Review: Dune
Dune by Frank Herbert My rating: 6 of 5 stars Brian Herbert, on Dune. Dune is a modern-day conglomeration of familiar myths, a tale in which great sandworms guard a precious treasure of melange, the geriatric spice that represents, among other things, the finite resource of oil. The planet Arrakis features immense, ferocious worms that [...]
Review: Glory Season
Glory Season by David Brin My rating: 5 of 5 stars Personal Enthusiasm: Loads of Fun The best science fiction is, at its heart, speculative fiction. These books start with a single big idea—a single question—and develop it. The great books take that idea and develop it superbly. Glory Season is a great book. It [...]
Review: Storm Front
This book is a cross between the hard boiled detective fiction of the early 1900’s and modern fantasy. It reminded me of reading Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler, crossed with a bit of the absurdist humor of Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams.
Reading Idea: Human for a Day
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What I came away with was a better sense of life bordered by death. By giving such a short timeline—one day—I required each author to tell a tale of birth, life, and death. Though the stories ranged from the far past to the far future and into worlds that never were but could have been, there was single thread of familiarity. There was a sense of wonder and emotion that was at the heart of it all.
Review: American Lion
My rating: 3 of 5 stars Personal Enthusiasm: It Was Okay
Since I’ve started reviewing books, I’ve been trying to force myself to review a book based on what it’s meant to be rather than on what I wish it was. After all, that’s the only way to be fair to the author. So it was with …
Review: The Alloy of Law
The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars Personal Enthusiasm: Loads of Fun
This book was a ton of fun to read. It’s a heist mystery, that’s almost steam punk, set in the Mistborn universe. If you’re a Brandon Sanderson fan that’s pretty much all you need to know. If you’re not a …
Review: TARDIS Eruditorum, Vol 1
It was utterly fascinating and has already given me a lot of insight into the show and how it works. I’m eagerly awaiting the publication of future volumes and have every intention of purchasing them as they’re released. Why not? I’m a sucker for really good literary criticism and a sucker for Doctor Who.
Review: A Desert Called Peace
This is a story that mostly works. It’s a combination of a revenge fantasy and a polemical and Kratman does a very good job of pulling off both sides.
Review: A Storm of Swords
A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’m used to reading a series and watching the quality drop off, bit by bit, with each book in the series. That’s not the case with A Song of Ice and Fire. So far, each book maintains overall quality of the series and …
Review: A Clash of Kings
A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I thought this was a very good sequel to The Game of Thrones. It picked up where the last book left off and immediately went to work advancing the plot. If Game of Thrones had one fault, it was that there was too …