Rob
Executive Summary: If you like politics and war in a sci-fi setting where the focus is on the people and not the battles, this book is worth checking out. If you're looking for a lot of space battles however, you may be disappointed.
Full Review
I read this book as the March pick for Sword & Laser. It's still early in the month but so far most of the discussion seems to be in the Is anyone else having a hard time getting started? thread. I must say I don't really understand this.
Sure this book is dense at times. The book also starts with a lot of world building. It gives you several character perspectives as well. But it's well written, and the plot is compelling.
It centers around a neutral space station over the planet Pell caught in the middle of a war between “The Company” and “The Union”.
This book reminds me a lot of Star Trek: Deep Space 9 or Babylon 5. To a lesser degree Battlestar Galactica. Mostly because the latter had a lot more space battles.
Cherryh doesn't spend pages detailing epic battles here. Sometimes you see the aftermath, or get the report of a distant battle when news reaches Pell station. There aren't completely missing however. I like a good space battle as much as the next sci-fi geek, but it's not a requirement for me.
What this books does have is political-driven agendas, greed, ambition, and a surprising amount of compassion (at least from some of the characters).
Like some popular fantasy series I've read (Song of Ice & Fire/Malazan Fallen) Cherryh gives you multiple points of view on the situation. Unlike those books however, there aren't as many shades of grey. Or weren't for me. I knew pretty early on mostly whose good and whose bad, and I'm not suddenly surprised at the end.
There are some exceptions however that seem to reside in a shade of grey, but not many.
Overall a very enjoyable book. I'm a little disappointed to find out there is no true sequel to this book as there are a lot things I'm interested in reading more about in the aftermath.
The conclusion is satisfying however, and I hope to check out more books in this universe at some point down the road, but I won't be rushing out to get the next book just yet.
Executive Summary: I really love this series, and I hope she continues writing more books in the series. This was really good. Best of the series so far. 4.5 Stars.
Audiobook: I'm generally leary of authors narrating their own work but Mary Robinette Kowal is a great narrator in her own right and does a fantastic job narrating this as usual.
Full Review
So I read this one earlier this year. I was struggling with writing my goodreads reviews before peak covid. I've had a lot of trouble reading books in general this year. By this point in the year I was back to work part time (working 40 hours every other week) which likely means my listening was a bit uneven.
I may or may not go back and write reviews for all the other books I skipped over, but we'll see how motivated I'm feeling. I wanted to write this one because as we're approaching the end of year, it felt wrong that one of my top reads of 2020 only had a 1 sentence review.
I hadn't read the blurb at all before pre-ordering this one. So it was a big surprise when I learned this book wasn't following Elma, but was instead told from the perspective of Nicole Wargin, who had been a fairly minor character in the first two books.
Initially I was a bit skeptical of the PoV change, but by the end this has become my favorite book of the series. Nicole is able to explore new aspects of the world of the last two books that Elma never could. I'd really love to see her do this with other characters in the future.
In particular I found the exploration of eating disorders to be well done. Just like Elma has his issues with anxiety, I love how this series shows characters who are successful at what they do and refuse to be defined by a single aspect of their lives.
In a year that's been a struggle for me to read, this was a nice reprieve. I'm there on day one if she writes a book 4.
Story
What can I say this deep into the story without just spoiling the plot? This continues to be one of my favorite comics. I love the characters. I love the world building. I love the plot. It's dark at times, joyful at others. It's crude at times and beautiful at others. In other words it encapsulates life.
Well if your life involves fleeing from bounty hunters and your own people in an effort to protect your daughter from being killed just for being born.
Another great volume. I can't wait for the next.
Artwork
Fiona Staples kicks ass. I love her work. This series wouldn't be nearly as good as it is without it. She brings Mr. Vaughan's words to life far better than my own imagination would be able to.
Merged review:
Story
What can I say this deep into the story without just spoiling the plot? This continues to be one of my favorite comics. I love the characters. I love the world building. I love the plot. It's dark at times, joyful at others. It's crude at times and beautiful at others. In other words it encapsulates life.
Well if your life involves fleeing from bounty hunters and your own people in an effort to protect your daughter from being killed just for being born.
Another great volume. I can't wait for the next.
Artwork
Fiona Staples kicks ass. I love her work. This series wouldn't be nearly as good as it is without it. She brings Mr. Vaughan's words to life far better than my own imagination would be able to.
