SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard

The title surrounded by laurels on a cream colored background meant to look like old parchment

I was looking for a single volume book that covers the history of ancient Rome. In school I had learned about the ancient Greeks and Alexander the Great followed by the Roman Empire and its Senate. But I didn’t know very much about either. My research for a history of Rome led me to this book, which tells the story of Rome from its founding in the eighth century BCE to the granting of citizenship to all free inhabitants by Emperor Caracalla in 212 CE.

Overall, I found the book enlightening. Rather than presenting a bunch of cardboard characters with names and dates, the author gives a surprisingly approachable history that presents the times as very much like our own with people just trying to live their lives. I learned about the leaders, generals, and emperors, but I also read about the poor and enslaved. I gained a view of ancient Rome that was very different than I expected from my cursory knowledge before reading the book.

The author is British. This posed a bit of a challenge for me as an American. Yes, the spelling was different with a lot of extra u‘s, but that wasn’t the issue. The perspective was just the slightest bit different with the use of some words I wasn’t familiar with. That slowed me down. The layout of the content added to the complexity of the topic. It is not strictly chronological, though it mostly is. The subject matter is so vast, there was a little bit of a topical focus that required a little back in forth in time.

In the end, I feel that this book gave me a much clearer and better understanding of a history I formerly only knew at the surface. The work was a little challenging and not a quick read, but I am grateful for the knowledge gained.

My rating: 3.5/5

Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 199

An android with silver plating partially separating from its body faces away with two human hands on either side of its neck

For me this issue of Clarkesworld fell a little short of the high bar they have set for their fiction. Still an entertaining issue, just not as good as I have come to expect. And sadly, no stand-out, five-star tales. Let’s dive into the story reviews.

In “Re/Union” by L Chan, a young woman prepares an annual family dinner at her home. The unusual thing about it is that most of her guests are ghosts. More specifically, they are based on artificial intelligence (AI) derived from the personalities of the deceased. It seems like a good and comforting simulation until you realize that they can never change from what they were. (My rating: 3/5)

The world of “There Are the Art-Makers, Dreamers of Dreams, and There Are Ais” by Andrea Kriz doesn’t feel that far away. The main character is an artist in a world where generative AI has been outlawed from participating in creative endeavors. In fact it used to test all published art for its influences so those influencer artists can be properly compensated. This has the unintended consequence of making those influencers gatekeepers who help determine what it means to be original. The main character attempts to break into the art world by working with a master to find his own original style. (My rating: 4/5)

Something odd is going on in an alternate universe in “Rake the Leaves” by R.T. Ester. A professor repeatedly logs onto a server where he finds music and product references that are just a little different than he remembers them. As he reaches out to others to try to discover what is different and why, things eventually go off the rails. (My rating: 3/5)

The title character in “Keeper of the Code” by Nick Thomas finds something out of place deep in the Code that protects his planet. He immediately deletes it but then wonders if he did the right thing. A tale of self-doubt and revisiting decisions. (My rating: 3/5)

“Happiness” by Octavia Cade is a choose your own adventure story with a big claim right up front—you will always die happy. Each of the choices involves how you die. And the story for each part shows how you come to your end in a world suffering from climate change. An interesting exploration of all the ways climate change can affect you. (My rating: 3/5)

I seem to come across at least one story like “Stranger Shores” by Gregory Feeley in each short fiction magazine I read lately. I call these “experimental” because they don’t tell stories in a straightforward manner. As best I can tell, this one seems to be about a post-human experience. Most of these stories try to use the form of the story to help tell it. It usually doesn’t work for me, and it doesn’t here. (My rating: 2/5)

The Curator finds a military robot that she modifies to help her gather books and restock the library where she lives alone on a future Earth in the midst of a new ice age. “The Librarian and the Robot” by Shi Heiyao, translated by Andy Dudak is a touching story of a woman and a machine bonding through a shared goal. Naturally, the robot outlives the Curator. And when others from space arrive at the library, we learn something surprising about the pair. (My rating: 4/5)

In “Voices Singing in the Void” by Rajan Khanna, drones are sent to planets ahead of the population being sent to make them ready. When the drones’ work is complete, they sing into the void their song of readiness. But what happens if there is no one in the void to hear the song? A touching story of unintended consequences. (My rating: 4/5)

The strong stories buoy the weaker ones in this issue, resulting in an overall rating of 3.25. The non-fiction is strong and lifts the issue as well.

