Review: The Passengers

The Passengers by John Marrs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Passengers is part of the Dark Future series by John Marrs.  You can read this book alone without any issues.  It does reference The One and has some mild spoilers for that.  If that bothers you, I would read The One first.  

Combine self-driving cars and the worst of social media and reality television and you get The Passengers.  We already have the ingredients for this recipe. I am not even against self-driving cars because I can see the benefits in certain scenarios to having them.  I do agree that the big issues comes when we let AI make all the decisions.  Because it isn't really making objective decisions, it relies on information it is given and potential bias in programming.  The whole time I was reading this I was thinking of that poor library cat that was killed by a self-driving car.  Yes, I am the crazy person that brakes for all animals even if it means I might get myself killed.  Don't bother to come at me.  You won't change my mind.  

There were a few characters in this that felt over-the-top unlikeable.  Then I realized, there are real people today that are over-the-top unlikeable so I can't fault John Marrs for writing realism.  I did love the way he encapsulated how quick social media is to judge people on a line drawing of their character and showed how that can really be misleading.  As always, I love how he incorporates new articles, interviews, and other epistolary forms of writing to tell the story.  It is one of my favorite things about his books.  

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Review: With a Vengeance

With a Vengeance by Riley Sager
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

With a Vengeance by Riley Sager gives noir and Agatha Christie vibes.  You know from the start that the people on the train all have secrets and probably are not good people.  Some are worse than others.  What could go wrong??? There are less elaborate ways to get revenge but renting an express train to jail is pretty original.  The book goes by about as fast as the train.  If you enjoy a locked room mystery, try this out.

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Review: Interstellar MegaChef

Interstellar MegaChef by Lavanya Lakshminarayan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Interstellar MegaChef is the first book in the Flavour Hacker series by Lavanya Lakshminarayan.  The second book isn't out yet, so you would have to start here.  That would be my recommendation anyway, since this book is the world-building.  It is self-contained so you don't need to read the second book if you aren't ready for a series right now.  

I love a reality cooking competition, so the title of this book really drew me in.  I also love donuts and was very disappointed that I didn't see any in here.  I did however get very hungry while reading and want to eat lots of snacks.  I really enjoyed the diversity of characters and food in this book.  I did not enjoy that some main characters are really unlikeable and what felt unnecessarily mean.  Then again, that may just be a reflection of the world we live in today.  People are unnecessarily mean, especially to people who don't look like them.  I most identified with the Wanderers so that probably didn't help how I felt about Serenity Ko and the potential future of tech.  More space donuts, please!

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Review: Horror Movie

Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay tells the story of an unreleased horror movie that is on the verge of being remade and released through the screenplay of the original film and the narration of one of the original cast members.  It made me think if Christian Slater and Winona Ryder made a horror film in the 80s, it would be Horror Movie.  It gave me a weird feeling of nostalgia.  For those who might be turned off by the idea of reading a screenplay, it isn't written in the typical screenplay format.  That makes it a little less jarring to switch back and forth although I like books written in unusual ways, so I would have liked it either way.  I couldn't help but think a fun tie-in for this book would be to be able to see the film parts that were released as bonus content.  

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Review: We Will Rise Again: Speculative Stories and Essays on Protest, Resistance, and Hope

We Will Rise Again: Speculative Stories and Essays on Protest, Resistance, and Hope by Karen Lord
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Full Disclosure: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of We Will Rise Again: Speculative Stories and Essays on Protest, Resistance, and Hope edited by Karen Lord, Annalee Newitz, and Malka Older from Saga Press via NetGalley.  This book will be published around December 2, 2025.

Here's the truth.  I will read anything that Annalee Newitz is involved with period.  I love their writing, fiction and nonfiction.  When I saw that Annalee was partnering with Karen Lord and Malka Older to edit the anthology, We Will Rise Again: Speculative Stories and Essays on Protest, Resistance, and Hope, I knew I had to get my hands on this book immediately.  Karen Lord is another favorite of mine.  While I was living in Barbados, I kept hoping I would meet her.  I didn't, but I did adopt two cats remind me daily of the island.  

Fawning out of the way, this collection of stories is exactly what so many of us need right now.  Having writers pair up with activists to reflect stories of what the world could be was a brilliant idea.  Each story offers a unique perspective on making a difference through collective action.   At the end of each fictional story, there is an explanation of the activist that inspired the story.  There are also some nonfiction interviews with activists.  If you are looking for ways to get involved, I would be shocked if you couldn't find something to inspire you in here.  If you find reading or hearing the news currently to be incredibly depressing, you owe it to yourself to give this a read.  

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