This third book in the Final Architecture series brings the trilogy to a satisfying close. Idris resists the plan to destroy the Architects, knowing they are compelled to obey their unseen masters. Meanwhile, a betrayal separates the crew of the Vulture God, and calls into question whether there can be a united front against the enemy. A fitting end to a brilliant and imaginative found family space opera. Loved it!

1. I have lived all over and I think a small city with lots of greenspace is the right place for me. I have a backyard view of a tree lined creek, but there are still bookstores, coffeeshops, concerts and festivals.
2. At one time I'd have said I'd never come back to Kentucky to live, but I love it here in Lexington.

#Two4Tuesday
@TheSpineView

"Andecka Tal Mar: Intermediary in a three-crew ship named the Skipjack, currently operating with only two because every resource was stretched right now, especially the human kind."

Very happy to be reading this last book in the Final Architecture trilogy!

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Alefret, a pacifist, has been imprisoned and tortured for his refusal to participate in his country's long, grueling war. Always an outcast due to his size and appearance, Alefret agrees to travel to the floating fortress of the enemy to infiltrate the resistance and enable his minder, a zealous soldier, to carry out a secret mission to end the war. A gripping, harrowing story of the horrors of war, hard to put down and impossible to forget.

Writing for National Geographic, the author accompanied an expedition into an incredibly remote and untouched region of Honduras in search of proof that an ancient city had once existed in the rainforest. Cutting edge lidar technology enabled them to uncover the past at a site that was truly dangerous, not least from aggressive and deadly fer-de-lance vipers. What they found was amazing, but the risks were even greater than they knew. Fascinating.

When the author heard about an undercover operation that had busted a ring of alligator poachers, she felt compelled to learn more; a Florida native, she was tired of outsiders flying in to write about wacky locals when there was often more to the story. The result is a nuanced portrait of a unique and fragile ecosystem, the people who live in it, love it, seek to profit from it or protect it.

Giselle, Jackie and Ellen first meet at age 12 only to drift apart and reconnect as life takes them in very different directions. Giselle is compelled to make art of her life, regardless of whether she is understood; Jackie uses her programming knowledge to create a platform for users to document their lives; Ellen organizers a squatters co-op, resisting corporate pressure. Each seeks to live an authentic life in an increasingly dystopian world.

"The first time I saw an alligator up close in the wild, I was seven years old."

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

1. I prefer hardcover when possible, but trade paperbacks are great too
2. According to my storygraph stats, 25% nonfiction, 75% fiction 🙂
3. I enjoy historical fiction, but science fiction has been my favorite genre since I was a kid
4. More recent, with the occasional classic
5. COFFEE (I'm drinking some right now)
6. Physical, definitely
7. Print. It takes me forever to finish an audio book

#WondrousWednesday
@Eggs

The concept here was promising: a near future where most of life takes place in virtual reality, personal data is just another commodity, and true crime simulations are a profit-making machine. Unfortunately, clunky dialogue, unnecessary repetition and a few distracting continuity errors made it hard to enjoy the plot. A lot of the novel felt like exposition--a subtler approach might have made for a more engaging read.

1. I'm looking forward to reading Memory Piece by Lisa Ko soon, as well as Lords of Uncreation, the final book in Adrian Tchaikovsky's Final Architecture series.

2. I pre-ordered Red Side Story by Jasper Fforde--can't wait for that one to come out! It's also possible I've pre-ordered something else and forgotten about it. That happens a lot. 🙂

Thanks for the tag, @TheSpineView !
#Two4Tuesday

This book is 715 pages long and takes place over 77 years in South India, following multiple generations of a family with a hereditary curse involving aversion to water and a tendency to drown. It was absorbing, & I enjoyed it, despite my own aversion to magical realism & gruesome depictions of medical procedures. Around page 400 though, I started getting sick of the relentless tragedy. A memorable, often beautiful novel, but crushingly depressing

"She is twelve years old, and she will be married in the morning."

