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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Review of 'Starlings' on 'Storygraph'

This collection shows the enormously wide range that Jo Walton can do.

In her introduction, she says that she could write novels right away, but struggled to write short stories. She goes further to say that some of the stories in this collection still aren't right. I wouldn't try to guess which ones aren't right, because every story felt right to me.

There's even one that has a talking cat.

Mark Haddon: Boom! (David Fickling Books)

When Jim and Charlie overhear two of their teachers talking in a secret language and …

Review of 'Boom!' on 'Storygraph'

This was fast and fun read about a teenager, Jim, and his best friend in the UK who discover that two of their teachers are speaking in a secret language and decide to learn more about them.

Telling you that this is science fiction gives is a bit of a spoiler, but there's a rocket ship on the cover, so there's a hint already.

There's some good, fun weirdness in this story, but what makes it most worthwhile is Jim's family dynamics. In particular, what happens with his father who gets laid off and takes up playing with remote-control models.

I'd be happy to lend my copy to anyone who'd like to read it. I've had the book on my to-read shelf for so long that I'd forgotten where I got it. Although Manon says she's pretty sure she bought it for me. I bet she did. It's an adorable …

K.J. Parker: Pattern (Scavenger Trilogy, Book 2) (Paperback, Orbit)

Review of 'Pattern (Scavenger Trilogy, Book 2)' on 'Storygraph'

Pattern is the second book in a pretty weird fantasy series. It's completely readable and interesting, but, although we're starting to get clues about what's going on, by the end of this book, we're still as lost as Poldarn the main character.

This book might appeal to people interested in how Vikings lived when they weren't raiding their neighbours. That is, if Vikings could read each others minds.

I'm hoping that I'll get to read the final book, Memory, but the Ottawa Public Library doesn't have it, they won't let me suggest they buy it because it was published too long ago, and their interlibrary loan page is broken.

No talking cats, but sometimes a crow talks.

Thomas à Kempis: The Christian's Pattern Or A Treatise Of The Imitation Of Jesus Christ (Hardcover, Kessinger Publishing, LLC)

Classic Christian devotional

Review of "The Christian's Pattern Or A Treatise Of The Imitation Of Jesus Christ" on 'Storygraph'

Pattern is the second book in a pretty weird fantasy series. It's completely readable and interesting, but, although we're starting to get clues about what's going on, by the end of this book, we're still as lost as Poldarn the main character.

This book might appeal to people interested in how Vikings lived when they weren't raiding their neighbours. That is, if Vikings could read each others minds.

I'm hoping that I'll get to read the final book, Memory, but the Ottawa Public Library doesn't have it, they won't let me suggest they buy it because it was published too long ago, and their interlibrary loan page is broken.

No talking cats, but sometimes a crow talks.

Dennis E. Taylor: We Are Legion (We Are Bob) (Paperback, 2016, Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency)

Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life …

Review of 'We Are Legion (We Are Bob)' on 'Storygraph'

This was just fun. It's not high literature.

On the downside, it doesn't do anything for modern themes about diversity and has no talking animals.

But it moves along.

Neil Clarke, Neil Clarke (delete do note use): Galactic Empires (2017, Night Shade Books)

"Neil Clarke, publisher of the award-winning Clarkesworld magazine, presents a collection of thought-provoking and galaxy-spanning …

Review of 'Galactic Empires' on 'Storygraph'

I didn't love every story in this collection, but I loved a lot of them.

And if you're serious about science fiction, many of the stories are by authors on your must-read list. Of course, you might have read the stories elsewhere, but it's probably easier to get this book from the library and read the stories than to look up all the stories first and verify that you've read them elsewhere.

Dennis E. Taylor: Ich bin viele (EBook, 2018, Heyne Verlag)

German ebook

Review of 'Ich bin viele' on 'Storygraph'

This was just fun. It's not high literature.

On the downside, it doesn't do anything for modern themes about diversity and has no talking animals.

But it moves along.

reviewed The Corporation Wars by Ken MacLeod (Corporation wars -- book 2)

Ken MacLeod: The Corporation Wars (2016)

Ken MacLeod continues the Corporation Wars trilogy in this action-packed science fiction adventure told against …

Review of 'The Corporation Wars' on 'Storygraph'

I enjoyed this book, not as much as the previous one, perhaps because it spends less time with the robots. But I'm eager for [b:The Corporation Wars: Emergence|31932972|The Corporation Wars Emergence|Ken MacLeod|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1482790432s/31932972.jpg|52587939].

K.J. Parker: Shadow (2001)

Review of 'Shadow' on 'Storygraph'

This is well written and engaging. But, wow, it is confusing. It's so long that I had to borrow it twice from the library to finish it and I'm still confused.

I've reserved the next book in the trilogy, so maybe I'll become less confused.

Hugh Laurie: The gun seller (1996, Washington Square Pr.)

Offered a large sum of money to perform an assassination, Thomas Lang chooses instead to …

Review of 'The gun seller' on 'Storygraph'

I liked the fast moving action. The narrator really likes wise cracking to annoy the people he talks to. To the point that it irritated me, the reader also.

But still, it's fun that the superlative actor, Hugh Laurie, can also write a good novel.

Hugh Laurie: Gun Seller (Paperback, ARROW (RAND))

When Thomas Lang, a hired gun with a soft heart, is contracted to assassinate an …

Review of 'Gun Seller' on 'Storygraph'

I liked the fast moving action. The narrator really likes wise cracking to annoy the people he talks to. To the point that it irritated me, the reader also.

But still, it's fun that the superlative actor, Hugh Laurie, can also write a good novel.

Seanan McGuire: Beneath the Sugar Sky (Wayward Children, #3) (2018)

Review of 'Beneath the Sugar Sky (Wayward Children, #3)' on 'Storygraph'

If you've enjoyed any stories where children wind up in magical land, McGuire's Wayward Children series are must-reads. It turns out that going to a magical land isn't always so great, but getting sent back to your original world can be worse.

In this one, we spend time with some characters we've encountered before and some new ones. The time spent moves quickly and is satisfying.