What happens when you have a zombie outbreak in the middle of an underwater cruise? Welcome to This Gilded Abyss by Rebecca Thorne. With as much as I’m used to the cozy feelings of the Tea series, Thorne’s newest series is a refreshing change of pace. You really get the feeling of being cramped with no escape as chaos erupts around our characters.
Of the original trilogy, this one felt the weakest for me. Not because it’s poorly written. but because of the sharp pivot the story takes. There’s still plenty of battles, gut punches, and betrayals, but perhaps the biggest betrayal is to the reader. This may be the closest that I go to giving spoilers in one of my reviews.
Golden Son takes everything Red Rising set up and cranks it up to 11. After a bit of a time jump, this middle-book dives headfirst into interplanetary politics, betrayal, and warfare. The scope is bigger, the stakes higher, and the betrayals hit harder.
The Hunger Games meets Gurren Lagann meets Game of Thrones. That’s probably the best way I can describe Red Rising by Pierce Brown.
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakrabort was an absolute delight from start to finish. The narrative voice hooked me immediately. I loved the witty asides, the sharp humor, and Amina’s constant running commentary that makes you feel like you’re being told the story over drinks. It’s playful and clever, but also layered in a way that makes it feel conversational.
I didn’t know that it was possible to find a book so tailor-made for me. All Systems Red by Martha Wells is the first entry in the Murderbot Diaries series and features an AuDHD coded SecUnit robot that is programmed for…security…Murderbot is just its chosen name.