Well – I finally read my first A-Tchai work. Elder Race seems like a popular place to start, probably because it is 1) free on KU 2) short 3) a 2022 Hugo nominee for best novella. I finished it last month and found an interesting mix of sci-fi and fantasy based on perspective. I’m bringing it back today for the Wyrd & Wonder short fiction prompt bite sized islands – because the mental health theme is so real in this story.
Let’s take a quick look at the novella and I’ll share my thoughts
Bookish Quick Facts
Title: Elder Race
Series: N/A
Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Published: TorDotCom, 2021
Length: 204 pages
Rating & Recommend: āāāāØ for a quick intro to his work, for sci-fantasy fans
Here’s the Synopsis:
A junior anthropologist on a distant planet must help the locals he has sworn to study to save a planet from an unbeatable foe.
Lynesse is the lowly Fourth Daughter of the queen, and always getting in the way.
But a demon is terrorizing the land, and now sheās an adult (albeit barely) with responsibilities (she tells herself). Although she still gets in the way, she understands that the only way to save her people is to invoke the pact between her family and the Elder sorcerer who has inhabited the local tower for as long as her people have lived here (though none in living memory has approached it).
But Elder Nyr isnāt a sorcerer, and he is forbidden to help, and his knowledge of science tells him the threat cannot possibly be a demonā¦
-From Am*zon
My Thoughts
So a scientist (a wizard) lives in the mountains in his crashed spaceship (castle) and the people in the nearby village need his magic (science) to help save the region from a demon or monster (a what)?
I love this whole idea of telling the same story from two utterly separate points of view. Nyr is an anthropologist seeing everything with a scientific mind while Lynesse can only see fantasy, magic, like her new companion is Gandalf or Merlin. The language throughout as each tries to each the other of science vs magic is wonderful. Each tries to find the right words and it only convinces the other more deeply into their own perspective.
There is even a whole chapter telling the scifi and fantasy viewpoints side by side.
I think I was a little blindsided at first by Tchaikovsky’s lofty prose and over the top analogies in this novella. Then I got used to it – plus aren’t one’s trapped emotions kind of like caged tigers gnashing at their enclosure? Or is it a more quiet and sad thing?
This is a great book for the Wyrd & Wonder comfort theme because a huge topic in Elder Race is depression and how the scientists manage it. Nyr can erect an actual shield around his feelings so that it’s all just cold, hard logic in his mind, but eventually the fear and feelings boil over and he has to experience everything, all at once, and come back to himself naturally. It’s a long night when he finally chooses to confront it and I thought this whole exploration was a lovely theme.
I loved the setting and descriptive language too. There isn’t purple prose but A-Tchai does a good job putting images in my head, which is useful for the comic horror part. What would it be if there wasn’t a little true mysticism somewhere? The novella got a little dark at the end but I loved the journey and reading the dual perspectives along the way. I’m all about unlikely friendships and was rooting for Lynesse to be accepted by her village and Nyr to find a balance between his teachings and his heart.
Would definitely recommend for fans of mental health themes and novellas that compare science to fantasy! I haven’t read the 2022 Hugo Novella winner (by Becky Chambers) but this one could have deserved the win.
Have you read it? What did you think? What A-Tchai should I read next?
A lucky find in a charity shop yesterday finally led me to read Gwendy’s Button Box. Yesterday? Yes! I sat down and read it in a few hours as it’s a fairly short novella with brief chapters and lots of great illustrations.
Let’s quickly take a look at the book and I’ll share my thoughts
Bookish Quick Facts
Title: Gwendy’s Button Box
Series: Gwendy Button Box trilogy, #1
Authors: Stephen King & Richard Chizmar
Illustrated: Keith Minnion
Published: 2017
Length: 171 Pages
Recommend: āāāā for an evening of great storytelling
Here’s the Synopsis
The little town of Castle Rock, Maine has witnessed some strange events and unusual visitors over the years, but there is one story that has never been told… until now.
