Alecia from Harbour Bay
The Murderbot Diaries 1: All Systems Red - Martha Wells
“First things first, this novella packs a punch. Doubly so when you have taken the time to digest what Martha Wells had achieve with such a short page count. The Murderbot Diaries has recently been confirmed to have picked up by Alexander Skarsgård and Apple TV for a TV series.
Murderbot, the name it had given itself after hacking its own governor module, had spent almost all 35000 hours of its newfound independence consuming any type of entertainment media it can without alerting anyone or any system to its self-awareness.
I won’t spoil anything, but Murderbot is one of the most relatable characters you’ll ever come across. It’s awkward in social situations, hates human interaction and feels very under prepared for its current contract. It just wants to do its job well enough to keep its current humans alive and have enough operation capacity to watch its favourite shows. The series only gets better with every novella, as does the length of each story. Martha Wells is a master of her craft and most of the Murderbot Diaries series has won an award, most of those awards being the Hugo, Locus and Nebula Awards. You know, just the biggest awards in the SFF genre.
While it didn’t release in 2023, it was the year I first picked it up and I proceeded to devour the first three books one after the other. It’s my favourite read from 2023 and has made it into my Top 5 best series of all time, even though I’m still in the middle of the series. With Martha Wells’ skills, I can only see it getting higher up that Top 5 and never dropping."
Alecia from Harbour Bay
A Tempest of Tea - Hafsah Faizal
“A BIPOC retelling of Arthurian legend with vampires.
It’s a mash up I didn’t know I needed in my life. I’ve seen lots of Six of Crows comparisons tossed about, and yes, there are similarities but A Tempest Of Tea is wholly its own unique plot and a fantastic cast of characters.
Arthie and Jin run a teahouse, the Spindrift, the most popular teahouse in White Roaring in fact. They deal in more than imported teas and baked goods. Secrets and scandal are just as good as coin. Once night falls, however, the Spindrift takes on a different trade. It’s the only bloodhouse in the city. It’s something everyone knows about but can’t prove. Arthie and Jin will do anything to keep it that way. One vampire and an elite guard have other plans.
It really feels like this will be THE YA book of 2024. Hafsah Faizal has really grown as an author, and it shows in this book. Engaging plotlines, good character arcs, and good world building that makes vampires and heists in the same plot feel like it should be in more books."
Pieter from Franschhoek
Cormoran Strike 7: The Running Grave - Robert Galbraith
“In an effort to let her writing speak for itself, J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame took on the pen name of Robert Galbraith for her Cormoran Strike series of crime fiction novels. While her recognisable literary style was unmistakable throughout the pages, Rowling has since left little doubt of her talent as a master storyteller in the genre of mystery and crime writing for a series now a decade in age.
The latest instalment, The Running Grave, is no exception and serves readers another thrilling case for private detectives Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott. This time the investigative duo is approached by a wealthy civil servant whose son has been completely cut of from contact with the outside world by a suspicious cult operating from a farm in England.
Strike and Ellacott soon realise that the only way to extricate the boy from the cult would involve Ellacott herself going undercover and becoming a member. As Ellacott’s infiltration peels back the layers on this secretive religious movement, she discovers a series of crimes, abuse and other shocking misdeeds that escalate the case beyond a rescue mission.
At nearly a thousand pages, the longest book written under Rowling’s pen name is anything but a light weekend read, but a thrilling new story promises to envelop the reader from the abundance of paper. Every character in this book feels interesting and she paints them in vivid shades within the reader’s mind with her expert hand in character development.
Rest assured that while the plot contains plenty of references to previous instalments for long-running fans, having read the prior novels is not a requirement. This book does an excellent task of easing new readers into the mundane and perpetual drama of its characters in a way that, in truth, will have many newbies yearning for the backlist of this series. Excellent title for the long summer holidays ahead."
Veronica from Sea Point
The Race To Be Myself - Caster Semenya
“In this memoir Caster tells her own incredible story from growing up in a dusty, rural village to being thrust into the mayhem of gender politics in in world sport. Despite being subjected to cruel and humiliating treatment this Olympian athlete refuses to present as a victim, she remains courageous, compassionate and even more determined to remain competitive and succeed in her field."
Daemon from Sea Point
Born A Crime: And Other Stories - Trevor Noah
“A comic take on a tragic upbringing during the apartheid era. A moving and honest account of growing up in a deeply unjust society, living with violence and domestic abuse and transcending these obstacles."