strange and random happenstance

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir 
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: May 4th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 496 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Ryland Grace is on a suicide mission. He has been sent to the far reaches of space to find a solution to the Petrova Problem, a single-celled extraterrestrial life form named Astrophage that is feeding off the sun. The Astrophage is killing the sun and that will result in the death of all life on Earth. The Earth's only hope is the distant star Tau Ceti. Despite living amongst a cluster of infected stars it somehow is unaffected by the Astrophage. If Ryland can find out why Tau Ceti is unaffected then perhaps there is a hope for Earth. He and two other scientists have been sent on this one way mission and are Earth's only hope, they are a Hail Mary. The problem is when he awakes from the voyage he is suffering from amnesia and his two crewmates are dead, nothing but desiccated husks. He has no idea who he is, where he is, or what he's supposed to be doing. His memory slowly starts to return but he can't quite reconcile that he somehow went from being a teacher to being an astronaut who still doesn't remember his own name. Before Ryland became a teacher he wrote a research paper about extraterrestrial life that could exist without water. He was laughed out of academia and yet that is exactly what Astrophage is. Before he knows what's happening he's one of the top people in the Petrova Taskforce. And yet this remembered information isn't going to help him when his ship is barreling towards an unknown sun. He is barely able to keep himself alive so how is he supposed to save humanity? The plus side, he's remembered his name. And he might have just discovered intelligent alien life! Because there's another ship out there. Another ship with only one survivor. Another ship that was sent to save it's planet because it too is at the mercy of Astropphage. Maybe together they can save two worlds and make their deaths mean something?

Aside from the amnesia, this has a fairly similar setup to The Martian; man, alone, stuck in space with no way home. So I figured it would go along similar lines. Man would, through his ingenuity, find out how to survive his situation. There might be potatoes. And then it didn't because aliens. That's right folks, Andy Weir wrote about freakin' aliens and I loved it! Yes, he occasionally falls into the trap of being almost too technical with his science, which he somehow avoided in The Martian, and here I would zone out for a minute or two, but then Rocky. Every flaw this book has, and there aren't many, are solved by, but then Rocky. I don't know if I've ever felt such genuine love for a character in my entire life. I realize that some people actually love E.T. for inexplicable reasons, but if they felt for that extraterrestrial what I feel for Rocky, I can kind of understand. I mean just the feeling, in no way can I understand you and your unholy love of that Spielberg monstrosity. My love for Rocky was pure, I wanted to take care of him and make sure nothing bad ever happened to him. Rocky has this childlike wonder, this enthusiasm for life, an insatiable yearning to understand. He balances the more dour and pragmatic Ryland and spurs him on. The two of them become a dynamic duo. They show that problem solving works so much better with two than one. I honestly don't know what this book would have been without Rocky. He is so integral to everything. Not just the plot, but the whole feeling of the book. Oddly enough I think this book hits even stronger because it was released during the Pandemic. Earth is fucked and somewhere, out there, is a friend who can help. Someone who completes you. Someone you never expected. Rocky's optimism and ingenuity is the can-do attitude that every single one of us needed mainlined into out veins after such a long struggle. We all needed Rocky and thank the powers that be that Andy Weir gave him to us.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alien, Amnesia, Andy Weir, Apocalypse, Astrophage, E.T., Extraterrestrial, For the Love of Book Clubs, Outer Space, Petrova Problem, Project Hail Mary, Rocky, Ryland Grace, Steven Spielberg, Tau Ceti, The Martian

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
Published by: Gateway
Publication Date: 1974
Format: Kindle, 403 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

Anarres and Urras are the twin inhabited worlds of Tau Ceti. Anarres is barren. Nothing more than a planet to be mined. Yet around two hundred years previously The Odonian Revolution saw Urrasti anarchists settle on Annarres in a peace treaty of sorts. Since then life has been hard for the Annarresti. But they have eked out a living free of the constraints of the capitalist patriarchy on Urras. There is no contact between the two planets except for once a year when Anarres ships Urras their consignment of precious metals. The two planets live in unwavering ignorance. They might need each other, but they will never talk about it. Which is where Shevek enters. Shevek has spent his entire life on Annarres. Despite the hardships of his existence he has a family and a career. He is a physicist attempting to create a General Temporal Theory. He believes that this will revolutionize life for the Annarresti. Yet there is pushback within academic circles. His duty to the Annarresti should come before anything else, before personal power or glory. Therefore Shevek must perform his civic duties, putting the society's needs ahead of his own. For four long years he does punishing physical labor. At the end of that time he gets to return to his true calling. His theory has won him a prestigious award and he has decided to go to Urras to accept it and finish his work. This decision alone causes political unrest. His mentor claims that he is being selfish and threatening the stability of the political separation of the two worlds. And yet Shevek goes. He makes the journey, he gets his vaccinations, he arrives in A-lo and is feted like a returning hero. After all, he is technically coming home. But if he thought he was going to a utopic society he is sadly mistaken. All the troubles that led his ancestors to flee still exist. He's disillusioned by the Ieu Eun University. Will his work really help his people or will it be exploited by the Urrasti? Perhaps it's best for him to just go home. If he can.

I believe as it stands my book club has now read more books by Ursula K. Le Guin than any other author. Getting to discuss so many books of hers with a small group of friends lets us get into the wide variability of her work. Therefore there are hits and there are misses and then there's this. Commies in Space! Yes, yes, I know, perhaps referencing The Muppet Show isn't the most academic or done thing, but, seriously, that's what this book is. But taken to eleven. Yes, I know I've moved onto Spinal Tap, I just can't help myself. The Dispossessed is the sixth book in Le Guin's loosely connected Hainish Cycle. Seeing as I haven't read any of the previous volumes I don't know if they'd add any depth to my understanding of this volume, but I doubt it. It's pretty straightforward if taken to a comical degree. The series started at the height of the sixties when people became disillusioned with American society, so it makes sense that Le Guin would try to work out her feelings about socialism versus capitalism in the far reaches of outer space, which oddly is also where Andy Weir set his book Project Hail Mary. The problem I have is her exaggeration of these two societies. Annarres with it's socialism is like Russia in the bleakest of bleak midwinters only with dust instead of snow. Urras is oddly, kind of like the opulence of the Zamundan court of King Jaffe Joffer from Coming to America. There's pageantry, there's sex, there's lots of female flesh on display. I mean, seriously, what is going on in Urras Le Guin!?! The way you describe female fashion for the upper class I kept envisioning some weird Time Lord getup where the women's breasts were on full display. I mean, what's that about!?! I get the whole, women as property and the men wanting to show them off, but this is a step too far. If it wasn't so serious I'd almost think this was a parody like The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming, released the same year as Rocannon's World. But the sad fact is this wants to be "serious literature" and the execution makes it a depressing slog.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anarres, Andy Weir, Capitalism, Communism, For the Love of Book Clubs, General Temporal Theory, Hainish Cycle, Project Hail Mary, Shevak, Socialism, Tau Ceti, The Dispossessed, Time Lords, Urras, Ursula K. Le Gun

