A couple original fic reviews!
The Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells is my new addiction, which is A+ because the series’ first full-fledged novel releases tomorrow 🥳️ It was around the first third of the first novella (All Systems Red, the cover above), I fell hard for Murderbot (no spoilers but there’s a part where Murderbot watching media comes into question). Charismatic and competent af describes both the main character & the entire story. The world-build is so complicated and fascinating and yet easy to follow; this story is honestly so deliciously consumable that it feels like fanfiction. My favorite novella was #2, Artificial Condition, and I’m really hoping the character ART comes back for Network Effect. AH I’m just so excited for tomorrow! I can’t handle it! Also pinging @midnightsilver on this post bc I totally got them hooked on it and I’m feelin super smug about that rn 😂
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant. This book was kinda like Jurassic Park but with mermaids and therefore super entertaining. I loved the pace, the action/adventure and the terrific imagination that went into this story. Kudos to the elucidating exposition which breathed life into the pseudo-science of this premise. The characters were interesting - for instance, I've never read a role that fit Sigourney Weaver's energy so perfectly 😄 But it was the suspenseful then thrilling disaster action that kept me so engaged. It was almost cinematic, but better than cinema given how we were treated to lovely character insights than a film could offer, not to mention the inclusion/representation of minorities that were just so damn pleasant and realistic to read. And the Abney team, hahaha, the Abney team was hilarious and reminded me of Tremors' Burt & Heather Gummer. Around the halfway point of the book, I also felt it had a certain kinship with the movie Cabin in the Woods, as both stories involved scientists' hubris and obliviousness to danger while studying blatantly dangerous things. Also the ship's setting and atmosphere as a presumptive ghost-ship-to-be was really fun, the tension of this craft's development and survival through the story just as vital as any character’s. Fantastic job. This story still sticks with me after finishing it a couple weeks ago so 4/5 stars on goodreads, I really liked it! 👍 PS Mira Grant is a pseud for Seanan McGuire who is aggressively pro-fanfiction and wrote an article “The Bodies of the Girls Who Made Me: On Fanfic and Storytelling” that gets me emotional every time I swear 📚 📚 📚
Next up will probably be The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix because Genevieve Padalecki has started a book club kinda thing on her insta (linking to her goodreads tho: https://www.goodreads.com/genpadalecki; I wonder if she’s gonna start a reading/book club group on there? does she know that’s what you do? i have too many questions) and this is the one ppl voted for. Personally I wanna read Horrorstör (by the same author) more but whatever I’m into this, haha. Also if I really wanna tag-team the Padaleckis into my upcoming read-list, I went back to that youtube video where a lovely ‘Review Nation’ interviewer guy arranged for Jared to meet his favorite Star Wars author (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m0WijW9qTg) at SDCC and from that video I concluded it’s likely Jared Padalecki would highly recommend Thrawn (Star Wars: Thrawn #1) by Timothy Zahn. May the 4th be with you, everybody! I’m still reading spn (and other) fanfic too! Those recs are on the way 🤗🌈