Tackling this hefty book set in early 20th century South India for book club--I'm normally not a big fan of either magical realism or gruesomely detailed medical procedures, but this is a gripping read so far.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

#

1. I think all kids should definitely take "Life Math" where you learn how much it takes to pay the deposit and rent on an apartment, how down payments and credit scores and interest rates work. It should be totally separate from pure math and all about navigating practical realities.

2. Kathy in House of Sand and Fog. Why, oh why, did she keep ignoring the tax bills? Such a devastating book.

#Two4Tuesday
@TheSpineView

I picked this up at Goodwill on a whim; little did I suspect how utterly bonkers it would be. The plot sounds like Dan Brown or Michael Crichton--a secret society of the faithful seek to suppress proof of extraterrestrial life AND a newly found version of Genesis. Lucy & the evidence crash land in a fantastical Eden near Baghdad--& there's a naked guy named Adam there. Literary style with a wild, occasionally gruesome, consistently startling plot.

If you believe everything happens for a reason, this may not be the book for you. The author explores chaos theory, our hard-wired preference for simple explanations of cause and effect, and the flaws inherent in the study of human behavior, ending with a discussion of determinism versus free will. A highly readable and wide-ranging discussion of an intriguing topic, although the rapid fire barrage of concepts (basins of attraction!) can be a lot.

When Satoru takes his cat Nana on a road trip to find a new home for him, Nana finds ways to prolong their journey together. I never would have read this book if it hadn't been a book club pick--it is narrated by a cat, it's deeply sentimental, and it is tinged with sadness, all things I typically avoid. Still, it was a gentle and moving book, a tribute to the bond between a human and a cat, and to the power of connection, human and otherwise.

This charming murder mystery takes place in a British retirement village, where four senior citizens gather each week to study a cold case. When a murder hits close to home, they set out to find the culprit, enlisting the aid of a young police officer and employing unorthodox methods to get to the truth. Great characters and a poignant humanity make this entertaining mystery a true delight. I will be on the lookout for more books in this series!

"Well, let's start with Elizabeth, shall we?"

#FirstLineFridays

@ShyBookOwl

This unsettling novel felt like a 1970s Twilight Zone episode. Jason Taverner, famous musician and TV personality, wakes up in a shabby hotel room. No one knows who he is and he has no ID, a serious problem in a police state where ID is mandatory. The ultimate explanation was interesting but I didn't love this one--it left a bad taste and short as it was, it was a relief when it ended.

I read this for a book club, & while it was not something I would have picked up on my own, it was definitely a powerful & memorable read. Yusra Mardini was 17 & a competitive swimmer in Syria when the war started and she lost her home. She and her sister Sara made the long journey to Berlin via Istanbul, including a perilous trip by dinghy from Izmir to the Greek island of Lesbos. A poignant and sadly necessary reminder that refugees are people.

1. I am not named after anyone, but I gave my daughter my middle name: Nicole. She is not a fan! 🙃

2. I can't think of any novels with an Erin, but The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri features a main character originally named Gogol after the Russian author Nikolai Gogol.

Thanks for the tag, @TheSpineView !

#Two4Tuesday

This second book in the Final Architecture series finds Idris helping the Parthenon to develop their own Intermediary program, while the Architects appear without warning to remake inhabited planets according to the aesthetic principles demanded by their unknown masters. The intricate, masterful world-building, vivid characters, and ratcheting tension made this an engaging and, as the end approached, riveting read.

1. I think Arthur Less (from Less and Less Is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer) would be a great roommate--he goes off on long trips and comes back with entertaining stories. Plus we could practice German together. 🙂

2. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

@TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday

1. Go to the Friends of the Library book sale with my sister, then fly to DC to attend AwesomeCon! (Also: finish the tagged book before I leave.)
2. Red Side Story, the sequel to Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey. Seriously cannot wait for this one!
3. Science fiction forever! Or maybe I should say speculative fiction, to make it as all encompassing as possible.

#MotivationalMonday @Cupcake12

Tim Alberta's father was a pastor in the evangelical church; when parishioners confronted him about his criticism of Trump at his father's funeral, he felt compelled to investigate the changes that have led nationalism to be conflated with faith, and caused evangelicals to be focused on power in this world instead of justice in the next. Highly recommend for anyone interested in the evangelical movement, whether you're a believer or not.

