Aqueduct Reading List 2023
by Margaret McBride
I taught at the University of Oregon for 30+ years (including classes on gender and sexuality in science fiction and fantasy). Now that I’m retired I have a lot of time to read. Choosing which ones I liked the best from my list made me realize I am responding most positively to books where characters manage to find community and work together through hard times (must be responding to the horrific political, international, environmental news that I read every day).
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki–a mixture of fantasy and science fiction with the hurt of a trans character being abused by family, angst of music competitions, fear of aliens escaping conflict but tempered by the characters changing and working together. The scenes where the trans character is ignored and then finally helped by clothing store clerks are heart-breaking. You can’t go wrong with an Otherwise Award winner where aliens and an AI hologram run a doughnut shop in L. A.
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree–well developed fantasy work that examines economic issues where troubles are overcome by unexpected people managing to work together. I loved the characters.
Interference by Sue Burke (sequel to Semiosis which must be read first)–unique aliens with different versions of what sentience could be like with interesting human characters and the ethical decisions they must make.
Stage-Struck Vampires by Suzy McKee Charnas I reread most of her books for her memorial at WisCon and am selecting this one to comment on because her essay about writing Walk to the End of the World, Motherlines, The Furies, Conqueror’s Child was enlightening (the series is well worth reading too). She was criticized because Motherlines had no male characters! Finishing the series took longer than she wanted because she had trouble finding a resolution where men and women could coexist in the horrific future she had envisioned. The stories in Stage-Struck Vampires are good too.
KnifeWitch by Susan di Rende Plot elements might sound dreary: young woman kidnapped by pirates to be sold to mean cult has an encounter with a sentient sea monster. But no–this book was great fun with all kinds of unexpected plot twists. I read it on the plane coming home from WisCon and laughed out loud.
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich–takes place during the first Covid pandemic year in Erdrich’s book store with maybe a ghost, examination of indigenous issues, post-incarceration difficulties, relationship problems, importance of reading and even includes a list of recommended books!
Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings–what a fun premise: a human spaceship with alien ambassador on board is stuck in unknown space with unworking engine. They are able to get to an old nearby ship which turns out to have the name and the crew of the humans that negotiated peace after a long war with the aliens 150 years ago! The crew are a scruffy lot fleeing from government charges–not the heroic crew that are the historic legends. Flashbacks tell more about what is going on. The author enjoys playing with common time paradoxes (although not the “what if you killed a grandparent” one). How much can the future people tell of past events without changing their time in unknown and maybe horrifying ways?
Under the Whispering Door by T. J. Klune I might have skipped this one based on a summary of plot: ghost guided away from his own funeral by a Reaper and taken to a tea house and given time to adjust before leaving through a door in the ceiling. However I liked The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Extraordinaries enough that I gave this novel a try, and am glad I did. The four main characters (two dead and two alive and able to see and talk with the dead) are likeable and even funny at times while dealing with their unpleasant circumstances. There’s even a ghost dog! The novel is not religious in a conventional way–the being in charge of gathering the ghosts is called the manager and makes mistakes. The novel felt a bit like Becky Chambers’ novels–lots of problems but somehow human good and community manage.
Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell Another one where if I’d been given a synopsis, I might not have read this book. Romances about people who can’t get together because of misunderstandings are not my thing, but I did enjoy this novel. The two main characters are interesting, as are some secondary characters. The plot is an intriguing mix of politics with changing views of who is the bad guy. The backstory of what remnants are and how the various levels of power came to be could be developed into its own SF novel. The first sentence gives some hint as to the humor and style: “‘Well, someone has to marry the man’ the Emperor said.” Then the next paragraph tells us she’s talking to her least favorite grandson.
Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore The novel is described as a YA fantasy with non-binary and neuro-divergent characters. I found the descriptions of ADHD and being on the spectrum believable, but regardless, they were interesting people who solved complex problems. I’ve loved everything McLemore has written, and this one continues to insure her works will be on my must-read list.
Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler–won Locus readers’ best first book for 2022. Warning: a dark look at environment disasters, corporate greed and nasty politics, but the characters are interesting and I liked the multiple view points and the inter-chapter quotes. The focus on octopuses led me to read two non-fiction books about octopuses.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett I’ve liked her novels since I read The Magician’s Assistant, and this one definitely belongs on my recommended list. The story goes back and forth in time as a mom in her 50s tell her adult daughters (living at home during the first year of Covid) about her relationship with a well-known actor before they were born. The layers of how she felt then versus how she regards the events years later mixed with the speculation and misunderstandings from her daughters are intriguing.
PS “They Will Dream in the Garden,” Gabriela Damian Miravete’s short story, won the Otherwise Award in 2018, and a collection of her short stories with the same title was published this month by Rosarium Press. I have ordered a copy because I love that short story (it’s available on line too).
Margaret McBride is retired from the University of Oregon where Gender and Sexuality in Science Fiction and Fantasy was her favorite class to teach. She is the editor of the tenth volume of the WisCon Chronicles, Social Justice (Redux). She has been the chair of the Tiptree/Otherwise Award two times, has participated on over forty panels at WisCon and hopes to do so again.
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