The BiblioSanctum

Book Review: Towers Fall by Karina Sumner-Smith

Posted on November 19, 2015 5 Comments

A review copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Towers Fall by Karina Sumner-Smith

Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult

Series: Book 3 of The Towers Trilogy

Publisher: Talos (11/17/15)

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Karina Sumner-Smith’s genre defying Towers trilogy draws to a close with Towers Fall, a series-ender that successfully lives up to the potential promised by the first two books. I remember being impressed when I first read Radiant, surprised that it was the author’s novel debut. I went on to read Defiant and was again blown away by the story’s premise and world building, and it feels deeply satisfying now to have come this far with our protagonists Xhea and Shai.

Things really started heating up in the second book, but now they are at a boiling point. The people of Lower City thought they would be given time to rebuild after the recent catastrophic events, but instead they are handed an ultimatum: Those on the ground will have three days to leave their homes, or the Central Spire will destroy them all.

Xhea and her ghostly companion Shai find themselves in the middle of the conflict again, attempting to rally the people to fight back and defend their homes. Through their experiences together, both have learned much about their special connection and respective magical abilities, but will it be enough? The Lower City has been revealed to be something more than anyone realized, and the Spire will stop at nothing to harness its magical energies. Now the girls will have to find out why, because the secrets of the towers may hold the key to stopping the oncoming destruction.

Once again we follow the structure introduced in book two, with chapters alternating back and forth between Xhea and Shai’s POVs. This is good for balancing the perspectives, especially since Shai’s role has grown to become just as important as Xhea’s after the first book. However, the book also follows this alternating pattern very rigidly, a stylistic choice that also has its downsides. For example, sometimes we’re forced to follow up with a character even when they aren’t doing much on the page to further the story. In these sections they were left there just to spin their wheels, and like the previous book, I felt more often that Shai’s chapters were weaker and had less direction when compared to Xhea’s. We lose some momentum in the middle of the book because of this.

Still, the bond between the two girls remains strong, which is great because their friendship is clearly the theme that defines this whole trilogy. This is in stark contrast to a lot of Young Adult novels these days that mainly focus on the emotional perils of romance. There’s also not enough YA fiction out there with strong female friendships; so many YA novels I read this year featured the female protagonist surrounded by only male friends, and if there is the presence of another prominent female character, often they aren’t the protagonist’s equal or they ultimately become her main rival. It’s very refreshing to see a series like this come along, showing how things can be done differently.

At this point, there’s also really nothing more I can say about the world building, other than it rocks. I’m still having a hard time deciding whether to categorize this series as science fiction or fantasy; after all, the towering skyscrapers and post-apocalyptic dystopian vibes make me lean towards the former, while the heavy emphasis on magic makes me think the latter. But at the end of the day, who cares? This trilogy has elements from a lot of different genres, and even includes ghosts and “walkers” that act very much like zombies. The important thing is finding balance, and I think the author achieved that marvelously.

My only complaint about this book is that the plot doesn’t feel as tight compared to the first and second novels—possibly related to the alternating POV issues I mentioned above. The pacing suffered slightly in the middle where certain chapters dragged on unnecessarily, and there just seemed to be more filler in this one, which made the story run a tad too long for my tastes. But other than that, I can think of little else that detracted from the experience.

All told, Towers Fall finished off the trilogy nicely, wrapping things up with a powerful and thought-provoking ending. If you’re ever in the mood to check out a truly unique series, be sure to give this these books a look.

*** Originally reviewed at The Speculative Herald ***

More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of Radiant (Book 1)
Review of Defiant (Book 2)
Guest Post by Karina Sumner-Smith

#RRSciFiMonth: Getting Our SciFi Game on With Brianna Shrum and Kristi Charish

Posted on November 18, 2015 16 Comments

Sci-Fi November is a month-long blog event hosted by Rinn Reads and Over The Effing Rainbow this year, created to celebrate everything amazing about science fiction! From TV shows to movies, books to comics, and everything else in between, it is intended to help science fiction lovers share their love and passion for this genre and its many, many fandoms.

As you all know, we at BiblioSanctum are avid gamers. We love gaming as much as we do reading, and we love it even more when our hobbies intersect. Whether through books about gaming, expansions on gaming lore, or books inspired by gaming, we love it — and we love authors who share our passions. Both Kristi Charish, author of Owl and the Japanese Circus, and Brianna Shrum, author of Never Never, have written about how gaming has influenced their writing:

Characters and Choices: Games as Stories by Brianna Shrum

“I play games, I write books, because I want to live someone else’s incredible life for a while.”

One RPG at a Time by Kristi Charish

“Video games, particularly some of the RPGs […] are fast becoming one of the most emotionally engaging interactive experiences on the planet.”

Kristi and Brianna are also hopelessly obsessed with Bioware games too and, while we could all spend hours talking about any or all of those games, for the sake of #RRSciFiMonth, we’ll do our best to keep our flailing focused on science fiction gaming.

What is your favourite science fiction video game and why?

Wendy: I’ve played a few scifi games, but Mass Effect stands out for so many reasons. First of all, it was the first game I truly played on the PC, and I’ve never looked back. I will still play games on the console, but I’m definitely addicted to the PC now. As a game, Mass Effect also introduced me to the wonderful world of games that are rich with characters to care about and choices to make that affect relationships with those characters, as well as the entire story. I had played other games with beloved characters and great stories, but being able to truly play a part in that story beyond just pushing the buttons was something entirely new.

Mogsy: I’m definitely more of a Fantasy kinda girl at heart, so this question is hard for me. All my absolute faves tend to be games in the fantasy genre, so I don’t know if there’s any one sci-fi game I can single out but rather a whole bunch vying for top spot. Mass Effect’s definitely up there though! And it’ll keep Wendy from strangling me… 😉

Brianna: I’m actually more of a fantasy gamer too, so this is tough! I’m taking a writing break pretty soon to focus on gaming and this is my DEEPEST DARKEST SECRET, but I’ve never played Mass Effect. (WHAT??? I know) During the Great Gaming Catchup of 2015/16, the entire Mass Effect series is on my list, because basically everyone says it’s incredible. At this moment, my favorite game of ALL TIME is Knights of the Old Republic. I am such a massive Star Wars fangirl, and I remember just not being able to stop thinking about it. KotoR’s story, the environment, the characters (except Carth. Eh. Team Canderous) blew. Me. Away. *stops so I don’t spoil anything* BUT KOTOR, GUYS.

