Michael Cummings

Ken has a lot of enthusiasm, and you can see that the story is just tensing up, ready to explode. The story wasn't unpredictable or without its flaws, but it was still a fun read.

I can't believe I didn't read this until I was in my 40s. But perhaps it is a book that is best read when you're ready to hear the laughter in the stars.

A fine finish to a great series.

Alas, the series ends here. It grew a little slow around the halfway mark, then rammed its way to the end in a blazing path of glory.

Despite being a Peter F. Hamilton fan, I have a confession to make – I never could get into the Reality Dysfunction. I loved the tech, I thought the characters were great, I just couldn't wrap my brain around the dead coming back through a dimensional rift. It just smacked of cheesy, especially when Al Capone made his appearance.

I started the Great Road North was some trepidation – Hamilton can be hit or miss in my experience – and was pleased to find a good story, if a touch repetitive of previous works. Hamilton has returned to the kind of story that made Paula Myo so awesome. Blending crime and aliens is a successful formula for Hamilton, so it's only natural that he would return to those roots in this story. The setting for this tale is familiar – set a century or so into the future, the advent of a portal technology has allowed man to spread across the galaxy. At the pinnacle of the economic paradise are the North's, a family of successive generations of clones. When a North washes up dead, it's big news. When it's the second clone to be murdered in a uniquely grisly way in twenty years, and the last suspect was an alien with knives for fingers, things begin to get interesting.

Hamilton deftly weaves together the stories of Sid, a Newcastle detective on the trail of a murderer, and Angela, the sole surviving witness of the first encounter, 9 light years from Earth on the trail of the alien monster that no one else believes exists. Hamilton litters the page with a small supporting cast that are rarely thin or cardboard, and always seem to offer us a little more insight into our main characters.

The only fault I have with the novel is that we've been here before. This isn't the Commonwealth, and these aren't the same characters, but the themes are reminiscent of Hamilton's other books. A great read, and definitely fills an itch for a space opera with killer monsters, but not his best.

It was with a little trepidation that I began reading Wards of Faerie. It had been decades since I'd last read a Terry Brooks novel, and the Shannara series was never one I had gotten into too deeply, mostly for a lack of resources. I knew that over the years the breadth of the story had grown, and that series that didn't used to be related, like the Word and the Void, had been incorporated into the larger mythos. Still, most of my exposure came from a summer reading through the Magic Kingdom books. Could I jump in unscathed?

The Wards of Faerie, as it turns out, is very open to the new reader. A brief run through wikipedia wouldn't hurt the new reader, but Terry Brooks is ever the consummate story teller, and with almost no effort gives us a story that is very easy to fall into. It is a world where science and magic are at ends with each other, with many of the secrets of magic lost even to the Druids, caretakers of such knowledge. Aphenglow Elessedil, an elf and a Druid, stumbles upon a lost journal that hints at the whereabouts of the famed elfstones. The Druid's quest to recover the elfstones will mean the gathering of a party and following a vision beyond the known lands as they seek out the lost elfstones.

It's always a pleasure to read something written by a master of the craft, and this was no exception. Brooks has spent over thirty years developing this world, and the world-building shows. The world that this story is set in has a depth that we can see just beneath the surface without being dragged through it, which helps the story move along at a good pace. The characters that populate it are well developed and believable, rather than the stock two dimensional characters that seem to litter the genre so often.

Knowing in advance that this will be yet another trilogy, though, I do have to say I was a bit disappointed with where the book ended. This isn't just the poignant disappointment of a story that ended sooner than the reader may have wanted. The bulk of the book was spent developing characters and introducing us to the world as it is, but just as the party is formed and the real action began to start up, the book came to an end.

My rating of this book came after a lot of thinking, and ultimately was tied to the fact that the story, the meat of why we are reading, is cut too short too soon. Knowing that we are only looking at a trilogy, it seems as though too much time was spent developing characters rather than moving the plot along. Fans of the milieu will enjoy the book, knowing that it will lead somewhere in the next book. Casual readers, though, I think will be put off unless they are already committed to seeing the story develop in the next volume.

My thanks to Netgalley and Random House for giving me the opportunity to review this work and providing an advanced reader's copy.

Perfect summer read. Not quite as much fun as book one, but still a good time. Same campiness you would find in a Buffy or such, only with a druid and his baggage.

Oberon might be my spirit animal.