The Lady Has A Past by Amanda Quick
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: May 4th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Beauty and glamour meet deception and revenge in this electrifying novel by New York Times bestselling author Amanda Quick.

Investigative apprentice Lyra Brazier, the newest resident of Burning Cove, is unsettled when her boss suddenly disappears. Lyra knows something has happened to Raina Kirk, and tracks down her last known appearance at an exclusive hotel and health spa. The health spa is known for its luxurious offerings and prestigious clientele, and the wealthy, socialite background Lyra desperately wanted to leave behind is perfect for this undercover job. What Lyra lacks in investigative experience she makes up for in gut instinct, and her gut isn’t happy that she’s saddled with a partner by Luther Pell, Raina’s dangerous lover, who wants to bring in someone with more experience to help.

Instead of the suave, pistol-packing private eye she expected, though, Simon Cage is a mild-mannered antiquarian book dealer with a quiet, academic air, and a cool, remote gaze. Lyra suspects that Simon is much more than what he seems, and her instincts are confirmed when they arrive at the spa and pose as a couple: Simon has a unique gift that allows him to detect secrets, a skill that is crucial in finding Raina.

The unlikely duo falls down a rabbit hole of twisted rumors and missing socialites, discovering that the health spa is a façade for something far darker than they imagined. With a murderer in their midst, Raina isn't the only one in grave danger - Lyra is next."

Bookish private investigators!?! YES!

The Glorious Guinness Girls by Emily Hourican
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: May 4th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From London to Ireland during the 1920s, this glorious, gripping, and richly textured story takes us to the heart of the remarkable real-life story of the Guinness Girls - perfect for fans of Downton Abbey and Julian Fellowes' Belgravia.

Descendants of the founder of the Guinness beer empire, they were the toast of 1920s high society, darlings of the press, with not a care in the world. But Felicity knows better. Sent to live with them as a child because her mother could no longer care for her, she grows up as the sisters’ companion. Both an outsider and a part of the family, she witnesses the complex lives upstairs and downstairs, sees the compromises and sacrifices beneath the glamorous surface. Then, at a party one summer’s evening, something happens that sends shock waves through the entire household.

Inspired by a remarkable true story and fascinating real events, The Glorious Guinness Girls is an unforgettable novel about the haves and have-nots, one that will make you ask if where you find yourself is where you truly belong."

Let us not forget that it was these real life girls who inspire Julian Fellowes! And, of course, Nancy Mitford! Her sister married a Guinness afterall!

The Nature of a Lady by Roseanna M. White
Published by: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date: May 4th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"1906

Lady Elizabeth "Libby" Sinclair, with her love of microscopes and nature, isn't favored in society. She flees to the beautiful Isles of Scilly for the summer and stumbles into the dangerous secrets left behind by her holiday cottage's former occupant, also named Elizabeth, who mysteriously vanished.

Oliver Tremayne - gentleman and clergyman - is determined to discover what happened to his sister, and he's happy to accept the help of the girl now living in what should have been Beth's summer cottage...especially when he realizes it's the curious young lady he met briefly two years ago, who shares his love of botany and biology. But the hunt for his sister involves far more than nature walks, and he can't quite believe all the secrets Beth had been keeping from him.

As Libby and Oliver work together, they find ancient legends, pirate wrecks, betrayal, and the most mysterious phenomenon of all: love."

Ah, an idyll escape to Italy, with pirates thrown in! 

Bronte by Manuela Santoni
Published by: Graphic Universe (Tm)
Publication Date: May 4th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 184 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte - faced with an ailing father and an alcoholic brother--pursue independence through art in this graphic vision of the lives of three legendary writers.

Despite their family's stormy fortunes, the Bront sisters resolved to write. To thwart the nineteenth century's double standards, they took the names of men, becoming the Bell brothers. Their works incited controversy and speculation, while at home, the sisters contended with the rages of Branwell Bronte, their self-destructive sibling. Manuela Santoni presents a time before Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall were known as literary masterpieces, when winds shook the Bronte house and determination held it together."

I'm a sucker for all things Bronte, especially when the mood captured by the drawings so fits their aesthetic.

The Shadow in the Glass by Jja Harwood
Published by: Voyager
Publication Date: May 4th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A deliciously gothic story of wishes and curses - a new dark fairy tale set against a Victorian backdrop full of lace and smoke.

Once upon a time Ella had wished for more than her life as a lowly maid.

Now forced to work hard under the unforgiving, lecherous gaze of the man she once called stepfather, Ella's only refuge is in the books she reads by candlelight, secreted away in the library she isn't permitted to enter.

One night, among her beloved books of far-off lands, Ella's wishes are answered. At the stroke of midnight, a fairy godmother makes her an offer that will change her life: seven wishes, hers to make as she pleases. But each wish comes at a price and Ella must decide whether it's one she's willing to pay...

A smouldering, terrifying new spin on Cinderella - perfect for fans of Laura Purcell and Erin Morgenstern."

Name check two of my favorite authors and OF COURSE I'll be checking out your book!

The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: May 4th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A woman desperate to turn a new page heads to the Scottish coast and finds herself locked in a battle of wills with an infuriatingly aloof bookseller in this utterly heartwarming debut, perfect for readers of Evvie Drake Starts Over.

