Santa Womble Returns!! From Space!! From the Future!!
Ho Ho Ho Earthlings!!
So today we reach the realm of science fiction! 2021 for me delivered many amazing tales and for a genre that fantasy tends to overshadow I think it’s delivered some very interesting tales playing with the genre’s formats. Here are some recommendations again for your future readings or present buying!
Seven of Infinities by Aliette de Bodard — A Master Thief who happens to be a spaceship. Do you really need more from me apart from one of the best authors in the genre?
Inscape by Louise Carey — This SF thriller re-invests virtual reality stories in very different ways and has a great duo driving the plot. Carey is going to be a name to watch and I’m very much looking forward to the next instalment in this series next year!
John's Eyes by Joanna Corrance — A deliciously dark piece of black mirror SF narrated by a pair of cybernetic eyes. Truth is in the eyes of the beholder has never been so valid!
Just Add Water by John Dodd — A very entertaining and surprising SF novella set in space where an AI has gone amok and one smart engineer has to stop it. An author to watch!
Bear Head by Adrian Tchaikovsky — One of the darkest novels I’ve read from Tchaikovsky revisiting his enhanced animal characters from Dogs of War. A former US president casts an influencing dark shadow over everything! Compelling reading!
These Lifeless Things by Premee Mohamed — The best thing I’ve read this year so far. Could easily fit in so many categories but a tale of life after an apocalypse touch on questions of survival, science and history. Please read it!!
The Salvage Crew by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne — This novel starts wonderfully cheery in the style of Murderbot or the Martian and then goes into Iain M Banks territory. Highly surprising and strongly recommended!
Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell — A captivating mic of romance and science fiction with a little politics thrown in as empires collide in marriage and revolution. Very entertaining!
Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi — two Black American siblings growing up from the LA riots of the 90s to the darker AI powered America of the later 21dt century. Super-powers, racism and questions about is a society fit for purpose all await in this incredibly powerful story.
One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky — The dark humour of time travel played with one man and his effort to stay out of the hands of other time travellers. A great study in character voice and so many digs at time travel canon
The Gurkha and The Lord of Tuesday by Saad Z Hossain — A great genre smash of SF and fantasy and this reminded me a lot of Terry Pratchett’s with its use of story to make some key points about society.
Universal Language - The Airlocked Room Mystery by Tim Major — A very impressive noir SF tale set in mars. A puzzle box of a tale to unlock as you solve it.
The Expert System's Champion by Adrian Tchaikovsky — a return to a world where the entire wildlife will try to kill you. In this case it also covers giant snails to be feared!
Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley — An eerie science fiction of the push and pull of belonging to somewhere be it family, country or planet. Very very memorable!
Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer — A noir SF conspiracy thriller that also shows us how climate change affects the world too. Haunting, strange and a uncomfortable ride. I loved it!
Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders — This is the type of fresh modern YA space adventure I want to read more of. Like Doctor Who and Guardians of the Galaxy plus Star Trek rolled into one!
Notes From The Burning Age by Claire North — A growing theme in SF is climate change and I loved how North makes this tale exploring our attitude to self destruction akin to a Le Carre spy thriller. Gripping, smart and stays in your mind. One of the best authors in the genre again delivers.
Ten Low by Stark Holborn — A wild weird western of science fiction on a hostile moon where redemption and guilt follow our character on a memorable ride! Go get it!!
Anna by Sammy H K Smith — This is a hard dystopian read but its exploring sexual abuse and the recovery of a woman who wishes to no longer be seen as a victim. A name to watch!
This Is Our Undoing by Lorraine Wilson — A tale that crosses all the genres but as set in near future I’m going with SF. I loved this story for doing so many things so skilfully. One of the best debuts in 2021!
The Ministry For The Future by Kim Stanley Robinson — One of my surprises of 2021. An author I sometimes fail to connect with managed to really win me over with the reportage approach to a decade of worsening climate change and then the world waking up to change. It raises tonnes of points on why inertia happens and what barriers to change re in the way and need to be confronted. Well worth your time.
Far From The Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson — For me this is an epic massive space opere that would be very much in the style of the Martian or Expanse but Thompson puts characters and countries in the spotlight that would not usually feature in our UK/US hegemony. Well worth a look.
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers — A beautiful end to the Wayfarers series with aliens stuck in a traffic jam in space. Sounds simple but beautiful character work and a theme of understanding and co-operation that really fits our times.
The Swimmers by Marian Womack — Another intelligent sf tale exploring themes of colonisation and learning to be more than anyone thinks you’re capable of. Another author I encourage you to watch out for!
