u/HonestLychee499

I’ve been following along with the Bingo since last year’s, but I completed the StoryGraph challenge rather than using Reddit. It got me to read more in a year than I have in well over a decade, so this year, after once again signing up to the StoryGraph challenge, I’ve decided that I might as well participate over here, too. Hi, I’m... Lychee, I guess! I’ve finished my first ten squares. In the order that I read them:

Judge A Book By Its Title (HM): Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I went into this completely blind. I’ve wanted to try Kazuo Ishiguro since he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2017. When I looked him up on Libby, my library had all of his books available, so I picked the one with what I saw as the most lyrical title. Well, now that I know why it’s called Never Let Me Go... that makes me smile.

Never Let Me Go challenges us to question the definition of humanity, and how our own sense of being may, or may not, even be a conscious choice. I felt that Ishiguro was asking me to question the concepts of fate, ambition, desire, loss, and the real, human ugliness of society. 

The prose is lovely: Kath comes across as though she’s creating a deliberate emotional distance from the events of her own life, which mirrors the themes of the story itself. Also, because the prose is so precise and simple, and the book is under 300 pages, it’s a very easy (if emotional) read.

If you have even the remotest interest in literature that explores ethics, please read Never Let Me Go. It’s beautiful. It’s devastating.

Non-Human Protagonist (HM): Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells | ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve been using Murderbot as a palate cleanser, and I imagine it’ll stay that way. My impression of this series is that it’s perfectly okay. I’m intrigued by the overarching plot, but I’m not necessarily compelled by it, if that makes sense. I’m not a huge fan of comedic SFF in the first place, so things like the Sanctuary Moon jokes keep grating on me, rather than providing the intended levity. I’ll continue with Murderbot eventually, but I tend to take long, long breaks between these novellas. They’re like olives. Great in small doses. 

One Word Title: Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve started reading Vorkosigan, following the order recommended by Bujold, and reading this one happily coincided with the Bingo! 

I won’t go into much, since it’s a sequel in I think every reading order? It was an excellent look into Barrayan society, and clear setup for Miles’ story. 

The reason I rated it four stars is that... well, I don’t remember it provoking much emotion in me. By contrast, even though Shards of Honour was slightly rougher on a technical level, I feel like I remember almost every page of that book. Barrayar was excellent, don’t get me wrong. It just never quite left the same impact on me as Shards of Honour. I rated this based on personal enjoyment in comparison to the previous book.

Trans or NB Protagonist (HM): She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is an excellent debut. I love the discussion of gender, gender roles, caste, racism, oppression, loyalty, duty, stigma, family, fate, and piety. Parker-Chan covers a lot of subjects in this, and while the execution is by no means perfect, it's a very gripping read. It was excellent to read fantasy that’s both Buddhist and set in ancient China. I’m actually trying to broaden my SFF reading and include more work set in Asia, so I was really pleased to see this recommended for the square! 

However, I found the graphic >!fisting!< scene at the 86% mark tonally incongruent with the rest of the book. >!I was enjoying reading about a largely aromantic and asexual protagonist, gender aside. To turn the page and be greeted by Zhu’s fist entering Ma, when up until that point I felt that the narrative suggested that it was a marriage of politics, protection, and compassion, was... a little jarring.!<

Older Protagonist (HM): Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Not only did I enjoy this far more than I expected to, but it also caused me to confront ageism that I wasn’t aware that I possessed. Ofelia was an initially irritating character who gradually grew on me as the novel unfolded.

However, the brief POV changes to other humans were... generally unnecessary. It didn’t feel like it actually added anything to the story to see things from another human’s perspective, as Moon didn’t spend enough time giving me a reason to care about somebody’s opinion other than Ofelia’s.

I also felt that the ending wrapped things up a little too neatly, but otherwise, it was an excellent >!largely non-violent!< first-contact story that I recommend to anybody still trying to fill out either Older Protagonist or First Contact.

