Reviews and Comments

David Scrimshaw Locked account

DScrimshaw@bookwyrm.world

Joined 4 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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Robin Sloan: Moonbound (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) 5 stars

Fun in the very far future

5 stars

Is this fantasy or sci-fi? It has robots, space ships, genetic modifications and more, but it also has legends, swords with names, giants and, my favourite, talking animals.

Either way, it's lots of fun and I really enjoyed spending time in the Earth of 11,000 years from now.

And talking beavers were a big part of the story. I think they're my new favourite talking animal.

Apparently, Robin Sloan wants this to be the first novel in a series. If this happens, I'm in. But if it doesn't, this was still an entirely worthwhile read.

Tommy Orange: There There (2018, Alfred A. Knopf) 4 stars

Not since Sherman Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven and Louise Erdrich's …

Not cheerful, but worth every word

5 stars

I like a story where the characters have all these links between them that they don't even know about. This is one of those stories. And one where the author makes you love his flawed characters in a very short time.

Steven Brust: Tsalmoth (Paperback, Tor Books) 5 stars

So a wedding is being planned. Along with a shady deal gone wrong and a …

It's a long way from the first, but worked as a starting point for me!

5 stars

Cory Doctorow told us we should read Steven Brust's novels about Vlad Taltos and this one in particular, and Cory Doctorow is high on my trust list. [Doctorow's Review]

Of course when I start a series, I try to get the first book. In this case, choosing that book is tricky because the first published, Jhereg, apparently would be fourth in the timeline of the books, while Taltos is chronologically the first.

And neither of those books was available to me from the public library anyway, so I went with this one. I'm sure I didn't catch on to things I would have caught if I'd read any of the 15 books before this, but I enjoyed the book thoroughly and look forward to reading as many of the other books in the series as I can.

T. Kingfisher: Nettle & Bone (Hardcover, 2022, Tor Books) 4 stars

After years of seeing her sisters suffer at the hands of an abusive prince, Marra—the …

A fabulous quirky read

5 stars

I loved this book especially how everything came together. Kingfisher really knows what she's doing. I especially liked what she did with the godmothers and the "gifts" they give to newborn children.

And bonus points for an Authors Note at the end that was worth reading.

Garth Nix: Terciel and Elinor (Hardcover, Katherine Tegen Books) 5 stars

Great to be back in the Old Kingdom!

5 stars

I have loved all of the Old Kingdom books and hope we'll get more. This one fits chronologically before others because these two were Sabriel's parents. I suspect that means we won't get a sequel with more of Terciel and Elinor, which is a shame because I'd really like to spend more time with them.

Gene Wolfe: Interlibrary Loan (Hardcover, Tor Books) 5 stars

Interlibrary Loan is the brilliant follow-up to A Borrowed Man a new science fiction novel …

Review of 'Interlibrary Loan' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

This is apparently the last book Gene Wolfe wrote and it feels like he didn't get to finish it. But I'm still glad I read it. It was great to see how things were going with this version of Ern Smithe after the events of A Borrowed Man.

Smithe is a reclone in a world where he is treated as a thing that can be damaged or destroyed with little to no repercussions. I found it refreshing that Wolfe tells how Smithe copes with this instead of making this a story of the massive revolution that would be required to correct this injustice.

Neil Gaiman, Chris Riddell: Sleeper & The Spindle (Hardcover, 2014, Bloomsbury, imusti) 5 stars

A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author Neil Gaiman and …

Review of 'Sleeper & The Spindle' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

This was a delightful fairy tale - excellent variation on Sleeping Beauty, Snow White themes.

The Prairie Chicken Dance Tour 5 stars

The hilarious story of an unlikely group of Indigenous dancers who find themselves thrown together …

Review of 'The Prairie Chicken Dance Tour' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

This was a fun story, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say it was a series of fun stories. 

Although some of the things that happened strained believability, the characters were entirely believable and I'd love to read any future stories or novels that feature any of them. 

Mick Herron: The List (Paperback, Soho Crime) 5 stars

An aperitif between Slough House entrees

5 stars

I'm stuck in the read-everything-Mick-Herron-has-written-especially-if-it-is-linked-to-Slough-House trap. If you're also in this trap, you'll read this no matter what I say. So all I'll say is that is as well written as Herron's other stuff and adds to the overall story.