New Book Review - One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Name - One Day All This Will Be Yours

Written by - Adrian Tchaikovsky 

Narrated by - Adrian Tchaikovsky 

Published by - Solaris (Rebellion Publishing Ltd.)

Audiobook by - Penguin Audio 

The characteristic charm of Tchaikovsky that I adore is to be found all over this novella. Interesting protagonist, enjoyable and humorous prose, and a truly unique and well-thought-out setting to boot. But maybe I just wasn't reading it at the proper time, but I felt it should have been shorter or it lacked a bit of something giving it that extra edge.

This is yet another different kind of attempt by the author to write about the end times with his signature sense of humor and masterfully flowing prose. There was time traveling hijinks abound with lots of entertaining jokes at the expanse of historical figures and periods.

The protagonist was an irritable man and despite having a grey moral compass, he was very relatable as a narrator based on his circumstances. This really was a story of the times of COVID, incorporating the general chaotic psychological landscape on offer at the time.

But, I really wish I could have read it during the time when we were isolated and panicked and would have probably appreciated it much more.

Nevertheless, I give this 3.5 out of 5 stars.

New Book Review - Preaching to the Choir by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Name - Preaching to the Choir

Written by - Adrian Tchaikovsky

Series - Terrible Worlds: Transformations 

Published by - Rebellion Publishing Ltd. / Solaris Books

First things first, I got this book from NetGalley, so thank you NetGalley and Solaris Books for this opportunity.

It seems Tchaikovsky can write in any genre, as this time he tries his hand in writing horror and provides yet another short yet impactful and enjoyable novella. This one has touches of fantasy, gothic and body horror immersed in a fast paced story with bits of real world tidbits to keep the readers googling stuff.

The story follows our protagonist Elena Mendes as she travels with her boyfriend Ross Enderbough to his family mansion Enderby for a rather very special occasion, where she meets with the suspicious and mysterious family members, soon discovers their creepy traditions and witnesses some horrific family secrets.

Compared to other books by the author this one is quite lacking in humor, much more descriptive and atmospheric and there is also rather a distinct lack of plot twists. But despite being predictable at times, it's the prose and execution that made this one such an enjoyable read.

Like most of Tchaikovsky's work, the pages seem to file away, as I kept thinking of just another chapter before other stuff and found out that I'm almost. In these day and age of everyone being so damn busy, and huge and daunting books flooding the market, short and precise reads like this continue to deliver a short breather.

This one gets a spooky 4 out of 5 stars from me.

New Book Review - The Hungry Gods by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Name - The Hungry Gods 

Written by - Adrian Tchaikovsky

Narrated by - Emma Newman

Series - Terrible Worlds: Innovations 

Published by - Rebellion Publishing Ltd. / Solaris Books

Audiobook by - Tantor Media 

Another Adrian Tchaikovsky novella, another innovative and interesting work involving a richly imagined world incorporating relatable and charismatically depicted characters. Nowadays, his work means contender for best of the year list.

This time the setting is a post-apocalyptic resource-depleted world, with animal-inspired factions embroiled in struggle for survival suddenly turned upside down by the arrival of four technologically advanced beings claiming to be gods.

The prose by Tchaikovsky is as enjoyable as ever, seeming to glide through the world building and introducing the main players. The obvious ecological rhetoric is done quite artfully making us ponder if this might occur in our future if we keep on polluting our surroundings. 

The characters are quite skillfully fleshed, having their own purposes and motivations to guide them through to the ending which is quite satisfying as is often the case with the author. I liked Beaker and Iffy the most and would have liked to read more about them.

Hoping to get more releases for this series in future as I will remain trying to finish reading all of available Tchaikovsky stuff (a daunting task indeed). This gets 4 out of 5 stars from me.

New Book Review - Walking to Aldebaran by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Name - Walking to Aldebaran

Written by - Adrian Tchaikovsky

Narrated by - Adrian Tchaikovsky 

Series - Terrible Worlds: Destinations

Published by - Rebellion Publishing Ltd. / Solaris Books

Audiobook by - Tantor Media

Adrian Tchaikovsky is an author who is a pure workforce with the versatility of a computer. And his unique prose style and ability to convey so much enjoyment in a wide range of lengths and his genre versatility make reading any of his fiction a wholesome and unpredictable experience. 

'Walking to Aldebaran' is a novella-length tale of science fiction told in the first person that can also be perceived as a metaphor for dealing with the trauma of isolation or torturous ordeals. The build up is a bit slow at first, but the slow reveal of the twist was quite intriguing. And the ending was very satisfying to say the least.

The prose uses quite a lot of humor and pop-culture references to make the shock have that much more impact and after the reveals towards the end the readers realize there were various hints dispersed throughout the story all along.

As I listened to this as an audiobook, I would also like to mention the brilliant narration by the author which added quite a lot to the experience (although as English is not my first language I had a few problems with some accents).

This gets a well deserved 4 out of 5 stars from me and I'll surely delve deeper into the works by Adrian Tchaikovsky soon.

New Book Review - Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

Name - Phoenix Extravagant 

Written by - Yoon Ha Lee

Published by - Rebellion Publishing Ltd. / Solaris Books

First things first, I got this book from NetGalley, so thank you NetGalley and Rebellion Publishing Ltd. / Solaris Books for this opportunity.

This was not my first exposure of Yoon Ha Lee, I had previously read one short story by the author which made me interested in longer fiction and led me to request this in NetGalley. 

This book had a very interesting setting clearly inspired by the Japanese occupation of Korea, which really was used in a thoughtful and charismatic way. The anti-colonial sentiment was expressed in a rather unorthodox way using fantasy. The magic system was also quite unique and brilliantly depicted and kept me going through the pages to find out how it worked as a whole. 

Another great thing was the beautiful mechanical dragon Arazi on the cover, which was once again detailed with finesse and was the main star of the book despite appearing after one third of the book. The main character Jebi also brought their unique sense of worldview and his quest to do the right thing. Some of the other characters were also quite interesting despite their minor roles. 

But the main problem was the use of pronouns were a bit confusing especially when the author used they/them for only Jebi when the scene included multiple persons. It often distracted from this otherwise engrossing book. 

I will give this 3.5 out of 5 stars. 

New Book Review - And Put Away Childish Things by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Name - And Put Away Childish Things 

Written by - Adrian Tchaikovsky 

Published by - Rebellion Publishing Ltd. / Solaris Books

First things first, I got this book from NetGalley, so thank you NetGalley and Rebellion Publishing Ltd. / Solaris Books for this opportunity.

Portal fantasy is a genre that has been used in a lot of different ways, and as per my experience with this sub-genre I wasn't particularly interested in reading more of this setting. I only decided to check this out in lieu of this being available on NetGalley and my interest in Adrian Tchaikovsky for some time now. 

I definitely should have checked him out a long time ago. The prose is engrossing all throughout with interesting and relatable main character and thoughtful use of real world scenario of Covid to spice up the setting. 

The plot was fast paced with witty dialogue and some very enjoyable homage and poking fun at one of the most well known portal fantasy of all time. The neat little twists and turns of the story kept it from becoming even a bit predictable. 

Harry was a very realistic depiction of a modern day struggling media performer, who is very self centered and obnoxious despite having a well meaning core. Of the bunch of side characters Seitchman was my favourite and despite their minor roles all the other characters were quite expertly fleshed out even the antagonist. 

Although the ending was quite satisfying in tying up everything quite nicely, I really started missing the characters immediately after finishing the book and really wished it was longer (and also hoping for a sequel). 

My rating - 4.5 out of 5 stars.