book review: Fold Catastrophes by Peter Watts

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 3/5

Thank you Tachyon Publications for providing an ARC for review consideration via NetGalley! All opinions are my own.

As a lover of hard science fiction -- frequenting both Cixin Liu's fiction and Carl Sagan's non-fiction -- I was incredibly excited to dive into Fold Catastrophes, my first read from the acclaimed Peter Watts! However, I left this collection of short stories and novellas feeling deeply conflicted. While each storyline offers a highly unique take on complex scientific ideas and theories, and Watts uses an exceptionally precise vocabulary to establish his settings, I ultimately struggled to get past the prose style. 

Watts writes in sharp fragments, stripping his sentences down to their bare bones, forcing the reading to constantly piece his thoughts together. Normally, I can devour hard sci-fi novels because the underlying concepts fascinate me, but Watt's narrative structure made it difficult to actually enjoy his brilliant ideas. His writing relies heavily on the reader filling in what is missing, leaving no room to breathe. The prose results in a confusing paradox: it is densely descriptive, yet simultaneously sparse. Just as a new thought takes shape, the text abruptly shifts without any narrative transition to set up the change. As a result, I probably only fully comprehend a quarter of what I read, making the experience exhausting.

Based on pure conceptual ingenuity, Fold Catastrophes would easily be a five-star read for me. Unfortunately, I have to give it a three-star rating because the unapproachable prose made the journey a chore rather than an enjoyable read. That said, Watts has an undeniable fallowing, and I am still intrigued enough to try his famous novel Blindsight. My hope is that a longer, continuous piece will allow me to settle into his unique style.

book review: Blightfall by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️  4/5

Thank you Random House Children's Books for providing an ARC for review consideration via NetGalley! All opinions are my own.

I was first introduced to Brandon Sanderson through his writing lectures at Brigham Young University, but Blightfall -- a collaboration with Janci Patterson and Book 1 of the Riftwake series -- is my very first venture into reading his work. 

While Blightfall is classified as Young Adult (ages 12+), I found it thoroughly compelling as an adult. Its accessible world-building and streamlined plot depth actually made it the perfect, welcoming entry point to Sanderson's universe.

The story follows a diverse cast of humans from the Defiant Defense Force alongside aliens, Kitsen, and slugs. Tasked with escorting diplomats to a distant human settlement to re-establish contact after decades of alien oppression, what should be an easy mission quickly goes awry. Upon discovering a debris field and hostile forces surrounding the planet, the team must explore the surface to uncover its secrets and find a way home, taking the reader along on a mysterious, high-stakes adventure.

The fast pace and imaginative world-building made this a page-turner! The narrative strikes a perfect balance: it is accessible enough to enjoy as a light space romp, yet detailed enough to satisfy science enthusiasts who want to pause and ponder. I loved exploring what life would look like when interacting with alien species across the galaxy. The characters are diverse, and important themes -- like navigating relationships, effective communication, teamwork, compassion, and acceptance -- are woven naturally into the plot.

My only minor gripe was the overuse of slang like "star" and scud." While I appreciated the creative sci-fi profanity, these words were peppered so frequently throughout the narrative that they became a bit distracting. They would have carried much more impact if used sparingly.

I will definitely be continuing this series as new books are released! I highly recommend this to sci-fi veterans and general fiction readers alike. If you enjoyed the Bobiverse series, you will love this as well.

book review: Observer by Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 4/5

I'm fascinated by quantum physics, particularly different perspectives on how it could play out. This book is fictional, but written in part by Dr. Lanza who primarily seems to work in medical and biological sciences. But, has an interest in, and has co-authored publications in, the cosmos and physics. So, that's enough to craft an interesting take on it, in my opinion. The more layman explanations of The Observer Effect, as well as some of the other theories that likely intersect with it, provided me a deeper understanding of what I already knew. And, the plot of the book toying with the idea that The Observer Effect creates the world around us, not the other way around. And, that it could even open multi-dimensions. That would have been satisfying enough, yet Observer also included well developed characters that had complex relationships with each other, creating an additional storyline that almost any reader could be drawn into. The pace stayed strong, inviting me to open the pages every evening.  

book review: Retro by Jessica M. Goldstein

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 4/5

Thank you Ballantine for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley! All opinions are my own.

Retro by Jessica M. Goldstein is a refreshing spin on time travel that blends a whimsical, Wonka-esque atmosphere with a deeply relatable character study. We follow Ash, who, after losing her job, begins hosting tourists on trips to the past. As she moves between eras, she’s forced to weigh her own life and relationships against the snapshots of history and those in the present that seem to have achieved “success.” The conversational, rambling prose makes it easy to inhabit Ash’s headspace, and the 80s and 90s pop culture references are a total delight.

