Wasps at the Speed of Sound by Derryl Murphy Review

Wasps a the the Speed of Sound by Derryl Murphy

This is the newest edition of Wasps at the Speed of Sound, with 11 short science fiction stories (the original had 10). All of the stories have an environmental warning but this enhances the stories rather than detracts from them.

My favourite story was the Blue Train in which most of humanity that still exists after an extreme water shortage travels the world on a gigantic train in search of water and their subsequent  freedom from this train by one man who dared to question the company's monopoly on the earths water.

Murphy constructs the world of each story so well, with little extraneous language as possible so the reader can create a vivid image of their own.  Truly a pleasure to read for any science fiction fan and possibly for any environmentalist too.

I received this book from Library Thing Early Reviewers 

Panic (Wildfire Chronicles Vol 1.) By K.R. Griffiths

Panic is a apocalyptic zombie-esque secret society driven disaster story set in the rural village of St. Davids in Wales. The ball is set rolling with the landing of steel canisters in the back yard of one of the villages’ houses that results in the first “zombification” resulting in the typical struggle for survival.

One thing made me love this book and would prompt me to actually buy the further volumes of the series. That was the fantastically vivid descriptions of the carnage and the fast nature of the story telling.  The story writing doesn’t labour over the small unimportant details of the scenery or talk down to the reader by explaining who everyone is and their back-story in more detail than necessary.

However, what makes me think again was the lack of trigger warnings for one or two of the scenes at the end.  These sorts of this might be where the human condition goes to during this sort of event but please lead up to it with something to at least warn the reader of what to expect.

Well paced, fast read with a typical cliff hanger ending to keep you coming back. 

3.5 stars.

I received this book to review through Library Thing Early Reviewers. 

Ardent Forest by Nancy Jane Moore

This was a nice, if not overly complex, quick read that did not take much effort to get through.

The two privileged girls, Rosa and Cecily, are the step daughter and daughter, respectively, of the governor of Texas in a post economic meltdown of the US (and apparently that means the world too.)

The Governor, Guy Gisborn, seized the governorship from Rosa’s mother 5 years before the story takes place and in a fit of paranoia exiles Rosa from the city.

This sets up the rest of the story but I felt that everything came to the girls without the hardship and trials that make a good science fiction/ fantasy story.  It had all the elements and the set up but the complexities were not there.   The people or things they were looking for were found almost effortlessly.

If Moore was trying to also make a statement about sexuality and gender stereotypes in the modern world, that was also done poorly as the characters that were addressing these issues did not face any sort of judgement or hardship because of who they were, which is unfortunately the case at this point in time.

I gave this 2 out of 5 stars.

I received this book to review through Library Thing Early Reviewers  

Review Smog – Baggage of Eternal Night

This is another of the Double Down series that delivers two novellas in one neat little package.

Smog by Lisa Morton was a really easy read that flowed beautifully.  Set in the 1960’s when everything was more innocent and the only thing to fear was the Russians. This little slice of Americana becomes the setting of a chemical induced lord of the suburban flies where the main character , the tomboy Joey, has to fight for survival and deal with her first period.  A fun take on the coming of age story.

Baggage of Eternal Night by Eric J. Guignard is less of an easy read but a far grittier story. This story touches at the hoarder and collector in all of us. Charlie’s friend, the recovering problem gambler Joey Third, gets more than he bid for  on the purchase of a suitcase from the hotel auctions. Feeling a bit like House of Leaves, this story uncovers the things in the shadows that we don’t like to think about to truly giver the reader the yips.

The two novellas are certainly worth the Sunday afternoon perusal.    

I received this book to review through Library Thing Early Reviewers