It's the first day of the new year, and already I found a story that made me cry. It's "Not Lost (Never Lost)" by Premee Mohamed, and it can be found here at Psychopomp Magazine (which I also didn't know existed--it looks like an interesting magazine).
Novel
Future's Edge, Gareth L. Powell (4 of 5 stars, full review here). (This author does space opera writ large, and this is no exception: it's a standalone exploring a billion-year history with human-extinction stakes. At the same time, the relationships between the three main characters [two human, one AI] are given near equal time. This universe could be explored further, but I appreciated the way the main storyline was wrapped up.)
The Martian Contingency, Mary Robinette Kowal (5 of 5 stars, full review here). (This is the fourth book in the Lady Astronaut series, and its excellence continues. This alternate history, focusing on an asteroid strike in 1952 that accelerated Earth's efforts to settle the Moon and Mars, as the impact created an accelerated climate change potential extinction event, brings back the sensawunda of classic science fiction, while illuminating issues that continue to exist in our society today. The core protagonists, married couple Elma and Nathaniel York, are stellar examples of mature characters with an ongoing happy marriage, something that unfortunately isn't common.)
Young Adult
Among Serpents, Marc J. Gregson (5 of 5 stars, full review here). (This is the second book in the Above the Black fantasy trilogy--although it has more of an SF feel--and the author has definitely upped his game. In particular, the battle scenes in this book were breathtaking. The kaiju-like monster threatening the floating cities of this world has been defeated, but the protagonist's horrible uncle is now going to take center stage as possibly an even greater threat. I can't wait for the third book.)
Series
The Lady Astronaut series, Mary Robinette Kowal. (See review of the fourth book above.)
"Goodbye Mrs. Selvig," , "Who Is Alive?" and "Cold Harbor," Severance Season 2 Ep 2, 3, and 10, Apple TV. (Severance season 2 is now finished, and as with Season 1, the finale, "Cold Harbor," is a powerful, unsettling episode, at 75 minutes like a short feature film. Just to see Adam Scott portraying both his innie and his outie talking to each other [via recordings on a video camera] was riveting. And the ending!! Thank goodness it's been renewed for Season 3. This story of four people working for an all-powerful corporation, Lumon, who "sever" their consciousness into "innies," the workers who never leave the office with its creepy white rooms and long hallways, and their counterpart "outies," the actual employees who have no idea what they're doing, is supremely weird and utterly gripping.)
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