Fiction:
A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker was my TBR Challenge book for October.
System Collapse by Martha Wells is the new Murderbot book. I won’t spoil anything here! I definitely recommend reviewing the previous volume (Network Effect) if you don’t remember details, as this book follows on directly with very little time interval; I feel the action is subordinate to Murderbot dealing with the personal fallout of those events. It was gripping! Also, Tarik rocks.
Fanfiction:
Mutiny on the Reliant by WerewolvesAreReal is a Temeraire AU in which Laurence and newly-hatched Temeraire are set adrift and end up in charge of a pirate fleet, as one does.
Declensions by dustorange explores Dick Grayson’s, or in this story Rasit Grisijo’s, life with Bruce Wayne from Dick’s point of view. It starts with the murder of his parents, his Romani father and Turkmenistani mother, so his sense of isolation and distrust when he’s taken into Gotham foster care and then adopted by Bruce is palpable. Writer Devin Grayson was the first to assign Robin/Nightwing Romani heritage, pointing out that there was no prior canonical ethnicity to the character, and it was picked up by several authors after that.
Lost and Found by Gwynne is set in the Vorkosiverse (Lois McMaster Bujold) after Gregor and Laisa have children; while book characters all have large roles, original Vor characters are the focus. This series felt, to me, a bit like Georgette Heyer in tone, with a romantic couple in each of the two main stories. I enjoyed it a lot.
One of Many Great Fires by delgaserasca is a Star Trek alternate universe in which Vulcan did not join the Federation but is now considering it if a Starfleet officer will enter into an arranged marriage with a Vulcan. James Kirk gets volunteered. The potential partner is T’Pring, currently bonded to Spock, who tries to save the treaty by helping Kirk. Romance ensues…but very, very, very slowly and with a subplot about Spock’s mother Amanda, who survived an assassination attempt, a lot of fun speculation about Vulcan culture, and some terrific T’Pring characterization.