The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

A stylized 2D black and gray drawing of an octopus on a blue background

The Mountain in the Sea is Ray Nayler’s debut novel. What a debut! This is my favorite kind of science fiction—the kind that explores ideas. In this case, the idea is that of consciousness and sentience. While most science fiction novels exploring those ideas involve find extraterrestrial intelligence, in this book the new sentient consciousness is very terrestrial. And the science in the novel follows actual science very closely, another big plus for me.

There are three main threads in the book. One follows a hacker trying to break into an artificial mind. Another follows a young man who went seeking his fortune and finds himself a slave on an AI-controlled ship that is over-fishing the oceans. And the last is the main thread where a scientist is exploring a group of octopuses that seem to show signs of culture. All three of these stories come together in one heck of a ride.

Wrapped in what is essentially a thriller, is a smart exploration of what it means to be conscious. When does an AI achieve self-awareness? How would you tell the difference between simulated consciousness and the real thing? If another earthly species is conscious, how will that consciousness differ from humans’? And given that difference, how will we communicate with them? All of these questions are addressed in this book.

It might just be that I am a language nerd (I studied three languages and linguistics in school), but the author explores all of these questions naturally in the course of the story. I never felt like there was a bunch of unnecessary scientific exposition. It just unfolds naturally as part of the storytelling. And the characters are flawed and realistic, even the AI android. I can’t recommend this book strongly enough. It is one of the best books I’ve read in the last few years.

My rating: 5/5

I’d Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel

A painting of a blue upholstered reading chair sitting in front of a wall of bookshelves with ladder on the edge of the cover.

Anne Bogel is the host of the podcast called What Should I Read Next? On the show, she interviews guests and gives them suggestions as to what they might want to read next. I highly recommend it. She has a gentle, friendly way of connecting with people that never comes off as pushy or demanding. I get that same feeling from her book I’d Rather Be Reading.

The book is collection of essays about the reading life. In them, we learn that Anne bought a house next door to a library (jealous!), that you can tell a lot about someone by their favorite book, and that sometimes the book finds you. The essays tend to be short and easy to read. They are very well-composed, packing a lot into such a small place. In short, it is lot of fun for nerds like me that love to read. Nothing really new here, just comforting words from a fellow book lover.

My rating: 3.5/5

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

An open doorway stands in the middle of a field at sunrise seeming to go nowhere

Here is another winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards for best novella. It is a portal fantasy where children return from their world to parents frantic about their missing children. When the kids tell mom and dad about where they have been, the parents naturally think them traumatized by whatever experience they actually had. In their pursuit of help, they come across a woman running a school for just such children. What they don’t know is that the headmistress was herself a child who traveled to another world and understands that the children are telling the truth.

The story follows one girl as she arrives at the school desperate to get back to her other world. As she starts to settle in, terrible things begin to happen. The children help the headmistress to figure out what is going on. We learn what is going on as the children do.

This book is both dark and funny. It deals with issues of adolescence and sex and gender in sympathetic ways while still feeling true to how children treat and relate to each other. I found the ending rather abrupt but otherwise thoroughly enjoyed the book.

My rating: 4.5/5

Recitatif by Toni Morrison

Book title and author text on a blue background

In 1986, Toni Morrison published her only short story called Recitatif. It was republished last year as a hard cover book with an introduction by Zadie Smith. This is a story that everyone needs to read, especially with the different interpretations on the state of race in our country.

The story is that of two women who meet as young girls in an orphanage. One is black, the other is white. We follow the girls as they become women, wives, and mothers, dipping in and out of each others’ lives. There is something very special about this story and the way the author tells it, but I can’t say what it is without giving it away. And, please, do not read the introduction before the story. Read the story first! The introduction gives away what makes the story special and will ruin your first read.

This story is important today both for what it shows in the relations between these two women as well as what it intentionally leaves out. It leaves us asking some very important questions about how we view race and why. Most importantly, it doesn’t give us any of the answers but leaves us to work that ourselves, together.

My rating: 5/5

Uncanny Magazine Issue 51

Uncanny Magazine has released the last of their stories in issue 51 to read for free online. That means it is time to review some short stories! There were eight new stories in this issue along with one that was accidentally released in the ebook last month. Let’s get started.