Kristi: Ohhhhh….seriously? We’re doing this?? Ok, well at least we stuck with Sci-Fi. The Mass Effect Trilogy is one of the best out there.

mass-effect

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — I think this is hands down one of the best pieces of Science Fiction written in the last twenty years. Why? Video games takes the sci-fi genre to an entirely new level. Science fiction is all about imagining the possibilities based on the science and technology we have before us and how our future could be affected. It requires immersion to convince your audience that the world is real. Man, oh man are video games ever brilliant for that. Mass Effect doesn’t tell you a story like a book or movie, it let’s you live the story — and more importantly interact with it. The Bioware team has a stable of amazing writers. These guys aren’t leading you through a quest to get the next item (there is a lot of that- it is a video game) but they’re developing characters and weaving their emotional and personal journey’s into the game. If you are a fan of sci-fi, or writing sci-fi, this game is a must, must, must play. It didn’t set the benchmark for where sci-fi is going. It is the benchmark.

Tiara: Good question. I love Mass Effect, but before I loved Mass Effect, I loved Gears of War. (Side note: Ask me about my Dom feelings and I’ll be crying all over the place.) It took me a while to actually play Mass Effect, even though I’d played every other Bioware game ever. For some reason, I thought it was about something totally different than what I got when I actually played it. It took a couple of friends teaming up on me and saying, “If you liked Gears of Wars, you’re going to love Mass Effect.” I played the Mass Effect 2 demo on PS3 (because it had recently come out) to test it out and decided that I definitely had to play the series from the beginning after being wrapped up in that short session. The problem was I didn’t have an Xbox at the time, and the only other way I could play the first game was on PC. I wasn’t much of a PC gamer, but Mass Effect definitely changed that. I’m such a fan that I got a Mass Effect Spectre tattoo and plan to get a renegon (a character who’s renegade and paragon, but probably more renegade… See also: Paragade) tattoo soon. I’m a big fan of Knights of the Old Republic. I’m actually replaying that right now along with Mass Effect.

What other scifi games have grabbed your attention?

Remember Me

Wendy: Remember Me is a stunning game. It’s the first game from DONTNOD and I will love this game developer forever for the way they stood up to big executives who felt this game would not work well with a female lead protagonist. The game itself, though beautiful and innovative in ways, is still obviously a first work, but as DONTNOD has shown with their latest game, Life is Strange, they aren’t afraid to push buttons as well as envelopes in an industry in desperate need of a mainstream shake up. I also love the Borderlands games, which seem like mindless shoot’em up violence on the surface, but are actually an intricately detailed series of stories and characters. My husband plays Starcraft, and I’ve become invested in the Queen of Blades. Oh and Final Fantasy 7 was probably my first scifi game — and my first epic RPG. I love the way the series so smoothly combines fantasy (which actually is my preference too) and science fiction. Oh oh and then there’s the Knights of the Old Republic series and the The Old Republic MMO which feeds into both my Star Wars love, as well as my obsession with all things Bioware.

Mogsy: Okay, here we go. *takes a deep breath* Starcraft. Bioshock. Half-Life. Portal. (AMAZING!) Deus Ex. Gears of War. Star Fox 64. Doom. (I know I’m going back in time with some of these, but I have a lot of fantastic childhood memories associated with them.) And would Dishonored count? Because OMG, Dishonored.

Wendy also mentioned Star Wars games and of course being a big fan of Star Wars, Knights of the Old Republic also gets a mention from me, along with Dark Forces, Rogue Squadron (“Rogue Squadron, where’s our cover?!?!”), Jedi Academy, X-Wing, TIE Fighter, you name it. I’m also super excited about Star Wars: Battlefront.

star wars battlefront

I’m big on MMOs these days too, so SWTOR, Star Trek: Online, EVE Online.

Brianna: Did I mention I’m obsessed with Star Wars? Because SWTOR is fantastic. I’m doing a playthrough with a bounty hunter, which I’m loooving. But I’m super ready to run through it as a Sith Inquisitor. I love the combination of traditional RPG with MMO and think that’s super innovative. Another sci-fi (zombies are sci-fi, right? Let’s go with that) I just started is LAST OF US, and wowwwwwwww is it incredible.

Kristi: Hehe. You expected us to all say Mass Effect :-). I’m definitely more of an RPG gamer — I like my stories. I actually just finished playing TALES FROM THE BORDERLANDS a couple nights ago. We marathoned through the first season over the weekend. It’s from Telltale Games and is a cross between a video game and an interactive story. I’ve been watching what games they’ve got coming out and they’re good, but The Borderlands edition blew me away. Bonus: the soundtrack is pretty fantastic too — get Shazam ready.

Another one not on this list yet is WOLFENSTEIN — Alternate history sci-fi where the Nazi’s win. Considering it is a first person shooter the story is AMAZING.

I will also second THE LAST OF US, except it is TOTALLY not zombies. It is a parasitic fungi that invades its hosts and takes over the nervous system etc. It’s like Cordyceps! Seriously look it up- talk about awesome use of real life parasites!

Tiara: I’m a huge fan of Borderlands. I absolutely adore Tales from the Borderlands, which I worried would be a weird addition to the series, but Telltale nailed it. I pretty much started giggling just seeing Kristi mention it. I like Quantic Dream’s Beyond: Two Souls and Fahrenheit, which play more like interactive movies than games. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is high on my list even though I wasn’t a big fan of the first games. Beyond Good & Evil is another great game. I’m an undercover Crysis player, but don’t tell anyone I told you that. Christine Love’s Analogue: A Hate Story and its sequel Hate Plus tore me apart, too. Same for Transistor and Bastion by Supergiant Games.

Analogue A Hate Story

I can’t leave without mentioning Thomas Was Alone, which is the craziest puzzler about blocks, but there’s a story that I got invested in. Why does a game about bouncing blocks have a story that I care about? LOL. If it’s science fiction, I’ve probably tried it.

What makes a great game for you? What makes for a great science fiction game, specifically?

Wendy: A great game, like a great book or show, needs to take me away. I want to get lost in the story and become BFFs with all the characters so that I can spend every day thereafter talking about them obsessively with anyone who will listen. When it comes to great science fiction, I’m not too hung up on there being actual science involved, though I certainly respect the stories that do make an effort to make the science believable. I’m fine with accepting giant space dragons as long as you make me feel for them.

