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David Scrimshaw Locked account

DScrimshaw@bookwyrm.world

Joined 9 months, 3 weeks 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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reviewed The Ruin of Angels by Max Gladstone

No cover

Max Gladstone: The Ruin of Angels (EBook, Tor.com)

Review of 'The Ruin of Angels' on 'Storygraph'

If you're into this series, you'll read this book.

If you're thinking about getting into the series, I'd suggest starting with [b:Three Parts Dead|13539191|Three Parts Dead (Craft Sequence, #1)|Max Gladstone|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1333049511s/13539191.jpg|19101555], which was the first book written although not the first by chronological setting.

And with this book, you can be confident that the series continues to be interesting and fun.

I always thought that if I ever wrote a book, I'd want to put every wacky idea I had into that book. So, I probably wouldn't be able to write a second book. Max Gladstone had all kinds of fresh, new wacky ideas for this book and this is the sixth book in the Craft Sequence. There is no sign that he is running out of these ideas and so I think he must have an amazing ability to generate them.

[Here's a funny thing: This listing is for "The …

reviewed The Ruin of Angels by Max Gladstone

Max Gladstone: The Ruin of Angels (2017)

Review of 'The Ruin of Angels' on 'Storygraph'

If you're into this series, you'll read this book.

If you're thinking about getting into the series, I'd suggest starting with [b:Three Parts Dead|13539191|Three Parts Dead (Craft Sequence, #1)|Max Gladstone|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1333049511s/13539191.jpg|19101555], which was the first book written although not the first by chronological setting.

And with this book, you can be confident that the series continues to be interesting and fun.

I always thought that if I ever wrote a book, I'd want to put every wacky idea I had into that book. So, I probably wouldn't be able to write a second book. Max Gladstone had all kinds of fresh, new wacky ideas for this book and this is the sixth book in the Craft Sequence. There is no sign that he is running out of these ideas and so I think he must have an amazing ability to generate them.

[Here's a funny thing: This listing is for "The …

reviewed Taste of Marrow (River of Teeth) by Sarah Gailey

Sarah Gailey: Taste of Marrow (River of Teeth) (2017)

Review of 'Taste of Marrow (River of Teeth)' on 'Storygraph'

This was a fun and quick read. We got to learn more about the characters from [b:River of Teeth|31445891|River of Teeth (River of Teeth, #1)|Sarah Gailey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1484234556s/31445891.jpg|52146842] and see what happens next.

There could have been more of the hippos, but it's not like there are a whole bunch of other books out there where people are riding hippos as they get into scrapes in the wild west.

reviewed Armed in Her Fashion by Kate Heartfield

Kate Heartfield: Armed in Her Fashion (Paperback, ChiZine Publications)

Review of 'Armed in Her Fashion' on 'Storygraph'

An engaging read and not like any other fantasy novel I've read.

It's particularly refreshing that the main characters are all women except for the transgender man-at-arms.

It is worth reading the author's "Featured Notes and Highlights" on the book's Goodreads page. I read them after reading the book. I don't think there are any big spoilers if you want to read them first.

I like that I actually learned some things about medieval history.

reviewed Taste of Marrow by Sarah Gailey

No cover

Sarah Gailey: Taste of Marrow (2017, Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom, Tor.com)

Review of 'Taste of Marrow' on 'Storygraph'

This was a fun and quick read. We got to learn more about the characters from [b:River of Teeth|31445891|River of Teeth (River of Teeth, #1)|Sarah Gailey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1484234556s/31445891.jpg|52146842] and see what happens next.

There could have been more of the hippos, but it's not like there are a whole bunch of other books out there where people are riding hippos as they get into scrapes in the wild west.

reviewed Artificial condition by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #2)

Martha Wells, Martha Wells: Artificial condition (2018)

It has a dark past - one in which a number of humans were killed. …

Review of 'Artificial condition' on 'Storygraph'

This series is a real pleasure. The books are short and so they are fast reads. I'd recommend them to someone who likes old Star Trek shows but hasn't been into much science fiction they have read.

reviewed Artificial Condition by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #2)

Martha Wells, Martha Wells: Artificial Condition (EBook, 2018, Tordotcom)

It has a dark past—one in which a number of humans were killed. A past …

Review of 'Artificial Condition' on 'Storygraph'

This series is a real pleasure. The books are short and so they are fast reads. I'd recommend them to someone who likes old Star Trek shows but hasn't been into much science fiction they have read.

reviewed Brief Cases (The Dresden Files, #15.1) by Jim Butcher

No cover

Jim Butcher: Brief Cases (The Dresden Files, #15.1) (2018)

Review of 'Brief Cases (The Dresden Files, #15.1)' on 'Storygraph'

There's not much point to my writing a review of this. If you're a Dresden fan, you'll read it. If you're not a Dresden fan, you probably don't want to start with a bunch of stories that fall after all sorts of things have happened to him.

reviewed Persuader by Lee Child (Jack Reacher (7))

Lee Child: Persuader (2004, Dell)

Jack Reacher.

The ultimate loner.

An elite ex-military cop who left the service years ago, …

Review of 'Persuader' on 'Storygraph'

In the opening chapter of this book, Reacher finds himself rescuing a student from a kidnapping and accidentally shooting a cop.

That can't be Reacher, I thought, maybe it's an impostor.