2024

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

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The novella “A Psalm for the Wild-Built” by Becky Chambers was published for the first time in 2021. It’s the first book in the Monk & Robot series. It won the Hugo Award for best novella of the year.

Sibling Dex is a tea monk who sought a spiritual life. They still feel a certain dissatisfaction but can’t understand what they need. They decide to change their travel routine by venturing on paths different from the ones they usually take, where humans let nature grow wild again.

During their new journey, Sibling Dex comes across a robot who tells them its name is Splendid Speckled Mosscap. Despite its completely friendly attitude, Dex remains dumbfounded because generations have passed since robots decided to live on their own. Splendid Speckled Mosscap has a very simple and yet damned complex question: “What do people need?”

The Long Sunset by Jack McDevitt

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The novel “The Long Sunset” by Jack McDevitt was published for the first time in 2008. This is the eighth novel in the Academy series, set in the 23rd century and starring the space pilot Priscilla “Hutch” Hutchins.

When an alien signal is detected on Earth, a new interstellar expedition is set up with Priscilla “Hutch” Hutchins as the starship’s pilot, also due to her experience in first contacts with alien species. However, humanity’s isolationism is growing and the mission is in danger.

Derek Blanchard, who runs the new mission, is determined to leave but even the authorities seem to want to prevent the starship from leaving for purely political reasons. More and more people seem terrified of encountering hostile aliens, and this forces the team to leave hastily.

The Great Migration by Steve Ramirez

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The novel “The Great Migration” by Steve Ramirez was published for the first time in 2021. It’s the first book in the S’orne Saga.

The discovery of an arm belonging to one of the monsters called s’orne causes great concern. A century earlier, an entire city was destroyed by a horde of those monsters that killed many citizens and infected others with a lethal fever.

When Bellona and the group she’s part of finish following the Great Migration, she attends a festival that is supposed to be a celebration. Between strange rumors and revelations, the situation becomes complicated, especially when the complications concern the presence of s’orne.