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What can one say without spoilers? Aliens that are quite alien (as only superb Sci-Fi provides). Great writing and characterization. I hypothesize all manner of connections to The Expanse, but at the same time, this one is stand-alone enough that it would make a great sample for someone wanting to try the work of James S.A. Corey. Truly these authors create a great story together!
The ending felt slightly rushed, but it was a great ride! T. Kingfisher delivers once more.
This was an excellent read. Hard to put down, with a very interesting world and even a few unexpected character connections. Skillfully sewn together subplots that give the reader some very satisfying moments when they converge. Even though it features environmental disaster, it is not an excuse to be trite and preachy, as I half dreaded it might have been. This is when I am happy to find a book after the sequels have already been published! Definitely reading more of this author!
I saw a comment on a social media site saying this book was a disappointment. I cannot agree. I will say that if you've never read Guy Gavriel Kay, this one may not be the best first read for you. Try The Sarantine Mosaic first. However, if you are a Kay fan, you are far more likely to enjoy this. If you know his work, and you love his blend of History tweaked, with magic around the edges, then you're the audience. This one started a little slow in a way, but it got more delightful as it went. The last third was full of "I see what you did there, sir!" moments, nods to his past works, and times when the author obviously could not help himself but to tweak the Historical into a more enjoyable path, just because he could. This isn't the best book you've ever read, but Kay's writing on a bad day beats a lot of the market on their good days, and it added much needed joy to my summer.
Solid intro to many topics in pottery, but not a deep dive in to any. I've seen the author in person, and she was a great presenter. This book would help any beginner decide which topics they want to delve into within pottery. Good refresher of basic info as well. There are a few terrible printing errors, such as one vase description where two paragraphs are directly printed on top one another, making them unreadable (at least in the copy I have). So, approach this publisher with caution and this author with enthusiasm.
Like most short story collections, some of these stories are good; some are just weird and very period. However, it is an interesting read in context as part of the history of Science Fiction and the history of modern female authors. For some people, it may also be an interesting challenge to their idea of female writing styles as well.
Great fun. Mad Men in the “high-tech, sci-fi 1950s that never was”, with advertising, buying, and selling the cetral focus of life and American culture. And then, things start to happen.
A superb look at a week in the life of Auri. It's an un-Kuothe as can be, but still utterly of that world and place. A short read, and a quiet one, that yet still sucks the reader in and holds them firmly.
First, this book sucked me in, which is usually a good sign. The author did a decent job of making me care about the main character, and want to know what would happen. However, as the story progressed, and the character changed in ways I did not like, my enjoyment also went down. I've read other books with great cruelty, but this one didn't appeal to me. It's possible that even though I consider this book well-written, and like parts of it, that I was simply not reading it at the right time and frame of mind. I may keep it on the shelf and re-read it in a couple of years. Sometimes a very heavy book appeals much more that way. I didn't hate it, loved it at first, and was very disappointed in the characters by the end. Not disappointed in the writing; disappointed in the characters as people (which is a good feat by the author).
I started reading this book around lunchtime. I finished late the same night. I could hardly put it down. I found the writing style original and clear, without being devoid of description. I think the author has achieved one of the finest examples of a true introvert ever written. If you were a child who could sit and watch ants or frogs for hours, and found it easier than groups of humans, you will relate to the narrator. Some people have complained about the lack of pat answers, and the potentially unreliable narrator, but I think that the author handled both of these things very well.
The book does leave you wondering. Is this some alien infestation? Is this Mother Earth's ultimate center of recycling, come to recycle us all as a failed iteration that has screwed up too much? Is this some government experiment of crazy drugs or VR technologies, run amuck, beyond the pale, for who knows what ends? Some sorcerer whose spell got away from him? I think the purpose of the book is to make you wonder, and it does this very well. It could take any of these directions, and it takes none of them. If you want pat answers, then this book isn't for you. If you like to wonder, it may be.
There are horror elements, because bad things happen to some characters; sometimes of their own doing, because they can't cope (like someone on a bad trip); sometimes because they fall prey to the environment. However, this is not a simple slasher/monster book. In a way, I see a major theme of this book as the ability to become one with an ecosystem being the ultimate survival tool. That's the Biologist's special skill, the ability to become so absorbed by observation that she blends. Instead of immediate panic, she observes, and then she blends. The ultimate observer may be the ultimate survivor. She is also an introvert who does not freak out purely on the basis of being alone. This combination of personality traits serves her better in Area X than her peers' personality traits serve them.
I truly enjoyed this book. I'm heading straight for the sequel. I hope it is as enjoyable.
I began this book with the expectation that it would be largely a case of a writing gimmick via the gender vocabulary. I only had a minimal understanding of the plot premise. At first, it was slow going, but I was very quickly sucked in. The story is great. I'd compare this book to the sci-fi writing of Anne McCaffrey, combined with a little Ursula K. le Guin, and a pinch of the flavor of Asimov. If you enjoyed these three authors, then you should definitely read this book.
Hard to read, like any Holocaust account, but very creatively and skillfully done. Fascinating choices for the animal representations of the different cultural groups. Although I've been aware of Maus for some time, I'd never read it before the recent book bans nudged it back into my attention. I had never come across the German comparison of Jewish people to mice before reading this. This book should never be banned from teenagers.
No one can write an old house like Anne Rice! I fell in love with the house in this book. It has history, complexity, and detail. We learn a little about several of the past stories it has witnessed. Anne also does a lovely job of vividly painting the redwood forest.
I think that long-time readers of Anne Rice's novels will have a quite different experience than a first time-reader. You can see some of her personal spiritual voyage of late in this novel. However, it is not overwhelming or preachy the way that some may have feared. As others have mentioned, this is a surprisingly upbeat werewolf novel. Yes, there are scenes of violence, and scenes of a sexual nature, but you are picking up an Anne Rice horror novel to read, and they are much toned down compared to some of her other books.
I think that while Reuben, the main character is not a character I can fall in love with and adore, he is meant to be a certain type of person thrust into a bizarre situation. We get to see him cope(or not). We get to see him deal with the childish/petulant streaks in his nature since his new situation makes this a neccessity.
Just as Reuben seems set to fall into a stereo-typical “young werewolf” power-hungry psychological trap, Anne takes things in a slightly unusual direction, and we get to see the character begin to grow.
More importantly for longtime readers of Anne Rice's novels, there is the important question: “Will there be more?” Some of the secondary characters in this book would make phenomenal novels of their own. Reuben has the potential to become a fine person, but I think the true potential of this book is one for a fascinating new series set in “Anne's World.” This could give another perspective on history to go with the vampires, the witches, and the Talamasca.
All the way through this novel, I kept longing for Reuben to run into the Talamasca.
Interesting story structure. I figured out the big plot twist a while before the author actually revealed it, but not too far in advance. Not the best Culture book so far, but still interesting.
I've enjoyed most of Jack McDevitt's books, so far. This was no exception. This is different from many of his other books in that it takes place here on Earth, and it takes place around our current time. Many of his other books involve other planets and space in a more direct way. While I did predict the main plot point before I got there, it wasn't presented in quite the way I expected when it came. I would recommend this book as an enjoyable, quick, easy read. However, I like many of his books better.
This was a fun read. Going in, I honestly thought, “OK, cute idea, probably too cute to be good.” I'm glad to say that I was wrong: it was a fun read! You can tell the author was having fun with the idea. Great round of “what if” for fans of SF TV shows.