Under the Smokestrewn Sky by A. Deborah Baker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Honestly, I do think this is a rather expected end to Seanan's Improbable Road YA fantasy -- the one that that is referenced to heavily in Middlegame, etc.

The adventure ends satisfactorily, with all the proper reveals and sage wisdom, referring to the journey much more than the end.

So, while I was somewhat charmed by it, I have to admit that I wasn't blown away. It was decent. It gives me something to look forward to with the proper Alchemy references in the main series.

I don't know exactly why I feel a little let down, but I do, and I can't quite put my finger on why.

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Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-Read.

And yet, this will forever be a fantastic 4-part novel, neeeigh, a glorious satire.

Most of us have seen or heard of parts of Gulliver's Travels, but alas it is usually only in terms of a giant beset by little-minded little-people so stuffed up with self importance that they can never see the proverbial giant in their living room, or, in the second part, a little person trapped in a horrible commerce grinding machine filled with giants.

But to me, I'm a huge fan of the 3rd part: huge minds trapped in their own vices and certainties, living in floating castles in the skies, unable to see the truth under their feet.

But honestly? It's the fourth part, the place where the smartest, most wise horses, enslave the dirty, brutish, trashy Yahoos (humans) and the place where Gulliver finally succumbs to the worldview of his new masters that shines the brightest.

There is nothing more brilliant than the pride of self-hate, of decrying everything in yourself or your people, to bemoan the very sense of our own purity or goodness, to place the biggest capstone on this great edifice of satire.

What? Isn't it OBVIOUS that we're all the greatest dumbshits, assholes, backwards-minded, filth-wallowing, UNWORTHY species on the planet? -- Ahhh, neeeiiiiighhhhhh, you've been listening too long to these damn horses.

We are everything.
But that means, we're also better than we think.

But I also admit... the first time I read this, I, too, fell into the trap of the 4th. :) Careful! Some satires are STRONG. Neeeiiiighhhhh... brilliant. :)


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Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (Light Novel) Vol. 1 by Rifujin na Magonote
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So, I'm kinda backwards on all this. I first watched the anime, then read the manga, and now, at long last, I'm reading the original light novels.

I don't mind all that much. I'm enjoying the story and the origins and the Rudeus's development as a man. The fact that he DOES grow as a character is the very best part of this, not the cool magic or drastic changes that hit like drumbeats through the series.

Funnily enough, there's practically NO major changes through any of the mediums. The core is the same throughout. That's actually kind of amazing.

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The Future by Naomi Alderman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I swing back and forth on this one. I want to really love the in-depth near-future worldbuilding and often do. I also sometimes enjoy the characters, the hide-and-seek aspects, the high-tech insertions, and the big "let's save the world from the apocalypse" concept piece.

I even didn't mind the techbros, even if I kinda always despised them and their wild shortsightedness -- but that's par for all we have now. Billionaires trying to save the world, huh?

Well, this novel has a bunch of the things that go wrong. Unfortunately, I sometimes felt myself losing interest in the some of the characters. I appreciate the chaotic mess of ideas on one level, but I had a hard time wanting to hold on when the somewhat weak romance fizzled in weak threads.

I'm sure others will get more mileage out of this. I DID enjoy the ambition, however.


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Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was just telling my good buddy reader how much I wanted to see something like Scavenger's Reign on my bookshelf, and here, lo-and-behold, it arrives!

Of course, there are a number of really great books that go the whole bio-punk route, but either way -- I really, really appreciate them whenever they come my way.

Here, we have an alien world, with tons of exploration, science, MYSTERY, more science, and a whole world of political, anti-authoritarian goodness. In my humble opinion, I think we need a whole lot more.

Wherever there is a boot heel on the neck of people, or specifically on scientists, artists, or any portion of the population that would naturally rebel against the CONTROL gets out of control, I do find it rather fascinating just how much the authoritarians go gaga over those rare scientists (or artists) who functionally sell themselves out to the boot.

Those who sell out aren't the majority. Most will reluctantly or angrily work within the system, or not at all, but then there are those who throw in with the boot -- dragging everyone else down to pavement.

Suffice to say, I would rather like to see mother nature (or mother alien nature) give us a potent tool against such CONTROL. It's the main reason I love this novel.

Such fascinating ideas.

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Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-Read 4/29/24:

Slow and easy into the fantasy trappings, only to realize it becomes -- as I've found out 3 other times before -- a hilarious police procedural that skirts the edge of satire and slams us in the face with sweet idealism.

Welcome to Ankh-Morpork. Watch for dragons.


Original Review:

Dragons and kings and cross-dressing night watch. What can go wrong?

Meet Terry Pratchett, who can turn anything, and I mean, anything, on its head. :)

On this re-read, what I remember to be a less funny book than the Watch novels that came after it suddenly becomes a rich and nostalgic ride including dwarf bread, or in this case, CAKE. Decent, law-abiding folk versus the deeply corrupt populace. And don't just ask Mr. Cut Me Own Throat. He's suspicious.