Executive Summary: This is not a book for the faint of heart, or the first time fantasy reader. Mr. Erikson makes you think, and READ. No skimming allowed. Every word can be important. It's certainly not for everybody, but if you stick with it, I think most people will find their efforts greatly rewarded.Full ReviewThis is a case of, you were right Good Reads recommendation engine. Why didn't I listen to you?Shortly after joining good reads last year and putting all my books in, I checked out the recommendations page. This book was prominently listed based on several of my shelves. I read the description, and some of the reviews, and wasn't too impressed and moved on.Fast forward about 6 months and a few of my newly made GR friends were making a group to do a series re-read. A few others decided to join in as first timers. I was convinced to give the series a try.I'm glad I did. I can't say how I'll feel after all 10 books, but after the first one, I'm hooked!The group is probably a large part of my enjoyment. I can see this book being very hard to read by yourself. There were a few parts that confused the hell out of me, that were explained to me by people who had been there before.I'm very much a go with the flow and enjoy the ride type of reader. I'm OK if things don't make sense right away, so long as I get there eventually. Everything that confused me at the start was cleared up by the end. I'm not 100% if that was all book, or our great group discussion, but it doesn't matter.The book certainly has left me with a lot of questions to be answered, but that's to be expected as the start of a 10 book series.Mr. Erikson is an excellent writer. His descriptions, characters and language are all top notch. My only (minor) complaint would be that he sometimes seems intent on showing you just how good his vocabulary is.The highlight for me is the character development. This book involves some very powerful people. And just when you think “wow, what a badass”, someone more powerful shows up. I don't know if Dues Ex Machina possible when the gods themselves are part of the cast.He also paints a very grey picture. One or two chapters in, I started to feel I knew who was “good” and who was “bad”. Five chapters in, I had to re-evaluate my initial assessments. I wouldn't be surprised if 2 books in, I re-asses them again.Mr. Erikson introduces an interesting magical system with his use of Warrens. Unlike Brandon Sanderson who gives you a lot of detail and rules about how magic works, at least through 1 book the details are quite murky.All and all, a great start to the series. It's a 4, but it's a very high 4, and the ending almost pushes it to a 5 for me. I'm already looking forward to continuing on with [b:Deadhouse Gates 55401 Deadhouse Gates (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2) Steven Erikson https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385272744s/55401.jpg 3898716] in two weeks.
Executive Summary: If you liked the Martian, you'll probably like this. It follows a very similar structure. I didn't like this quite as much, but overall enjoyed it.Audiobook: Ray Porter does a fantastic job as usual. I always enjoy his narration style and he's a good fit for tone of this book. It really adds a bit extra that makes me glad I did the audio version.Full ReviewI really loved [b:The Martian 18007564 The Martian Andy Weir https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413706054l/18007564.SY75.jpg 21825181]. I'm generally not a “hard” sci-fi fan. I tend to prefer space fantasy or space opera. However there was something about that book that just really appealed to me.Their wasn't so much of a plot as a series of scientific problems where our overqualified protagonist managed to “science the shit” out of them until the book ended. This book had a very similar structure. The protagonist felt like it could have easily been Mark Watney.I struggled a bit with this at the start. Our protagonist wakes up with amnesia which to me felt like it was simply a plot device to create more mystery and suspense as the slowly remember critical details at just the right time of the book.That said at a certain point of the book (I won't say which, since I don't like to include spoilers in my reviews), things really picked up for me and I was hooked in. It was this aspect more than anything that distinguished this book from the Martian for me.That said I felt like I had to suspend my disbelief a bit. Things just felt a bit over dramatic at times. I was also starting to wear down a bit at the “formula” of problem after problem with science to the rescue.Overall I found this to be a fast and (mostly) fun read, but a bit derivative of his earlier work. I think if you enjoyed the formula of the Martian, you'll likely enjoy it again here.