Olivia is a struggling novelist when her agent calls with an offer: fly to Malibu to ghostwrite a book for a billionaire, Ash. While the premise, riffing on du Maurier's Rebecca, could have been fun, Olivia is really annoying, ignoring all the flashing red supercreep warning signs because Ash was People's Sexiest Man Alive. This is mentioned, no lie, a dozen times. Her obliviousness made this a tough read, although it picked up a bit at the end.

Hector, a famed performer of telekinesis, has moved to the city where his former fiance lives with her wealthy husband. Ten years ago, Valerie promised to wait when Hector left to seek his fortune, only to tersely break their engagement and his heart. Now Hector has found a way to insinuate himself back into her presence, by courting Nina, an unconventional young woman. By the end of this, I was on the edge of my seat and fully invested. Loved it!

Saba's brother has disappeared, having left London to search for their father in Tblisi, the city they fled as refugees many years before. Haunted by the voices of those he lost, Saba follows a breadcrumb trail through the ruins of his past on an increasingly dangerous and desperate quest. A heart-wrenching depiction of what it means to return to a home that no longer exists. A brilliant debut novel--I'll be looking for more from this author.

Mad returns to her hometown in WV to teach a chemistry class for kids at the local library, only to find herself trapped inside by a swarm of murder owls. Mad is no stranger to trauma; as the danger increases, unwanted memories surface and force her to face her past. Alternating with chapters of The Silent Queen, her favorite childhood book, this inventive novel explores survival, grief and resilience in the face of the unthinkable.

Eliza Raine, the orphaned daughter of a white East India Company surgeon and his Indian common law wife, carefully follows the rules at her boarding school until Anne Lister arrives and changes her life forever. Alternating between her 14 year old POV and letters from the adult Eliza, this is a heartbreaking and poignant depiction of first love in a world of restrictions. Definitely read the afterword for the true story behind the novel.

"My dear Lister,

Last night I went to the Manor again."

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Jessica, returning to her alma mater for her 10 year reunion, plans to show her classmates how perfect she's become, but secrets surrounding the murder of her roommate senior year bubble to the surface, revealing that everyone has something to hide. A pick for the intricate plot and building tension, but it's exhausting reading about someone so motivated by what other people think of them that status takes priority over every other consideration

It would've been helpful to have a cast of characters list at the start of this sequel to No Gods No Monsters. It took a minute to sort out who everyone was and where the last book had left them. Once it got rolling, this was an engaging and thought-provoking look at the increasing tension in a world where monsters are both real and increasingly visible. Also, kind of obsessed with co-ops. I'll definitely read book 3 after that cliffhanger ending.

This brief, powerful novella by Ray Nayler, author of The Mountain in the Sea, depicts one woman's doomed efforts to save wild elephants, and how her unique knowledge and understanding is applied long after her death in an attempt to bring mammoths back from extinction in Siberia. Deftly written, this story would make a particularly haunting Black Mirror episode. A one sitting read for me, and not one that will be easily forgotten.

This cozy mystery is not something I would have read on my own, but it was the pick for "Check Meowt", the library sponsored book club meeting in the humane society's cat habitat. I couldn't resist that combination! In this warm-hearted tale, Vera Wong finds a dead body in her tea shop and decides to investigate. She brings together everyone who had a motive to murder the victim, with unexpected results. Lots of delicious food descriptions!

Decades have passed since the war ended and the mysterious, artistically destructive Architects disappeared. Idris, one of the few surviving Intermediaries modified to interact with the enemy, hasn't slept or visibly aged since. Now a pilot for a ragtag crew of spacers on a salvage vessel, Idris finds himself on the run as his past and future collide. Brilliant, inventive world-building from one of my favorite SF authors. On to the sequel!

First published in 1988, this third book in the Sprawl trilogy brings the threads of the earlier books together, blending familiar characters with newcomers like Kumiko, the daughter of a yakuza boss; Slick Henry, a compulsive artist dealing with the long-term effects of incarceration; and Mona, a teenager caught in a vast and deadly plot. A fascinating and complex world of AI and corporate power, visionary and intricately imagined.

