Just Out of Jupiter’s Reach by Nnedi Okorafor (Review)

Just Out of Jupiter’s Reach by Nnedi Okorafor

Blurb

Tornado Onwubiko is one of seven people on Earth paired with sentient ships to explore and research the cosmos for twenty million euros. A decade of solitary life for a lifetime of wealth. Five years into the ten-year mission of total isolation comes a a temporary meetup among fellow travelers. A lot can happen in a week. For Tornado, who left a normal life behind, a little company can be life-changing.

Review

This is the fifth book of The Far Reaches collection and my first book by Okorafor. I also think this book is my favourite of the collection. I would have loved this to have been a full length novel as I just wanted to know so much more.

The first thing I loved about this short story was the science and technology involved in the living ships called Miris. The ships really reminded me of one of my favourite TV shows Farscape. I really found the Miris fascinating and I would love to have learned more about them. I loved how each Miri adapted to whomever lived in them and made things comfortable for them.

Each captain of the Miris is on the ship on their own although some do have pets, they also have AI on board to help them. I loved the story and found the characters unique and interesting. There were a couple of scenes that I found quite sad but they also just added to the story. The story might only be 45 pages long but it really packed a lot in and I enjoyed Okoafor’s idea of what humans travelling the universe would be like and what they might encounter. I really enjoyed this short story and I will definitely be reading more by Okorafor in the near future. I give this story 5 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

Nnedi Okorafor is a New York Times Bestselling writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. The more specific terms for her works are africanfuturism and africanjujuism, both terms she coined and defined. Born in the United States to two Nigerian (Igbo) immigrant parents and visiting family in Nigeria since she was a child, the foundation and inspiration of Nnedi’s work is rooted in this part of Africa. Her many works include Who Fears Death (winner of the World Fantasy Award and in development at HBO as a TV series), the Nebula and Hugo award winning novella trilogy Binti (in development as a TV series), the Lodestar and Locus Award winning Nsibidi Scripts Series, LaGuardia (winner of a Hugo and Eisner awards for Best Graphic Novel) and her most recent novella Remote Control. Her debut novel Zahrah the Windseeker won the prestigious Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature. She lives with her daughter Anyaugo in Phoenix, AZ.

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Persepolis Rising by James S. A. Corey (Review)

Persepolis Rising by James S. A. Corey

Bookshop.org | TG Jones | Waterstones

Blurb

An old enemy returns.

In the thousand-sun network of humanity’s expansion, new colony worlds are struggling to find their way. Every new planet lives on a knife edge between collapse and wonder, and the crew of the aging gunship Rocinante have their hands more than full keeping the fragile peace.

In the vast space between Earth and Jupiter, the inner planets and belt have formed a tentative and uncertain alliance still haunted by a history of wars and prejudices. On the lost colony world of Laconia, a hidden enemy has a new vision for all of humanity and the power to enforce it.

New technologies clash with old as the history of human conflict returns to its ancient patterns of war and subjugation. But human nature is not the only enemy, and the forces being unleashed have their own price. A price that will change the shape of humanity — and of the Rocinante — unexpectedly and forever…

Review

I had a bit of break from The Expanse series but I was so happy to return to this amazing series. I really enjoyed seeing my favourite characters years after the last book and where they now are in their lives.

The previous books build up the tension and information regarding the protomolecule and this book starts to give us some serious answers. The Laconian’s reappear and make themselves known to the inner planets and the belt and we see what technology the Laconian’s bring with them. Whilst all this is going on the crew of the Rocinante are trying to keep the peace and make a difference.

The thing that got me about this book was that the bad guys don’t actually act like villains. They don’t want to resort to violence, they want order and peace and progress. However, they don’t want to negotiate or hear any other people’s opinions, it is their way or nobody’s way.

It soon becomes clear in this book that absolutely nobody is safe and perhaps some of our favourite characters that we have known all the way through the series might not make it or make it unchanged. As happy as I was to see my favourite characters again I really feared for them.

It is really hard to say much more without giving the story away so I will stop here. I absolutely loved this book and couldn’t put it down. Every time I read one of these books I say it is my new favourite and this is definitely my current favourite. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.