Executive Summary: Mr. Scalzi combines war, politics, humor and of course a good heaping of sci-fi to give you a quick and fun read. This isn't a book of deep meanings, groundbreaking ideas or elaborate plot. But, if you want yourself an entertaining sci-fi read, look no further.Full ReviewAs book reader, I consider myself primarily a fantasy reader these days. I love science-fiction, and have for as long as I can remember, but I tend to consume my sci-fi mostly through TV and the movies rather than books.For this reason I had never heard of John Scalzi before hearing about [b:Redshirts 13055592 Redshirts John Scalzi http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348617890s/13055592.jpg 18130445] last year sometime. Even then his name didn't really stick with me. It should have, but he didn't. I'm pretty horrible with names.When discussing this book as a possible pick for our book club, one member commented something to the effect that it was a bad pick, because anyone who truly wanted to read this book would have by now. So here I am, very late to the party. And what a party!More than anything I found myself laughing aloud while reading this book. It's my first by Mr. Scalzi. Despite hearing about [b:Redshirts 13055592 Redshirts John Scalzi http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348617890s/13055592.jpg 18130445] first, I still haven't gotten around to reading it. It defiantly won't be my last.There is a fair bit of swearing in this book, and what I'd call low-brow humor, so if that's not for you, you may not find it as funny as I did.The characters outside of the main one don't have a whole lot of depth to them, but that's OK. This isn't a book you read for it's in deep plot and complex characters. It's popcorn, plain and simple.With my usual “no spoilers” policies for review, I won't talk about the technologies used at all, other than to say there is nothing ground breaking there. Mr. Scalzi makes use of some well used ideas, but combines them in some fun ways. He doesn't go into a lot of depth on how it works, making this about as far from hard sci-fi as you can get. He gives you just enough of an explanation to set things up, then moves on.The aliens in this book are diverse and interesting, though again their isn't a lot of depth there. You don't always get a good feel for who the majority of the alien species are or why they are fighting. Really the variety of species is mostly to offer a variety of combat scenarios the main character has to deal with.I was satisfied by the ending, but their are enough lingering questions that I plan to check out other books in the series when I get some more time.
Executive Summary: A pretty good story that combines the magic school trope with fantasy mystery trope in an enjoyable fashion.
Audiobook: Xe Sands did a good job with the narration. This was a few books ago now so I don't really remember it standing out one way or another. It is probably one of those books that is fine in audio, but not a must listen.
Full Review
I picked this one up after reading some best books of the year list and thinking the story and the length was a good fit for my short and light end of year criteria.
I mean the premise is a murder at a magic school, so I guess not THAT light, but it's far from grimdark fantasy too.
I listened to most of it in a single go during my holiday roadtrip and it helped pass the time quite well.
I found the main character likeable enough, but for me the main hook was the magic school trope. The fantasy detective is pretty overdone these days, but having the detective not able to do magic was a nice twist on things to set this apart.
The mystery itself was decent, but not great. I don't go out of my way to try to guess what happened, but I've read enough books that sometimes it just seems apparent to me. This was one of those, but not until a good portion of the book was over.
Overall this was a good listen and is nice because it's stand alone. That's pretty hard to come by these days, and I wouldn't be surprised if a second book gets written at some point.
Executive Summary: I'm a huge Zelda fan. I had no idea how much this book would parody those games, but I loved it a lot more than I expected to.Audiobook: I thought Suzy Jackson did a good job with the narration. It was an interesting choice to have a second male narrator in Steve West to do Full ReviewI've had some mixed results with Andrew Rowe's other work. I really enjoyed his first two Arcane Ascension books, but didn't enjoy [b:Six Sacred Swords 43902687 Six Sacred Swords (Weapons and Wielders, #1) Andrew Rowe https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1551600782l/43902687.SY75.jpg 67973755]. I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this one or not.I didn't really know much about the book coming in, I pretty must decided to listen to it because I got a free copy of the audiobook and it was short. Turns out it's basically a parody of Zelda which is one of my favorite series.I really ended up enjoying this book greatly. Possibly more than his Arcane Ascension books. It was well written and I loved all the references and in-jokes.If you like Zelda or rpg style video games this book is worth a look. It's also worth checking out if you're in the mood for a light/fun adventure story.
Executive Summary: To me this is where the series really starts to shine. Mr. Butcher established the world and the key players in the last 2 books, and now he gets down the business of telling the story.
Audio book: I didn't like Ms. Reading too much at the start. Her male voices bothered me. By this book however, I couldn't imagine anyone else reading this. There is a scene where random legionaries are calling out and Ms. Reading does different voices for all of them.
I think she's also flushed out the voices she uses for all the main and secondary characters to really add that extra something that not all audio books readers seem to manage.