Mogsy: As you can see from my list of sci-fi games that have caught my attention, I don’t think there’s any one element or even several that I can narrow down when it comes to what makes a great game for me. Honestly, it just has to be fun.

Brianna: I’m all about the characters, baby. I want companions I totally fall in love with, and more than anything, I just really want a story that I can get obsessed with. Twists that I’m talking about for ages, and characters I can’t stop thinking about. That’s across the board with games for me, and for scifi specifically, I can really get swept away by a great atmosphere.

Kristi: I’m seconding Brianna on this one. The characters. More Garrus!! But it’s just not the awesome character prototypes, for me it’s also how they change through the story. I also think the real power of video games is the immersion experience. No other storytelling medium can do that — or allow you to influence the characters or game. Take Dragon Age for example. Your cohorts can love or hate you, and it will influence some of the outcomes. That leads to the second thing for me — I play video games for the story, and sci-fi is no exception. I love a good story so pair that with a great immersible sci-fi world with characters that have some depth and you have me hooked. Oh yeah, and the romance options are always fun…I just described Mass Effect, didn’t I? …Maybe we should rename this chat to ME and other games 😉

Tiara: It’s usually a combination of things for me. Typically characters and story. Honestly, I think it’s going to really boil down to what I perceive happening. What I mean is? You have people who call a game’s story or characters shallow, and I play the game and I see a world filled with background, characterization, and story based on how I interact with the game. Likewise, people can say that a game is simply amazing storywise, and after I’m done playing, I’m left asking, “What is this filth you recommended me?” I’m a peculiar person like that. Look, I got attached to bouncing blocks.

Do you partake of science fiction within other mediums?

Wendy: For sure. I’ll scifi wherever I can find it. I’m really pleased to see so much science fiction on mainstream television these days, and I do love that real scientists like Neil de rasse Tyson are becoming such prominent figures in circles well outside the scientific community, and I’m particularly fond of all the Canadian scifi that is going on lately on television.

Mogsy: Yes. Books, movies, shows. Probably not as much as I should though. Like I said, I’m more into Fantasy; my husband’s the one who’s more into scifi at our house. He’s gotten me to appreciate a lot of the classics, while I introduce the newer stuff to him.

Brianna: Of course! Mostly in movies (i could list the ones I love foreverrrr) and TV (STILLLLLL weeping over the early cancellation of Firefly. Holla.) but I’ve read some YA sci-fi I’ve really loved. I especially adore space opera in basically *any* medium.

Kristi: Oh yeah. Definitely TV and movies — give me space cowboys! (Dark Matter and Killjoys atm). I also write and read scifi — I tend to keep to the space cowboy genres as opposed to space opera. Gimme a spaceship and a couple blasters any day!

Tiara: Books. Games. Television shows. Podcasts. Music. ALL SCIFI EVERYTHING!

Roleplaying is a big part of many of the games we play and that’s certainly a major part of Bioware games where you can design your own main character and make decisions that affect everything from romance to the fate of the galaxy. Let’s conveniently bring this back to Mass Effect and talk about our Commander Shepards. Tell us who they are and how they handle what life throws at them.

Wendy: My legacy Shepard is Molly, a ruthless space cadet. She’s truly her father’s daughter, and Admiral Hackett knows that he can always count on her to get the job done and make the tough decisions. She’s known as the Butcher of Torfan, but the moniker and her more renegade actions does not mean she is heartless. She remembers the names and faces of everyone who has died under her command. Her greatest regret is that she could not die for them, but she knows that their deaths were all a part of the greater battle and that people like her are needed to stop the galaxy’s ultimate threat: the Council. I mean, the reapers.

Mogsy: In the RPGs I play, I’m almost always the warrior with the big sword, or the soldier with the huge guns. In sci-fi games like Mass Effect, I typically subscribe to the “run in, shoot first and ask questions” later style of gameplay (this is why I suck so hard at stealthy games…I am like the world’s unstealthiest gamer) so my Commander Shepard was a bit of livewire!

Brianna: Ah, my great shame once again. I plan on playing a female Commander Shepard when I play in a few months for sure, and I really love to play somewhat darker, conflicted characters. Thinking spectre, maybe? And she’ll be all…edgy and stuff. And sneaky. Hi this was a wildly unspecific answer. *confetti*

Kristi: Oh I wish I had a photo. Ok, so my Commander Shepard is a redhead who keeps her head shaved. She’s the lone survivor or a colony that was wiped out. She is definitely more on the grey area of the lawful scale, more inclined to go with what she thinks is right versus what everyone else thinks is right (I mean, survival instincts, right?).

On her first mission out she accidentally ended up in a romantic relationship with Kaidan (it happens — particularly in Bioware games…I mean, in her defense, Shepard didn’t know he was serious about showing up in her cabin, and then he was there…it seemed like a good idea at the time…). That worked out fine though since Kaidan had a bit of a stick up his rear and couldn’t handle the whole resurrected by Cerberus thing…that’s ok, Shepard found a soul mate in Garrus who had gone rogue and totally became cool after the first installment…

I should probably mention that Commander Shepard (all of them) has a minor sexual harassment problem when it comes to dealing with crew. She/he has a bad habit of hitting on her crew and phrasing otherwise innocuous sentences into sexually loaded ones…No one ever complains about this… ever…which is odd…But then again, it works for her, so…

Ok, have I fanned out enough? 😉

Tiara: I have so many Shepards, but a holy trinity of Shepards–Jane, Chance, and Natalia–are my main three. Jane was my first Shepard. I customized her, but left her name the same because I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into at the time. She was my true blue paragon. An infiltrator turned soldier. Chance was my Jane Shepard gone wild renegade (okay, more like a renegade for two games and then, renegon for ME3). She’d like to think she was more of a consequentialist.She went from being a soldier to an infiltrator to a vanguard. (In fact, I figured out I liked vanguarding so much that I changed her class in ME2 in a second playthrough with her. CHARGE!) Natalia was an experiment of sorts, but then she grew on me because I had this intricate backstory that made her sort of this nature-loving woman from Mindoir who scared everyone when she joined the military, but here she is this bad ass engineer who happens to want to save the trees. She also might have decided that reciting Shakespeare was the only way to get to the love hiding in the Krogan heart.. “But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks?” It wasn’t very effective.

