Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Martha Wells

Martha Wells has written many fantasy novels, including The Books of the Raksura series (beginning with The Cloud Roads), the Ile-Rien series (including The Death of the Necromancer) as well as YA fantasy novels, short stories, media tie-ins (for Star Wars and Stargate: Atlantis), and non-fiction. Her more recent fantasy novels include The Edge of Worlds in 2016 and The Harbors of the Sun in 2017, the final novel in The Books of the Raksura series. Her series of SF novellas, The Murderbot Diaries, from Tor.com includes Artificial Condition.

Recently I asked Wells about what she was reading. Her reply:
I've just finished An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon, which is getting excellent reviews for a good reason: it's an intense, gripping story that is brilliantly written. It's described as being about a group trapped on a generation ship which is under the control of a religious dictatorship and organized like the pre-Civil War south with decks segregated by race and treated like prisons. But it's also about smart people trying to find ways to survive and escape, about holding on to hope under the most extreme conditions possible, and continuing to fight no matter what.

I also read a lot of graphic novels, including Ms. Marvel and Doctor Who. Most recently I've read the latest volume of Paper Girls by Brian Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, and Matt Wilson. It's the story of four teenage girls from the 80s who meet early in the morning on Halloween and end up taking off on a wild and often deadly adventure. It's a bit like Stranger Things, but with time travel, alien attacks, a much faster pace, and an unlimited budget.
Visit Martha Wells's website.

--Marshal Zeringue