So what have you been reading?

Bob is doing pretty well for himself, he just sold his company for a large pike of money and for kicks he just paid to have himself frozen after death to be revived at a later date.  A hundred years pass, and Bob finds himself in a computer with no rights and all his careful savings gone. The current government wants to use him to pilot a probe to find new worlds to colonize and they barely tolerate him since his existence is blasphemy to their religious beliefs. But other countries have the same tech and it is a race to get Bob to space before he is blown up on the ground. Now Bob and several clone selves are out in the universe trying to find new places and maybe get back to Earth.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

Periwinkle the cat narrates his life in the pages of this book. Starting with coming to live with Nnedi and her daughter Anyaugo, Periwinkle takes a few months to warm up to them but now loves them very much. When they are asleep, he jumps in his space ship and races an orange space cat that has extra limbs and is from Neptune just like Periwinkle’s father.  He protects the family from a hot sauce demon and also goes to Nigeria when Nnedi goes there for a year to write a book.  When he is there he still has his spaceship since he keeps it in liminal space. He gets out one day and has even more adventures.  The story and the art work hand in hand the entire book and I love the illustrations.  A fun read for all ages.  

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

The newest instalment in the series is a good jump in point for new readers and a good book for fans of the series.  There is enough backstory given to the reader to bring them up to speed on the politics of the universe without bogging down the story.  Gretchen Trujillo works in Diplomatic Affairs and has an Obin assistant who is also a bodyguard.  They are sent to find out what happened to a mixed-race colony that has disappeared. But the real theme of the book is the entire time she is underestimated even when people know her background. At least at the end people recognize what she is capable of.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

Mickey made some bad bets on a friend’s game and now he is more than desperate to sign up as an Expendable on a colony ship. 200 people with specialized skills and then there is Mickey, his job is to do things that will get him killed but are necessary for the colony. When he dies he is resurrected and keeps doing jobs until he must do something lethal.  When the 6^th version of him is presumed dead his 7^th version is decanted. Six makes it back to camp and finds Seven in his bed and neither of them want to die even though only one of them should be alive.  With a colony leader having a religious hate about him he needs to keep out of trouble, but it doesn't happen.  The story was interesting and the ending fixes a lot of what is going on for Mickey.

Ashley got a new job as the community liaison for a district in the city that has more aliens than humans and she gets tossed in the deep end quickly. Constituents come in to get their rep to take care of issues of the sewer and worries about damage from an upcoming parade. Ashley also ends up meeting with a local animal control officer that deals with more than just cats and dogs. A humorous story and I hope there will be more in this setting in the future.

A good SF mystery set in a future India follows sub-inspector Ferron as she works on a murder where the victim was turned inside out.  The details of setting and how things are really elevated this murder case. The audio was thoroughly enjoyable.  Can’t wait to listen to the next one. 

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

A talented AI that is an investigative reporter wakes up and finds they are missing over a week of memories and have no idea what they were working on.  A bit of sleuthing on their part has them back on the path of what xir were doing on the moon.  I liked the idea that Scorn has both parents in xir life and an older AI sibling.  The setting and mystery was good and I would like to see more in this setting.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss

A good solid ending to this trilogy with Ada and Rian on Earth to stop the nanobots launching with the software that will hold the restoration of the climate hostage to constant payments to keep it working. Rian still doesn’t believe that Ada is just doing it only so the correct software is updated. He thinks she will still manage a heist as well. Ada does pull off what she plans to do as she has for the previous two books and hopefully Rian will come after her and her heart.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

This novella is from Zane’s point of view.  At the Summer Solstice party and charged with giving a gift to a woman his grandmother expects him to wed for a financial alliance for his house. When the Techwave breaks into the research lab of the house hosting the party Zane is right on them to figure out what technology they are trying to steal. But the mystery gets even more interesting when he sees Asterin Armas, his potential bride in the lab as well. The Techwave grabs her as a hostage and but Zane is able to free her, but the Techwave gets away and has what they are looking for.  Zane has several interesting conversations after all the action and you get a new spin on his character.