Many Bloody Returns, Spin State

Many Bloody Returns is an anthology. The theme is "vampires and birthdays," which I think is a lovely juxtaposition. I enjoyed the anthology well enough, although a surprising number of its stories were bleak. My favorites were "The Mournful Cry of Owls" by Christopher Golden, "It's My Birthday, Too" by Jim Butcher, and "Grave-Robbed" by PN Elrod. Three stars.

Spin State by Chris Moriarty is a hard sci fi novel that is based around a future where quantum physics has become the technology of choice. Unfortunately, it was about 80% as confusing as nonfiction on quantum theory. It was a little hard to keep track of good guys, bad guys, and what everything was supposed to mean. Three stars. There is a recent sequel to this book that's getting great reviews, so I may try it in a few months.