Review by Andre H.

Stan Lee’s Alliances: A Trick of Light
Hardcover | Kindle | Audiobook
By Stan Lee and Kat Rosenfield
Afterword: Ryan Silbert, Luke Lieberman
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Release date: September 17, 2019

A Trick of Light is a self-aware, pop culture snapshot that introduces us to the Stan Lee’s Alliances series. It serves as a love letter to Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z with many references to current trends, technology, internet language and culture, classic and modern gaming, and issues such as misinformation and digital privacy. The book further combines many genres and subjects: science fiction, urban legends, politics, ethics, technological singularity, horror, adventure, and cyberpunk and pays its respect to other books and series like Ghost in The Shell, Ready Player One, Harry Potter, Ender’s Game, Invasion of The Body Snatchers, Bioshock, and more.

Review by Andre H.

Half Way Home
Hardcover | Kindle | Audiobook
By Hugh Howey
Publisher: John Joseph Adams | Mariner Books | HMH Books
Release date: October 1, 2019

Half Way Home is only halfway there. Hugh Howey writes a strong and gripping first part that starts out as a raw social commentary that questions the motivations of humankind and touches on issues such as class, race, colonialism, sexuality, religion, politics, Artificial Intelligence, self-determination, pro-life vs. pro-choice, science, and ethics.

With an intense introduction and gripping early chapters, Howey builds an intriguing world where we are forced to consider the limitations of our own species and wonder what would happen if we encounter life elsewhere in the universe and what would happen if we have to survive on our own.