I love all the tropes and the way Pratchett deals with them. The whole novel is tongue-in-cheek and it's a slight bit more delightful (IMHO) than all the rest of the novels that came before it. Indeed, it's this one that sets the tone for all the rest.

And so the transformation of Ankh-Morpork commences. :)

Upping this by a star.

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Pyramids by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-Read 4/28/24:

I think I said it pretty much straight in my previous review, but I really should mention that the totally un-elected sun will also rise.

And, truly, a kingdom always needs a camel much more than a king.

That being said, I just bumped my star rating up to a full 5 on this one. I guess the third one's the charm. Now, where can I find a GOOD carpet?



Original review:

I think I may have enjoyed this one a bit more the second time around, but not enough to change my rating. :) Indeed, I had a lot more fun with all the quantum irregularities surrounding the Pyramids out in the boonies of Discworld.

There's a lot of great ribbing for conspiracy theorists who go on and on about the dimensions of the real pyramids and the mystical importance, even going so far as to make these monuments (at least here) into time-recyclers. It's very funny and Death isn't pleased. Fortunately for Death, however, what he doesn't know won't kill him.

It was also rather funny seeing a "handmaid" who'd never "serviced" a king and an "assassin" who'd never killed anyone fumble around their conversations with one another.

But really, I think I had the most fun with the camels. They were a very nice touch. I always thought there was something of a math genius in all of them. Quantum accounting aside, I thought this was a very interesting and funny novel, giving us a nice background for the Assassin's guild while not precisely overburdening us (at all) with characters we'll grow to love later.

That being said, I had a good time and probably a bit more than the other one-off Discworld novels that came before it. :)

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I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Now that we have almost reached this stage of AI in our lives, it behooves us to revisit one of THE classics of short science fiction -- Harlan Ellison's sharp perfection of body horror and the glory of AM, the AI that killed almost all of humanity, leaving a bare handful behind to torture, endlessly.

Glorious. It also helps to listen to Harlan Ellison's own narration on youtube. So, soooooo much energy. :)

Right here.


But I should point out that I found a rare hint to AM's real genesis: Right here.

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Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've read a number of the Ghost novels so I'm pretty confident when I say this was easily one of the roughest ones on me.

Mary, the ghost babysitter, has the front row to this action, and boy is there a lot of action... and tragedy. The family really goes through the ringer.

Yes. I mean about the dead. I'm still raging about it.

But Mary's role is strong, and she's so protective. So much to sacrifice...

Grumbles.

But still, this was a good story.

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Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Quite enjoyable UF romp. It takes us through Europe, with lying, thieving, and backpacking (or running naked) in a Vampire-heavy road trip novel with werewolves close behind.

I think I liked this one more than the few others that preceded it. There was just something about it that I liked more. Nothing that I could quite put my finger on, but in terms of enjoyment, it was pretty solid.



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Camouflage by Joe Haldeman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I can't say this was an extremely exciting SF thriller if we go by regular SF thriller standards, but it does hit some good notes when it comes to using many, many cross-sections of human behavior across many different periods of time.

This is lent a lot of leeway by the fact that we're following alien shapechangers, chameleons, who learn about and impersonate not just us, but all kinds of life on Earth for a very long time.

My impression is that this is a slightly-veiled look at ourselves, our many failings, sexual hangups, and inhumanity, and I'm right, but there IS a distinct espionage hunter/hunted vibe to it that rounds out the tale.

I've always been a fair fan of Haldeman, and while this isn't nearly as good as some of his more well-known novels, it was still pretty solid.



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The Only Pirate at the Party by Lindsey Stirling
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

To be entirely up front here... I didn't know anything about her, not her youtube performances or anything after... until I was well into this autobiography.

Now, why in the heck would I do this? Well, I was cajoled and heckled into joining a buddy read, so I thought: WHY NOT?

And I have, since I began reading, I BARELY squeezed in a listen or two to some of her work.

It's very performance arty, dance, violin, and costumes, with the focus on being perky and always on, with flashy lights and a Katy Perry ethic. Pretty okay stuff. It's the whole ball of modern performance art. The focus isn't so much on the music, but the whole experience. It has its good points. It's also not exactly my ball of wax.

Even so, this is a pretty okay biography with pretty standard things happening, including some eating issues, mental health issues, and a whole lot of trying to make oneself always look good for her audience.

And as far as that goes, it succeeds. Do I necessarily trust all that is presented here? No. Do I take it all with a grain of salt? Absolutely. It is pretty standard stuff, some joys, some failures, a bit of extras for the fans.

I'm probably 100% sure I would have gotten a lot more out of this if I had already been an uber-fan, but I wasn't. And there wasn't all that much else to hold me, either. Not a bad read, but it never really hooked me, either.

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Great Masters: Tchaikovsky - His Life and Music by Robert Greenberg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Tchaikovsky!

Easily one of my most favorite musicians. More than practically any other classical musician, he by far had the most, best, most absolutely memorable works.

I just LIKED them all so much more than the rest, on the whole.

Sure, I liked some other musician's works better, but I liked no other musician's total body of works more than Tchaikovsky.