Translated: Solaris by Stanisław Lem | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ½

This was... beautiful, though admittedly a product of its time, and suffering from the stilted awkwardness that’s fairly common of Eastern European translations. I actually saw a thread in PrintSF not long after reading this where I learned that my edition was translated from Polish, to French, then to English. Y...eah.

The way that Lem explores the concept of >!a sentient planet, and how humans may--or may not--actually be able to interact with it on a meaningful level!< was... Man, you can tell this is my first time writing reviews. I found this novella extremely compelling and thought-provoking. I didn’t read anything for a couple of days after finishing. >!Like Kris, by the end, I needed to sit alone with Solaris.!< 

My husband had YouTube push him the 1972 Tarkovsky adaptation, and watched it specifically because of the profound impact the book had on me. His mini review: “weird but good.”

Published in the 70s: The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My review of this is extremely short, as is the book itself. My copy, with an introduction by Chuck Palahnuik (which I skipped...) was only 160 pages. Levin, as it turns out, doesn’t need a lot of pages to tell a brilliant story. I mentioned earlier that Moon forced me to confront my ageism; well, Levin forced me to confront my sexism. I just wasn’t expecting a man of the 70s to capture the horror of... well, what we can now literally use ‘Stepford’ as shorthand for, pretty much across the Anglosphere? This was excellent. I loved the pacing, I loved the ending... I know we all know what happens, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so tightly and chillingly told!

Politics and Court Intrigue (HM): Perdido Street Station by China Miéville | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My journey with Miéville has been... non-standard. The first Miéville book I read was This Census-Taker, after finding it secondhand at a market. Then I tried The City & The City. I liked them both, but didn’t fall in love.

I was looking at my physical shelves for something to read for Cat Squasher, when I saw this one. Apparently, I picked up a very old, very ratty copy at some point in my past, and then never bothered to read it. I cracked it open and finished the behemoth in about four days.

I love how defined Miéville’s characters are. I love that looking at his characters is looking at a window into their soul. I enjoy learning new (archaic) words from Miéville. I love the way that his prose feels as though it’s physically pressing down on me. The novel itself feels dark and oppressive to read.

It’s a touch bloated, but... it’s excellent. I enjoyed the city politics so much that I decided to use it for this square instead. I’m going to finish the trilogy, and then I think I’m going to read either Un-Lun-Dun or Railsea. They seem fun. Miéville might be a favourite now. Thanks Reddit!

Published in 2026: Molka by Monika Kim | ⭐️⭐️

I think I would have enjoyed this more if I hadn’t read The Eyes Are The Best Part in 2025, and subsequently pre-ordered Molka.

This book suffers from being formulaic and shallow. The plot is so close to following TEATBP’s, beat-for-beat, that I’d guessed the ending to disappointing detail before the molka incident had even taken place. It’s unsatisfying both as a revenge tale, >!as it lacks a true revenge arc!<; and as a social commentary, as the characters have the depth of a teaspoon and the resonance of mud.

First Contact: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell | ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The strengths of this book lay in two areas: the structure of the narrative, and the discussions of faith and God. It’s not a spoiler to say that you are immediately informed that this book very much does not satisfy the hard mode requirement. The prologue itself made me excited and uneasy.

The story slowly circles toward whatever it that the prologue alludes to. It meanders through the characters’ lives and jumps back and forth across relative and non-relative time. The story itself pushes you to keep reading by constantly sprinkling in little morsels of past-future doom, and strapping discussions about God to the side of them.

However... You know how, every now and then, you'll run into someone who feels like it's necessary to say 'I'm not [prejudiced], I [stereotype] everyone equally!' Yeah, so, if you can get past the first quarter of this book being that, almost non-stop, with repeated smaller injections of it throughout... Russell's own social attitudes and political commentary appear to be conveyed through both characters and narrative using the above framing. It’s gauche enough that it brings the entire book down.

Alright... See you for the next ten!