Reminiscent in some ways of Stephen King's “On Writing,” Brooks provides a loose guide to writing couched in autobiographical anecdotes. Take it for what it is and enjoy it :)

I always want to like Brooks' books more than I do. Yet another novel where he tells us far more than he shows us. The polished bits are full on 5 stars, but the rest of the novel drags it down considerably. The story is interesting, the execution is lacking in my opinion. And yet I keep reading them...

Brooks continues to tell instead of showing, but this was actually consistent in quality. One of the better Shannara books that I've read. 

Let me first dissuade you - if you want to read this book because you expect Nick, Nora, and Asta to make an appearance, this isn't that kind of Thin Man. Nor is this “Gumshoe - In Space!” - not quite. There is a certain homage to Dashiell Hammett in this novel, a flair of the noir in its tongue in cheek references to fedoras and trenchcoats, private investigators, and hunting down criminal masterminds in modern speakeasies. It is very much a science fiction novel, though, of that variety of thriller that was popular at the end of the pulp era. Good guys vs bad, agents on the run and the fate of society in their hands.

Set nearly a century away, humanity has made contact with two other sentient species, acquired FTL travel, and colonized other planets. A political movement has risen up that threatens the peace of the Union, and our two gumshoes, hired on as contractors by a government agency, are trying to track down the location of the leader of the Movement, the alien Helk known as Terl Plenko. Things go from bad to worse when a terrorist attack causes the moon Ribon to crash into the planet it orbits, destroying settlements on both worlds.

The mystery is light, but the tension is kept steady in this science fiction thriller. What may cause some issues for some readers is the disorienting switch in POV between chapters. The novel is written from the perspective of our two chief protagonists, but only one of them is in the first person. The other character's story is written loosely in the third person. In the ARC, this perspective slipped a few times, and I really hope this is an artifact of the pre-edit condition of the novel and not something that made it to print. Because without that detraction, the novel was a lot of fun, fully earning the four stars I've given it. Although the post-climax epilogue ties off some threads while ignoring others, I think that's just Swenson hedging his bets. I'm sure this volume will do well enough to garner more gumshoe stories set in his Union universe.

Special thanks to Tor Books, who allowed me to read an ARC of this novel on netgalley.

There is a certain ineffable quality to Neal Asher's books. They are first and formost high tech, far future adventure stories. The rare scenes of an idyllic worldscape are usually shattered in moments by explosions, nanomanipulating alien technology, or the occasional AI trying to make the world a safer place. Line of Polity carries that burden well. Following shortly after the events of Gridlinked, Line of Polity continues to follow Ian Cormac, along with a small cast of characters working with and against him. Outlink station Miranda has been destroyed in a way that hints at Dragon, and if anyone is going to go after something related to the moonsized alien, it's Ian Cormac. Asher writes an action packed story well, and this book is no exception. There is a point about 3/4 of the way through that the action began to feel repetitive, but the last 1/4 of the book elevates the crescendo - and the stakes - bringing the book to a most satisfactory conclusion (read: couldn't put the book down for the last 100 pages, really dissapointed it was over).

Beware the gabbleduck, friends.

My first reaction when I finished this book: Imagine Brent Weeks had channeled Brandon Sanderson and you're halfway to knowing what kind of book this is going to be. McClellan has developed a magic system that is very reminiscent of allomancy - powder mages snort or consume gunpowder much like a cocaine addict, endowing them with powers physical and metaphysical. We also see magic in the more traditional sense (hand waving wizardry so to speak), Knacks (people with one off powers, X-menish but without the flair), all resting in a world we can almost recognize as being modeled after late 18th/early 19th century Europe. And like so many books I've stumbled into recently, a B plot centered around religion and gods.

The initial hook for this book is the calling in of a retired investigator to solve a riddle left by a dead sorcerer at the end of the coup that brought down the King, spiraling out from there to include rogue magi, betrayal among the coup's conspirators, and a civil war. Good stuff, to say the least, and where McClellan might be faulted for a lack of depth, he more than makes up for by keeping the novel at a brisk and relentless pace that hurtles the reader to the conclusion of the first volume far too quickly. A little cliche, but a lot of fun to read, and yet another author/series to add to the queue.

A fair alien invasion story, complete with victory, defeat, and more. I wish there was more backstory for the starfish, but all in all a fun read.

