Artemis by Andy Weir is a science fiction novel where Jasmine (Jazz) lives on Artemis, Earth’s first and only lunar colony. When her get rich quick plan falls apart she learns how the colony is truly run and what she has to due to try to save her friends and family while also not getting crested. An interesting story on how a lunar colony would be run though not as funny as the Martian its entertaining.
Jazz doesn’t feel like a very realistic character but her personality and the high jinks she is involved with are very entertaining. The blurb on the book makes it seem like the heist would be the main focus of the story but it happens about half way though the book and the rest of the story is Jazz dealing with the fallout and things not going to plan. I don’t think Artemis would work as a real city as there is no real police force just Rudy who gets to beat people up or whatever he wants to keep everyone in line and everything running like it should.
I like Andy Weir’s witting connecting both science fiction with science fact but at times it felt far more technical that it needed to be which lead parts of the book to be boring. I personally liked the premise of the story more than the story that is told. The main thing that I didn’t like which caused me to rate the book lower is the fact that Jazz begins and ends the story at the exact same place and there is not much character growth.
The Nice and Accurate Good Omens TV Companion by Matt Whyman is a coffee table book about the Good Omens TV show created by Amazon. This book includes interviews with the cast and crew, pictures, and behind the scenes information about the series. I feel like the book helps show case how unique and special this TV show is and is something that anyone interested in the show should look into. 
Alien Echo by Mira Grant is a young adult book set in the Alien franchise and is cannon to the rest of the series. It follows the story of twin sisters, Olivia and Viola, on a new world where their parents work as xenobiolgists but when an Alien threat that no one has ever seen rips their world apart they must adapt to survive.
So I finally sat down and watched The Cloverfield Paradox which I liked the most out of the Cloverfield movies so far. The movie starts out with some info dumping about how Earth is running out of power sources and so the world has sent a team to a space station to work with a massive particle accelerator to attempt to find a new power source. When the experiment works all hell breaks loose on the space station has they ended up breaking the fabric of reality. Though it is a science fiction movie I would classify it more as a body horror such as Alien or the Thing than just straight sci-fi. 
Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant is a novella about a research vessel going to the Mariana Trench to find Mermaids. Commissioned by the Imagine Network (which feels to me like if you combined the Discovery Channel fake documentaries with Asylum the creators of Sharknado), the scientist think that the company sponsoring the trip is just going to film a mockumentary but they end up finding real mermaids who are not kind or beautiful. This book is technically a prequel to Into the Drowning Deep but it works as a stand alone. However, if you want to have no information about what the mermaids are like and the twist at the end of In to the Drowning Deep read the full length novel first. I didn’t know about the novella when I first read the novel so they work in either order. I didn’t connect to the characters as much due to how short the book is but what is there is great. It made me want more from this world and story.
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant is a science fiction horror novel about a research ship going out to the Mariana Trench to find mermaids and what happened to the ship, the Atargatis, that went out seven years previously. This is a reread for me and I loved it just as much as the first time I read it. The characters are amazing and complex from the woman who convinced Image that mermaids existed, the sister of one of the missing from the previous expedition, two big game hunters and many others. The wonderful thing about McGuire’s stories is she adds diverse characters in a way that is natural, they are diverse because our world is, this includes deaf sisters and a journalist who is both a lesbian and autistic.
So in May I decided to try a new book subscription box which was Illumicrate. Illumicrate is a monthly book subscription box that focuses mainly on young adult titles. When I heard that the May book was going to be Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff I knew I had to try and order the box. May’s theme is The Final Frontier.
Caught in the Revolution: Witnesses to the Fall of Imperial Russia by Helen Rappaport is a historical nonfiction book that uses accounts of foreigners in Russia at the time of the Revolution to show the reality of what happen in Petrograd. In general, its a quick read because Rappaport writes the account more like a novel than a historical account just giving facts. Though the beginning of the book is more entertaining because no one knows exactly whats going on and eye witness accounts are more interesting to read. As the book goes on its more about politics which can be boring. There is almost no mention of the Romanov family in the book so this historical account is best suited for a reader that has some back ground in this period of Russian history but wants either more information or a different perspective of the events. Overall, the accounts are woven together well to give the reader the most well rounded timeline of events but it slows down at times when it focuses more on the day to day events and lives of these people as important things are not going on. 3/5 starts.
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff is a historical nonfiction book that attempts to separate the fact from fiction of Cleopatra’s life and tells her story from childhood to her death. The major focus of the book is Cleopatra’s rise to power, how she kept that power, and her relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony. Her story is deeply intertwined with the actions and events of Rome and the Roman empire. At times the book seems to focus more on Rome than Cleopatra which makes reading some chapters very slow. Given the lack of historical sources from Egypt and Cleopatra more information must be taken from Roman sources which often were written by her detractors though Schiff does a great job at attempting to separate what really happened and the embellishments of those who had no love for her. Cleopatra is much more than the myth and stories that pop culture loves to give us and this book is a good resource for those wanting more of the truth. 3.5/5 stars
Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a tragedy where Macbeth kills his king after three witches tell him that it is his destiny to be king. He and his wife are slowly driven mad by their actions and Macbeth is eventually killed. Macbeth is my favorite Shakespeare because its never stated whether Macbeth acts because of predetermined fate or is it his ambitions that lead to his raise and fall. I don’t read many classics on my own because I often feel like I’m missing something but Macbeth is still good. However, given that this is meant to be a play and viewed instead of read I do feel like there is something lost by not seeing it preformed. 3.5/5 stars
Memento by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff is an Illuminae Files novella that was a pre-order bonus when you pre-ordered Aurora Rising. The novella is set primarily before the events of Illuminae and focuses on the AIDAN the learning AI that is on the Alexander battleship and his interactions with the crew members, specifically Olivia Klein. Since the novella is set mostly before AIDAN is damaged in battle it shows how he learns and what information allowed him to become rouge in the rest of the series. Its a fun story that adds more to the world of the Illuminae Files but is not needed to understand the rest of the series. However, many fans, myself included, love AIDAN and consider him one of the best characters of the series so more of him is always good. 5/5 stars.
Since E3 was in June I’m excited for all the new games coming out but especially the Final Fantasy 7 remake. Final Fantasy 7 is one of my favorite games and since we now have a release date for the remake I have gone back and starting playing the original again. When I was younger I got about half way through the game but never finished it so I’m going back to play it in its entirety before the remake so I can see what is changed. I’m playing it on my PS4 which means some of the PC game cheats are available. Though I don’t think its the best way to play the game with cheats activated they are fun to play around with.
Night Owl Reviews 