Living Hell

Living Hell
by Catherine Jinks

Seventeen-year-old Cheney and his fellow passengers have known life only aboard Plexus: self-contained, systematic, and serene. When a mysterious radiation wave causes Plexus to turn on them, Cheney and his friends must fight back before the ship that’s nurtured them for so long becomes responsible for their destruction. (description from Amazon.com)

Though this book started off just a little slow in the beginning (there was a lot of vocabulary to try to internalize), it picked way, way up in the middle and was totally worth the read!

This was an awesomely conceptualized science fiction premise where the ship is hit by an energy field in space and turned into a living organism. The humans inside suddenly find themselves treated like bacteria in the "bowels" of the ship. If they act benign, they will be left alone...unfortunately, before they can figure that out, many of the ship's occupants are considered hostile and are eliminated.

This was a creepy cool (slightly gorey in some spots) space adventure. It really gave you that feeling that humans are miniscule out in the vastness of space. It was super interesting, too, to consider how you would survive if you were trapped inside a giant living space ship.

Highly recommended to science fiction fans.

Full disclosure: Review copy received from NetGalley

Laddertop: Volume 1

Laddertop: Volume 1
by Orson Scott Card, Emily Janice Card, and Zina Card
illustrated by Honoel A. Ibardolaza


Twenty-five years ago, the alien Givers came to Earth. They gave the human race the greatest technology ever seen— four giant towers known as Ladders that rise 36,000 miles into space and culminate in space stations that power the entire planet. Then, for reasons unknown, the Givers disappeared. Due to the unique alien construction of the Laddertop space stations, only a skilled crew of children can perform the maintenance necessary to keep the stations up and running.

Back on Earth, competition is fierce to enter Laddertop Academy. It is an honor few students will achieve. Robbi and Azure, two eleven-year-old girls who are the best of friends, are candidates for the Academy. They will become entangled in a dangerous mystery that may help them solve the riddle of the Givers...if it doesn’t destroy the Earth first! (description from Amazon.com)

As you may or may not know, I'm not a huge manga/graphic novel reader. I've really been trying to broaden my horizons though, because I feel it's an important aspect of my job, and when I heard that Orson Scott Card had created a manga series I knew I needed to check it out.

Orson Scott Card, and his daughters who collaborated with him on this project, did another great job creating a riveting science fiction story with great children characters. I love the idea that aliens would have left technology for us that we could not quite understand. I love the idea of brave kids going up into space. I loved that in this volume, we got to see the training and selection process, but I really, really can't wait to see them get their "monkeys" and begin their actual work on the ladders.

I loved that the illustrator created characters that were easy to identify. They each had their own unique style. I only got confused once about whether a character was a girl or a boy. I also found the action/panels to be really easy to follow in this series. I think that even non-pro manga readers would have an easy time with this one.

As a science fiction fan, I think I've found a new, exciting manga series to follow!!

Full disclosure: Review copy received from Tor

If You Like: Stories about Amnesia

"If You Like…” is a feature highlighting blogger recommendations for books, authors, TV shows, movies, and music based on the things you already know and love.

Ever wondered what you would do if your whole past was a blank? Would you recreate yourself or would you try to fit what you could learn about yourself from others? I love thinking about all of the possibilities. If you do, too, check out these great amnesia recommendations.