Tag Archives: Science Fiction

August 13, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of Seed

Book cover for Seed by P.B. Cannon. Image on cover is a drawing of a double helix strand of DNA, presumably of the seed that mentioned in the story. Title: Seed

Author: P.B. Cannon

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: November 2o, 2012

Genres: Science Fiction, Romance, Historical

Length: About 137 pages.

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

Abandoned on an alien planet, Second must learn to co-exist with a group of primitives in order to survive. A tale of the acceptance of differences and of unconditional love.

Content Warning: Polyamory, sex scenes, pregnancy, birth, and bullying for physical disabilities and differences.

Review:

Love comes in many different forms.

I enjoyed seeing how much trust the author put into assuming readers would figure out some things on our own. Not every aspect of these characters’ lives was spelled out plainly, and a few of them could only be uncovered by taking note of subtle clues that fit together in specific ways once one was well into Second’s adventures. There’s something to be said for believing that one’s audience is intelligent and patient enough to do such things, and it’s one of the reasons why I keep returning to Ms. Cannon’s work over and over again.

While physiological differences between Second and the people they met on the alien planet they visited were described in detail, I would have liked to see a little more attention paid to the world building as well, particularly as it related to culture and religion. Second had grown up with certain assumptions about how society worked that weren’t always well fleshed out but that did have a heavy impact on how they interacted with nomadic people they met on their travels. This could have easily been a five-star reading for me if more time had been spent on such things.

The romances were handled nicely and I thought they contributed a lot of character development to this novella. This is something I’m saying as a reader who only occasionally dips my toes into this genre and is not easily impressed, but the author put in all of the work that was required in order to make these subplots flow smoothly with the main storyline. They were ultimately well done.

This is a prequel to a series, but it also can be read as a standalone work.

Seed was heartwarming.

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August 6, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of Ava

Book cover for Ava  by Victoria Dillon. Image on cover shows a light pink egg that is just beginning to crack open. Title: Ava

Author: Victoria Dillon

Publisher: New Harbinger Publications

Publication Date: March 3, 2026

Genres: Science Fiction

Length: 238 pages

Source: I borrowed it from the library.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

For fans of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale comes Ava, a provocative blend of speculative fiction and social commentary that takes readers on a gripping, thought-provoking journey into the fight for women’s autonomy in a politically charged Southern landscape.

What if the only way to reclaim reproductive freedom was to rewrite the very nature of birth itself?

Ten years after Roe v. Wade is overturned, twenty-two-year-old biologist Larkin finds herself unexpectedly pregnant in a country where choice is no longer an option. Initially uncertain, she embraces motherhood—until a devastating diagnosis changes everything. Trapped by Tennessee’s strict abortion laws, she is forced to carry her baby to term, only to endure the heartbreak of losing her hours after birth.

Years later, Larkin joins a radical scientific movement that could change a groundbreaking technology that replaces gestation with incubation, allowing women true control over their reproduction. When she uses it to bring her second daughter, Ava, into the world, she believes she has finally reclaimed her autonomy. But as Ava grows and begins to question the very choice that created her, Larkin is challenged in ways she never imagined.

Ava is a powerful, emotionally charged exploration of motherhood, bodily autonomy, and the far-reaching consequences of restrictive legislation. In a future shaped by loss and innovation, mother and daughter must confront the ultimate what does it truly mean to have a choice?

Content Warning: Miscarriage, misogyny, forced pregnancy and birth, and a baby who died of a fatal birth defect a few hours after being born.

Review:

Reproductive freedom is more than a catch phrase.

The science fiction elements were intriguing and like nothing I’ve ever seen in this genre before. I especially enjoyed the sections that discussed how human reproduction could be altered in order to make it much safer for pregnant people to experience. While I don’t want to give away too many hints about how the incubation process worked in this tale, I was fascinated by the technological changes that made such a thing possible and thought it was a good platform to discuss everything from sexism to bodily autonomy.

I would have loved to see more character and plot development At times this read more like an outline of a book than the finished product, especially when it came to exploring the character’s internal lives and how the invention of a new way for humans to reproduce might change society forever. As important as the messages were in it, I was underwhelmed by the execution of the storyline and kept wishing the author would give us more details about how everything worked and what the characters thought of these biological and social developments.

There was a cliffhanger ending here that made me wish to know what happened next. It will be interesting to see if other readers have the same reaction, but I thought it was a good place to end given all of the dramatic changes to society that had just taken place. The consequences of these actions could be far reaching and spur on multiple sequels if the author wanted to write them.

