CLYDE WISHAM
Quite a good near-future techno-thriller with plenty of action. The main character, Ava, is one tough cookie. She gets quite a workout as she simultaneously deals with a dangerous conspiracy and a major storm.
As the story moves along, Nagata just casually slips in bits of cool “just around the corner” new tech.
4.5 stars rounded up.
This is a retelling of [b:Xenophon's Anabasis, or the Expedition of Cyrus 13687135 Xenophon's Anabasis, or the Expedition of Cyrus Michael A. Flower https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356026322l/13687135.SY75.jpg 19307785] but placed on a fantasy world. It is very well written. I found, however, that I didn't care for any of the characters. YMMV.Fair warning – if you read this book, be prepared for very graphic descriptions of the horrors and brutality of the Greek Hoplite type of warfare.
Scalzi's Interdependency series seems very odd to me. I quite enjoyed the first book ([b:The Collapsing Empire 30078567 The Collapsing Empire (The Interdependency, #1) John Scalzi https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1464097677l/30078567.SY75.jpg 50498420]), and I really liked the second book ([b:The Consuming Fire 34942741 The Consuming Fire (The Interdependency, #2) John Scalzi https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1518468399l/34942741.SY75.jpg 56211540]). This, the third book, was good but surprisingly perhaps the weakest of the three – an honor usually taken by the middle book in a trilogy. Go figure. Serious spoiler ahead, I'm not kidding! ... Perhaps I feel like that because I was chafing right from the beginning of the book for Grayland II to solve her biggest problem by busting the monopolies. Spreading their intellectual property to all the inhabited systems would have greatly reduced the danger of massive deaths. Of course that would have required a totally different story. (And, the last Emperox actually did bust them toward the end anyway, so ... meh.)But still it was a solid ending to a good tale. And of course it being Scalzi, there is a lot of great dialog.3.5 stars rounded up.
Quite a good popular science book about Dinosaurs. Stephen Brusatte is a rising star in the world of paleontology. He is a good writer and obviously loves his work.
This book gives a good overview of what we know now about Dinosaurs. Our view of these great beasts has changed considerably since I studied Geology many years ago. They weren't the slow, dumb, lumbering critters we once thought. (And, did you know that some Dinosaurs are still with us? No, really!)
4.5 stars rounded up.
Good story about a father and his daughter and a few other people (some rather mysterious) in a very bad situation. (Oh and, there is a dog too.) It gets pretty grim in places and a bit preachy at times, but I liked it.
The cover text tells you pretty much what you can expect. You get that and more.
Solid four stars.
Well, this was certainly a timely read. A killer flu epidemic accompanied by a blood disease has emptied North America (and presumably the whole world) of almost everyone. It is a grim world. The few survivors are mostly prey and predators – sometimes both at once. Even if you aren't a stone-cold killer, you had best be prepared to act like one if you want to survive.
Hig, the protagonist of this story, has learned that lesson well. He and his dog Jasper have teamed up with Bangley, a gun-loving and very competent survivor with a mysterious past. Together they have managed to survive nine years. But Hig yearns for something more, a life less dark. Will he survive to find it?
The writing is beautiful and literary in spite of the dark subject. Heller is very good with descriptive language.
However, at one point he apparently makes a howler of a botanical mistake by placing a warm-weather, low-land species up in the mountains. That took me right out of the story, and I had to stop and reset my brain before continuing. If it was on purpose to indicate climate change perhaps, well ... I still don't buy it because mountains. (I won't say what the plant is. If you don't know, it shouldn't bother you.)
Solid four stars.
Military science fiction is one of my favorite sub genres, so I quite expected to like TOS. But this one just doesn't work for me. Started with the audio book, but didn't care for the narrator and switched to the ebook. Found myself still uninterested in the story and the characters.
Abandoned at about the 40% mark.
This is a quick overview of the history of Dinosaurs. Audio only (I think) and quite well done. It doesn't make any pretense of being complete, but is interesting and I did learn some new things.In fact this audiobook inspired me to seek out and buy [a:Tracy Chevalier 1973 Tracy Chevalier https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1496158858p2/1973.jpg]'s book [b:Remarkable Creatures 6457081 Remarkable Creatures Tracy Chevalier https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327161912l/6457081.SY75.jpg 6647405] about Mary Anning, a remarkable and influential 19th century fossil hunter. (Appears to be a fact-based historical novel – we shall see.)