Thea Mottram is having a bad month. She’s been let go from her office job with no notice - and to make matters even worse, her husband of nearly twenty years has decided to leave her for one of her friends. Bewildered and completely lost, Thea doesn’t know what to do. But when she learns that a distant great uncle in Scotland has passed away, leaving her his home and a hefty antique book collection, she decides to leave Sussex for a few weeks. Escaping to a small coastal town where no one knows her seems to be exactly what she needs.

Almost instantly, Thea becomes enamored with the quaint cottage, comforted by its cozy rooms and lovely but neglected garden. The locals in nearby Baldochrie are just as warm, quirky, and inviting. The only person she can’t seem to win over is bookshop owner Edward Maltravers, to whom she hopes to sell her uncle’s book collection. His gruff attitude - fueled by an infamous, long-standing feud with his brother, a local lord - tests Thea’s patience. But bickering with Edward proves oddly refreshing and exciting, leading Thea to develop feelings she hasn’t experienced in a long time. As she follows a thrilling yet terrifying impulse to stay in Scotland indefinitely, Thea realizes that her new life may quickly become just as complicated as the one she was running from."

I'm not bitter or anything, but why can't someone die and leave me a house with an antique book collection?

I Speak Boy by Jessica Brody
Published by: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: May 4th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A phone-obsessed twelve-year-old girl, frustrated by the cryptic boys in her life, discovers a magic app that can read boys' thoughts in this modern-day retelling of Emma by Jane Austen.

After a matchmaking attempt for her best friend, Harper, goes wrong, Emmy is fed up. Why are boys so hard to figure out? But then something amazing happens - she wakes up with a new app on her phone: iSpeak Boy! Suddenly Emmy has the information every girl wants to know - the super-secret knowledge of how boys think...and who they like!

Now Emmy is using her magical app to make matches left and right. But can she use it to help Harper, the only person who doesn't seem to buy into Emmy's "gift"? And when her secret gets out and the app ends up in the wrong hands, can Emmy figure out how to undo the damage she's caused?"

I am ALL HERE for modern retellings of Emma! 

The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel
Published by: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date: May 4th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of Fun Home, a profoundly affecting graphic memoir of Bechdel's lifelong love affair with exercise, set against a hilarious chronicle of fitness fads in our times.

Comics and cultural superstar Alison Bechdel delivers a deeply layered story of her fascination, from childhood to adulthood, with every fitness craze to come down the pike: from Jack LaLanne in the 60s ("Outlandish jumpsuit! Cantaloupe-sized guns!") to the existential oddness of present-day spin class. Readers will see their athletic or semi-active pasts flash before their eyes through an ever-evolving panoply of running shoes, bicycles, skis, and sundry other gear. But the more Bechdel tries to improve herself, the more her self appears to be the thing in her way. She turns for enlightenment to Eastern philosophers and literary figures, including Beat writer Jack Kerouac, whose search for self-transcendence in the great outdoors appears in moving conversation with the author’s own. This gifted artist and not-getting-any-younger exerciser comes to a soulful conclusion. The secret to superhuman strength lies not in six-pack abs, but in something much less clearly defined: facing her own non-transcendent but all-important interdependence with others.

A heartrendingly comic chronicle for our times."

Alison Bechdel has done it again!

Rogue Untouched by Alisa Kwitney
Published by: Aconyte
Publication Date: May 4th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Rogue’s frightening new mutant powers keep her at arms-length from the world, but two strangers offer a chance to change her life forever, in this exhilarating Marvel Super Hero adventure.

Young Rogue’s life is a mess: she’s on her own, working a terrible diner job and hiding from everyone. The powers she has started to develop are terrifying: when your first kiss almost kills the guy, it’s hard to trust anyone - even yourself. Then two people arrive in town who could change her life, and she finally gets a choice: try her luck with the big-haired billionaire who claims to be scouting for gifted interns, or trust the rakish Cajun gambler with the eerie red eyes. But these two aren’t the only ones interested in a mutant just coming into her powers. Rogue will have to master her abilities and decide her own fate - before someone else does."

I will always have a soft spot for Rogue. 

Bottle Demon by Stephen Blackmoore
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: May 4th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The sixth book of this dark urban fantasy series follows necromancer Eric Carter through a world of vengeful gods and goddesses, mysterious murders, and restless ghosts.

The Necromancer is dead. Long live the Necromancer.

After being attacked by a demon in the one place he thought he was safe, Eric Carter has been killed, his soul sent to take its place as a stand-in for the Aztec god of death Mictlantecuhtli. But somebody on Earth isn't done with him, yet. Somebody with the power to bring him back from the dead. He doesn't know who, and worse he doesn't know why.

Between an angry death goddess, family secrets steeped in blood, a Djinn who's biding his time, and a killer mage who can create copy after copy of himself, Eric's new life looks to be just as violent as his last one. But if he doesn't get to the bottom of why he's back, it's going to be a hell of a lot shorter."

I have an obsession with necromancers later. And the TV series Dynasty, which brings me to point number two, does our hero on the front cover look like Alexis's forth husband Sean Rowan to anyone else? With a better haircut of course.

Shadowed Steel by Chloe Neill
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: May 4th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the third installment in the USA Today bestselling Heirs of Chicagoland series, the vampires in Elisa Sullivan's world are out for blood.

Elisa Sullivan is the only vampire ever born, and she bears a heavy legacy. After a sojourn with the North American Central Pack of shifters in the wilderness - where she turned a young woman into a vampire to save her life - Elisa returns to Chicago.

But no good deed goes unpunished. The ruling body of vampires, the Assembly of American Masters, is furious that Elisa turned someone without their permission, and they want her punished. When an AAM vampire is found dead, Elisa is the prime suspect. Someone else is stalking Chicago - and Elisa. She'll need to keep a clear head, and a sharp blade, to survive all the supernatural strife."

Seeing as I can't go to Chicago right now despite being only three hours away because of Covid, time for some armchair travelling I think! 

Hail Mary by Andy Weir 
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: May 4th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 496 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A lone astronaut must save the earth from disaster in this incredible new science-based thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian.

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery - and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he?

An irresistible interstellar adventure as only Andy Weir could deliver, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian - while taking us to places it never dreamed of going."

I've been feeling a need to re-read The Martian lately, yet at the same time I want to read new books... so thank you Andy Weir for solving my dilemma!