There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974 twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson has taken the stairs, which are held by strong (if time-rusted) iron bolts and zig-zag up the cliffside.
At the top of the stairs, Gwendy catches her breath and listens to the shouts of the kids on the playground. From a bit farther away comes the chink of an aluminum bat hitting a baseball as the Senior League kids practice for the Labor Day charity game.
One day, a stranger calls to Gwendy: “Hey, girl. Come on over here for a bit. We ought to palaver, you and me.” On a bench in the shade sits a man in black jeans, a black coat like for a suit, and a white shirt unbuttoned at the top. On his head is a small neat black hat. The time will come when Gwendy has nightmares about that hat…
From Am*zon
My Thoughts
I’ve heard before that King got stuck on this in short story form and reached out to Chizmar to see if they couldn’t come to some kind of conclusion together. Other than the ending, I couldn’t tell that it was co written at all.
I’ve also read that it feels too stretchy for a short story but it covers too much ground to be anything other than a novella, which feels like the perfect length for the story. There are short scenes from ten years of Gwendy’s life and the authors pack so much into those years !
As soon as you hear “palaver”, you know this fits somewhere into the lore of The Dark Tower. When the man in black offers a 12 year old girl a box with buttons and levers, she takes it and learns all about fate, rewards, consequences, and secrets. Is it a take on Pandora’s Box? Maybe. Is it linked to the destinies of this world and Those Beyond? For sure.
I like Gwendy’s character too. She is a responsible young lady and King brings all the pinnacle experiences in a teenagers life onto the page. Definitely with a hint of supernatural overtone but she tries to be as normal as possible.
My only gripe is the ending. My personal issue is that you have this .*big climactic terrible thing* that happens and Gwendy seems to walk away from the event and off to college without a lot of emotional damage or other suffering. I mean ok š¤·āāļø And no spoilers but if anyone is familiar with King’s semi constant villain with the initials of RF – it’s a pretty soft ending for him. I feel Chizmar’s hand in there but I might be wrong
Overall, Gwendy’s Button Box is a fast paced novella that is great for spending a few hours absorbed in something that’s hard to put down, and there are great illustrations by Keith Minnion
I think today’s prompt is novellas under 150 pages or something you can read in one day, but there are plenty of things that you could read quickly.āWhat about a short story here and there? Or a novella collection? Or an episode of Grimdark Magazine? Let’s look at ten things I’ve read recently that can be broken up into a daily chunk š
P.S. As always I will always comment back on anything that’s an actual list and I love to follow back other bloggers!
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together
The Boddicker Letters by A.C. Cross.āThis is a quick spiral into madness in the form of letters.āThe chapters are short and I could have easily read this in one evening
2. Anything from the Black Shuck Shadows collection is extremely short and fun to flip through.āFeaturing indie authors of horror and suspense, you can sample someone you haven’t read before
3.āThe Cosmic Comedy Collection is full of laughs.āIt’s fairly short and you could read it in one day, or read 1-2 short stories at a time
4. A short story or novella collection by Stephen King such as The Bazaar of Bad Dreams or If it Bleeds.āKing is known for his longer books obviously but he is a tremendously talented short story and novella writer as well and there’s a lot to choose from.
5. Ray Bradbury is another author with a huge short story and novella repertoire to choose from.āYou could read a few stories at a time or binge something like From the Dust Returned, although I like to take my time with it
6. I don’t remember exactly how long The Massive Planet is but I binged the audiobook during one drive and I think the average reader could experience the novella in one day too. Jeff Walker has a few shorter sci-fi adventures
7. May Sarton has a ton of short and sweet novellas from back before Cozy was it’s own genre. I loved The Poet and the Donkey, or for something heavier, As We Are Now is a great read
8. One of my favorite short reads from last year, it packs no surprises but I couldn’t rip my eyes off I’m Sorry About Tommy by Andre Pretty.āIt’s a 2-3 hour to read horror novella
9. Any of Lisa Schneidau’s books of folk tales are very short and easy to get through in one day, or take the short tales 1-2 at a time when you have a break
10. Shoot me for this one but as stuuuupid as Kiera Cass and The Selection books are – it’s kind of stupidly addicting like The Bachelor and I definitely can read one these books in one afternoon š
As the year winds down and I am focusing on shorter reads, it was a coincidental blessing that one of my auto-buy authors had a new release! A total early Christmas surprise as I hadn’t noticed that A.C. Cross was about to publish something involving cosmic horror.āHe did everything right in this one and I hope you all will check it out!
