Villain by Natalie Zina Walschots

Finally! The sequel to one of the best superhero novels that I’ve read in the past ten years is here!

 I loved Hench. I first heard about it from following Seanan McGuire’s twitter feed, because I know she reads a lot of ARCs and I know she only writes about things she loved. So I knew that when Hench showed up on NetGalley I needed to request it. Thankfully, I got an eARC because it meant I got to read it early and I loved it. When I reviewed it i said that I I couldn’t wait to read the next book by Natalie Zina Walschots. And now all these years later I can confidently say that it was worth waiting for.(I also got an eARC of Villain from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

This book picks up where Hench left off. The Auditor (formerly known as Anna) is running things mostly as Leviathan sulks, upset at having to be rescued. As the book goes on, I as a reader really started to feel like the Auditor is taking on more and more aspects of a domestic violence victim - her relationship with Leviathan is super messed up and keeps getting more messed up as the book goes on. She makes a choice late in the book that makes me lose most of my respect for her as a person but she always remains a fascinating character. I found myself turning the pages in dread of what would happen next (in the best ways). This book clearly anticipates a follow up - let’s hope it’s a shorter wait til book 3!

Velveteen Vs. The Consequences of Her Actions by Seanan McGuire

 

I love Seanan McGuire’s body of work.  (Note: I review a bunch of her books so I am copying part of some of my other reviews here to save time.). She has quickly become my favorite living writer and I feel very lucky that she is so prolific. I was first introduced to her work when her book Parasite, written as Mira Grant, was nominated for a Hugo Award. I loved it and quickly devoured the Newsflesh series before I realized that Mira Grant and Seanan McGuire were the same person. 

I started reading her works under her own name, starting with Sparrow Hill Road, which is amazing, but I picked it because I was intimidated by her long running October Daye series. But the Velveteen Vs. series holds a very special place in my heart. 

When I was very sad - and I mean overwhelmed with grief - and in a very rough place, I needed a new audiobook to listen to, something to distract me from everything. And I found the first two Velveteen books on Audible. They were perfect. They were exactly what I needed at exactly the right time. I loved the world Ms. McGuire had created where superheroes were a mix between reality tv stars and child actors. These were wonderfully developed characters that came alive and the fact that they had powers and domino masks didn’t make them feel any less real. 

I was overjoyed when Subterranean Press and NetGalley awarded me an eARC of this second volume (I had already preordered my hardcover edition). I am thrilled that more people will get to read and enjoy Vel’s story. This book contains the already published 3rd volume and the never before collected final stories that would have been able to make a fourth book, if it hadn’t been combined with the stories from book 3. 

Velveteen gets closure. So does Tag and Jackie and all of the other main lingering plot threads. It’s not so much a happily ever after as a contented for now ending. I loved every page. I felt like weeping when it was over. I hope there is more Velveteen someday but if not I will be happy that the story is complete. I cannot recomend this enough. 

Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle

 

Who here doesn’t know about Chuck Tingle? Author of dinosaur erotica, unwitting target of the Rabid Puppies who turned their own hate against them, he is a neurodivergent pink-masked beacon of hope who preaches that love is love. I excitedly read Camp Damascus, his first traditionally published novel last year, and really enjoyed it! It was a tad rough in spots but the story and the message outweighed any minor issues. I loved his second traditionally published novel, Bury Your Gays, even more! Lucky Day was not my favorite, but there was still alot to like there. 

So I was very excited when NetGalley and the publisher gave me an ARC of his new book, Fabulous Bodies, in exchange for an honest review. 

This book was a lot of fun! The book starts out creepily enough- the protagonist is a social media influencer who supplements her income by stealing dead bodies from morgues and delivering them to whoever wants them. Honestly, I think I found the content creation stuff more disturbing than the corpse thievery, personally. 

Early on in the book, she gets an offer for millions of dollars to steal the body of her recently deceased rockstar icon, but it turns out that he’s not really dead. He uses his mind control to force her to accompany him on a killing spree which is as gorily creative as it is brutal. 

Maybe others will have seen the third act twist coming a mile away, but I was totally surprised by it in a very pleasant way. I enjoyed the resolution and thought this was a really fun horror book. Can’t wait to see what Mr. Tingle comes up with next!