Thief of Souls by Brian Klingborg
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: May 4th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Brian Klingborg's Thief of Souls, the brutal murder of a young woman in a rural village in Northern China sends shockwaves all the way to Beijing - but seemingly only Inspector Lu Fei, living in exile in the small town, is interested in justice for the victim.

Lu Fei is a graduate of China’s top police college but he’s been assigned to a sleepy backwater town in northern China, where almost nothing happens and the theft of a few chickens represents a major crime wave. That is until a young woman is found dead, her organs removed, and joss paper stuffed in her mouth. The CID in Beijing - headed by a rising political star - is on the case but in an increasingly authoritarian China, prosperity and political stability are far more important than solving the murder of an insignificant village girl. As such, the CID head is interested in pinning the crime on the first available suspect rather than wading into uncomfortable truths, leaving Lu Fei on his own.

As Lu digs deeper into the gruesome murder, he finds himself facing old enemies and creating new ones in the form of local Communist Party bosses and corrupt business interests. Despite these rising obstacles, Lu remains determined to find the real killer, especially after he links the murder to other unsolved homicides. But the closer he gets to the heart of the mystery, the more he puts himself and his loved ones in danger."

A new take on classic mystery tropes. Also a cover to die for. 

Friend of the Devil by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
Published by: Image Comics
Publication Date: May 4th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 104 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The next book in the red-hot Reckless series is here.

Bestselling crime noir masters Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips are back with another new original graphic novel featuring troublemaker-for-hire Ethan Reckless.

It's 1985 and things in Ethan's life are going pretty well...until a missing woman shows up in the background of an old B-movie, and Ethan is drawn into Hollywood's secret occult underbelly as he hunts for her among the wreckage of the wild days of the '70s.

Another hit graphic novel from the award-winning creators of Pulp, My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies, Criminal, and Kill or Be Killed - a must-have for all Brubaker and Phillips fans

And look for the next standalone book in the Reckless series in October."

I don't know if I'd quite say a "must-have" given how meh the first volume was... 

21st Birthday by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
Published by: Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: May 4th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Detective Lindsay Boxer vows to protect a young woman from a serial killer long enough to see her twenty-first birthday.

When young wife and mother Tara Burke goes missing with her baby girl, all eyes are on her husband, Lucas. He paints her not as a missing person but a wayward wife - until a gruesome piece of evidence turns the investigation criminal.

While Chronicle reporter Cindy Thomas pursues the story and M.E. Claire Washburn harbors theories that run counter to the SFPD’s, ADA Yuki Castellano sizes Lucas up as a textbook domestic offender...who suddenly puts forward an unexpected suspect. If what Lucas tells law enforcement has even a grain of truth, there isn't a woman in the state of California who's safe from the reach of an unspeakable threat."

New Women's Murder Club yeah! 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alison Bechdel, Amanda Quick, Andy Weir, Brian Klingborg, Bronte, Chloe Neill, Ed Brubaker, Emma, Guinness, Jackie Fraser, James Patterson, Jessica Brody, Jja Harwood, Rogue, Roseanna M. White, Stephen Blackmoore

The Golden Hour by Beatriz Williams
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Beatriz Williams, the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Wives, is back with another hot summer read; a dazzling epic of World War II in which a beautiful young “society reporter” is sent to the Bahamas, a haven of spies, traitors, and the infamous Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

The Bahamas, 1941. Newly-widowed Leonora “Lulu” Randolph arrives in the Bahamas to investigate the Governor and his wife for a New York society magazine. After all, American readers have an insatiable appetite for news of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, that glamorous couple whose love affair nearly brought the British monarchy to its knees five years earlier. What more intriguing backdrop for their romance than a wartime Caribbean paradise, a colonial playground for kingpins of ill-gotten empires?

Or so Lulu imagines. But as she infiltrates the Duke and Duchess’s social circle, and the powerful cabal that controls the islands’ political and financial affairs, she uncovers evidence that beneath the glister of Wallis and Edward’s marriage lies an ugly—and even treasonous—reality. In fact, Windsor-era Nassau seethes with spies, financial swindles, and racial tension, and in the middle of it all stands Benedict Thorpe: a scientist of tremendous charm and murky national loyalties. Inevitably, the willful and wounded Lulu falls in love.

Then Nassau’s wealthiest man is murdered in one of the most notorious cases of the century, and the resulting coverup reeks of royal privilege. Benedict Thorpe disappears without a trace, and Lulu embarks on a journey to London and beyond to unpick Thorpe’s complicated family history: a fateful love affair, a wartime tragedy, and a mother from whom all joy is stolen.

The stories of two unforgettable women thread together in this extraordinary epic of espionage, sacrifice, human love, and human courage, set against a shocking true crime...and the rise and fall of a legendary royal couple."

Spies and the infamous Windsors? Yes please! 

The Strawberry Thief by Joanne Harris
Published by: Orion
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Return to the world of the multi-million-copy bestselling Chocolat....

Vianne Rocher has settled down. Lansquenet-sous-Tannes, the place that once rejected her, has finally become her home. With Rosette, her 'special' child, she runs her chocolate shop in the square, talks to her friends on the river, is part of the community. Even Reynaud, the priest, has become a friend.

But when old Narcisse, the florist, dies, leaving a parcel of land to Rosette and a written confession to Reynaud, the life of the sleepy village is once more thrown into disarray.

The arrival of Narcisse's relatives, the departure of an old friend and the opening of a mysterious new shop in the place of the florist's across the square - one that mirrors the chocolaterie, and has a strange appeal of its own - all seem to herald some kind of change: a confrontation, a turbulence - even, perhaps, a murder..."

Because no one can have enough Chocolat...

Bethlehem by Karen Kelly
Published by: WSt. Martin's Press
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"With the writing chops of Ian McEwan and the story-craft of Lisa Wingate, Karen Kelly weaves a shattering debut about two intertwined families and the secrets that they buried during the gilded, glory days of Bethlehem, PA.

A young woman arrives at the grand ancestral home of her husband’s family, hoping to fortify her cracking marriage. But what she finds is not what she expected: tragedy haunts the hallways, whispering of heartache and a past she never knew existed.

Inspired by the true titans of the steel-boom era, Bethlehem is a story of temptation and regret, a story of secrets and the cost of keeping them, a story of forgiveness. It is the story of two complex women - thrown together in the name of family - who, in coming to understand each other, come finally to understand themselves."

