SI CLARKE is a misanthrope who lives in Deptford, sarf ees London. She shares her home with her partner and an assortment of waifs and strays. When not writing convoluted, inefficient stories, she spends her time telling financial services firms to behave more efficiently. When not doing either of those things, she can be found in the pub or shouting at people online – occasionally practising efficiency by doing both at once.
As someone who’s neurodivergent, an immigrant, and the proud owner of an invisible disability, she strives to present a diverse array of characters in her stories.
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The Ankh-Morpork Post Office is running like . . . well, not at all like …
Still one of the finest, clearest, and funniest explanations of how financial markets work.
DNF'd at around 15%
Although the author says she has two trans children and appears to have written a 'trans' protagonist to show her support for them, I was uncomfortable with the storyline. A straight male god awakes to find himself in a human female body. The basic premise seems to be that the form of the body shapes the person within. The book's humour derives from the idea that a straight man in an AFAB body will become a straight woman.
I believe the author had good intentions, but it still made me cringe.
A teen with a supportive mum, a trans love interest, and a baddie who doesn’t just kill you … he taints people’s memories of you. What more could you want?
Tina's just an ordinary teenager. Except she's actually an alien disguised as a human to protect her until she's ready. When Tina gets … erm …activated, her best friend Rachael recruits the best and brightest of Earth's teens to join them in their mission to save the universe.
This book has it all: action, adventure, found family, intersectionality, diverse characters, geek culture references. There's even a bit of romance – if you're into that kind of thing.
Creative, inventive, original. Delightful characters. A fun, fab read.
Really useful accompaniment to the course on the author’s website.
Captain Eva Innocente and the crew of La Sirena Negra cruise the galaxy delivering small …
DNF'd at 40%
I wanted to love this one. I really did. It started off so strong: a brilliant premise, flawed but loveable characters, a healthy dash of humour, and a stunning cover.
Alas, it was not for me. I found myself procrastinating FROM reading instating procrastinating from real life BY reading.
Two things prevented me from enjoying this a lot more than I did.
1. The structure. Instead of a traditional plot of a obstacle that must be overcome, this featured an endless series of tasks to be completed.
2. The language. Adding a few words of a different language here and there is more than fine. But having a main character who repeatedly drops in whole sentences in a language I don't speak really pulls me out of the story.
If you enjoy episodic fiction and speak at least a smattering of Spanish, then maybe this book is …
DNF'd at 40%
I wanted to love this one. I really did. It started off so strong: a brilliant premise, flawed but loveable characters, a healthy dash of humour, and a stunning cover.
Alas, it was not for me. I found myself procrastinating FROM reading instating procrastinating from real life BY reading.
Two things prevented me from enjoying this a lot more than I did.
1. The structure. Instead of a traditional plot of a obstacle that must be overcome, this featured an endless series of tasks to be completed.
2. The language. Adding a few words of a different language here and there is more than fine. But having a main character who repeatedly drops in whole sentences in a language I don't speak really pulls me out of the story.
If you enjoy episodic fiction and speak at least a smattering of Spanish, then maybe this book is for you.
Last One at the Party presents the reader with a story that's essentially a hyperbole of our current reality. A pandemic sweeps the world unchecked by attempts to constrain it. But instead of leaving most people merely inconvenienced, 6DM kills everyone in its path. Almost everyone. fewer than one in a million survive it.
Our nameless heroine is pretty much the worst possible person to survive something like this. She's selfish, tedious, insipid. She wilfully condemns various helpless animals to death, acknowledging their desperation and then moving on. Not since Heathcliff and Catherine have I come across main characters I hated so intensely.
As we get to know her, we see she's been battling severe depression and crippling anxiety for years even before the pandemic. Add PTSD after the fact and, well, she doesn't cope well. But she definitely shows emotional growth over the course of the book – it …
Last One at the Party presents the reader with a story that's essentially a hyperbole of our current reality. A pandemic sweeps the world unchecked by attempts to constrain it. But instead of leaving most people merely inconvenienced, 6DM kills everyone in its path. Almost everyone. fewer than one in a million survive it.
Our nameless heroine is pretty much the worst possible person to survive something like this. She's selfish, tedious, insipid. She wilfully condemns various helpless animals to death, acknowledging their desperation and then moving on. Not since Heathcliff and Catherine have I come across main characters I hated so intensely.
As we get to know her, we see she's been battling severe depression and crippling anxiety for years even before the pandemic. Add PTSD after the fact and, well, she doesn't cope well. But she definitely shows emotional growth over the course of the book – it just takes her a long, long, loooooong time to get there.
It reminded me a lot of Anne Corlett's The Space Between the Stars.
To be honest, I'm not certain whether I actually liked this book. For a solid 90% of it, I despised the main character. But I'll tell you what: I could not put it down. And I've got such a serious book hangover from it, that I haven't been able to get into another book since.
