Machine Vendetta by Alastair Reynolds

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The novel “Machine Vendetta” by Alastair Reynolds was published for the first time in 2024. It’s part of the Revelation Space series as the third book of the Prefect Dreyfus Emergency, in which it’s the sequel to “Elysium Fire”.

Ingvar Tench is among the prefects of Panoplia, yet for incomprehensible reasons, she finds herself in a habitat different from the one she was headed for. The consequence is that she ends up involved in a civil war and attacked by hostile inhabitants, who manage to kill her. Her colleagues don’t know why she got herself into that situation and this tragedy follows shortly after the apparent suicide attack of a prefect on another habitat.

Tom Dreyfus has a huge amount of experience but struggles to make sense of what appear to be terrorist attacks on various habitats in the Glitter Belt surrounding the planet Yellowstone. The interest of two artificial intelligences at war with each other is a surprise that disturbs him. Discovering that Ingvar Tench had a daughter makes him realize that he didn’t know his colleague very well.

Long Time Dead by Sarah Pinborough

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The novel “Long Time Dead” by Sarah Pinborough was published for the first time in 2011.

The Department has assigned a military unit to explore the remains of Cardiff’s Torchwood Hub to see what was left in the rubble after its destruction. When one of the scientists is found dead, the incident is kept quiet but this becomes increasingly difficult after the start of a strange series of deaths that include suicides of people who leave notes with the words “I remember”.

Suzie Costello has woken up. She has no idea how she came back to life although she senses a presence inside her that seems very hungry. She can move freely thanks to false paper and money that she had hidden but she must be careful with her actions because Tom Cutler is leading the investigation into the victims that Suzie is leaving behind.

The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

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The novel “The Light Brigade” by Kameron Hurley was published for the first time in 2019.

Diez is one of the new recruits trained to fight for their corporation against the Martian colonists. The soldiers are sent to the battlefields by transforming them into light and then rematerializing them at their destination. The process is not without risks, and sometimes a soldier rematerializes where there’s already something.

During those trips, Diez starts to not recognize team members and destination places. Despite the confusion, Diez tries to continue fighting trying not to reveal any memory holes. However, the memory fragments start forming a consistent picture that goes against Diez’s assumptions about the war.

A 3D reconstruction of the specimen catalogued as MNHN.F.SOT002123 of Arthropleura in a dorsal (A) and ventral (B) view along with views of the fossil (C, D). The bar is 5 millimeters long in A and B and 1 centimeter in A and B.

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An article published in the journal “Science Advances” reports the results of the reconstruction of the body and in particular of the head of an Arthropleura, a genus of millipedes that lived between 350 and 290 million years ago. A team of researchers subjected some of the fossils discovered in France in the 1980s to a CT scan that allowed them to obtain details that were previously hidden in the rock and 3D reconstructions. These are small Arthropleura and it’s not certain that they would have reached the over 2.5 meters estimated for their maximum length but they still offer information on these giant myriapods. In another article published in the same journal, paleobiologist James Lamsdell of West Virginia University describes the history of studies of these millipedes.

A Good Death by Steve Ramirez

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The novel “A Good Death” by Steve Ramirez was published for the first time in 2023. It’s the third book in the S’orne Saga and follows “In the Shadow”.

Sam sees strange objects in the sky that don’t look natural at all. He tries to follow their path to find their starting point in the hope of discovering what they are, but on his way, he encounters a completely different danger.

News reaches the village of Kyu Shin that the community’s best-kept secret has leaked out. King Cortez heard stories that seem hard to believe but wants to make things clear. That’s not the only concern for his kingdom and he decides it’s time to use the most modern weapons available to end fights.