Full Review
I was both a bit eager and nervous for this re-read. This is only of only a handful of books that I've given 5 stars to and on my favorites shelf. My memory of it seems to have held up pretty well however.
This book seems feels far less trope heavy to me as the last two. You still have your chosen one story, but I was just so wrapped up in the awesomeness of it all that I just didn't spend any thinking about it.
The first half of this book is good, but the second half is even better. Unlike the last book where I somewhat dreaded any chapter that took us away from the main story, the secondary stories in this book are much more interesting. Adding a lot of depth to the politics of the world and many of the secondary characters.
For a book that focuses mostly on a newly formed legion, there seems to actually be less time spent on battles, which may be a plus or minus for you depending on how much you enjoy reading them. Personally I think he strikes the balance just right and Tavi really shines in this book as a result.
No one is going to accuse this of being some deep, complex series full of numerous unexpected twists and turns. However while some of it is pretty predictable, I think Mr. Butcher does manage a few surprises amid the more expected plot developments. But honestly, who cares? I was having far too much fun listening this book to spend much of the review getting into that.
Part adventure, part political thriller, part war novel with a decent amount of romance thrown in, there is a likely something for everyone here. I for one had trouble stopping for the day by the end and had to jump right into the next book.
Executive Summary: I thought this was mostly fun, albeit a bit slow at times. 3.5 Stars.
Audiobook: I think Zachary Quinto does a fine job. Nothing particularly special, but he generally reads at a good speed and with good inflection.
Full Review
This series doesn't seem to have the typical Scalzi snark, which I kind of miss. I do find the world building interesting. I kind of groaned when the title of the book was explained, but that's about it.
I'm generally not a fan of novellas and I might not have picked this one up if it wasn't included as part of my Audible membership. Mostly I went with this book because I was looking to fill space between my last book and the release of my next one. This served that well.
I thought despite it's short length the pacing was a little slow early on. Once it got going I thought it was pretty enjoyable.
Overall I liked it, and will consider checking the next one out. Hopefully Audible continues to include them in their free selection since I don't see myself spending a lot of money (or a credit) on something so short.
Executive Summary: Like [b:Gardens of the Moon 55399 Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1) Steven Erikson http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355144064s/55399.jpg 2646042] this book is a tough read. It is a lot more gruesome than it's predecessor however. This book is not for the feint of heart. While there are some lighter moments to interrupt the violence, this book has some truly disturbing scenes.Full Review I found the beginning of this book very frustrating. Just when I felt like I had a pretty good handle on things we shift not only location, but get almost entirely a new set of characters to learn.If not for my Group Read, I might have considered taking a break.I read for fun, not to be frustrated. I don't normally like to have to work so hard for something in my free time. I honestly don't know if I'd enjoy this outside of a group setting. The confusion level I felt while reading this did make for great discussion though. I found it reassuring that even the re-readers were confused on certain points.Mr. Erikson does seem to reward your patience and careful reading. As the book went on, and I started getting used to this new cast of characters, my frustration greatly lessened. This book started as 3 starts but slowly rose to 4 stars.There are 4 main plot lines with a few side lines that diverge and converge as the story goes on. My favorite was the story of Kalam, who was one of the few characters in the first book to appear in this one. Maybe it's because I've always gravitated towards rogues and ranger types in RPGs that I found his story so interest.You learn a little bit more about his past, and find out just how badass a well trained assassin can be. Kalam in on a self-appointed mission for the good of the Empire, or so he believes.The other major plotline of this book was from the perspective of Duiker, the Imperial Historian as he chronicles the months long evacuation of “The Chain of Dogs”, Malazan refugees fleeing for their lives, in the midst of a great rebellion of the Seven Cities.This leads to some of most gruesome battle scenes I have ever encountered. Mr. Erikson makes no attempt to sugar coat the horrors of war.The final two fairly major plot lines in this book are enjoyable as well, but both of them tie back to the two I highlighted. Their cast of characters were interesting (and one of the two groups contained all the rest of the characters that appeared in the first two books). I felt like these were mostly interludes to the other action though. The book comes to a reasonable stopping point, though if this were a stand alone book I'd find myself with too many questions to be satisfied by it.It's hard for me to recommend this to someone to read on their own. If you don't mind working for your reward, or have someone you can read/discuss this with, and are not offput by gruesome and disturbing scenes it's another good entry in what so far has been a mostly enjoyable series.I'm also a bit nervous about starting [b:Memories of Ice 175983 Memories of Ice (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #3) Steven Erikson http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316729348s/175983.jpg 836462] that I'll get frustrated all over again. Peaking ahead though it seems like we see a return of many of the characters from [b:Gardens of the Moon 55399 Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1) Steven Erikson http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355144064s/55399.jpg 2646042].
