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This was mildly interesting: a murder mystery among genetically altered “titans” and exploration of their strange underworld. Guess I’m just not into this genre. The only noir book I truly enjoyed was “Something More Than Night” by Ian Tregillis—I recommend that instead.

Unexpectedly funny! Good story too: a handful of people across history are brought to the near future before their recorded deaths. The main “expat” is Commander Graham Gore, an arctic explorer from 1847 whose priggishness is endlessly entertaining (I’m an unrepentant Darcy lover). A romance, like in many stories where the tension is better than consummation, ruins it though.

A woman keeps waking up to Nov. 18th. Non-sci-fi with a sci-fi premise! Tara tests the boundaries of her circumscribed life, driven by curiosity, philosophy, and despair. Short, but it drags sometimes as you’re trapped in the monotony with her. Even though I’d like to learn what becomes of her, I don’t think I can read the full septology. Hubby said the 2nd didn’t add anything.

I love this cover so much; it’s like a riso print for a comic. Had to diagram characters, locations, and timelines to follow all of the jumping around. It’s Nayler’s usual fare of capitalism, consciousness, environmental collapse, and AI, but he always manages to write interesting stories about them in different combinations. It’s not all bleak, but what a mess we continue to make for ourselves.

Another book with no punctuation or new paragraphs for dialogue. I can’t wait for this trend to be over. Our protagonist spends a single day fighting her Parkinson’s while making a difficult journey across Buenos Aires. She learns painful things about key women in her life and her part in their suffering. Beautifully human.

I mean, the title alone! 🍿 Lead characters from Northanger Abbey, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, and Pride and Prejudice are suspects in the titular crime. I’ve read all of Austen’s novels, and have the usual favorites, but I enjoyed the extensions of these characters’ stories (purists beware); even the unhappy ones. A new crime-solving duo must navigate decorum to find the killer. De-fucking-lightful.

This was a hate read. Not sure why I feel a need to subject myself to writing that hasn’t improved from the first book in this series, characters that are still loathsome, and a story that doesn’t make up for any of these shortcomings. I do have a completionist tendency which might be getting more severe over the years. Lord help me, I’ve already decided to read the next (please-let-it-be-the-last) book in the series.