About the author

James S. A. Corey is the pen name of fantasy author Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, George R. R. Martin’s assistant. They both live Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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Starshine by G. S. Jennsen (Review)

Starshine by G. S. Jennsen

Blurb

The year is 2322. Humanity has expanded into the stars, inhabiting over 100 worlds across a third of the galaxy. Though thriving as never before, they have discovered neither alien life nor the key to utopia. Earth struggles to retain authority over far-flung planets and free-wheeling corporations while an uneasy armistice with a breakaway federation hangs by a thread as the former rebels rise in wealth and power.

Alexis Solovy is Earth Alliance royalty, her father a fallen war hero and her mother an influential military leader. But she seeks only the freedom of space and has made a fortune by reading the patterns in the chaos to discover the hidden wonders of the stars.

Nothing about her latest objective suggests the secret it conceals will turn her life– not to mention the entire galaxy–upside down. But a chance encounter with a mysterious spy leads to a discovery which will thrust Alex into the middle of a galactic power struggle and a sinister conspiracy, whether she likes it or not.

Review

I am ashamed to say that I bought this book when I first bought my Kindle in 2018 and it has sat on there ever since. However, this year I rediscovered it and decided I would read it. I am now very annoyed that I hadn’t read this book earlier and got stuck into the series.

The story follows two main characters; Alexis Solovy who comes from the Earth Alliance and owns and captains her own starship and Caleb Marano who is from the Senecan Federation and is a special intelligence agent. However, the story also flashes to other characters in other parts of the galaxy to reveal more of how events unfold. As the story unfolds we begin to see how all these characters are subtly connected.

The story involves key people in military, politics, and the criminal underworld who are all pulling strings to manipulate the Earth Alliance and Senecan Federation into a war. While all this is happening Alexis and Caleb get thrown together in an unexpected turn of events which leads them to exploring a previously uninhabited region of the galaxy.

I loved the world building in this book and the detail it went into. Sometimes in science fiction books the author glosses over the more science based things but Jennsen goes into the detail and I found that really interesting. Some people might feel the beginning of the book is a little slow but I was glad of the details and background it gave as it helped me then enjoy the action more. The book is full of all these fab achievements and advancements of humanity but humanity is still plagued by people wanting more money and power.

Alexis and Caleb were both fascinating characters although Alexis did get on my nerves slightly at times. They both have their own issues but as the book goes on we learn more about their histories and how it has shaped their characters. I can’t wait to see how their characters develop in the next book.

I absolutely loved this book and bought the next one in the series straight away. This is definitely one of my top books of 2025 so far and I highly recommend it to all sci-fi fans. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.

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Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Waterstones

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About the author

G. S. Jennsen is a speculative and science fiction author, as well as a futurist, geek, gamer, programmer and editor. She has become an internationally bestselling author since her first novel, Starshine, was published in March 2014. She has chosen to continue writing under an independent publishing model to ensure the integrity of her series and her ability to execute on the vision she’s had for it since its genesis.

While she has been a lawyer, a software engineer and an editor, she’s found the life of a full-time author preferable by several orders of magnitude.

When she isn’t writing, she’s gaming or working out or getting lost in the mountains that loom large outside the windows in her home. Or she’s dealing with a flooded basement, or standing in a line at Walmart reading the tabloid headlines and wondering who all of those people are. Or sitting on her back porch with a glass of wine, looking up at the stars, trying to figure out what could be up there.

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Falling Bodies by Rebecca Roanhorse (Review)

Falling Bodies by Rebecca Roanhorse

Blurb

A young man caught between two disparate worlds searches for his place in the universe in a wrenching short story by New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse.

Light-years from home, it’s Ira’s second chance. Just another anonymous student at a space station university. Not the orphan whose Earther heritage was erased. Not some social experiment put on display by his adoptive father. Not the criminal recruited by the human rebels. But when Ira’s loyalties clash once again, two wars break one on the ground and one within himself. Which will Ira stand with? Which will take him down?

Rebecca Roanhorse’s Falling Bodies is part of The Far Reaches, a collection of science-fiction stories that stretch the imagination and open the heart. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.

Review

This is the first story I have read by Rebecca Roanhorse and I was not disappointed. The story focuses on Ira. Ira’s is a sad tale, he is a human orphan who was adopted as a social experiment which means he grew up in a life of privilege but with this privilege he lost all his Earther history.

In this story humans are not the dominant species and they are trying to find ways to fight back. Humanity has been conquered and yes they are allowed to live but their history, their culture is being obliterated. This short story shows a small snippet of humanity fighting back.

