Can't-Wait Wednesday: Square³ by Mira Grant & The Bright Ages by Matthew Gabriele & David M. Perry

Can't-Wait is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights exciting upcoming releases that we can't wait to be released! This meme is based off of Jill @ Breaking the Spine's Waiting on Wednesday meme.

 

This week's upcoming book spotlights are: 

Square³ by Mira Grant
Publication: December 31st, 2021

Hardcover. 144 pages.

Pre-order: Subterranean Press

From Goodreads:

"We think we understand the laws of physics. We think reality is an immutable monolith, consistent from one end of the universe to the next. We think the square/cube law has actual relevance. 

We think a lot of things. It was perhaps inevitable that some of them would turn out to be wrong. 

When the great incursion occurred, no one was prepared. How could they have been? Of all the things physicists had predicted, “the fabric of reality might rip open and giant monsters could come pouring through” had not made the list. But somehow, on a fine morning in May, that was precisely what happened. 

For sisters Susan and Katharine Black, the day of the incursion was the day they lost everything. Their home, their parents, their sense of normalcy…and each other, because when the rift opened, Susan was on one side and Katharine was on the other, and each sister was stranded in a separate form of reality. For Susan, it was science and study and the struggle to solve the mystery of the altered physics inside the zones transformed by the incursion. For Katharine, it was monsters and mayhem and the fight to stay alive in a world unlike the world of her birth. 

The world has changed. The laws of physics have changed. The girls have changed. And the one universal truth of all states of changed matter is that nothing can be completely restored to what it was originally, no matter how much you might wish it could be. 

Nothing goes back."

Mira Grant's books are always some interesting adventures, and this sounds like no exception to that. I'm not sure what to expect from this (although I feel like I rarely am with her work!), but I'd be curious to find out.

and...

The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe by Matthew Gabriele & David M. Perry

Publication: December 7th, 2021

Harper

Hardcover. 320 pages.

Pre-order: Amazon | IndieBound

From Goodreads:

"A lively and magisterial popular history that refutes common misperceptions of the European Middle Ages, showing the beauty and communion that flourished alongside the dark brutality—a brilliant reflection of humanity itself. 

The word “medieval” conjures images of the “Dark Ages”—centuries of ignorance, superstition, stasis, savagery, and poor hygiene. But the myth of darkness obscures the truth; this was a remarkable period in human history. The Bright Ages recasts the European Middle Ages for what it was, capturing this 1,000-year era in all its complexity and fundamental humanity, bringing to light both its beauty and its horrors. 

The Bright Ages takes us through ten centuries and crisscrosses Europe and the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa, revisiting familiar people and events with new light cast upon them. We look with fresh eyes on the Fall of Rome, Charlemagne, the Vikings, the Crusades, and the Black Death, but also to the multi-religious experience of Iberia, the rise of Byzantium, and the genius of Hildegard and the power of queens. We begin under a blanket of golden stars constructed by an empress with Germanic, Roman, Spanish, Byzantine, and Christian bloodlines and end nearly 1,000 years later with the poet Dante—inspired by that same twinkling celestial canopy—writing an epic saga of heaven and hell that endures as a masterpiece of literature today. 

The Bright Ages reminds us just how permeable our manmade borders have always been and of what possible worlds the past has always made available to us. The Middle Ages may have been a world “lit only by fire” but it was one whose torches illuminated the magnificent rose windows of cathedrals, even as they stoked the pyres of accused heretics."

I really love the premise of this nonfiction dive into the history of the commonly known "medieval ages" of Europe, and I appreciate that it sounds lie it's going to include a wider expanse of areas outside of Europe as well! I'd love to have a chance to check this one out. 

What do you think about these upcoming releases? What are your anticipated upcoming releases?

Novella Mini-Reviews: Final Girls by Mira Grant & Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire

Final Girls by Mira Grant
Subterranean Press
Publication: April 30th, 2017

Hardcover. 112 pages.

About Final Girls:

"What if you could fix the worst parts of yourself by confronting your worst fears? 

Dr. Jennifer Webb has invented proprietary virtual reality technology that purports to heal psychological wounds by running clients through scenarios straight out of horror movies and nightmares. In a carefully controlled environment, with a medical cocktail running through their veins, sisters might develop a bond they’ve been missing their whole lives—while running from the bogeyman through a simulated forest. But…can real change come so easily? 