Let’s take a quick look at the book and then I’ll share my thoughts š
Bookish Quick Facts:
Title: The Boddicker Letters
Author: A.C. Cross
Published: Self, December 2023
Length: 166 pages
Rate & Recommend: āāāāā for anyone interested in descents into madness & superbly unreliable narrators
Here’s the Synopsis:
Titus Boddicker is in love. So in love, in fact, that he sends his beloved Luisa a letter nearly every day. Unfortunately for Titus, these letters paint a picture of a descent into the darkest regions of reality. Will he be saved? Can he? Can anyone?
From Am*zon
My Thoughts
I think epistolary novels tend to get overlooked but sometimes it’s the perfect way to tell a story.āWhat better way to showcase a character spiralling out of reality than through his letters to a loved one?
Titus gets called to a small town on the Maine coast to look into a suspicious missing person case.āEven before he gets there things start going wrong.āIt is portent or coincidence? Who knows.
The letters start out innocuous enough as Titus describes his adventure and discoveries to his beloved back home.āEventually he starts to describe .. well… once someone accidentally prays to Cthulhu, it’s assumed that things are going to go downhill pretty quickly.āBefore long he starts to write some pretty odd things.ā
I think Cross does a great job showing a man slowly spiralling away from reality.āThe tense atmosphere is perfect and sucks the reader right into Titus’ head as he is trapped at his desk.āIt was hard to stop reading as things got weirder and more dangerous. The length is perfect as it tells the story without dragging it out
I found one favorite quote:
Without change, we are stagnant. Without knowledge, we are blind. Without hope, we are useless. Without love, well, we are simply nothing at all.
The Boddicker Letters, P.82
Let me just say, to avoid spoilers, that the ending blew my mind and I am highly curious to see what others think of it!
Definitely recommend this one for anyone who likes Lovecraftian myths, cosmic horror, and solidly good writing in general.ā
You can also check out our author interview from when A.C. joined the Sunday Brunch Series last year!
Thanks for checking out my book review of The Boddicker Letters by A.C. Cross. I read through Kindle Unlimited and as always, all opinions are my own š
A while back, Andre Pretty caught my attention on social media because he said something very insightful and kind about visually impaired readers. I felt seen (ha ha pun intended). I don’t remember exactly what he said but he seemed like a great person, so I went and grabbed his most recent novella.
Well, I finally read it last night and let me tell you that I made the mistake of starting at midnight before I realized that it was impossible to tear my eyes away from. I finished at 3:25 am š Ā
The story is called I’m Sorry About Tommy and it’s about a family in a Canadian post gold-rush mining settlement, read: sled dogs instead of automobiles, the Indian Act, etc. So a historical fiction/thriller with a problem as old as time – some cranky damaged Irish Catholic war veteran bastard beats the snot out of his kids, and shit goes downhill real quick.
James, the big brother and narrator of the story, tries to protect his little brother, Tommy, from as much abuse as possible.Ā Unfortunately he doesn’t spot all the directions that the problems are coming from, but it killed me watching him try.
Things went from historical fiction and family issues to psychological horror REAL quick, and I don’t want to say much more for fear of spoilers and content considerations. The writing is boisterous and beautiful and I fully recommend that if you can stomach the content, this is worth the read.