Executive Summary: This is yet another book I enjoyed this year whose details have now escaped me since listening to it earlier this year. As its likely to be one of my top reads I wanted to at least say something about it.
Audiobook: Kevin R. Free does his usual excellent job that makes this a must listen. He is the voice of Murderbot, so I'm glad they brought him back for the novel.
Full Review
I'm generally not a fan of novellas. I tend not to find them very satisfying and price per page/duration tends to be much higher than novels. One of the exceptions has been the Murderbot series. I got access to the ebooks for cheaper price, but still opted to spend the money on the audiobooks because I enjoyed them that much.
As with most things I listened to this year, most of the details now allude me and I regret not writing some thoughts at the time I completed it. I particularly enjoy the relationship of Murderbot and Art, so I was glad to see them return in this one.
My real main takeaways from this one was that I thought it transitioned well to full novel and that I'll be picking up the next one right away.
Executive Summary: A decent story, but ultimately I didn't enjoy it as much as the movie. That's pretty rare for me, but so is watching the movie before reading the book.
Full Review
This is the book that inspired the movie. It annoys me that my copy uses the movie's name, when it's clearly NOT the movie. Mind you I didn't expect it to be, but I hate movie tie-in covers in general.
A lot of the same elements are there, but the characters are quite different, especially the replicants/androids. I find the ones from the movie far more interesting than I did the ones in the book.
There are parts of this book I really enjoyed. Parts that made me think about what it means to be human. But there are also parts I found confusing or slow.
The ideas are there though. It's easy to understand why so many of Mr. Dick's stories have been adapted into movies. I get some of the changes made for the movie, but not all of them. I will say the book makes that random owl in the movie make A LOT MORE SENSE.
Overall I found this book uneven, and didn't enjoy it as much as some of his other stuff that I've read. I'm still glad I read it, as Blade Runner still remains a classic in my opinion.
Executive Summary: I've had numerous people tell me this is the Discworld book to start with, and now I know why. Easily my favorite so far. 4.5 stars.
Full Review
My Discworld read continues, and finally I come to infamous Guards! Guards! I know there are fancy diagrams and details on all the different ways you can read Discworld, but I prefer publish order. I've enjoyed all of the Discworld books so far, albeit some more than others. I generally seem to enjoy the Rincewind books less than I have the rest.
A popular consensuses among several of my friends who have been reading Discworld for years seems to be that the City Watch books are the best and I should have started with this book. I can see why now. I'm only one book in, but I suspect these may become my favorites as well.
Like all the Discworld books I've read so far, this one was very quotable and had numerous laugh out loud moments. However something about this book elevated it above the previous seven for me. I'm not exactly sure what.
I love that the guards hate to be guards, and prefer not to do their job if at all possible. All of the guards are pretty enjoyable, but I especially like Carrot. I'll be curious to see what sort of character development Mr. Pratchett has in store for him (if any). The contrast of the big hulking human raised among dwarves who is so naive as to the point of obliviousness is highly amusing. Especially the fact that he has to be told he's not a dwarf. I also love the hints as to his real identity that I suspect will never go anywhere, because he's perfectly content at being a guard.
The other highlights for me were the Librarian and the Patrician. They both had some great parts. We've seen some of the librarian in the previous books, but this is the first real interaction I recall with the Patrician. He's largely been mentioned in name only thus far.
The story of this one was really enjoyable as well. Some of the previous books were funny at times with memorable characters, but the story was slow or disjointed. I liked the investigation into the cult of idiots by a Captain who'd rather be drunk. There were some great surprises along the way.
Overall this book is clever, funny, and just downright enjoyable. I'm looking forward not only to the next Discworld book, but I'm especially looking forward to the next City Watch book.
Executive Summary: I'm a big fan of the magic school trope. This isn't quite that, but it was in a similar wheelhouse if told from the adult's point of view. Overall I found this a really fun book.