An ancestral home with past tragedy and heartache? Sign me up.

Death in a Desert Land by Andrew Wilson
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Queen of Crime Agatha Christie returns to star in another stylish mystery, as she travels to the excavation of the ancient city of Ur where she must solve a crime with motives that may be as old as civilization itself.

Fresh from solving the gruesome murder of a British agent in the Canary Islands, mystery writer Agatha Christie receives a letter from a family who believe their late daughter met with foul play. Before Gertrude Bell overdosed on sleeping medication, she was a prominent archaeologist, recovering ancient treasures in the Middle East. Found near her body was a letter claiming that Bell was being followed. To complicate things further, Bell was competing with another archeologist, Mrs. Woolley, for the rights to artifacts of immense value.

Christie travels to far-off Persia, where she meets the enigmatic Mrs. Woolley as she is working on a big and potentially valuable discovery. Temperamental but brilliant, Mrs. Woolley quickly charms Christie but when she does not hide her disdain for the recently deceased Miss Bell, Christie doesn’t know whether to trust her—or if Bell’s killer is just clever enough to hide in plain sight.

With Wilson’s signature “strong characters, shrewd plotting and a skillful blending of fact and fiction” (Shelf Awareness, starred review on A Talent for Murder), this is a thrilling adventure based on real events in Christie's life and set amidst the cursed ruins of an ancient land."

Because you will reach a point in your life when you're read all of Agatha Christie and hunger for more. While I can't abide anyone else writing her characters, writing about her as an entirely different proposition. Long life the Queen of Crime!

The Room of the Dead by M.R.C. Kasasian
Published by: Head of Zeus
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"December, 1939.

Having solved the case of the Suffolk Vampire, Inspector Betty Church and her colleagues at Sackwater Police Station have settled back down to business. There's the elderly Mr Fern who keeps losing his slippers, Sylvia Satin's thirteenth birthday party to attend and the scintillating case of the missing bookmark to solve.

Though peace and quiet are all well and good, Betty soon finds herself longing for some cold-blooded murder.

When a bomb is dropped on a residential street, both peace and quiet are broken and it seems the war has finally reached Sackwater. But Betty cannot stop the Hun, however hard she tries. So when the body of one of the bomb victims is found stretched out like an angel on Sackwater's beach, Betty concentrates on finding the enemy much closer to home..."

Being hailed as the new M.C. Beaton be sure to check out M.R.C. Kasasian! 

In the Full Light of the Sun by Clare Clark
Published by: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Based on a true story, this gorgeous new novel follows the fortunes of three Berliners caught up in an art scandal - involving newly discovered van Goghs - that rocks Germany amidst the Nazis’ rise to power.

Hedonistic and politically turbulent, Berlin in the 1920s is a city of seedy night clubs and sumptuous art galleries. It is home to millionaires and mobs storming bakeries for rationed bread. These disparate Berlins collide when Emmeline, a young art student; Julius, an art expert; and a mysterious dealer named Rachmann all find themselves caught up in the astonishing discovery of thirty-two previously unknown paintings by Vincent van Gogh.

In the Full Light of the Sun explores the trio’s complex relationships and motivations, their hopes, their vanities, and their self-delusions - for the paintings are fakes and they are in their own ways complicit. Theirs is a cautionary tale about of the aspirations of the new Germany and a generation determined to put the humiliations of the past behind them.

With her signature impeccable and evocative historical detail, Clare Clark has written a gripping novel about beauty and justice, and the truth that may be found when our most treasured beliefs are revealed as illusions."

Because no one can have enough Vincent van Gogh in their lives.

Salvation Day by Kali Wallace
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A lethal virus is awoken on an abandoned spaceship in this incredibly fast-paced, claustrophobic thriller.

They thought the ship would be their salvation.

Zahra knew every detail of the plan. House of Wisdom, a massive exploration vessel, had been abandoned by the government of Earth a decade earlier, when a deadly virus broke out and killed everyone on board in a matter of hours. But now it could belong to her people if they were bold enough to take it. All they needed to do was kidnap Jaswinder Bhattacharya - the sole survivor of the tragedy, and the last person whose genetic signature would allow entry to the spaceship.

But what Zahra and her crew could not know was what waited for them on the ship - a terrifying secret buried by the government. A threat to all of humanity that lay sleeping alongside the orbiting dead.

And then they woke it up."

Spaceships and catastrophic thrillers are the perfect summer read. 

The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson
Published by: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Eragon meets And I Darken in this thrilling new fantasy debut that follows a fallen princess as she ignites a rebellion to bring back the magical elemental crows that were taken from her people.

In the tropical kingdom of Rhodaire, magical, elemental Crows are part of every aspect of life...until the Illucian empire invades, destroying everything.

That terrible night has thrown Princess Anthia into a deep depression. Her sister Caliza is busy running the kingdom after their mother's death, but all Thia can do is think of all she has lost.

But when Caliza is forced to agree to a marriage between Thia and the crown prince of Illucia, Thia is finally spurred into action. And after stumbling upon a hidden Crow egg in the rubble of a rookery, she and her sister devise a dangerous plan to hatch the egg in secret and get back what was taken from them."

I was sold at word number one, Eragon.

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
Published by: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Project Runway meets Mulan in this sweeping YA fantasy about a young girl who poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor and embarks on an impossible journey to sew three magic dresses, from the sun, the moon, and the stars.

Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she'll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There's just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.

Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia's task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court enchanter, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise.

And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor's reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined.

Steeped in Chinese culture, sizzling with forbidden romance, and shimmering with magic, this young adult fantasy is pitch-perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas or Renée Ahdieh."

I'm a sucker for a good tailor tale... 

Wilder Girls by Rory Power
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A feminist Lord of the Flies about three best friends living in quarantine at their island boarding school, and the lengths they go to uncover the truth of their confinement when one disappears. This fresh, new debut is a mind-bending novel unlike anything you've read before.

It's been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty's life out from under her.

It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don't dare wander outside the school's fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.

But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there's more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true."

As an artist I am in awe of this cover.

The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson
Published by: Penguin Books
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A short, irresistible, and bittersweet coming-of-age story in the vein of Stranger Things and Stand by Me about a group of misfit kids who spend an unforgettable summer investigating local ghost stories and urban legends.

