Alien Nation: Extreme Prejudice
An unexpectedly thoughtful Alien Nation tie-in featuring a Pittsburgh-set murder mystery, creeping horror, and surprisingly nuanced explorations of racism. What could have been campy franchise fiction turns out to be a genuinely enjoyable police procedural.
Taurus Four
A stranded space explorer encounters a primitive society descended from hippies and falls for a teenage girl. I kept reading in hopes that the protagonist's spectacular sexism was deliberate satire. Instead, the novel celebrates his misogyny and delivers one of the most appalling endings I've encountered.
Charlemagne's Champion
Roland, an outcast warrior terrified of his supernatural heritage, seeks redemption through service to Charlemagne. A deeply unlikable protagonist and sloppy prose nearly drove me away, but intriguing magical mysteries and a promising friendship kept me reading—until a disappointing conclusion vindicated my initial doubts.
The Last of the Dragons and Some Others
A collection of century-old children's dragon stories with delightful illustrations, witty dialogue, and wonderfully ridiculous inventions. The title story is a gem, but the others are often too simplistic for my tastes—and the period racism and distrust-of-adults storytelling make for an uncomfortable read.
The Garden of the Shaped
Immortal scientists create three races and gradually forget why they made them. A fascinating exploration of creation, privilege, and prejudice loses its momentum when philosophical mysteries give way to a less compelling race war.
The Joy Wagon
I deliberately broke the rules of ForFemFan because the robot on the cover looked like Claptrap. What I got was a presidential campaign full of depressingly familiar politics, racism, sexism, and a robot considerably less charming than advertised.
The Wave and the Flame
Gorgeous cover. Epic premise. Forty pages of tedious meteorology, catty scientists, and prose so overwrought that a mischievous dwarf finally drove me to give up.