The Books I'm Reading Now
I'm reading two climate-change dystopian novels, All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall, set in a flooded New York City after the glaciers have melted (to be published tomorrow), and Hum by Helen Phillips, in which artificial intelligence is king after climate change dramatically shifts the landscape and human lifestyles. And I'm listening to The Blood of the Old Kings, the first in Sung-Il Kim's fantasy series in which a young girl with magic, a desperate widowed swordswoman, and a street-smart young man searching for his disappeared friend just might spark a war in the empire.
What are you reading, bookworms?
01 All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall
In a dystopian future in which the glaciers have melted, Nonie, a young girl with a gift for feeling the water, lives in a largely deserted New York City with her family.
Their settlement is on the roof of the American Museum of Natural History, and they hunt and gather in Central Park. Along with her parents' researcher friends, her family helps try to save and further the exhibits of human history and science.
But a superstorm floods the city further, and the group must escape up the Hudson. Nonie and her group carry a book holding precious history, and on their journey they encounter various communities that have adapted to survive.
I received a prepublication edition of this title courtesy of St. Martin's Press and NetGalley.
All the Water in the World is slated for publication January 7, 2025.
02 Blood of the Old Kings (Bleeding Empire #1) by Sung-Il Kim
Dead sorcerers power the empire, which has long been run on a system of necromancy and sacrifice.
Arienne knew since she was a young girl that because she was born with magic, her future would end with her locked in chains in a casket, an essential, dark end intended to benefit others. But when a long-dead sorcerer takes the shape of a voice in her head, she dares to dream of defying her fate.
Loran is a widow and a swordswoman willing to make deep sacrifices to ally with the fated, powerful, dangerous dragon who might empower her and save them all.
Cain is savvy, street-smart, and living in the capital. When his best friend goes missing, he'll do anything to find out what's happened to her.
I'm listening to The Blood of the Old Kings as an audiobook.
03 Hum by Helen Phillips
After years working to advance artificial intelligence in a near-future dystopian world decimated by climate change, May's own job becomes obsolete.
Intelligent robots, "hums," have taken over much of the workforce, with their relentless advertisements and sales pitches, manipulative impressions of caring (also meant to promote sales of various items), and their extensive surveillance capabilities.
May finds herself willing to surgically alter her facial features for a sum that might keep her family financially stable for a time. But when she dares to dream of a brief family escape to a nature-filled wonderland (molded on tales they've heard of a lush, past world), her lack of control over her family's fate is shown to be terrifyingly tenuous.
I'm listening to Hum as an audiobook. Helen Phillips is also the author of The Need, a National Book Award nominee, The Beautiful Bureaucrat, and other books.
For Bossy reviews of other books about robots and artificial intelligence, please check out the posts at this link.
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