I docked one star because I didn’t love all the exclamations directly to the reader, and some of the lingo had me confused about the age of the narrator at the time of the story-telling. I’d have loved to see a little more about James’ path from “the event” to “the epilogue”.
If you have concerns about content, I’d just avoid this one honestly. If you don’t, then be prepared to sit down with a killer and learn all about one path leading to madness. and be prepared to do it in one sitting š
Bookish Quick Facts:
Title: I’m Sorry About Tommy
Author: Andre Pretty
Release: Self Published, 2022
Length: 154 pages
Rate & Recommend: āāāā for those who like to be glued to a story
Here’s the synopsis from Am*zon:
A cabin in the woods.
A northern town after the gold rush.
A dysfunctional family torn by the sins of the past. Follow James, a Metis boy coming of age, as he learns to navigate the violent, & unforgiving world around him.
Torn between Mother & Father.
Will a brotherās love be enough to save him?
Can he escape the static pulling him into the grey place inside his head… or is he already too far gone?
Hi everyone, welcome back to Sunday Brunch! Today in episode 30 something a little different is happening as we delve into the horror community š± and show some support for an indie author who’s mythology based novella is coming out in two short days!
Adam Godfrey is an author who believes in doing the right thing and so he gave up a publicity opportunity in favor of not supporting someone doing damage to the indie community. I’ve seen some awesome support come to the affected authors and am thrilled and honored to offer him this platform to chat about his project! (If anyone else is interested, I’m here for you too)!
That said, read on to find out all about Narcissus, horror in general, and a debate on whether or not vampires are actually safe from mirrors š
š„Welcome to the Sunday Brunch Series! As an introduction, can you tell everyone an interesting thing about yourself that isnāt in your author bio?
š¤ When I used to work at United States Joint Forces Command, I provided information technology (IT) support to former Secretary of Defense, General James āMad Dogā Mattis.
š„Whatās your brunch order today?
š¤ Oh wow . . . you know, Tony Todd, who starred in CANDYMAN, FINAL DESTINATION, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1990), etc. frequently posts about his chicken and waffle meals, which has convinced me that, if Iām ever in the vicinity of a Roscoeās Chicken and Waffles, thereās going to be an unplanned stop to give it a try. That said, my brunch order today is going to be chicken and waffles. Final answer.
š„ There is some drama in the horror community right now surrounding the host of a particular podcast, who is receiving harassment claims from female authors? Good on you for not supporting him and backing out of the podcast. Do you have any comments on the situation?
š¤ Yeah, I generally try to steer clear of most Twitter discourse, but due to the nature of the fast-growing numberof claims being made against this individual, as well as my (previously) scheduled appearance on the podcast, I cancelled the interview out of support for those affected by his behavior, and desire to not be associated in any way with what he had going on. I donāt know the individual in question on a personal level, have not personally read the messages exchanged, and am not here to lay judgement on anyone, but lifeās taught me that more often than not, where thereās smoke, thereās fire. Enough people had come forth about this individual within a very brief window of time to where I knew he wasnāt someone I wished to align myself with in any way, shape, or form and, although that had been the only podcast I had lined up to promote the release of NARCISSUS, I was more than eager to forego that opportunity in the name of doing whatās right. Itās really infuriating, and thereās no room in this world for such malicious conduct. I will always stand with the victims
š„ Yeah wow, seems best to avoid that and hopefully those involved get the message that the indie community is a lot stronger than they are. He needs authors, not vice versa, and there’s no time and place anywhere for being a creepš¤·āāļø
š„ Is your publication date affected by any of that or are you still on for May 2nd? I’ll list purchase links at the end!
š¤ Oh, not at all. The publisher (Shortwave Publishing) has absolutely no affiliation with that individual, and has also stepped forward to make this known and declare their stance against sexual harassment. Theyāve been really wonderful to work with and weāre very excited to release NARCISSUS into the world on May 2!
