Valet by J. P. Lacrampe

June 26, 2026

Valet by J. P. Lacrampe

Cy is a VALET, an AI-controlled robot assigned to be the personal assistant to Grayson, the 35 year old son of the the owner of AI+, Cy's creator. Grayson grew up with Cy and Cy's current assignment is to find Grayson a wife or at least someone who will look after him so his family doesn't have to. This is harder than it sounds since Grayson is something of an oddball. The longer it takes, the lower Cy's success rating drops. If it falls below a certain level, not only will Cy not be eligible for an upgrade, he will be farmed out for parts. Worse yet, Grayson's sister Charlotte, the company CEO, is working on a deal to sell the family corporation to a competitor.

It's impossible to turn on the television or computer these days and not get bombarded with ads for AI, and generally speaking, it's pretty annoying (no, I don't need AI to write an email for me, summarize an article, or tell me how to invest). Set in the not-too-distant future, AI and robots haven't exactly taken over society but humans are dependent on them for everything. The takeover plot is silly and you know from the start that it's not going to work. You can't help but love Cy, who is devoted to his human "brother" Grayson and Grayson's dog, a golden retriever named Sasha III who is a clone of Grayson's childhood dog (non-spoiler alert: Sasha III is fine at the end of the book). The real question here is what makes us human and what makes us a family. I did want to slap Cy's friend Larry by the end of the book. Will appeal to readers who enjoy the quirky fiction of Kevin Wilson or Augusten Burroughs.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Platform Decay by Martha Wells

March 11, 2026

Platform Decay by Martha Wells

The SecUnit known to itself as Murderbot finds itself on a rescue mission, this time to locate and bring home Dr. Mensah's marital partner, daughter, and mother-in-law. En route to visiting Mensah's older daughter at university, they were illegally detained and imprisoned by the Barish-Estranza corporation, for unknown reasons but possibly in retaliation for previous actions by the Preservation consortium. They find themselves trying to escape from an artificial outer platform ring that surrounds a planet that has been stripped to nothing for its resources. SecUnit finds itself assisting an old enemy by rescuing her people while getting Mensah's family to safety. 

The eighth book featuring Murderbot, the sarcastic rogue SecUnit. Murderbot continues to grow as a character, experiencing new (and not always welcome) emotions. One of the hardest and sweetest feelings for Murderbot to process is that the humans they are responsible for really do care about him, as do his AI friends Three and ART. Bypassing security systems and planning escapes are just part of Murderbot's daily chores - their biggest challenge is fitting into human society and passing for humanoid. There is Murderbot's trademark sarcastic humor, particularly when it comes to the humanoids they need to protect. I wish ART and Three would have played larger roles, but Naja is a new favorite character - think of Ruth Gordon in a futuristic setting. Love this series, hate that I'll have to wait a year for another installment. Highly recommend the whole series to anyone who reads SF, but start at the beginning with All Systems Red.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

An example of strip mining that strips all of the minerals and resources from the ground and leaves the land desolate and destroyed

System Collapse by Martha Wells

March 4, 2024

Murderbot, the rogue SecUnit, is back for another adventure, only this time, something traumatic has happened to it, causing it to experience false memories and flashbacks. Worse, its breakdown happened in front of the crew, ART, and another SecUnit, so everyone knows something is wrong. Both its mechanical and organic parts are affected, and it makes Murderbot question whether it can do its job. For the first time, it is afraid to go into unknown situations, that it will freeze and be unable to protect its humans. And Murderbot has more humans than ever to look after, and is starting to care about many of them.

Love the Murderbot series! It's been a while since the last book, so it takes the reader a few chapters to get back into the story (stick with it, it's worth it). Wells revisits many of our favorites characters, including ART, the Asshole Research Transport and Murderbot's best friend. We get to see Murderbot's human side here, which just makes me love it even more. I'm so sad that I have to wait another year for the next book. I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys science fiction and fantasy.

Terraforming a new planet

Titan's Tears by Chad Lester

February 21, 2024

Titan's Tears by Chad Lester

Three characters are on a collision course in a dystopian world: Seth works for an Amazon-like corporation until he is replaced by a robot. Belle is an odd young woman living in a remote Alaskan town, until she is offered a high-paying job at Eccleston Evolution, a high-level tech company, even though she has no real job skills. Sophia is the founder of Eccleston Evolution, which develops cutting edge and sometimes controversial technology, and created the world's most advanced AI, The Augur.

Strange dystopian book about scientific and bio-ethics and the evils of science gone wrong, as well as greed, megalomania, etc. As soon as I read about the forest full of bio-engineered creatures outside the compound, I knew there would be at least one frantic escape attempt pursued by wild prehistoric animals. My biggest complaint is that the writing is sloppy - it needed a really GOOD editor. There are a lot of errors - at some points, the author forgets that one of his characters is blind. At another point, two of the characters are handcuffed but not to each other, and he has them run holding hands - how awkward is that? Super advanced robots go out in the rain and short out - seriously?? Not sure where the title came from, either, as it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the storyline. I think the author tried to cover too much ground and too many topics. If you want to read a really good futuristic book that covers many of the same subjects, read The Tomorrow File by Lawrence Sanders.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

June 4, 2022

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

On the moon called Panga, long ago robots put down their tools and walked out of their factories. They wandered off into the wilderness, never to be seen again. Centuries later, they are a legend to tell children.  After being a tea monk for years, traveling from town to town to perform tea ceremonies, Sibling Dex is tired of their normal routine and decides to go off grid into the wilderness. To their surprise, they encounter a robot named Mosscap (who is a wild-built robot, constructed from the parts of earlier generations of robots). Mosscap has been sent by its people to find out what people need. This raises the question for both Mosscap and Sibling Dex that if people have everything they want, do they need more?

This is an homage to taking comfort in another's presence, that it's okay to want to not feel alone. I love Becky Chambers' writing. I loved her Wanderers series and was sorry to see it end. This is the first book in what I hope will be a new series. Mosscap and Sibing Dex are great characters, like all of the characters in Chambers' books. The story is comforting like a cup of tea at the end of a cold or troubling day. Love the cover picture of Dex sitting on his wagon with a steaming cup of tea and Mosscap coming down the road.

Ruins like the ones that Dex and Mosscap find at the wilderness monastery

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

October 18, 2022

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

After exploring the unpopulated areas of their moon, Sibling Dex (a well-known tea monk) and his new companion Mosscap (a wild-built robot, made up from parts of robot generations that came before it) head for more populated regions. As they begin to visit small communities, reaction to Mosscap is varied. Most places are excited to meet a robot, but not all of them. As they draw closer to the City, Mosscap continues its quest for its people: what do humans need? If they have everything they want, do they need anything at all? And more importantly, what do Sibling Dex and Mosscap need?

Becky Chambers writes some of the most creative sci fi out there. She goes places other sci fi authors don't even know exist. I love her descriptions of a world that has come back to life after humans did their best to kill it. Crown-shy is Mosscap's term for the way that trees instinctively know how close to grow together, to give each other space to live and grow.

I love Sibling Dex and Mosscap, and I hope there will be more Monk and Robot books.

A post-apocalyptic town like the ones Dex and Mosscap visit