Growing up in 1980s Niagara Falls - a seedy but magical, slightly haunted place - Jake Baker spends most of his time with his uncle Calvin, a kind but eccentric enthusiast of occult artifacts and conspiracy theories. The summer Jake turns twelve, he befriends a pair of siblings new to town, and so Calvin decides to initiate them all into the "Saturday Night Ghost Club." But as the summer goes on, what begins as a seemingly light-hearted project may ultimately uncover more than any of its members had imagined. With the alternating warmth and sadness of the best coming-of-age stories, The Saturday Night Ghost Club is a note-perfect novel that poignantly examines the haunting mutability of memory and storytelling, as well as the experiences that form the people we become, and establishes Craig Davidson as a remarkable literary talent."

Because right about now you've finished binging the new season of Stranger Things and need something to fill the void... 

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Season of the Witch by Sarah Rees Brennan
Published by: Scholastic Inc.
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the creator of Riverdale comes the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, a new Netflix eries based on the classic Archie comic series. This prequel YA novel tells an all-new, original story.

It's the summer before her sixteenth birthday, and Sabrina Spellman knows her world is about to change. She's always studied magic and spells with her aunts, Hilda and Zelda. But she's also lived a normal mortal life - attending Baxter High, hanging out with her friends Susie and Roz, and going to the movies with her boyfriend, Harvey Kinkle.

Now time is running out on her everyday, normal world, and leaving behind Roz and Susie and Harvey is a lot harder than she thought it would be. Especially because Sabrina isn't sure how Harvey feels about her. Her cousin Ambrose suggests performing a spell to discover Harvey's true feelings. But when a mysterious wood spirit interferes, the spell backfires...in a big way.

Sabrina has always been attracted to the power of being a witch. But now she can't help wondering if that power is leading her down the wrong path. Will she choose to forsake the path of light and follow the path of night?

This exclusive prequel novel will reveal a side of Sabrina not seen on the new Netflix show. What choice will Sabrina make...and will it be the right one?"

At first, I was like, eh, prequel trying to cash in on the franchise, but then I saw Sarah Reese Brennan wrote it, so now I'm on board! 

Cheshire Crossing by Andy Weir and Sarah Andersen
Published by: Ten Speed Press
Publication Date: July 9th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 128 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"#1 New York Times bestselling author Andy Weir and acclaimed illustrator Sarah Andersen tackle what transpires after "happily ever after." What happens to Alice when she comes back from Wonderland? Wendy from Neverland? Dorothy from Oz?

The three meet here, at Cheshire Crossing - a boarding school where girls like them learn how to cope with their supernatural experiences and harness their magical world-crossing powers.

But the trio - now teenagers, who’ve had their fill of meddling authority figures - aren’t content to sit still in a classroom. Soon they’re dashing from one universe to the next, leaving havoc in their wake - and, inadvertently, bringing the Wicked Witch and Hook together in a deadly supervillain love match.

To stop them, the girls will have to draw on all of their powers...and marshal a team of unlikely allies from across the magical multiverse.

Written by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Martian, Andy Weir, and illustrated by beloved Sarah’s Scribbles creator, Sarah Andersen, Cheshire Crossing is a funny, breakneck, boundlessly inventive journey through classic worlds as you’ve never seen them before."

One of my friends awhile back told me about this web comic series with literally two of the favorite creators out there, Andy Weir and Sarah Anderson, but I didn't get around to reading it... which means yeah me because now it's available in a handy book!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agatha Christie, Andy Weir, Beatriz Williams, Chocolat, Clare Clark, Craig Davidson, Elizabeth Lim, Kali Wallace, Karen Kelly, Kayln Josephson, M.R.C. Kasasian, Rory Powers, Sabrina, Sarah Andersen

Artemis by Andy Weir
Published by: Crown
Publication Date: November 14th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The bestselling author of The Martian returns with an irresistible new near-future thriller—a heist story set on the moon.

Jazz Bashara is a criminal.

Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you’re not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.

Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she's stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first."

Anyone who has read The Martian I'm sure has been eagerly awaiting this book. 

Ice by Anna Kavan
Published by: Penguin Classics
Publication Date: November 14th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A dazzling and haunting vision of the end of the world, Ice is a masterpiece of literary science fiction now in a new 50th anniversary edition with a foreword by Jonathan Lethem.

In a frozen, apocalyptic landscape, destruction abounds: great walls of ice overrun the world and secretive governments vie for control. Against this surreal, yet eerily familiar broken world, an unnamed narrator embarks on a hallucinatory quest for a strange and elusive “glass-girl” with silver hair. He crosses icy seas and frozen plains, searching ruined towns and ransacked rooms, all to free her from the grips of a tyrant known only as the warden and save her before the ice closes all around. A novel unlike any other, Ice is at once a dystopian adventure shattering the conventions of science fiction, a prescient warning of climate change and totalitarianism, a feminist exploration of violence and trauma, a Kafkaesque literary dreamscape, and a brilliant allegory for its author’s struggles with addiction—all crystallized in prose glittering as the piling snow.

Acclaimed upon its publication as one of the best science fiction books of the year, Kavan’s 1967 novel has built a reputation as an extraordinary and innovative work of literature, garnering acclaim from China Miéville, Patti Smith, J. G. Ballard, Anaïs Nin, and Doris Lessing, among others. With echoes of dystopian classics like Ursula Le Guin’s The Lathe of Heaven, Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle, and J. G. Ballard’s High Rise, Ice is a necessary and unforgettable addition to the canon of science fiction classics."

Seeing as I've read so many of these other authors I think I HAVE to read this dystopian classic.

Ours is the Winter by Laurie Ellingham
Published by: HQ Digital
Publication Date: November 14th, 2017
Format: Kindle, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Journeying across the Arctic, their pasts are about to catch up with them.

Erica, Molly and Noah are embarking on the challenge of a lifetime, driving Siberian huskies across the frozen wilderness of the Arctic. Cut off from the world and their loved ones and thrown together under gruelling conditions, it isn’t long before the cracks start to show.

Erica has it all. A loving husband, a successful career and the most adorable baby daughter. But Erica has been living a double life, and as she nears her fortieth birthday her lies threaten to come crashing down.

