Peter Jones

I picked this up on a bit of a whim, thanks to Amazon's Kindle deals. In short, the story takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where everyone lives in underground silos. The majority of the inhabitants don't know what happened to get everyone in the silos, nor how many others there may be (in fact most people don't even know there are others).

The story is told through multiple perspectives, of a variety of characters. In the world of the silos, all is not what it seems, and information is the most powerful commodity.

Hugh Howey tells a compelling, though quite dark, story of the future. Trust me, don't pick this book up of you are expecting a triumphal conclusion, full of butterflies and flowers.

However, if you are interested in some well written, post-apocalyptic science fiction, you could do a lot worse. I quite enjoyed Wool.

Edie Investigates was the perfect answer to a long layover this past week. As a prelude to Angelmaker, it effectively presented characters I want to know more about. It also gave hints of a world that I intensely want to explore. Highly enjoyable prose as expected from author Nick Harkaway. This short novella whet my appetite for more while leaving me sufficiently satisfied with the story it had to tell.

I have yet to be disappointed by one of Brandon Sanderson's books. Warbreaker was no exception.

In what has really become one of Mr. Sanderson's trademarks, again we are confronted with an unique and fascinating magic system. It centers around Breath (yes, with a capital B) and color. There are rules, and unlike so many contemporary fantasy authors, the book sticks quite strictly to those rules.

That is so refreshing. There really are no moments where the internal logic of the world is just so brazenly broken. It helps to keep the reader engaged.

The characters are well written and develop in interesting ways throughout the course of the book. There are twists and turns, surprising moments, and some characters who really end up so much more than they initially seemed.

My biggest complaint is the way in which the book was so set up for more novels in this world, with these characters. And yet, I just don't know when Brandon will have time to get back around to them. I eagerly hope for more though.

An interesting companion to the Infinity Blade games, Awakening serves as a nice bridge between the two. Explained here through the narrative are some important elements to the fiction that help to flesh out the world the folks at Chair created. We understand more now the repetition of the first game as well as the hints at technology at the end of that game. All in all, a good read, and certainly worth it if you are at all invested in the fictions of the games. Sanderson's writing is good, though felt somewhat rushed in this short book. Still, recommended.

Ah Angelmaker. Let's have a talk here old friend. I say old because, well, it took me about two months to finish you. For a book of your size and nature, that is darn near an eternity.

Don't take it personally, but you just didn't grab me for the longest time. I found your setting interesting. Your clockwork/steampunk backdrop to be fascinating. And, having read Edie Investigates, at least one of your main characters was already interesting.

Ah, but your main character, Joshua Joseph Spork. Now that guy, I just couldn't get behind. As with the utensil that bears his name, at first blush you think it is going to be great. All the benefits of a spoon AND a fork. But once you use it, you realize it just doesn't quite cut it that well in either role.

Joe just wasn't an interesting character. At least not for the first 2/3 of the book. However, once he comes into his own, embraces his inheritance, he finally becomes someone I could get behind.

So, Angelmaker, your premise was interesting. A clockwork doomsday machine. Secret agents, super spies, possibly immortal super villians. Throw in automata, creepy monks, a fierce little dog with marble eyes, and you have the ingredients for a great story.

Despite all those ingredients, I just struggled to really get in to your story though. You tried. You switched points of view between the main characters, you fleshed them out with extended flashbacks. But it must have just been me, and not you.

So, despite all this complaining, you might wonder if that 4/5 stars I am giving you are pity stars. Stars gifted for the simple reason that your creator's previous work, The Gone Away World ranks as possibly my favorite book of all time. The good news is that no, they aren't pity stars.

See, the good thing is, once you finally grabbed my attention, at about page 300 or so, you really grabbed on. I'm talking choke hold, death grip tight. Two months to read the first 300 pages. Two days to read the next 175. And in the end, I really enjoyed the ride. Knowing now what I know, some day we'll sit down together again. I have a feeling that next time, we will pass the pages much more quickly. So, despite our extended time together, I really, truly enjoyed the ride. Thanks Angelmaker.

