FollowSeptember and October were busy months, so my reading has been a bit impacted.
Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells – I read the first four of the Murderbot Diaries, (All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy). The series—and now a streaming series—features a cyborg security unit who see itself as a Murderbot. Set in a more or less dystopian habitat of space colonies, hackable data feeds, and artificial intelligences like CombatUnits, ComfortUnits, and SecUnits, Murderbot has hacked his “governor” and throws his lot in with the anti-corporation forces. Murderbot the character takes a little getting used to because he is a cyborg (and that unfamiliarity is probably part of Wells’s intent) but he grows over the course of the book I’ve read.
Murder in Petrograd by Asya Pereltsvaig –
A wonderful historical novel that begins in early twentieth century Russia as that nation enter the Great War. The royal familiy is under the sway of theme monk Rasputin Oswald Rayner, an Oxford graduate with ties to his classmate Prince Felix Yusupovey, is sent to curb Rasputin’s influence by any means necessary. Pereltsvaig describes the circumstances and consequences of the murder for Russia and for the lives of the historical figures involved. She’s done a lot of historical research on Rayner, who struggled with the morality of his mission, and on the history of Russia and she put us the heads of the main characters like Grand Duke Dmitri as they deal with the aftermath of the murder. It’s a well told, detailed historical tale shedding light on Russian history and a fascinating time in its history. I learned a lot in an enjoyable way.
Sabbathday River by Jean Hanff Korelitz
A choice of my book club, which I enjoyed. It’s not quite as fast-paced as her later novels The Plot and The Sequel. Based an Irish crime known as the Kerry Baby Affair it is part legal thriller and part sociological study of gender roles and class. The book echoes The Scarlett Letter and to Kill a Mockingbird (though less so). Some characters were feckless and unpleasant, but in all a worthwhile read.
I’ll try to pick up the pace of my reading in November and December!