Esther Hoffman doubts it. Esther has spent her entire journalism career debunking pseudoscience, after phony regression therapy ruined her father’s life. She’s determined to unearth the truth about Dr. Webb’s budding company. Dr. Webb’s willing to let her, of course, for reasons of her own. What better advertisement could she get than that of a convinced skeptic? But Esther’s not the only one curious about how this technology works. Enter real-world threats just as frightening as those created in the lab. Dr. Webb and Esther are at odds, but they may also be each other’s only hope of survival."

As you may or may not know, Mira Grant and Seanan McGuire are the same author using different pseudonyms. From my experience, it seems as though Mira Grant leans more towards the sci-fi and medical sci-fi routes, whereas Seanan McGuire has more books featuring fantasy and the like. Final Girls falls in the realm of what I would describe as science fiction with a mental health medicine focus. This was a really interesting thought experiment about an experimental new method to help estranged family members and friends develop a strong relationship using virtual reality simulations.

What I liked: I loved how Grant took the idea of how fear affects the mind and body and explored that in a new way. I was fascinated by how Esther, who tested out the experiment herself, was able to be sucked into this simulation idea despite her occasional awareness that the situation wasn't real. Grant's prose also continues to be one that easo;y drags the reader in, as she knows how to combine a simple style with strong descriptions and explanation in a way that makes this an enjoyable read.

What I didn't like: There's nothing that I explicitly disliked in this novella, but it also wasn't something that stood out to me in any strong way. I will certainly remember this novella and the premise that it explores, but there's still something about it that prevented me from enjoying it further. I think the main thing that might've have contributed to this was my lack of interest in most of the characters. Novellas don't provide much time to really connect with a character usually, but it's still possible to care about them and I'm not sure that's something that I ever really felt about the characters--even though the two main characters were developed well--which in turn caused me to feel as if I was being held at arm's length. I felt that many areas were not explored as much as they could have been.

Overall, Final Girls is a fascinating futuristic sci-fi novella with some interesting ideas to explore. I've given it 3.75 stars!

Amazon | IndieBound

Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
Tor
Publication Date: January 9th, 2018

Hardcover. 174 pages.

About Beneath the Sugar Sky:

"When Rini lands with a literal splash in the pond behind Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, the last thing she expects to find is that her mother, Sumi, died years before Rini was even conceived. But Rini can’t let Reality get in the way of her quest – not when she has an entire world to save! (Much more common than one would suppose.)

If she can't find a way to restore her mother, Rini will have more than a world to save: she will never have been born in the first place. And in a world without magic, she doesn’t have long before Reality notices her existence and washes her away. Good thing the student body is well-acquainted with quests... 

A tale of friendship, baking, and derring-do. 

Warning: May contain nuts."

Beneath the Sugar Sky is the third installment in the ever-popular Wayward Children's series. In this book, we follow yet another member of Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children on their own journey as we get to explore even more new worlds. We visit a few worlds in this book, but the main one is a sugar-sweet Nonsense world, and as someone with a huge sweet tooth, this world spoke to me.

What I liked: McGuire has an incredibly inventive imagination and she continues to build these magnificent settings that stand apart from everything else and that come vividly to life in my own mind. Her descriptions are stunning and overflowing with beautiful prose. I loved that this book combined some new characters with old characters--all from different worlds--and readers are able to continue to learn new things about them and their character. I also really appreciated how seamlessly McGuire incorporates so much diversity among her cast of characters--it's effortless and flows perfectly, yet is also prominent enough to make a statement.

What I didn't like: Much like with Final Girls, there's nothing that I can really pinpoint that I disliked, but this installment just didn't call out to me quite as much as some of the others. Parts of it felt very formulaic and a bit lacking in some way, while other parts were beautiful and immediately grabbed my attention. I think the inconsistency really translated to my own uncertain feelings about this book. The plot was just a bit odd in this one and I couldn't find myself feeling fully invested in the stakes at play.

Overall, I've given Beneath the Sugar Sky 3.75 stars!

Amazon | Book Depository | IndieBound

Review: Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant 

Orbit, 2017. Hardcover. 440 pages.

*Note before review: There is a prequel novella, Rolling in the Deep, that I was not aware of and did not read before this book. It's not necessary to read it, but it's one that you would be fine reading or not reading first and that I personally will go back and read. It basically tells of the events that led to the events of Into the Drowning Deep.**

Into the Drowning Deep is one of those books that lingers in your mind every time you put it down. It is delightfully creepy, immensely compelling, and a book that I desperately want more of.