Molly was on her way to stardom. But when her brother died, so did her dreams of becoming an Olympic champion. Consumed by rage and grief, she has shut out everyone around her, but now she’s about to learn that comfort can come from the most unexpected places.

Noah has a darkness inside him and is hounded by nightmares from his past. Tortured, trapped and struggling to save his fractured relationship, he knows this journey is not going to help, but try telling his girlfriend that.

As their lives and lies become ever more entwined, it becomes clear that in the frozen wilds there is nowhere to hide."

Yeah, I'm a little arctic obsessed of late...

Creatures of Will and Temper by Molly Tanzer
Published by: John Joseph Adams/Mariner Books
Publication Date: November 14th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Victorian London is a place of fluid social roles, vibrant arts culture, fin-de-siècle wonders . . . and dangerous underground diabolic cults. Fencer Evadne Gray cares for none of the former and knows nothing of the latter when she’s sent to London to chaperone her younger sister, aspiring art critic Dorina.

At loose ends after Dorina becomes enamored with their uncle’s friend, Lady Henrietta “Henry” Wotton, a local aristocrat and aesthete, Evadne enrolls in a fencing school. There, she meets George Cantrell, an experienced fencing master like she’s always dreamed of studying under. But soon, George shows her something more than fancy footwork—he reveals to Evadne a secret, hidden world of devilish demons and their obedient servants. George has dedicated himself to eradicating demons and diabolists alike, and now he needs Evadne’s help. But as she learns more, Evadne begins to believe that Lady Henry might actually be a diabolist . . . and even worse, she suspects Dorina might have become one too.

Combining swordplay, the supernatural, and Victorian high society, Creatures of Will and Temper reveals a familiar but strange London in a riff on Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray that readers won't soon forget."

But will it be a successful riff? 

The Wild Book by Juan Villoro
Published by: Restless Books
Publication Date: November 14th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From one of Mexico’s foremost authors comes a wondrous adventure story of a boy who goes to live with his kooky, book-obsessed uncle in a library where books have a supernatural power all their own.

“We walked toward the part of the library where the air smelled as if it had been interred for years….. Finally, we got to the hallway where the wooden floor was the creakiest, and we sensed a strange whiff of excitement and fear. It smelled like a creature from a bygone time. It smelled like a dragon.”

Thirteen-year-old Juan’s favorite things in the world are koalas, eating roast chicken, and the summer-time. This summer, though, is off to a terrible start. First, Juan’s parents separate and his dad goes to Paris. Then, as if that wasn’t horrible enough, Juan is sent away to his strange Uncle Tito’s house for the entire break! Uncle Tito is really odd: he has zigzag eyebrows; drinks ten cups of smoky tea a day; and lives inside a huge, mysterious library.

One day, while Juan is exploring the library, he notices something inexplicable and rushes to tell Uncle Tito. “The books moved!” His uncle drinks all his tea in one gulp and, sputtering, lets his nephew in on a secret: Juan is a Princeps Reader––which means books respond magically to him––and he’s the only person capable of finding the elusive, never-before-read Wild Book.

Juan teams up with his new friend Catalina and his little sister, and together they delve through books that scuttle from one shelf to the next, topple over unexpectedly, or even disappear altogether to find The Wild Book and discover its secret. But will they find it before the wicked, story-stealing Pirate Book does?"

Come on, it's books and adventure? You know you want to read it too! Also, is that a cat on the book cover!?!

Skavenger's Hunt by Mike Rich
Published by: Inkshares
Publication Date: November 14th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 300 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"After young Henry Babbitt tragically loses his father, he can’t help but remember the promises of the great adventures they would now never take. Then, on a snowy Christmas Eve, his grandfather reveals that he’s tracked down a series of mysterious century-old clues left by Hunter S. Skavenger, the eccentric magnate who launched the first and greatest scavenger hunt.

Hours later, on Christmas Day, Henry finds himself magically transported back to 1885, where he teams up with a ragtag band of youngsters in a quest to solve Skavenger’s elaborate puzzle. From New York to the Mississippi riverboats to the streets of old Paris, Henry and his new friends face off not only against brilliant competing teams, but also Skavenger’s own dark and elusive nemesis: Hiram Doubt."

Who doesn't like a bit of a puzzle? 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Andy Weir, Anna Kavan, Artemis, Creatures of Will and Temper, Ice, Juan Villoro, Laurie Ellingham, Mike Rich, Molly Tanzer, Ours is the Winter, Skavenger's Hunt, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Wild Book

The Martian by Andy Weir
Published by: Broadway Books
Publication Date: February 11th, 2014
Format: Paperback, 387 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Mark Whatney has inadvertently been left behind on Mars. He was part of the Ares 3 mission to the red planet which had to be aborted due to a dust storm and he was left for dead. He doesn't blame his crew mates, they did what they had to do. They did what he would have done in their situation. The problem is, how to tell them he's still alive? Which he won't be for much longer unless he figures some things out, like food. Plus, even if they did know it's not like they can just turn around and pick him up. His life has now become a struggle to survive, but that survival won't mean much unless at the end of it there's some way off the planet. He concentrates on one task at a time. First food and water. If he doesn't have food and water there's no point. So it looks like he's going to get very sick of potatoes, but you eat what you have, or in this case can grow. Once this hurtle is cleared, he needs to get the word out he's alive. Luckily for him Mars is scattered with the debris from past and future missions. The only problem is Mars is big and to get to these other sites is epic journeys of not just days, but weeks. And if while trying to get to these sites something happens, he is cut off from his Habitat and his food supply. But soon Earth is alerted to his survival and they are just as committed to bringing Mark home as Mark himself is. Each and every day is a struggle, but with his unique sense of humor and his captain's never ending supply of 70s television and disco music, he's going to try to make it, to survive being the first person to ever live on another planet. And if he does survive, he will never eat another potato again.