š„³š„³š„³
š„ So Narcissus is a horror novella based on the Greek myth! I’ve been seeing a lot of fantasy mythology retellings and adaptations, it’s kind of cool to see it in other genres too. What drew you to that myth?
š¤ I always loved Greek mythology, with the legend of Narcissus standing out as one of the more intriguing ones. Something about the destructive nature of self-infatuation, and how we so often see this in play today by way of narcissistic personality disorder (narcissism) among political figures, celebrities, etc. Narcissists gorge their inflated senses of self-importance on the undue admiration of others, and itās an affliction that is, in itself, such a horrifying, all-consuming monster that impacts not only the afflicted individual, but also all who are exposed to him/her. What better Greek myth to adapt into a modern horror antagonist?
š„I got scared while reading, sorry I’m a chicken š„² Looking at the book’s tag line on your Twitter that says “If your ability to avoid your own reflection were a matter of life and death, how long would you last?” What would your actual game plan be if you avoid your reflection to stay alive?
š¤ Haha! Itās quite alright. My wife doesnāt read horror either (though sheās extremely supportive of my work). Sheās very much a horror lightweight.
So, my game plan . . . thatās a tough one. What I found so compelling about the concept of NARCISSUS while writing it was the sheer impossibility of the situation. Reflective surfaces surround us. A glass of water, a doorknob, a window, cell phone screen, a spoon, a freshly-waxed floor. An entity that can access us through our own reflections is a truly inescapable one, so in truth, I have no idea what I would do. And itās not as if blinding myself would work. I wouldnāt have to see myself for my reflection to gain access to me.
Something funny though. I just sat with Robb Olson on his podcast The ARC Party and he brought up a very good point that I had never considered. Vampires have no reflections. In the world of NARCISSUS, maybe vampirism exists, and if it does, mayyyybe that would be a way to cheat the system. Itās funny, sure, but also pretty dang smart . . . haha!
š„The cyber security and Department of Defense career sounds interesting, have you based any writing off of your experiences there?
š¤ Not directly (aside from professional publications in the cybersecurity industry), though readers will find a common thread of plausible science and technology running through the center of much of my work. Iām working final edits on a full-length novel now (BODY OF WATER), which contains some of these very elements, and Iām so excited to eventually see this one hit the reading world. It bears a concept never before explored in film or literature.
š„ Do you have any classic (or non classic) horror favorites or what brought you into writing within the genre?
š¤ When I was young, I was a voracious reader of scary stories, and Iād devour any story anthology I could get my hands on. A couple that stick out in my mind are TALES FOR THE MIDNIGHT HOUR by J.B. Stamper and SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK by Alvin Schwartz. But, truth be told, as much as I do love horror literature, Iāve always watched more horror films/tv than read horror books. Early influences include FRIGHT NIGHT, THE LOST BOYS, TWILIGHT ZONE, TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE, CREEPSHOW, etc. A number of early readers of NARCISSUS have commented on what a cinematic read it is, and this is probably why. When I write, I see it as a movie in my head. For much of my work, if it doesnāt lend itself well to the screen, it just doesnāt work for me.
š„ I noticed that too with the strong descriptive elements. I can tell and tend to enjoy when books are written with that cinematic feel, it works well with a lot of space opera (and horror)!
š„What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever read or seen in a movie?
š¤ Iāve honestly never really been spooked out by a book, but as far as films go, the scene in FRIGHT NIGHT where Amy turns into this ravenous vampire and goes after her boyfriend has always been downright terrifying. The opening scene of TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE where Dan Aykroydās character says āYou wanna see something REALLY scary?ā is one of the most effective horror scenes Iāve seen. Another is the scene from SALEMāS LOT where Danny Glick (having turned into a vampire) is scraping at the window of his friend, floating in the fog just outside and begging to be let in. Yeah, thatās prime material right there.
š„Have you read any great books recently?
