Black Spire by Delilah S. Dawson

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

I am a huge Star Wars fan, but I'd never read any of the canon novels until now. When Black Spire by Delilah S. Dawson was released, I had to pick up a copy to read before my visit to Galaxy's Edge at Walt Disney World, a land featuring the Black Spire Outpost: the main setting for this read. Vi Moradi has been sent by General Leia Organa to the planet Batuu, specifically the Black Spire Outpost, to determine its feasibility and set up a new base for the Resistance. But the First Order is onto her, and sends a party to Batuu determined to find her and shut down her mission.

I can't even begin to put into words how much I loved this story. Vi Moradi was an amazing character with startling ambition, especially when faced with tremendous adversity. I couldn't get enough of the sassily morose droid Pook. All of the side characters were wonderful, and Batuu was so well described that when I walked into the land at WDW I felt like I was coming home.

Me outside the Droid Depot
with some blue milk!

I'm so happy I read this book before visiting Galaxy's Edge. It made the whole experience so much better for me. I recognized all the businesses, as well as understood the back story and characters present in the land. I was thrilled to have drinks at Oga's Cantina, especially after knowing how terrifying its mob boss owner was, and excited to grab a snack from Ronto Roasters. I even shrieked as I saw Vi Moradi herself, blue hair and all, running through the land on her quest to evade the First Order. If you're planning a visit to Galaxy's Edge at WDW or Disneyland, I highly recommend reading this book first!

After reading and loving this novel so much, I've decided to read all of the Del Rey Star Wars canon novels in order, starting with Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott, which just came out yesterday. I'm sure I've spoiled some things for myself, since Black Spire comes towards the end of the canon, but I'm totally fine with that if it means I get to experience more amazing Star Wars novels.

Bright suns!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Last Tango in Cyberspace by Steven Kotler

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

I've always enjoyed sci-fi, and to be honest I don't read enough of it. That's why I was so excited to try this one. Last Tango in Cyberspace by Steven Kotler is a unique and unusual mashup of science fiction, adventure, mystery, animal rights, and a look into the human condition.

Lion Zorn is an em-tracker. He can sense empathy, which allows him to get a feel for the future. When this skill gets him a high-paying job with a major company, Lion finds himself immersed in a world of drugs and ecoterrorism. What is this new drug that is popping up making people free animals from cages and commune with them in the wild? Why is someone's taxidermied head hanging on the wall of his home? And how is all this connected to Arctic, the company Lion has been hired by?

This was such an amazing read! I was nervous at first because it was heavy from the beginning, as many sci-fi reads tend to be, and I was having a hard time grasping overall concepts for the first few chapters. I quickly got a hang of the writing style and figured things out though, and was completely enthralled with the plot and the world that Kolter has created. 

It addressed a lot of important topics in addition to having a fantastic plot. From animal rights and ecological issues, to how humans constantly find a new way to rebel and culture shifts, to the giving and taking of rights and melding of cultures, this book was a great look at how society advances and both the good and bad things that come with that advancement. I would definitely be pleased if there was a sequel to this read!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this read! Last Tango in Cyberspace by Steven Kotler is out now!

Severance by Ling Ma

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

I recently resubscribed to Book of the Month, and this was my December pick. Severance by Ling Ma promised plagues and zombies, and a post-apocalyptic New York City. While it did deliver on those promises, it did not deliver in the way that I had hoped.

Candace lives in New York City, and works at a company who outsources the publishing of books. When a major pandemic hits, people are left as shells of their former selves, technically alive but forced to repeat the mundane tasks in their lives over and over again in a zombie state. Candace escapes New York after being found by a group of survivors, and embarks on a journey with them to a promised safe-house facility.

I just could not get behind this story. It was told in alternating chapters of before the plague and after, and I thought most of the before parts were unnecessary and didn't add anything to the story. I thought Candace was boring, and I didn't care what happened to her character. So many of the plot elements didn't make sense with what had been established already, and lots of questions were left unanswered. I also hated the way it ended.

When I saw this was a post-apocalyptic novel with zombies caused by a plague, I was excited, but this story just left me bored. The zombies aren't scary. There are no real high-stakes. It had all the bad parts of The Walking Dead with none of the excitement. I did enjoy the pieces about the NY Ghost blog, and the descriptions of desolate New York were good.

I found myself barely skimming towards the end just to get through it. Maybe there was a deeper meaning here that I just missed. All I know is I wanted an exciting zombie story and did not get it.

Overall Rating: 1 out of 5 Stars