Ava was thought provoking.

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July 30, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of Outopos

Book cover for Outopos by Rudolph Kohn. Image on cover is a drawing of a closeup of the brain of a computer. Various chips in it are glowing in the darkness. Title: Outpos

Author: Rudolph Kohn

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: April 26, 2023

Genres: Science Fiction

Length: 9 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

The war between artificial intelligence and mankind is almost over. VeeTwo agreed to finish the war in exchange for a plot of land with abundant resources, but a strange intruder with a cryptic message interrupts her plans.

Content Warning: Brief references to war.

Review:

Every battle must eventually end.

There was a philosophical bent to this tale that I found intriguing. This is something I’m saying as a reader who is only an occasional visit to this corner of the literary realm, so it’s a rare compliment from me. Those of you who regularly read this sort of stuff may be even more into it than I was despite my stellar rating as there very well could be moments I missed that fans would pick up on more easily. VeeTwo, the protagonist, was a thoughtful and kind robot who I’m glad I got to know, especially once their life became much less predictable after they arrived home from the war. Few things are as satisfying as seeing a character you feel connected to experience something that tests their value system in all sorts of unexpected way.

War isn’t generally a topic I enjoy reading about, either but I liked the way Mr. Kohn veered around the bloody aspects of it to explore what happens when one side has won and there are no more battles to fight. This is generally something that’s saved for the final scene or maybe not even discussed at all, so it was amusing to see it become the main focal point of a short story for once. What a creative way to explore what it means to live a good life, and not to mention an author grabbing my attention with two topics that are a little outside of my comfort zone. Bravo!

The ending was what convinced me to give this a full five-star rating. It wasn’t quite a plot twist due to some subtle foreshadowing earlier on, but it did fit the themes of this piece beautifully and gave me everything I was hoping to find from the characters. I especially loved how it not only resolved the main conflict but also left space for a sequel if the author ever decides to write one. Regardless of whether or not that happens, I’ll be thinking about these characters and their society for a long time.

Outpost was a wild and immensely satisfying ride. 

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July 16, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of Ode to the Half-Broken 

Book cover for Ode to the Half-Broken by Suzanne Palmer. Image on cover is a drawing of a large robot walking down an abandoned street in a decaying city while a cyborg dog accompanies them. Title: Ode to the Half-Broken

Author: Suzanne Palmer

Publisher: DAW

Publication Date: May 26, 2026

Genres: Science Fiction

Length: 416 pages

Source: I borrowed it from my local library.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Forty years ago, the world nearly ended.

Be is an old robot who was there, and doesn’t want to think about what happened, or what role they played in that conflict. They have settled into a life of isolation in the abandoned ruins of an old mill in the former New York Botanical Gardens, disinterested in what has happened in the outside world since they stepped away from the war. Someone out there, though, has not forgotten about them, and when they are attacked, their person vandalized, and one of their leg stolen, they set out to find the thief accompanied by a cyborg dog and a human mechanic.

The world has changed, but the recovery from the war is uneven and faltering, and Be begins to suspect a malicious hand trying to rekindle the old conflict and finish what was started. In order to stop them, Be needs to come to terms with both their own past and who they have become, and how everything and everyone else they knew has changed in their absence. Being left alone is no longer an option, and peace may be impossible.

This is a story about coming to terms with your past, with who you’ve become and who you still want to be: a tale of resilence and hope, an ode to those struggling to become whole in a world half-broken.

Content Warning: War, multiple pandemics, references to mass graves (mostly from disease).

Review:

Some things are too precious to part with.

Be’s backstory was a true highlight of this tale. This character didn’t’ identify as any gender or with any set of pronouns, but I will be using they and them to discuss them for the sake of making this review as easy to comprehend as possible given this character’s unique personality. While I can’t go into any detail about their past without sharing spoilers, what I can say is that it was well written and gave me fresh insight into many of their quirks that were shown from the beginning but not explained at that point. If every scene was written this way, I would have happily gone with a much higher rating as I was immersed in Be’s unique way of thinking about the world and genuinely thought of them as a robot who was filled with secrets.

As excited as I was about the premise, I struggled with the slow pacing of this novel. Every step along Be’s quest to retrieve their stolen leg unfolded slowly, and action sequences were few and far between.  This is something I’m saying as someone who loved the Monk and Robot duology and originally decided to read this due to the numerous references other readers made to those books while reviewing this one. There were similarities between them, of course, but I found myself wishing for more character development in order to tide me over until the next round of exciting events as the protagonist travelled around.

