Faller

Faller by Will McIntosh
On Sale October 25, 2016 by Tor Books
Rating: ★★★★

A man wakes up in the middle of a street. He has no idea who he is, where he is, or what has happened to him. He's on a strange island that looks like a slice of urban jungle floating in the air. There are other people on the island with him, but none of them remember anything, either. The landscape is dotted with strange machines that no one remembers how to operate. Food only comes from cans found in abandoned homes and apartments-- and it won't last forever. This is Day One. And it's brutal. The strong band together in clans, hoarding cans for themselves. The weak, including almost all children, get tossed over the edge.

The man checks his pockets for clues to his identification. Others have found strange plastic cards with their picture on it and what they can only assume was their name before Day One. But all that's in the man's possession is an odd combination of a toy parachute man, a piece of paper marked with weird symbols drawn in blood, and a picture of himself with a woman. As far as he can tell the woman is nowhere in his world, but he longs for her regardless. He's convinced these items from his pocket are the key to discovering the truth about who he really is... if only he could figure out what they mean.

When Faller falls off the edge of the world, it's an accident. But it's also the begining of a discovery of who he is and what happened to him. He finds other world below his, other floating islands, each with a unique society that has dealt with the transition from Day One in its own way. Faller can't believe his luck when he finds the woman from the photograph. But just like there's more than one world, it seems there's more than one of this woman. From island to island, Faller continues to come across familiar faces.

What the heck is going on?

And as if things couldn't get more complicated for Faller, he starts to suspect someone is out to kill him. But who would want him dead? And why?

I'm not an avid reader of science fiction, but I really enjoyed this book. It seemed like every chapter added a new layer to the story. Just when I thought things couldn't get more freaky, something would happen that threw me for a loop. At first, I was annoyed that Faller's story was interrupted-- right after he fell off the edge of the earth, no less!-- with the story of some guy named Peter. But then it becomes clear that Peter and Faller have converging story lines. That said, I never warmed to Peter and preferred Faller's chapters.

I can't give this book a full five stars, because I was left with too many burning questions. Everyone had their memories wiped clean but has some muscle memory that allowed them shoot guns and open cans. Why couldn't that same principle apply to cars? It just seemed a little random what people could and couldn't remember post Day One. I also didn't like that Ugo was transformed from a complex character into a superhero villain. That's a complaint that I would apply more broadly over the entire plot as well. As the book went on, it definitely took on a quasi comic book feel. Less mind-blowing world building and more good vs. evil action scenes. Luckily, however, the book pulls back in the reigns towards the end.

I can't talk about most of the logic issues I had with this book without ruining it. So I've hid them in a spoiler (click at your risk):

How did everyone seem to know that Faller is the real Peter? How come all the worlds were English speaking? If so many people died during the war/apocalypse, how did so many of the duplicates survive? Where are they getting all the ammo? Why would Ugo chose to clone a bunch of Peters to kill Peter instead of a bunch of Ugos? Why did some of the Peters understand physics, but Faller didn't? How did the orignals, except Peter, avoid getting the black out virus?

This book is definitely worth a look for fans of post-apocalyptic sci-fi.

Crosstalk

Crosstalk by Connie Willis
On Sale October 4, 2016 by Del Rey
Rating: ★★★★

Briddey Flannigan knows she's lucky to have a boyfriend like Trent Worth. He sends her flowers, takes her to the hottest restaurants, and texts her first thing every morning. Far from being allergic to commitment, Trent has already said the big ILY, and now he's proposing they have an EED to become even closer. It all has the rumor mill at their workplace churning with barely concealed envy. Who wouldn't want their boyfriend or girlfriend to suggest something so romantic? And after only six weeks of dating, no less.

EED is a futuristic surgical procedure that allows couples to communicate emotions instead of just words and helps them connect on a deeper level. Or at least that's what's supposed to happen. Sometimes the procedure fails because a couple isn't emotionally bonded enough, although Briddey certainly doesn't think that'll be a problem for her and Trent.

What Briddey doesn't anticipate is just how well the EED would help her connect... with someone else. Someone who is definitely not Trent.

Maybe she should have listened to C. B., the oddball lab tech who rarely leaves the basement at Commspan, the telecoms company where they work. C. B. spends days warning her about the dangers of EEDs and surgery in general. He warns her the procedure might come with unintended consequences, but she never imagined connecting to the wrong person could be one of them. And try as she might, she can't get the wrong voice out of her head to let Trent's in. She and Trent have never been further apart. Maybe C. B. was right when he claimed more communication would be bad for her relationship.

If only Briddey knew how much more communication was in store for her. Unintended consequences, indeed. And now it seems C. B. might be the only person who can save her from this mess.

This book came close to being a five star read for me, but one thing held me back. This book is at least 100 pages too long. And all the other problems with it stem from that flaw.Briddey has the most over involved, nosy family and coworkers-- ever. To a certain point, it's ok. Amusing, even. But because the book is so long, this dynamic keeps getting shoehorned into the story, and it loses its luster. If the book had been shorter, reoccurring themes like her pushy, over-the-top Irish brood would have seemed fresher and less gimmicky. A lot of scenes were drawn out and repetitive. There's one part where Briddey and C.B. are trying to get from one part of a library to another part of the same library, and it takes them like 20 pages. It didn't turn me off enough to abandon the book, but I could see how it might with other readers. Then there's the name Briddey. Yes, maybe this is petty, but that's a horrible name, even explained as being "short" for Bridget, and I cringed every time I read it.

The good parts of this book outweighed the negatives. It's a romantic comedy with a sci-fi twist, and I happen to really enjoy romantic comedies when done well. Which this one is. I like the whole "couple who spar together stay together" trope. Mark Darcy and Bridget Jones (who no one ever called Briddey, but I digress). George Knightly and Emma Woodhouse. I liked most of the characters in this book, but I did feel Trent was a bit transparent. When you discover the truth about him you won't be surprised. I loved Maeve, Briddey's niece who spends every waking minute trying to outmaneuver her crazy warden of a mother, but I do think the author made a mistake with her age-- she's supposed to be 9 but acts more like 12. And of course this book has a HEA ending that's expected but satisfying at the same time.

Overall impressions: if you've ever thought sci-fi books should be more like romantic comedies, this is the one for you. This is my first Connie Willis book, but I'm excited to read more from her.

Dark Matter

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Released July 26, 2016
Published by Crown
Rating: ★★★★★

If your family was stolen from you, how far would you go to get them back?

This book explores that question, but in a totally mindbendy, sci-fi thriller kind of way. It kind of bums me out that I can only give it 5 stars, because it was amazing. Unfortunately, I can't really reveal why, because it's nearly impossible to summarize this book without spoiling it. It's one of the reasons it took me so long to read this. I didn't realize from the blurb how great it would be. You're going to have to trust me.

I can say that I am SO not a sci-fi person. The concept of Schrodinger's cat (which plays an important role in the plot) alludes me despite all explanations. My brain just doesn't get science and especially not physics. But that didn't prevent me from loving this story. In the end, the driving force behind the plot is not futuristic science, but love.

I enjoyed every twist and turn in this exciting book, and, as promised, this is a page-turner. I also fell in love with all the characters, which is rare, especially in a thiller. I will say that I got so excited about what I was reading, that I tried to sell my non-reading husband on how great it is and he dismantled the entire ending portion of the plot in a nanosecond. And I'll never look at him the same way again. Outside of the influence of book-ruining smart alecs, Dark Matter is pretty flawless.

I hope that somewhere out there exists another, cooler version of me who was aware of Blake Crouch's talent before this point, and has read all of his previous books, because I can't believe it has taken me this long to discover this author.