This lecture gives us all a pretty awesome overlook on WHY that might be the case. I mean, sure, Tchaikovsky's EQ just poured into his music, making it so lyrical and memorable -- not just Nutcracker Suite, but 1812, Swan Lake, all the Dances, the String, the Symphonies -- instantly recognizable and celebrated -- it is utterly amazing.

Those old Russians knew their shit.

But specifically, Tchaikovsky was a special case. Gay, and more afraid of being outed than anything else, drove himself to that peculiar bout of societal madness. And for all of his depression and wild fantasies, he poured it all into his music, into his art. And in this way, it's also SO very Russian.

Suffice to say, I am and will always remain a total fanboy of this guy's work. So expressive, melodic, speaking directly to the EQ of me, there are hardly any other artists who are able to plumb my emotional depths so consistently.

This is also a great lecture, too. :)

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Stormwarden by Janny Wurts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A pretty decent epic fantasy that has lots of sea-related settings. I had no complaints except one -- and it isn't fair to the author. I've read a lot of fantasies like this. It's not bad, but it doesn't stand out above all the others just like it. And I include LeGuin in that company, so it doesn't compare poorly.

I did have a pretty good time with the novel. I just wish I had read it earlier on.

Standard fare, fairly interesting characters, conflicts, and good scope.

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The Life of Birds by David Attenborough
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Must love birds.

That being said, if you DO love birds and don't mind wallowing in nuts, seeds, marrow, and scraps of flesh, or jumping into the mating habits of many different kinds of avians, then stick around, pull up a refuse bin, and watch these excellent adventurers ultra-specialize in their diets far beyond our own average city-dweller slurping a Starbucks.

What? Do you think there's that much difference between us and them?

Bah, suit yourself, but don't blame me if you start preening and attract a mate in almost the same way.

Tweet. Tweet.

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Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-Read 4/19/24:

I have to say it's even better on a re-read. I think the trick is in my expectations. Stephenson has a weird way in his writings, pulling certain kinds of bait-and-switches that work extremely well for some of us -- especially when we're so tired of boilerplate plotting.

This isn't any kind of standardized novelization, and for that, I love it even more.

I think I got a lot more out of this, this time. I was now looking for parallels between methods of survival from the pre-and-post timeskip, of psychology, reliance on different technologies, and the most commonplace failings of humanity, itself.

There is a richness in the post-timeskip I don't think I truly appreciated the first time around. After all, after 5k years, that's an awful lot of recorded history on top of where we are now. Not so big as to be insanely out of reach, but seriously impressive if you consider technological necessities and advancements (or regressions).

From a purely world-building perspective, the novel is a true delight. In the pre-timeskip, it is an engineer's dream. I still believe it's a great two-for-one bargain. :)



Original Review:

I don't know what all those complainers are going on about. As far as I can see, I just got two novels for the price of one. The first 2/3rds is all hard science fiction, where science matters and the whole thing is tied together with plausibility. The last third is pure unadulterated speculative fiction with damn fine worldbuilding and extrapolation from the first 2/3rds.

Let me back up. I can honestly say that I loved the gigantic erector set that was the first novel, but I will admit that I wasn't head over heels in love with most of the characters, and the few that I really liked were at least two dimensional. This isn't a condemnation. A lot had to be covered to get us from a happyish world, through a blown-up moon, to a mad scramble to survive before the earth gets fireballed by our ex-moon. That means the International Space Station needs one hell of an upgrade. A lot happens, and it's tragic and heroic and beautiful. I've read a lot worse hard sf, and when I say it, it's not a condemnation, either. Hard sf is a lifestyle choice. It's hard to do and successfully pull off a great story with great characters against, say, any other novel that doesn't care about consistency and scrupulous attention to detail.

Mr. Stephenson pulls it off, and I'm not just touting him because I'm a lifelong fan of his writings. I'm saying the novel is solid.

Now on to the second novel. A lot of people have a problem with this one, going, "What the fuck?" Not me. This is where we stop being grounded and we let our imaginations fly. A lot can and will happen in 5000 years from the last hurrah of the plausible and likely end of humanity.

So I see another tradition being followed, one I like even more than the strict master of hard sf. I immediately got sucked into the imagery, the action, the curiosity, the mystery, and the unfolding of a brand new Earth. I don't need to bring up all the greats who have done hopeful and optimistic futures, although I will if anyone asks, but Mr. Stephenson has served up a beauty.

So much is bright and colorful about it, and I'm including the different human races, the flying, the landscape, and the revelations about what the people find down there. No spoilers, but suffice to say there's always a way to bring conflict in, even though the future is hopeful. It was a sheer pleasure to explore, and if the novel was NOT an extension of the first 2/3, I'm pretty sure that most of the haters out there would have thought it was an interesting tale on par with any of the classics. It's all about survival, rebuilding and restoring, genetic engineering, massive scale engineering, and the supremely toned-down idea that love endures.

It was very touching.

All right. I'll mention Brin. It reminds me of the best of Brin.