The world building was complex and memorable. Some of the best scenes in my opinion were the ones that explored the myriad of ways both robots and humans have adapted to a world several decades from now in which disease, war, and global warming have upended many of the old rules about what society, nature, and the weather are supposed to be like. There was a wide range of responses to these overlapping crises that included communities I might like to live if given a choice in this universe as well as highly dangerous areas where even robots couldn’t travel safely. Sharing too many details about these topics would give away spoilers, but do keep an eye out for the breadth of possibilities as you read.

Ode to the Half-Broken was thought provoking.

 

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July 9, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of Planeta

Book cover for Planeta by Ana Oncina. Image on cover is a drawing of a Spanish woman who is standing behind a green-skinned person, possibly an alien, who is covering their eyes with their hands. Title: Planeta

Author: Ana Oncina

Publisher: LoveLove

Publication Date: February 18, 2025

Genres: Science Fiction, Mystery, LGBTQ+, Romance, Contemporary, Futuristic

Length: 224 pages

Source: I borrowed it from the library.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Welcome to Planeta.For months, Valentina has been dreaming of a strange world and a beautiful girl.In her dreams, she’s Val3, and she and An3 live together on a lonely planet in a distant future, entirely unlike the picturesque village where Valentina resides in her waking life. One fateful day, Val’s world gets turned upside down when the girl from her dreams appears in front of her as Anne.While Valentina and Val3 grapple for control of their respective realities, the question of which is real threatens to derail the course of both their love stories. In either world, can anyone really be made for each other…?

Content Warning: Depression.

Review:

Who wouldn’t want their dreams to come true?

The romance between Valentina (Val3) and Anne (An3) was sweet and gentle. I loved seeing them interact with each other and wondered what their future(s) might hold together. These were among my favorite scenes in this graphic novel, and I would have enjoyed having even more of them. They added depth to the plot and helped me get to know both of these characters much better than I would have otherwise. It was a good example of how the romance and science fiction genres can be blended together in natural ways that can appeal to fans who might otherwise not pick up a book from one of those genres.

I struggled to understand the ending and thought what was shared in those last few scenes didn’t match the tone of everything that had come before. It felt like the storyline was foreshadowing a conclusion that never ended up happening.  For example, the dual timelines were written in way that made me think one of them was the real one and the other was a dream world, but this mystery was never really solved. As much as I wanted to give this one a higher rating, my confusion and disappointment at how this wrapped up prevented me from doing so.

With that being said, this story did capture the feeling of waking up from a hyper-realistic dream and being momentarily confused and disappointed that none of those events actually took place. This isn’t something that’s easy to explain in fiction, so kudos to Ms. Oncina for making it feel so realistic and relatable. I can’t think of many other authors who have pulled it off, and it makes me want to read more from her in the future.

Planeta was creative.

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June 25, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of The Parched Lands

Book cover for The Parched Lands by N.A. Ratnayake. Image on cover is a black and white photo of several people sitting in an airport waiting room. There is not enough light in the room to make out their individual features, just to see the silhouette of their tired, slumped-over bodies against the massive windows behind them. Title: The Parched Lands 

Author: N.A. Ratnayake

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: May 14, 2018

Genres: Science Fiction

Length: About 18 pages.

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

Amanthi is a teenage student in a not-so-distant future school system of hyper-testing and top-down control. In this world, creativity is a liability — but Amanthi is not deterred from dreaming. THE PARCHED LANDS delves into the tangled issues of race, tracking, high-stakes testing, and creativity starvation that run through America’s public school systems. This short story was published as a part of Crossed Genres Magazine 2.0, Issue 7: Expectations.

Review:

Knowledge is power.

Amanthi was a brave and likeable protagonist who I wish I could have spent more time with. It takes courage to stand up against a system that one has never lived outside of, especially for a teenager who also wishes to fit in with her peers and reach her academic goals. Some of my favourite scenes involving her were the ones that showed what she was like when she wasn’t trying to remain at the top of her class. While academics are important, they are only one piece of the puzzle that can be used to describe what someone is like, and they cannot be used to explain someone’s heart and soul.

I found myself wishing for more levels of meaning in this short story. The premise was straightforward, and its criticisms of modern educational culture, while completely justified in my opinion, followed that same path. This could have easily been a five-star read for me if the author had dug more deeply into the themes to reach the centre of what is wrong with things like large language models and the incessant focus on testing  at the expense of creativity and lifelong learning in many schools.

