Jessica Strider

The book has 7 chapters in addition to the introduction: Playing games: growing up a viking; Production and consumption; House and home; Clothing and adornment; Weapons and war; Trading and raiding; Faith and death. There's an index, a bibliography and picture credits at the end.

The book is heavily illustrated with each chapter having numerous pictures of relevant archaeological finds. It emphasizes the ubiquity of viking culture despite its geographic expansion. I loved the inclusion of so many items from daily life.

The chapters are fairly short, covering a decent amount of information in a superficial way. It's a nice introduction to the life of Vikings, but if you've researched the topic before you won't learn much new.

While the book has information about the objects depicted, and credits for the included photographs, I often wanted to know where the objects were currently housed and that's hard to figure out. Some of the photos are credited to institutions where they're presumably held, but others have Alamy or individual photographer credits, which is less helpful. I may be in the minority for wanting this information though.

It's a great primer on Viking life.

Pros: entertaining new characters, snarky commentary, excellent world-building

Cons: muted action

Murderbot and Three break onto a gigantic planetary torus so Murderbot can rescue several humans important to Mensah. But their escape is complicated by the unforseen need to rescue more humans and navigate the surprisingly complex torus.

This is a much quieter adventure for Murderbot. While there are some fights, due to the nature of the mission and the presence of kids, it needs to keep the killing and mayhem to a minimum. Instead, there are a lot of quick decisions, directed hacking, and clever manoeuvres. The new humans are interesting and their interactions with Murderbot entertaining. The book has a number of unexpected twists.

The world-building is fantastic as each zone in the torus is run by a different group and so has its own transportation, feed, security, etc. None of which Murderbot knows in advance. It’s ability to plan on the fly has greatly improved.

A new feature in this book is Murderbot’s attempts to deal with its trauma by running occasional (and sometimes frequent) ‘emotion checks’. These provide some nice comedic asides as well as showing Murderbot’s growth as it realizes things about itself and the humans.

It’s an enjoyable read.

Pros: caring protagonist, bookshop setting, saphic secondary romance, really tugs at the heartstrings at times

Cons: made me cry

Princess Tanadelle de Courcy is in Little Pepperidge to dedicate it's new market square when she runs out of books to read. Desperate for a distraction from her boring royal duties, she visits a bookshop. Her world is turned upside down when she's cursed by the owner to stay until she discovers her heart's desire. Now in charge of the shop, she relishes the first real freedom she's ever had, flirting with a handsome sailor and trying to drum up customers. But she dreads her parents' reaction, knowing they will stop at nothing to break the curse, even if it means sending the 7 princes of the realm to kiss her.

This is a sweet, cozy romance with a lot of heart. Tandy's such a warmhearted and loving princess, and she tries so hard to make everyone around her happy. It's hard not to follow everyone in the book's example by falling in love with her. Watching her learn how to flirt with the sailor is almost painfully cute. I loved seeing her become self-sufficient, learning simple magic to cook and clean, and watching her joy at being able to read any book she wanted late into the night.

The book is LGBT friendly, with a fun romance between two teen girls who end up helping Tandy with the shop.

There are some mildly humiliating things that happen to Tandy, which made me feel bad for her. The book tugs at the heartstrings at times and made my cry at more than one point.

This is a low stakes story with a low spice level that has one fade to black love scene and some cute flirting and banter. The story is heartfelt, sweet and lovely. It is suitable for YA and adult readers.

Pros: sweet story, gorgeous and inventive setting, interesting magic

Cons:

Cursed to become a statue for performing an illegal act of sorcery, Terlu is surprised to be awakened in a snowy forest. She finds herself on an island full of enchanted greenhouses whose magic is failing. Their keeper, Yarrow, believes she can fix them, but she doesn't know how to and isn't sure it's worth the risk of performing more illegal magic.

I loved the book. It's the second in the Spellshop series but stands alone very well. I haven't read the first book yet, but plan to after reading this. The stakes were mostly low key, so I never felt stressed about how the plot would be resolved. And I really needed to read something cozy and unstressful. The few tense moments the book had were filled with hope and heart and people doing their best, working together in difficult circumstances. Terla and Yarrow were both honestly good characters who wanted the greenhouses to survive for each other to be happy. The food Yarrow cooked sounded delicious, though I did start to wonder why everything tasted like spring or summer to Terla.

While the idea of greenhouses on their own isn't inventive, Durst fills them with a mix of practical garden vegetables, beautiful flowers, and exquisite magic. Some of the rooms and the creatures within are wondrous and I'd love to visit for real and see them for myself. The sentient plants were a mix of fun and annoying, but I love the idea of them and enjoyed the variety of personalities on display. I loved how magic worked in this world. As someone who's studied several languages, it was neat seeing Terla parse the various meanings words can have and experiment with spells. I loved the winged cat and feel that more fantasy worlds should include them.