So that brings me back to the main question: Should these two novels be considered one? There's obviously ties throughout the second one, but I'll be honest with you, they could have been added long after the fact, just so the second novel could see print. That's a very negative way to view it, in my opinion, because I happened to love it for what it was.

Is it a sign of the times that old-style adventure novels set in the deep future can't get published any longer? I hope not. I'd love to see more, assuming the stories still kick ass.

But to answer my own question... Yes and No. The first novel could easily have turned into an ultimate bummer. The second novel could stand on its own. Left to itself, the first novel would have absolutely needed some sort of machinery of god or perhaps the triumphant return of the assholes who had raced to Mars. It would have needed something, anyway, to satisfy the readers. We aren't reading traditional fiction. It wasn't a character study. If the only way to give the reader what s/he wants is to give us a resolution that doubles as a whole second novel, then I say, "Hell yes!"

Because at least this way, I wouldn't have to wait a long time for a sequel when I wasn't satisfied with the first. Can you imagine, or do you remember when Hyperion came out and you got to the end and went, "Huh?" with no Fall of Hyperion to complete it? It's the same deal, although, I'll be honest, Hyperion is still better than this novel. (If you peeps haven't read it, then do so. It's still very high praise to be compared to it, even in a lesser capacity.)

Of course, Neal Stephenson has a whole catalog of some of my absolute favorite reading list, so I'm amazingly biased here.

Was this novel good? You betcha. Did it surprise? Absolutely. Do I recommend? Yes, for fans of the SFF genre with keen eyes and adjustable expectations.


Update 4/27/16

This has been nominated for 2016 Hugo for best novel!

While I think it's pretty awesome in retrospect for the ideas, the science, and the rather epic scope of both saving the race in the first part of the novel and the far-ish future ramifications in the last 2/3rds of the novel, there were also wide swaths of boring info-dumping, too. I might have gone hog-wild all over this novel as the biggest contender for the Hugo, otherwise, but that might also have something to do with how much of a fanboy I am for the author. :)

Unfortunately, this is isn't my first or even second choice for the Hugo winner for this year. Good promise, but the pacing was off.

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Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This really hit the spot. I won't say it is the most fantastic Noir I've ever read, or even the best SF Noir, but I had a great time, anyway.

The hook: I kinda thought it was going to be Titanium as in the metal. I was RATHER amused to find out it is more about TITANS. :) Or rather, about the special immortality treatments that make its users progressively larger and larger people every time they use it. The rich, of course.

So mix it all up with a murder mystery, with sex and violence, and it has all the earmarks of the most familiar and the joys of the unusual.

Amusing and fun, in other words.

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Solo Leveling, Vol. 8 by Chugong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This light novel truly threw me for a loop. All of the other 7 isekais followed a very comforting LitRPG progression, always throwing greater enemies at a stronger hero, but almost at the beginning of this one, it... finished. :)

The rest of the novel pulled off a great Superman storyline, fully grounded in regular life and became thoroughly nostalgic.

That, and it really speaks to those of us who love a good New Game + :)



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Solo Leveling, Vol. 7 by Chugong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Delicious continuation. I knew there was going to be a total invasion of the Earth by the Monarchs, and we got a few tastes right away, but the scale just started breaking like a dam and now the Earth is doomed.

This LitRPG/Isekai is really hitting the spot. It's just going to get so bloody, now.

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Solo Leveling, Vol. 6 by Chugong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very fun change in direction for the overall story-arc. We get to know the world-wide top hunters and finally get a showdown with the vengeful hunter that wanted to get some satisfaction for his brother.

But more than that, we're getting a great reveal about the rulers and monarchs and the epic war on our way.

Love the scope.

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Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While this is named Mammoths at the Gates, it ought to be renamed Memories at the Gates. It's really an honoring of a lost life, a funeral, and yes -- it's more of the signature story-within-story storytelling I've grown to love in the Singing Hills Cycle.

These novellas are very much worth reading -- if only for the altered focus in fantasy.



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Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This series is wonderful for its focus on story-within-story storytelling. This one, no less than the others.

Calm, understated, with a wonderful atmosphere and interesting characters, this is a fantasy series I always look forward to. It isn't flashy, but it does have depth.

Of course, that's not to say there isn't something a little wild about this. A piggy can be quite exciting. :)



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Solo Leveling, Vol. 5 by Chugong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I great return to where he began, stronger, more capable, and ready to ask the biggest question.

So OP now, but that's fine, because now the baddies are equally badass. :)

Really fun light novel/Isekai/LitRPG.

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Solo leveling - light Novel by Chugong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The slow buildup of real-world danger in the background finally explodes in this light novel.

But after quite THAT much solo-leveling, it's just a delight to see how the real stuff goes.

Of course, now that he's pretty much superman, I have to wonder where the other novels will lead.

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Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-read 4/11/24:

It's always a journey with these. Sometimes you never know why the author is taking us on these side-trips, but once you DO know, it tends to blow your mind.

I particularly enjoyed the mental-health focus of this particular book. Not just for Shallan, but for Kaladin, too. It's almost as if Brandon knew we'd need so much of that during '20. But truly, it's just as welcome now.

