The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses by Malka Ann Older

The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses by Malka Ann Older

by CarolNo Comments
This one might have been my favorite of the series so far. Not because of the plot necessarily - Pleiti is helping a friend who is concerned about potential threats to her cousin who is up for a promotion at another university- but because of the language and the Holmes/Watson vibes, both of which are so much more noticeable in this installment. I will say that this does work as a stand-alone although one of the major events from the first is referenced and carries some importance. The series is set on Jupiter, which was settled after Earth's atmosphere became uninhabitable. Pleiti is a professor in the classics department, studying what life was like on earth in the hopes of eventually returning, which makes a nice contrast with the modernists she meets, who are more interested in studying the now and how people and animals are adapting. But people are still people, with jealousies and secrets, which means people like...
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The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older

by Carol1 Comment
The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles is the second novella featuring Mossa and Pleiti. We've colonized Jupiter, "Giant," but are still working towards one day returning to Earth. Mossa, our investigator, is on a missing persons case that takes her to Veldageld where Pleiti lives and works. She of course asks Pleiti for help, since it is one of the university students who seems to have disappeared. I can't decide how I feel about Mossa and Pleiti's relationship. Pleiti spends so much time picking over every little comment or decision Mossa makes that it get annoying. I like them together and I like how they have different strengths and abilities - I just want Pleiti to communicate better and be a little less insecure. I feel like that's what I always want in romances and why I don't usually read them. At least here the main focus is on the mystery and not their relationship. The mystery is put together well and I...
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Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis

Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis

by Carol1 Comment
The Floating Hotel is the Abeona, a spaceship hotel touring the galaxy. It's definitely light on technology. The Abeona itself is rather retro, with lots of wood and paper and pneumatic tubes There seems to be only one woman on the maintenance team and we never really know many details of how the ship works, just that it does and has been doing so for decades. Every chapter in Floating Hotel is written from a new character's POV. Most of them are staff or returning regulars, and each has a past, or purpose, that has led them to the hotel. We learn their backstories and see how they spend their days. The stories and characters gradually build a picture of the vibrant life on the hotel, while weaving in a few mysteries as the plot meanders along. I enjoyed the book, right up until the end. I wish the mystery portion could have somehow worked out differently or maybe been worked through...
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The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

by CarolNo Comments
At some point in the future, a fog, probably man-made, covers the whole globe. The fog is filled with tiny insects that devour any living thing they come in contact with, including humans. The only safe place is an island protected by a some kind of shield where 122 villagers and three scientists/elders live. It's a peaceful place where everyone has their jobs and knows their place. Until one of the scientists is murdered causing the shield to go down. If the murder isn't solved and the killer executed within 92 hours, the fog will engulf the island. The narrator is Abi, the artificial intelligence who knows everything that goes on on the island and controls most of it. She is also the one who wiped everyone's memory. The thing about Abi is that she has a job, she has commands she must follow. So even though she knows all and sees all, she doesn't share everything with the reader or...
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Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

by CarolNo Comments
Starter Villain is just fun, from beginning to end. Charlie is down on his luck. He's divorced, living in a house his half-siblings want to sell, and working as a substitute teacher. All he wants to do is buy the pub downtown, but he has no money and can't get a loan. Then his estranged uncle dies and leaves him his business - parking garages/ villainous empire. Suddenly he's the owner of a top-secret lair (under a volcano, naturally), though the "sinister mission control room" is somewhat lacking. And now some people are pressuring him to join the Lombardy Convocation, a group of supervillainous villains who just happen to be having their annual meeting. This story is laugh-out-loud funny. Charlie is in over his head but has some good guidance, including from his cat, Hera (who I adore by the way). Turns out villany is much more corporate than one would have thought. In addition to explosions, Bond-style bad guys, and...
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Prophet by Sin Blaché and Helen Macdonald

Prophet by Sin Blaché and Helen Macdonald

by CarolNo Comments
I loved about 80% of Prophet. It's a slightly creepy sci-fi thriller with a slow-burn romance between the two leads. The end kind of went off the rails for me, but I liked Rao and Adam enough for it not to matter. Wonder if they could get a sequel? Prophet is set circa 2010, in more or less our world, but a sergeant has died in a mysterious fire on a US base in the UK. Around the base, dozens of objects appeared ranging from familiar, nostalgic childhood toys, to a full American-style diner in the middle of an empty field. Enter Adam, a surly American military officer, and Rao, a sort of ex-MI6 spy pulled out of rehab who can tell what's true, whether it be if something's real and not a forgery or if a statement is true - a power that conveniently doesn't work where Adam's concerned. It's up to them to figure out what's going on. Oh,...
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