The romance was understated and sweet. It progressed naturally and felt measured. There's nothing on the page beyond a few kisses and cuddles, making this appropriate for YA and adult audiences. It is LGBT friendly, with one lesbian couple showing up a side characters later in the book.

If you're looking for a feel good romance with a lot of plants and no spice, this is for you.

The book consists of 8 chapters in addition to the introduction: Beginnings; Expanding World: A-Group; C-Group and Pan-Grave Cultures Move In; Nubia’s First Empire: Kerma; An Interlude with Egypt; Nubia’s Second Empire: The Napatan Period; Nubia’s Third Empire: The Meriotic Period; and Beyond the Meroitic Empire. There’s a forward by Henry Louix Gates, Jr. that explores what Nubia and Egypt meant to enslaved Africans in America, and why learning about ancient African nations and their accomplishments was so important to black Americans.

The book follows the chronological history of Nubia, as we can piece it together through archaeological evidence. The early chapters are fairly short, as there isn’t much evidence or material objects. There are at least a few photos per chapter illuminating the text. The chapters get more detailed as empires rose, since they left significantly more behind. The book constantly compares the artwork, homes, clothing, and habits (as well as can be determined) to the more well known Egyptian one. So we’re told that Egyptian artwork is more formulaic, while Nubian artwork has more of a naturalistic look, with freer forms and curvier figures. I was especially interested to learn the ways Nubian metalworkers experimented with enamel to create mixed forms much earlier than appeared elsewhere in the world.

In addition to images of artworks, the book also has some floor plans for palaces and temples, diagrams of houses, etc.

It’s fascinating learning about such a little known culture. Their artwork deserves to be known in its own right, separate from that of Egypt. Hopefully this book will encourage people to learn more about the Nubians and their culture.

Pros: interesting characters, constant plot twists, suspenseful, thought provoking

Cons:

What would you do if there was a scientific way of finding THE ONE, that one person in the whole world who completes you? This is the story of 5 people who take the test, get their matches, and discover that finding THE ONE isn’t at all what they expected.

The book is a near sci-fi psychological suspense. While I did anticipate a few twists, the characters made so many unexpected decisions and were thrown such wild situations that I was on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next.

The book cycles through the five protagonists, and leaves you on constant mini cliffhangers as they discover something new before the narrative swaps to the next character. This keeps things fast paced and interesting. The characters themselves were intriguing and varied, with all of them coming from different backgrounds and wanting something different from their match. It’s interesting seeing what they’re willing to give up and do for their matched partners.

I found the premise thought provoking and the author does a great job of showing how a variety of people react to finding their match. While a lot of the turmoil the program unleashed is hand waved away by some of the protagonists, it’s clear that this has largely reshaped the world and how people approach marriage and relationships.

I though the ending followed the consequences of the protagonists choices and so felt satisfying.

This is an exciting, quick paced, read.

Pros: interesting world-building, beautiful prose

Cons:

The book picks up a few months in our world after the events of Mislaid in Parts Half-Known. Nancy, living in the Halls of the Dead, where time passes slower, is forced to flee when the hungry ghosts start killing her fellow living statues. She asks her former classmates at Miss Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children for aid, and though it’s against the school’s rules, they embark on another quest.

The book has a beautiful lyricism to it. McGuire’s prose often reads like poetry with a lot of pointed commentary on the human condition. Though the Halls of the Dead have shown up in previous books, we get to learn more about it and it’s rulers. We also get to learn more about Talia, who’s briefly mentioned in the previous book.

It’s cool seeing how the kids’ various talents help them solve the problem. The novella’s the perfect length for this adventure.

Pros: character development, some interesting fight scenes

Cons: some of the quieter sections dragged a bit

System Collapse picks up a short time after Network Effect. Perihelion’s crew is trying to help the colonists on the colony planet reject the claim over them by the Barish-Estranza corporation. They learn of a group that split off and is living in a blackout zone, so Murderbot and a small group go to warn them of what’s going on.

A redacted traumatic event has reduced Murderbot’s operating capacity and lowered its self-confidence. Murderbot’s avoidance of emotion hampers its recovery, even as it makes the SecUnit less able to do its job. Murderbot feels the most human in this book. I thought their resolution to the separated group was brilliant. There are a few honest laughs and more snarky humour.

There are a few fight scenes, but not as many as the previous book.

I did find some of the exploration scenes tense, but they got a bit boring as they stretched on. Though I felt that more my second time reading it than the first.

On the whole it’s an interesting story with Murderbot having to face its trauma, despite its attempts not to.

Pros: lots of character development, fight scenes, exciting twists

Cons:

Network Effect starts with the survey mission mentioned in Fugitive Telemetry. The survey team returns to Preservation space and is immediately attacked by a transport. Murderbot is horrified to learn it’s ART/Perihelion. It needs to learn what happened to its friend while keeping Mensah’s daughter alive.

The story is novel (rather than novella) length, and it needs the space. It’s a fast paced story with a lot of exciting twists. There are some nice flashback scenes on Preservation planet that help develop Murderbot more as a complex entity. This novel also brings up trauma more and how individuals (human, bot, and construct) deal with it. There are some great fight scenes and banter among the characters. Murderbot’s narrative is sarcastic at all the right times.