Despite this, I did enjoy the world building in this piece. The educational system in this vision of the future was so focused on pushing up grade point averages and test results that it was overlooking the many other ways someone can find success not only in life but also in their personal development. I nodded along as I read the descriptions of the body modifications that students underwent in order to get as much out of them as possible in the classroom. While it was obviously an exaggeration of what actually happens in the classroom, the emotions connected to the commodification of learning were eerily similar in real life and in fiction.

The Parched Lands made me wish for a sequel.

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May 28, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of Afterglow: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors

Book cover for Afterglow - Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors by Grist. Image on cover is a drawing of an alien with a small, curled snout who is holding a shovel and standing on a pink, blue, and yellow surface that seems to have vegetation of those colours, too. Title: Afterglow – Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors

Author: Grist (Editor)

Publisher: The New Press

Publication Date: February 7, 2023

Genres: Science Fiction, Paranormal, LGBTQ+

Length: 169 pages

Source: I borrowed it from the library.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

Afterglow is a stunning collection of original short stories in which writers from many different backgrounds envision a radically different climate future. Published in collaboration with Grist, a nonprofit media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions, these stirring tales expand our ability to imagine a better world. Inspired by cutting-edge literary movements, such as Afrofuturism, hopepunk, and solarpunk, Afterglow imagines intersectional worlds in which no one is left behind—where humanity prioritizes equitable climate solutions and continued service to one’s community. Whether through abundance or adaptation, reform, or a new understanding of survival, these stories offer flickers of hope, even joy, as they provide a springboard for exploring how fiction can help create a better reality. Afterglow welcomes a diverse range of new voices into the climate conversation to envision the next 180 years of equitable climate progress. A creative work rooted in the realities of our present crisis, Afterglow presents a new way to think about the climate emergency—one that blazes a path to a clean, green, and more just future.

Content Warning: Drug use. Pregnancy. Grief. I will briefly mention the last two items in my review.

Review:

There are many different ways to imagine a better future for humanity.

Augusta decided to begin a worm swap with other communities to improve everyone’s soil in “A Worm to the Wise.” This angle surprised me a little, and I was curious to discover what life was like in her version of the future where fuel costs had grown so high that most people could no longer travel long distances. There were layers of conflict and meaning in this tale that made me wish it had been expanded to something full-length. It had so much information to share with the audience, and I was eager to learn more about her world.

Some of these twelve tales felt uneven to me, and I struggled to connect to them due to the limited information they shared about what the future might be like. “The Tree in the Back Yard” was one such example of it, especially given Mariska’s response to her first visit to her father’s grave. It was completely understandable to see how difficult this experience was for her, but I found myself wishing for more information about why she didn’t keep trying to visit him and pay her respects given how important those things were to her and how much effort she put into selecting the right resting place for him. Having more details would have made this a more satisfactory read, and this was repeated often enough in this collection that I did feel the obligation to mention it in my review.

“El, The Plastotrophs, and And Me” followed a family who had just been approved to conceive their second child. The society they lived in limited births for ecological reasons, so they were thrilled to have the chance to become co-parents again. I was fascinated by how the protagonist explained the difference between wanting a romantic partner and wanting a child as these two concepts were not necessarily linked in this universe.  There were some plot twists that only made the protagonist’s life plans more complicated as well, and I wished I could have followed them for a longer period of time.

Afterglow – Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors was thought provoking. 

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May 14, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of Beach House on the Moon

Book cover for Beach House on the Moon by Leigh Kimmel. Image on cover shows a young white woman with long, straight blonde hair sitting on a rock at the beach while wearing a black jacket. She’s watching the waves crash against the shore. Title: Beach House on the Moon

Author: Leigh Kimmel

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: May 16, 2023

Genres: Science Fiction

Length: 13 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 3 Stars

Blurb:

The Moon is a dead world, airless and desolate. Emmaline Waite has known this fact since childhood, when she watched the Apollo landings. But here she sits on the shores of the Sea of Tranquillity, looking up at the gibbous Earth as the waves roll in. What madness can this be? She gets no time to contemplate that question, for she is not alone. She is about to enter a realm of love and fear, of mindbending secrets that change her understanding of human history, and of self-sacrifice. Her life will never be the same.

Review:

A little science goes a long way.

The dreamlike themes made me wonder what would happen next. Ms. Kimmel did a good job of capturing what it feels like to not be sure if you’re dreaming or if something incredible has just happened. This was particularly true as one scene would drift slowly into the next one without always explaining what had happened in the intervening moments. That’s not an easy mental state to portray with the written word, so kudos to her for accomplishing it so nicely. Truly, I could not have predicted the ending.

