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Another fascinating story set in the same setting (but after the events) of the author's story, "A Dead Djinn in Cairo", this one has two agents of the Egyptian Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities looking into the possible haunting of an aerial tram car. But what starts off as a possible 'simple' possession by a djinn evolves into something much darker, as further investigations start to reveal the true nature of the spirit occupying the tram car.

Woven into the tale is a background of female emancipation with a vote to be taken to give women the vote, which would give the agents more food for thought in the involvement of women in their work in the future. Quite a number of interesting secondary women characters are in the story, providing some humour and alternative viewpoints.

In the end, the agents solve the case, but not without some dramatic crisis points in the story.

collection of stories about the gods of Asgard and the elves, dwarves and giants around them, book-ended by the Norse creation myth and the world-ending battle of Ragnarok. It’s a storytelling approach, not a scholarly description. And it’s not the shiny, techno-magical Asgard of Marvel’s Thor, or the ethereal Olympus we’ve come to think of with Greek myths. For all the magic and impossible feats that get tossed around, it’s still a gritty, harsh world with wars, murders, lust, deception and betrayal.

The stories are mostly separate, but a pattern emerges: not just when stories refer back to earlier events, but the slow transformation of Loki from the kind of trickster who steals Sif’s hair, tricks rival smiths into creating fantastic gifts, and generally outwits his opponents (while finding ways to embarrass the other gods if he can) to the kind of trickster who thinks it would be hilarious to trick a blind man into killing his own brother.

In his introduction, Gaiman notes that we don’t actually have a thorough record of the stories. Like most myths, they were told and retold and changed through oral storytelling. The Norse didn’t write them down until well after Christianity had established itself in the region. And so there are a lot of figures who are mentioned in passing in one tale or another that we don’t really know much about.

And I realized that most of what I know of the mythology comes from modern works influenced by it. Comic books of course, not just Marvel’s Thor, but Vertigo’s Sandman and the manga and anime Ah! My Goddess. The Ring Cycle (by way of Bugs Bunny). Oddly enough, a lot of it by way of Neil Gaiman himself: Sandman, American Gods, Odd and the Frost Giants, probably a handful of short stories too.

hyperborea.org/reviews/books/norse-mythology/

A fantastic book on the Rosetta space probe and its mission to explore comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (67P) from its conception, the launch, the actual mission itself and the discoveries of the comet that the mission has revealed, so far.

The book starts with a history of what we know about comets from ancient times to now, based on observations from Earth. It then covers some early space mission to explore various comets like Comet Halley. The concept and planning of the Rosetta mission is then covered, followed by the initial attempt to launch it to explore comet 46P/Wirtanen that was aborted, after the failure of a rocket that would have been used to launch Rosetta.

After an examination of the various options, 67P was chosen as the new target for Rosetta and the mission was on its way. But it didn't get there directly: Rosetta had to flyby the Earth and Mars several times to get enough velocity for the rendezvous, and it was tasked to examine other targets (like asteroids) during the journey.

Then, Rosetta arrived at 67P and, following an examination of the comet, the Philae lander was released. Rosetta then followed 67P as it approached and then left the vicinity of the sun. Finally, Rosetta itself was made to land on 67P, ending the mission. But it's not the end of the book. Based on the data from the mission, a summary of what is known about how 67P came about and how it is now is presented in fascinating detail.

If you are looking for a book that covers in detail the management and planning of the Rosetta mission, technical detail on the instruments on the probe and the running of the mission itself (including dealing with the various problems encountered during the mission), this is the book to read.

An interesting story set on a lunar colony, Artemis. The main character, Jazz Bashara, is introduced as a smuggler involved in getting minor prohibited items (like cigars) into the city for her clients. We soon learn that she has apparently made some bad life decisions early in her life that has led her to become estranged from her father and people who thought she would make something of her life due to her high intelligence.

She also has a past debt to pay off, and one day she is given the opportunity to pay if off when one of her clients proposes an audacious sabotage attempt by her in order to corner a market on Artemis. But the attempt goes wrong, and Jazz now finds herself not only a fugitive from the law, but also a target of a mob that is very angry at the sabotage. Running for her life, she has to discover who is after her and the connection to an item that she saw earlier in the story.

More of an SF thriller than a Hard-SF story like the author's previous book, "The Martian", this story also has lots of technical details, but they form more of a background to the story and illuminate how life might be like on a lunar colony. The character of Jazz is shown as not only a smart ass, but also very intelligent, and she would require her quick thinking to save herself from some life-threatening situations. But the solution to the final crisis in the story may well need her to do the ultimate sacrifice to save the city.

The story ends with a short Q&A session with the author, as well as some notes on the economics behind Artemis and getting people to the moon.

A fun, breezy story about unexpectedly landing a job at a secret scientific base on a parallel world studying giant Godzilla-like animals. Which is about as dangerous as it sounds. Plus, of course, not all humans are interested in the kaijus' welfare, and the KPS has to step up the "Preservation" part of its name.

There's some interesting world-building in terms of what kind of environment and ecosystem would actually support 100-meter-tall animals, what kind of biology would be able to handle the size, the energy, shooting beams of radiation, etc. And what might evolve to protect itself in a world with kaiju. And of course: what role nuclear explosions have in the whole thing, because these are kaiju after all!

It's also weird because it takes place in 2020. Like, real 2020, complete with Covid-19 lockdowns and everything. The main character starts out working for a GrubHub competitor at the beginning of the pandemic.

hyperborea.org/reviews/books/kaiju-preservation-society/

An interesting fantasy story that takes its time setting the scene before it starts to introduce its fantasy elements. The main story is told from the point of view of the grandson, whose grandfather came from Pakistan. Via the story, we learn of the grandfather's past and his relationship with a former Princess who ran a small tea stall at a eucalyptus tree, rumoured to be inhabited by a Jinn from the ancient past.

But tragedy would strike (literally) after a boy gets hurt after a fall from the tree. Amid calls to remove the tree as a menace to the community, it get destroyed by lightning, including the stall and the Princess moves away, while the grandfather gradually migrates to the US after adventures in various other places, gradually losing his memory of events apparently due to senility.

All this sounds like a perfectly normal non-Fantasy story until the second half after the grandfather passes away and the grandson gets possession of his grandfather's hidden diary. In numerous strange entries, he learns the apparent real history of his grandfather and his relationship with the princess. Determined to get to the truth, he journeys back to Pakistan.

And there is where the Fantasy start. For upon finding the original place where the eucalyptus tree used to be, he discovers himself in possession of an ancient artefact that may have come from the dawn of time and space and possessed his grandfather. And now he has to choose what is to become of it.

A well told tale that takes its time building up the story, to immerse the reader in the situation before the fascinating revelation.