Perfectly decent SF caper; traumatized ex-space marine teams up with a ragged band of criminals to save a pacifist alien species from uncaring corporate takeover / megalomaniac colonizer. The story got extra spice from the characters, a rainbow cast of representation that I would have loved to see in SF growing up. I really liked the AI character as well; I actually found her the most relatable of the bunch.
Category: quick reaction
Four Hundred Souls, by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain
When I picked up this book of four hundred years of Black history in America, I mentally braced for impact, because it’s so painful to even think about: slavery to segregation, Jim Crow to BLM, and still so far from real equality after all this time. And yet this book was a gift. Eighty amazing writers (and ten wonderful poets) came together, each taking on a span of history, to share so many stories of resilience and courage and determination. At every point in history, a racist America was consciously constructed and reinforced to keep Black people contained, and yet at every one of those points, Black people fought stubbornly for their right to exist. This book could have been a litany of sorrow, but instead celebrates how Black resistance grew and strengthened with every obstacle. If it weren’t a library copy I would have left sticky notes on every other page. When we finally settle down where we don’t need to worry about moving weight, I’m buying a copy.
Horse Heaven, by Jane Smiley
Horse Heaven by Jane Smiley (recommended by KS) turned out to be a really leisurely, sprawling epic following a group of racehorses through their various owners and trainers, and incidentally also the lives of said owners and trainers, and I enjoyed it way more than I initially thought I would. Both humans and horses are given depth and personality, and although the cast of characters is big, I was able to follow the action without problems.