Thank you Imyril @ One More and Lisa @ Dear Geek Place for organizing SciFiMonth! I had to read a lot of study-related things, but I also made time to read two good science fiction books. One of them became a new favourite! In this post are my mini-reviews of the books, some podcast recommendations and more good stuff I want to share.

Books I Read

Everfair by Nisi Shawl – 3 stars
In four words: multi-layered, steampunk, alternate history
What I liked: I wanted to read this book for the fascinating premise. It explores what would have happened if the native population of the Congo had adopted steam technology during the colonization. This complex and multi-layered story definitively does justice to the real history. I appreciated how the author tackled themes like racism and nationalism.
What I disliked: The book has many perspectives, but there isn’t enough opportunity to really get to know and empathize with all the characters. I missed a more emotional connection to the story. Everfair is a story of the land rather than the characters. For me this didn’t work as well as I hoped. I still think the book is worth reading, because it definitively was as interesting as I expected.
Trigger warnings for violence, death and war

Memory of Water by Emmi Itäranta – 5 stars
In four words: post-apocalyptic, poetic, hopeful, tea
What I liked: The book is set in a world after climate change when parts of the Earth are flooded and drink water is scarce. This realistic future is grim, but the beautiful writing style gives the story a gentle atmosphere. While reading I felt a bit melancholic and hopeful at the same time. The book is told from the perspective of a tea master apprentice. The way she thinks about water and tea made me appreciate it even more.
What I disliked: I can’t think of any demerits. Of course I was hoping for a good story when buying this book. But I didn’t expect it to be so touching!
Trigger warning for death of a loved one

Podcasts I Liked

• The podcast Noble Blood isn’t science fiction-themed, but I highly recommend the episode The Red Paint on Leopold II if you are interested in Everfair or have read the book. This episode is about how the terrible Belgian king Leopold II colonized the Congo. In his name around 10 million people died! I could name all kind of trigger warnings for this episode like murder, slavery, torture and mutilation. But I think most shocking of all is that the atrocities in the Congo aren’t more well-known.
• Nisi Shawl, P. Djeli Clark and Zen Cho are guests in the episode Postcolonial Worlds on the podcast Imaginary Worlds. They talk about how speculative fiction can be a useful tool to reimagine the legacy of colonialism and imperialism.
• The episode Superpowers on the BBC Earth Podcast is about real-life superpowers in the animal world and how they inspire writers.

More Good Stuff in November

• The Show Your Bujo Theme post by Annemieke @ A Dance with Books inspired me to make my own steampunk-themed bujo page!
• I want to thank Imyril and Lisa again for the books I won with the giveaway!

It’s unbelievable that November already ended. I wanted to read so many more science fiction books! But I really enjoyed participating in SciFiMonth again. So thanks to Imyril from One More and Lisa from Dear Geek Place for organizing it!

During the month I made three science fiction themed posts:

• SciFiMonth 2021: TBR
• Science Fiction From Around the World
• SciFi-books (still) On My TBR-list

I ended up reading three of the four books from my TBR. Here are the mini-reviews of those books:

The galaxy, and the ground within (Wayfarers, #4) by Becky Chambers – 4 stars
In four words: wonderful, character-driven, tranquil story
What I liked: This is a quiet feel-good story. Plotwise little happens, but the book is full of beautiful conversations and meaningful moments between the characters. Just like the other parts in the Wayfarers series, the plot of this book is actually not important. It’s all about the four protagonists. These strangers are stuck together on the planet Gora due to a technical error. None of them are human, they are all from a different alien species. I really enjoyed reading how the characters try to help and understand each other, even though they are completely different.
What I disliked: It was sometimes hard to imagine how the characters look like. I solved this problem by looking up fan art of the characters on internet.

Heart of Brass (The Antipodean Queen, #1) by Felicity Banks – 3,5 stars
In four words: enjoyable, light-hearted Australian steampunk
What I liked: This was an enjoyable and adventurous book. I loved that a part of the story is based on real colonial Australian history. The steampunk elements naturally fit in. Especially the steam-powered heart of Emmeline is central in the book. It’s a secret that’s hard to hide, since the heart regularly needs maintenance and sometimes malfunctions. I found it an intriguing idea! Emmeline starts out as a well-bred English lady who is ready to marry. She is easy to like, resourceful and at times humorous. It was interesting to see her character develop throughout the book.
What I disliked: The storyline felt sometimes overhasty and a bit illogical too me. That’s why I didn’t feel totally emerged in the book. I really enjoyed this story, but I think the writer didn’t get the most out of it. For example, in the world of the book each metal has its own personality and even some kind of magical ability. It’s a pity that this unique idea isn’t really developed.

