Reviews and Comments

David Scrimshaw Locked account

DScrimshaw@bookwyrm.world

Joined 1 year, 11 months ago

An avid sci-fi and fantasy reader who sometimes does historical fiction or even mainstream.

You might notice that most of my reviews are 5 stars. That's because if I start reading a book that doesn't engage me, I stop reading it. Life is too short. I've realized that it's not fair to review a book I haven't read and nobody really needs to hear why I didn't get into a book especially when they might like it.

My goals with reviews are to be brief and give other potential readers an idea of why they might like the book. I leave it to the marketing people and other reviewers to describe the plots.

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Two time-traveling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange …

Review of 'This is How You Lose the Time War' on 'Storygraph'

I don't know if this was fantasy or science fiction. It was maybe weirder than I'm ready for.

RJ Barker: The Bone Ships (Paperback, Orbit)

Review of 'The Bone Ships' on 'Storygraph'

Gritty and grim. But not too much for me.

As a naval fiction buff, I particularly liked how this had a consistent naval tradition that didn't copy the ranks and rules of the 1800-era British navy.

Emma Donoghue: Akin (2019, Little, Brown and Company)

Review of 'Akin' on 'Storygraph'

Emma Donoghue is a guaranteed good read.

What set this one apart for me is
- it had the type of characters you don't see many stories about, and
- the two main characters aren't that nice, but you wind up liking them anyway.

Yoon Ha Lee: Hexarchate Stories (3) (Machineries of Empire) (2019)

Review of 'Hexarchate Stories (3) (Machineries of Empire)' on 'Storygraph'

If you're a Yoon Ha Lee fan, you don't need my review to know you have to read this.

If you're a fan of modern science fiction, you have to read Yoon Ha Lee and you should probably start with [b:Ninefox Gambit|26118426|Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire, #1)|Yoon Ha Lee|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446557461l/26118426.SY75.jpg|46065520].

Emma Donoghue: Akin (Hardcover, 2019, Little, Brown and Company)

Review of 'Akin' on 'Storygraph'

Emma Donoghue is a guaranteed good read.

What set this one apart for me is
- it had the type of characters you don't see many stories about, and
- the two main characters aren't that nice, but you wind up liking them anyway.

Sarah Gailey: Magic for Liars (Hardcover, 2019, Tor Books)

Ivy Gamble has never wanted to be magic. She is perfectly happy with her life …

Review of 'Magic for Liars' on 'Storygraph'

I'm not super-big on mysteries, but a I found this story about a non-magic person surrounded by magicians engaging.

Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone: This Is How You Lose the Time War (EBook, 2019, Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers)

Two time-traveling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange …

Review of 'This Is How You Lose the Time War' on 'Storygraph'

I don't know if this was fantasy or science fiction. It was maybe weirder than I'm ready for.