Trinidad and Tobago - Lex Talionis - R.S.A. Garcia

How I found the book:

I discovered R.S.A. Garcia at Worldcon 2024, added her to to read list and then didn't update this blog and forgot out her until WorldCon2025 rolled around and I looked at my notes from 2024, and quickly made this page and added the book to my shopping cart.

5th Sept 2025:

Ordered the book

7th Sept 2025

Book arrived

17th Oct 2025:

I'm 4 or 5 chapters in and loving this book. It's pacey and mysterious. It is that kind of sci fi book that doesn't give explanations or back stories of first contacts or big technological breakthroughs, you're just thrown into a world with different alien lifeforms and advanced tech. And it works! It's a great universe to set up a classic Jane Doe type story. And I am fully hooked already.

Spain - Natural Consequences - Elia-Barceló

8th October 2025:
Found whilst updating the blog on my book from Catalonia, and debating with myself whether or not to split Catalonia and Spain into separate countries. I did, as this book looks great.

16th October 2025:

The book arrived.

Cuba - Super Extra Grande - Yoss

I love his book. It's funny and witty, and Im absolutely in love with the universe it's set it. With 7 species all discovering FTL travel around the same sort of time and all of them heading out into the milky way to start exploring and colonising. The fact that FTL development was discovered as a breakthrough in isolation goes against what other authors do, where technology in general is hugely advanced at the same time. But what I love about Super Extra Grande is that it mirrors exploration from 300 plus years ago with the French, British, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish all building boats and exploring the world. They had abilities to travel faster than before, but hadnt improved communications to cover the new distances they could travel. This premis has really stuck with with, more so than the other ideas in the book.

It's only a fairly short novel, with only one thread, but that makes it a really enjoyable read, nothing heavy, just indulgent fun. I was quite worried about this book, as I'd read a couple of reviews mentioning how masoginistic Yoss is. And was put off early on in the story when one of the female aliens has 6 boobs. And I guess the main female characters are hopelessly in love with the main character, and obviously they have a three way relationship. So maybe the books is the best book for promoting strong female characters. But now every book has to do that either. Accept it for what it is, and what it isn't.