Audiobook: Daniel Henning does a fantastic job. If you enjoy audiobooks, do this one in audio. He does a variety of voices so that it's very clear which of the characters are speaking that really elevated an already delightful book.
Full Review
This last year has been rough for everyone. I had not heard of this book at all until it was entered in the Sword & Laser March Madness tournament. I actually voted against it in the finals but probably would have still read it had it lost.
I can't speak to how much I'll enjoy the runner-up, but this ended up far exceeding my expectations. I like my job a lot, most days. If I had Linus's job however I'd have gone crazy.
I am someone who follows a routine like Linus, but even for me the rules of his employer are far too much.
The actual house and the children were all delightful. I enjoy the sarcasm and dark sense of humor this book seems to have. While the children definitely play an important role in the book, this is really more about Linus and his journey.
Overall I found it had a nice message about treating everyone with respect regardless of your differences and loving yourself for who you are without beating you over the head with it.
Executive Summary: This is another great entry in the Realm of the Ederlings. It picks up not long after the Liveship Traders and 15 years after the Farseer Trilogy.
If you enjoyed those previous books, I imagine you will enjoy this one as well. If you haven't read those books, I highly recommend you do before starting this one.
Full Review
Like all the previous books in the Realm of the Ederlings books, this starts off slow without much indication as to what the main plot will be.
In a lot of books this would annoy. Fantasy in particular tends to ramble on, especially some of the extremely long epic fantasy series.
Ms. Hobb is different somehow. I'm not bored or anxious or wondering when she'll just get on with it. I'm excited to follow Fitz around discover what he's been up to while I was reading about pirates and magical ships.
The return of several characters from the Farseer trilogy brought a smile to my face. It was like catching up with old friends.
Ms. Hobb can be quite cruel to her characters, especially poor Fitz. As the catalyst he seems destined to lead a tragic life where his choices are always between bad and worse options. I was particularly sad when Nighteyes died.
The books involving the Wit make me want a pet. I've always been more of a dog person, than a cat person. These books make me want a wolf, because Nighteyes is awesome.
Despite this the addition of cats to this book from the previous trilogy is a welcome one. The cats talk and act like I'd expect them to if I could share their thoughts. I particularly love the comments from the Hedge Witch Jinna's cat Fennel. He cracks me up.
Overall an enjoyable book that looks to be setting up nicely for the rest of the trilogy.
Executive Summary: This book really delivers on the promise of [b:Uncrowned 50789354 Uncrowned (Cradle, #7) Will Wight https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567730777l/50789354.SX50_SY75.jpg 72716950]. I found it started a bit slow but finished really strong and I already can't wait for the next book. 4.5 stars.Full ReviewI first read [a:Will Wight 7125278 Will Wight https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1442891069p2/7125278.jpg] early in 2019 when I got a copy of [b:Unsouled 30558257 Unsouled (Cradle, #1) Will Wight https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1465881128l/30558257.SY75.jpg 51106215]. A buddy of mine had been trying to get me to check out another series he'd written for a few months before that but I never got around to.Cradle has quickly become one of my favorite series and each new book is a drop what you're doing and make time to read event. The last entry [b:Uncrowned 50789354 Uncrowned (Cradle, #7) Will Wight https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567730777l/50789354.SX50_SY75.jpg 72716950] had a lot of potential but then it just sort of stopped. I still enjoyed it overall, but I was kind of letdown by the way it ended.It did however build a lot of anticipation for this book. I was spoiled and got to read the first seven books in one year. This is the longest I've had to wait for a new entry. I've always been a fan of fighting animes where the characters get stronger and the fight scenes get more and more insane.I will say that at this point in the series Cradle has reached that level. I don't want to spoil anything, but there are some (to me anyways) some very nice nods to Dragonball in this novel.I've enjoyed both the character development and the fight sequences of this series, but more than anything what sucks me in the most is the various magic systems that power the various characters and factions. I'm not entirely sure where things are going, but I'm excited to find out.
Story
The story was fine, but nothing special. I feel like the series has sort of been running in place a bit. I still enjoy spending time with the Janes, but I'm kind of glad they are planning to wrap things up.
Artwork
I've lost track of who the artists have been. I couldn't really tell you if this is the same artist as the previous volume or a new one. I think the artwork is always fine, but has never really blown me away.
