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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Ms McGuire's Wayward Children series is incredible.
After two volumes, I wouldn't rank the October Daye series so highly. But if you're into tormented private investigators connected to the magical world and you've read all the books and stories about Harry Dresden, it's not bad.
Ms McGuire's Wayward Children series is incredible.
After two volumes, I wouldn't rank the October Daye series so highly. But if you're into tormented private investigators connected to the magical world and you've read all the books and stories about Harry Dresden, it's not bad.
It's perhaps a hundred years in the future and E. A. Smithe is "a clone …
The narrator and protagonist of this book is a "re-clone". He is the clone with memory prints of a mystery writer. Now he is a "thing" with no legal rights who resides in a library and his continued existence depends on people consulting him or checking him out from time to time.
With this sort of world-building, I would have expected some sort of sweeping tale where the hero starts a revolution so that people like him get legal rights.
But no. He just does the best he can with the situations that come his way in the constraints he has.
His limited worldview reminded me in a good way of Martha Wells Murderbot.
I got tricked on this. I borrowed it as an eBook from the library. Just when it got going it was over. Because it's a short story.
But if you've started reading Yoon Ha Lee, you have to read everything.
WINNER of the 2021 Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards!
The first full-length novel in Martha …
Murderbot continues to be a delight. And an old friend comes back.
I've loved Mark Lawrence's other books so much that I now have to read all of them.
That said, I liked his others more. It might be because this one takes place mostly in underground caves and things seem pretty hopeless. I'm not a cave guy.
I've loved Mark Lawrence's other books so much that I now have to read all of them.
That said, I liked his others more. It might be because this one takes place mostly in underground caves and things seem pretty hopeless. I'm not a cave guy.
This is pretty good and it's fun to read a fantasy set in a myth system that I don't know anything about.
When an elderly customer at a Swedish big box furniture store ― but not that …
This was fun. If I ever go to Ikea again, I'm going to look for multiverse portals.
This was fun. If I ever go to Ikea again, I'm going to look for multiverse portals.
I liked Ali Wong's Netflix specials a lot.
And I am something of a student of standup comedy.
I learned some things from this book, but reading it was not as fun as watching Ms Wong perform.
These books by Tom Holt are growing on me.
I started reading them because he's also K.J. Parker.
The Tom Holt books seem to be generally lighter with more raw humour.
I think of myself as not being into dark stuff, but I maybe prefer the K.J. Parker books so far.
Still I plan to read all of them eventually.
I am hoping that as this series continues, October Daye becomes more sure of herself and less troubled by her past and her precarious position in the world.
In a botched demonic extraction, they say the demon feels it ten times worse than …
This is a tight, crisp story that's not like any other fantasy story I've read.
You can count on a K.J. Parker story having an interesting protagonist who you perhaps should not be rooting for.
In Manhattan, a young grad student gets off the train and realizes he doesn't remember …
The stuff going on in this novel has a multi-verse explanation, but I'd say you have to call it fantasy.
If you like an interesting story that has just about nothing in common with other fantasy stories you've read, this is a good choice.
I think it would be particularly fun for people who feel connected to New York City.