Welcome to the end of time. It’s a perfect day.
Nobody remembers how the Causality …
Our nameless, faceless protagonist in this light-hearted post-epochalyptic tale has charged himself with protecting the future, so to speak. The past has been completely decimated in an endless series of time and causality wars. He will not only kill but erase anyone who threatens the future.
I went straight into this from Becky Chambers' Closed and Common Orbit and – talk about culture shock – the two could not have been more different. And I mean that in the best possible way (on both sides).
Chambers doesn't so much write novels as she does character studies in story format. This, on the other hand, isn't so much a novella as it is a philosophy/game theory/sociology textbook in story format.
If you enjoy stories that make you think, that leave you lying awake asking yourself how time works, this one's for you.
Once, Lovelace had eyes and ears everywhere. She was a ship's artificial intelligence system - …
Lovelace is the AI that manages the Wayfarer — until she finds herself freshly rebooted, no memories, and migrated to a human body. Pepper, my favourite character from Long Way, finds herself playing mother-figure to Lovelace.
Becky Chambers is the supreme ruler of character-driven science fiction. No one else creates characters that readers get deeply invested in quite like she does. She gives us the very best of found family.
My one complaint about The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet was the lack of a clear, cohesive plot. The characters in this book are every bit as compelling — possibly even more so. But what separates the two books is that this one follows a more traditional story arc.
If you’re someone who lives for action-heavy, bang-bang-pew-pew science fiction, this might not be your bag. But if you (like me) love story that puts the focus on the …
Lovelace is the AI that manages the Wayfarer — until she finds herself freshly rebooted, no memories, and migrated to a human body. Pepper, my favourite character from Long Way, finds herself playing mother-figure to Lovelace.
Becky Chambers is the supreme ruler of character-driven science fiction. No one else creates characters that readers get deeply invested in quite like she does. She gives us the very best of found family.
My one complaint about The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet was the lack of a clear, cohesive plot. The characters in this book are every bit as compelling — possibly even more so. But what separates the two books is that this one follows a more traditional story arc.
If you’re someone who lives for action-heavy, bang-bang-pew-pew science fiction, this might not be your bag. But if you (like me) love story that puts the focus on the people, you’re going to love this one.
Jack Holloway works alone, for reasons he doesn't care to talk about. Hundreds of miles …
Second read and still enjoyed it.
Would you give up everything to change the world?
Humanity clings to life on January …
This is a tough book to rate. The story will definitely stick with me and I'm incredibly glad I read it. However, I'm not sure I exactly enjoyed reading it. It was powerful and compelling, but rambling and dense.
In the end, I would recommend this book to science fiction fans – just don't read it expecting a light, fluffy, quick read.
Not my first read through of this, but I still love it.
The bodyguard is a traitor. The princess is her one true love. And the revolution …
Elsenna is second in command of the king's security forces. She's also a traitor to the brutal, horrible dictator, secretly working with insurrectionists to overthrow the oppressive regime. Oh, and she's also in love with the king's only daughter. What could possibly go wrong.
I make no secret of the fact – in books or in life – I have no use for romance. Too often I find it distracts from a story and/or attempts to stand in for genuine character development. Not so here. The characters are flawed and realistic and fully rounded.
Ninestar Press describes this as science fiction romance. I'd describe as a political intrigue thriller tale of found family. Beautifully diverse and disability positive.
If you've ever thought that what the world really needs is Heinlein's classic, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, but left-wing and queer, then this book is for you.
From New York Times bestseller and Hugo Award-winner John Scalzi, The Android’s Dream is a …
When is a sheep not a sheep? What constitutes a person? What constitutes a species? What does it mean to be alive? What if a fart could trigger a galactic war?
I have mixed feelings about this one.
It was billed as funny science fiction. It has funny moments and it has warmth and wit, but I wouldn't call it a comedy.
It has frequently been compared to Hitchhiker (including by the author); however, I don't see that at all.
It was written more than a decade ago and published two years ago. I suspect the author's worldview has shifted dramatically in that time. Some of the book seemed to reflect the outlook I see in his twitter feed, but it carries the ghost of what I suspect were his earlier views.
There were a lot mixed messages and I'm not sure what the book's aim was.
I enjoyed the writing style and the character development. I think I'd like to read something Mr Tomlinson has written more recently as I suspect this isn't the best he has to offer.
Detective Tippy and his friends live in the Stillreal, where ideas go when they’re no longer needed. While solving a case about screaming corn, Tippy meets a new arrival — and soon finds himself sucked into a case big enough to change life in the Stillreal forever.
Part cosy mystery, part urban fantasy, part trippy-cheese-dream. But I feel like that sells this wonderful, unique story short.
I read another review that described this as the Dresden Files if Dresden were a stuffed triceratops. Which is fairly apt — except without the the sexism that underpins Butcher’s writing style.
Highly recommended.