#RRSciFiMonth Waiting on Wednesday 11/18/15

Posted on November 18, 2015 13 Comments

“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that lets us feature upcoming releases that we can’t wait to get our hands on!

Mogsy’s Pick:

The Courier by Gerald Brandt: March 1, 2016 (DAW)

For Week 3 of SciFiMonth, my Waiting on Wednesday pick is a science fiction debut set in futuristic San Francisco. Those who follow my reviews know that I’m always on the lookout for good cyberpunk! Also, you can never go wrong with a leather-clad lady on a motorcycle. That’s the truth.

“Kris Ballard is a motorcycle courier. A nobody. Level 2 trash in a multi-level city that stretches from San Francisco to the Mexican border, where corporations make all the rules. A runaway since the age of 14, Kris struggled to set up her life, barely scraping by, working hard to make it without anyone’s help. Witnessing the murder of one of her clients changes everything. Now she’s stuck with a mysterious package that everyone seems to want.

Now the corporations want Kris gone, and are willing to go to almost any length to make it happen. Hunted, scared, and alone, she retreats to the only place she knows she can hide: the Level 1 streets. Running from people that seem to know her every move, she is rescued by Miller—a member of an underground resistance group—only to be pulled deeper into a world she doesn’t understand. They work together to stay ahead of the corporate killers, until Miller falls into their hands. Kris realizes being alone isn’t the answer, and she’s willing to do anything to get him back.”

#RRSciFiMonth Review Bites

Posted on November 17, 2015 5 Comments

Nexus by Ramez Naam

Nexus is an experimental nano-drug that can connect people telepathically. Kade Lane and his friends have taken Nexus to the next level thanks to their neuro-scientific research, but this has made them targets of both their own government, as well as those who are equally interested in Nexus’ potential, for good or ill. The obvious moral conflict takes an interesting turn thanks to all of the different perspectives that are offered, including that of Buddhists monks whose peaceful, practical view on Nexus is far from naive and idealistic. It is a far more well-rounded view than Kade’s, unsurprisingly, but there is also merit in all the other views presented, which is really the strength of this book. The characters are memorable, the action interesting, and the interactions powerful, but it’s the moral and philosophical questions that it keeps asking that made it a truly compelling read.

Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein

While I didn’t care much for Heinlein’s Starship Troopers, I loved his Stranger in a Strange Land . This book falls somewhere in the middle of the two. Now that I have read three of his works, I have to express my appreciation for their variety. Science fiction can take so many forms, with the most obvious and in your face being the space opera, or the more actual scientific stuff, such as Jurassic Park, which I don’t always understand, but I do respect. What I really like about Heinlein’s books is how his worlds and the alien involvement feels so natural. In this case, a down and out actor is hired to take on the role of a significant politician, which he does with great skill. This is truly the performance of his life because both his life, the politician, and the world depend on it. I’m not a fan of politics in my fiction, but sometimes, it can be fun, as it was here. There was some annoying sexism to deal with, as is to be expected of the time, but it was not nearly as prevalent and frustrating as it was in Stranger in a Strange Land, which I still loved in spite of that. The technology is also amusing, looking at it from our 2015 perspective, but the rest of the science fiction certainly stands the test of time.

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

It turns out, this book is secretly a story about love and about friendship, with a whole lot of alien guts and rituals and brutal soldier deaths in between.

In our distant future, life does not end with death. It ends with war. Citizens of Earth are welcome to register themselves with the Colonial Defense Force, which they will join when they are 75 years old–hence the title. But this isn’t about old men literally fighting in a war. Well, it is, but there’s a whole process that involves turning old people into young people with 75 years worth of knowledge and experience in their heads. How this works, John Perry doesn’t know, but we get to go along with him on a journey that begins at his wife’s grave.

If you’ve ever seen Scalzi interacting on social media, then you will not be surprised by the writing, which is filled with snark, wit, and self-deprecation (though with less ALL CAPS than Scalzi’s Twitter feed).

The story is much like any other soldier goes to boot camp, then heads out to face the brutality of war, with the interesting twist being the “old” part. This, combined with Scalzi’s casual, colloquial style, makes for a pleasantly quaint read, despite the seriousness of war and death.

#RRSciFiMonth Star Wars: Battlefront: Twilight Company by Alexander Freed

Posted on November 17, 2015 5 Comments

A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Star Wars: Battlefront: Twilight Company by Alexander Freed

Genre: Science Fiction, Media Tie-In

Series: Star Wars (Canon)

Publisher: LucasBooks (11/3/15)

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Mogsy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars

From Star Wars: X-Wing to Star Wars: The Old Republic, high-profile Star Wars video games have been inspiring their own novel tie-ins for many years. In the spring of 2015, gamers and readers everywhere were delighted to learn that the highly anticipated Star Wars Battlefront will be getting the same treatment.

This book, titled Battlefront: Twilight Company, tells the story of the eponymous Rebel Alliance army unit also known as the Sixty-First Mobile Infantry. Recruited from all over the galaxy, the men and women of this ragtag outfit have very little in common, save for one thing – a fervent desire to fight the Empire. In the wake of the Alliance’s first major victory at the Battle of Yavin, the rebels are pressing their advantage, making the push into Imperial territory. However, the enemy has increased its presence on the Mid Rim worlds, ready to stamp out even the tiniest spark of resistance before it can spread, and Twilight Company has little choice but to fall back.

The central character of this novel is Sergeant Hazram Namir. While other units have perished, Twilight Company has always survived by rallying around their charismatic commander Captain Micha “Howl” Evon, whom Namir dislikes but grudgingly respects. However, after the capture of Imperial governor Everi Chalis, Namir seriously begins to doubt Howl’s decision to offer the prisoner protection in return for what she knows about the Empire’s tactics. Namir does not trust the former governor, and worse yet, her capture seems to have drawn some unwanted attention from some of the Emperor’s closest agents, including quite possibly Darth Vader himself.

In many ways, Battlefront: Twilight Company is in keeping with the tone and style of several other recent book releases in the new Star Wars canon. We’re moving away from the big players and main events of the universe to delve deeper into both sides of the Galactic Civil War. This book can be considered a “boots on the ground” look at life as a soldier in the Rebel Alliance, with Twilight Company illustrating the examples of the types of men and women who join the rebellion. It also shows the Alliance in stark contrast to the rigidly hierarchical and highly ordered Empire. Still, there is a method to the madness; many scenes show how the rebel army solves its problems in irregular albeit very effective ways.