My only critique is that it was slow to build upon the strangeness Ash was noticing with her memory and relationships outside of Retro. Capitalizing on that eeriness closer to the midpoint of the book would have allowed for a stronger crescendo ending. Despite that, the history tidbits and relatable social themes carry it through providing a more than satisfying read. 

This is a perfect pick for anyone seeking a nostalgic, lighthearted coming of age story with a sprinkling of time travel.

book review: The Truth of Time by Bryan Whelan

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️  5/5

Don't let the serious cover art fool you, The Truth of Time by Bryan Whelan is a delightfully clever page turner that weaves a smattering of sci-fi with history and a whodunit into a complex wondrous tale. 

The author takes the reader on a jovial roller coaster ride of discovery alongside a fully realized diverse group of characters to a futuristic place, masterfully detailed points in the past, and then back to the future again. The worlds are incredibly layered and the magic is believable. The dialogue is sharp and the twists are so sophisticated they constantly caught me off guard. All told, this book was powerfully rendered, managing to be both fun and intellectually rewarding. 

I hope the author will decide to market this book, or a publisher will take notice and offer to take this book under their wing, because this book has so much potential and needs to reach more readers! I think pretty much anyone would enjoy this book - history buffs, sci-fi lovers, thriller cravers, and the casual reader. Its boundless imagination and fast pace make it a perfect 'crossover' hit for Young Adult readers as well.

Please consider this as your next read...sometimes the books you stumble upon are the best, as was my experience with this one!

book review: We Are Legion (We are Bob)

Thank you Saga Press for the free book via NetGalley! All opinions are my own.

The first book in the Bobiverse series, We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor, took me completely by surprise. While I went in expecting a simple slapstick space romp, I found an incredibly complex story where humor adds genuine depth to the characters. The author expertly balances "hard" sci-fi concepts with a lightheartedness that makes the experience feel one-of-a-kind. 

Bob sells his software company and is looking forward to all of things he will do in retirement when he gets killed crossing the street. His head, which he paid to have cryo-freezed upon his death in the hopes of later being revived in some way with new technologies, is hi-jacked by the government more than 100 years in the future. He is forced into an AI with the job of searching space for a livable planet to relocate everyone from the dying earth to. This starts the absolutely amazing adventure this book took me on!

One of the first things Bob does is to create clones of himself to help him with his tasks (and they inevitably give him company as well). Despite this massive cast of "Bobs" to keep track of, the author gives each clone a distinct personality and specific task, making it remarkably easy to follow. This ambitious scope results in a gratifyingly robust piece of work, supported by imaginative world-building that spans from the realistic future earth, star systems, and my favorite...creative VR environments tailored to each "Bob."

I'd recommend this to sci-fi veterans and general fiction readers alike. The narrative is perfectly balanced - accessible enough to enjoy as a fast-paced story; yet detailed enough to satisfy science enthusiasts - you can pause to ponder the scientific theories or simply enjoy the ride.

Looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series!

author, Andy Weir

I started 2026 by reading books with a vengeance. I think what was really got me back in the swing of things was putting a book down right away when I wasn't immediately drawn in. Sometimes, this was after reading a few chapters. Other times, it was only after a few paragraphs. If I wasn't feeling it in that moment, I moved on and opened a different book. There are endless books available so why read anything other than ones where you can't wait to get to the next page??

My favorite books so far are both by Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary and Artemis. If you've seen the movie, The Martian, that's by this author as well! And, the Project Hail Mary movie, starring Ryan Gosling, is in theaters now. 

Project Hail Mary is for sure the best of his books. So imaginative and detailed. I also thoroughly enjoyed Artemis, but didn't get as sucked into the characters as deeply. The storyline would be better for young adults, if it weren't for some of the themes and language. I started The Martian, but put it down after a few chapters. Reading the story through the POV of the main characters thoughts was a little too stressful for me, especially since he had to work through so many problems as part of the storyline. I felt like his stresses became my stresses and I couldn't get lost in the story. I have heard Andy's got another book in the works and I'm so looking forward to it!

Footnote - you will love Andy Weir if you devoured the 3 Body Problem series (the books!, not the Netflix series, which was the worst case of book adaptation I've ever experienced!) Both Andy Weir and Liu Cixin, the author of 3 Body Problem, have the same detailed theories, rabbit holes, and storylines of space and physics. Contemplating string theory (multiple dimensions and times) is not for the faint of heart. But, if you are someone who can stretch your mind and consider things other than face value, these are two great authors for you! If you want to see a better adaptation of 3 Body Problem, search on Youtube for the Tencent Three Body English, which is a thirty (yes thirty!) episode series of the 3 Body Problem books created by Tencent, a Chinese company, right around the same time as the Netflix series came out.

I'd love to connect on The StoryGraph so we can share what we're reading with each other, maybe even start a buddy read or book club!