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Monday, March 18, 2024

One Salt Sea (October Daye, #5)One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Re-Read 3/18/24:

I think I liked the core conflict of the Selkies the most, with dear auntie's big ask, her sorrow, driving it all.

Stopping a war is all fine, of course, but some things go deeper. Family.


Original Review:

I am enjoying the series a great deal more than I had for the first few books, so much so that I'm afraid that I've reached the fandom stage. I loved the stakes on this one and things really changed in a good way. Sure, most people don't classify THAT kind of change as very positive, but it has given Toby a great tension that I kinda thought had been lacking. Perhaps I love the whole concept of murdering your darlings. At least the cat is free to explore. :)

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Saturday, March 16, 2024

Dead Country (The Craft Wars, #1)Dead Country by Max Gladstone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don't know why this book or the rest of the Craft series isn't getting so much more attention than it has. The worldbuilding is lush and deep, its rules-based magic system so gorgeous and legalistic even as it is so balanced.

But this one -- this was was so grounded, very much a western in its basic plot form. It was very surprised how much I loved falling into it, growing more lush in its fantasy and UF feel.

I always loved the Craft series, and this is slightly different, even though we're back in the PoV of my first, and favorite character.

Coming home is hard. Coming to terms with yourself and your connections to everything you've ever know, is even harder.

Highly Recommended.


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Dawnshard (The Stormlight Archive, #3.5)Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had nothing but a great time with this novella. New (and very funny) radiants on a trip across the open seas to foreign lands, learning great new Cosmere secrets and securing allies while also giving us a great story.

To me, this is just more of the great worldbuilding and core story to the rest of the Stormlight Archives. I can't see how it shouldn't belong in the huge core novels, other than the fact that it IS a side story.

But since I'm loving every part of the journey, I just can't separate a damn thing.

I LOVE the reveals and the new tech. :)

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Friday, March 15, 2024

Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3)Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-Read 3/15/24:

I'm still enjoying the frelling hell out of this. I really appreciated all the focus on Dalinar's past even MORE on re-read. Especially when we get to the point where all my perceptions of this place -- and the other -- gets turned on its head.

No spoilers.

But, HOLY HELL what a ride THAT became! ;)



Original Review:

Holy c**p.

This was amazing.

I thought it was going to be hard to top the first two doorstoppers, but this one not only outdid the others in page-count but also in the quality of the storytelling. Every aspect of it was brilliant.

I'm not usually one to gush on and on about epic fantasies. Most are pretty okay and I can slog through and eventually enjoy certain ones like GoT all right, but a few really manage to jump right out there and grab you with character, world-building, and overall story with heart, rage, heartache, and amazeballs reveals that are about as far away from the usual as you can get but still slam you with the reality and inevitability. I'm talking about Dalinar.

I mean, sure, we get a lot of great stuff from Kaladin as he grows into his new heroic role and learns a lot of disturbing things about the Parchendi, including the fact that humanity is the invaders to this land, that we are the villains. And Shallan continues to grow as an illusionist and her love story is quite satisfying if generally on the backburner to the main action. Doesn't matter. I think I'll always love her and all her split personalities.

But even though we think we've learned a lot of things about the ultra-honorable Dalinar and we're satisfied with the fact that he's bonded with the Stormfather himself, the reveals regarding his missing memory is kinda shocking, to say the least. I mean, it's kinda flooring. And now all the unspoken and referred-to actions of his younger self now make a lot more sense. He's an animal. All about the passion and the Thrill. The blood-rage, the thing that consumes all. How did he get here from there? Ah, that's the trick, no?

Well, I can tell you all that it is all brilliant. :)

But don't just think this is all character development. Indeed, most of it is occurring during really fantastic scenes of action or during inopportune times. The momentum is maintained. And then there's a whole squad of flying, storm-riding heroes. Matter-altering women, master illusionists, blade dancers, immortal assassins, gods, and my personal favorite... the cognitive realm itself.

Oh, yes, we are treated to the homeworld of the Spren. A lot of it. And a very cool place it is. :) Nature spirits or creatures of pure thought, who cares? It's damn cool. :) And the reveals about humanity? NICE. :)

I think this one might be my favorite. It obviously builds on the previous novels, but it has the wonderful distinction of not just gliding. It pushes and strives for a lot more and I couldn't be happier. :)

Bravo, Sanderson! You've got a life-long fanboy here!

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Sunday, March 10, 2024

WeaponizedWeaponized by Neal Asher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The good:

This establishes the pre-EVERYTHING of the Polity universe, pre-Prador (tho, that war begins here,) pre-AI political dominance, pre-outright-Jain nastiness, and firmly sets the stage for what will be the first Polity novel, ending with the Prador War.

What's so good about this, if ya'll have read the rest?

It is closer to ourselves.

Indeed, we get a more tight look at colonization, needing to change ourselves to adapt to deadly planets, and the lines we draw or completely break when survival is on the line.

Indeed, this novel breaks out all the fun guns with outright transhumanism taking the front stage while a Jain-infested planet tries to kill them. How much of a monster can they all become?

I love this kind of SF. Sure, Asher has done even better in the future, but if we consider just WHERE this takes place in the full timeline, it works extremely well as a starting point for ANYONE interested in the series.

Fair warning, though: It goes all out bloodthirsty and does make a few assumptions about our knowledge of the full universe. It's a compromise, but for anyone wanting blood and guts, with alien, AI, and nanotech nasties, I can't recommend a finer action novel.


The bad:

There's nothing much new here for long-time fans. BUT, that being said, it IS still a fun ride and satisfies many hard-SF urges. Indeed, I can't get enough.



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Saturday, March 9, 2024

Spice and Wolf, Vol. 5 (light novel)Spice and Wolf, Vol. 5 by Isuna Hasekura
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Surprisingly, this light novel really clicked with me. Maybe it's because Holo and Lawrence are getting along a bit better, with less of the game-playing, but I think it's because I really enjoyed this one's plot.

The merchant intrigue was really quite fascinating this time.

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Thursday, March 7, 2024

Spherical Harmonic (Saga of the Skolian Empire, #7)Spherical Harmonic by Catherine Asaro
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Yeah.

Well, this is the first of the whole series where I was actively put off by the language. It was the super short, "Surge. Blah. Blah. Blah," stuff. I know it should have given me more descriptive impact, but it went on far too long and I was wondering if I was going through some cerebral infarction.

Getting beyond that, I was just trying to figure out what the importance of being a jungle-captive, which maybe didn't have to be so bad, but then it all boiled down to assumptions and piss-poor communications and then the obvious straw man of the Traders being the baddies, I started zoning out. Yes, it's the aftermath of the war, but these situations are now getting annoying. I may need to call it after this one.

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