When We Were Real

TITLE:  When We Were Real

AUTHOR: Daryl Gregory

This is the third book by Daryl Gregory that I've read, and as with the other two (Devil's Alphabet and Spoonbenders), this is both entertaining and thought-provoking, and populated with wonderful characters who seem fully realized, which is somewhat ironic given the premise of the novel: Seven years before the story begins, an Announcement informed everyone on Earth that they're living in a simulation/virtual reality, with annual reminders to make sure no one forgets.

As expected, everyone reacts in their own way to this news. Some commit suicide, seeing no reason to keep living. Others become convinced that most everyone besides them is a NPC (Non-Playing Character). Yet others spend time wondering what the point is of existence and can life have meaning.

The story focuses on a group of people on a cross-country bus tour of the US to see the Impossibles, phenomena that sprang up after the Announcement and have no basis in the laws of physics that anyone can find. Each person on the bus has their own reason to be on the tour, some clear to the reader at the start and others revealed slowly as the story progresses. There's also an unknown narrator who starts things off by introducing the tourists.

There are Dulin (the comic book writer) and his best friend JP (engineer, dying of a brain tumor) taking one last road trip, two nuns and a rabbi, a nurse and her wheelchair-bound mother, a pregnant young influencer, a podcaster (who wants to prove the Impossibles are a scam) and his teenage son, the tour guide on her first day on the job, the veteran driver, and a few others. The wild card is the professor who joins the group mid-tour while on the run from a group calling themselves the Protagonists who want to kill her because they believe she's a 'bot.

The character development is exceptional, and there's a good balance between action and philosophizing, humor and seriousness, that makes the book move at a nice pace. The ending is a bit ambiguous, though one that might hit readers differently; for me, I think that's kind of the point. I might prefer authors tie things up neatly, but I appreciate being left with questions to ponder.

Centroeuropa

TITLE:  Centroeuropa

AUTHOR: Vicente Luis Mora

TRANSLATOR: Rahul Bery

In the early 1800s, Repo Hauptshammer, newly widowed, arrives in a Prussian village to start a new life of a farmer. Feudalism is in decline and Repo is in possession of documents ceding a small plot of land to him, where he hopes to plant sugar beets. But first, he needs to bury his beloved wife Odra, and that's when the trouble starts. The first hole he digs yields the perfectly preserved body of a soldier. His second attempt is worse, revealing two more corpses from an earlier time. Enlisting the aid of a friendly neighbor, Repo uncovers yet more bodies, some dressed in unknown uniforms, with futuristic weapons at hand. The local authorities are at a loss as to what to do with the bodies, and while they consider the matter, Repo grows increasingly frustrated in his efforts to bury his wife and to make his farm profitable.

Repo also has a secret he alludes to in his narrative, which is the form this book takes: his memoir, written in a non-linear style, giving the reader hints and details until a full -- or near enough -- picture emerges. 

For a slim volume, there is a lot of substance here, including the discussions Repo has with his new friend, Jakob, a historian, about politics and philosophy. It's always a treat to read a book that is both thought-provoking and entertaining, and this one definitely meets that standard.

The Keeper

TITLE:  The Keeper

AUTHOR: Tana French

I love Tana French's books, especially the Dublin Murder Squad. Her standalone books and this third book featuring Cal Hooper, a retired American cop who moved to a small town in Ireland are more suspense than mystery, with a focus on character rather than plot. 

This one has a slower start than the previous two and is probably more for people who love these characters, like me. After catching up with the main characters, the actual story gets underway when a local girl goes missing. When her body is found in the river, an accident is suspected, but an autopsy points to suicide. In trying to discover the truth, Cal and his fiancee Lena slowly dig into the secrets planted deep into the town's inhabitants and way of life. Other than some not-very-surprising plot twists, there isn't much going on, but the ending is satisfying. Since I know what to expect from this series, I'd welcome another addition.

Outlaw Planet

TITLE: Outlaw Planet

AUTHOR: M. R. Carey

I loved this book. A continuation of Carey's Pandominion duology, it's very much its own thing, a futuristic western. And at his center is an unforgettable character, Elizabeth Indigo Sandpiper, who came to be known as the outlaw Dog-Bitch Bess. 

It probably isn't necessary to have read the first two books before reading this, but it would help a lot, especially in understanding the various sentient species that share this particular planet. The Pandominion worlds are essentially alternate Earths, each with its own dominate sentient species.

Bess leaves her home in the north for a teaching job in a small southern city, where she is when war breaks out, a parallel of the US's Civil War. Tragic events sent Bess hunting for revenge, aided by a high-tech, AI-powered gun known as Wakeful Slim that dates from the planet's distant past. The backstory unfolds slowly as Bess comes to learn the truth of her world's origins.

Carey is a wonderful writer and he keeps the story moving at a compelling pace, building suspense to the satisfying climax and conclusion. I felt almost as if I was sitting at a campfire while someone told me the story of Dog-Bitch Bess. I hope Carey continues to write in this universe.

Daughter of Genoa

TITLE: Daughter of Genoa

AUTHOR: Kat Devereaux

I'm a sucker for a good historical novel and this did not disappoint. Set in Italy during a few months in 1944, this story captures the desperation and bravery of people trapped in a war that's all too relevant today. Based on the real-life Italian resistance organization DELASEM -- the Delegation for the Assistance of Jewish Emigrants -- the story is told through the perspectives of two characters: Anna, a Jewish woman living in hiding who assists DELASEM by forging identity cards, and Vittorio, a Jesuit priest working with DELASEM who rescues Anna when her home is destroyed during a bombing raid and finds her a safehouse where she can stay. A third character, Massimo Teglio, known as Mister X, is a real-life Jew whose work with DELASEM helped save most of Italy's Jewish population.

At the heart of this fictional story is an emotionally fraught love triangle that forms between Anna and the two men, complicated by Vittorio's vows and past histories that haunt all three characters. The prose is simple yet compelling and drew me in from the first page.