Reviews and Comments

These magical short stories made me want to write my own outrageous stories.

What's stopping me besides time and energy?

They just wouldn't be this wonderful.

And technically, I don't want to spoil this for you, but there might even be a talking cat.

Considering there wasn't even a hint of a talking rodent, robot or spaceship in this book, I liked it a lot.

Linked short stories - some heart-breakingly sad, some light and funny. A major character in one story might be a minor character in the next.

And available as an ebook from the Ottawa Public Library.

This book is much sadder than I usually let myself read, but it's incredibly well written.

This book is much sadder than I usually let myself read, but it's incredibly well written.

This is must read for people who consider themselves students of science fiction. It's not an optimistic view of interstellar space exploration, but it feels more realistic than most.

And it's got fun speculation on how artificial intelligence could arise.

This is must read for people who consider themselves students of science fiction. It's not an optimistic view of interstellar space exploration, but it feels more realistic than most.

And it's got fun speculation on how artificial intelligence could arise.

The good:
- a brand new magical world to explore
- with flying airships
- that are crewed like naval ships in the Napoleonic wars

And if that's not enough:
- a major point-of-view character is a talking cat!

The bad:
- it's the first book in a series, who knows how long before the next volume comes out?
- if Butcher is writing these books, he's not writing about Harry Dresden.

The good:
- a brand new magical world to explore
- with flying airships
- that are crewed like naval ships in the Napoleonic wars

And if that's not enough:
- a major point-of-view character is a talking cat!

The bad:
- it's the first book in a series, who knows how long before the next volume comes out?
- if Butcher is writing these books, he's not writing about Harry Dresden.

Now that Ancillary Mercy is out, it's time to read this whole series starting with Ancillary Justice if you haven't.

This is a science fiction universe that is different from any of the others out there and it's exciting and fun.

From what I see in a Reddit "Ask me Anything" with Ann Leckie, this trilogy may be done but she is not finished with the Radch universe. That is good news.

Now that Ancillary Mercy is out, it's time to read this whole series starting with Ancillary Justice if you haven't.

This is a science fiction universe that is different from any of the others out there and it's exciting and fun.

From what I see in a Reddit "Ask me Anything" with Ann Leckie, this trilogy may be done but she is not finished with the Radch universe. That is good news.

I really enjoy Charles Stross Laundry series where horrific monsters meet horrific bureaucracy.

This one culminates at the Last Night at the Proms - an added bonus for a brass band player like me.

I do have to report that the cat in this story does not talk. I'm not sure why not because Mr. Stross can definitely write good talking cat stories. It seems like he just doesn't want to. Kind of like his dumb reasons for not writing a sequel to Iron Sunrise.

Someone wants Marco, the talking bird, to go to bed. But Marco has too much to do. Like paint. And discover new fish. Maybe to go underwater and paint fish. And invent new things. Like vehicles on stilts. And then talk about it all on TV. And go into outer space.

Even though this book did not have a talking rodent, I identified with Marco's desire to get on with his projects and not go to bed.

And of course, it is full of Roz Chast illustrations.

This is a fine sequel to Dirty Jobs.

Christopher Moore's writing is almost always fun.

If you want gore and darkness in your urban fantasy, this is not for you. But if you like quirky characters with crisp dialague, it is for you.