Distance and bad memory lured me to the second book on a used bookstore binge trip - I'd forgotten that I didn't enjoy the first one that much. In that ranking scale, I enjoyed this book much more, though I was still reminded of the Seven Suns Saga a lot.

The Widow's House suffered from a dragging middle as Abraham's put pieces in place for the concluding volume(s) of the series. Not a bad book, just a bit long in parts.

It's somewhat embarrassing to admit that I had ample opportunities to read this book when it was in two parts, independently published - and failed to do so until it was bought up by Orbit and reprinted.

That was a mistake.

Originally published separately, readers can see the divide between the events and repercussions of the first book (Crown Conspiracy) that lead into the second book (Avempartha), and how together they form the chapters of a much larger tapestry. Sullivan sites the story arcs of Babylon 5 as one of his inspirations, and in reading the novel you can see that play out as he gives the reader a simple, straightforward collection of fantasy tropes building up our expectations that this story is going in one direction, only to flip it at the climax and offer a resolution that both fits the story so far, and yet defies what we anticipated.

The curious thing about Sullivan's book is that he uses light strokes to paint a picture. He doesn't labor over info dumping, choosing instead to give us a who's who and a what's what at the start of the book, and a few short dumps initially to fill in the gaps. Nor does he rely on the shock that grittier fantasy authors have brought us lately; this book is very much a homage o the simple, well written adventure story. While its most basic elements are a variation of the quest and heist motifs, there are deeper motivations at play than just greed. The real strength in Sullivan's writing, though, is in his dialog, the repertoire and voice of his characters making them distinct enough to stand out from the backdrop. No, not all of the characters are well rounded personas with depth, but the characters with whom the story revolves live and breathe in the mind's eye even after you set the book down.

Theft of Swords is not high literature, with flowing, flowery passages evoking a deep sense of wonder. What it is is wonderfully entertaining. Case in point, I sat down and read the last 40% of the book in one day because I just couldn't put it down. Highly recommended to fans of epic fantasy, especially if you enjoy the “lighter” side such as a Brandon Sanderson or Daniel Abraham novel, you will enjoy this.

I'm a sap.

Yes, you have to be dense not to see the threads of conclusion drawing together, to not see the various hints and plot lines draw to a close in this final volume. And yet, there I was, some grain of sand caught in my eye, causing me to get a little teary eyed as I reached the end of the Riyria Revelations. A bit predictable, but satisfactorily brought to a conclusion all the same.

Enjoyable, but not quite memorable. Other reviews on Goodreads go into deeper details, but the short of it was that although it wasn't a bad story, it wasn't a world I want to return to find out what happens next. A little disappointed since I really enjoyed the Summoner books by Gail.

Book three of the Dagger and the Coin - it rises up like Ouroboros writ in words, the ending is the beginning and the beginning is the ending. This third installment brings us back to the world of Marcus and Kit as they go looking for a magical sword to kill a Spider goddess with. Meanwhile, in the sexy world of moneylending, Cithrin continues her struggle and education in service to the Medean Bank.

Orbiting like a love struck puppy - with a cadre of killer priests and a warring nation at his command - Geder Palliako continues down his self destructive path, the ridiculed, chubby nerd that now wields more power than he knows how to handle or deal with. Meanwhile, working her wily ways to bring all that Geder stands for down, Clara continues her secret campaign with the street urchins and disheveled of Camnipol.

While the book is not for newcomers - there is simply too much background to explain, about a book and a half to be exact - it is a worthy addition to the series on whole. The pace is fast, the action is tight, and the world, as always, teeters on an unseen precipice ready to dip even further into chaos. As the midway point in the series, I think it's sometimes hard to see the events that happen as the turning points they really are.

Recommended for epic fantasy readers, but don't start here.

This was one of my most anticipated books this year. If you've enjoyed Weeks' other works, then you'll understand why. Even after talking with Brent this summer and learning that he planned on making the Lightbringer series a tetralogy, I couldn't help but start the next book in the series with some trepidation. Would it stand up to past excellence? Would it suffer second book slumps? In other words, is this a coasting book, or will there be actual depth to it?

