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.
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.
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.
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. The book stars out slow like most movies in the alien franchise. For the first 90 pages or so its more of a teen drama set on a alien world than a science fiction or horror story but when the Xenomorphs arrive it become a true Alien story with all the problems that entails. The thing about Mira Grant books is there is always a twist that changes everything that makes me love the book more or makes me fall in love with a book that doesn’t have the greatest beginning. The characters are interesting and well written for the world though there is some romantic drama that is over done near the beginning and if you know the Alien franchise you know whats coming. So there doesn’t see to be a point to it and the slang is little over used. Considering the characters are teenagers shove into a situation that no one can predict with Aliens that are evolving to be better killers most of the reactions make sense. The action of the characters worked and were as though out as the situation allowed for and the book overall fits within the rest of the Alien Franchise.
The Second Evil by R L Stine is the second book in the Fear Street Cheerleaders saga. We follow Corky Corcoran after the events of book one where she is still dealing with the death of her sister and the evil spirit that attempted to kill both of them. Corky is trying to put Bobbi’s death behind her and live as normal of a life as possible with the Shadyside cheer leading squad. However, it becomes apparent that the evil spirit is not done with her yet and people start dying again. This is a reread for me but since I read these books back in junior high I don’t remember much of what happen though I do remember not liking this one much even back then. Though it continues the story from the first book there are tons of plot thread added to this one that don’t really go anywhere- from Jennifer’s bother blaming her death on Corky to a girl related to Sarah Fear the book is constantly trying to convince you that multiple people could be the evil spirit. By the time book ends and tells you what really going on its not the most interesting take. The evil seems to be defeated once again but we all know that its really not and will continue to terrorize everyone in the next book. 
Final Fantasy VII: On the Way to a Smile by Kazushige Nojima is a prequel novella to the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children movie and is set in the years following the end of the game. This novella expects you to either have played the game or know enough that it doesn’t need to take the time to introduce characters, places, or past events. This is a book written and designed for fans of the game and will make no sense to anyone who is not a fan. Though not the best written work it does give the reader insight into the emotions and actions of all of our favorite characters following the end of the game. The novella is broken up into six main sections each following a different character or group in the after math of the lifesteam destroying meteor and the defeat of Sephiroth. These sections are broken up by sections in the lifestream which seem to be Sephiroth’s and Arith’s thoughts and how they are trying to harm and help our heroes. The main thing this story focuses on is the guilt that these survivors have even though they are heroes that saved the world and what do they do after that. If you are a fan I would recommend reading it once, either before or after watching the movie. I love this series and now I want the remake of the game even more. 
The Name of the Wind is a epic fantasy book written by Patrick Rothfuss which Kvothe the hero of many tales is the owner of the Waystone Inn who works under an assumed name and who many think is dead is found by Chronicler and is convinced to tell his life story. Each book in the series is intended to be one day of Kvothe telling his story which will take three days and will tell the reader the truth of who Kvothe is and why he is know as the King Killer.
The only book I read this month was The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill. The Tea Dragon Society is a short graphic novel set in a fantasy world where tea leaves are harvested from dragons. The story follows two young girls, Greta and Minette, who are learning about tea dragons and how to take care of them. It’s a beautifully illustrated story inspired by anime and manga with very unique fantasy concepts. Many of the characters are a combination of different fantasy races and use different fantasy elements. I would like to see the story continue as this first book is so short at only 72 pages there isn’t much time to connect with and learn everything about the characters. 3.5/5 stars.
I finally finished the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV show which will be getting a continuation on Disney’s new streaming service that is supposed to come out sometime in 2019. The Clone Wars show is set in between the Clone Wars and Revenge of the Sith movie and does fix some of the problem that the prequel movies have. The big thing is it gives much more information about the Clone Wars and fleshed out most of the bigger relationship from the movies. This show made me believe that Obi-Wan did consider Anakin his brother and the relationship between Anakin and Padme is much better and is given time to grow. Anakin is given a padawan in Ahsoka Tano. Ahsoka is an amazing character but also allows the audience to see Anakin as a leader and in different stories and positions from the movies. However, there are some episodes that are just not that good and can be skipped without missing any plot or story elements. I would recommend not watch most to the episodes that feature Jar Jar or primarily focus on the droids. Also the show was not originally released in chronological order so there are two ways to watch it, episode release order or chronological. I would recommend watching the show in chronological order as it gives you a better sense of the state of the Jedi during the Clone Wars but before Revenge of the Sith.
So I saw Captain Marvel and I liked it, I do have a full review 
This month I also finally set 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 the 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. I’ve never loved any of the Cloverfield movies and this ones no exception though I do like it better than the others. In Cloverfield I felt like the characters were very annoying and I didn’t care what happen. It doesn’t help that I have never been a fan of found footage movies either. 10 Cloverfield Lane on the other hand was a movie that I like the concept of but found the movie as a whole very boring. So, I didn’t have high expectations for Cloverfield Paradox. Though I don’t think Paradox was needed as part of the Cloverfield series I did like the concept of the movie and I wasn’t bored. If any of the Cloverfield movie got direct squeals I would want it to be Paradox as I feel like it has the most that could be done with it given how the story and ending is set up. I do plan to post a full review so for all of my thoughts check that post.
Witch Child by Celia Rees is a historical fiction young adult novel that follows Mary Newbury who escapes a witch trial in England and travels with a group of puritans to the new world. However, it becomes clear when they arrive in Massachusetts that Mary must be careful as she is an outsider who could easily be tried as a witch and she might just be one.
Parasite is the first book in the Parasitology trilogy by Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire). In the year 2027 humanity no longer deals with sickness and disease due the genetically engineered tapeworms created by SymboGen that everyone now carries. The story primarily follows Sally Mitchel who nearly died six years ago but was saved by the SymboGen tape worm. However, things are starting to go wrong with the tape worms and people are not acting like they should so Sally must figure out what is going on and her new place in the world.
Night Owl Reviews 