The issue starts with “A Soul in the World” by Charlie Jane Anders, author of All the Birds in the Sky. This is the sweet story of a single mom and her child whose origin is special. Let’s just say that she didn’t come into this world in the most terrestrial way. But that doesn’t dampen the challenges that all parents and teens deal with as teenagers grapple with a growing sense of identity. (My rating: 4/5)

An academic in the future works on an embodied AI as she deals with misogyny and hierarchy in “To Put Your Heart Into a White Deer” by Kristiana Wilsey. The world is a blend of academic mergers and corporate control. Things don’t go well for the protagonist, as you might expect, though you might not see the end coming. For me the world building was a bit clumsy and got in the way of the story. The result was too dense and disjointed. (My rating: 2/5)

“Perhaps in Understanding” by AnaMaria Curtis takes place in a world where the characters in the story literally show their emotions as masks on their faces. The wealthier you are, the more masks (and therefore emotions) you are able to wear. This is the story of a painter who is preparing for a show that will make or break her future in this world. It is a sweet story of getting under the masks we all wear. (My rating: 4/5)

My favorite story of this issue is Delilah S. Dawson’s “Blank Space“. It tells the story of a girl living in a small town with her strict uncle who polices who she can go out with and what she can wear. While working at her uncle’s hardware store, she is approached by a tattooed biker trying to pick her up. She likes him back, but her uncle doesn’t approve. Things don’t go as planned but maybe not in quite the way you think. (My rating: 5/5)

In the first fantasy story an old mage sets out to save a village from the ravages of crystal cougars. The story is “In Time, a Weed May Break a Stone” by Valerie Valdes. The cougars belong to wealthy owners who plan to use them to get a hand up on the poor villagers. But the wealthy outsiders get more than they bargained for when the town bands together. (My rating: 4/5)

A brother and sister can’t wait to get out of school and play. But, the brother is running away from the sister. She is angry because she was punished in class for something her brother did. As they both run into the woods, they find a surprise. And what is at first fear turns to play in “Space Treads” by Parlei Riviere. (My rating: 4/5)

“Yinying—Shadow” by Ai Jiang is the other fantasy tale in this issue. A young girl whose father blames her for her mother’s death waits for foster parents to come after he also dies. Overnight she struggles with her past and how her father saw her. (My rating: 3/5)

Rounding out the issue is “Bigger Fish” by Sarah Pinsker. It feels like a futuristic Agatha Christie mystery. When a son asks a detective to investigate his father’s apparent suicide, the detective questions his house and robot valet. (My rating: 4/5)

My average rating for this issue comes out to 3.75. Overall, another excellent issue of great stories of speculative fiction.

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

A close up of a young African woman smearing clay on her face

In addition to short stories, my year of short fiction includes novellas. Novellas have various definitions as to length. The Hugo Awards define them as “between seventeen thousand five hundred (17,500) and forty thousand (40,000) words.” In other words, a short novel. The most recent novella for me, Binti by Nnedi Okorafor, won both the Hugo and the Nebula awards.

The story takes place in a future where humans on earth are selected to study at a galactic university. As it starts, the title character is sneaking out of her African village to travel to study there on a full scholarship. She is sneaking out because it is against her family’s wishes. She is talented and is expected to take over her father’s business. She feels drawn to something more. And boy does she find it on her way to school.

In this Afrofururist tale, the author really brings Binti to life and gets you rooting for her as she handles all that comes her way. She is a child of her village and family but also has her own way that she seeks to follow as she manages her conflicting emotions. Binti is the first of three novellas in the series. The others being Home and The Night Masquerade. I look forward to reading the further adventures of Binti.

My rating: 4/5

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

On an orange background with palm leaves at the edges, a man and a woman both recline on lounge chairs in outdoor clothing. He is reading a book, she is sunbathing

When I finished reading my latest short fiction magazine, I felt like I needed something lighter to read. I remembered that I had a romance novel by Emily Henry in my “to be read” list. I really liked the last book by her that I read. That’s how I found myself reading and thoroughly enjoying People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry.

Like all romances, this one was based on a trope, that being “friends become lovers”. For me, the difference between good romance fiction and that which I don’t like is how the trope is used to tell the story. Some novels the trope is the story and not much else. That is not the case with this author.

