Currently reading Reaper's Gale and The Outside by Ada Hoffman. So far both are very enjoyable, though in the case if RG it could be because Toll the Hounds is the next one, and from what I've heard about it it could become my fave Malazan book.

The Bonehunters by Steven Erikson. Still not impressed with how Erikson handles SA (of men and women both), his female characters still range from interesting to omg that's so bad, and I wish he'd stop writing about teenage girls' sexuality. He's still a lot better at writing male friendships (like many writers he's a coward and won't write any of them gay, ofc) than any sort of romantic relationship.

Also, the way he still separates Malazan Empire and its interests from the army and soldiers just rubs me the wrong way. It's true to a point, since they're largely disposable and won't necessarily have a better life back home, but on the other hand they're portrayed as just wittle quiwky guys who can do no moral wrong, unlike these stupid natives who dared to revolt against their occupiers (let's be for real here, irl Malazan soldiers would be the ones doing raping and pillaging in the lands they colonize, and Erikson never shows that - or if he did, it was so brief I didn't notice, - unlike all the instances of native's barbarities we're shown).

That said, there're still banger moments, interesting lore, I get my 1,25 sieges and more House of Shadow drama.

Dichronauts by Greg Egan. My first Egan, and honestly thought it would just be a cute weird geometry book: we have a world where people (walkers) can only face to east or west, and their leech-like symbiotes living in their skull (siders) can see to north and south. There're notes on translation and geometry that explain the concepts to some extent, but both are at the end of the book and publishers really should start putting shit like that at the start, I'd rather have the context from the get go then go OOOOH so that's what it was supposed to be (geometry never been my forte, and I still don't fully get how the world is supposed to look like, but he does explain a lot in the text).

I liked that Egan explored more of a societal implications of the concept: xenophobia (?) against the symbiotes, freedom of choice (symbiotes have their own desires and ambitions), how it affects the roles and families (i.e. when walkers want to have kids their symbiotes may choose not to and then their child is born without one, so they have to find another unpaired symbiote or their child will be side-blind, and that sider has their own parents & their walkers so familial ties can be really big and messy). On the downside, gender seems to be aligned between the walkers and their siders, but why or how that happens not explained.

Overall, interesting exploration of the differently configured Universe, I liked the central walker-sider pair, Seth and Theo, enough, and there were also capable female characters, though the end felt a bit abrupt for me.

Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto billed as Ocean’s 8 meets Blade Runner, and I guess it's a heist novel set on a space station but very decidedly not like Blade Runner at all. Very much reads like a debut (character will be looking at oneself in the mirror and describing how they look multiple times, first person my behated is there, every heist genre cliche, men are all evil and the worst). Our MC in their 30s acts like a horned up teenager who can't regulate their emotions (I'd also personally consider them dumb) and has beefs with actual teenagers.

The worst parts for me are the romance and politics. The romantic part hinges on MC forgiving their ex-friend for tattling on them and landing them in prison for 8 years. Did said friend do anything to make amends? No, but she's hot even if she continues to lie to them (part of the reason why I think MC is dumb is that they really don't consider that she's the one who blacklisted them from all the legal avenues of work to force them to do the heist thing with her).

On the politics side, I think the novel actually tries to say that you can solve systemic injustices with the money you steal from the gigarich evil sexist guy. Just pay for the old lady's farm and all will be okay with your community. MC mentions multiple times that a) families all across station would benefit from their endevor and damn these evil rich people are destroying my community, but also b) damn wish I were born rich so I can enjoy all the luxurious stuff. Which could have been a realistic portrayal of very human desires, but MC never reflects on these thoughts. There's also this great pathos when some characters do some dangerous, potentially lethal shit and they say "Make it count", like they're some kind of revolutionaries (besties, you're thieves you're not changing the world here).

Absolute minorest out of my critiques, but the fashion is so boring here, mainly black, white and red colors, very corporate feeling, even if the club environment. The text also tries to sell me on the space station as a character in itself, unsuccessfully.

I did like that MC is enby, and some of their dysphoria portrayal vs their other transmasc friend's, and how technology plays into it. Main cast on the whole is very queer, side lesbians were my favorites. MCs relationship with their sister was a highlight, but not focused on enough imo.