Continue reading Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances – Aliette de Bodard
"'I'm sorry, Bob,' says Dr Armstrong, 'but they asked for you specifically because Hello Kitty is a Londoner.'" Laundry Files main narrator, Bob Howard, is suspiciously absent during the events of The Nightmare Stacks (book 7 in the series) and in this novella we get to follow the side mission he was undertaking in Japan. Yokai … Continue reading Escape from Yokai Land – Charles Stross
"The dead human was lying on the deck, on their side, half curled around." The book comes with its own summary, far better than I could write, so here it is: When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the … Continue reading Fugitive Telemetry – Martha Wells
"When I got back to HaveRatton Station, a bunch of humans tried to kill me." The Murderbot Diaries are by this point quite clearly one continuing story, so I'd have to suggest there's not much point reading this - novella, or review - unless you're up to date with the previous three installments. Go, I'll … Continue reading Exit Strategy – Martha Wells
"I have the worst luck with bot-driven transports." By this point, we're quite clearly in an ongoing story, so not only will reading this review possibly have sort-of spoilers for the first two novellas (All Systems Red and Artificial Condition), but quite frankly those are so bloomin' good - as is the whole story so far … Continue reading Rogue Protocol – Martha Wells
"SecUnits don't care about the news." If All Systems Red left you wanting more - and oh, did it! - then rejoice, because there's a whole lot more MurderBot! Usual warning - mentioning anything/one in the second book could be an inadvertent spoiler for the first book. Although I'm guessing it's no surprise that Murderbot survives … Continue reading Artificial Condition – Martha Wells
"I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites." Ah, Murderbot - what took me so long?! This novella is just wonderful - I mean, a sarcastic, soap-opera obsessed killing machine, what's not … Continue reading All Systems Red – Martha Wells
"Another perfect day at the end of the world." The problem with inventing time travel, and more to the point with using it as a 'final deterrent' kind of warfare, is that the only sure way to make sure your enemy doesn't change your history to make you more like them, is to alter their … Continue reading One Day All This Will Be Yours – Adrian Tchaikovsky
"'Tet is a feast that's a bit like Christmas.'" For some reason I haven't yet read the Dominion of the Fallen series, starting with The House of Shattered Wings, despite it having been on my TBR for some time. I mean, Fallen angels and a post-apocalyptic war in Paris between great Houses led by said angels? Sign me … Continue reading Of Dragons, Feasts, and Murders – Aliette de Bodard
"The Masserey-Van Bults were coming in all the dry way down the Ogooue Road, and, as Hotep would say, there was much rejoicing." In a not-so-distant future, the Earth has become a scorched hell zone. The very rich have escaped to orbiting habitats, accessed by space elevators. At the base of each, service townships (Ankara … Continue reading Firewalkers – Adrian Tchaikovsky
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