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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"My Documents is the latest work from Alejandro Zambra, the award-winning Chilean writer whose first …
These were well written stories, but they were bleak. And lately, I'm not in the mood for bleak stories.
These were well written stories, but they were bleak. And lately, I'm not in the mood for bleak stories.
Set in the same empire as the "Thorns" books, but a completely different protagonist, this time, one who was inspired by Harry Flashman of [b:Flashman|142458|Flashman (The Flashman Papers, #1)|George MacDonald Fraser|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320656064s/142458.jpg|1137467].
Now, I read all the Flashman books back in the 80s, and I'll admit, I got a bit tired of him, but I never tired of Prince Jalan.
Plus he travels with the bravest and strongest Viking you could imagine, and who doesn't love a good Viking?
Set in the same empire as the "Thorns" books, but a completely different protagonist, this time, one who was inspired by Harry Flashman of [b:Flashman|142458|Flashman (The Flashman Papers, #1)|George MacDonald Fraser|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320656064s/142458.jpg|1137467].
Now, I read all the Flashman books back in the 80s, and I'll admit, I got a bit tired of him, but I never tired of Prince Jalan.
Plus he travels with the bravest and strongest Viking you could imagine, and who doesn't love a good Viking?
It's fun reading about a character who seems to have all sorts of amazing experts living in his head. It was particularly cool how he considered what others thought was a mental illness to be an asset.
It's fun reading about a character who seems to have all sorts of amazing experts living in his head. It was particularly cool how he considered what others thought was a mental illness to be an asset.
In Hank Green's sweeping, cinematic debut novel, a young woman becomes an overnight celebrity before …
It was fun watching how someone could use Youtube and other social media to deal with alien first contact.
But for a serious sci-fi fan, I wanted more aliens.
Sci-fi’s favorite antisocial A.I. is back on a mission. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayCris …
Murderbot is a delight.
Hyper competent at dealing with danger.
Hopeless at interpersonal dealings.
This is a strong finish to the trilogy.
I especially like the "servicer" characters, who are basically sentient robots that the humans are barely aware of as thinking beings. I hope Yoon Ha Lee gives us more of them.
This is a strong finish to the trilogy.
I especially like the "servicer" characters, who are basically sentient robots that the humans are barely aware of as thinking beings. I hope Yoon Ha Lee gives us more of them.
This is a strong finish to the trilogy.
I especially like the "servicer" characters, who are basically sentient robots that the humans are barely aware of as thinking beings. I hope Yoon Ha Lee gives us more of them.
This is a strong finish to the trilogy.
I especially like the "servicer" characters, who are basically sentient robots that the humans are barely aware of as thinking beings. I hope Yoon Ha Lee gives us more of them.
These were well written stories, but they were bleak. And lately, I'm not in the mood for bleak stories.
These were well written stories, but they were bleak. And lately, I'm not in the mood for bleak stories.
In January 1986, fifteen-year-old boy-genius Nick Hayes discovers he’s dying. And it isn’t even the …
Between this book and Stranger Things, I get the impression that my life would have gone better if Dungeons and Dragons had been a thing in the early 70s and I'd found a few people to play it with.
Between this book and Stranger Things, I get the impression that my life would have gone better if Dungeons and Dragons had been a thing in the early 70s and I'd found a few people to play it with.
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 …
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 Ruin of Angels" and that is what it says on title page of the copy I borrowed from the library, but the cover and spine just say "Ruin of Angels". I wonder what is up with that.]
"Forty years after the God Wars, Dresediel Lex bears the scars of liberation--especially in the Skittersill, a poor district still …
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 …
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 Ruin of Angels" and that is what it says on title page of the copy I borrowed from the library, but the cover and spine just say "Ruin of Angels". I wonder what is up with that.]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