Hold Back the Stars by Katie Khan – 4 stars
In four words: engaging, unexpected, heart-warming, heart-breaking
What I liked: This book was unexpectedly good. Our main characters, Carys and Max, are floating through space. They only have ninety minutes of air left. This situation is engaging on itself. Yet there is more. In this future young people aren’t supposed to settle. Only when they are older, they are allowed to have long-term relationships. This curious world is seen in flashbacks. Meanwhile Carys and Max are trying to save themselves, but the minutes tick away. Their love story was surprisingly realistic. It was beautiful, messy, heart-warming and heart-breaking. The ending was definitively remarkable too.
What I disliked: In the flashbacks we get sneak peaks of a future version of the Earth. It was interesting to read about, but for me this future didn’t really come alive. It felt like a far away place I didn’t really get to know. On the other hand, the parts set in space felt very real. I could easily imagine being there with Carys and Max.
Trigger warning for death of a loved one

More good stuff in November

• I discovered the podcast Flash Forward. This is a show about possible (and not so possible) future scenarios. It’s the perfect podcast for SciFiMonth! The bad news is that the podcast stops for a while, but the good news is that there are many episodes for me to catch up with. So far my favourites are Bot for Teacher and Wast Not Want Not.
• My boyfriend and I started watching Locke & Key season 2. It’s so good!
• I loved the latest episode Cli-fi and catastrophe on the podcast Breaking the Glass Slipper. This is partly a discussion and partly an interview with writing duo Calder Szewczak about climate fiction.
• I always like lists with science fiction or fantasy authors from around the world. So I enjoyed reading the post Five (non-American) Authors I Want to Read on Alligators and Aneurisms. I also found a list with 25 YA Books Featuring A Non-European Influenced Fantasy World on Epic Reads.

A big thanks to Imyril from One More and Lisa from Dear Geek Place for organizing SciFiMonth! I wrote four posts in celebration of science fiction:
– SciFiMonth 2020 TBR
– Mixed up: Science Fantasy
– Four Sci-Fi short stories and novellas I love
– Intergalactic book tag

On other blogs I also found a couple of interesting posts. Arina on The Bookwyrm’s Guide to the Galaxy made a list of Sci-Fi’s Greatests Subgenres. Joanna from Melfka wrote about books with aliens that are truly different from human species. I also loved the recommendations from Amanda on Classy x Book Reviews in her post #SciFiMonth: If You Like This, Then Read That.

Of course I’m also going to talk about books! Next to Want and Ruse, I also wanted to read Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. But I wasn’t able to borrow the book on time at my library. Instead I decided to reread another book. Here are my thoughts about the three books I read this month.

Want (Want, #1) by Cindy Pon – reread
I loved this amazing book just as much as the last time I read it! The story is fast-paced, with an exciting plot and a fascinating world. It’s set in a future Taiwan where the sky is brown instead of blue and people get sick from the polluted air. The rich have the money to buy special suits, poor people just die early. The international Jin corporation manufactures these suits, but may also be responsible for making the pollution even worse. Jason and his friends are prepared to do everything to destroy Jin Corp. At the moment wearing a face mask is normal in our own world because of the pandemic. That makes it even easier to imagine a future when people wear face masks or suits to protect themselves.

Ruse (Want, #2) by Cindy Pon – 4,5 stars
No spoilers for Want, trigger warning for murder
This was a good and satisfying conclusion to the duology. A big part of the story is still narrated by Jason, but there are also some chapters told through the eyes of Lingyi and Daiyu.  It gave me the chance to get to know these characters even better. Especially Daiyu’s chapters were interesting, since she is the daughter of Jin Corp’s CEO. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives and wished there were even more chapters narrated by Lingyi and Daiyu. This sequel has a strong plot, but it wasn’t as thrilling as the first part. This is probably because the theme of the book is different. In Want there’s a strong environmental theme, in Ruse the focus lies rather on friendship and trust. When considering the things that happened at the end of Want, I do think this is what the story needed. Yet, I feel the stakes weren’t as high as in the first part.

Boneshaker (The Clockwork Century, #1) by Cherie Priest – reread
I bought this book seven years ago in London because I liked the cover. The story was okay, but not that great. This month I decided to reread this book. I hoped to like it more since my English is better now. Yet I would still give Boneshaker only three stars. The title refers to a machine that unearthed a dangerous gas which changes people into the living dead. The part of the city that contained the gas is now walled. The narrators are Briar and her son Ezekiel. He secretly goes into the walled part of the city. Now his mother has to bring him out alive. My problem with the book is that there is too much description. Despite all the action, this slowed down the story. I also missed some character development. Briar and Ezekiel are likable characters, but I didn’t really care about them.