Executive Summary: Started slow, but the second half kind of made up for the first half. And very quotable as always. 3.5 Stars.Full ReviewWell I made it! I did 5 Discworld books in the last few months. I was able to read this book in April for Sword and Laser without having to skip any books.It's not my favorite of the bunch, but I definitely enjoyed it more than I did [b:Sourcery 34499 Sourcery (Discworld, #5; Rincewind #3) Terry Pratchett https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428107721s/34499.jpg 62360]. I think I might have enjoyed [b:Equal Rites 34507 Equal Rites (Discworld, #3; Witches #1) Terry Pratchett https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407706800s/34507.jpg 583611] more though. I was warned that Granny Weatherwax was a bit different in this one. I honestly found her more likable in that book, and that the overall story was better. That said, this book was still a lot of fun, especially the second half. My favorite parts involved Tomjon and Hwel and the play. But the witches were pretty good too. Their banter was usually pretty amusing. Nanny Ogg was a great addition. I look forward to seeing more of her in the future.It's been awhile since I've read [b:Macbeth 8852 Macbeth William Shakespeare https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327866505s/8852.jpg 1896522], so I'm sure I missed a lot of the references and in jokes, but I got enough of them to get a pretty good laugh.Overall another good, but not great entry in the Discworld books. Time for a bit of a break. I plan to come back to the series later on this year though.
Executive Summary: After a slow start and a few stutters at times, this one ended pretty strong and I'll be looking forward to the next installment. 3.5 Stars, rounded up.
Audiobook: Nick Podehl does his usual excellent job, both in terms of his normal reading voice and the variety of voices he does throughout. His narration definitely helped make the slower parts more bearable.
Full Review
I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was eager for this one to be released in audio. I found the first one to be fun with interesting world building despite not always being the best written.
In this volume, the quality of the writing was a bit more apparent. Not only is Corin overly competent for his skill/power level, there is a tendency for one of the characters to go on endless explaining things in minute detail.
There were still bits early on that I enjoyed, but I thought this book was heading for 3 or possibly even 2 star territory. As the book went on however, I remembered why I enjoyed the first so much as I got sucked into the story.
The problems I had early on didn't disappear, but simply were overshadowed by how much fun I was having with the story. I really enjoy the world and the magic Mr. Rowe has created for this series. I like the creative ways in which his characters use that magic, even if his first year students are far too capable compared to other more experienced and powerful characters.
Overall I found this book fun, despite its issues. It's in the “guilty pleasure” category with potential to be something more as Mr. Rowe continues to hone his writing skills. I'll definitely be picking up the next book in this series, and will likely pick up the prequel book he just released once it's available in audio.
Executive Summary: A fun and light start to a new series. I'm no a fan of novellas or Urban Fantasy but I really like Brian McClellan so I gave this a shot. I'm glad I did.
Audiobook: I really like Luke Daniels, he fits especially well for this kind of book. That was another big selling point for me on this book. Audio is definitely the way to go for this series in my opinion.
Full Review
Most urban fantasy series I've read have fallen pretty flat for me. I was reluctant to give this a try, especially since it was a novella. However I really like Brian McClellan and I managed to catch a deal on the book so I gave it a shot.
It suffers from a lot of the usual urban fantasy tropes. The main character is a kind of bounty hunter/repo agent rather than a detective, but it still plays out in a similar fashion. It was just different enough to hold my interest though.
The world building at least seems some unique. I like how he uses death as the catalyst for both this book and the larger story. I found the bigger story more appealing, but the main plot of the book was still pretty good too.
I'll be interested in checking out the next book, but I may wait to catch another deal on the audio again.
Executive Summary: I really enjoyed this book, and found myself staying up till 2 in the morning and rudely reading while visiting with family on Christmas Eve just to finish it.
Full Review
There isn't a lot for me to really say about this book without getting into spoilers. Robin Hobb seems to find a way make you really care about her characters and suck you into the story even when it's just day to day living. Of course Fitz's days are a tad bit more interesting than your average person.
It also re-enforces my belief that you're really missing out by skipping Liveship Traders and moving right to Tawny Man from Farseer. I don't see how you can really understand the depth of some of the events of this book a lot that happens in this book without the full back-story from the previous trilogy.
In this book Fitz learns more about the Fool, and it changes their relationship. I however don't feel like I learned anything that I didn't already suspect. It simply confirmed those suspicions while leaving me questions I hope will finally be answered in the last book.
