April 2026 - Reviewed

April was cool and sunny here in Sydney and very busy! I've been on sites all over the city, attended a wedding and been caring for my latest two foster kittens, Moonpie and Professor Montgomery Snugglesworth!

To top it off I got to announce that I have been short listed for the Astounding Award for Best New Writer - truly an absolute dream! Voting is through the LA WorldCon membership - which you can sign up for and receive the entire voter packet with multiple books, novellas and other content here: https://scifiinc99.regfox.com/membership.

In between everything else I read eight books this month, some of which were absolutely fantastic, and this is what I thought of them.

A Drop of Corruption - Robert Jackson Bennett

The second in the Shadow of the Leviathan trilogy, this is the first of my books this month that has been shortlisted for this year's Hugo. We return to the botanical miasma of the Khanum Empire, this time to the client state of Yarrowdale, where our detective protagonists are trying to solve a new murder. I really liked the politics at play in this volume, as I did in the first installment, and I think complex power struggles are something that Bennett does really well. I also enjoyed seeing the Sherlock and Watson relationship of the two leads, Ana and Dinios, and the side characters were great too. As a whole this book didn't grab me the same way that the first one did, but that's probably because I had such high expectations after loving A Tainted Cup so much, and while it met them it didn't quite exceed them. Still a really great read and I will definitely be diving into this series again.

On the Beach - Nevil Shute

I read this book when I was maybe twelve or thirteen and decided, given the state of the news in early April, now might be an excellent time to re-read this account of the world ending in a nuclear war. Shute wrote this in the late fifties, right in the heart of the twentieth century, when he didn't know if it would be science fiction or actually happen. It's set in Australia, after the northern hemisphere has been wiped out, and the radioactive cloud is slowly making its way south, gradually destroying all major life. The characters are everyday Australians, carrying on with what they can and coming to terms with the death that awaits them.

Wow this is an amazing book! I was able to enjoy it so much more on this second read, when I wasn't expecting a last minute deus ex machina, just the slow march of time. It also hit me so hard reading it in Australia, and now knowing all the places it mentions, it felt like I really was losing Darwin, Alice, Cairns, Brisbane, as the cloud blows south. Shute is one of my favourite writers and I ended up crying a lot at this book, but it was very much worth it.

The Raven Scholar - Antonia Hodgson

The second Hugo nominee on this month's slate, The Raven Scholar isn't quite what I was expecting but I enjoyed it very much. Neema Kraa is the high scholar of the Orrun empire, trying to solve a murder whilst also competing in a series of challenges to become the next emperor. I really liked the world building, and the level of complexity in this book, it was very nicely balanced to be readable whilst still detailed. I also got completly caught up in the plot, falling for the red herrings Hodgson carefully placed and was horrified (in a good way) at the reveal at the end! I am very much looking forward to the sequel which should be out next year!

The Bone Raiders - Jackson Ford

This had been on my tbr list for a while but I found it a bit of a struggle to get through, in a way that I blame on myself rather than the book. I liked the characters and the plot was fun, but i just kept bouncing off it and I had to really sit down and force myself to get into it. I did enjoy the last third a lot more once I was in the swing of it, I think it's the kind of book you need to dive into rather than read a few pages at a time.

Doppelganger - Naomi Klein

My first non-fiction book of the month, and my first Naomi Klein read. I don't know that I would say I enjoyed this book, but I did think it was excellent. Klein is very readable, and her analysis and interrogation of current affairs and the 'mirrorworld' was interesting and upsetting all at once! I found her thoughts about mirrorworld people understanding the root problems that plague society but placing the blame on what we would consider the wrong sources, to be very prescient, and something I hadn't considered. I did think she was wrong about her covid/lab leak thoughts, but given she was writing in 22/23 I can give her a pass since more information has come out now.

Thrum - Meg Smitherman

A dark SF novella following the sole survivor of a human exploratory expedition as she makes contact with a mysterious ship, captained by an alien who seems upsettingly human. I didn't like this as much as I expected to, I wanted to be really scared, and it felt a little too dark romancey for my taste. I thought the writing style was good though, and there were some fun twists and turns.

Luminous - Silvia Park

Unfortunately my least favourite book of the month was this SF novel set in a future united Korea, where AI piloted robots have integrated into society. There were definite echoes of Klara and the Sun here, but I felt it was lacking a cohesive plot, and I was ready to put it down about halfway through. I think it would have been better had it been half the length, there were some great ideas but so many of the scenes just felt repetitive and like they weren't moving the narrative along. I was also surprised to learn the book was originally written in english, it felt like it had been written in korean and then translated.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me - Django Wexler

The second Dark Lord Davi book, and a fun romp to end the month! This is very much more of the same and having set my expectations I was able to really enjoy this installment. Davi is a very engaging and voicey protagonist and the side characters are great too. The plot bounces along nicely, but it's really the cheeky writing style and humour which make this a delight to read.