1. Adam Dalgliesh, poet detective
2. Hercule Poirot
3. Constance Kopp from Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart

#TLT #ThreeListThursday
@dabbe

Okay, I literally shrieked and hit the pre-order button when I saw that this book is coming out in May. I *loved* Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey (nor to be confused with...you know). I had given up on ever getting a sequel but it's finally happening! It may be time to re-read Shades of Grey, although I'm not normally prone to revisiting books. Hooray!

This sequel was the fast, fun speed read I hoped it would be. The romance novel dialogue was, as the kids say, cringe at times, "How can I say those 3 little words if you won't fully open your heart to me?" Okay, buddy. Violet should know by now that even Xaden's secrets have secrets. Still, the plot raced along, introducing new characters & settings, while moving steadily toward the coming crisis. Not sure about that ending, but bring on book 3!

Chris is an ex-cop turned hired muscle; Mae is a PR flack paid to protect clients from the consequences of their bad decisions. When a murder brings them back together, they start pulling the thread on a web of secrets, hoping to punish the guilty and score big at the same time.The results are fatal. With vivid characters and propulsive prose, this LA noir thriller practically sizzles on the page--once I started it, I did not want to put it down.

Two special investigators from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation are called in after White residents of Money start turning up gruesomely murdered, accompanied each time by the body of a mysterious Black man, beaten beyond recognition, who subsequently vanishes. The initial broadly comic tone gradually takes on the weight of a terrible and bloody history, as someone or something demands vengeance for the dead. Unforgettable.

The author of this novel was initially a true believer in the communist revolution in Russia; this fatalistic, absurdist and often lyrical novel is the product of his experiences. It's no wonder it was suppressed for 60 years, given the confusion, despair and end times yearning it depicts as villagers attempt to somehow trigger communism from within. A Russian blend of Don Quixote and Waiting for Godot, mournfully comic and doomed from the start.

"Old provincial towns have tumbledown outskirts, and people come straight from nature to live there."

A single copy of this Russian novel was printed in 1929; the first Soviet edition appeared in 1988. This is a new translation, and it's fascinating so far.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Jennette McCurdy narrates this audio book, a mercilessly candid memoir of her life as a child actor. Her mother, a manipulative narcissist, pushed her into acting and trained her to be anorexic, before dying of cancer, leaving McCurdy rudderless and caught in a spiral of alcohol abuse and eating disorders. Short chapters and McCurdy's wry tone make this painful story bearable, but it is not for the faint of heart.

Set in rural Florida in 1950, this unflinching depiction of brutality at a reform school follows 12-year-old Robbie Stephens, sentenced for kicking an older white boy, and his 17-year-old sister Gloria, who is determined to secure his freedom. Ghosts haunt the grounds, but the true monsters are among the living. If I'd known how intense this would be, I might not have read it--but once I'd started, I had to know how it would end. Haunting.

This fast-paced fantasy novel made for perfect snow day reading. The tropes are familiar but who cares when it's this much fun? Recommended for anyone who a) loved Anne McCaffrey's dragon rider books, b) enjoyed the Red Rising or similar series, and c) doesn't mind a little spicy romance novel shenanigans here and there. It's not exactly War and Peace, but it's 15 degrees and I haven't left the house in days, so this level of escapism was welcome!

This wacky, light-hearted first contact story starts with a young woman traveling to Roswell for her college roommate's wedding. When Francie is unexpectedly waylaid by an alien, she ends up on a wild road trip with stops in Las Vegas and beyond. The least realistic aspect: someone under 30 calling 5 people in an emergency but not texting anyone. A bit repetitive but still a pick because I love Connie Willis and the ending left me smiling.

Harriett is basically a witch, her gardening a superpower; Jo's strength is powered by red-hot rage; Nessa has the sight and can commune with the dead. All in their late 40s, these women team up to solve the murders of nameless teen girls, despite indifference and opposition from the local authorities. Light in tone but dealing with some dark subject matter, this book resonated deeply with me, a 50-year-old chaos gardener. Good stuff.