The Blinding Knife takes us back into the world of Gavin and Kip and all of the other colorful characters of the Chromeria and Blackguard. Between a mounting war against the Color Prince, and dealing with the aftermath of the False Prism War from 16 years before, Gavin has his work cut out for him. Of course, readers of the first book in the series, The Black Prism, know that there is a lot more to that story than I can share without a big spoilers warning. Readers continuing the adventure should know that there are still ample surprises in this volume, and although we are given more background, its not always where we want it. This, of course, is the author's prerogative, but some of the mysteries can leave the reader wanting. Without revealing any spoilers, the entire ancient mythology and metamorphosis of the wight left a discordant feeling with me. From what we knew of the world so far, the concept of avatars just seemed at odds. It felt out of place and without context, making the color gods meme was a little confusing. It made sense in its own limited context, just like wights made sense as an extension of breaking the halo, but the blend of those two left me a little out of sorts, making it a distraction in this book.

So what did I enjoy? I still loved Kip – as a fat kid who grew up to be a fat man, I'm partial to the rotund polychrome, stereotypical as he can be. You can lament that he's got Harry Potter syndrome, but that's because Harry Potter had Magician's Apprentice syndrome himself – a magically capable youth in the role of student is going to fall into a trope or two along the way. Weeks does a good job when we're sitting on Kip's shoulders to show us the world Kip thinks he's seeing, even when every other character just sees a capable, headstrong Guile. Weeks tackled a few thorny subjects, including slavery, as well as introducing us to a card game who's rules we learned alongside Kip. The conflicts Gavin faces internally, maintaining the facade of the perfect leader and Prism while really fighting against his own self doubts and insecurities was refreshing.

The Lightbringer series isn't as dark or deep as the Night Angel trilogy, but fans shouldn't be put off by that. Weeks tells a compelling tale, and fans of epic fantasy will still find themselves with sleepless nights as they try and finish just one more chapter.

A special thanks to Orbit and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book, and the medium to do it in.

How to do this without spoiling? It has a maa-aap...

Seriously, this was a good old fashioned fun read. Weeks hit his stride from the gates, giving a pace that never lagged or left you wondering when the next interesting chapter was going to be. So go, and enjoy it or something!

Subjectively, this just didn't work for me. I'm not the biggest fan of first person novels anyway, and for some reason I really hate any story where the narrator goes through the process of discovering words like “food” and “air.” I realize that in the context of this story it is appropriate, but it's a pet peeve (the only notable exception that comes to mind being the whale in Hitchhiker). I've always loved Bear's books, this one just didn't do it for me.

AWESOME. This trilogy certainly doesn't get the popular attention it deserves. While other popular fantasy authors get touted for their complex magic systems, Weeks dives in with characters and plows straight through with action and a little emotional tugging to give you a satisfying read. Please don't take my stars on this series compared to past recommendations as valuing this book less - I've been too liberal with stars in the past, and this series deserves top notches. Think epic fantasy without the million cast member, 20 volume set.

Weeks is awesome, that's all I can say. Fantasy full of magic and swords (but oddly, not swords and sorcery ;) ), the middle book in this series takes the decent start book one gave us and catapults you into a streamlined epic fantasy. Awesome fun brain candy that isn't caught up in how cool it is.

As a fan of Gary Gibson's previous series, the Shoal Sequence, I was excited to get a chance to read this first volume in his new universe. Or multiverse, I guess. Jerry Beche, hero and protagonist, is the last man alive on Earth. A devastating man made plague has wiped out the rest of the human race, or so Jerry thinks until he comes across footprints near his snow bound cottage. While he may be the last human on Earth, he isn't alone. Rescued and taken to an Earth not quite like his own, he is recruited into the Pathfinders. The Pathfinders, a group of explorers from other destroyed Earth, work for the Authority to help explore the parallel worlds. There is some hint to the bigger picture of the multiverse, of braids and strands of possibility.

If this is beginning to sound like an episode of Sliders, I'd agree. Using jump platforms and timed returns, our crew of Pathfinders slips from world to world. When Gibson shines in this novel, he shimmers. The imagined worlds - and their destruction - are each glimpses into Earths that we ourselves might face. Each apocalypse we face in Extinction Game is well thought out and described.

Unfortunately, I found the secondary characters to be somewhat lacking in development. The antagonist and supporting cast were hollow sketches for the most part. The result was a somewhat uneven experience. Between well thought out extinction events and the sometimes cardboard characters that catalog them, there was just enough story to keep moving forward. Recommended as a mashup of Sliders and Doomsday B movies, it just needed a little more than it delivered to wow me.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for making this ARC available to me prior to US publication.