Brainycat's Occaisonal Reviews

Thirteen: Stories of Transformation
I have no idea why or when I picked this up - it just showed up in my kindle app of it's own accord. I can't find any reviews from anyone I know at any of the book sites I frequent, either and I don't think I recognize any of the authors. The Kindle version has a crappy cover image, and I couldn't find an appropriately sized cover on google images - this is probably a new release I preordered months ago on a whim.  Or maybe the universe is trying to tell me something...


I just got these this morning from HumbleBundle's Post-Apocalypse collection. For those of us who are obsessive about their calibre databases, I've included the series and ISBN info for the books. The collection also includes some comics and a couple of issues of Lightspeed, but I haven't included them here. Not because I don't think comics or periodicals count as reading material; I have a deep respect and admiration for both forms. It's just that I don't read many comics and I don't track them in Calibre, and the library info for periodicals is self-evident and needn't be reproduced here.

Damnation Alley
9780743413176
    - One of my very most all time favorite cyberpunky stories, Hardwired by WJW is based on this book. After all these years, I still haven't read Damnation Alley - but that will change soon!

Futureland
9781480422087
Walter Mosely is a familiar name - but I may be thinking of Max Mosely instead. I have no idea what to expect from this.

A Gift Upon the Shore
1626811008  
Again, I have no idea what to expect.

Gather, Darkness!
1497616603
I have heard of Fritz Leiber, but I haven't read anything of his yet.

THE END IS NIGH
The Apocalypse Triptych #1
B00IAT49JQ
It has stories by Paolo Bacigalupi and Jonathan Maberry, so I expect this to be a knockout that helps carry the whole collection

The Gold Coast
The Three Californias Tryptich #2
1466861339
OMG!! I squee'd when I saw this. I read the "Three Californias Tryptich" in highschool, and this book twice. The whole series is phenomenal; it's tone and pacing are nothing like KSR's Mars trilogy if you're afraid to start these. There's some deep and uncomfortable truths in the father/son relationship here, and I'm looking forward to reading this again now that I'm older and I've become part of the establishment.

After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall
1306062020
I see Beauty in Ruins gave this three stars. Looking at the synopsis, it sounds like it was designed by a marketing committee while poring over a focus group, with a strong tilt towards YA. I probably won't start this.

After the End: Recent Apocalypses
9781607014119
Bruce Sterling and John Shirley - YAY! Corey Doctorow - meh. A couple of the authors look vaguely familiar, but I'm terrible with names at the best of times. I suspect this will be quite hit and miss.

EDIT: Because I can words today.