The Captain’s Daughter by Peter F. Hamilton

Years ago, back when I finished reviewing the Salvation Sequence by Peter F. Hamilton, I said that I looking forward to trying his next series. And I was so right! About 5 years ago I got an audio advanced reader copy of A Hole in the Sky and it was fantastic! I have always loved Hamilton’s space opera, and I love a good generation ship story, and this was so much fun! 

I recently got an eARC of the second book in the series and it was just as good! This book really ramped up the action and solved some of the mysteries in this generation ship story, but it left plenty of things to be resolved in the final installment. 

I realized that I enjoy Mr. Hamilton’s YA mode a lot in this book. Some of his earlier works have some squicky sex stuff but there’s none of that here. 

I can heartily recommend this but would suggest you read the first book first. I am very much looking forward to the final book and everything else Mr. Hamilton chooses to write. 

Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim

This book was magnificent. I had never heard of Isabel J. Kim before the Hugo nominations came out last year, but I really enjoyed her nominated short story "Why Don't We Just Kill the Kid In the Omelas Hole". It was clever and well written and I enjoy works in conversation with other works like that. I also thought she was a witty and engaging panelist when I saw her at Worldcon and I resolved to look out for her work in the future. 

Sublimation is her debut novel, and I was excited to get an eARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. It is set in a world in which people can split into two versions when they cross a border, like when they emigrate. The protagonists are Korean - one split when her mother moved them to America when she was a child, leaving copies of themselves in South Korea, and the other is her childhood friend who split in college. 

The world building is fascinating. The author includes tidbits about how, in this world, the Odyssey and the Book of Genesis are different because Odysseus left behind a duplicate when he went to Troy and Adam and Eve left behind copies of themselves in the Garden of Eden. 

This book did not always go where I expected. Corporate espionage and tech bro jerks were far more important to the plot than I had anticipated, but everything proceeded logically from the world building. I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. 

Obstetrix by Naomi Kritzer (Audiobook)

I have been so excited for this book and it did not disappoint!

I first encountered Naomi Kritzer’s writing when her short story “Cat Pictures, Please” was nominated (and later won) the Hugo Award. It was just delightful in every way and I cannot recommend it enough. It’s about a benevolent artificial intelligence that just wants to help people and to look at pictures of cats. This story was included in a short story collection after it won, Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories, and I enjoyed that collection very much. 

Later, Ms. Kritzer took this premise and turned it into the award winning Catfishing on Catnet, in which the AI hangs out with a bunch of teens in a chat room and helps out when the protagonist is pursued by her stalker of a father.  It was a delight and deserved every award it won. (And more!) I also very much enjoyed the sequel, Chaos on Catnet, and her more recent book, Liberty’s Daughter. 

So of course, when I went to Worldcon for the first time this past summer and I saw that Ms. Kritzer was reading from a new upcoming work, I had to be there! She read from this book, Obstetrix, which is set in a not too distant future in which an obstetrician is kidnapped by a cult. I couldn’t want to read the rest of it, so I was so thrilled when Tor and NetGalley approved me for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

It did not disappoint. Once again, the author creates an immersive world with believable characters that make you unable to stop turning the pages. You really feel you are there, captive, with the protagonist, and you share her creeping dread.

I predict this book will be on the Hugo ballot next year - it’ll certainly be on mine!

I listened to this audiobook at 2x speed. 

Make Me Better by Sarah Gailey

This book was just horrible (in the best way possible!) 

I think I first became aware of Sarah Gailey’s work when I read about their hippo riders in a review on tor dot com and thought “that sounds super fun!”  It was super fun, and after devouring River of Teeth and Taste of Marrow, I have always looked for new works by this author. I loved Magic For Liars and the Echo Wife, and Just Like Home was terrifying in a wonderful way. Last year’s Spread Me was also quite enjoyable horror in a sexy John Carpenter’sThe Thing kind of way. 

I was intrigued when I got their new book Make Me Better from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed it but I wished there had been content warnings for pregnancy loss and dead babies. 

This book was so so so so creepy in a looming eldritch horror way where you’re not sure if the way humans treat each other is actually the scariest thing in the world. 

It follows Celia, a woman lost in her life, as she goes to an island cult to try to find herself and a friend who had used to live on the island. 

The book is intricately constructed with multiple timelines and some truly monstrous characters. Every time I turned a page I hoped that characters would realize what was going on and get out of their terrible situations. 

This wasn’t an easy read but I’m very glad I read it.