Reviews and Comments

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David Scrimshaw Locked account

DScrimshaw@bookwyrm.world

Joined 2 years, 1 month 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 Mindware by Richard E. Nisbett

Richard E. Nisbett: Mindware (2015, Allen Lane)

A psychology expert offers a tool kit for thinking more clearly and making better decisions, …

Review of 'Mindware' on 'Storygraph'

No talking cats or talking rats.

In fact, no story at all.

It's non-fiction! Essays to help us think better and make better decisions. Stuff about cognitive biases and understanding statistics.

No need to follow math.

I mostly read it because I felt like sometimes I should try to improve myself a bit. Maybe I did. But one of the critical lessons is that we all have cognitive biases and think that they only affect other people.

reviewed Arcadia by Iain Pears

Iain Pears: Arcadia (2015, Faber & Faber, Limited)

Review of 'Arcadia' on 'Storygraph'

Interesting take on how a magical land gets created. There's a logical explanation for why no talking cats, but that doesn't mean I like it.

reviewed The Spider's War by Daniel Abraham (The dagger and the coin -- book five)

Daniel Abraham, Daniel Abraham (duplicate): The Spider's War (2016)

"Lord Regent Geder Palliako's great war has spilled across the world, nation after nation falling …

Review of "The Spider's War" on 'Storygraph'

A fine conclusion to an excellent series.

If Mr. Abraham chooses to tell us what happens next with any of the characters, I would gladly follow. But he doesn't have to. I suspect my own brain will make up stories involving them while I sleep.

reviewed Spider's War by Daniel Abraham (duplicate)

No cover

Daniel Abraham (duplicate): Spider's War (2016, Little, Brown Book Group Limited)

"Lord Regent Geder Palliako's great war has spilled across the world, nation after nation falling …

Review of "Spider's War" on 'Storygraph'

A fine conclusion to an excellent series.

If Mr. Abraham chooses to tell us what happens next with any of the characters, I would gladly follow. But he doesn't have to. I suspect my own brain will make up stories involving them while I sleep.

reviewed Troupe by Robert Jackson Bennett

Robert Jackson Bennett: Troupe (2012, Little, Brown Book Group Limited)

Vaudeville: mad, mercenary, dreamy, and absurd, a world of clashing cultures and ferocious showmanship and …

Review of 'Troupe' on 'Storygraph'

This was a solid read.

It's setting in small towns in the vaudeville era gave a refreshing change from standard fantasy settings.

reviewed A drop of night by Stefan Bachmann

No cover

Stefan Bachmann: A drop of night (2016, HarperCollins Publishers, Greenwillow Books)

Seventeen-year-old Anouk has finally caught the break she s been looking for she s been …

Review of 'A drop of night' on 'Storygraph'

I enjoyed this book.

But it's probably not for everyone.

It took a long time to find out what was going on. Which made sense for the story, but wasn't satisfying for me.

And although there's magic, I didn't feel the sense of wonder that I got from his previous books, [b:The Peculiar|13455553|The Peculiar (The Peculiar, #1)|Stefan Bachmann|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1342944438s/13455553.jpg|18983909] and [b:The Whatnot|15841790|The Whatnot (The Peculiar, #2)|Stefan Bachmann|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360342441s/15841790.jpg|21583768].

reviewed The Creative Fire by Brenda Cooper

Brenda Cooper: The Creative Fire (2012, Pyr)

Review of 'The Creative Fire' on 'Storygraph'

Good writing, but the story did not fill me with excitement.

I read this because I believe it's a prequel to [b:Edge of Dark|22822946|Edge of Dark (The Glittering Edge, #1)|Brenda Cooper|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1413850230s/22822946.jpg|42375792].

Unlike Edge of Dark, there's no robots and the only spaceship is the one that everyone lives on in a repressive society. My main problem was that the repressive society didn't feel believable to me.

Still, I imagine I'll read the next book in the series, [b:The Diamond Deep|17737089|The Diamond Deep (Ruby's Song, #2)|Brenda Cooper|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375366469s/17737089.jpg|24815748].

reviewed Revelation space by John Lee

John Lee, Alastair Reynolds: Revelation space (2000, Orion Publishing Group)

Nine hundred thousand years ago, something annihilated the Amarantin civilization just as it was on …

Review of 'Revelation space' on 'Storygraph'

I liked the big slower than light spaceship and miraculous unevenly distributed future technology. But I didn't find myself particularly caring about any of the characters. Still, I'll probably read other related Alastair Reynolds books.

reviewed The Privateersman. by Frederick Marryat

No cover

Frederick Marryat: The Privateersman. (Dent)

Review of 'The Privateersman.' on 'Storygraph'

I slogged through this because it was written by Captain Marryat who was a British Naval captain during the Napoleonic wars. It was interesting to see his take on morality and hierarchy and what made for an entertaining story. But we really have come a long way since his time.

reviewed The privateersman by Frederick Marryat (Classics of nautical fiction series)

Frederick Marryat: The privateersman (2000, McBooks Press, Distributed to the book trade by Login Trade)

Review of 'The privateersman' on 'Storygraph'

I slogged through this because it was written by Captain Marryat who was a British Naval captain during the Napoleonic wars. It was interesting to see his take on morality and hierarchy and what made for an entertaining story. But we really have come a long way since his time.

reviewed A fatal grace by Louise Penny

Louise Penny: A fatal grace (Hardcover, 2007, St. Martin's Minotaur)

Review of 'A fatal grace' on 'Storygraph'

I enjoyed this even more than the first Inspector Gamache book, [b:Still Life|338691|Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #1)|Louise Penny|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1324373974s/338691.jpg|898083]. We're back in Three Pines, so we get to learn more about some of the characters. It was a bit hard to care about the murder because the victim was such a horrible person. But the murder details were fun. I think Ms Penny might have challenged herself to come up something classically Canadian.

reviewed City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett

No cover

Robert Jackson Bennett: City of Blades (2016, Quercus)

Review of 'City of Blades' on 'Storygraph'

This is the sequel to [b:City of Stairs|20174424|City of Stairs (The Divine Cities, #1)|Robert Jackson Bennett|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394545220s/20174424.jpg|28030792] and I liked this one at least as much, maybe more.

I have a bunch of books out from the library that I should have read sooner because they are due back earlier. But I once I started this one, I just had to keep going.

Technically, this is fantasy, but the magical part is so real and consistent that it is practically science fiction.

I think what really hooked me were the compelling characters. The protagonist in City of Blades was a minor character in City of Stairs. A highly competent general with a traumatic past that she needs to redeem.

It looks like there will be a third volume, [b:City of Miracles|28784121|City of Miracles (The Divine Cities, #3)|Robert Jackson Bennett|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|48992784] and I am looking forward to it. Even though there is not …