Seven years before the events of this book, a "mockumentary" company sent a large ship into the Mariana Trench to determine whether or not mermaids actually exist. Tragedy struck when the ship was attacked and the entire crew was killed, presumably by the horrifying creatures that live in the depths of the water. Some people do not believe this tragic event was real and unplanned by the company, while others are convinced that mermaids are real. This book begins when the company sends a new vessel with a new crew of many scientists and new crew members back into the deep to find out exactly what happened to the original ship and whether mermaids do or do not exist

Into the Drowning Deep is, at its core, as story about terrifying, violent mermaids and the quest to uncover the truth behind the mysterious creatures that are believed to dwell in the Mariana Trench. Along the way to this discovery, however, we realize that there is much more to this story than just that. This story is also about science and how scientists work, the moral and ethics of using, training, and killing animals, what is considered a sentient being or an animal, and many more fascinating topics.

This is a fascinating book that is written in an incredibly accessible manner. There are a lot of topics in this book that are very intricate and specialized in nature, which causes Grant to include a rather hefty amount of info-dump style areas throughout this book. I found this a bit cumbersome at times, but a part of me also appreciated getting a crash course in things like marine biology and sound waves--things which I really didn't know the fine details of until now. I definitely feel like I've come away smarter after reading this book than I was before. These info dumps also make it clear that Grant did a lot of research for this book, which is always appreciated, but I do still wish she had cleaned them up slightly. Despite this, I still found myself incredibly bewitched by this story and how carefully it was told. This isn't a super fast-paced novel, but it's definitely not slow, either. Grant seems to have captured the ability to write a wonderfully paced horror book that reveals just enough details and hints at just the right times.

There are a lot of interesting characters in this book that I enjoyed following, whether they were likable or not--and there are plenty of unlikable characters int his book. I also really liked that Grant included some LGBT representation (though I cannot speak on behalf of whether the representation is considered good or not, it seemed very positive), a deaf character, and more that added so much to this book. The main protagonist that we follow is Victoria Stewart, whose sister was lost in the original accident. Her goal on this ship is twofold: 1) to advance science and discover mermaids, and 2) to discover the truth of her sister's death. Victoria is an exceptionally capable, intelligent woman with an interesting storyline. I can't say that she was my favorite character, but I was definitely interested in her and was intrigued by what she brought to the story. Victoria is accompanied on this trip by her lab partner, Luis Martines, who brings with hi his own unique personality that is both amusing and also obsessive. Among other characters are the owner of  the company, Theo Blackwell; a professional academic in the field of mermaid research, Dr. Jillian Toth; two big game hunters that are brought along for protection (but who each personally want the acclaim of being the first two to ever hunt mermaids), Jacques and Michi Abney; and a spokesperson/host for the company's new vessel, Olivia. Whether I liked all of these characters or not, I loved what they added to the story and was invested in all of their storylines. I also found myself yelling at almost all of them at some point to stop being so stupid, but I feel like that's part of any classic horror story, so it felt right to be doing that.

Into the Drowning Deep was such a fascinating book. I personally love books like this that explore new territories and test out theories about beings or myths that could be real. There's something about the potentially horrifying unknown that majorly entices me and led me to really enjoy this book. What I particularly loved about the mythical mermaids in this book was how well Grant made them realistic. They weren't some mythical being that defied reality, but beings that seemed scientifically plausible and more developed by Grant in a way that seemed authentic in appearance and anatomy. It made them so much creepier and left me on the edge of my seat for the entire book. Also as a head's up--this book is very violent and gory, so if you think reading about mermaids brutally attacking people and the aftermath of that might bother you, you might want to read this book with caution.

On a final note: I've always had a slight fear of the ocean, and I'm pretty sure this book confirmed it. It's not that I think there are mermaids (but, I mean, there are some whacky monsters creatures out there), but that the ocean is decidedly not a place for us clumsy two-legged humans. As this book mentions, the ocean is not a gentle mistress, and I think humans are meant to be on dry land. Let's just let the scary ocean creatures do their thing and not be bothered by us, okay?

Overall, I've given Into the Drowning Deep four stars! Despite the occasionally dense writing, I enjoyed this book so much and I cannot recommend it enough. I so badly want a sequel, but I don't know if we'll get one.

Buy the book: Amazon | Book Depository

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