That's just a side note, however.

This novel is so much more than that, of course. It's adventure, epic-scope and epic-stakes fantasy, and the characters keep on growing.

Of course, by now, we have learned SO much about how the worldbuilding works -- and more importantly, how the Cosmere works. I'm loving it all.

I cannot WAIT until the next.



Original Review:

After reading this very long novel, there should be some kind of fatigue. I mean. I think it's longer than SK's The Stand. So a reader OUGHT to be drained by the attempt. But no. Not this time.

All these Stormlight Archives rage over me like the world-storms within the novel, recharge my heartstone, and make me utter all four oaths.

Seriously. There should be a warning label on this book. "Careless consumption will lead to fandom."

Okay, to be fair, I was already a huge fan of Sanderson for, like, forever. But ever since reading the last three books of WoT, carefully managed under his hand, I've known that he had all the chops. After reading almost EVERYTHING of his, since, and slobbering all over the place to get my hands on his OWN epic masterpiece since book one, to get the fourth at this point is something of a...

Okay, let me say it.

We're a cult. A completely mind-blown cult. We're all so invested in this story, have drunk ALL the kool-aid, and we're willing to walk off all the cliffs (or chasms, if you will,) to get the next one.

And it totally satisfied. Oh, not only that, but it twisted all our expectations (or at least mine) and tore me to shreds, and made me despair. And then it built me back up again, made me wonder how the hell they were going to get out of this for a long time before subverting all my new expectations yet again.

Let me just say this: Sanderson is a master storyteller. He knows what he's doing every step of the way. He keeps tossing that coin and tells us it's all a trick even while he's pulling yet ANOTHER fast one on us and we not only enjoy it, but we beg for more of this strange covenant.


Or I might just say that we're all addicts and the IDEA of Sanderson in our heads is on par with a huge bank. In our heads, we just know that it can never fail. And if it seems to, our confidence is so huge that we make SURE it doesn't fail, and then, when our heads catch up to what's actually going on, we realize, out of the blue, that it was ALL A RUSE and he played us all yet again.

Or maybe I'm just reading WAY TOO MUCH into this. :)

Suffice to say... WOW, WHAT A BOOK! :)

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Solo Leveling, Vol. 3 by Chugong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So solid. This isekai/LitRPG light novel continually surprises and expands into new directions.

S-Rank already, our solo-leveler is rapidly becoming a god even among gods, but better, the story is making it all that much more necessary.

It really helps that the whole setup might be really, really messed up. It's great to read this now, but I'm seriously going to love reading the manga later.

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Solo leveling - light Novel by Chugong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So fun! It's very much LitRPG, but with all the added benefit of being popular as a manga and now an anime.

But for SOME people, like myself, I love to get the whole story right away in the original novel format, or, rather, the light novel format.

Our hero is getting SO powerful, now soloing high ranked dungeons all by himself, all the while hoping to keep his identity and true abilities hidden for as long as he can.

Unfortunately, many people want him. It's pretty great seeing an introverted protagonist. :)

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The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've always been rather impressed by Samatar's wordsmithing. And this new novella showcases a more SF case for lyricism tackling the chains of our society, our own minds, in a futuristic prison-mine that just happens to support a whole society.

The subtext is quite clear. On the backs of the broken is the world built.

I enjoyed this look across the divide. It is as hopeful as it is tragic.

Understanding is always the key.

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Solo leveling - light Novel by Chugong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I recently ran through all the animes for this one and was thrilled to hell about it. It's a total Isekai, or rather a full LitRPG story.

And since I just finished THAT, and was utterly bereft that I had no more story, I just had to skip even the manga and go to the light novel directly.

Great decision.

And now, I just figured out the entire first season is right here in this first Vol. *squeee*

Let's solo level and become overpowered! :)

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The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

So.

I'll just say that I AM a fan of Newitz, generally, and I really DID see a lot of potential for this book. I mean, here we are, far-future, likely all our animal cousins uplifted a-la Brin, and we might have a rollicking adventure with a moose sidekick across another world.

And with that, we DID get something like that.

But then we had to have a book that was more like Becky Chambers's style, with the warm fuzzies and systemic problems solved mostly by sweet-toothing our way through the adventure.

We have horribly invasive Homo Sapiens limiting the communication centers, sometimes the intelligence, of all these other animals. Between the strong-arm tactics, the invasive monitoring, the whole corporate-structure-is-evil feel, we get whole segregated communities exuding enough subtext to choke a moose.

And honestly? Because it's played so straight, without any true nods to just how close it resembles our world and just how closely we can read some of these species as races, it just feels -- icky.

It tries to pull off the feel-good, but instead, I feel like I've been wallowing in creepy animatronics-land. It didn't help with the pole-dancing mole-people.


Anyway, it just didn't work for me. At all. I guess I'm getting tired with write-on-editorial-demand Chambers lookalikes, too. I feel like this could have been pretty great if it was a much harder SF grounded in a harder ecology-fiction mode. Hell, that would have been extremely TOPICAL for today, too.

Instead, it was as soft an SF as you could ever desire.

