The third installment of British writer Deborah Levy's excellent Living Autobiography is largely a book about the collisions of fantasies and real life — or perhaps a synthesis of the two.
(Image credit: Bloomsbury Publishing)
Linden A. Lewis's stylish queer space opera series levels up with The Second Rebel, which picks up with our initial protagonists Hiro, Lito and the First Sister, and adds a few new voices too.
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Review by Pamela Saunders, ACLS LIbrarian
Although some found Andy Weir’s “Artemis” (2017) a let-down after the pulse-pounding suspense of his best-selling debut, “The Martian” (2014), “Project Hail Mary” returns to the science-based plot of the latter combined with an amnesia-created mystery to keep the reader humming along.
Scientist and schoolteacher in space, Ryland Grace must save the rapidly-cooling earth from catastrophe as the sun dies, but awakening from a years-long coma with amnesia, he does not even know his name or identity, let alone why he is in a ship light-years from home with only two corpses for companions. As his memory slowly returns, he is aided in his quest to solve the mystery and stave off the extinction of the human species on Earth by the appearance of an otherworldly being.
Just as with the rescue of the Apollo 13 astronauts using only what is on board their ship, Grace is constrained to the resources of his ship and its damaged computer, along with whatever he can dredge out of his own prodigious scientific knowledge and the assets and understanding of his mysterious ally.
The back-and-forth narrative switching from the present to Grace’s past as his memory returns provides a compelling rhythm that keeps the pages turning. Relentless tension builds as roadblocks and unanticipated events make it seem that the mission will fail after all. And even when things finally turn around, there is one final twist, which leads to an unexpected and emotionally moving end.
The first-contact aspects of the book are delightful and well-thought through, as Grace and ally “Rocky” learn to understand one another before they can further their shared task. The scientific and technical aspects are fun and challenging, but manageable, as Weir explains them in a way that allows the non-scientific reader to follow along.
For all lovers of hard sci-fi and other readers interested in a thrilling ride which just happens to be based on molecular biology in space.
A good fantasy novel can really transform the world — whether it's this world or another one entirely. Here are three YA fantasy novels to transform the dog days of summer for young readers.
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A personal trainer takes on an injured former NFL star trying to make a secret comeback in Farrah Rochon's The Dating Playbook. Will they have to fake-date to hide what's really going on? You bet!
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Jordan Ifueko follows up her meteoric debut Raybearer with Redemptor, which continues the story of Tarisai, now an Empress, but racked with grief and guilt over what she did to gain the throne.
(Image credit: Amulet Books)
On the surface, Me (Moth) seems like a simple story. Two damaged teens fall for each other as they journey across America. But on every page, Amber McBride builds layer upon layer of meaning.
(Image credit: Feiwel & Friends)
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