In Sergeant Namir, we have the familiar stereotype of the jaded, hardened soldier. Unlike a lot of stories featuring this kind of character though, Namir never really changes his views or experiences any big epiphany, not even by the end of the book. But even if he fails to endear himself to the reader, it’s still a refreshing change to see a rebel fighter in a Star Wars novel who isn’t a hundred percent dedicated to the cause. For Namir, every war is the same. All he wants to do is survive and protect Twilight Company, which is why unlike a lot of his comrades, Namir does not blindly accept orders from Howl or his other superior officers if he feels they are threat to his people. There’s something to admire about that.

That said, there are other aspects of the book which I felt were weaker. Many of the battle scenes felt overly drawn out or contrived, probably a hat tip to the Star Wars Battlefront game more than anything. On the one hand, exceptionally detailed descriptions of the fighting gave a very good sense of what was going on. But often, these action scenes also lacked a certain spirit or cogency. As a result, I constantly found myself thinking, “This is something I’d much rather be playing than reading.”

Then, there’s the structure of the narrative. We jump around in time quite a bit, with frequent flashbacks to Namir’s earlier life. There are also the handful of chapters scattered throughout the book following the perspectives of characters other than Namir or the soldiers of Twilight Company. These characters, including the story’s main villain, don’t really get the chance to become fully developed. I hate to say it, but in many respects, they feel very much like video game characters, NPCs who are conveniently slotted in for a cutscene or two.

Issues aside, however, this was still a pretty solid debut for first-time novelist but longtime comics, games, and short stories writer Alexander Freed. I’ve read dozens of Star Wars titles including all the adult novels in the new canon so far, and Battlefront: Twilight Company is well above average. It’s not for everyone, but I would definitely recommend it for diehard fans of Star Wars and Star Wars Battlefront enthusiasts. If nothing else, reading this book has gotten me even more excited for the release of the game, so that’s one major goal achieved!

*** Originally reviewed at The Speculative Herald ***

#RRSciFiMonth Book Review: Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson

Posted on November 16, 2015 15 Comments

A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson

Genre: Science Fiction

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Orbit (7/7/15)

Author Information: Website

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s interesting how just the other day I was writing about how much I love colonization sci-fi, a fascinating subgenre which celebrates the faith and ambition that comes with setting out into the unknown—with the hopes that a brand new home can be found at the end of that journey. Of course, closely related to the theme of colonization is the idea of the generation starship. The original occupants of an interstellar ark might not live to see their final destination, but they know their descendants likely would, and that potential alone holds much room for the pioneer spirit.

But what happens if it all goes wrong? What if, after all the time and lives invested, you and your group reach the end of your journey to find that your destination is not as it seems, and now all your hopes are dashed to pieces, your hard-made plans gone to shit?

This is the tale of Aurora, a book about a starship launched in the year 2545, carrying two thousand of the Earth’s best and brightest, all on their way to find humanity a new home in the Tau Ceti system fourteen light years away. Thus to get there will take many generations, and indeed more than 150 years have passed when the novel actually begins.

The story follows Freya, our main protagonist, though there is a twist here that makes Aurora special—almost the entire narrative is told in the perspective of the ship itself, a vessel equipped with an intelligent and self-aware A.I. Freya’s mother Devi, the Chief Engineer of sorts, has charged the ship to construct a historical narrative detailing the lives of the people aboard, using her own daughter as the central focus. Following Devi’s direction, the ship begins to scour the databases and literature in order to do the best job it can, ultimately developing its own presence and personality as it tells this story.

But while Freya is the book’s main character, her mother Devi is the one who has held everything together, making sure everything is running smoothly as their ship approaches its final destination, a moon in the Tau Ceti system called Aurora. But Devi’s own time is short, and her daughter will find herself stepping into her shoes sooner than she realizes. Freya, however, is nothing like her mother, lacking Devi’s knack for crunching numbers and problem solving, but what our protagonist does have is the cunning and charisma to gain the trust of the people. And with what awaits them on the alien planet, perhaps those qualities in a leader is what everyone needs.

Freya’s rapport with the people becomes all the more important when things go wrong, and as a group, all of them must face the harsh reality and decide on the best course of action to ensure their own survival. What happens next is an experience I can only describe in feelings: exhilaration at the passengers’ arrival in the new system; incredulity at what they discover after making planetfall; sorrow at the way these new developments tear the ship’s community apart. I don’t want to go much further into the story’s plot for fear of spoilers, but thankfully there is hope that comes after too, as well as much admiration for the strength and will of the characters. Also noteworthy is the novel’s atmosphere, created by the vivid description of the ship’s various biomes and the way their inhabitants lived, both before and after the watershed moment that changed the course of all their lives.

It’s amazing what human beings are capable of, when push comes to shove. What conclusions might a sentient artificial intelligence like a ship reach, after a century and a half of observing its occupants? Perhaps it’s that humanity is driven by purpose; we become lost and disillusioned once that purpose is taken away, or when we are presented with difficult truths which force us to rebuild towards a new direction. Some will buckle under the pressure, while others persevere. But when it comes to down to survival, humanity can achieve great things as a collective group as long as there is hope.

Aurora is a very beautiful and powerful novel for this reason, thought-provoking and deep. It’s a very different breed of generation ship story, infused with more misery than optimism, to tell the truth. Nevertheless, it is a feast for the mind, full of descriptive wonders, interesting personalities, and engaging relationships. A very satisfying read.

#RRSciFiMonth YA Weekend: Excerpt of Infinity Lost by S. Harrison + Giveaway!

Posted on November 15, 2015 1 Comment

*** The giveaway is now over, thanks to everyone who entered! ***

To celebrate Sci-fi Month, today we have a giveaway and excerpt to share with you from Infinity Lost, a Young Adult science fiction thriller by S. Harrison! The book was released November 1, 2015 by Skyscape/Amazon Publishing and is available now. First, let’s check out the synopsis:

“In the near future, one corporation, Blackstone Technologies, has changed the world: no disasters, no poverty, and life-altering technology. Blackstone has the impunity to destroy—or create—as it sees fit.

Infinity “Finn” Blackstone is the seventeen-year-old daughter of Blackstone’s reclusive CEO—but she’s never even met him. When disturbing dreams about a past she doesn’t remember begin to torment her, Finn knows there’s only one person who can provide answers: her father.

