Literature / Books

Blogs about novels, literature, and books in general

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The novella “Exit Strategy” by Martha Wells was published for the first time in 2018. It’s the fourth work of “The Murderbot Diaries” series and follows “Rogue Protocol”.

When the spaceship taken by Murderbot is arriving at its destination, it’s rerouted towards the security area. SecUnit realizes that they’re looking for it and it’s forced to sneak out of the spaceship to prevent the heavily armed security forces from finding it.

Murderbot quickly discovers that Dr. Mensah was accused of corporate espionage by GrayCris and disappeared. Suspecting a kidnapping, it contacts her team, knowing full well that they know its identity and therefore that it’s a SecUnit.

Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon

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The novel “Star Maker” by Olaf Stapledon was published for the first time in 1937.

When an Englishman’s consciousness is transported out of his body, a limitless journey into deep space begins. He arrives on a planet inhabited by intelligent humanoids, which he calls the Other Earth, where his consciousness merges with that of one of the natives. This is just the first stage of a much longer journey.

Together with his new traveling companion, to whom he remains attached, the man travels to other planets inhabited by sentient beings. Civilizations with similarities and differences compared to the human one are observed during their technological, social, and spiritual evolution up to a cosmic scale made up of various dimensions.

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal-El Mohtar and Max Gladstone

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The novella “This is How You Lose the Time War” by Amal-El Mohtar and Max Gladstone was published for the first time in 2019. It won the Hugo, Nebula, and BSFA Awards as the best novella of the year.

When Red, an agent of the Commandant’s team, finds a message from Blue, a rival in the Time War, she gets intrigued despite knowing that it might be hiding a trap. She decides to respond and this leads to an exchange of messages that begins with mutual teasing and challenges and becomes something else.

Red and Blue find a mutual understanding that deepens their bond even though the Agency and the Garden are enemies. This prevents them from meeting in person and actually makes even exchanging messages dangerous, yet this doesn’t stop their feelings.

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

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The novel “The City We Became” by N.K. Jemisin was published for the first time in 2020. It’s the first book of the Great Cities series. It won the Locus and BSFA Awards.

Various people discover that they are the avatars of certain boroughs of New York while an artist discovers that he’s the avatar of the entire city from the avatar of Sao Paulo. Some of them are attacked by shapeshifters and strange tendrils but manage to repel those attacks.

Manny, the avatar of Manhattan, is confronted by a mysterious woman but manages to defeat her thanks to the help of the avatar of Brooklyn. Various types of attacks follow, not always direct because in some cases, they exploit corruption and fascist groups.

FBI Code Red by Lee Gimenez

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The novel “FBI Code Red” by Lee Gimenez was published for the first time in 2017. It’s part of the J.T. Ryan series.

J.T. Ryan hired Lisa Booth, a young detective who can assist him during his investigations. The opportunity arrives immediately, when FBI Assistant Director Erin Welch tasks him with gathering information on a possible money laundering case. The suspicion is confirmed when the two private detectives intercept the clandestine transport of a huge amount of money.

The traces connect the money to the Chinese embassy but it is practically impossible to follow them using normal means even for J.T. Ryan. His interference was noticed and the director of the FBI declares a Code Red that means that J.T. Ryan is placed on the terrorist list. The man turns to one of the very few people he trusts to prove his innocence.