This little story of just 35 pages really packed quite a punch and I really enjoyed it even if I would have preferred a different ending. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons and I will be definitely looking out for more books by Roanhorse in the future.

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About the author

Rebecca Roanhorse is a New York Times bestselling and Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Award-winning speculative fiction writer. She has published multiple award-winning short stories and novels, including two novels in The Sixth World Series, Star Wars: Resistance Reborn, Race to the Sun for the Rick Riordan imprint, and the epic fantasy trilogy Between Earth and Sky. She has also written for Marvel Comics and games and for television, including FX’s A Murder at the End of the World, and the Marvel series Echo for Disney+. She has had her own work optioned by Amazon Studios, Netflix, and AMC Studios.

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Tuf Voyaging by George R. R. Martin (Review)

Tuf Voyaging by George R. R. Martin

Bookshop.org | Waterstones | WH Smith

Blurb

Haviland Tuf is an honest space-trader (one of the few), and he likes cats. So how is it that, despite being up against the worst villains in the universe, he has become the proud owner of the last working seedship, pride of Earth’s Ecological Engineering Corps?

We’ll leave that aside for now – just be thankful that the most powerful weapon in space is in good hands, hands which now control cellular material for thousands of outlandish creatures.

With his unique equipment and powerful spacecraft, Tuf is set to tackle the myriad problems that human settlers have created during their colonisation of far flung worlds. Hosts of hostile monsters, a population addicted to procreation, a dictator who is willing to unleash plagues to get his own way – and all that stands between the colonists and disaster is Tuf’s ingenuity, and his reputation as an honest dealer in a universe of rogues…

Review

I was really excited when I saw this book in the bookshop because I have been really enjoying Martin’s science fiction writing recently. This was one of those rare books that didn’t sit on on my TBR pile for very long before I decided to read it.

The book is a collection of Haviland Tuf short stories and this could be one of the reasons I didn’t gel as much as I expected with this book. Tuf was a space trader who, after agreeing to take on a job for a very suspicious group of people he finds himself the owner of the most powerful ship in the universe. The last seedship of the long forgotten Ecological engineer Corps.

Tuf is not your standard space hero. He doesn’t undertake dashing feats of bravery or flex his muscles at the enemy. Instead he is a somewhat overweight vegetarian who likes alcohol and cats. He hates violence in all forms, he prefers the company of his cats rather than humans. He is completely honest, polite and very intelligent. However, he doesn’t appear to be intelligent and it is one of the reasons that he can’t be beaten because nobody sees him as a threat.

He’s also in my opinion very unlikeable! Other than his fondness for cats I just didn’t like him. He lacked personality and a reason to be liked. He’s very arrogant and aloof and I just never found myself on his side. In fact I was always rooting for Tully Mune.

Tully Mune was what saved this book for me and I really liked her character. Her character jumped from the pages. She was vibrant, she was bold, she was powerful and a force to be reckoned with. There is a reason she has got to where she is in life and that is because she stands no nonsense and gets the job done. Her underlings respect and fear her.

I really wanted to learn more about the seedship and the Ecological Engineering Corps history but sadly we didn’t get much of that. I wanted to see how Tuf adapted and learned about running the seedship but instead the story went from Tuf becoming the owner of the seedship to basically becoming a god with no between. I was quite disappointed with this book and sadly only give it 3 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

George Raymond Richard Martin (1948) is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer.

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The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (Review)

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Bookshop.org | Waterstones | WH Smith

Blurb

The year is 2059. For two centuries, the Republic of Scion has led an oppressive campaign against unnaturalness in Europe.

In London, Paige Mahoney holds a high rank in the criminal underworld. The right hand of the ruthless White Binder, Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare and formidable kind of clairvoyant. Under Scion law, she commits treason simply by breathing.

When Paige is arrested for murder, she meets the mysterious founders of Scion, who have designs on her uncommon abilities. If she is to survive and escape, Paige must use every skill at her disposal – and put her trust in someone who ought to be her enemy.

Review

I didn’t read The Bone Season when it first came out but ever since reading The Priory of the Orange Tree I have been a big fan of Shannon’s work. When Shannon rereleased The Bone Season I started to collect the rereleased books and read The Bone Season.

Once I started reading this book I could not put it down. I loved the character of Paige and instantly wanted her to succeed in whatever she did. I also loved her as the narrator of the story. Paige is brave and will do anything to protect her friends. If she had one failing it was a little overuse of sarcasm and cynicism.

