Book Review: Revimore by Ciel Dexter

03/11/202203/11/2022Ciel Dexter, Speculative-FictionLeave a Comment

Book Details:

Author: Ciel Dexter
Release Date: 14th September 2022
~~Series~~:
Genre: Speculative Fiction, Feminist Literature
Format: E-book
Pages: 160 pages
Publisher: Pink Narcissus Press
Blurb:
“At Revimore we do not pretend to take away your grief. Death is a natural part of life. But what if you were able to continue to share your life with your loved one? To begin and end each day knowing that you never need to be alone again?”
Told through the voices of women touched by loss, this thought-provoking work examines the nature of grief, and the ethical dilemmas inherent in Revimore, a company that creates artificially intelligent replicants to replace loved ones after death.

“Dexter raises all the standard questions about AI rights, sentience, and ethics, but the close, personal lens on the issue provided by her three captivating heroines adds depth and nuance to these themes. It’s a well-done meditation on humanity, companionship, and grief.”
Publishers Weekly

Review

Revimore by Ciel Dexter is a work of speculative feminist literature that explores the technological responses to grief by three different women in three different parts of this short story.

I loved reading this book because provided such a unique perspective on technology on the whole and grief as a specific theme. The writing is very smooth and fluid and made reading this book a fantastically quick affair, which I always appreciate. I liked how the author put her ideas and thoughts forward without them being overbearing at any point in the entire story, which is a difficult feat to achieve in feminist literature and I’d like to commend the author on executing the concept in such an interesting yet non-provocative way.

I’d strongly recommend this book to all speculative readers and to feminist ideologists and readers of related literature. Though even if you are not a feminist, this book could simply be enjoyed as a work of speculative fiction alone.

You can also read this review on:

Goodreads

Amazon

ARC Review: Dead Fish And What the Blue Jays Know by Debbie Ann Ice

12/02/202113/02/2021Debbie Ann Rice, Literary Fiction, women's fictionLeave a Comment

Author: Debbie Ann Ice
Release Date: 22nd April 2021
Genre: Women’s Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Satire
Series:
Format: E-book
Pages: 272 pages
Publisher: Bedazzled Ink Publisher, LLC
Blurb:
It’s the year 20-something—a changed yet still complacent America—and Lorraine Mulderon is mad. She’s mad that dying fish litter the shores of her small Connecticut coastal town. She’s mad birds seem to be dying, possibly indirectly related to fish deaths. She’s still mad about a wave of crow deaths over a decade ago. But, mostly, Lorraine is mad at the lack of madness.

She makes speeches. She phones lazy, and now corrupt, legislators. She is ignored. What has happened to passion? What has happened to our country? And now, what has happened to Lorraine? Lorraine disappears during a protest march. Her daughter, Haley, writes a letter to the world explaining her mother—someone who confronts grief and tragedy the only way she knows how and has depended upon those who tenderly watch over her—her daughter, certain friends, and a flock of blue jays.
However, as the blue jays reveal, Lorraine is not so tenderly watched over by the forces working against her.
It’s a dark future and our nation has normalized tragedy; however, DEAD FISH touches upon these intense themes with hope and humor.

Review

Dead Fish And What the Blue Jays Know by Debbie Ann Ice is a beautiful book about passion, love and loyalty. When I started reading this book, I wasn’t really sure what it was about and if I was going to like it much, but only a couple of pages into the story and I knew that it was going to be a great read. And to my utter satisfaction, it turned out to be that and so much more.

This book not only has a well-written plot but the concept itself is really good and necessary in its own right. I loved the characters and was able to connect and relate to them. The pacing and tension are apt and compliment the story beautifully.

I really enjoyed reading this emotional, at times funny and beautiful read and would definitely recommend it to readers of literary and women’s fiction.

You can also read this review on Goodreads

Book Review: How the Ə Got Producted: A Love Story by N.K. von S.

18/01/202115/12/2021Humor, N.K. von S.Leave a Comment

Author: N.K. von S.
Release Date:
Genre: Humour, Sci-fi
Series:
Format: E-book
Pages: 256 pages
Publisher:
Blurb:
A childhood trauma leaves N. yearning for connection and vulnerable to the seductive but damaged Jeremy Sakhdvar, a young product liability attorney with a technology vendetta. Their one-sided relationship ends abruptly when Jeremy marries another woman and runs for elective office. Adrift but resilient, N. mines a series of seemingly random hookups for the raw materials she uses to reinvent herself. N. becomes a prominent lobbyist for the biomedicaltechnology industry and, years later, a top official with the Bureau of

Biomedicaltechnology. Throwing herself into her new position, N. meddles in a plot by a group of antitechnology dissidents to suppress the Ə, a technology that purports to improve human connectedness. The dissidents blow the whistle, provoking an investigation by a U.S. senator and crusading presidential candidate named Jeremy Sakhdvar. Their confrontation pits the regulatory deep state against big tech in a battle to a draw, settles an old romantic score, and clears the way for the Ə to change the world forever.

Review

How the Ə Got Producted by N.K. von S. is a fun satire read about an independent and passionate female protagonist and is unique in its own right.

This book is very unconventional and for that, I did enjoy reading it. It is the story of a protagonist who is trying to navigate through the difficulties of her one-sided love life while at the same time trying to fight for what she truly believes in, in her professional life. The introduction of Ə makes the story very interesting and the book then takes a turn that is both fun to read and interesting to learn about.

I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to sci-fi reads who don’t mind a romance sub-plot underlined with satire with a streak of feminism.