To Be Taught, if Fortunate

Becky Chambers

I was reminded of Chambers the other day and her Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet when I came across her stuff at Powell's. This little novella is another character story that probes what life is when traveling in space. Yes, the science is pretty good, but that just means we don't have to be distracted by silly-ness when exploring the reality of exploration. The characters here are 4 explorers who have been sent on a mission to explore 3 planets and a moon around a "nearby" red dwarf. The way the science works, the mission is 16 years (4 years per planet) with 28 years travel to earth each way, and a definite "return to earth" mission spec. It is just a glimpse, but the emotional stress and self awareness that comes along with a journey like this starts to peak out, which I think is what Chambers wanted. She really is worth reading.

3 stars (out of 4)

City of Brass

S.A. Chakraborty

Book 1 of The Daevabad Trilogy

A fantasy story set in the east, with eastern mythology. I loved it. With a traditional fantasy novel, the author can pull out elves and dwarves and assume that I have a basic understanding of the people, maybe adding their particular twist. In this case, no characters are known to me since this is the world of the Daeva (Djinn) where there are Marids and Peris and Ifrits and ??? All new to me, at least. Like traditional fantasy, this story follows a young (not yet acknowledged) hero on a journey with her mysterious benefactor as they are pursued by certain death. When they arrive at safety (the shielded City of Brass) not all is as safe as one would hope as the political machinations lead to a whole new set of dangers. I love that this is straight up, standard fantasy and completely new all at the same time.

4 stars (out of 4)