Lyle

What's there to learn about the color blue and its history? More than I ever thought! This coffee table-sized book, well-illustrated, is an interesting dive into the cultural and historical stories of why blue holds the place it does in today's world. Did you ever wonder why the US flag is red, white and blue? You'll find out in this book, along with many many other nuggets.

Interesting deep dive into cultural history and the role(s) played by color - in this case, the color green. Rather mind-boggling, that convoluted history and progression toward our modern perceptions; fully and deftly explored and thoughtfully explained.

Kudos to the author for the unique (to me) premise of mixing in puzzles along with the narrative, but unfortunately, I failed to connect with the protagonist (a 20-something female) and the urgency of her quest. I also expected much less in the way of magic/sorcery, and the prose was just a bit over the top with characterizations just a bit unbelievable.

The author successfully builds upon the universe(s) created in the first book of the series, with a diverse cast of characters, plenty of action, and dashes of philosophy, humor, and AI thrown into the mix. The resolution was both unexpected and wholly satisfying.

Wonderful overview of space opera with many examples of the genre. Appreciated the author summaries as well.

Another excellent entry in the Princeton Field Guide series, this time focusing on the predatory dinosaurs. Much appreciated was the introductory text covering many areas including environments/habitats, evolutionary trends, predator/prey dynamics, and more. A worthy successor to and expansion of the author's 1988 "Predatory Dinosaurs of the World".

I stopped reading when (1) a character believed they were on an alien world because there was no moon in the sky, and other characters didn't point out the flaw in her reasoning, (2) two of the characters suddenly decided to have sex in the nearby forest in the middle of the night and it was blamed on the fact that they were suddenly the equivalent of eighteen years old and their hormones had become super active, and (3) the name of a character suddenly changed to that of another character in the middle of a scene. There were other less problematic things in the writing as well, but the three issues mentioned above were enough to make me stop reading.

The premise was intriguing, and the narrative started well, but when the protagonist began using vulgar language over a very small incident (even though I know the author was trying to show how much she was upset by the underlying situation) I was done. Too bad. There are better ways than that to show emotional distress.

While it was intriguing to start, and seemed to hold great promise, I found the deep connections (I'm guessing) to Chinese culture made me feel like I was missing too much. I found it hard to relate to the characters and did not understand their motivations. Too bad, as I really wanted to give this author a fair chance.

Edit March 2025: Giving this book another try; updated review to follow.

Edit 04/05.2025: I attempted to read this a second time, given all of the praise and positive reviews, but ultimately, I had to give up once again. Although I made it to over 250 pages, the result was the same as indicated in my previous comments: I just could not find enough of an attachment to the characters and concepts in the book to finish.

Fun modern take on classic space opera character

I saw the author on a television program and was intrigued by the premises he espoused; he was a very dynamic and entertaining speaker. So I got this book and was surprised to find that there was nothing really earth-shattering in it but rather a clear, concise, and orderly collection of approaches to self-improvement, with exercises and tools to assist. I think I would have been better served having read this in my 20s, 30s or 40s instead of my late 60s but even so there were some decent tidbits for me at this "late" stage. At the very least, the author showed how enthusiasm and an optimistic approach can be great facilitators in enhancing our understanding and even in bringing joy back into learning.

An emotional roller-coaster of a story, for sure, but one worth reading if you have any sort of affinity for felines. The author obviously is a keen observer and writes quite well.

If you are looking for a book (or series) that provides a "classic" sense of wonder with well-written prose and interesting characters, you can add this book (along with the previous "World Engines: Destroyer") to your TBR. This is Baxter at the top of his game, IMHO.

A repetition of the blurb on the front cover should suffice: "A sense of grandeur few other SF novelists can even hope to match". I am excited to begin reading the sequel.

While the concept of ambigrams and "reversible" font and art was initially intriguing I found the many examples and details that followed to be a bit overwhelming and mind-numbing, in the end. It all began to feel a bit forced; briefly entertained but not really amazed.

Definitely not for the general public; I was rather disappointed to find out that this book is more suitable for college students than the average non-mathematician. From page one, I found the text to be rather specialized and beyond that commonly in use by the casual reader. The author quite obviously has enthusiasm for the subject matter and provided copious amounts of diagrams and images, but it wasn't enough, sadly.

While the premise was intriguing (alien AI aiding Earth) this was, disappointingly, a continuation of the relentlessly optimistic writing that started with the series short story, Echo Awakens. While hints of conflicting factions on both the Earth and alien sides were present, it felt more like I was reading a “Cliff's Notes” summary or graphic novel adaptation instead of a fleshed-out novel. I did read all the way through but was hoping for a lot more depth. Even some backstory would have been welcomed.

Edit: Only after posting this review did I notice that the recommended reading age for this book (and the previous short story) was “young adult” (8-18). If I had realized that in the first place, my expectations would have been quite a bit different. In fact, I might not have read it in the first place as I tend to avoid YA books unless the author is one of my favorites.

A short and fun read to introduce the series, but I wish there had been more background material to give the players (human and alien) more of a fleshed-out story. It felt like I was dumped quite literally into the middle of an on-going epic. I know “in media res” is a story-telling opening technique, but this was a bit too much of that. Perhaps there will be a prequel to the prequel covering the build-up?

For many years I have heard of the author Agatha Christie and her creation Hercule Poirot but never had the opportunity to actually read any of her books. When I found a copy of the first in the series at my local library, I eagerly set about to rectify that failure. What I found, despite the fact that the book was published in 1920, was a wonderfully modern tale of a murder mystery and the complexity of thinking required to solve it satisfactorily. I look forward to continuing with the remaining books in the series; Hercule Poirot has become one of my favorite fictional detectives, right up there with Sherlock Holmes.

An interesting premise and well-thought-out extrapolation. The author put a lot of effort into creating a plausible world after a disaster which (nearly) ended everything. I liked the main narrative of scientists and non-scientists on a voyage of exploration in search of a possible solution to what could be a world-ending situation. A number of surprises along the way kept things moving along, although at times the info-dumps of sailing terms and activities, while perfectly reasonable for the characters in the book, slowed things down a bit.

Another rollicking good Jason Curtis adventure!

Very well-told story of early warp drive testing and the dangers involved within the author's T-Space universe. Reminiscent of the McAndrew stories from Charles Sheffield. Really liked the Niven story references as well - it was fun discovering them.

A great story merging historical occurrences with climate change and alien visitation.

Very good introduction to the character and his first adventure on his own starship. Great descriptive prose and tension abounds throughout.

4.5 stars. A short tale, but chock-full of the author's evocative descriptive prose and character-building.