OXYGEN

I asked The Child: "Do you want to watch a couple of sci-fi films?" I was surprised that The Child was all in.

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We watched a short film, Akai, directed by Michael Sparks, to kick things off.

For our feature, we watched Oxygen, directed by Alexandre Ada. While it dabbled in some classic sci-fi scenarios and tropes, the way that it presented and developed them was intriguing and well-done and fresh. I felt my blood pressure rising along with the character portrayed by Mélanie Laurent, who did an absolutely wonderful job of acting.

HUMMINGBIRD SALAMANDER

"That month the southern white rhino and a species of pangolin had gone extinct. Wildfires in five countries meant animals were crawling to the side of roads to beg people speeding by for water. People were poisoning vultures and shooting bats out of the sky, scared of pandemics. To care more meant putting a bullet in your brain. So, like many, I had learned to care less. Silvina called it 'the fatal adaptation.'"

—page 37, Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer.

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This novel is the latest wild ride from Jeff VanderMeer, and quite the ride it is!

We meet Jane Smith, who is an unpleasant character. She is soon swept up into a narrative that is not entirely of her own making and begins with her being handed an envelope that leads her to a  taxidermied hummingbird that may or may not be extinct.

The story is equal parts eco-thriller, science fiction, and weird fiction. As Jane gets sucked deeper and deeper into the mystery surrounding the aforementioned hummingbird and its companion salamander, we get sucked in alongside her.

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For those familiar with other novels by VanderMeer—especially Annihilation, Authority, Acceptance, Borne, and Dead Astronauts—there are plenty of "Easter eggs" hidden within. Some are nods to or echoes of characters or settings in prior novels, while others feel like variants or alternative universe versions. (Welcome to the VanderVerse!)

Here are some of the Easter eggs that caught my attention

• “Jane Smith” as the looking-glass version of Control.
• The naiad hummingbird as the looking-glass version of the Strange Bird.
• We encounter Mord? (This is actually a humorous allusion to a horrible situation in Borne.)
• We encounter the Blue Fox.
• We encounter Botch.
• Area X visits us. (The ark of HS. The “contained” experiments of Charlie X and the Company.)
• Unitopia as echoes of the City, the Southern Reach, Veniss.
• Shot as the looking-glass version of Control’s grandmother.
• The (house)boat along the (Pacific Northwest) coast. 

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As with other VanderMeer novels, I'm going to have to read this again (and soon). The material is so rich and chewy and rewarding. Plus, a second reading really helps me to see details I missed the first time around.

SKYWARD INN

Skyward Inn by Aliya Whiteley.

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Skyward Inn takes place after two planets—Earth and Qita—encounter one another through a “star gate,” The Kissing Gate. The Skyward Inn of the story exists within the Western Protectorate, which is located in what was once Britain, but the Protectorate has cut itself off from the rest of world. They are Luddites longing for a return to an earlier, simpler life before meeting the Qitans.

Jem and her Qitan partner Isley run the Inn, providing Qitan Jarrowbrew to those who gather. Jarrowbrew is an intoxicating drink that seems to affect space-time and bring forth stories from those who imbibe. A parallel story follows Jem’s son Fosse and his wanderings through the Protectorate countryside.

Skyward Inn delves into some of the same issues that Whiteley tackled in her earlier novel The Beauty—longing for a past that perhaps never really existed in the way that everyone remembers, the encounter with the Other, navigating the difference between cultures, and the importance of language and story. And, then, as expected the elements of contagion, contamination, and body horror arrive.

Whiteley doesn’t leave it there, however. She throws in a couple of plot twists that I did not see coming.

This is compelling, intriguing, thought-provoking writing that reflects many of the problems of our own age. Highly recommended weird fiction!

A HISTORY of WHAT COMES NEXT

A History of What Comes Next by Sylvain Neuvel. Take Them to the Stars, book one.

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This is a sci-fi thriller based around Germany's WWII rocket program and the subsequent Cold War/Space Race of the US and the Soviets. The narrative is fueled by generations of mother-daughter teams who may be an alien race, and are being pursued across distance and time by the Tracker.

Most of the story follows the Ninety-Eight, the duo consisting of Sarah Freed (mother) and Mia Freed (daughter). They both are prodigies at mathematics and physics and spend much of their time getting their own research and writings into the hands of others, in order that the work fuels getting humanity into outer space.

Much like Neuvel's The Themis Files trilogy, this novel balances the technological and science that underpins the plot with the relationships and stories of the protagonists. And, while most of the narrative is about Sarah and Mia, occasionally we encounter a chapter that follows earlier generations of women, such as the Eighty-Seven in 1608 AD and the Seven and the Eight in 890 BC.

It's a quick and compelling read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

KLARA and the SUN

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro.

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If one can be haunted by a novel one has read, then consider me haunted.

The story keeps revisiting me here and there each day, even though I finished it a couple of weeks ago. I cannot seem to shake it.

The plot revolves around Klara, who is an Artificial Friend. She ends up going home as the companion of a teen girl, Josie, who is quite sick after being "lifted" through some form of genetic engineering. Klara is a devoted friend, and, even though not human, perhaps the most compelling and human character in the novel.

Klara is many things that others in the book are not. She is loyal and loving, curious and caring, subservient and surrendering. She is also, in her own way, quite faithful, with an active imagination and "prayer life" like anyone else around her.

The book raises questions about humanity, objectification, intelligence, hospitality, inclusion, dedication, and tenderness.

Is it science fiction? Yes. Is it literary fiction? Yes. Is it a coming-of-age novel? Yes. And yet it transcends each of these genres. It really is in a category all its own. Highly recommended.