Category: review

Yes, spring. Let’s talk about that.

Two days ago, I spotted the first dandelion of the season blooming along the curb. The Canada geese have returned, and are pairing off, honking angrily when Gem and I pass on our brisk walks in the once-again chilly weather. The bucks have lost their antlers and retreated to the woods, while the does roam the neighborhood in great herds seeking succulent greens to further grow their swelling bellies. The fox squirrels are twitterpated, and red-wing blackbirds are calling in the meadows and pecking at the feeder in my yard, wondering what happened to the warmth they’d flown in with.

The weather turned chilly again, and we woke on Sunday to a dusting of snow blanketing the grass. That, while the forecast is calling for upper-60’s near the end of the week! So yes, it’s definitely spring-like with the changeable weather.

I’ve started some of my earliest seeds (first time in a decade! living in Florida rather spoiled “seed starting” and seed catalog and all that, what with the climate differences), and am anticipating more sowing indoors in the coming weeks. And not a moment too soon! I’m missing the sun, the time spent leisurely walking instead of power-walking to stay warm, and watching the world instead of your footsteps for treacherous ice.

Spring. We’re not quite there yet. but it’s coming. I can feel it in the air, and see it in all the tiny signs around me.

But since we’re not there yet, and there are more chilly days and evenings ahead, let me tell you about what I’ve been reading.

Your Behavior Will Be Monitored, by Justin Feinstein
Oh how I loved this book! To paraphrase the back cover, this is the AI-driven future we deserve. I devoured this book in a single sitting, and it’s been quite a while since I’ve done that. The unique format of the book aided the fast consumption, I’ll admit, but I loved the characters, and simply had to know how it all resolved. It’s coming out April 7th, so just go ahead and pre-order this one now. Trust me on it. Love AI or hate AI, you’re sure to want to read this book.

The Iron Garden Sutra, by A. D. Sui
This is a slow-burn locked-room mystery novel, set in space on a “dead” generation ship, with a mysteriously flawed yet likable protagonist in Vessel Iris, a Starlit monk whose past haunts him. The way the author reveals the information on Iris’s past is a lesson in heightening tension, and giving the audience just enough to satisfy while keeping the craving for more alive. While this is clearly a character-driven novel, the plot grows more and more amazing, and the stakes and tension rise throughout, which meant I had a hard time putting this book down after the halfway point (be warned: make time). I listened to the audio version, and the narration was truly incredible, so you might want to enjoy the book that way, too.

Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl, by P. A. Cornell
This novelette is the total package: short, beautifully written, voicy, hopeful, gritty, and real. Set in an alternate retro-futuristic Toronto, Shoeshine Boy & Cigarette Girl is a gem of hope in a world gone dark. Told in an omniscient voice, the tale feels like a fairytale from some future we somehow missed out on. By pulling in hovercars and airships and a settlement on the moon, the setting is equal parts The Jetsons and urban noir. None of the characters have names, yet somehow that works well here, letting us fill in the details from their titles, the setting, and their actions. The con in the book is simple yet devastating, since the reader can plainly see it coming while the protagonists don’t have a clue. And the wrap-up is a soft bow on the beautiful package of this short book, and keeps to what readers familiar with the author’s other works have come to cherish: logic, heart, and hope.

And with that, I’ll leave you with a final image: Gem sunbathing, with my newly-planted seedlings behind her soaking up the sun.