Remote Control

by Nnedi Okorafor

"An alien artifact turns a young girl into Death's adopted daughter in Remote Control, a thrilling sci-fi tale of community and female empowerment from Nebula and Hugo Award-winner Nnedi Okorafor"

“She’s the adopted daughter of the Angel of Death. Beware of her. Mind her. Death guards her like one of its own.”

Nnedi Okorafor writes African Futurism, and I'm here for it. I discovered Okorafor through a friend, who knew I liked N.K. Jemisin and Octavia Butler's books. They said I had to read Binti. I loved it so much, I nominated it for my book club to read. They loved it, too.
I liked the way the main character used her mind and saw similarities between her family and the jellyfish-like aliens. A harmonizer indeed. I read all the books in that series and then went on to read the much darker, but poignant Who Fears Death.

I'm looking forward to reading Remote Control. Okorafor's prose is so mesmerizing, you don't know how deep it's cutting you until you're sobbing for her characters. Although her work gets gloomy and violent, there's always a thread of hope lighting the way.

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

(Wayfarers #4)

by Becky Chambers

In the Before Times, I went to Worldcon in Dublin. There, I met many authors and discussed many books. Someone suggested The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. I've been a Becky Chambers fan since.

I like the episodic nature of these books, the slice of space life, and that they're tied through the world Chambers creates rather than a character. 10/10 recommend.

Fugitive Telemetry

(The Murderbot Diaries #6)

by Martha Wells

I'm going to quote sci-fi author Ann Leckie, "I love Murderbot!". Wells has successfully made me care about an AI and a ship's AI. The Murderbot Diaries has it all: a bot addicted to the future's version of Netflix with a past. The second book introduces a ship that kinda scared me at first because I didn't know if I should trust it.

What can I say? The name "Dave" said in a certain tone still gives me the chills.

Fortunately, Murderbot Diaries are not about malignant AI. Quite the opposite. Murderbot has suffered severe trauma and memory loss and must piece together their past. I cannot wait to read the next installment of this series.

The book I'm looking forward to the most releasing in 2021 is a book I've already read in it's infancy. Mad Raptor Productions will be publishing Next of Kin by Melinda Mitchell (my critique partner extraordinaire). Next of Kin is a science fiction retelling of the biblical Book of Ruth. Even if you're unfamiliar with the story, you'll love this story. I know I do. For the cover reveal and release dates sign up for the Mad Raptor Newsletter here: https://madraptorproductions.com/newsletter/

What Science Fiction books are you looking forward to in 2021? Post your recommendations in the comments!

©TJ Deschamps