After Finn and an elite group of peers are invited to Blackstone’s top-secret HQ, Finn realizes she may have a chance to confront her father. But when a highly sophisticated company AI morphs into a killing machine, the trip descends into chaos. Trapped inside shape-shifting walls, Finn and her friends are at the mercy of an all-seeing intelligence that will destroy everything to get to her.

With no hope of help, Finn’s dream-memories may be the only chance of survival. But will she remember in time to save her own life and the lives of those around her?”

Sound like fun? Read on for the excerpt and our giveaway!

* * *

I’m far too excited and way too nervous to let Nanny scare me today. If Father is the king of this castle, then surely that makes me a princess, and a princess needs a proper dress to wear when she stands before the king for the first time—not this worn-out t-shirt and jeans. Mariele, one of our maids, said Father would be here in an hour, so there’s no time to waste. I run down the hall back to my room.

Mariele is there, laying out my dress for me. It’s all frills and lace and beautiful. I’m so bouncy and fidgety with bottled-up energy that it takes ten minutes for Mariele to get me sitting still, let alone clean and ready. When I’m finally dressed, she brushes my long black hair and puts it in red ribbons. Nanny Theresa appears at the door.

“Ready the child for presentation, Mariele.”

Father is early. I’m hastily ushered down the hallway and jostled into position in the marble foyer at the bottom of the main stairs. The servants have gathered, standing side by side in a line like soldiers. I stand nervously at the far end, tightly squeezing Mariele’s hand.

Even though the front door is still a distance away, I can hear the faint crunch of car tires on the gravel in the driveway. Car doors open and close, and my heart jumps into my throat. Through the door, I hear the muffled voice of Nanny Theresa greeting someone important. No. Not just one someone. Lots of people. There are muffled voices everywhere. My stomach is so full of butterflies, I’m afraid that if I sneeze one will fly out of my nose.

Time seems to stand still.

This is worse than waiting up all night to see if Santa Claus will really come down the chimney. Sometimes, being a day away from six years old and having never met your own father makes him seem like he is a magical imaginary creature, like an elf or the bogeyman or, I sud- denly decide, just like Santa, except brave and heroic like Superman. Super Santa!

The voices are coming closer and closer. They’ve been out there for- ever. My heart is beating a million times a second. I feel like I’m going to blast off like a rocket and zoom around the room, my little shoes left sitting smoldering in the exact spot where I was standing.

I look over at the servants, and their eyes are transfixed on the long golden door handles. A second later, so are mine. Finally the handles dip, and the doors swing open.

The first man I see from my child-sized view is Reynolds, the but- ler. I see the familiar pinstripe fabric of his trousers and his cavernous nostrils. A wave of his hand is followed by the deep slow tones of his refined bass voice.

“Right this way, gentlemen.”

There’s a bustle of shoes and legs and ties and beards and nos- trils. Hands clutch briefcases and folders and documents, fat cigars puff thick plumes of smoke, booming voices and laughter echo off the marble of the foyer.

I stare into the group, searching faces, waiting for the moment when they all stand aside and the man from the photograph rushes forward and scoops me up into his arms. He’ll swing me around, kiss me on the cheek, and tell me how wonderful it is that we are finally together. He’ll be so sorry that we’ve been apart for so long. He’ll tell me that he loves me and that he thinks about me all the time, like I do about him. I’m so excited that my nerves get the better of me and I hide behind the safety of Mariele’s skirt.

I spot Jonah out of the corner of my eye. He’s behind us, heading into the hallway under the stairs that lead to the southern wing. He gives me an uncharacteristic look of concern that worsens my nerves, before smiling and disappearing down the darkened passage.

“Welcome, gentlemen,” Reynolds announces to the visitors. “Dr. Blackstone sends his most heartfelt apologies that he is not here to greet you in person, but I assure you that he will address you all via video conference later this evening.”

A few disgruntled grumblings issue from the group. A pang of sor- row grips my little heart and it sinks right through the floor, through the ground, out the other side of the world and into the cold, lonely darkness of space.

“May I present the staff,” Reynolds says, motioning toward the twenty footmen, maids, and servers. They all bow and curtsy accordingly.

The men walk down the line behind Reynolds until eventually they reach the end. “And this is Dr. Blackstone’s daughter.”

I peek out from behind Mariele, tears beginning to pool in my eyes.

All of the men lean in, their eyes glaring scarily at me like I’m an animal at the zoo. They whisper and nudge each other. The ones behind peer over the others’ shoulders. They gawk down at me like they’ve never seen a little girl before.

“There she is,” says one.

“Incredible,” whispers another.

They’re so taken with me that Reynolds has to clear his throat and step in between us to get their attention.

“Gentlemen, the chef is preparing a wonderful, ten-course, gourmet meal for you this evening, but for now, if you would please follow me into the red drawing room, refreshments are being served.”

They all follow Reynolds through the archway like a gaggle of suited geese, muttering and whispering and glaring back at me as they go.

I feel extremely uneasy and, for the first time in my life . . . abandoned. Unsure of what to do, I stand with the servants as Nanny gives them detailed, last-minute reminders of what will be expected of them tonight. She talks about how important our guests are, how their every whim must be catered to. She drones on and on, and before long her voice becomes nothing but a dull warbling in my ears. I stare at the door, broken-hearted. I feel so stupid to have expected so much from a man who has promised me nothing.

“Dismissed,” commands Nanny Theresa. She nods to the servants and they quickly disperse back to their duties. Father is not here. Just like every other day. I decide to slink away to my room. “Come child,” Nanny Theresa barks as her knobbly fingers reach toward my little wrist like five gnarled twigs on a withered old tree.

“The men would like to see you properly.”

* * *

INFINITY LOST GIVEAWAY

We hope you have enjoyed this very special look at an excerpt for Infinity Lost! Interested in winning a copy for yourself? Thanks to the generosity of Skyscape and the wonderful folks at Wunderkind PR, the BiblioSanctum has one print copy of Infinity Lost up for grabs in this Sci-fi Month Giveaway! This giveaway is open to residents of the US only. To enter, all you have to do is send an email to bibliosanctum@gmail.com with your Name and valid Mailing Address using the subject line “INFINITY LOST” by 11:59pm Eastern time on Wednesday, November 25, 2015.

