Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams

Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams, 232 pages

After four years of being stranded on prehistoric Earth, Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect stumble into a time eddy and are transported back into the wide wild reaches of the galaxy and given a simple task: to prevent the planet of Krikkit from destroying the universe.

Probably my favorite novel of the trilogy. The chapter with Agrajag alone is worth reading. One of the first books I ever read that made me (literally) laugh out loud. Also, I've said it once and I'll say it again: Martin Freeman does an excellent job narrating. 

 

The Last Colony by John Scalzi

The Last Colony by John Scalzi, 324 pages

John Perry and Jane Sagan are tapped to lead the founding of a new human colony, only to find themselves trapped in a web of interstellar politics and violence that threatens not only themselves, but the future of humanity itself.

I am enjoying this series so much more on this read through. I love that we get more of Jane in this novel; she's just so compelling. 

The Secret in the Old Attic by Carolyn Keene

The Secret in the Old Attic by Carolyn Keene, 177 pages

From the MARC: "Nancy Drew must use clues in a dead man's letters to find some unpublished musical manuscripts that will save an old man and his granddaughter from financial ruin."

Nancy Drew was a staple of my childhood reading, and The Secret in the Old Attic is the mystery that most had me in its thrall. It stuck in my imagination to the point I remember illustrating various scenes on my own. 

 

The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi

The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi, 374 pages

From the MARC: "When humanity is threatened by three adversarial races who would halt the world's expansion into space, Jared Dirac, a super-power clone, tries to discover why the scientist who gave him his DNA has revealed key military secrets."

It is a bold choice to write a sequel around a completely new character who may or may not be a traitor, but that choice isn't the only reason The Ghost Brigades is an engaging read. After discovering how the Special Forces of the CFU are made, we get a raw perspective into their lives. The story moved briskly and brutally, ending in a bittersweet "happy" ending that was just the right amount of cloying.

 

Old Man's War by John Scalzi

Old Man's War by John Scalzi, 413 pages

From the MARC: "Enlisting in the army on his seventy-fifth birthday, John Perry joins an interstellar war between Earth and alien enemies who would stake claims on the few existing inhabitable planets, unaware that the conflict involves much more than he understands."

It's been awhile since I've read this series, and since a new book is coming out later this year, I wanted to refresh myself. I have more life experience during this reread, and different parts of the story hit different emotional buttons. The older I get, the more I realize that John Perry's decision to join the interstellar navy at age 75 doesn't require the same level of disbelief my younger self needed. 

 

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

 Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, 390 pages

Mockingjay is probably my least favorite of the series, which is strange to me because I thought the ending was spectacular.  Gale's likeability, a low crest at the best of the series, plummets into the Mariana Trench. But the parallels between Coin and Snow, 13 and the Capitol, are written heartbreakingly well.  The ending, while not particularly happy, is satisfying, and something you can see Collins was building towards since the very first chapter. 

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, 391 pages

Rereading this series gave me a new appreciation of Catching Fire.  Everything I love about Hunger Games is here but sharper and deeper. The stakes are high and always feel so real. You know people will die, but it's still a shock when they actually do, especially when Collins doesn't give us time to sit with the death. My favorite part is the end, because even though it's horrific and devastating, it rings true. 

This is also my first time reading the series after reading Sunrise on the Reaping, which brings series gravitas to the events. 

 

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, 374 pages

A teenage girl ruins her sister's chance at being on a top-rated reality TV show.

 

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams, 250 pages

This installment of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is best summed up by Arthur Dent himself:

"I'm very ordinary, but some very strange things have happened to me. You could say I'm more differed from than differing." 

It doesn't matter whether you're from Milliways or prehistoric Earth: you can find something funny in this book. 

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

 

All Systems Red by Martha Wells, 152 pages

From the MARC: "In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn't a primary concern. On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied 'droid -- a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as "Murderbot." Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is. But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth."

Mystery of the Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene

Mystery of the Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene, 200 pages

Is the Lilac Inn jinxed? There are missing diamonds, stolen tools, and possibly even a ghost. Only Nancy Drew can solve this, if the case doesn't kill her first!

