[Review] Seveneves by Neil Stephenson

Cover image from the goodreads website.

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Release Date: 19 May, 2015

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Genre: Adult Science Fiction/Alternate Time Line

ASIN: B00WNBHNWW

Edition: Audio CDs/Hardback (also available in audiobook, eBook, and paperback)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 14 December, 2020
Warnings: mass death, destruction of the moon, space race

Summary:  

What would happen if the world were ending?

A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space.

But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain...

Five thousand years later, their progeny -- seven distinct races now three billion strong -- embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown ... to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth.

See more by Neal Stephenson at his website.

[Review] Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

 

Cover image from the goodreads website.

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Release Date: 7 July, 2020

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Genre: Young Adult/YA Fantasy/Fairytale Retellings/YA Romance/YA LGBTQIA+ Romance

ISBN: 9781547603879

Edition: Hardback (available in audiobook and eBook)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 14 December, 2020
Warnings: instances of necromancy (and necrophilia? I'm not sure if that's the right warning or not), a lot of patriarchal bs, magic, rigid gender norms, spousal abuse, mild violence

Summary:  

It’s 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again.

Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all–and in the process, they learn that there’s more to Cinderella’s story than they ever knew . . .

This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales they’ve been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them.

See more by Kalynn Bayron at her website.