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reviews_and_ramblings And the Rainbow Award goes to:
The Solstice Pudding (The Pudding Protocol Universe) by Angel Martinez:
- What a delight! The plot moves along like a (very amusing) river. The ussi-chep starts out RIDICULOUSLY adorable and morphs into a not-so-little critter who is cute in other ways. I liked Tyra's movement through her trauma toward healing and embarking on a new relationship, and Shandi's determination and upbeat spirit were most endearing. The universe is rich and full of wonderful, unique detail. But my favorite aspect of the tale is the wholehearted embrace of all sorts of different viewpoints, lifestyles, family units, and cultural values; this includes some subtle critique of gender bias as well. I hope our future is welcoming and respectful like this.
- Absoluting charming and highly imaginative world building where humans join the various collective and cooperative space civilizations as the newcomers. The word (and world) building is amazing, giving readers a completely new way to assess how we humans, charming but clumsy, might fare if the aliens were our hosts and we were the guests of their societies. Brilliant juxtaposition of realities, really.
- This was a joy to read, and it was nice to have less traditional holidays represented in a story. The romance develops naturally and I appreciate the awkward moments. The space station environment was well thought out and added layers to the story.
Runner Up:
Lady of Stone by Barbara Ann Wright
The Solstice Pudding (The Pudding Protocol Universe) by Angel Martinez:- What a delight! The plot moves along like a (very amusing) river. The ussi-chep starts out RIDICULOUSLY adorable and morphs into a not-so-little critter who is cute in other ways. I liked Tyra's movement through her trauma toward healing and embarking on a new relationship, and Shandi's determination and upbeat spirit were most endearing. The universe is rich and full of wonderful, unique detail. But my favorite aspect of the tale is the wholehearted embrace of all sorts of different viewpoints, lifestyles, family units, and cultural values; this includes some subtle critique of gender bias as well. I hope our future is welcoming and respectful like this.
- Absoluting charming and highly imaginative world building where humans join the various collective and cooperative space civilizations as the newcomers. The word (and world) building is amazing, giving readers a completely new way to assess how we humans, charming but clumsy, might fare if the aliens were our hosts and we were the guests of their societies. Brilliant juxtaposition of realities, really.
- This was a joy to read, and it was nice to have less traditional holidays represented in a story. The romance develops naturally and I appreciate the awkward moments. The space station environment was well thought out and added layers to the story.
Runner Up:
Lady of Stone by Barbara Ann Wright
