List: bsfa-award

Cover of Ancillary Justice.

Ancillary Justice

by Ann Leckie · published 2013 · read 2018-03-13

★★★★★

Cover of Ancillary Sword.

Ancillary Sword

by Ann Leckie · published 2014 · read 2018-04-14

★★★★★

Ancillary Sword was an exceedingly worthy successor to Ancillary Justice. We get a deeper look into the culture of the Radch and (most importantly) the characters we got to know in the first book. Understanding how all of them felt, especially Breq, even while they were navigating treachery, improper (!) annexations, war, and crisis, was a treat. This exploration of characters comes at the cost of action and pace, but the slower pace is made up by the frequent and fast changes of scenery. The book is more linear than the first one, but at the same time the consistent multi-focus storytelling is a different (and great) challenge altogether.

Cover of The Sparrow.

The Sparrow

by Mary Doria Russell · published 1996 · read 2020-01-08

★★★★☆

I liked The Sparrow a whole lot. Part of that is just that I like the premise: Jesuit First Contact? Hell yes! The Jesuits are the science-minded and intellectual ones among the Catholic orders, and at the same time very capable of actions and decision-making.

Cover of Pyramids.

Pyramids

by Terry Pratchett · published 1989 · read 2007-05-01

★★★★☆

Pyramids was fun in many ways – not just the pyramids! The look inside the Assassins Guild was very intriguing. Though the thing I remember best is the long chain of ancestors, who can only communicate with the next one or two in line because language has changed too much through the generations.

Cover of Excession.

Excession

by Iain M. Banks · published 1996 · read 2018-07-02

★★★☆☆

This is the infamous Culture book that's mostly ships talking. Which is not the part I disliked, the ships and their story were cool! But the humans were terribly one-dimensional and felt lazy, which distracted me from the cool Excession and nearly-as-cool intrigue.

Cover of The City & the City.

The City & the City

by China Miéville · published 2009 · read 2018-11-14

★★★☆☆

The City & the City is a very impressive scifi book, but while I can appreciate its coolness and weirdness, and I can't point to a single flaw, somehow the story didn't quite grip me, although the concept of the two cities was introduced beautifully.

Cover of The Shadow of the Torturer.

The Shadow of the Torturer

by Gene Wolfe · published 1980 · read 2018-03-12

★☆☆☆☆

Really not sure what to think. Odd pacing, odd descriptions, odd … everything? I just didn't find my way into this world and this rhythm. The storytelling is a stylistic choice that makes sense within that world, but requires a dedication I don't feel motivated for (think Tolkien).