Every once in awhile there's book that you'd not heard anything about and then all of a sudden, bam, it's all everyone is talking about. There are huge endcap displays in stores that look like they have been ransacked, there's a movie adaptation in the pipeline, famous actors are interested in starring, all your friends have read it, the book is ubiquitous. And you'll be intrigued. You'll pick it up out of interest, and realize it's the kind of book that has mass appeal because it's nothing very original and bores you to tears. I have been sucked into this frenzy more then once. Dan Brown, Stieg Larsson, Gillian Flynn, all overlooked authors until they were propelled forward by this weird cultural phenomenon. Therefore when people started talking about The Martian, I was hesitant to say the least. I wasn't going to be caught in a Girl on the Train scenario again. My decision to read the book started to waiver when I saw the trailer for the movie, yes, starring a famous actor. Yet I held firm. But then people's opinions who I trusted as being very harsh started raving about this book. And I'm only human. I caved. And I'm really glad I did. It's an intense book that is meant to be devoured in as few sittings as possible. It's by no means a perfect book, while the first person narration of Mark Watney is spot on, the third person narration back on Earth is choppy, which, let's be honest, is to be expected from a first time author. But what I liked was the book felt like a Michael Crichton book grown up, the science was more accurate, and Mark was a wonderfully snarky narrator, perfect for the disillusioned reader of today. The irony here is that I was at a Michael Crichton movie when my resolve started to waiver. That's right folks, Jurassic World brought me to my generation's Crichton!

Recently one of my friends asked me if she should read this book. I said yes, obviously, but I gave her the caveat that it should be read only if she had the time to devote to reading this book in one go. This book is so suspenseful that you will struggle to set it down. For awhile I wondered if it was just the plight of Mark, the question surrounding his survival. This book is very realistic so his survival isn't a given and I am not going to tell you how it turns out. But I think the real reason is that everything is in the moment, which ups the suspense. What I mean by this is that there's no long expositions about his life back on Earth, his parents in Chicago whom he must miss, etc etc. Yes, his parents are mentioned, but that is all. We know nothing about his past life or his future life, we are living his life moment to moment with him. It's almost like we have a front row seat to his subconscious and survival is the only thing that is allowed to take up valuable brain power. That and bitching about 70s television shows. This means that anyone picking up this book will relate to his situation. He has a distinct personality, but at the same time he is a blank slate, he could come from any background so he could be you or me. Then there's the 70s television and music that are his bane and savior. Everyone has seen these shows or heard the music sometime in their life, it's a cultural touchstone. By including this in the story it gives us something more to relate to in a situation where we feel the question of Mark's survival but in a situation that we would never find ourselves in. So while we might never find ourselves on Mars, we can feel his pain of watching Three's Company and how lame it was when Crissy left.

And I needed that little connection, that 70s kitsch, because there is no way in hell you will ever see me going to Mars. It's not just that this book brought home how I would obviously die very quickly in this situation, it's that I never want to be in this situation in the first place. It says a lot for this book that I enjoyed it so much when I am now and never will be interested in space travel. Yes, the stars and outer space are interesting. I look forward to updates from Mars and the search for intelligent life and when will they reinstate Pluto, but as for wanting to be an astronaut? No chance in hell. I have never wanted to actually go into space myself. I am firmly of the couch surfing the galaxies school. It always mystified me that kids growing up wanted to be astronauts, firefighters, and the president. I wanted to sit and draw, not be shot up into space, trapped in a burning building, or have to make decisions with the fate of the world in jeopardy. Yet reading this book, I can see why people might want to venture out into the unknown. Again, I would die in five seconds, but the day to day survival of Mark, how he works things out, how he messes up, how he triumphs in the face of adversity, this is what an astronaut should be. They should be someone to look up to and admire for what they have done. Yes, going to the moon and back, that's kind of cool, but surviving against all odds for such a long period of time on an alien world? Now that deserves respect. That deserves the accolades of the first men in space.

I think I've also just inadvertently answered my own question I was about to posit... I mean, how realistic is it that NASA would spend SO MUCH MONEY to save Mark? So, as per what I just said, maybe it's because he is the ideal astronaut, the hero everyone has been waiting to come along to add new life into NASA. He's the only human to have lived on another planet! But realistically? Would this play out as it did fictionally in real life? So much of this book is based on real science and real scenarios, it's oddly the most human aspect that I question, and that's would they actual attempt to rescue Mark? It's not JUST the money, though that would be a big concern, it's more human nature. Our attention span as humans keeps shrinking more and more. We like everything in small digestible bites. Anything that is too long loses our interest and here we're supposed to believe that the world as a whole was invested in Mark Whatney for 687 days! That is almost two years! Could the interest in him really stay at fever pitch? Could they really have a thirty minute show daily on the news networks just devoted to him? Well, yes, the news networks can spin nothing into a show, just watch the news sometimes to see, but would people keep watching? I think interest would be at the beginning and at the end. But would that end interest make the pay out of all this time and money worth it? Maybe I'm just cynical, but I don't buy it. Yes, call me contradictory that I buy everything on Mars but have no faith in humanity. And in fact, I believe it's far more likely that they would just hush it all up. Sweep Mark under the carpet and call his death an unfortunate accident.

While I really liked this book there's a part of me that can never love it. I'm just not geeky enough, in the science vein. I could out geek anyone on books and TV, but science, I've never been the biggest fan of science. Yes, I am glad it's there, I just wish I hadn't ever had to take any in school because for me I've never found it relevant. Even being forced to take "Physics in the Arts" in undergrad where they try to focus the science on things that will interest artists, like the chemistry behind developing photos and sound waves in music, I was still bored stiff. Therefore when the book would sometimes go off on a sciencey tangent it would lose me a bit until the next rift on Dukes of Hazzard, where the police should have totally just gone to their house and arrested them and avoided all the car chases. But that's me, I'm the Dukes of Hazzard girl not the "what is it that makes soil viable" girl. And while some of the science was fascinating to me, like how to make soil viable on Mars, there was that other part of me going, but all the science... why all the science? Which again feeds back into why I would never be an astronaut and why I would be dead in seconds. Not only do I not have the passion and desire, but I lack the know-how. But even with all the science that sometimes bogs down the narrative in my opinion, it's real science, and I have to applaud that. Now, if we could make this actually a reality in my lifetime, that would be really cool, you know, for me to watch from my sofa. Elon Musk better get working on this...

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 70s, Andy Weir, Dan Brown, Elon Musk, Gillian Flynn, Girl on the Train, Jurassic World, Mark Whatney, Mars, Michael Crichton, NASA, Stieg Larsson, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Martian, Three's Company