Oops! I Forgot

Back in April, I titled a book review post "Before I Forget" and said I was going to make that my new catchphrase.

Well, I waited too long, & I did forget 1 of the books I had read since the last book review post. Oops.

I think I will start doing 1 post/book, even if it is just science fiction, after I get caught up here.

1. "The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 3", edited by Neil Clarke, 2018, 816 pages, 252k words, 26 stories. I like that in his intro Clarke gives us the source of the stories (10 from online magazines, 6 from print magazines, and 10 from anthologies), and the size breakdown (2 novellas, 11 novelettes, 13 short stories). The stories are high quality. There was 1 standout story, by Rich Larson. It definitely smacks you upside the head, very violent, kind of John Wick-ish.

2. "Binti: The Complete Trilogy", by Nnedi Okorafor, 2019, 368 pages, 113k words. Actually a 2015 novella & 2017 & 2018 novels. I believe these won numerous awards. A young woman of a small tribe gets a chance to attend the best college in the galaxy offworld. The plotting is good, it went fast. The main character is engaging, and teaches us about the traditional Himba culture, including otjize: a butterfat & ochre clay mix that the Himba (increasingly mostly women) cover themselves with, including their hair. It protects against UV, IR, & insects, & acts as a cleansing agent, bringing dead skin with it as it dries & flakes off.

3. "The Best Science Fiction of the Year", Volume 4, edited by Neil Clarke, 2019, 818 pages, 253k words, 29 stories.
   Source breakdown: 11 from online magazines, 6 from print magazines, 11 from anthologies, 1 from collections;
   Size breakdown: 3 novellas, 8 novelettes, 18 short stories.

   I really went quite a way before any story jumped out at me. I think this may be short story fatigue setting in. There was a good Hannu Rajaniemi story I had read before. Then 3rd from last, an excellent story by Ken Liu. A cautionary tale re cryptocurrencies. Next, Rich Larson, a really nicely odd story whose protagonist is the only uplifted chimpanzee in existence, who of course works as a police detective. And finally, a Carolyn Ives Gilman story, very hard sci-fi, featuring life forms who only wake up & live when there are copious quanties of x- & gamma-rays present.

So I think no more short stories for a while. I started a 2nd Fats Waller biography, plus my friend David has already started reading the new Neal Stephenson novel, so I want to get to that.