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The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This one was a pleasant surprise. I expected a Wuxia-type fantasy, complete with some magical weapons, ancient Chinese-type martial arts, and that was what I got. Kung-Fu.

The quality is undeniable, too.

I was pleasantly reminded of Guy Gavriel Kay's fantasies and Ken Liu's Dandelion Dynasty as I read this, but if I am to be entirely honest, it didn't have quite the vastness or depth of worldbuilding of either. It DID, however, have a good, classical story of a scorned loyal warrior forced into exile and the safe arms of bandits, only to have to defend her new home against corrupt officials.

This kind of thing is an old, comfortable story, and this novel did it very, very well.

Fun stuff!

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Great Masters: Robert And Clara Schumann Their Lives And Music by Robert Greenberg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Robert Greenberg always delivers. His lectures on Musical masters never fails to enthrall and edify.

That being said, with no complaints about the lectures, I should say that I'm a bit... how should I describe this... ANNOYED with the whole Romantic ideology.

I'm not referring to modern romance. I mean the old, "Let's have it big and emotional and 'Oh, gosh' idealism." I'm talking about Percy Bysshe Shelly, but not Mary. One was AWESOME while one was Edgelord pretentious.

And so we get to Robert. Clara was pretty damn AWESOME while Robert, with his likely descent into Syphilis, had a decent enough pretentious career... where he eventually became a mentally-ill burden.

WHAT??? Am I dissing a mentally ill person? lol, no, but all things being equal, she was the one who wore the pants in the relationship.

Knowing what I know now about Brahms, I rather wish he had flitted away with Clara, leaving the Olympic masturbator Robert behind.

But then, maybe I'm just mean. It doesn't help that I was never that awed by any of Robert Schumann's works.

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The Book of Joan by Lidia Yuknavitch
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I bounced. Hard.

I'm sorry, but DESPITE having a few concepts roll around in the novel that might have burrowed into my flesh OR a few passages that had some beauty, the grand majority of the text was nearly utterly ugly.

Why would I say such a thing?

Well, let me just describe it thus: Imagine Slaughterhouse Five without the time travel or the history, make it a universal mortification of the flesh and have everyone totally self-consumed with their lost, shriveled, stolen sexuality, turn it into an implausible SF that is more focused on clumsy literary metaphor, and the rest of the novel reads like a lowly trip through hell.

Sure, it's heavy on the feminism, too, but I hardly minded that.

You know what I minded? The fact that humanity would be nothing more than self-obsessed worms crawling around in the dirt bemoaning our lost sexuality. Like there's NOTHING more to us than that.

But then, maybe that's what some (or maybe even a lot) of people think.


So, I bounced. I kept trying and trying to find redeeming qualities, but it not only made me mightily uncomfortable in all the wrong ways, it even made me angry right down in my core, where that last inch of idealism cannot and will not be sacrificed.

Maybe I make too much out of this. Maybe I'm just saying it's a "oh hell no, it's not you, it's totally me", but in reality, I think the book is a bit of poison. Slow-working, agonizing, and soul-destroying.

So --no, thank you.

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Death's End by Liu Cixin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-read 3/30/24:

So. After re-reading the series, getting to this one... I *KNEW* it was going to destroy me. I *KNEW* it.

I should just mention here that some SF just goes above and beyond. Some goes WAY above and beyond. And then some just blow the fucking roof off the membrane of the universe and totally destroys us.

So, yeah, this one is of the latter kind.


I personally get a ton of satisfaction out of the fact that Liu Cixin manages to weave utter lows and ultimate hope together in a Hard-SF, real physics way. I understand the science and it just keeps -- destroying me. After Dark Forest, it was dark enough, but this just kept tying the rope around me to drag me through the mud again and again.

This one has ALL the scope, all the mud-dragging, all tragedies piled on tragedies.

And yet, it was also, at the end, a hopeful book.

I am in awe. Again.



Original Review:

This is one of those rare mind-blowing novels of such fantastic scope and direction that words just can't do it justice. It's the third book that started with the Hugo-Winning The Three-Body Problem, continued with The Dark Forest. They're all fantastic, but I have to honestly say that I loved this one more than the rest.

We've got the scope of some of Stephen Baxter's Xeelee Sequence* going on here. I'm talking universe-spanning scope, going straight through time like a hot knife through butter and right on out into the expanding reaches of the imagination. The first book dives into the tiniest particles and higher dimensional spaces, the second deals with the apparent macro universe and the ongoing conflict between the Tri-Solarans and Humanity, and the third concludes with some truly and amazingly harrowing experiences, from the end of the stalemate, the near-genocide of humanity, and the grand realization that it's all gone even more wrong.

And things only get worse from there.

I'm properly flabbergasted by this book. There are enough fantastic ideas crammed in here for ten books, maybe even twenty. And even if it wasn't so idea-rich, from the extrapolated sciences, extremely well-thought-out consequences, and even further extrapolations from there, we even get some of the more interesting characters ever written in SF.