Alex and Poppy have been friends since orientation in college. They have little in common but are best friends regardless. Each year they take a vacation together. But two years ago, something happened on vacation that created silence between them instead of the ongoing text conversations they were used to. The story alternates between the annual vacations in the past leading up to that fateful summer trip and the present where they are planning and experiencing their latest vacation together.

As I write all that, it feels very formulaic. And it is at the bare bones. But the emotions and psychology of the story are what put the meat on those bones. For me, this is a story of growing up and growing into a deeper knowledge of oneself. And the dialog is funny and smart with likeable characters. This was another great book when I wanted an easy read that wasn’t mindless.

My rating: 4/5

Apex Magazine Issue 136

A thin woman wearing a brimmed hat that seems to be dissolving into the sky walks among a cityscape into the sky

I am normally not a big fan of the horror genre, at least what I think of as the horror genre. But I am starting to change my mind. It depends on the story. And two of my favorite stories from issue 136 of Apex Magazine have straight up horror elements to them. Here are my brief reviews of each story.

The issue starts out with a bang in “Over Moonlit Clouds” by Coda Audeguy-Pegon. A woman gets on a plane only to realize that she has forgotten an important aspect of her trip. She panics and mayhem ensues. A fantastic metaphor for mental illness and how those with it are seen and often treated. (My rating: 5/5)

What if a nightmare was a sentient being? What if that nightmare consumed another nightmare? That is the premise of “Beautiful Poison in Pastel” by Beth Dawkins. It is a fascinating exploration of agency and change. (My rating: 4/5)

The creepy factor is high in “Unboxing” by Lavie Tidhar. It is the story of a little girl who watches unboxing videos created by a little boy with the help of his mother. But these are way more than they seem. A dark exploration of using media as a babysitter and unintended consequences. I would have rated it higher but it felt a little unfinished without saying enough about its themes. (My rating: 3/5)

In a bleak future, Claire Humphrey tells of a double amputee who works from home to build clever toy robots as a way to save enough money to buy prosthetic legs for himself in “The State Street Robot Factory“. When things don’t go as planned, he pivots with an idea on how to leverage what he’s learned. (My rating: 4/5)

At the beginning of “After the Twilight Fades” by Sara Tantlinger, a woman finds a glowing meteorite in the woods near her home. When she touches it, catastrophic changes begin within her. But these are all not bad as she starts to see herself through her own eyes and experience for the first time. (My rating: 4/5)

“The Words That Make Us Fly” by S.L. Harris filled my heart with gladness and made it soar. It is the story of a young man whose friends all find magic in how they can use words. But the young man keeps waiting to find where his talents lie. As he waits, he begins to doubt his own ability until he stumbles on the path to his own power. (My rating: 4/5)

Like the previous story, “Every Shade of Healing” by Taryn Frazier touched me deeply. This story is a little darker as it deals with pain deeply felt and experienced. A young woman goes to get a tattoo as a way of dealing with past trauma. The artist has a magical way of transforming that pain. Together they make beauty out of suffering. (My rating: 5/5)

The one story I didn’t really care for was “Reproduction on the Beach” by Rich Larson. It boils down to the trope of a young woman with a much older man who is in a position of power. Things go about as I expected they would without any deeper exploration of the situation. Disappointing. (My rating: 2/5)

“Destiny Delayed” by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki tells of a future where a bank has discovered how to remove people’s destiny and save it as collateral against a loan. A poor man mortgages his daughter’s destiny in order to make it bigger for her. When he realizes the trap that the process really is, he takes clever and surprising revenge. (My rating: 3/5)

The third top-rated story in this issue is “They Could Have Been Yours” by Joy Baglio. Suddenly, all of a woman’s exes seem to be getting engaged and married at virtually the same time. As she revisits each of them mentally, she finds a ring that when she puts it on she finds herself disembodiedly visiting each of their fiancées. She spends more and more time in this state, allowing her real life to slowly crumble. The end is poignant and beautiful and one I didn’t see coming. (My rating: 5/5)

This issue ends with an overall rating of 3.9, quite high in my experience so far this year. There is a lot of darkness in the stories in Apex, but the exploration of feelings and ideas within the stories makes it worth the trip.