Book 54 of 2025: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 2004 Hugo Best Novel
This one ended up drawing me in. Bujold is just so good at creating and developing her characters, and Ista (along with the rest of her retinue) is a delight.
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The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
Book 53 of 2025: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Has all the great characterization, worldbuilding, humor, and heart of the Vorkosigan saga, only this time in a fantasy setting. This was an interesting experiment, reading fantasy from an author I became a fan of through her sci-fi work. Somewhat amusingly, and definitely interestingly, I just couldn’t quite get as much into this as I did the Vorkosigan books – which is not a fault of the book, I’ve just always been more into SF than F.
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
Book 52 of 2025: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was fun, and I can totally see it as a mid-pandemic “just need to have fun writing something” lark of a book. Having recently watched the first season of the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters series (set in one of the recent Godzilla timelines), it was amusingly easy to see this as an extension of that…or vice versa, for that matter. It did skimp a bit on actually describing any of the creatures (the kaiju are big, some have wings, claws, and/or teeth, they have parasites that are also dangerous, use your imagination for anything else), but while a little odd, I can cope.
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock The Making of the Classic Film by John and Maria Jose Tenuto
Book 51 of 2025: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The third in Titan Books’s series of Star Trek films “behind the scenes” coffee-table art books, and the second from the team of John and Maria Jose Tenuto. It’s always fun to see all the production art, photos of models and setups, and all the skill that goes into the films. As with the prior books, much of the information I knew, but there are always some gems and stories that I hadn’t come across yet.
Into the Nebula by Gene DeWeese
Book 50 of 2025: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
As is common for this era of Trek lit, a serviceable entry. I figured out the mystery early enough that the rest was just waiting for the characters to catch up.
120 Murders edited by Nick Mamatas
Book 49 of 2025: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Anthology of dark, noir-ish fiction inspired by the music (and memories) of the ’90s alternative scene. My favorites were Veronica Schanoes’s “Wendy, Growing Up”, Alex Jennings’s “We’ve Been Had”, Brian Francis Slattery’s “Never Let Me Down”, Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s “Superstition”, and Cyan Katz’s “The Show Must Go On”.
Two additional notes: This is the debut publication for Cyan, whom I’ve known since we were both running around in the 90’s alternative scene in Anchorage, Alaska, and I’m thrilled for them; and I’m sorely tempted to make a playlist/”mixtape” of the inspirational tracks for all the stories in this anthology.
Billions vs. Billionaires edited by Nick Mamatas
Book 48 of 2025: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fun short little ‘zine I got at the Seattle Worldcon. Very enjoyably anti-Elon.
Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way by Ryan North and Chris Fenoglio
Book 47 of 2025: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ordered this just after it won the Best Graphic Novel Hugo award this year. The combination of choose-your-own-adventure plotting and Lower Decks humor works really well. Lots of humor and various Trek callbacks, but with some surprisingly dark moments as well, all leading to a fittingly Trek-ish end. Much fun!
Clarkesworld Issue 226 edited by Neil Clarke
Book 45 of 2025: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
My favorites this month were “Missing Helen” by Tia Tashiro, “The Walled Garden” by Fiona Moore (another of her excellent Morag stories), “Welcome to Kearney” by Gary Kloster, and “Hunter Harvester” by Bam Bruin.
