The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a well written epic fantasy with some fantastic world building (culture, religion, magic & society), and a very interesting inquiry into gender roles and biases.

That said, I personally found it a bit too heavy going for my tastes. I think on a re-read, with some world and character familiarity, I’d appreciate it more and rate it higher, but on a first read it was a bit of a struggle.

View all my reviews

Mirrored from P.R. Kaye's Presence.

Hey, Aussie SF fans, you may have noticed I’ve been promoting the Helsinki in 2017 Worldcon bid around Swancon, Continuum and in general online. I could write a whole blog post (well, several, actually) about why I think Helsinki should host in 2017 and why I joined the bid, but for now, let’s just look at voting in Worldcon Site Selection. In particular, why I personally think those of us in Australia and New Zealand should vote, even though we may not make it to the winning site.

Why vote in Site Selection:

Worldcon has traditionally been very American. The first was held in New York in 1939, and the sixth was the first to be held outside the US, in Toronto. The 15th, in London, was the first to be held outside North America. If we look at all 74 Worldcons (including MidAmericon2 in Kansas City next year), there have only been 17 outside of the USA (7 in the UK, 4 in Canada, 4 in Australia, 1 in the Netherlands and 1 in Japan). There’s not been a lot of World in Worldcon.

Worldcon locations are voted on by Worldcon members, and unless there’s an uncontested or barely contested bid (such as Aussiecon 4 in 2010 or Loncon3 for 2014) it’s very likely that an American bid will win (eg 2015 where Helsinki polled first, followed by Spokane, and then Orlando, with the Orlando second preferences going mostly to Spokane to have them win).

A lot of Americans will vote for the Worldcon site that’s easiest / cheapest for them to get to – a US or Canadian site. This is entirely understandable from their perspective (hey, I’d love to go to more Worldcons too, but they’re all incredibly expensive if you’re flying internationally, particularly from Australia or New Zealand!) but it perpetuates a lack of World in Worldcon.

2017 is the only year with non US Worldcon bids declared until 2019. If a US bid wins in 2017, there will have been / will be 7 US based Worldcons in eight years (2011 – 2018, with Loncon 3 in 2014 the only non US Worldcon).

Things are starting to look up for non US bids towards the end of this decade though with Dublin bidding for 2019 and New Zealand for 2020. Then there may be a 2023 bid for Paris (it’s in flux) and there’s a bid for Perth, Australia in 2025.

That’s why this year, 2017 is so critical. If we want more World in Worldcon, we need to vote for bids around the world. We need to demonstrate, that even when a US bid goes up against non US bids, it can be beaten, and that US bids should consider bidding for a vacant year, or against other US bids.

Every vote matters – Worldcon bids have won or lost by a bare handful of votes before. Helsinki lost by 35 votes in 2015. Only 35 votes that needed to come from Australia, from New Zealand, from Europe, from Asia.

So, if you want more World in Worldcon. If you want a Helsinki / Nippon / Montreal Worldcon in 2017, or a Dublin Worldcon in 2019, or a New Zealand Worldcon in 2020, or a Paris Worldcon in 2023, or a Perth Worldcon in 2025, then you need to vote in Worldcon Site Selection, each year, even if you can’t make it to the winning site.

How to vote in Worldcon Site Selection:

Voting in Worldcon Site Selection is a four step process.

1. You need to be a supporting or attending member of the Worldcon holding the vote. For 2017 Site Selection, that’s Sasquan in Spokane. Go buy a supporting membership to Sasquan now, if you don’t already have one. You will be emailed your membership number, and will need this for the next step.
   Bonus: A supporting membership will let you download the Hugo Voting Packet, and vote in the Hugo Awards if you get it before Hugo voting closes on July 31st. It will also let you nominate in the Hugo Awards for 2016.
2. You need to purchase an Advanced Supporting Membership to the 2017 Worldcon, irrespective of who will win. Once you have your Sasquan membership number, go and purchase the 2017 Advanced Supporting Membership. This will display a voting token on the screen, and email it to you. You’ll need this voting token for the next step.
   Bonus: You will now be a supporting member to whoever wins in 2017, which will include Hugo nominations & voting, and the option to upgrade to an attending membership. You’ll also be able to vote in site-selection in 2017, by paying the Advanced Supporting Membership to 2019.
3. Download and print the 2017 Site Selection Ballot and fill it in:
   • Fill in your name and address details at the top. SIGN THE BALLOT otherwise it will be invalid.
   • Tick the “I have paid my Worldcon 2017 voting fee on the Sasquan website” and write your voting token there.
   • Preferentially number any / all of the four bids (Helsinki, Nippon, Montreal, DC) or you could include a number for “No Preference” or “None of the Above”.

4. Scan and email your signed and filled out site selection ballot to: ballot2017siteselection@sasquan.org before midnight, Monday, August 10, 2015, PDT.
   Note: If you don’t have a scanner available, drop me a comment / tweet / email, and if there’s time you can post it me to scan and email.

Congratulations, you’ve voted in Site Selection for 2017, and will also be a supporting member of the 2017 Worldcon (where you’ll get to do it all again for 2019)!

Mirrored from P.R. Kaye's Presence.

