Alex Norton

A very competent historical novel about a conflict I knew little about. I appreciate the fact that Harvey is taking her time to set the canvas for the book. She has done that for the protagonist but i feel i still need more on the historical conflict. Looking forward to the second book

Four stars four being a very well written satire whose singular POV character is really such a a-hole. As a passive twitter user i hugely enjoyed the descriptions of the shitstorms in a tea cup. I actually started using twitter for following sports journalists but it then began to be a great way to follow authors i love, and some handle it deftly like Gaiman or Scalzi. Others play on the periphery like Abercrombie who relish in their 1 stars. In all cases i found this book an enjoyable romp on ground i knew enough of to find it familiar.

And I added a fifth start just because of so many knickers twisted in the GoodReaders reviews... the ultimate trolling fishing trip

This one starts as rather bland and predictable “thriller” and i was starting to lose patience with it but Ellis started pulling away the layers in a timely (but somewhat foreseeable manner) but by the end of the book i credit him with getting it all to work.

A short sweet tale in audible. I was sort of fearing a romcom but I found it is a romantic piece without a love story. The dog got a slightly longer walk than he expected while I listened to it but i enjoyed it very much

Simply put, he is at the top of the Genre, and getting better as the series continues.

I am enjoying the series but the level of depth of relish to get back to the book is not on a par with other authors

Just as Good as part 1

Olive, Mabel and Andrew, like for many others, were high points during the pandemic days. As dog lovers we immediately twigged with their world. Andrew is much more than the simple commentator to the dog's videos - he artfully articulates many a dog owner's thoughts on living with dogs, their simplicity and depth of thought, their needs and desires, their generosity of spirit. Yes it certainly helps if you know or have seen the youtube videos, but this diary will speak to anyone who has loved dogs and Cotter is 100% my spokesman for my thoughts.

Read this over the course of a year, dipping into a chapter in between books. But all the chapters were interesting, original, and self contained.

Reminds me of Red Rising inasmuch as it is YAish eminently readable fantasy tale. Fast, no frills plot.

This is an “audio-only” but is free if you are an audible client. The premise is fun and the authors obviously enjoyed creating the play. Production is not quite to “Sandman” standards but if you like the genres this is entertaining.

Not as good as I would have liked it to be. The main character, who supposedly should know the answer to the question before he asks it seems pretty clueless as to what is going on around him. There is not subtlety in him. On the fence on if i will continue the series

Yep, I'm sufficiently geeky to enjoy this. The audible version is perfect to dip in and out. Always an interesting question, always a thoughtful response and all in the length of a short dog walk.

It was on a list of best Historical Novels for 2022 and I cant really fathom why it made the list. The Story had so much potential, especially as it was based on a true person but the story screams YA, and not even for young adults with a brain, but ones that want everything spelt out for them. So you saw everything coming, including the clichés of Irish rascals.

I want to start the year generous and gave it a five. It is a very ambitious book that captures the Victorian era as it was - the Best and the Worst of Times. I appreciated much about the book - the historical aspects, the dialogs on translation (my long distant past at University), the celebration of etymology, the Oxford setting (lived there fortwo years), The story read easily and narrative worked. My only downsides was a proper epilogue to understand the consequences of the final act.

I'm pissed because i had started this thinking it was the next in the series, and it wasn't - I jumped ahead. And perhaps it might be a 4 rather than a 5 star but Herron through in a line about a restaurant having more likely a Pirelli calendar rather than a Michelin Star and all was good with the world.

If you enjoy Scalzi you will enjoy this SciFi tale. Not quite as accomplished as him but the vein is similar and there is a lot to like.

This is five star popcorn. Pure frivolity written by a master of conversational prose. If there is a thing that is a downer is that it is very short. Just when other novels would only just be setting the tone and elaborating the premise we are already at the denouement. Get the audible version read by Wil Wheaton. He makes everything even better

A marriage of two talents made in heaven. If you have an audible account this is a wonderful use of two hours

Maybe after enjoying the first Karen Pirie I felt this one was going over very similar territory

I am an unashamed lover of genre literature and am wary of literary novels. Amor Towles is nothing short of perfection in crafted story telling. The narrative arc seems eternally stuck in this novel, but day after day stories happen, evolve, resolve, characters come and go. I loved it.

A tough one to judge. Even bad Stephenson's tend to be “good” At the outset I was hoping for the pace of Reamde but with the science of Seveneves but I got neither. Both are good but neither excel so the plot is very interesting but I think I hoped to learn more on the consequences (Short medium and long like Seveneves) of the Sulphur gun but apart from introducing the concept the main bulk of the story tends to be character driven, but without the Reamde success. I know NS does not do sequels but this ones really does seem incomplete without one.

Im not a LitRpg person - but this has been recommended so many times i decided to give it a go and im glad i did. I have enough peripheral knowledge of RPG to not be totally lost but probably lost some jokes. But the plot is fun and the audio book is nothing if not entertaining.

Just my favourite writer of the genre. With the added bonus he is better (and takes himself far less seriously) than others at describing the Human Condition. My only wish and hope that this trilogy, like D. Adams' trilogy can be made up of five books...

A sometimes troublesome read but, I believe Harper does a good job at not whitewashing the main theme. I will be following up on he rest of the series