Only one entry per household, please. Entrants must be 18 or older. The winner will be randomly selected when the giveaway ends and then be notified by email. All information will only be used for the purposes of contacting the winner and sending them their prize. Once the giveaway ends all entry emails will be deleted.

So what are you waiting for? Enter to win! Good luck!

#RRSciFiMonth Novella Review: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Posted on November 14, 2015 16 Comments

A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Genre: Science Fiction

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: Tor.com (9/22/15)

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Mogsy’s Rating: 3 of 5 stars

When Tor.com first announced their line-up of novellas for 2015, Binti was probably one of the top three I was most excited about. Now I have to wonder if I went overboard and hyped myself up too much, because it turned out that I did not fall in love with this book like I had hoped I would. Now don’t get me wrong, because I enjoyed Binti. It’s a sweet little novella that captivated me and left me wanting more. Still, why it left me wanting more is the key matter I want to discuss in my review.

At its heart, Binti is a very human story about self-discovery and self-acceptance. It follows the eponymous protagonist, a young woman who is leaving home for the very first time. Her people the Himba are a very private society with a deep respect for tradition and culture, preferring to keep to themselves. Binti, however, has bigger plans. She applies for Oomza University and is accepted, becoming the first ever Himba to be offered a place at the school. Binti’s family and friends laughed at her, ridiculed her, cried and begged her not to go, but Binti would not be dissuaded. She secretly books passage for a space flight that would take her to the university, where she would embark on a journey to higher learning.

On the way, however, her ship is attacked by members of an alien race called the Meduse. The Meduse hate humans, and they also hate the University for committing a grave crime against their chief. Binti is forced to watch in horror as all the new friends she made are ruthlessly slaughtered. Somehow, Binti herself manages to escape the massacre. She doesn’t know why she was spared, though she suspects the answer to that question and her only chance to survive might be found within her. She must stay alive until help can be reached, and to do that, she will have to open herself to an unlikely ally.

As a protagonist, Binti is delightfully complex, being a heroine who straddles two worlds. Unlike the other members of her family, Binti has the desire to travel beyond the stars, and the moment she found out about Oomza University, it became her dream to one day study there. That said, she also has deep ties to the Himba, adhering to their many customs, like using the clay of her land on her skin and hair as part of a cleansing ritual, or following in her father’s footsteps to study and develop technology. Leaving home is never easy, and I admired Binti’s courage to face down the new and the unknown, even when she is met with ignorance from other travelers who have never encountered a Himba before and treat her differently—at best, like an oddity; at worst, like a savage.

What’s interesting is that Binti’s own experience with the Meduse teaches her something about the way people view the world, revealing how one can become prejudiced when faced with prejudice against themselves. The theme of the story is about acceptance, of embracing your own identity and being proud of who you are, but also learning to respect others and sympathize with different points of view.

If that sounds like a very straightforward message, that’s because it is. It’s a beautiful message, one I really liked, but at times I felt it was presented a bit too cleanly. And while I have nothing but good things to say about the world building and the establishment of the premise, when it came to the narrative itself, I felt the plot lacked substance. It’s fine, perhaps, if you view this as Binti’s personal journey. But as much as I enjoy a story with a message, I also prefer it when the latter is balanced with the former to make the experience more meaningful and convincing. I was fully engaged for most of this book, but felt the resolution was too rushed and roughly sketched, like the story just couldn’t wait to make its point.

Like I said, I wanted more—mainly more meat on the bones of this story, and to a lesser extent, more emphasis given to Binti’s own skills and intelligence, because I also felt the ending was weak due to the heavy reliance on factors outside the protagonist’s sphere of control. Still, all in all I am glad I read this novella. It was a thought-provoking tale, and I’m blown away by Nnedi Okorafor’s talent for world building. I think it’s high time I picked up one of her novels because I think a fuller story would work better for me.

Book Review: The Shards of Heaven by Michael Livingston

Posted on November 13, 2015 19 Comments

A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Shards of Heaven by Michael Livingston

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Book 1 of The Shards of Heaven

Publisher: Tor (11/24/15)

Author Information: Website | Twitter

Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars

I first became aware of The Shards of Heaven earlier this year and knew right then and there I had to read it. Two major reasons for that, really. First is the mention of Cleopatra’s daughter in the book’s description. Despite always being overshadowed by her famous mother, Cleopatra Selene II happens to be one of my favorite historical figures, and I never pass up a chance to read historical fiction in which she appears. The second reason is a more general one, which is my interest in this particular time period featuring the Final War of the Roman Republic, in which Antony fought a civil war against Octavian to fill the power vacuum left behind by the death of Julius Caesar.

I do so love stories set in this time period, because for starters there’s certainly more than enough history to go around, and often the facts are as captivating and irresistible as fiction. Even better is when a historical novel is laced with strong threads of fantasy as with the case of The Shards of Heaven. Author Michael Livingston writes in the preface that one world’s history is another’s fantasy, a sentiment I agree with wholeheartedly. After all, historical fantasy has always appealed to me, and a major part of that enjoyment comes from seeing the ways a writer can blend real historical elements with the fantastical.

This is done wonderfully in The Shards of Heaven, a book which takes us back to the final years of the Roman Republic. The great Julius Caesar has just been assassinated on the senate floor, leaving the future of Rome in doubt. On the one hand we have Octavian, Caesar’s nephew and adopted son, who claims to be his rightful heir. On the other we have Caesarion, the only known biological son of Julius Caesar, backed by his mother the Egyptian pharaoh Cleopatra and her lover and ally Marc Antony, former Triumvir of Rome.

As the civil war rages on, Prince Juba of Numidia, another adopted son of Caesar, steps into the ring seeking revenge for his father who was defeated by Julius Caesar’s forces in the battle of Thapsus. Through his journeys and research, Juba has learned of the Shards of Heaven, artifacts said to have the ability to grant godlike powers to the mortals who wield them. However, he is not the only one with a vested interest in these Shards. Octavian means to use one of these artifacts, the Trident of Poseidon, to his advantage in the war, and meanwhile in Alexandria, there are hidden factions and unexpected guardians determined to protect the Shards and keep them out of enemy hands.

