Archive for June 2021
Firebreak, by Nicole Kornher-Stace
Posted on: June 20, 2021
I was gonna write one of those really indepth reviews, where I give you all the background on Mallory’s world and “how we got here”. I even had it half written. But then I realized I wasn’t saying the most important thing first, and who the heck wants to read eight paragraphs to finally get to the most important thing, which is:
OMG Firebreak is SO SO SO GOOD. It’s got a TON of stuff going on, and I cried all the time while I was reading the end, a hustle based economy sucks, and when the government makes a few stupid decisions, the consequences last, um, forever. <deep breath> The first half of Firebreak was everything I wanted Ready Player One to be, smashed up with everything I wanted An Absolutely Remarkable Thing to be, and then the story went gloriously off the rails and I when I heard a name that rang a bell I realized I also recognized that sword/gun combo, and I ran and grabbed some other books off my bookshelf because I HAD to read those too all of a sudden. </and breathe>
Imagine if a superhero didn’t know who they were. Or maybe they did know, but they couldn’t escape their employers. Because they aren’t superheroes, they are property. They even have Merch!
Imagine if property decided to steal itself.
Firebreak is one of the best books I’ve read this year. Nicole Kornher-Stace is the best author you haven’t read yet. I love her books so much that I force my husband to read them. He described one of her earlier novels as the best novel he’s read in ten years, maybe ever. That’s it. That’s the review.
Oh, you want some more?
New Liberty City has their own Superheroes! Designed by Stellaxis, the Operatives keep the city safe from the invading corporation, Greenleaf. You can buy merch of the Operatives! They even have their own NPCs in the popular online MMO BestLife! Does your city have its own superheroes? Yeah, didn’t think so!
But the Supersoldier Operatives who are seen as superheroes are not citizens. According to Stellaxis, they aren’t even real people. They don’t even have names, only numbers, like 22, or 05. They were designed and built by Stellaxis, because it is important to Stellaxis to keep their city safe. When your apartment collapses around you, killing everyone you care about, when you are slowing dying of dehydration, Stellaxis will always be there.
Mallory makes part of a living livestreaming BestLife. When internet access is free, and there’s electricity for around 16 hours a day, grinding your way to the top of the charts is a cheap way to make some money, especially if you can score a sponsor who is willing to pay you in cash and water tickets. Oh, didn’t I mention? Stellaxis runs the city, charges for water, and you’ll be in even more debt up to your eyeballs if you end up in a rehydration clinic. People balance multiple jobs and gigs just to buy enough water to not die.
When Mal and Jessa score that unicorn sponsor, they agree to just ignore all the conspiracy theory bullshit the woman is spewing. But when her building completely disappears a few days later? When Mal meets a Supersoldier Operative in real life, streams her encounter, and goes viral? Maybe that disappearing sponsor was on to something after all. Mal doesn’t like attention. She never wanted to go viral.
The Operatives. What happens when you are a superhero and a slave, at the same time? What if you want a different life for yourself? Being a superhero only gets you killed some of the time. And if you are one of the lucky Operatives who didn’t die? It means you watched all your friends die.
hey, it’s been a while!
Posted on: June 9, 2021
hello! I know, it’s been a while. The days, they are just flying by. I’ve been up to book-ish stuff, author interview stuff, other entertainment stuff, and holy wow house stuff.
let’s do bookish stuff first!
some cool author interviews – over at Nerds of a Feather I interviewed Julie Novakova, Lucas K. Law, and Susan Forest, the editors of the upcoming fiction and non-fiction anthology Life Beyond Us. Over at Apex Magazine I interviewed A.K. Hudson and Jen Donohue.
Happy book birthday to The Unraveling by Benjamin Rosenbaum. thought experiments, social credit systems, the arbitrariness of gender, teens having cute crushes on each other, and how one question can change the world. I reviewed The Unraveling a few weeks ago thanks to an ARC from Erewhon Books. Yes, yes, i know authors are not supposed to comment on reviews, but Mr. Rosenbaum has been friendly, polite, and very gracious. I really need to ask Mr. Rosenbaum for an interview . . .
My review of Nicole Kohnher-Stace’s Firebreak is going to be 100% OMGTHISISAWESOME. I need to make my thoughts coherent, and I’m also rereading Archivist Wasp (finished it last night! eeeee!) and Latchkey (started it this morning), because reasons. #NotaSpoiler, if you are reading/planning to read Firebreak, you’ll want to order yourself a copy of Archivist Wasp #BecauseReasons. Holy shit Firebreak was good, just, damn.
A couple of weeks ago I read Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. We’d just moved in, I was exhausted and achy, overwhelmed by unpacking, and i needed an easy read. i opened a few book boxes, and Wee Free Men was sitting on the top of one. Bam. done. nice and easy.
I have a bunch of novellas I need to finish.
speaking of boxed of books, we still have around 20 to unpack. and as I’m unpacking books, I’m asking myself “why did I even pack this book? I don’t need this book, I’m never to read / finish / reread this book”. Into the donate box they are going. None of these are bad books, I just don’t need them anymore. They shouldn’t collect dust in my house when they could be happier in someone else’s house. I’m setting them free.
and speaking of my house. . . holy shit houses are a lot of work. I’ve never been this exhausted and I love it!
I love having a washing machine. It is the most amazing feeling to be able to do a load of laundry whenever I want. Having more than one bathroom is nice too.
when the weather is nice, i drink my morning coffee while standing in the backyard. Apologies to all the grackles I keep startling.
When we moved in, the trees hadn’t leafed out yet, and we had no idea what plants were growing here. Everything is growing now, and we have beautiful oak trees, a few hickory trees, lots of ivy and vinca, the happiest hostas on earth, spirea, hydrangea, what I think is a knock-out rose, what I’m hoping are echinacea, lots of barberry shrubs, and enough invasive virginia creeper to kill anything. Wildlife, we’ve got tons of happy plump robins, grackles, blue jays, woodpeckers, sparrows, and we’ve heard grouse and I saw a beautiful pine warbler a few times.. Most mornings and evenings I see cute bunnies in the backyard eating the clover.
other things I’m learning:
where every single hardware store within 20 miles is.
that i’m going to spend the rest of my life pulling weeds.
what exactly poison ivy looks like. Anyone got any tips on killing it? black plastic on top, same as you’d kill grass?
softened water is the best thing since sliced bread and it’s really easy to put salt in the water softener and salt is more affordable than i thought.
someone who used to live in this house really, really liked using fleur de lis in their decorating. Like, they are everywhere.
those little solar powered outdoor lights that you spike into the dirt, those things are also the best thing since sliced bread.
After shopping at every home goods store within 40 miles and not finding any patio furniture I liked, I learned that Amazon has an excellent selection of patio furniture and lets me skip the goat rodeo of getting the stupid things in a shopping cart, getting them into my car, and then getting them out of my car when i get home. The convenience of someone delivering a box to my driveway? worth it, when the thing you are buying is large and weighs 50 pounds.
that I’m officially middle aged because a new swiffer mop makes me really happy. Also? Method wood floor cleaner smells really nice.
You ever play The Sims, and you build your Sim’s house too big, and it takes your Sim hours to walk from their bedroom to the kitchen? #CanRelate.
Anyone have HBO? The TV show The Other Two is a good time. it’s only 8 or 10 episodes, Molly Shannon is her awesome self. it’s a cringe comedy. I enjoyed it, you might too.
anyway, what have you been up to? read any good books lately? seen anything fun on TV? anyone watching that new Loki TV show?
the Little Red Reviewer 
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