š¤ Iām actually reading Stephen Kingās THE STAND for the first time right now, as well as JURASSIC PARK. As a Crichton nut (one of my biggest early influences), itās absurd that Iām just now getting to that book, but I guess I always thought āwell, Iāve already seen the movieā. That was misguided thinking. Itās very different from the movie, and soooo good. Iām a huge fan of DARK MATTER by Blake Crouch, as well as THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE by Neil Gaiman.
A book I recently finished that I really loved was GHOST EATERS by Clay McLeod Chapman. Heās really a brilliant writer thatās rising so fast in the horror community.
š„ Thank you so much for taking the time to interview! This last is an open forum for you so feel free to talk about anything else you might want to say!
š¤ Thanks so much for the opportunity! NARCISSUS will be available on May 2 in ebook/print format through Shortwave Publishing and other major online retailers, and is already available on audio via Audible and iTunes, narrated by the Audie Award-winning narrator Elisabeth Rodgers. Itās not often that a narrator actually manages to enhance the reading experience, but I feel thatās exactly what she pulled off. Just a phenomenal performance.
Adam Godfrey hails from Chesapeake, Virginia, where he lives with his wife and three daughters. He holds over twenty years of experience working for the United States Department of Defense in information technology and cybersecurity risk management. He holds a masterās degree in cybersecurity, and his professional contributions to the field have been internationally featured across a variety of media platforms.
In fiction, Adam is a novelist and author of short stories. His genre-crossing work ranges from the suspenseful to the horrific, frequently characterized by central threads of plausible science and technology gone awry.
Hi everyone, sorry I haven’t been reading or posting much while travelling for the past two weeks! I’ll have more on that to come but for now, let’s talk aboutĀ this prequel story to The Ashes of Avarin.
Bookish Quick facts:
Title: A Prelude to Ashes
Series: The Ashes of Avarin 0.5
Author: Thiago Abdalla
Publisher & Release: Self, 2022
Length: 144 pages
Rate & Recommend: āāā for fans of fantasy and I mean, there are briefly Griffins
Here’s the blurb:
Prince Adrian has a secret.
He has been meeting with Myrra, the princess of Dakhra. They love each other, but their fathers are mortal enemies, and Dakhra is not a part of the Domain.
The rulers of the Domain nations have been granted hundreds of years by the blessings of the Seraph, their borders kept safe by the Churchās elite griffin riders. But the enemies of the Domain are gathering.
A foreign threat may be the chance for Adrian and Myrra to bring their nations closer, if they can convince their fathers to work together.
Will new enemies be enough for rivals to overcome old grievances, or will they bring them closer to war?
A Prelude to Ashes is a prequel novella that takes place one hundred years before the events of A Touch of Light, the first book in the Ashes of Avarin series.
My thoughts:
So usually you obtain this novella by signing up for the author’s mailing list, but was having website issues and posted the novella for free for a few days. I grabbed it thinking ‘ok what the heck’. I’m willing to say now that despite knowing I’m in the minority, this isn’t the series for me.
Everyone on the Indie Accords Discord was saying that this story answers a lot of questions about the book. First, I don’t think there should have to be a prequel to explain things. Second, I don’t agree that the pages explained much. We got to meet Jovu and spend some time with Myrra which are about the only new things. We learn a little more about the political background which we already mostly knew.
I feel like I’m reading the outline of a bigger fantasy work, which is exactly how I felt with A Touch of LightĀ too.
By itself, it reads fairly quickly and has plenty of action and kept me entertained.Ā Then there is still a huge jump in time before the events of A Touch of Light, which jumps again between the prologue and actual start. Seeing Myrra’s point of view did give a little more insight into her life but these events happened a few centuries ago. I was at least hoping to see something about how the Domain eventually accepted her, but their relationship is still a shell. How did they meet at least? My bad but I’m not believing that he’s going to war for her unless there’s some backgroundĀ
Abdalla is a good writer which is why I even went here, but he’s not giving me much more to like about the books š¤·āāļø I think I gave A Touch of Light three stars too despite not enjoying it much, and you can see my review there. I was just hoping that more would be revealed in the prequel.