I missed out on Snow Crash when it first came out. It was one of those books I kept hearing referenced, but just hadn't gotten around to listening to. And so, with my trial of Audible, I figured I would take advantage of the credit offered to me and snagged it. First off, let's get to the point of the Audible version. The performer did an excellent job of giving the different characters their own voice. It didn't always work perfectly, but I was still very impressed at how well he managed to create a character for each person in the book.

Regarding the story, while I doubt the future depicted will ever come to be in the exact details of the book, the trends described aren't actually that far off. The mixing of ancient religion and future technology was fascinating. Honestly, this is a book that could very easily feel extremely dated, but manages to actually feel quite relevant.

I am a sucker for these books. I enjoy the characters that Rick Riordan has created (for the most part) and enjoy the world they inhabit. The House of Hades takes our group of 7 demigods and splits them in two. With Percy and Annabeth in one group, and the other 5 together in the other.

Both working to get to the House of Hades and the Doors of Death, I felt this book really had a lot of character development and growth. While those types of books can be slow, Riordan keeps things moving at his standard brisk pace (he knows well his audience). I think that is the main reason I enjoyed it as much as I did. While there certainly was conflict and battles to be fought, the most significant battles were the ones being fought inside each of the major characters. In the end, I came away finally liking Leo, and felt that Hazel, Piper, Jason and Frank (quite literally) had really grown as characters. Nico was fleshed out as well, though still remained and annoying emo kid (I think that is on purpose). Percy and Annabeth learn some about themselves, but even more about their relationship and each other.

Many of the realizations are painful, but they make the heroes seem more real, more authentic and less Mary Sue and Gary Stu than they have in some of the past books. I particularly liked seeing just how powerful Percy is, and how terrifying that can be.

Good read and I anxiously (along with my daughters) look forward to the 5th installment later this year. Now, if Riordan would just bring these characters and the world of the Kane Chronicles together, I would really be happy.

Rick Riordan does a very good job of taking Greek and Roman mythology and bringing them into the modern world. After all, he has been doing it for 8 books now. And it is starting to feel wrote and mundane.

I have enjoyed the Heroes of Olympus books so far, and found The Mark of Athena to continue to be enjoyable. But Riordan falls prey to the far too common trope of the cliffhanger. One of the aspects I most enjoyed in his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series was that each book resolved. The overarching conflict was always present, and each book moved that forward some. Once each book was over, though, you had a sense of completion, resolution.

With The Mark of Athena, the characters go through some of the same trials they have gone through in the previous books, have a main conflict to resolve, which they do. And then main characters are put into mortal peril and the book just sort of ends. Big cliffhanger. I enjoyed the story, but I suppose it is all starting to feel a little same.

Heretics of Dune reinvogorated me. The conflict between the Bene Gesserit and the Honored Matres was interesting, Miles Teg and Darwe Odrade were great characters, and the scope felt epic again. Great ending, some interesting twists, and strong characters helped this one be one of my favorites.

I heard many excellent comments regarding this book and the series as a whole. I delved in and really wanted to appreciate the world that had been created.

However, the book just never clicked for me. I tried to get into it, but didn't care for the characters, the conflict or really what was happening in the world. Perhaps I will go back some day and try again, but if, 200 pages in, I still can't find myself caring about the world or its characters, I don't see the purpose in pressing on.

Dune Messiah earns three stars today. However, I have a feeling that when I read it again (as I already plan to do), it will score much higher, as this book is the true denouement of the story of Paul Atreides, the first Kwisatz Hadarach.

The biggest problem with Chapterhouse: Dune is that we never get the story Frank Herbert wanted told to conclude it. Nevertheless, the book ends in such a way that it is still satisfying.

Murbella really comes into her own here, the fascinating mixture of Bene Gesserit and Honored Matre. Dar is again a powerful force. The building menace of the threat that drove the Honored Matres back from the Scattering is intriguingly written. I would have loved to know how Frank Herbert wanted to end this conflict (not the hack attempts from his son and KJ Anderson), but am content with my own vision of how it ended, based on what Frank wrote. All in all, a good ending to the series.