Upright Women WantedSarah Gailey’s novella Upright Women Wanted is another slim volume from an award-winning author packed with adventure and set in an interesting alternative-America setting, much like their first two novellas River of Teeth and Taste of Marrow.
ConstanceMatthew FitzSimmons, author of the Gibson Vaughn series, brings us a new novel. Constance is a foray into the near future, the science fiction tale veering into the territory of a thriller with its consistently fast pacing and high tension.
Terminal BoredomIzumi Suzuki is a Japanese author whose science fiction works left a lasting impact on the genre and should have been translated into English long ago. Thankfully, this collection has begun the overdue task of bringing her work to a much wider international audience. Terminal Boredom is a collection of some of her short fiction translated into English and bound together in this 240 page volume.
OtakuChris Kluwe’s debut fiction novel, Otaku, hit bookshelves everywhere in March of 2020. Kluwe is a former NFL player, lead designer for the tabletop card game Twilight, and author of a nonfiction collection titled Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies.
The HierarchiesI’m not going to lie, when I first saw this book I was interested but also skeptical. A book written from the POV of a robot that was built for one purpose – to serve her “Husband” didn’t sound super interesting until I reached the part of the description where she becomes curious and begins to think of the world beyond her assigned role. I’ll say this, it was a very wild ride indeed.
Where to begin with this book. First of all you should be aware as a reader that there are graphic depictions of sex. If that is not your thing, don’t read this book. It’s literally everywhere.
I have to say I was surprised by my changing emotions with this book as I read it. I was gripped at first, plowing through the story but then some scenes completely turned me off and I had to put it down. Maybe it was the content of the scene, maybe it was the style of the story being told through Sylv.ie’s eyes, maybe it’s because I needed a break but I definitely had times where this book wasn’t exactly for me.
I really enjoyed the social commentary of the world in this book. Yes it’s talking about a not-so-distant future but the lessons, as with all dystopian novels, apply to the world we currently live in. In a world where being Born or Created assigns you a class, where the created robots and Dolls are little better than dirt, and the exploitation of all of the Created ones is rampant, there was a lot to take in on the similarities in our own world.
Sylv.ie is a perfect guide through this strange and twisted world as she grows curious about life beyond her Husband, the man who paid for her and who keeps her locked away except for when it pleases him. Her oddly flat tone, even through the sexually explicit and horrifying scenes both helped and hurt me as a reader in this story. I was glad that some of the difficult scenes were presented as odd or out of protocol for Sylv.ie as it helped me get through them but then it also made it harder for me to connect to her.
One thing about this novel that I applaud is the recognition that money equaling power and therefore the ability to do as your please is a horrendous way for the world it exist. We see it every day in our world; rich people (and more specifically rich men) get away with crimes because they can afford a lawyer or the people they harm are too afraid to go after them given their power. This book definitely hits a lot of feminist points as well as social justice in general and I applaud Anderson for tackling these subjects in such a unique way in her debut novel.
The Hierarchies is set for release on August 25th, 2020. If you’re looking for an interesting take on dystopian novels, filled with unique insights on the world we currently live in, I’d recommend The Hierarchies to you, as long as you can stomach some intense moments while reading. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Thank you to Dutton, NetGalley and Ros Anderson for the ARC of this book!
The Everlasting Rose (The Belles #2)When we return to the world of Orléans we find that our main character Camellia is still in the fight for saving the world and stopping one rogue tyrant of a princess while also trying to right the wrongs done to so many people, including generations of Belles.
The Belles (The Belles #1)I was curious about this series as the premise was intriguing. In the world of Orléans the Belles are powerful and beautiful. In a world where people are born gray the Belles can infuse people’s appearances with beauty and color. A tweak of the nose here, a bit more color in the cheeks, whatever you need the Belles can get the job done.
The CompoundI picked this book up off of one of those “Blind Date With A Book” tables at Barnes & Noble. The description of this book read “Let’s build a fortress to protect our family. Oh shit! We can’t get out!” That, along with the genre of YA being marked on the wrapped book I decided it could be interesting. Purchasing the book (along with a stack of others) I came home and opened the gift I’d given to myself, hoping it was the right choice off the table.
SealedA rather timely horror novel, Sealed by Naomi Booth is set in a world in fear of an epidemic, the knowledge of which is suppressed in a country whose government seems to be sliding into a dystopian landscape. Reading this during the beginnings of the Coronavirus outbreak and around the time of the massive fires in Australia provided a rather morbid ambiance, one that hits a little too close to reality was a very unique experience.
Last Ones Left AliveDebut author Sarah Davis-Goff brings us a standalone novel titled Last Ones Left Alive, a unique take on what happens when a sheltered young woman has to suddenly face the post-apocalypse alone. This novel is set in a post-apocalyptic Ireland, a place filled with zombie-like creatures called skrake. Orpen’s early life was sheltered, having been raised by her mother and Maeve on an uninfested island off the Irish coast. But now her mother’s gone, and Maeve is gravely ill. Determined, angry, and searching for her identity in the remnants of the world, Orpen takes Maeve to Ireland on a journey to find a rumored city and the banshees—the all-women fighting force that’s fought the skrake for generations.
Welcome to Looking Glass Reads! We review speculative fiction novels as well as manga, light novels, and graphic novels.
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