Your private ebook cloud library

A beautiful, contemplative journey.

It's hard to slot Jaran into a genre. It's been called "anthropological science fiction", and that kind of fits. But it doesn't cover the ideas of wonder, nature, culture and love, found with a new people on a new world.

If you liked Rosemarie Kirstein's Steerswoman series, Jaran let's you explore and fall in love with another way of life all over again.

Bought the full book immediately after enjoying the sample from Book View Cafe!

This magical, period adventure moved along at a quick pace. Plenty of events, but not al all rushed. The language, descriptions and sense of location & time seem spot-on.

It's the first in a series too, so I'm excited to read more.

Books like this are why I love buying and reading indie ebooks!

Crime fiction is a genre I rarely venture into, but Ruth Sutton's Cumbria-set series may be my gateway.

The story nips along at a nice pace, providing plenty of information while avoiding info-dumps. The characters are likeable in their own ways and the late 60s setting is nicely done, especially the insight into the Cumbrian coastal region of that period.

I can't wait to start the sequel.

An interesting story of discovery and survival set in a system where two small worlds circle each other and they orbit a sun together. The worlds are cold and covered by ice but the tidal forces between the worlds ensure their interiors are heated and some heat breaks through the ice in the form of geysers, bringing with it life giving chemicals and material.

A better than average issue, with interesting stories by Isabel J. Kim, Nadia Afifi, Yang Wanqing and Ann LeBlanc.

Full review at [ https://sohkamyung.github.io/reviews/magazines/Clarkesworld/20221124-Clarkesworld194.html ] or [ https://bookwyrm.social/user/sohkamyung/review/532240/s/a-better-than-average-issue ]

Another interesting Hard SF read by Egan. It's not as mind-bending or physics-bending as his "Orthogonal" series but contains intriguing ideas and characters. In contrast to his previous books where the characters slowly learn (and educate the reader about) the physics of their environment, here they are already well versed in the strange (to us) geometry of their universe and its consequences.

Fabulous and imaginative story in an unusual setting, with themes of oppression, lost language and spirituality. Reminded me of Terry Pratchett, though very different from his work.

Really enjoyed this novella, like early Gibson but with contemporary themes as source material. Drones, social media, self driving cars, AI, etc,....
Hopefully there's more to come.

A better than average issue, with interesting stories by Fiona Moore, David Cleden and Dustin Blair Steinacker.

An average issue, with interesting stories by Suzanne Palmer, David Goodman, Amal Singh and a humorous story by Michael Swanwick.

Full review at my website [ https://sohkamyung.github.io/reviews/magazines/Clarkesworld/20231003-Clarkesworld205.html ]

This is a delight for anyone into delicious dark comedy. Reginald Baskins is a man-mountain who finds himself turned by his colleague. This is one of the few books that I have genuinely laughed while reading.

A better than average issue, with interesting stories by Marie Vibbert, Bo Balder, Brenda W. Clough and Davian Aw.

Full review at [ https://sohkamyung.github.io/reviews/magazines/Clarkesworld/20230710-Clarkesworld202.html ]