What I loved most about this book is the faithful homage paid to the fascinating historical figures and ancient locales, though it’s certainly not the point of this story. The characters are amazingly written, coming across very genuine and fully well-rounded, which I would suggest is the true point. The majority of the people in this book were real, and Livingston has taken what we know of them and breathed new life into their characters. Of course I adored Selene, which admittedly could be my own bias showing, but you can also argue that I’ve set a high bar for this book and it exceeded all my expectations. The way Selene was written made me care about her a great deal, and it was not just her either; Caesarion, Vorenus, Juba, Didymus and others with POV chapters were all enjoyable characters with real depth. When compared to the major powerhouses like Octavian, Antony, or Cleopatra, history may remember the protagonists of this book as “bit players”, but in this story they were the ones who knew all the secrets and held the power to change the world.

I’m also impressed with the way the writing evoked the time period without over-complicating the language or burying the narrative in needless detail. Livingston lays out all the complex political alliances so that the reader has a good grasp of what’s going on without feeling overwhelmed. My only concern is that you do need to know the basics of the civil war conflict, or at least have a general knowledge of the history behind it, to fully understand the background of the novel and some of the characters’ motivations. Fortunately, the mystery of the Shards is the central focus of the story rather than the specific details of the war, and the back of the book also has a helpful glossary of characters to catch readers up.

The Shards of Heaven is a dazzling introduction to a new historical fantasy series. Livingston clearly knows his Ancient Rome, and he also has a real talent for plotting and writing compelling characters, as evidenced by the effortless way he navigates the genre. He even finds ways to throw in some unexpected curve balls, paying respect to real history while injecting an imaginative and magical twist. I highly recommend this book for both its entertainment value and for its depiction of historical events. I can hardly wait for the sequel!

#RRSciFiMonth The Long Way to A Small Angry Planet Read-Along Week No.2

Posted on November 13, 2015 9 Comments

For SciFi Month I’m participating in a special Read-ALong of The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. If you’re interested in joining in, visit the SF/F Read-ALong group for more information.

Banner by Anya @ On Starships and Dragonwings

Week 1 (Friday, November 6th): “Transit” to “The Job” – hosted by Over The Effing Rainbow
Week 2 (Friday, November 13th): “Port Coriol” to “Cricket” – hosted by Chris @ Galleywampus
Week 3 (Friday, November 20th): “The Last War” to “October 25” – hosted by Claire Rousseau
Week 4 (Friday, November 27th): “Heresy” to end – hosted by Over The Effing Rainbow

***Warning: there may be spoilers contained in the questions and answers.***

1. There has been significant conversation about AI, what it means to be alive, whether or not AI should have rights, whether or not a person can fall in love with a specific instance of AI, etc. This is a bit of a sticky situation. After the discussion between Pepper and Jenks, how do you feel about Lovey’s and Jenks’ relationship? Should they move forward with their plan?

If Jenks’ plan was to stick Lovey in a body kit, and the two of them were to ride off into the sunset (so to speak) to live the rest of their lives alone far away from civilization, for always and happily ever after, I would totally say go for it. Things get complicated once you get into discussions of AIs and personhood, or whether or not sentient machines should have rights and whatnot, so for this situation I’m tempted to just say “Love as thou wilt.” They should be able to do whatever they want, as long as their decision will not be harmful to anyone else.

But it’s not that simple, isn’t it? If their plan involves staying on The Wayfarer, I think I’d be much more against it because of all the other lives they would affect. Ashby in particular would have a lot to lose if someone ever found out what Jenks and Lovey did, and it could destroy the rest of the crew’s careers. Even if the rest of them are totally cool with the idea, it’s not fair to make them choose between their livelihoods and their friendship with Jenks. But seeing as Jenks is open to leaving The Wayfarer to be with Lovey if it comes down to that, it might not be a problem, but it would still suck to split up the crew. Somehow I doubt that would happen, though.

So, short answer, I think what Jenks and Lovey have between them is really sweet. They should go forward with the plan if that’s what they both want, but Lovey is right in that they should hope for–but not completely count on–their captain’s support.

2. In the chapter “Intro to Harmagian Colonial History,” we see Dr. Chef’s perspective of having been a mother, though he is currently male, and Sissix’s perspective that children aren’t people yet. Ohan is referred to as they/them. The Akarak are referred to as xyr/xe. These perspectives and preferences are perspectives actually held by different groups of humans in our own world. Do you think assigning these perspectives to aliens rather than humans make them easier or harder to sympathize with?

Well, even on Earth now there are no universal truths, so it is unrealistic to expect any different when we widen the scope and look at the entire galaxy. And in this book, it’s not just the aliens who have cultures and physiologies that are vastly different from humans. Even among humans themselves, you get very different ways of looking at things. Take Jenks and Pepper, for example, and look at their disparate origins. To someone from an Enhancement colony, a Survivalist might seem as strange as any alien–and vice versa. Generally, emphasizing the differences isn’t going to make sympathizing with someone easier, whether they are an alien or another human. Rather, I believe looking for the similarities and a shared experience is the key.

3. How might the ship robbery have been different if the Wayfarer were armed?

I might be alone on this, but I honestly don’t think it would have played out any differently. From the conversation between Ashby and Pei, and from the scene of the crew after they landed on Cricket, we find out that most of the humans in the GC are pacifists, and like Ashby, they aren’t comfortable with the idea of being armed. Even they had weapons on The Wayfarer, there probably wouldn’t have been any initiative to use them, especially with Ashby in charge. Jenks and Kizzy might have a fascination with things that go boom, but that’s still a huge difference between actually being able to point a gun at someone’s face and threaten to shoot them, even in self-defense. With this crew, using weapons would be the last resort, and at no point did the robbery escalate that far, once Rosemary was able to communicate with the pirates.

4. As I finished the fourth chapter in my section, “Cricket,” I thought it might be a good place to stop and talk about some of our favorite humorous moments so far. What scenes really tickled your funny bone? Who makes you laugh the most and why?

This is actually a really tough question, because looking back, there really hasn’t been that many funny ha-ha moments to me. Sure, there were plenty of scenes with humor and levity, but if I actually think about it, many of those close in solemnity or end with a point — the scene on Port Coriol with Kizzy and the soap is a perfect example. I still find this story fun though, even if it hasn’t made me laugh out loud. I love scenes that show friends enjoying each other’s company, like Rosemary’s first dinner with the crew, the girls’ shopping trip at Port Coriol, Dr. Chef and Sissix smack talking humans for fun, Jenks and Kizzy reuniting with the friends on Cricket, etc. Scenes like that always make me smile!