Anne True

This textbook may be useful as an overview, or as a starting point for discussions.
It fits more as a history study than a technical reference.

It suffers from taking such a broad range of topics, devoting only snippets of summaries to topics and occasionally drilling into the minutiae of a single facet of a topic.
The understanding it builds is thus fractured and incoherent.

In terms of prose, it also suffers heavily from academia and sensationalism. There are many popular culture references to shows and quotes of famous figures. These detract from the content by dating the material, and padding out its brief sections with irrelevant information.

I was content with the book, but I would not read it again.
My opinion of this book depends solely upon my life experience and frame of mind while reading it.

Other reviews here quite thoroughly cover the failings of the story, the prose, the characters.
Most tragic of all the failings are the repetitive and poorly executed ideas.

What held my attention were the snippets of my own life's truths scattered through the book.
To borrow from the Vorkosigan saga regarding total surrender: “When you give each other everything, it becomes an even trade. Each wins all.”

I enjoy Dan Abnett. Ravenor was one of those books that stuck with me, long after I read it. That fondness is what drove me to take the risk on reading another WH40K book.

It was all right. First & Only is typical of the series, pulpy military fiction that is easily forgettable. I was hoping for a more character-driven story, but perhaps later books in the series will take advantage of the characters he does have; they certainly have potential.

My review comes as two stars: It was acceptable. I can't bring myself to enjoy pulp anymore, hence not giving three stars. If you're new to the WH40K universe, maybe this book isn't for you.

I gave the Doomsday Book four stars out of five because I came into it with no expectations. I chose it at random from my library's combined sci-fi and fantasy shelves, and I found it striking. The dual narrative threads kept me curious through the story, and when the final act came down I discovered that I was invested in the characters.
Thus, three stars of the four are due to reader impact. I would not read this book again.
The technical side of the book is a mess; it is designed to be read once through, so there are constant repetitions and what feels like filler to the reader. Yes, it could be condensed down to a short story. No, it should not be, as the current length keeps the impact of the story.
I am not well-versed in history, but I definitely noticed what may be popular misconceptions. Yes, marriages were often at young ages in medieval times, but marriages pairing incredibly young teens with old men were rare. Small tidbits such as that gave the impression that the book was rehashing popular perception of the time; giving a theme-park version, if you will.
Take what you will, it's not for everyone. Now that I know what to expect I will not read any of the other books in the series.

Sea Change is achingly good, true to its fairy-tale origins. Achingly good because I enjoyed it, despite the frustration and angst as I became invested in the protagonist's quest. The characters never have an ending–happy or not–and instead face the chaotic world, hitting highs and lows along the way. The pacing itself was a mix of lulls and surges, but I found it engaging. Each part of the story was dwelt on exactly as long or as short as necessary.
I loved how understated the queerdom is. I love how there's queer representations at all, especially the genderqueer protagonist!
Overall, a great story. Another one to place in my transient favourites.

For the technical aspects:
The prose is praiseworthy, being concise and descriptive. Whenever I found myself skim-reading, I quickly had to recover and reread the paragraph; I would miss out on delectable bits otherwise.
Stylistically, the story requires an active reader to be enjoyed. Especially in the earlier chapters, there are oblique references that only receive full context later on. The occasional transition paragraph will be italicised, something I didn't mind until I looked through reviews and noticed others concerned about it.