My other favourite character was Arcturus. He really was not what I expected and I suspect more surprises about this character will appear in subsequent books. There were many layers to this character, sometimes he was a pure gentleman, sometimes a monster and sometimes nothing more than a teddy bear.

I will be honest that there was a lot to take in with this book. There is a huge amount of world building in a very short space of time as well as new characters and characters with abilities to work out. I was very grateful for the extra information at the end of the book to help me remember what all the abilities were. There was also some unusual words used within this book but again there was a helpful glossary at the back of the book. I also loved the use of these words as it it helped set the scene of another world.

This is definitely one of my favourite reads of 2025 so far and I can’t wait to get stuck into the next book of the series. Shannon is a fantastic world builder and this is evident in this book. Her characters are also fantastic and so varied. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

Samantha Shannon is the New York Times and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Bone Season series. From 2010 to 2013 she studied English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford. Her fourth novel, The Priory of the Orange Tree (2019), was her first outside of the series. It has sold over a million copies in English alone, and was a finalist in the Lambda Literary Awards 2020. Its standalone prequel, A Day of Fallen Night (2023), won the gold medal in the Fantasy category at the Ippy Awards 2024.

Samantha’s work has been translated into twenty-seven languages. Her most recent book is The Dark Mirror (2025), the fifth instalment in the Bone Season series.

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Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (Review)

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Bookshop.org | Waterstones | WH Smith

Blurb

When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honour of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.

Review

I had this book preordered from the day it was first announced and I was so excited for it to arrive. Thankfully my waiting was rewarded with an absolutely amazing read. It was so good to be back in the world of Panem.

This book answered all my questions regarding Haymitch. Haymitch was always a favourite of mine in the Hunger Games books and I always wanted to know about his story. In this book we find Haymitch as a teenager who is just hoping to survive the day of reaping and then spend the rest of the day with his girlfriend Lenore. However, things don’t go according to plan and Haymitch finds himself shipped off to the Capitol with 3 other tributes from District 12.

Haymitch soon realises that District 12 is set up to fail but a part of him decides to fight the odds. I loved the story being told from Haymitch’s point of view and found him quite different from Katniss. Haymitch is very quiet, he watches and plans, he weighs up his options. Katniss was very in your face rebellion and didn’t always see everything that was going on but Haymitch notices everything.

I adored the District 12 tributes but my favourite after Haymitch was Maysilee. She was so badass but was never rude. She was very stuck up but she was determined that people would see District 12 tributes as refined and not the animals people from the Capitol thought they were. She even ate sandwiches with a knife and fork! Maysilee was determined to rebel but in her own unique way.

I also loved meeting younger versions of the characters I came to love in the Hunger Games books. Mags was brilliant and the kindness and care she showed Haymitch was exactly what I expected after meeting her in Catching Fire.

I loved this book and it has made me want to reread all the books again as it has been a few years since I read them. I give this book 5 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

Suzanne Collins (born August 10, 1962) is an American television writer and author. She is known as the author of The Underland Chronicles and The Hunger Games trilogy.

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Void by Veronica Roth (Review)

Void by Veronica Roth

Blurb

An intergalactic luxury cruise to a distant port is a world unto itself in this piercing short mystery by #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth. Traveling faster than light, the transport ship Redundancy is cut off from communication as effectively as an ancient ocean liner. The isolation suits crew member Ace Vance just fine—she’s got nowhere else to be. But when a wealthy passenger turns up dead during a routine voyage, Ace will have to connect with the passengers and crew to uncover the truth. Tragedy will strike again—it’s only a matter of time. Veronica Roth’s Void is part of The Far Reaches, a collection of science-fiction stories that stretch the imagination and open the heart. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.

Review

Wow, Veronica Roth can write a short story!

This is the second book in the Far Reaches series and a far better story than the first in my opinion. I really struggle with short stories because quite often an excellent writer struggles with producing a good short story but this was not the case with Roth. This was an amazing murder mystery set in space. Instead of a locked room mystery it is a ship in space with no communication with anyone else.

A lot of the workers on the Redundancy are there to forget something and because of how time works eventually the people they knew on their home planet are long dead whilst they are still young. This is just fine for Ace Vance and she likes her life working and living on board. However, when a murder happens on board there is nobody there to investigate so Ace takes it upon herself to solve the murder.