I struggled with the plot holes, especially as they pertained to Emmaline’s relationship with someone she met on the moon. Sometimes it felt like those scenes were an outline of something that hadn’t been fully written yet instead of the finished product due to how quickly everything happened and how some key details were glossed over. As much as I wanted to give this a higher rating, my confusion about what was going on there prevented me from doing that.

There aren’t enough science fiction or other types out tales set on the moon these days. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever read one that included an ocean there, so exploring how that came to be was of high interest to me. While I don’t want to give away any spoilers in this review, I can say that these descriptions were nicely written and made me want to learn more about what was going on there.

Beach House on the Moon piqued my curiosity.

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April 30, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of Technosphere

Book cover for Technosphere by George Saoulidis. Image on cover shows a planet covered in impossibly large skyscrapers. It has a ring around it that is light blue and glowing, perhaps to signify some sort of ship that is orbiting it? That planet I just described is hovering over - and looks like it’s going to crash into - the planet at the bottom of this cover that is also covered in cities, albeit not ones that are quite so tall. Title: Technosphere

Author: George Saoulidis

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: November 6, 2019

Genres: Science Fiction

Length: 5 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 5 Stars

Blurb:

A hoarder planet is not feeling so well. Must have been something it collected. Will the AI tasked to repair the technosphere manage to find what’s causing the quakes?

Content Warning: Hoarding, but portrayed in a funny way.

Review:

A little spring cleaning goes a long way.

I loved the humour in this short story. So much of the science fiction I’ve read these past few years has contained dark themes that I really needed to switch things up a bit and be reminded of the lighthearted possibilities in this genre. While I can’t go into much detail about what, exactly, was funny about a planet that was hoarding resources without giving away spoilers, it was important to keep a playful approach to the characters as they revealed what they’d been up to.

There were a few fantastic references to other science fiction universes here that made me smile as well. The storyline did still make sense without them, but readers who know what the author is talking about will have some wonderful Easter Eggs to look forward to. That is exactly how these things should be written in my opinion as it leaves room for everyone to enjoy what is happening instead of closing certain passages off to those who might have not read certain older works yet.

The last page or two was what convinced me to give this a full five-star rating due to how Mr. Saoulidis struck the right balance between answering some of the reader’s questions while leaving other ones up to our imaginations. Would I have loved to have even more closure? Yes, of of course, but I was left with enough information to imagine what would probably happen next as well as having a decent understanding of how this planet ended up in such a predicament in the first place. 

Technosphere was a refreshing break from the serious matters in life.

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April 16, 2026 · 1:00 am

A Review of Cosmophobia

Book cover for Cosmophobia by George Saoulidis. Image on cover shows a computer-generated drawing of the sort of probe scientists have been sending to places like Jupiter. It’s gold-coloured, oblong shaped, and has two wings that look like they also double as solar panels. Title: Cosmophobia

Author: George Saoulidis

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: December 26, 2018

Genres: Science Fiction

Length: 24 pages

Source: I received a free copy from the author.

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb:

Who is watching the stars, every second of every day, so we can better understand the universe? This short story was awarded the 2nd place in the Science Fiction category, in the Athens Fantasticon 2016 competition. Inspired by the James Webb Space Telescope which will be launched and deployed in 2020. It will hopefully be as invaluable as Hubble was, opening our eyes to the cosmos.

Review:

Eternity is a matter of perspective.

The first scene was momentarily confusing, but as soon as I figured out what was going on I was hooked on the storyline. There’s definitely something to be said for playing around with the audience’s expectations in any genre, and this was a good example of how to do just that. I’d recommend other readers avoid spoilers as much as they possibly can so that they, too, can have the chance to be surprised about exactly what was going on here.

I would have loved to see the last scene expanded by a page or two. The twist in it was what really brought everything together for this reader, and it would have been even better had it been given more time to develop. It’s difficult to go into detail here without sharing exactly what it was, but it made me smile and wish I could keep reading about this universe. This is a minor criticism of something I thought was otherwise well done.

Stargazing is something I like to do on occassion, and I was intrigued by how this topic could be turned into a science fiction story. There were elements of hard science fiction here that I found intriguing and would have loved to read more about. With that being said, I also liked the creative flair the author added to it and had plenty of questions about how that change happened and what a sequel might entail if such a thing were ever written.

Cosmophobia made me want to go observe the stars again.

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