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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In this thrilling adventure, a blend of enthralling historical fiction and fantastical horror, Matt Ruff …
Solid fun. I hope there will be more. A quick scan of his blog and Wikipedia page gives no clue.
A Man Without a Country is Kurt Vonnegut's hilariously funny and razor-sharp look at life …
It's hard not to despair given that so much of what Vonnegut was concerned about in 2005 is as bad or worse today in 2024.
But at least he gives a model on how to live.
Regular readers of Charles Stross’s Laundry Files might have noticed Bob Howard’s absence from the …
Even though he does run into the most unpleasant circumstances.
It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; …
An engaging and satisfying read with captivating robots. I cannot ask for more.
More than a century has passed since Liliath crept into the empty sarcophagus of …
It took me a long time with borrowing this book twice to get into this, but it was worth it once I did.
I initially put the book aside because it starts on Liliath as the main character and she's not likeable to put it lightly.
But then I remembered that Garth Nix has a talent for getting me to really like his main characters so I gave it another chance. And Simeon, Dorotea, Agnez and Henri won me over.
As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide …
This was a fine place to visit.
"What happens when an old spook starts to lose his mind? Do the Services have …
Solid Slough House action
If Spook Street is where spies live, Joe Country is where they go to die. …
If you started this series and don't have to read all of them, there's nothing I can say.
Brexit is in full swing. And due to mysterious accidents, the Slough Houses ranks continue …
Another great read about the slow horses. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that this one's plot is a good argument for reading the novels in the order they came out.
A governmental think-tank, whose remit is to curb the independence of the intelligence service, has …
This has everything I want in a Slough House book including tasty surprises.
In an Ireland doubly ravaged by war and disease, Nurse Julia Power works at an …
This was a moving story with characters that stayed with me long after I read the book.
The fourth and final installment of the Finder Chronicles, a hopepunk sci-fi caper described as …
I'm really glad that I suggested to the Ottawa Public Library that they buy this because it lived up to the promise of the first three novels in the series.
Without giving spoilers, it's fair to say that we learn more about what the Asiig are up to with Fergus.
The description for this book and Suzanne Palmer's own words say this is the final book in the series, but I hope she changes her mind. I understand nobody is going to publish a book where Fergus just goes about a quiet life having whiskies with his cousin, bantering with his sister and tending his cat, but it would still be nice to know what happens with the artificial intelligence things and to spend some more time with the weird aliens and semi-sentient space ships.
April May and the Carls are back in the much-anticipated sequel to Hank Green's #1 …
This was a fast, fun and engaging read. I'm a Hank Green fan from listening to the Dear Hank and John podcast and watching Hank on TikTok. It was fun to see how things he talks about in these fit into and illuminated this science fiction story.
The two-part series was all wrapped up with this one, but I'd be okay if he found a way to extend the story.
Inheriting your mysterious uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might imagine.
Sure, there …
A fast and fun read. And bonus: while the cats can't talk, they can type out what they are thinking on special keyboards.
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Magicians trilogy returns with a triumphant …
With everything out there about Arthur and the knights of the round table, I've always felt like I should read at least one book about them.
I'm glad this is the book I finally read because it was both gripping and felt really true to what we know of how people lived in those days.