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A very American story about a corrupt city of the future that exploits the poor and disenfranchised

It takes a stubborn ex-military robot on a temporary visa to take on the hard boiled detective role and expose the festering boil at the top of the pyramid.

This is the story of two underdogs, a girl in juvenile detention and an enslaved alien.

It is the story of a biotech hive mind alien invasion.

As usual with Gehrke's work, it is both familiar and different. There are many familiar tropes but enough difference to keep you interested. It's a hive mind but with religious overtones. People are selfish but also kind and trusting. Being kind and trusting doesn't come with narrative armor. There are friendships and rivalries, but despite the teenage cast, there's no love interest.

It is also very much the first book in a trilogy. Sadly only Refuge is available in audio. At least the e-book is available as a box set.

There is something very compelling about: When We Were Real.

Despite the almost contemporary world, the speculative nature of the setting permeates every aspect of the novel. It is not just a veneer.

Daryl Gregory also made me care about every character and their struggle, even the annoying ones.

It's as if Ken LIu noticed how much The Mortal Engine put me off the concept of mobile cities and decided to correct that impression.

I’m enjoying the Orlando People novels even more than Kane’s Andrea Vernon series.

They are, light comedy action. Great for when you need some escape from the bitter wartime news cycle.

And I love Gretch, she would be annoying as hell to be around but I enjoy reading about her antics.

This is Alexander C. Kane without the over the top super hero personas. The characters are great, the humor is fantastic. Aided by Kristen Sieh's excellent performance.

After some hard world building in The Expert System’s Brother, in The Expert System’s Champion, Tchaikovsky gets to run at full tilt, exploring different types of intelligence, social structure and evolutionary strategies as humans and aliens try to adapt to a hostile environment.

I was hesitant to get Alexander C. Kane's, Scum of the Earth, it sounded like it would mostly take place in a MAGA senator's office.

This is not the case. This is one long car chase of a page-turner that I finished listening to in one day.

This is a different Kane book. Gone are the cartoon characters of the Andrea Vernon series. Replaced with fleshed out characters, even for the bad guys. It is written for an adult audience and doesn't rely on snark for its humor like the Orlando People series.

I enjoyed Kanes series, they are fun, funny, snarky and silly.

Scum of the Earth is different; it's subtle self-deprecating satire.

This novel is a writing exercise. How would people in the US react if the moon suddenly turned into cheese?

This setup works very well with Scalzi's, What the Fuck and Fuck you style of humor.

Things start to get more dramatic towards the end and I would have preferred a different ending.

I listened to the Audible dramatization, featuring some impressive actors.

Carmila was surprisingly sexy-lesbian for a late 19th century work.

It was interesting to read a pre-Dracula vampire story. The christian elements are more muted and the victim isn't tainted by sin.

This is fan service for Royce and Hadrian groupies.

But it's mostly Royce, Hadrian and Gwen go on vacation and work on getting Royce to get over his teen angst and kiss Gwen.

Of course, where Rayira go trouble follows, but the action sequences are few and far between.

The Stardust Grail is both simple and complex.

There is no subtlety, everything is spelled out, the world and characters are skin deep.

However, the lines between good and evil are blurred, and that is where it shines.

I consider this novel to be for a YA audience.

It was to blatant for me.