How it works: Kate W chooses the starting book on the first Saturday of the month, then each blogger connects six other books to that starting point using whatever themes or connectors we choose. Easy peasy and it’s always fun to see where everyone ends up.
The starting book this month was Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfeld. It tells the story of a woman who connects with something during an undersea exploration that leaves her changed.
This reminded me of The Astronaut’s Wife, but alas, I think it might have been only a movie. So I started my chain with From the Lighthouse by Chad Musick, a twisty tale that also involves undersea mysteries; although, in this one the sea acts as a portal between worlds.
Following the structure of a twisting, turning plot that leaves you guessing where it’s going to end up, I chose Ghostwritten by David Mitchell. This was his debut novel and possibly one of my favorites. Truly genre-bending.
Another genre-bending but much more recent novel is The Candy House by Jennifer Egan. It also has the benefit of sharing a technology theme with the previous novel.
Staying on the tech theme, I went with The Humans by Matt Haig. However, instead of exploring the potential of transformative tech, this MC is bent on keeping humans from developing tech they’re not ready for. Because he’s an alien.
No tech/alien list would be complete without The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. As a side note, this was my son’s favorite movie (the Tom Cruise version) when he was about four. He loved the “roars”.
Rounding out the list is The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma. H.G. Wells features as a character in this novel, although the focus is on his time machine rather than alien invasion.
And there you have it – from underwater exploration to time travel, with a side of aliens thrown in.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s Six Degrees of Separation. If you have your own list, please drop it in the comments. I’d love to see it!
Until next time, thank you for visiting.
Ann Dudzinski 