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I completely enjoyed this book that is set in a different part of Ann Leckie's Ancillary universe. The tone and energy is nothing like the tone and energy in the Ancillary stories. But like those books, it is fun.

I liked:
- how different human cultures really can't understand each other and how the aliens are even less understandable than the humans;
- how likable various characters were; and
- the way gender and sexual orientation is treated.

If you like modern cowboy stories, like say those by [a:Guy Vanderhaeghe|98125|Guy Vanderhaeghe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1253558267p2/98125.jpg], you'll probably like this.

But this has the added bonus that the cowboys ride hippos!

I kind of suspect that if hippos could be ridden like horses, people in Africa would be doing it, but it's fun to think of how the USA would be different if they had introduced hippos to Louisiana in the 1800s.

This series has robots, but it's more fantasy than science fiction.

I mostly liked this series, but I didn't love it. It's not something I can explain.

If you love Tim Gautreaux stories, you'll love these.

And if you don't love Tim Gautreaux stories, you haven't read any yet.

It put me off that this collection has a few of his older stories that I've already read. But it turned out to be totally okay. Because most of the stories in this reasonably fat collection are new. And they're terrific.

And I was glad to read the old stories again.

I love how Gautreaux can put people together and have surprising things come out of their interactions.

If you love Tim Gautreaux stories, you'll love these.

And if you don't love Tim Gautreaux stories, you haven't read any yet.

It put me off that this collection has a few of his older stories that I've already read. But it turned out to be totally okay. Because most of the stories in this reasonably fat collection are new. And they're terrific.

And I was glad to read the old stories again.

I love how Gautreaux can put people together and have surprising things come out of their interactions.

Goodreads says I reviewed the Kindle edition of this book, but I cannot find that review.

I bet the review was brilliant, but I don't remember what insightful things I said.

Maybe that I hope Mr. Bennett finds a reason to go back to this world even though he seems to have wrapped up the story.

This is pretty much a must-read if you're a student of science fiction and you want to know where it's going with issues like gender and how humans organize themselves.

On the downside, I found it hard to keep all the names straight, I generally didn't know what was going on, and there was a lot more talking than action.

But Ada Palmer is extremely smart, knows a lot about history and it shows.

I'll be reserving [b:The Will to Battle|33517544|The Will to Battle (Terra Ignota, #3)|Ada Palmer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1484321667s/33517544.jpg|54280306] when the library gets it.

This is pretty much a must-read if you're a student of science fiction and you want to know where it's going with issues like gender and how humans organize themselves.

On the downside, I found it hard to keep all the names straight, I generally didn't know what was going on, and there was a lot more talking than action.

But Ada Palmer is extremely smart, knows a lot about history and it shows.

I'll be reserving [b:The Will to Battle|33517544|The Will to Battle (Terra Ignota, #3)|Ada Palmer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1484321667s/33517544.jpg|54280306] when the library gets it.

In [b:Aurora|23197269|Aurora|Kim Stanley Robinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436300570s/23197269.jpg|42742263], Kim Stanley Robinson made a strong case that Earth is likely to be the only home that ever works for humans.

In New York 2140, he shows gives us a group of likable characters showing us how humanity can keep surviving here even after global warming leads to a forty foot increase in sea level and New York City has become a new Venice.

I enjoyed this book. The likable characters and the basic optimism are probably why.

On the other hand, it's made me very insecure about how I'm investing my savings.

In [b:Aurora|23197269|Aurora|Kim Stanley Robinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436300570s/23197269.jpg|42742263], Kim Stanley Robinson made a strong case that Earth is likely to be the only home that ever works for humans.

In New York 2140, he shows gives us a group of likable characters showing us how humanity can keep surviving here even after global warming leads to a forty foot increase in sea level and New York City has become a new Venice.

I enjoyed this book. The likable characters and the basic optimism are probably why.

On the other hand, it's made me very insecure about how I'm investing my savings.

This is a prequel to Every Heart a Doorway. So you know the broad strokes of how this is going to end. But the fine details are entirely worth learning.

If you have any interest in stories about children who find themselves in magical land, and if you're someone who has read from childhood, how could you not, this series can add a whole new depth to those stories for you.

I liked this even more than I liked the first book in the series, [b:The Mechanical|20980667|The Mechanical (The Alchemy Wars, #1)|Ian Tregillis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1408923929s/20980667.jpg|40357895]. There's no talking cats, but there is a robot who has more moral fiber than any of the humans. There is also an evil robot. So something for everyone.