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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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.
How humanity came to the planet called Anjiin is lost in the fog of history, …
I was nervous that I wouldn't like the new series from "James S.A. Corey" because it would be too much like the Expanse series, or they wouldn't have any new ideas. But it turns out I my fears were groundless.
It's got fascinating aliens, humans that think differently from each other, some of them coping with serious mental illness, and a base human culture that is similar, but fundamentally different to ours.
I really enjoyed this and really want to know what happens next.
Idris has neither aged nor slept since they remade him in the war. And one …
This has everything I look for in space opera: - weird aliens who are wildly different from humans, - humans from different cultures with different strengths and weaknesses they have gained from those cultures, - a plucky team of misfits who muddle along and get things done, and - a really interesting story.
The third and final novel in a space-opera trilogy about humanity on the brink of …
Adrian Tchaikovsky completely delivers a sweeping space opera with this finale to his Final Architecture trilogy.
He's gifted at writing flawed and broken characters who persevere, humans from different cultures that influence their actions, and aliens who really don't think like humans but still act in ways that are consistent and believable.
The third and final novel in a space-opera trilogy about humanity on the brink of …
Adrian Tchaikovsky completely delivers a sweeping space opera with this finale to his Final Architecture trilogy.
He's gifted at writing flawed and broken characters who persevere, humans from different cultures that influence their actions, and aliens who really don't think like humans but still act in ways that are consistent and believable.
Earth is failing. In a desperate bid to escape, the spaceship Enkidu and its captain, …
I really enjoyed this book. Even though it was confusing until we learned what was going on.
Having read most of Adrian Tchaikovsky's books, I'm amazed at the breadth of styles he uses and worlds he has us inhabit.
He's also gifted at writing aliens that are truly alien and characters who don't all thing the way I imagine he thinks. Here the aliens descended from Earth animals, but they do think differently from humans and Tchaikovsky does an interesting exploration of what intelligence and sentience means.
People seem to suspect that this is the last volume in this series. It feels like this might be the case. I would be entirely happy if there is another. But then, I'd also like more volumes in other series he's written and even sequels to some of his "stand-alone" novels. So, I'm good with letting him decide where to take us next.
There's no formal training for battlefield salvage. You just have to pick things up as …
I loved this book.
Saevus Corvus has a blend of cleverness, selfishness, and self-preservation that makes for a fun protagonist.
The bureaucratic nature of his battlefield salvage business was very entertaining.
There are clues that this book is set in the same Roman empire inspired world as Parker's Siege series and his Prosper's Demon books, but probably in a different time.
I am eager to read the next Saevus Corvus book and any others that come our way.
City-by-city, kingdom-by-kingdom, the Palleseen have sworn to bring Perfection and Correctness to an imperfect world. …
I think I might have enjoyed this book more than anything else I've read this year.
It was fun to read: - about a team that runs well because everyone uses their strengths to make up for each others weaknesses, - about what happens with Maric Jack after the big change for him at the end of City of Last Chances, how a wide variety of magic types can work together, - how various gods can fit into things, and - how everything all comes together for a satisfying conclusion.
I am eager for the next instalment, Days of Shattered Faith, due out in December 2024.
Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the …
I felt myself getting more and more excited as I read this book.
Here are some things I particularly liked: - Pirates! (need I say more) - Fantasy that doesn't take place in medieval Europe, but instead in a part of the world and in a time that we could all benefit from learning more about - An old team gets brought together - Problems get solved with cleverness and creativity not just raw power and violence - Magic and supernatural beings that are based in different roots than I am used to - A variety of types of people that reflect the varieties that exist
According to Wikipedia, this is the first volume of a trilogy. I would be entirely happy if instead it turns into a long-running series.
Fetter was raised to kill, honed as a knife to cut down his sainted father. …
I'm not surprised that this won the Nebula Award for Best Novel of 2023 and was nominated for the 2024 Hugo (Except that they're in different years).
I particularly enjoyed seeing how a Sri Lankan has imagined a world that is different from ours.
I see that Chandrasekera's second novel, Rakesfall, is out and it's not a sequel to this one, but I won't be surprised if there is a followup to The Saint of Bright Doors and I'll be eager to read it.