November Reading: Bugs, Mars and Marvel

My November reading is brought to you by Blue Sparrow! ^^

Kameron Hurley “Rapture” [USA]

Maura Manninen “Trespasses. Volume 1: Initiation” [Finland] 

Maura Manninen “Trespasses. Sidestory 1: A Pause in the Night” [Finland] 

G. Willow Wilson “Ms. Marvel, Vol. 2: Generation Why” [USA] 

Fuyumi Soryo “Mars. Vol.1” [Japan] 

Fuyumi Soryo “Mars. Vol.2” [Japan] 

Suzanne van Rooyen “Dragon's Teeth” [South Africa, Sweden] 

Fuyumi Soryo “Mars. Vol.3” [Japan] 

Short stories (science fiction and fantasy)

Marie Brennan “Mad Maudlin” [USA]  – gave me psychology/psychiatry classes flashbacks ^^

Isabel Yap “A Cup of Salt Tears” [Philippines, USA] – has a kappa!

N.K. Jemisin “Not the End” [USA] – set in the Inheritance Trilogy world

Aliette de Bodard “The Waiting Stars (The Universe of Xuya)” [France] – spaaaaaaace!

Rahul Kanakia “Here is My Thinking on a Situation That Affects Us All” [USA] – about a living space ship, yisss

Zen Cho “Unterminator” [Malaysia, UK] – a flash piece!

Kameron Hurley “The Light Brigade” [USA] – a short military science fiction story 

Rapture (Bel Dame Apocrypha #3)

Some spoilers for book 1 and 2: “After years in exile, Nyxnissa so Dasheem is back in action in service to the bel dames, a sisterhood of elite government assassins tasked with eliminating deserters and traitors. The end of a centuries-long holy war between her country, Nasheen, and neighboring Chenja has flooded the streets of Nasheen with unemployed - and unemployable - soldiers whose frustrations have brought the nation to the brink of civil war.

Not everyone likes this tenuous and unpredictable "peace," however, and somebody has kidnapped a key politician whose death could trigger a bloody government takeover. With aliens in the sky and revolution on the ground, Nyx assembles a team of mad magicians, torturers, and mutant shape-shifters for an epic journey across a flesh-eating desert in search of a man she's not actually supposed to kill.

Trouble is, killing is the only thing Nyx is good at. And she already left this man to die...”

The final Bel Dame book! T^T I need more Nyx... In Rapture the setting expanded even more, things got weirder, cool new characters appeared and oh god that tongue scene nooooooo.

Trespasses

“After a cataclysmic event has destroyed the planet and forced people underground, a halfling called Pele has his life derailed by a personal tragedy that transports him to the surface of the earth - and thousands of years into the future! 

In this new, arctic world and surrounded by mysterious strangers, Pele tries to make sense of his fate and stumbles upon an even bigger mystery - one that threatens the whole of time and space.”

I liked this Finnish fantasy and I wish there were more volumes, but alas...

I love it when authors draw themselves! ^^

Ms. Marvel, Vol. 2: Generation Why

“Who is the Inventor, and what does he want with the all-new Ms. Marvel and all her friends? Maybe Wolverine can help! If Kamala can stop fan-girling out about meeting her favorite super hero, that is. Then, Kamala crosses paths with Inhumanity -- by meeting the royal dog, Lockjaw! But why is Lockjaw really with Kamala? As Ms. Marvel discovers more about her past, the Inventor continues to threaten her future.”

Kamala Khan is the best. Go read this comic already! ^u^

“So amaze”

Mars

“Rei is the school delinquent. Kira is shy and studious. What they see in each other is a mystery to their friends. What they find in each other is a miracle to themselves.”

Main character is an artist? I'm in! I'm almost done with the series (on the final, 15th volume right now) and it's soooo good! Drama, dark issues, art, racing and of course romance!

Dragon's Teeth

“You can never outrun your past... After years of war ravage the globe and decimate humanity, civilization is revitalized in the city of New Arcadia, a cybernetic playground where longevity treatments promise near immortality. Detective Cyrus, fond of fedoras and narcotics, is hired by Benji MacDowell, heir-apparent to an eugenics empire, to find MacDowell's long-lost biological father. Employing his network of shady contacts within the underbelly of the city, Cyrus uncovers a murderous web of corporate corruption and political conspiracy with ties to the old Order, a tyrannical organization whose sole intent was perfecting the next generation of genetically engineered soldiers. Now Cyrus knows too much and finds himself caught in the cross-hairs of super-soldier assassins while the dark secrets of his past snap at his heels, forcing him to confront the truth he's been running from... and discover his own terrifying purpose.”

I finally read Suzanne van Rooyen's debut novel! (I read The Other Me and Obscura Burning earlier. Loved them to bits!) A lot is packed into this short book. Dystopian setting, mystery, action,  superpowered soldiers, rebels, genetic engineering, telepathy. I have a soft spot for super powers but I find the usual American heroes in capes and tights a bit boring. ^^; Here, on the other hand, the super strength is very science-y and comes with a price. Also, after Dragon's Teeth, I can never look at blond blue-eyed people the same way! =D

[Book descriptions are from Goodreads.]