Thanks as always to Escapist Book Tours for having me on their tour for A Cup of Tea at the Mouth of Hell by Luke Tarzian! You can check out the book tour’s home page, see the other posts, and find out about the author at the link there!
Here’s the book blurb:
BRIEFLY, A WORD ABOUT ORDER
Order is the focal point around which existence revolves. Without order there is only chaos. And in the halls of Damnation (pronounced Dam-NAWT-ion, thank you kindly) the first sign of impending chaos is a cup of tea made without the water having first been well and properly boiled in a kettle.
Why is this relevant, O nameless narrator, you ask? Who cares about the preparatory order of tea in the fires of Hell?
Lucifer, dear reader. After all, how does one expect to properly greet the newcomers to Hell without having first had a hot cup of tea to bulwark the cold?
Behold The Morning Star, frantic on the annual Morning of Souls, the arrival of Damnationās newest recruits.
Someone has misplaced the kettle.
See Also: Sad Boi Searches for His Missing Tea Kettle ā¢ Bring Your Tissues ā¢ Me, Myself, and I and the Times We Got High
My Thoughts:
I have a hard time rating emotional outpourings, it feels wrong to!! How do you even? What can you say? The story itself is whimsy, clever, and a mix of funny and slightly hard to push through since I also lost a parent very recently and things are a bit .. fresh
The novelette starts in one place and ends somewhere totally different. Join the characters for Lucifer’s therapy session and a joint at a hellish pizza parlor before having a look at the author’s own life.
The story itself is a bit hard to follow in that at first the demon, Stoudemire, is telling the story, then there’s a “real life” letter thrown in, followed by more demon narration before Lucifer is the final voice. He uses the same phrases as Stoudemire too so while it’s not relevant to the story itself, it’s tough for me to follow similar voices on both narrators. Lastly, it switches back to the “real life” narrator before the third section, which is a lovely collection of the author’s own meditations on grief, trauma, writing. I think my point is that the organization threw me off
But overall? Totally recommend. This is great. It’s funny. It’s “whimsy Hell” and you’re traversing trauma and The Phallic Forest at the same time. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it (and read it twice), I just think I’d have loved it if he would have grouped the fiction and nonfiction into their own sections to let the respective narratives flow. I’ve actually got copies of the author’s books and 100% going to check them out sooner rather than later.
Once again, thanks so much to Escapist Book Tours for having me. I found my copy of A Cup of Tea at the Mouth of Hell on Kindle Unlimited and as always, all opinions are my own ā„ļø
I needed a Novella for the SFF Oasis book bingo this month and listened to Elevation (and Laurie) written and narrated by Stephen King!
I don’t want to spend too much time talking about these novellas so here is a pair of mini reviews:
Elevation š²š²š²
I thought this novella was kind of ridiculous. It had an interesting premise but was more about the town of Castle Rock getting woke than the sci-fi element, which was never explored or explained at all.Ā I liked the characters, character development, and storyline well enough.
What lacked was that I expected King to explore the gravity loss idea and sci-fi element a lot more than he did. As he did not, I found the whole thing lacking. I won’t spoil the ending but found it, just, utterly stupid.Ā Ok, bye Scott
Laurie š¶š¶š¶š¶š¶
This seems very un-King-like but I loved Laurie! A man who lost his wife is being nagged by his sister, who brings a puppy to his house. Obviously he gripes and complains and the puppy going to pee on the rug and he hates her, etc etc, but then all cuteness ensues. There’s even a thrilling event at the end.
I need more animal cuteness from King, who usually makes his animals terrifying
He is a pretty good narrator too, he should read more of his own books!
