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.

The Spaceship Next Door
Paperback | Kindle
By Gene Doucette
Publisher: John Joseph Adams | Mariner Books | HMH Books
Release date: September 4, 2018

With a title like The Spaceship Next Door, you’d think this book was a beloved children’s tale about a little girl who befriends her new neighbor, “Shippie,” a spaceship from another world. Instead, in Gene Doucette‘s new novel, the little girl is precocious 16-year-old Annie Collins and “Shippie” is not exactly buddy material.

It’s been three years since an alien spacecraft landed in a field in the small mill town of Sorrow Falls, MA, where it’s sat dormant ever since. The U.S. military has formed a perimeter around it, while just outside is an RV campsite filled with eccentric alien watchers with surveillance equipment waiting for something – anything – to happen. And it’s about to. When Ed Somerville, a government operative unconvincingly posing as a reporter, comes to town, he immediately hires the young, knowledgeable Annie to be his guide and together they try to uncover the secret behind this mysterious ship now that it seems to be “awakening.”

The Wild Dead
The Bannerless Saga Book 2
Paperback | Kindle
By Carrie Vaughn
Publisher: John Joseph Adams | Mariner Books | HMH Books
Release date: July 17, 2018

In The Wild Dead, author Carrie Vaughn delves back into the world she created in Bannerless, where in a future dystopian society the survivors must earn their keep and prove themselves worthy of a banner, which permits a household to have a child. This follow-up sees investigator Enid embroiled in another rare murder-mystery after the body of a young woman is found inside one of the far-off communities. After Enid discovers that the murdered woman was one of the “Wild” folk who live outside of The Coast Road, the name for this rebuilt society, she goes above and beyond the call of duty as well as dangerously out of bounds to try to solve the case.

The sequel opens with Enid away on what should be a quick assignment with her new, rookie partner Teeg, to resolve a simple household dispute. She’s eager to get back home, though, as her household is awaiting the imminent arrival of their baby, being delivered by her housemate Olive. It’s an immensely joyous occasion, and Enid promised to be there for it, but she still has a long way to travel back from The Estuary community, the northern-most town, which borders The Wild area. Just as she’s ready to hand down her judgment on the dispute, the young Wild woman’s body is found. Teeg thinks they should leave the matter unsolved and head home, since it doesn’t fall under their jurisdiction, but Enid is compelled to continue the probe, even if it leads her in uncharted territory.

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017
The Best American Series
Paperback | Kindle
Edited By Charles Yu and John Joseph Adams
Publisher: Mariner Books
Release Date: October 3, 2017

If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times: I love anthologies for the sheer fact that I get to preview a plethora of authors, some new and some not so much. Where else but in a compilation like this will you find so much talent in one spot without literally hanging out in a bookstore all day (I’m looking at you old Waldenbooks customers, folks)? That is precisely what The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017 will give you. So anyway, I’m going to drop a few names, talk about a few stories, and make you want to run out and grab a copy of this. All in one little review. Are you ready? Okay, here we go!

Bannerless
The Bannerless Saga #1
Paperback | Kindle | Audiobook
By Carrie Vaughn
Publisher: HMH Books | John Joseph Adams | Mariner Books
Release date: July 11, 2017

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has launched a new scifi/fantasy imprint called John Joseph Adams, and they’ve kicked things off right with Bannerless, the first book in Carrie Vaughn‘s futuristic dystopian saga.