February Meeting

Post Holiday Greetings Everyone:

Now that the most frigid days of winter appear to be behind us, we only have the dreary, rainy days of February left to keep us all inside...and hopefully reading. Our choice for next month is "Meru" by S. B. Divya (an author we read before "Machinehood" her debut novel).

Author S. B. Divya is a physicist who "dabbles" in speculative fiction. She has been nominated for the Nebulas Award (twice) and once for the Hugo Award for Best Novella. "Meru" is her second novel, but she has published over a dozen short stories as well as contributed to a number of collections and anthologies and was a co-editor for "Escape Pod" for a number of years.

Human beings have been restricted to Earth for the past five centuries; it is their post-human descendants called "alloys", which were allowed to freely explore the galaxy. But when Merru, an Earth-like planet is discovered, Jayanthi, the adopted human child of alloys and Vaha, her alloy pilot are tasked with testing the habitability of this new unoccupied world and thereby affecting the future of huma-'alloy relations. For Jayanthi, it’s an opportunity to rectify the ancient reputation of her species as avaricious and destructive, and to give humanity a new place in the universe. For Vaha, Jayanthi’s alloy pilot, it’s a daunting yet irresistible adventure to find success as an individual. This journey will challenge their resolve in unexpected ways, while the two will form a bond that only deepens the more time they spend together on Meru.

Book: "Meru"

Author: D. B. Divya

Info: A human raised by alloys and her alloy pilot are tasked with investigating the Earth-like world Meru, but also find their bond deeping the more time they spend on the planet

Availability: it is a relatively new book and is only available in trade paperback, however It is also available for purchase as an Audible book and for the Kindle (could also work with other digital systems) as well as for your listening pleasure via an audio CD set.. But local libraries, Amazon.com, aLibris.com, Bookshop.org, and others of their ilk should be able to provide access to the story, either via print, digital or via audiobook.

Format: Print: Trade Paperback only; Digital, Audible and Audio CD

Date: 19 February2024

Time: 1800 - 2000 (6:00 - 8:00 p.m.)

Location: Zoom

As always, if anyone is having any trouble locating the reading, please drop the moderators a line via our official website, the FacebookGroup page or reply to this email. Try to keep the February-induced euni at bay until we meet in a few weeks time!

-Moderators Jess & Beth