I was really impressed by the characters within this book. Usually in short stories you don’t get a sense of the characters but in this story you get a real idea of each character’s personae and how they work together as friends and colleagues. The other element I loved was the science included and how this linked in with the story so the ending all made sense.

I read this short story in one sitting and absolutely loved it. I will be definitely reading more Roth in the future as I now know she can write brilliant books and short stories. I give this story 5 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

Veronica Roth is the New York Times best-selling author of Arch-Conspirator, Poster Girl, Chosen Ones, the short story collection The End and Other Beginnings, the Carve the Mark duology, and the Divergent series. She lives in Chicago, Illinois with her husband and dog.

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How It Unfolds by James S. A. Corey (Review)

How It Unfolds by James S. A. Corey

Blurb

Roy Court and his crew are taking the trip of a lifetime—several lifetimes in fact—duplicated and dispatched across the galaxies searching for Earthlike planets. Many possibilities for the future. Yet for Roy, no matter how many of him there are, there’s still just one painful, unchangeable past. In what world can a broken relationship be reborn? The universe is so vast, there’s always room for hope.

Review

I love James S. A. Corey books so I was really excited to read a short story and so I downloaded the full Far Reaches collection onto my Kindle.

I struggled with this short story and found it hard to get into. In fact I did abandon it for a few months so when I picked it back up I read it from the beginning again. I enjoyed the concept of the story and really thought more could have been done with the story but I felt that too much was being crammed into a short space and this led to it feeling rather confused at times. I would have also liked more things explained which I think would have also helped me with the storyline.

I couldn’t help but root for Roy and really hoped that at least one version of him found happiness in love. However, I would have loved to have learnt more about his fellow crew mates.

This short story had so much potential but I just felt like it missed the mark for me and it didn’t feel like a typical James S. A. Corey story. I really wanted more from the story but just felt disappointed. I give this short story 3 out of 5 Dragons.

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About the author

James S. A. Corey is the pen name of fantasy author Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, George R. R. Martin’s assistant. They both live Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths (Review)

The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths

Blurb

Ali Dawson and her cold case team investigate crimes so old they’re frozen—or so their inside joke goes. Ali’s work seems like a safe desk job, but what her friends—and even her beloved son—don’t know is that her team has a secret: They can travel back in time to look for evidence.

So far Ali has made trips only to the recent past, so she’s surprised when she’s asked to investigate a murder that took place in 1850. The killing has been pinned on an aristocratic patron of the arts and antiquities, a member of a sinister group called “The Collectors.” She arrives in the Victorian era during a mini ice age to find another dead woman at her feet and far too many unanswered questions. But when her son is arrested, Ali attempts to return home only to find herself trapped in 1850.

Review

I’ve only ever read one book by Elly Griffiths that wasn’t a Ruth Galloway book so I was very excited to read something very different from Griffiths. This book was definitely something different and not what I was expecting at all.

This book revolves around the character Ali Dawson who is part of a cold case team who investigates old cases and these cases can be very old. However, there is something quite different from the way this team solves the crimes. This team uses time travel to look for evidence and this leads to Ali going further back in time than she has ever been before. Ali finds herself investigating a murder whilst stuck in 1850.

I loved the character of Ali as she is a strong independent woman who has fought the odds to better herself. Oh and she is also a cat owner. Ali worked cleaning jobs to provide for her son and at the same time she gained a degree in history. She then got a job with the police and she worked her way up the ladder. Ali works every problem she is faced with methodically and nothing seems to phase her. Whilst Ali is stuck in 1850 there is also a murder mystery happening in the present day which involves Ali’s adult son.

I really enjoyed this book and I would love to learn more about Ali’s team. John is a true gentleman who we do get to see more of and you can’t help but root for. Once I got over how different this book is from Griffiths’ usual work I thoroughly enjoyed it and found the concept fascinating. There were also some big questions left that I would love to get answers for so I really hope there will be a second book. The narrative of this book was quite busy and there was a lot going on. I will be honest and say that I actually enjoyed the Victorian sections more than the present day and preferred the Victorian characters. I give this book 4 out of 5 Dragons.

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Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Waterstones | WH Smith

About the author

Elly Griffiths’ Ruth Galloway novels take for their inspiration Elly’s husband, who gave up a city job to train as an archaeologist, and her aunt who lives on the Norfolk coast and who filled her niece’s head with the myths and legends of that area. Elly has two children and lives near Brighton.