There’s so much going on and such fun conversations that this is probably my favourite book in the series.

Pros: several plot twists,

Cons: not much action

Fugitive Telemetry takes place on Preservation Station where Murderbot is acting as Mensah’s security. A murder has just been uncovered, and Mensah suggests station security and Murderbot work together to solve it.

This is basically a murder mystery novella, so there isn’t as much action as the other books in the series have had. The characters are mostly new, though Gurathin and Ratthi show up for a bit. The mystery is good, with some interesting twists.

It’s entertaining, but not my favourite.

Pros: lots of action, clever hacking and planning, character development

Cons:

After its mission on Milu, Murderbot learns that Dr. Mensah has been kidnapped by the GrayCris corporation and heads to TranRollinHyfa to rescue her.

It’s nice seeing some of the characters from All Systems Red again, and how they react to Murderbot’s evolution. There’s a lot of clever hacking and some great chase and fight sequences. Seeing Murderbot back with its favourite human was awesome. I had *feelings* when Murderbot let Mensah hug it. We also learn why it likes The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon so much. As the books progress there’s more subtext regarding trauma and how different entities are impacted by it. An event at the end of the book shows Murderbot some of the benefits of its human side, which is neat. As always, Murderbot's narrative is full of an enjoyable dry humour.

This is one of my favourite novellas in the series.

Pros: complex fight scenes, character development

Cons:

This novella picks up where Artificial Condition leaves off, with Murderbot on a transport arriving at RaviHyral station. It sees an interview with Mensah talking about a terraforming platform recently abandoned by GrayCris, and decides to check it out to see if they’ve left any incriminating evidence behind. Sneaking aboard means befriending a bot and protecting a new group of humans.

Murderbot needs to lie its way through a bunch of human and bot encounters, trying to keep its story straight. There’s corporate intrigue and some great fight scenes. Since it doesn’t have access to a repair cubicle or medsystem anymore, Murderbot needs to be more careful about taking damage. So it’s getting clever about how it approaches conflict. It’s really cool seeing it learn and develop as the series goes on.

Murderbot’s dry sense of humour shines through. The fight scenes are great and again, while the novella is short, it’s impactful.

Pros: interesting protagonist

Cons: short

Murderbot is a SecUnit made of cloned human and mechanical parts that’s hacked its governor module so it no longer has to obey commands. It’s been assigned to provide security for a small survey group looking at a new planet. But the group encounters an unknown hostile life form that wasn’t mentioned in the original survey report, which makes them wonder what else was missed - or possibly removed on purpose.

This is a 100 page novella, so it’s fairly short. That means it’s light on the world-building and character development. While you get to know Murderbot pretty well, the other characters, with the exception of Gurathin (who’s a light antagonist) and Mensah (the group leader) felt interchangeable. Having said that, Murderbot is fascinating and you really get inside its head.

The plot was interesting and quick paced. There are some tense moments, though the ending comes up so fast it didn’t feel particularly climactic (which may be due to my reading the story in 2 sittings instead of all at once). Murderbot's narrative has a dry sense of humour and sarcasm, which I love.

It’s fun and entertaining and I’ll definitely read the next one.

=> The books hold up really well to subsequent reads, and I find I'm noticing new and different things each time I read the series. It remains a dryly humorous book with a brilliant protagonist.

Pros: interpersonal conflict, new settings and characters, lots of hacking

Cons:

Beginning directly after the events in All Systems Red, Murderbot hitches a ride on the intelligent transport ART to the mining installation where its mass murder event took place. It needs to reconcile its past before it can decide its future. But visiting the installation means pretending to be an augmented human security consultant. Luckily ART has some ideas to help it with that.

Murderbot and ART are both sarcastic and start off rubbing each other the wrong way, making their interactions very entertaining to read. You get a great feel for the concerns Murderbot has about getting caught while trying to investigate its past. It doesn’t know how to act like a human, so it’s fun watching it help the young humans who don’t know what they’re doing either. More of the wider world is hinted at, with other corporations that put profits over people.

It’s a novella, so it’s on the short side, but the story packs a punch.

Pros: interpersonal conflict, new settings and characters, lots of hacking

Cons:

Beginning directly after the events in All Systems Red, Murderbot hitches a ride on the intelligent transport ART to the mining installation where its mass murder event took place. It needs to reconcile its past before it can decide its future. But visiting the installation means pretending to be an augmented human security consultant. Luckily ART has some ideas to help it with that.

The interactions between Murderbot and ART are very entertaining to read. You get a great feel for the concerns Murderbot has about getting caught while trying to investigate its past. It doesn’t know how to act like a human, so it’s fun watching it help the young humans who don’t know what they’re doing either. More of the wider world is hinted at, with other corporations that put profits over people.

It’s a novella, so it’s on the short side, but the story packs a punch.