I had trouble getting into this book. Started and quit twice. It finally hooked me on the third try.
The world-building is very good (though it requires considerable WSoD). We enter a world subject to geological disasters and with social systems dictated by the necessity to prepare for them. In addition to pretty much normal folks, this world has people called called Orogenes who have some ability to direct the energy of geological events. It also has fantastical humanoids called Rock Eaters. Both are key to the story.
The story is set in a “Fifth Season”, which is the name given to an extended winter. These are generally periods of mega eruptions and earthquakes that destroy civilization and leave survivors struggling for existence.
As the story moves forward, there are flashbacks to earlier timelines. (These slowly fill in the backstory.) You always know when in the current timeline because it is distinguished by being written in 2nd person.
The story is grim – relentlessly dark and violent. But still, I somehow came to care for the characters, even though they are sometimes forced by circumstances to do terrible things.
Solid four stars.
Contains spoilers for the previous book.....This book picks up right after the events of [b:Dark Victory: A Novel of Alien Resistance 25110970 Dark Victory A Novel of Alien Resistance Brendan DuBois https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1438581442l/25110970.SY75.jpg 44804701]; so, it is probably best to read that one first.With the surrender of a Creeper dome and the destruction of the Creeper's orbiting base, 16-year old Sargent Randy Knox and his companions have every reason to be hopeful that the war with the alien invaders will soon be over. But that is not to be.Randy and Thor, his faithful K-9 companion, join up with a tough regular Army unit to exploit their intelligence breakthrough. Things don't go as planned. Instead of negotiating surrender, they soon find themselves under determined attack. It seems that they have been betrayed. Some powerful humans don't want the war to be over just yet. From that point, we get a lot of exciting combat action against the Creepers. They not only have to fight for survival, but also need to find out who betrayed them and why.And of course the big question remains – why are the aliens here and why are they fighting the way they are instead of just wiping humanity out?Good book. Solid four stars. (Now I need to read the concluding book in the series – [b:Black Triumph 38531438 Black Triumph (Dark Victory, #3) Brendan DuBois https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1536488159l/38531438.SY75.jpg 60164227].)Brendan DuBois is best known for his crime/suspense thrillers, but this series shows that he is no less adept at military SF.
I rather liked the first two books in this series – especially the first one. This one, however, just doesn't work for me. That grand epic feeling of the first book is gone as is the feeling of anticipation generated by the second book. In this one, Fallon has become ... rather boring actually.
YMMV. Lots of folks like this story.
TAA is perhaps the best of the series so far. (To me, it is the best since [b:The Mapping of Love and Death 6553733 The Mapping of Love and Death (Maisie Dobbs, #7) Jacqueline Winspear https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1329659691l/6553733.SY75.jpg 6746308].)Partway through this book I was getting the feeling that Jacqueline Winspear was trying to do too much in this story – intermixing mystery, life complications, the dangers of the London blitz, American political intrigue, and a bit of romance. However she pulled it all together quite nicely in the end. The cover text provides a good overall description of what to expect. Read that first.This is not a good entry point for the Maisie Dobbs series. I think it best to start from the first book ([b:Maisie Dobbs 462033 Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs, #1) Jacqueline Winspear https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1312066155l/462033.SY75.jpg 976403]). For those who aren't completists, another good entry point would be [b:A Dangerous Place 22693178 A Dangerous Place (Maisie Dobbs, #11) Jacqueline Winspear https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1417984975l/22693178.SX50.jpg 26625560].Good book. As always, Orlagh Cassidy's narration of the audio book is masterful.4.5 stars rounded up.
Another good story in the Penric and Desdemona series.In this one Penric gets in serious trouble when he goes on a diplomatic mission. We get intrigue & deception, at least one really-nasty character, some possible divine help, and several narrow escapes. Also, Penric develops a possible love interest – which can be a problem for a man inhabited by a female demon!Good story and Grover Gardner's narration is excellent. Solid four stars.Those thinking of reading this series should note that this story is the third in publication order but the fourth in the chronology of events. I suggest reading [b:Penric's Fox 35895883 Penric's Fox (Penric and Desdemona, #5) Lois McMaster Bujold https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1501618535l/35895883.SX50.jpg 57415059] before reading this one.