As a child, I found my mother's cache of Nancy Drew books in my grandmother's basement and read every one she had.  Partial credit to Ms. Drew for whetting my mystery appetite early.  As I am revisiting my childhood faves, I had to include this series.  Admittedly, many social aspects of the books have aged poorly, so maybe my enjoyment is rooted purely in nostalgia. 

 

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, 215 pages

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a classic scifi humor novel perhaps best described using words borrowed from one of its sequels, Mostly Harmless:

"Anything that happens, happens.

Anything that, in happening, causes something else to happen, causes something else to happen.

Anything that, in happening, causes itself to happen again, happens again.

It doesn’t necessarily do it in chronological order, though."

 

House of Earth and Blood

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas | 803 pages | 2020

Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life-working hard all day and partying all night-until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She'll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.

Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose-to assassinate his boss's enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he's offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.

As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City's underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion-one that could set them both free, if they'd only let it.

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

It's my second time reading this one, and I still feel like it's 4 stars. She built a really cool world, and I think the balance between urban and fantasy works very well. Basically a whole star gets taken for the terrible supervillain info dump that happens at the climax, which is so clumsy and lengthy that it slows down the momentum.

Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi

Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi, 365 pages

From the MARC: "The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity's first interstellar friendship. There's just one problem: They're hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish."

Agent to the Stars is one of my favorite first contact stories. It makes me feel hopeful, and I especially need that now. 

 

Unlocked by John Scalzi

Unlocked by John Scalzi, 143 pages

This prequel novella introduces us to the virus that created the world of Locked In. Billed as "an oral history of Haden's Syndrome," it originally was included as a bonus to the Locked In audiobook. 

If you're a fan of this series, don't skip the novella. It's not required to enjoy the novels, but it does give perspective to that version of the world, sparking questions I'm not sure I would have otherwise asked. The audio version is especially engaging. 

 

Android's Dream by John Scalzi

Android's Dream by John Scalzi, 396 pages

From the MARC: "To avoid an interstellar incident, ex-cop and hacker Harry Creek searches for a rare type of sheep to be used in an alien race's coronation ceremony, following a trail that leads to pet store owner Robin Baker, whose genes contain traces of the sheep DNA."

 

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Starter Villain by John Scalzi, 264 pages

If you're not interested in spy cats, foul-mouthed dolphins, space lasers, and volcano lairs, this is not the book for you. 

 

Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi, 264 pages

When COVID-19 shuts down New York, Jamie Gray is left scraping a living together by delivering for food apps until one fortuitous delivery puts him in contact with an old friend. Jamie is offered a job with an "animal rights organization" and it changes his life. 

 

Head On by John Scalzi

Head On by John Scalzi, 335 pages

From the MARC: "Hilketa is a frenetic and violent pastime where players attack each other with swords and hammers. The main goal of the game: obtain your opponent's head and carry it through the goalposts. With flesh and bone bodies, a sport like this would be impossible. But all the players are "threeps," robot-like bodies controlled by people with Haden's Syndrome, so anything goes. No one gets hurt, but the brutality is real and the crowds love it.Until a star athlete drops dead on the playing field.Is it an accident or murder? FBI Agents and Haden-related crime investigators, Chris Shane and Leslie Vann, are called in to uncover the truth--and in doing so travel to the darker side of the fast-growing sport of Hilketa, where fortunes are made or lost, and where players and owners do whatever it takes to win, on and off the field."

Head On is a rare occurance of the sophomore effort of a series almost being equal to its first. I find myself coming back to this series as a comfort listen, as I really enjoy the audiobooks. 

 

Lock In by John Scalzi

Lock In by John Scalzi, 336 pages

In a not-so-distant future, a mysterious virus sweeps the globe. Some of those who survive the infection are "locked in" to their own bodies: fully awake and conscious but unable to move or interact with the outside world. New technologies such as mechanical bodies for the survivors (called Haydens) have become commonplace.

It is in this world that Agent Chris Shane, the Hayden rookie FBI agent, tries to solve a murder that involves a loveseat, a suicide, and a nightmarish conspiracy.