#World Running Down

[aroaessidhe]

faves of 2023: adult sci-fi

The Deep Sky

Emergent Properties

System Collapse

Chain-Gang All-Stars

The Vanished Birds

Some Desperate Glory

Flight & Anchor

Translation State (also entire Imperial Radch series)

World Running Down

Feed Them Silence

The Infinite

The Meister of Decimen City

[transbookoftheday]

Do you take requests? If so, do you have any scifi or paranormal books with a transmasculine main character and a mlm romance? Thank you!

I haven't read many books in those genres yet, but here are some suggestions:

Science Fiction:

Paranormal:

Book Titles:

Future Feeling by Joss Lake

World Running Down by Al Hess

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Deadendia: The Watcher’s Test by Hamish Steele

Blackwater by Jeannette Arroyo and Ren Graham

Dear Mothman by Robin Gow

[charliejaneanders]

Trans people used to look for reflections of ourselves in metaphors and subtexts — but now, a lot of us are realizing that it's way better when stories feature actual trans characters who get to live complicated lives. And you can even feature living, breathing trans characters alongside metaphors for transness. My latest, over in @them.

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

World Running Down by Al Hess

goodreads

Valentine Weis is a salvager in the future wastelands of Utah. Wrestling with body dysphoria, he dreams of earning enough money to afford citizenship in Salt Lake City—a utopia where the testosterone and surgery he needs to transition is free, the food is plentiful, and folk are much less likely to be shot full of arrows by salt pirates. But earning that kind of money is a pipe dream, until he meets the exceptionally handsome Osric. Once a powerful AI in Salt Lake City, Osric has been forced into an android body against his will and sent into the wasteland to offer Valentine a job on behalf of his new employer—an escort service seeking to retrieve their stolen androids. The reward is a visa into the city, and a chance at the life Valentine's always dreamed of. Finding the androids means navigating both pirate territory and Val and Osric's growing feelings for each other. And as they attempt to recover the "merchandise", they encounter a problem: the android ladies are becoming self-aware, and have no interest in returning to their old lives. The prize is tempting, but carrying out the job would go against everything Valentine stands for, and would threaten the fragile found family that's kept him alive so far. He'll need to decide whether to risk his own dream in order to give the AI a chance to live theirs.

Mod opinion: I've read this and it's a really interesting look at being trans in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

[haveyoureadthisscifibook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

[qbdatabase]

Valentine Weis is a salvager in the future wastelands of Utah. Wrestling with body dysphoria, he dreams of earning enough money to afford citizenship in Salt Lake City – a utopia where the testosterone and surgery he needs to transition is free, the food is plentiful, and folk are much less likely to be shot full of arrows by salt pirates. But earning that kind of money is a pipe dream, until he meets the exceptionally handsome Osric.

Once a powerful AI in Salt Lake City, Osric has been forced into an android body against his will and sent into the wasteland to offer Valentine a job on behalf of his new employer – an escort service seeking to retrieve their stolen androids. The reward is a visa into the city, and a chance at the life Valentine’s always dreamed of. But as they attempt to recover the “merchandise”, they encounter a problem: the android ladies are becoming self-aware, and have no interest in returning to their old lives.

The prize is tempting, but carrying out the job would go against everything Valentine stands for, and would threaten the fragile found family that’s kept him alive so far. He’ll need to decide whether to risk his own dream in order to give the AI a chance to live theirs.

[tigger8900]

World Running Down, by Al Hess

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

In a post-apocalyptic future, only the fortunate can attain citizenship in Salt Lake City, a privilege that affords them luxuries such as a safe place to stay, plenty to eat, and access to medical care. Valentine, a trans man who scrapes by working salvage jobs, is not one of the fortunate — that is, until a handsome android named Osric arrives bearing a proposal. It's a tempting offer: one last job in exchange for citizenship, with all that entails, including access to hormone treatments. But there's more to the job — not to mention the android — than first meets the eye. With the safety of emerging consciousnesses at stake, can Valentine and Osric make the right choices, even if it means sacrificing everything they desire?

I don't go for main-plot romantic books too often, but I'm glad I made this exception. Both Valentine and Osric were wonderful characters in complicated situations, and I enjoyed watching them fumble around with each other. Yes, this is that kind of book: light on the steam, and heavy on the awkward discovery. And it's well-justified awkwardness, given that one of the heroes is an AI who only recently had to use a physical body. While I'm aware comparisons of transgender people with robots isn't everyone's cup of tea, it's worth noting that the author is himself a trans man, and it's more nuanced than it might sound at first glance. For example, Osric experiences dysphoria from his physical form not being like the distributed consciousness he'd previously inhabited; the fact that his body is artificial/non-human isn't the point of comparison.

One of the things I loved the most about this book was the setting's vibe. It has a wonderful futuristic-yet-retro vibe that reminds me a bit of the Fallout universe(in fact, I wonder if the main character's name isn't a reference to Nick Valentine, from Fallout 4), except throwing back to a time that's a little earlier than the atomic age. I also liked the way the Mormon community the group encounters was used in this story. As someone who has known LGBTQ Mormons, I'm aware the situation isn't quite as black and white as many people might think, and I appreciated this take on what one offshoot community might look like in the future.

As a bonus, Al Hess is a talented artist. In addition to painting the cover of the book, he drew portraits of many of the main and secondary characters. Two — Valentine and Osric — are included at the front of the book, and the rest can be found on his website.