Bookish Quick Facts:
Title: Elevation
Author: Stephen King
Publisher & Release: Scribner, October 2018
Length: 160 pages
See ratings above
A quick note on the audio: about 3:46 long from Simon & Schuster audio, released at the above date and narrated by the author
Here’s the synopsis:
Although Scott Carey doesnāt look any different, heās been steadily losing weight. There are a couple of other odd things, too. He weighs the same in his clothes and out of them, no matter how heavy they are. Scott doesnāt want to be poked and prodded. He mostly just wants someone else to know, and he trusts Doctor Bob Ellis.
In the small town of Castle Rock, the setting of many of Kingās most iconic stories, Scott is engaged in a low gradeābut escalatingābattle with the lesbians next door whose dog regularly drops his business on Scottās lawn. One of the women is friendly; the other, cold as ice. Both are trying to launch a new restaurant, but the people of Castle Rock want no part of a gay married couple, and the place is in trouble. When Scott finally understands the prejudices they faceāincluding his ownāhe tries to help. Unlikely alliances, the annual foot race, and the mystery of Scottās affliction bring out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others.
Ahhh I had to restart the novellas before readingĀ Network Effect. I know they don’t really affect the full length book but it feels right and they are quick reads (or listens).
For those unaware, The Murderbot Diaries is a series of 5 novellas and one full length novel set prior to those events, about a security bot who hacks itself and would rather watch tv dramas then do its job.
It’s snarky, at times funny sci-fi that reads more like adventure fiction as the actual science is pretty limited.
Bookish Quick Facts:
Title: All Systems Red
Series: The Murderbot Diaries #1
Author: Martha Wells
Punlisher & Release: TorDotCom – May 2017
Length: 160 pages
Rate & Recommend: āāāā sure for scifi/adventure fans!
Here is the synopsis from Amazon:
A murderous android discovers itself inĀ All Systems Red, a tense science fiction adventure by Martha Wells that interrogates the roots of consciousness through Artificial Intelligence.
“As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.”
In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.
But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isnāt a primary concern.
On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ādroid ā a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as āMurderbot.ā Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.
But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it’s up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.
I really love Murderbot.Ā There is absolutely Nil for world building which is where I perpetually dock a star, but the action, plot, mystery, snarky characters, and AI ethical struggles won me over pretty quickly.
As in most novellas, the plot and action move quickly.Ā We get what we need about The Company and the function of Security bots, while the rest is characters and banter and action.
I enjoyed the plot too, we get plenty of danger and an added mystery / who dunnit as well.Ā Murderbot might prefer not to interact with humans but it surprisingly is quite good at it’s job, when while epically half-assing it
It’s hard not to like Murderbot as a character too. It just rolls it’s eyes and snarks at the humans – but lord forbid someone tries to kill the humans because then it’s all NO YOU WONT HURT MY HUMANS!! Mensah and the others are interesting too, in the glimpse we get some complicated crew dynamics as they deal with their terrible situation ( and rogue SecUnit).
I love the moment when MB is like – These are my humans! I also appreciate Murderbot’s sentiments towards humans, AKA it’s favorite quote time – because honestly I relate to the not caring parts š
Yes, talk to Murderbot about its feelings. The idea was so painful I dropped to 97 percent efficiency
Ā
As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure
Ā
I donāt know why, because itās one of those things Iām not contractually obligated to care about
Ā
I was the one who was supposed to keep everybody safe.Ā I panic all the time, you just canāt see it,Ā I told her. I added the text signifier for ājoke.ā
All in all – definitely check out Murderbot if you like snark and adventure and quick reads.Ā I will add thatĀ All Systems Red won a boatload of awards in 2018 – The Hugo, Nebula, Alex, AND Locus! For all that the Hugo and Nebula have given into the PC crowd, this book wasn’t terrible. Murderbot has no sexy parts (I picture an amorphous Ken doll) and identified as “It” – which makes blessed sense to me – but otherwise the book is not terribly PC and the awards are well deserved in my opinion!
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