This book does suffer a bit from middle book syndrome. A lot of it really sets up the final book in the trilogy. That doesn't mean I was bored along the way, simply that the ending didn't come to any satisfying conclusion.
Really it just leaves me hoping for a lot of things to be resolved in the final book. When I was done I wanted to jump right into the final book, but didn't have time due to the holidays.
Executive Summary: So in reviewing the sequel to this book, I realized I never got around to writing a review for this one. I felt like this book started off slow but once it hooked me in I really enjoyed it. I think the mystery aspect and Gideon's snark are what makes this book so enjoyable.
Audiobook: I initially borrowed this book from the library and ended up enjoying it enough to pick up the audio mid-read from a daily deal. Moira Quick was so good it was a no brainer that I'd do the audio for this one.
She does a great job with voices and really brought Gideon's snark to life. I loved listening to the way she read Gideon and Harrow talking to each other.
This became a must listen series moving forward.
Full Review
When I first heard about this book, the tagline I heard over and over was “Lesbian Neuromancers in space”. And while that was true, I feel like it does the book a disservice by making it sound like a romanctic fantasy book.
There are necromancers. Check.
It's in space. Check. Although for most of the plot purposes of this book that seemed to be unimportant to me. Maybe it will matter more later in the series.
There are Lesbians. Check. While it's somewhat important to the plot, I don't think it's the focus (or point) of the story. It's just another aspect of some of the characters.
As a CIS White guy I'm the last person to try to be an authority on representation in fiction. I've always been represented. For me this isn't about that though. Personally I just don't want to read a lot about romance of any kind. So for me the level of romance in this book was good (it's there and part of the story, but not the point of it).
For those looking to see themselves represented more in their fiction, that aspect probably means a lot more. Again, it's hard for me to really weigh in on that, so I will leave it to others.
I just know I wasn't really interested in reading the book as marketed. However I really enjoyed this book once I read it and I'm glad that Sword & Laser decided to make it a pick or I'd probably never have picked it up.
For me what I loved about this book was the sort of escape room/haunted house mystery vibe it gave off. I wanted to know what was going and had a bunch of theories throughout. Some proved to be true while others were way off base. This was a lot of the fun for me.
Then there is the snark of Gideon herself. Initially I found her a bit annoying, but as the book went on I liked her more and more.
I liked this book enough that I pre-ordered the sequel and listened to it not too long after release. If you're turned off by the tagline you may want to give it a try anyways. At least if you enjoy mysteries and snark.
Executive Summary: This has been my favorite book of the series thus far. There are just a few minor things that prevent me from giving it a 5 star rating.Full ReviewThe book probably introduces the fewest number of new characters. As we've passed the halfway point of the series, it appears that the majority of the very large ensemble cast has been introduced and the stage is finally set for the looming battle.Sides are forming up, but just who is on which side still isn't clear. This book contains most of my favorite characters, many of which are together again. I'm especially partial to the scenes of Quick Ben and Kalam, of which this book has many. Not only that, but they are hanging out with Fiddler as well.Things with the Crippled God are heating up and things are looking bleaker for the soldiers of the Malazan's 14th.I finally feel like I have a handle on the series, and while the start of this book introduces some new characters, I didn't feel like I was thrown into the deep end with this one like I did with [b:Midnight Tides 345299 Midnight Tides (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #5) Steven Erikson http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1366996057s/345299.jpg 3898719].My only complaint is that Mr. Erikson likes to conceal things from the reader beyond what seems necessary. It's one thing to have information withheld from the reader when the point of view character doesn't know it. It's quite another when he does things like playing the pronoun game with characters we already know or don't allow us to hear a conversation that the point of view character is involved in.This series is complicated enough with a huge amount of depth. This just seems overkill and the reason I can't give this book a 5 star rating.Still this has been the most enjoyable of the series thus far. I rushed a bit ahead of the Malazan Fallen group to finish a week early. I'm eager to see what happens next.4.5 Stars.
I felt this to be a pretty good conclusion to the initial trilogy. I do wonder what will become of many of the characters, but could be content if there were no other books to read.
That said, I'm planning to make time in the next few months to reading the next two trilogies.
I feel like many of the larger question were addressed to my satisfaction, but could be explored further. There especially seems like more can be learned about both the Skill and the Wit.