Cat Sparks

Reading this with the state of the world today felt a bit surreal, I won't lie. It's dark, and in some ways you want to believe it's satirical, but it's all too easy to see some of it happening in the not-too-far future with how quickly technology is progressing and how quickly we seem to be slipping into a dystopian timeline. The stories vary in overall theme and length, but running through them all is a dark thread. It was interesting to see how people and adapted to their dystopian show more worlds, the characters being as unique and diverse as the worlds they populated. I will say, I'm glad they were mostly fairly short, so I could read when I had a little time, then take time to digest what I'd read while working on other tasks. If you like dark and dystopian, this collection is definitely for you! show less

The author claims inspiration from Dune, and indeed we spend the entirety of the 3x too long journey in blistering dust, but really this is an unrelieved journey to Mordor, though unknown until the end to most of the travelers. And there are more Saurons out there. The writing is good enough to keep going through uninteresting characters, often improbable actions, all the plot bolts and gears clearly outlined, nothing hidden or inscrutable here.

Odd. Not quite my sort of thing, but nearly. A themed collection of the author's short stories, featuring pieces written for other anthologies, fragments that didn't fit anywhere else, and backstory from the novels. Although all the settings are quite different the general feeling is very similar: the world's gone to shit and the rich will try to save themselves from the desperate struggling of the rabble. Sometimes your empathy is directed more one way than the other, but there's always show more support for the underdog, the military get especially short shrift. More than one story features arcs - persevered habitats be they ageing cruise liners or space ships, but even these break down in time.

All of the stories lacked the punch and twist that I particularly enjoy in the format, but the worldbuilding and characters were always interesting if not always nice. Too few authors manage to create short stories that aren't just cut down novels. But there is sufficient promise that I may be tempted by the novels if I come across them. show less

Centuries ago, wars ruined the earth, destroying cities and wrecking the environment. But humanity remains as people struggle to survive in the harsh world that remains. But an ancient and powerful war machine, Lotus Blue, has awaken in the desert, and what’s left of the world may be at risk.

Lotus Blue has a variety of POV characters, but the protagonist is clearly Star, who has far more sections than anyone else. Star and her sister Nene live and travel with a caravan of traders, heading show more up and down the Sand Road. But unfolding events have a cataclysmic effect upon the caravan, drawing Star into the quest to stop Lotus Blue.

Here’s the biggest problem with Lotus Blue: Star had absolutely no impact on the outcome of the book. She could have died in the very beginning and the ending would have been the same. I noticed about half way through that Star was a passive protagonist who lacked agency – she tends to react rather than be proactive. But I’d assumed that in the end she would make some plot relevant action. I assumed wrong.

When I said there were a lot of POV characters, I meant it. First off, there’s Star. Then there’s Kian, a boy trying to find Lotus Blue for his one glory. His cousin also gets sections. Same goes for a wealthy merchant’s daughter, an aging female super solider, a battle scared male super solider, Lotus Blue itself, a random girl in a watchtower, and a scrappy stowaway. Here’s the thing… all but two or three of them could have disappeared from the book and the end result regarding Lotus Blue wouldn’t be much different.

Having such a mass of characters negatively impacted characterization. I never really connected with any of them. At one point a side character died, and it was being treated like an emotional moment. Only I actively didn’t care because he had no characterization or personality.

One other disappointment was that I picked up Lotus Blue because I saw it on a list of SFF about sisters. It’s not really a book about sisters. Nene disappears halfway through and never returns.

On the bright side, I did enjoy the setting. The world Cat Sparks imagines is one of an ever growing desert, with mad mechas blazing through the sand and reckless humans hunting them for parts. There’s a certain Mad Max feel to it, helped by the post-apocalyptic Australian setting. The world really came alive, and I loved the details such as the sand ships, towers, and immortal super soldiers.

If there’s a there’s a sequel to Lotus Blue (and based on the ending, I think there will be), I am not going to read it. While I liked the world building, it was not enough to make up for the problems in structure and characterization.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.

I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review. show less