Book #288 of 2021: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (Iron Widow #1) This #ownvoices sci-fi / fantasy debut is going to appear on many best-of-2021 lists, my own very much included. Loosely based on the only female emperor in Chinese history, it’s the powerfully intimate tale of a girl raised in a society that …
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Book #287 of 2021: Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker (Scary Stories for Young Foxes #1) Middle-grade horror can be a tricky genre to pull off, with an atmosphere that’s spookily disquieting yet not full-on terrifying, but this Newbery-winning title from 2019 navigates that threshold nicely. Structured as a series of connected …
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TV #75 of 2021: What If…?, season 1 The debut animated feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is fun, with a few key caveats. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily a show for all fans, as these alternate versions of events do lean on audience familiarity with the proper timeline for their full effect, but the …
Book #286 of 2021: To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer (Riverworld #1) This Hugo-winning tale from 1971 pitches an intriguing scenario: all humanoids who have ever lived on the earth — including neanderthals from the distant past and an alien who was visiting the planet in 2008 — are resurrected in the …
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Book #285 of 2021: Sunreach by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson (Skyward Flight #1) I wasn’t sure what to expect of this first spinoff novella from author Brandon Sanderson’s main Skyward series, especially after not caring for his previous attempt at YA co-writing, Lux: A Texas Reckoners Novel. Luckily, I’ve enjoyed this one a lot …
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Book #284 of 2021: Godbody by Theodore Sturgeon I’ll be charitable and say that this strikes me as a novel that really requires readers to get on its particular wavelength, which I was unable to do. It’s graphically sexual, albeit with the occasional giggle-inducing word like “dong,” and deeply rooted in a religious tradition that’s …
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Book #283 of 2021: The Threat by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs #21) So it turns out, most of what I’d remembered from this story arc about the new kid David joining the Animorphs actually takes place in the next / final book of that unofficial trilogy. Luckily, this middle volume is a lot stronger than …
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Book #282 of 2021: Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot #24) This mystery novel has a few solid twists to it, mostly via the inclusion of false testimony from a guilty party or two. Author Agatha Christie, several decades into her writing career by this point, has grown rather adept at that …
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Book #281 of 2021: The Ugly Cry by Danielle Henderson This is a memoir about author Danielle Henderson and the grandmother who pretty much raised her, although the exact shape and point of the text isn’t especially clear until near the end. It’s not a tale for the faint of heart, as it contains plenty …
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Book #280 of 2021: The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly (Mickey Haller #1) I wasn’t quite sure what to expect of Harry Bosch‘s estranged half-brother, but I’m delighted to find that he’s a lawyer in the Jimmy McGill style, barely scraping by as he represents various miscreants — literally operating an office out of the …
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