Dark Serpent by Kylie Chan

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sent to Wales to investigate what’s happening in the Western Celestial Plane, Emma begins to discover more about her past, only to find she’s not at all welcome in her ancestral homeland.

John is determined to keep Emma safe and fulfil the prophecy to find, raise and marry her, but the Demon King has other plans, and a definite advantage.

Mirrored from P.R. Kaye's Presence.

Kinslayer by Jay Kristoff

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The Shogun is dead and the Shima Imperium is at risk of civil war. Regrouping from their victory, the Kage are under threat of a new Shogun heir, backed by the Lotus Guild, who wants nothing more than to kill Yukiko and destroy all the Kage.

Meanwhile, Yukiko is suffering from the Kenning, the ability that lets her bond with Buruu the thunder tiger, and is beginning to lose control of it, with catastrophic consequences for all around her. Heading North in search of knowledge on the Kenning, Yukiko and Buruu find themselves trapped by the bloody past, while conflict between the Shogun heir and Kage looms.

Mirrored from P.R. Kaye's Presence.

A Crucible of Souls by Mitchell Hogan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Raised by monks after the death of his family in a suspicious fire, Caldan receives an excellent education and magical training. Upon reaching adulthood he leaves the monastery to make his own way, and try and find out who his family was, and who he really is.

Life in Anasoma is nothing that Caldan’s sheltered upbringing prepared him for, and he soon finds himself homeless and penniless. In desperation he seeks and gains an apprenticeship with the Sorcerer’s Guild, despite being several years older than the rest of the apprentices.

While Caldan begins to settle down into his new life, make friends and investigate the mystery of his parents, an ancient evil is stirring, and soon will lay siege to Anasoma, once again throwing Caldan into the middle of chaos.

Mirrored from P.R. Kaye's Presence.

The Marching Dead by Lee Battersby

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Marius don Hellespont is dead bored. Literally. Despite being life-challenged he won the heart of the girl he loved and retired to the country with her, where with nary a shady scheme in sight, he’s bored out of his considerable wits.

Then the dead stop dying, his love gets kidnapped, and as Marius chases after her, he finds himself in a player in a much bigger game – a war between the dead and the living. Unsatisfied with being King of the Dead below, Scorbus wants to eradicate all the living and rule over both above and below.

Mirrored from P.R. Kaye's Presence.

Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? by Andrez Bergen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Southern Cross is the newest superhero (cape) to arrive in Heropa, only to find that things aren’t quite as expected – someone or something is killing off the capes, both heroes and villains, one by one.

Southern Cross must become familiar with the rules of Heropa, fit in with the Equalizers (a group of superheroes), try to find out who’s killing off the capes, and develop a relationship with Louise, who doesn’t seem to be like the other Blandos (non capes).

Mirrored from P.R. Kaye's Presence.

Hindsight by Sarah Belle

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Blurb from GoodReads:

Juliette’s career is on fire, her marriage and family are in melt-down, and a red-hot goddess wants her husband. But those are the least of her worries when she wakes up on her lounge room floor in the year 1961.

Without any of her modern conveniences — nanny, housekeeper, surgically attached mobile phone, designer wardrobe, and intravenous lattes — Juliette is just over fifty years out of her comfort zone. But as she takes on the role of a 1961 housewife, with gritted liberated teeth, she discovers an unexpected truth: slower doesn’t mean boring, at home doesn’t mean dull, and priorities don’t mean sacrifices.

As she finds unexpected friendships, a resuscitated love life, tragedy and triumph, Juliette begins to wonder if she really wants to return home after all.

Mirrored from P.R. Kaye's Presence.

Fish Out Of Water by Ros Baxter

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dirtwater is one of those small desert towns in America, with nothing to distinguish it from the next small desert town. Except its deputy sheriff, Rania Aqualina, a half mermaid who is living there with her full mermaid mother.

Prophesied to die before her thirtieth birthday unless she changes the fate of the World, Rania is a couple of months shy of 30, with no idea what the prophecy means. Then a mermaid corpse turns up in Dirtwater, followed by Raina being invited back to the underwater city of Aegira for a wedding. Arriving in Aegira, Raina discovers strange things are going on, with most of the population oblivious to them, and possible ties to the dead mermaid in Dirtwater.

As Rania begins to investigate, she finds herself in life threatening danger, when she uncovers a plot which could mean the end of Aegira and the mermaids as a species…

Mirrored from P.R. Kaye's Presence.

Secret Reflection by Jennifer Brassel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fleeing a messy divorce in LA, Kelly Reid takes refuge with friends in the UK who’ve just leased an old mansion to turn into a bed and breakfast. Her friends have the perfect distraction for Kelly, to investigate the mysterious ghost who’s haunted the house for over 100 years.

When the ghost appears in Kelly’s mirror and introduces himself as John Tarrant, Kelly is certain it’s a hoax, and determined to prove how it’s done. But as expert after expert is unable to come up with an explanation, Kelly slowly comes to realise that John is real, and has been trapped in the mirrors since the 1860s, only able to communicate for 20 days every 20 years.

As she investigates how and why John ended up trapped in the mirrors, Kelly starts to fall in love with him. But she has only a few short weeks to work out how to release him from his torment, even if means never seeing or hearing from him again.

Mirrored from P.R. Kaye's Presence.