My biggest gripe with the book is that some plot threads seemed to be left dangling. The most egregious was the part about the mutant animals, which got built up and then just dropped. I don't care how sweet it is when our two leads kiss, I wanna know what was up with the mad science! But if you're reading primarily for the romance and characters, you shouldn't have any issues with this, as I feel that half of the plot was wrapped up very nicely. I can't promise you won't yell at the characters and pitch the book across the room, however, but isn't that just a sign of being invested in a good drama?

[iambic-stan]

last book read + last stethoscope used, part 11

The stethoscope: Thinklabs One. I talk about this one a lot in this post (and the pics are better), but let me just say--if this thing hadn't been so expensive I would take it with me everywhere, because it is such an absolute joy to listen with it. Figured I'd pair my electronic scope with a book about a romance between a man and a sentient AI, ha.

The book: World Running Down by Al Hess, a dystopian "cozy sci-fi" novel that took me awhile to read because of pacing issues and a bit too much exposition and world-building, but it was worth my time all the same. In the wastelands of Utah, Valentine and his partner, Ace, are salvagers who travel the dangerous outskirts of Salt Lake City with the goal of earning enough money to afford a visa into the city--and for Valentine, funds for his medication and gender-affirming surgery. Their already-tumultuous lives are upended when they meet Osric, a sentient AI who has been illegally implanted into an android's body. Osric has been tasked with offering them a job that will have implications none of the three of them can fathom. This book was probably too many things at once--sci fi, fantasy, action, adventure, romance, and for that reason I had some questions about the society that were never really answered. Not sure if that was deliberate on the author's part or not. Not a perfect read, but I'm interested to read more from Hess.

[contracat25]

Another month of interesting sounding books is upon us! Silliness aside there are some really good sounding stuff coming out this February. One of my top books is A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon (see the list for sequels, it is just easier for my brain to separate them out this way) There are a bunch of others that have caught my eye including, but not limited to:

Frontier by Grace Curtis (14)

Endpapers by Jennifer Savran Kelly (7)

She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran (28)

World Running Down by Al Hess (14)

Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy (21)

Project Nought by Chelsey Furedi (21)

[arsonistman]

;^;

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads // twitter thread

World Running Down

short scifi road-trip romance

two salvagers are trying to get by in a future wasteland, when an AI android shows up with a job offer that might get them a visa into one of the high tech cities

but when they take the job they find there’s more to it, and they’ll have to choose between doing what they’ve been working towards for years, or doing what’s right

trans MC with ADHD, m/m

[transbookoftheday]

World Running Down by Al Hess

Valentine Weis is a salvager in the future wastelands of Utah. Wrestling with body dysphoria, he dreams of earning enough money to afford citizenship in Salt Lake City – a utopia where the testosterone and surgery he needs to transition is free, the food is plentiful, and folk are much less likely to be shot full of arrows by salt pirates. But earning that kind of money is a pipe dream, until he meets the exceptionally handsome Osric.

Once a powerful AI in Salt Lake City, Osric has been forced into an android body against his will and sent into the wasteland to offer Valentine a job on behalf of his new employer – an escort service seeking to retrieve their stolen androids. The reward is a visa into the city, and a chance at the life Valentine’s always dreamed of. But as they attempt to recover the “merchandise”, they encounter a problem: the android ladies are becoming self-aware, and have no interest in returning to their old lives.

The prize is tempting, but carrying out the job would go against everything Valentine stands for, and would threaten the fragile found family that’s kept him alive so far. He’ll need to decide whether to risk his own dream in order to give the AI a chance to live theirs.

[outcasting101]

"That's some pretty wild shit" Grinning maniacally. Face decorated with flowery stain, blood dripping ever so slowly. "What 'ca grinning for, didn't you see, we lost the game" Arm fold around, brow raise upward mixture of disappointment and hint of hope. Why make the obvious assumption, unless…. "Have we?" Pulling out a card, its edges bent ages prior to the action. Colors faded with a different shade of color, with a scented gold all over the portrait. "You Dirty Dog...". A closer look, eye squinted at the sight, insanity grew as large as the grin. The card had spoken, and they must call to it.

I was wondering how this will goes, practicing with accent and show don’t tell stuff.

I just goanna leave this and cal it “Wild Card”.

[juniemunie]

[Abandoned by the Lightners, his heart became cracked with hatred.]

Hitting a lil' too close to home?

[holley4734]

World Running Down: #bookreview

@_AlHess @angryrobotbooks @BlazedRTs @bookbloggershub @bibliophileRT #sciencefiction #lgbt+ @NetGalley #netgalley #worldrunningdown #booktwitter #booktwt #lgbtqiabooks

World Running Down by Al Hess has everything that one could want in a book. Apparently, as a reader, I want adventure, artificial intelligence, androids and LGBT+ romance in a post-apocalyptic world. Even in my dreams, I don’t get all of that. In my dream last night, my dream-friends and I were trying to fly to Minnesota. However, I didn’t have the correct ID and would miss the flight. In a…

[qbdatabase]

I’d like to request adding World Running Down by Al Hess if I could. It’s an adult sci-fi that comes out in February 2023. It has a transgender male protagonist and I’m looking forward to reading it!

I have no idea how I missed this ask, since it's my very first one! truly, on brand for me

World Running Down is now on my to-add list, which means it will appear in the database at the start of next month. thank you so much for recommending it bc it looks great!

also, if you or any else has received an ARC to read it, could you let me know which character has ADHD? two reviews on goodreads mention it has that rep, but not if it's for one of the main characters or a side character