My appreciation of The Dark Forest only increases when set beside this one, and although I didn't consider that novel quite worthy of the Hugo as the first novel was, it was an amazing set-up for this last novel's execution.

The Dark Forest is an expression of the idea that the universe is an extremely hostile place. Any two alien species that meets is likely going to preemptively wipe out the other or face the reality of being wiped out. Such conflicts at such huge scales and high-technology and physics can be utterly amazing and one-sided, from start explosions to local space conversions between dimensions, such as turning a local three-dimensional plane of existence into a two-dimensional one.

Utterly shocking. Utterly amazing.

We even get to visit, early on, the tombstones of entire alien civilizations that escaped the Dark Forest by hopping into the fourth dimensional frame from the third dimension, only to discover that the great time-stream is shrinking, a bunch of big fish already having consumed all the small fish, and now the pond of existence is shrinking to almost nothing.

Each new discovery or option or hope is explored and dashed. The conflict, the Sword of Damocles, never leaves the tale. The Dark Forest is always evident, and it's depressing and awe-inspiring and a great story and I was honestly in awe of all the new directions it took.

I've read a LOT of SF. I've never seen anyone pull this off quite as well as this.

He builds on every new idea and makes a universe as frightening as it is amazing, and nothing ever stays the same.

And best of all, he leaves humanity as it is. Hopelessly outmatched. Always hopelessly outmatched. No matter what we do, how we advance and improve or build upon inherited technologies from our one-time friends, dark gods, and demons, the Tri-Solarans, there's always a new snag.

*shiver*

Honestly, there's no way to review this except to tell everyone out there that there's just too many great things to say about it, that it is a monumental undertaking, that it is an endlessly fascinating and impressive corpus of work, and that everyone should avail themselves of this trilogy.

It's just that good. I'm in awe.

Some things are just heads and shoulders above the rest. Well, perhaps, this one is a whole storey above all the rest, too. :)



*Correction ;)

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The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a particularly difficult novel to review because it took me quite some time to realize that it was based on a rather more thorough, expanded Buddhist concept of heaven and hell -- and not a Lovecraftian-lite exploration of a thoroughly transformative and consistently transforming city that literally sprang up out of the mind of a mortal god.

Confusing? Yeah, well, it was a bit for me, too. I was tempted to just roll with the immersion, try to figure out what being raised to murder a god-who-is-your-father had to do with seeing otherwise invisible demons on the streets or enjoying a masterfully imagined city that reminded me a LOT of Christopher Priest's later novels.


Honestly, however, even though I appreciated what was attempted here, I can't say I thoroughly ENJOYED either the story or the writing. At times it seemed to be trying too hard. Conversely, when it did manage to relax into greater descriptions, I enjoyed it much more.

I suppose I would have enjoyed it much more had I known more about the Buddhist realms and the teachings and how to directly apply it to a more subtle fantasy-realist storytelling, a-la the older Christian mythology novels.

Still, kudos where it stands out!

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Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Re-read 3/25/24:

Doing a grand re-read of all of Discworld because it just seems to be THAT necessary.

Let's put it this way: in this damn spherical world, things are NOT that wholesome, intelligent, or magical. That's why the DISCworld is so important.


And yes, even Ankh-Morpork is more wholesome than this damn place.

Now, let's just listen to nature a little bit, okay? The king might have something to say. :)




Original Review:

There have been many great reviews on this old favorite of Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld, and I won't wax eloquent, (or otherwise), save to mention that it's full of Headology and Shakespeare references, between murdered kings and lost heirs and crowns and a mummer's farce and a showdown between Witches and the King, but even so, it's all fun as hell.

I think this is the first novel of the Discworld series that truly comes into its own... or the first one that Pratchett uses as the template for all the ones to come. Since this is a second read of the whole series, I found this one to be an awfully familiar and warming experience.

I still think that there are better Discworld novels out there, but not by very much. :) All in all, it's a fun read.

I can't quite tell whether I like Ogg or Weatherwax more. :) I never really connected with Magrat.

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Sourcery by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Re-Read 3/24/24:

This time, I just read Sourcery without any kind of critical eye. Indeed, I just let myself fall into this Rincewind novel as a source of pure enjoyment, of popcorn power-reads -- and just like that, I had a pure, delightful time.

Power corrupts, but funny power corrupts funnily.



Original review:

This is going to sound rather critical despite my rating, but I feel like I ought to be rather honest. The basic over-story is pretty good, as is the action and most of the humor, but there was still swaths of text that felt like it was trying too hard.

More funny, more witty, more like Color of Magic than Color of Magic. It wasn't just Rincewind, whom I always loved. Rincewind reminds me of Schmendrick from Last Unicorn, only he really doesn't have any magic at all. Ever. And yet, his whose sense of identity and action is still totally in line with being a wizard, and he even puts everything on the line for it. I like that.

I even liked Nijel the Barbarian and Conina the Hairdresser and the Sapient Pearwood Chest is always a delight, but other than a good smattering of good scenes with all of them, I kept stopping the book and wondering if it would ever get on with it.

The adventure seemed good, but it was really focused on the zingers just a tad too much and I got tired of them. Isn't that odd?

