Cop thriller in a near-future SF nanopunk setting

Pacific Storm
by Linda Nagata

Waikiki Cop Ava Arnett is chasing down some perpetrators and a conspiracy, in the days before a severe Pacific storm hits the island of O‘ahu. Years before this event the island was already ravaged by another massive hurricane and Waikiki is a walled-off tourist resort, bordered by destroyed buildings infested with a killer fungus. 

We are in an unspecified near future, where the USA is about to sign away Hawaii to China in a 99-year lease. Climate change is happening, temperatures have gone up by several degrees, the economic situation of the US is not good. I am guessing that Nagata is not a fan of her country‘s (lack of) climate protection policies.

This is a fast moving cop/secret agent/conspiracy thriller, with a touch of SF, nanopunk, some bots, climate fic and sporror. I liked the sporror part and would have loved for it to play a bigger part in the narrative. The setting was well done, I liked the writing. It was atmospheric, with believable action scenes. I could see this as a fun action movie.

Ava was a likable character, same as her side kicks. It‘s nice to read a well drawn, mature, female main character, who stands on her own.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher/author through NetGalley in 2020. All opinions are my own and I was not required to give a positive review. I am really very late with reviewing this, mea culpa!

Nagata‘s website: https://mythicisland.com

My Nagata reading list:
The Martian Obelisk, read in 2018, free Tor online story
The Snow Chanter, another very overdue Netgalley, not read yet, start of a trilogy
Limit of Vision, not read yet

Nice enough as a whole

The Night Marchers and Other Oceanian Stories
by Kel McDonald (Goodreads Author) (Editor),  Sloane Leong (Goodreads Author) (Editor),  Kate Ashwin (Editor),  Jonah Cabudol-Chalker (Contributor),  Rob Cham (Contributor),  Yiling Changues (Contributor),  Paolo Chikiamco (Goodreads Author) (Contributor),  Diigii Daguna (Contributor),  Brady Evans (Contributor),  Mark Gould (Contributor),  Gen H. (Contributor)

Middle Grade is not something I read a lot, I am pretty set on adult fiction. But this anthology looked interesting. There are some nice stories here and some that I liked less. The artwork spans various types, some of it is very simple, some very nice. The usual mixed bag. The individual stories are generally fairly short, they often also feel unfinished. 

I am disappointed in the choice of settings. Mostly the stories originate from the Philippines, there are a few from Hawaii and one story from Fiji — I had hoped for more variety. Do the Philippines even count a belonging to Oceania? And why is New Zealand mentioned in the blurb? There is no story from New Zealand.

I liked The Legend of Apolaki and Mayari by Kim Miranda. What a pretty story with nice sketches! Brother and sister end up fighting each other, a Filipino folkloric story.

Also pretty good was Nanuae the Sharkboy by Gen H. Set in Hawaii. There is shapeshifting (yay!), sharks (yay!) and the story is told a lot through images instead of text, which was done well. The ending was a bit abrupt.

The Legend of the Coconut Tree by Yiling Changues was that singular story from Fiji. Beautiful artwork. I would call it illustrated poetry? Very pretty, although I am not sure if I understood the ending correctly.

Nice enough as a whole. I would probably recommend this to friends.

I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

More cautionary tales…

The Night Marchers and Other Oceanian Stories
by Kel McDonald

More cautionary tales…

The Night Marchers by Jonah Cabudol-Chalker (illustrator, Hawaii) & Kate Ashwin (writer, UK) ★★★☆☆

A positive ghost story. Nice page layouts. Very short.

The Legend of Apolaki and Mayari by Kim Miranda ★★★★☆

What a pretty story with nice sketches! Brother and sister end up fighting each other… Philippines again. Very simple, but I really liked the artwork.

Nanuae the Sharkboy by Gen H. ★★★★☆

And Hawaii… good story! There is shapeshifting (yay!), sharks (yay!) and the story is told a lot through images instead of text, which was done well. The ending was a bit abrupt.

Thousand Eyes by Paolo Chikiamco & Tintin Pantoja ★★★★☆

And the Philippines again… about a girl that seems to be lazy and gives her mother some trouble. Of the stories included here, this looks the most like a comic. Another good one, with a sci-fi twist this time.

I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

Netgalley said yes…

The Night Marchers and Other Oceanian Stories (Paperback)
by Kel McDonald

Middle Grade is not something I read a lot, I am pretty set on adult fiction. But this looked good. It‘s an anthology, so I will read this in installments. I am reading so many things at the same time right now, it‘s a little silly. Never mind. I will post updates, as I make my way through this…

Tabi po, A Filipino Story, by Iole Marie Rabor

This one is about paying respect to Philippine folkloric spirits and taking that home to another place. Nicely done, very short. The artwork is very simple black and white lines.

Pele and Poliahu, A Tale of Fire and Ice, by DJ Keawekane

Hawaiian story about a sled race down a mountain. That is the superficial part of it anyway, but anything else would give away too much. A little heavy on the explaining.

The Dancing Princess by Mariel Maranan

Philippines again, this time with a Muslim character. Two girls on an excursion, talking options and meeting mysterious figures. The story was a little allover the place.

I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!