This review was first published by Booklist on March 15, 2024.

Ashton (Antimatter Blues, 2023) sets his latest stand-alone in a near-future world where artificial intelligences exist and humans—especially wealthy ones—technologically enhance their bodies, while a growing movement of dispossessed people opposes this use of technology. Armed conflict flares between the enhanced Federalist forces and unenhanced Humanists. But not all is as it seems, and the Humanists may not be as pure as they claim. Mal, an artificial intelligence living in the infosphere who specializes in infiltrating other systems, embeds himself in the corpse of a cyborg human to learn more about the conflict on the ground. Through a series of gruesome and darkly comic mishaps, he becomes deeply embroiled and cut off from the infosphere. This is a funny, fast-paced, fish-out-of-water tale that should satisfy Ashton’s growing fan base. Exploring the nature of AI is a hot topic, and the contrast between the literalism of computers and human emotions is perennially fascinating. As we’ve seen in his Mickey7 series, Ashton has a talent for handling nonhuman characters. This should also appeal to fans of Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries series.

This review was first published by Booklist on February 1, 2024.

**STARRED REVIEW** Over 10 years after the events of Moon of the Crusted Snow (2018), Evan Whitesky and those who followed him off the old rez have begun to use up their resources. They decide to move back to their ancestral homelands along the Great Lakes despite not knowing what’s happening down south. Evan, along with five others including his own daughter, Nangohns, sets out to find a way home. Along the way, they encounter challenges and dangers both expected and not and learn more about what happened when the disaster struck. It’s gratifying to see the growth of their survival skills and the reawakening of traditional lifeways. The teenage Nangohns, now her peoples’ best hunter, is an ideal exemplar of the new generation of Anishinaabe, and seeing her step into her role as a leader is immensely satisfying. There’s a kindness, a gentleness, and a deep respect at the heart of the culture Rice portrays, and it stands in refreshing contrast to the usual violence and cynicism of most dystopian fiction. Rice’s evocation of the countryside is gorgeous and immersive; the land becomes an essential character in its own right. This is a pastoral travel tale of much grander scope than its predecessor and a powerful, remarkable follow-up.

This review was first published by Booklist on January 1, 2024.

**STARRED REVIEW** It’s been eight years since Shawl introduced their alternate-history, anticolonial, steampunk world in Everfair (2016). Kinning is absolutely worth the wait. Immediately following World War I, the Bolshevik Revolution fails, but a group of Chinese socialists discovers a botanical method to generate near-psychic connections between groups of people. They hope to spread this Spirit Medicine to achieve worldwide anticolonialist goals without the need for revolution. Groups of European powers hatch a plan to drain the Mediterranean to gain land to compensate for their losses of colonial territories, and Russia develops an inoculation against influenza with some very unexpected side effects. The kingdom of Everfair remains a prize to be courted by all world powers, and its rulers play a daring game against one other. Kinning is a complex tale with a more explicitly worldwide scope than its predecessor. It offers a nuanced exploration of morality and ethics, greed and selflessness, duplicity and honesty, identity and responsibility, where the balance between individuality and collectivism is constantly at question. The scope of Shawl’s imagination will leave the reader in awe, and their attention to detail is unparalleled. Kinning is a beautiful, hopeful, stunning evolution of one of the most unique alternate histories ever conceived.

This review was first published by Booklist on October 15, 2023.

**STARRED REVIEW** After the events of Fugitive Telemetry (2021), Murderbot, ART, and their colleagues remain on the alien-infected planet on the other side of the wormhole, combating the infection and trying to convince the planetary colonists to leave their world for their own safety. But corporate interests oppose their efforts, and it turns out there are more people on the planet than they realized. Meanwhile, Murderbot is having some issues and isn’t operating at full capacity. How are they supposed to successfully navigate everyone through a potentially hair-trigger standoff when they’re not sure they even know what they’re doing? This installment of the Murderbot Diaries is more a tale of political intrigue than violent action. Not that there aren’t pulse-pounding fights aplenty, but the balance has shifted. While Murderbot remains the main character, narrating their snarky take on every situation, Wells continues to build this universe. It’s a compelling setting, both in the conflicts that arise from the culture of the Corporation Rim and the deep history Wells has established. At the same time, she continues to evolve Murderbot in interesting directions. Readers won’t miss the wall-to-wall action that defined the series from its beginning. The characters and the world building remain engrossing and rewarding.

This review was first published by Booklist in August 2023.

Whitta, best known as the screenwriter of The Book of Eli and developing the story for Rogue One, gives us his take on a mecha story. The Mek, an advanced machine civilization, came to Earth seeking natural resources, and war broke out between them and humanity. Humanity lost, and the Mek enslaved them. Now, a young woman named Dakota learns of a last hope that could liberate mankind. To do so, she must escape her slave camp and learn more about her family’s past. While there’s nothing much original in this tale, Whitta clearly has a blast telling it, and his joy in storytelling will win readers over. He’s a practiced craftsman and delivers a satisfying yarn. The greatest strength of the story is its pacing: a propulsive, frenetic adventure with well-staged action pieces that readers will inhale. Whitta originally developed this story as an episodic podcast which had some success. Fans have been eager for a novelization, and it’s a good entry point for new readers as well.

This review was first published by Booklist in July 2023.

In the near future, Qbito, a San Francisco tech start-up, launches SavePoint, quantum technology that allows users to skip back in time five seconds, giving people the ability to undo social faux pas and damaging, hurtful behaviors. Now, SavePoint 2.0 promises to revolutionize the world yet again with a massive upgrade. But when head programmer Nev finalizes the code for it, something goes horribly wrong, and she starts living her life backwards, waking up each day one day earlier. She must figure out what went awry and fix it before the same fate befalls more than 150 million users. It’s a fascinating premise, and Nev is a compelling character. The mechanics of how she interacts with the forward-time world provide tension and propulsion for the plot. Mixed in are criticisms of fundamentalist religion, critiques of tech culture, and send-ups of “tech bros” and income-focused careerists. But Sinn goes deeper, exploring how the past and future are inextricably interconnected, the ways our actions reverberate in other people’s lives, purpose, and responsibility, ultimately leading to compassion, forgiveness, and sacrifice.

This review was first published by Booklist on May 15, 2023.

The past comes back to haunt the present in more ways than one in the third installment of Wagers’ NeoG series (after Hold Fast through the Fire, 2021). Missing ships mysteriously reappear and wreak destruction in the Trappist system. D’Arcy struggles with the aftermath of the sabotage of Jupiter Station, while both he and Sapphi deal with the return of important people from their pasts who they thought were long left behind. Max struggles to break free from her family, with surprising results. Doge exhibits surprising behavior, while Jenks falls deeper into unexpected domestic bliss, and the crew of Zuma’s Ghost dominate in their fifth Boarding Games. Behind it all is a mysterious being with a strange connection to Sapphi. Wagers juggles a lot of plot threads in this outing, mostly with great success, and offers a clever exploration of identity, community, healing, and what it means to be alive. Wagers continues to impress with deeply drawn characters and their focus on the power of supportive relationships. Fans of the NeoG will certainly find more of what they love in this outing.