Mark

Can not recommend any higher (truly a 5 star book). Yes Comics... but more interestingly it helps us decode what perception is, how we communicate in visuals and the human psychology that all of it is scaffolded on. This book should be required reading for anyone doing any visual communication. It lightheartedly uncovers the incredible power of the visual communication medium and shows how to command the transmission of visual ideas effectively. The book goes into the fascinating area of semiotics (the study of sign systems) without dulling it down.

It is an okay story. I do not agree with the rave reviews. The story moves along okay but the characters and scenes are two dimensional. I specifically do not like when people you have never heard of arrive in one chapter and change the entire direction of the story. This happened a few times in this book.

The hype does not mean its a great book. Try something by Robert Galbraith if you are looking for cleaver story and gripping suspense.

A good story. I love Scalzi's earlier stuff. He does not disappoint in this action sci-fi. The universe is fantastically detailed without derailing the story.

A good story perhaps better suited for young adults. Great character and world building. Overall satisfied.

Now this is a 5 star book. Love, love LOVE the characters in the story. Man he is a good author and I am always reminded how well he manages to bring all of the pieces together. Almost perfection!

Amazing story. Liked it better than the 2nd in the series. Well thought out, super interesting. A genuine page turner.

A great book. Love Scalzi. His works are always fresh and offer a unique take on the future and science fiction.

Super interesting. Recommended to all who want to know more about the world we assume we understand!

This is by far one of the best, most well realized and breathtaking series that I have ever read. The other was the Hyperion Cantos (4 books) by Dan Simmons. The magic system is solid and very well conceptualized, right up until the end. It all managed to hold on to itself, not like others I have read that leave gaping holes. I took me so many hours to finish, including 1 international trip, over 30 hours of flights, and felt like one continuous story - but the hours literally melted away. I wish more audiobooks had the power to engross me like this series had. Like the other reviewers, I feel like I have list a group of good friends completing the last book. I strongly recommend that you listen to them all in order.

Now this is an interesting book. Loved the concepts in this book. Some good twists. Not your average hunt.

Great ride - well written and a breath of fresh (oxygen) for anyone wanting a stellar read.

I wish all books were as good as this. Strongly and well pulled together. I smiled for the last few chapters. Love his work! Will try to read all of his works.

Charles Stross is am amazing author. I loved Singularity Sky and Iron Sunrise. This series is always entertaining even it its not from the same perspective / characters as the rest of the series. Bring ‘em on! Its a case of NIGHTMARE GREEN deliciousness.

Spying with extra senses on a post cold-war divide

Red Sparrow is a captivating spy story with many captivating twists and a splash of romance for flavor. It took me a whole to get into the story, but when I did, I eagerly dived into the complex but easy to grasp story and floated along for the ride. With the 3rd person narrator we get a glimpse into both sides of the post cold war, as well as the minds of the players, both small and large. The good guys are good and the bad guys are bad, except for the ones who straddle the line as double agents and their handlers. Dominika and Nate are agents on opposite sides of the divide. Their dance leads to a well paced adventure that had me eagerly listening at every free moment! There are some bad reviews (not sure why), but I really enjoyed the ride and look forward to reading more from this ex-CIA author.

One of the only issues I had with the story is that the main protagonist is a synesthete - 1 star removed. In the story she can see other people's feelings, intentions and moods - read their auras. Synesthesia is close to that but what the author is describing is more of a empath. A synesthete can not ‘feel' anything another is feeling, or sense what they are thinking. People effected by this perceptual phenomenon experience these ‘mis-mappings' only inside their own head - they do not sense other people's states or see auras as Dominika did. I have read a biography about this in the past. I am not a neuroscientist, but synesthesia is the condition where the person effected had biology that incorrect maps sensory inputs. So they experience feelings and emotions associated with colors, sounds, tactile and other responses to inputs like numbers, letters, words, colors, shapes and a whole list of other mappings. They literally see colors when counting numbers and can do math with those colors. For example they can only see a red colored 1 when they think about the number 1. Every number and letter is mapped to a color permanently. It is actually a lot more in-depth so do a google search to find out more about this fascinating condition.
None of this takes away from the story!

Not Forrest Mims - Broken English and not useful information

!!!!! DO NOT BUY !!!!!! This is not a book by Forrest Mims. It is a badly written or badly translated. It has no useful information in it for projects. 1 second on Google will give me 10000% more in rotation than this book.