Even so, it was mostly pretty awesome as Pratchett usually is. :)


As an afterthought, I was thinking about Rincewind in relations to Pratchett, himself. I was thinking that maybe Pratchett was Rincewind. As a writer, it's always about faking it until you make it. Keep with the decision and call yourself what you will be. Believe it and move mountains, just like Rincewind. Or Pratchett. :)

And then there's also the hallmark self-depreciation, the humor. There was that really big inspiration, that one unique idea that hit Rincewind with great fanfare.... with his companions calling him an idiot right after he expressed it.

Pretty classic. :)

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The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by Bettany Hughes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sure, I expected a book on the seven wonders of the ancient world, but this book was pretty special. We didn't just get the 7 monuments -- we got an extensive historical context leading up to and far beyond the building and the impact they had on the world.

I especially loved the cultural, military, religious, and intellectual carry-through that leads us, even today, to admire every thing about it.

This was easily the most comprehensive joy-ride through the wonders that I've ever read.
100% recommended.





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Witch King by Martha Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a really fun read. I was totally down with Kai, the Witch King, from the get-go. It never gets bogged down, switching effortlessly from the aftermath of a great betrayal, waking up mostly dead and having an adventure, to perfectly-paced flashbacks from when he DID become the Witch King.

All told, it was just really fun. It helps that he's a pretty good guy, for a demon -- and the Hierarchs are pretty horrible. For an epic fantasy-type, it really has all the earmarks of a great popcorn fiction read. I won't say it is the best, ever, but I had a good time, so that IS something.





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A View from the Stars: Stories and Essays by Cixin Liu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So, here's the skinny: I hoped I would get a bunch of new stories and essays, timely or otherwise, regarding SF, science, prediction, or just the scoop on all his novels.

And to be sure, there was some talking about the novels, some about prediction, science, and the nature of SF. It was light, nothing deep, and the essays were, on the whole, solid, if not groundbreaking.

The short stories were good, but they were not new. I had read them in other locations. As were, oddly, most of the other essays.

It might be a pretty good book for anyone just getting started with Cixin Liu, or for those who have read at least the trilogy, but I was slightly disappointed that it was mostly all a re-read.



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The Dark Queens: The Bloody Rivalry That Forged the Medieval World by Shelley Puhak
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This history book really hit the spot. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the Merovingian princes, but this particular focus on the strong QUEENS that were the power behind some of the most bloody times, just before and after 600 AD, was a brilliant piece of shading-in for me.

Early Medieval times, a good stretch before Charlemagne, are quite romanticized now. Getting this breath of realism, not just convoluted white-washing for the men, reveals a number of strong, intelligent women embroiled in some rather convoluted politicking. The French Royal line was never quite as barbaric as we are led to think. So much of history is erased by the successors. But in this case, it's just the church and the men who went so far out of their way to erase THESE particularly smart and strong women -- because of their successes.



I know it's kind of a thing these days to glow up women in either history or mythology, and it is what it is, but frankly, I'm impressed by the amount of meat and bones on these particular Frankish women.

This isn't weak history. It's very fascinating.

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Wicked Problems by Max Gladstone
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I cannot recommend this series enough.

Indeed, it is not only fantastically written, practically overflowing with great lines and references and wordplay, it is also one of those rare, beautifully blooming world-building exercises that straddle the fence between the oh-so-familiar and the expertly sharp Lovecraftian-mythos-turned-legalistic-actuarial-oligarchy.

Sound too complicated?

Yes -- and no.

Max Gladstone is one of those writers that can suck you in, make everything JUST FINE -- right before he throws you into godzilla vs cthuhlu scale conflict.

So why isn't EVERYONE reading these Craft books?

Honestly... I have NO IDEA. They're WILD, creative, emotional, and exciting.

In this particular novel, we get to have ALL of the great PoVs that came from the original 5 book series in what could only be described as an Avengers-Level narrative.

And here's where *I* love it most: As I read all of these, originally, I was giddy with the idea that it was pulling off a Charlie Stross Laundry Files moment, but instead of secret service, it was legal challenges, industrial espionage, and ELDER GOD corporate wars.

Not only do we get all of that here, but it just keeps raising the stakes.


Now, was I rather surprised to see it go in quite this direction after Dead Country, where it felt so down-to-earth and shaped like a western? Yep! But getting back into the lovecraftian-fueled big cities IS a fantastic literary device, custom tailored to keep us on our toes or skeleton wings or alchemical marriages.

My only desire is to turn EVERYONE on to these wonderful novels, to make sure that they never get lost, that they become as truly big as they OUGHT to be.

Quality is quality, and these have it all.

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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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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 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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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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Weaponized 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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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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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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Spice and Wolf, Vol. 4 by Isuna Hasekura
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A little mystery in a small village leads to a little bigger religion-centered conflict.

And yet, it still manages to be a cozy merchant/romance fantasy. And better yet, I didn't have to endure such a nightmare of horrible "let's prove his fidelity to me" hijinks. That, I hope, is DONE.

This one was a lot more comfortable.

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