

Review of Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei
Kitasei's stark dystopian science fiction sets sisters adrift in a future world where oceans have risen and consumed much of the earth. Leaving a stressful daily life of scarcity, two sisters embark on a far-fetched rescue mission for the third in this messy, danger-filled journey that tests each of their mettle. In a near-future world reeling from environmental catastrophe, oceans have risen and destroyed the cities along the world's coasts. Skipper and Carmen are sisters ge
Mar 12


Review of The Sea Child by Linda Wilgus
I really liked the magical realism, details of life in 1800s England, the young widow main character, the ocean voyage scenes, and the romance, but I had trouble pinning down the tone and the heart of the story, which followed a somewhat predictable path. In early 1800s England, Isabel is a young widow who is suddenly poor and plagued by destructive rumors after the Napoleonic Wars. She must flee her London home, and she heads for the Cornish coast where she was once mysterio
Mar 10


Review of Playground by Richard Powers
Powers's novel is an exploration of the wonders of the ocean and also of the capacity of the human mind and imagination. The marching toward destruction of both of these makes for a nerve-racking, heartbreaking story. Playground 's final section held surprises I did not anticipate, and their exposure colors the entirety of the story that precedes them. We make things that we hope will be bigger than us, and then we’re desolate when that’s what they become. Four people are con
Jan 22
