Rob
Picked up Ninth House on a whim because I had heard good things about Leigh Bardugo's writing and after reading back to back LitRPG and fantasy books, I needed something a bit darker.
Wow, did I get it.
Galaxy "Alex" Stern is not your average, run-of-the-mill, college student just trying to get through freshman math at Yale. She has survived a horrific accident and found herself being offered a new life. A life in a place she had never dreamed of. A life where she has to deal with magic. Magic that may allow her to feel normal for the first time.
As the new Dante for the the ninth of the "Ancient Eight" secret soceities at Yale, she has a job to do. Lethe watch the other eight and try to make sure nothing gets too out of hand because children playing with the very foundations of reality always goes well.
When a routine ritual is ruined by the ghosts that walk the New Haven streets, Alex tries to find out what happened. That leads her to the death of a young woman with seemingly no ties to the school or the ancient eight. As she attempts to unravel the knot of these two incidents, she begins to piece together he own version of Dante's journey into hell.
First things first, Bruce just doesn't spill the tea, he dumps it from a 55-gallon drum. Granted, most of this gossip is decades old at this point, but it is fun to hear it from a voice that was in the room when it happened. He covers TV, movies, Broadway, and everything in between. In a storied career such as his, Bruce has gallons of tea left to go.
This is the ongoing story of Kodiak and Ambrose from The Darkness Outside Us. We jump forward 16 years to find them living and loving on the exoplanet Minerva and what their lives look like after crash landing in this "new Eden".
I have to say, I didn't enjoy this nearly as much as The Darkness Outside Us. While it is still well written and the characters are their own individual selves, the story seemed just off. Not in any measurable way, but I think it had to do with the existential questions that Ambrose, Kodiak, and others have to wrestle with as they find their Eden beset by problems.
Having the characters time jump 30k years into the past may also have something to do with it, but I did like the backstory there.
There is also a plot twist that, while you can see it coming, is still devastating when it arrives.
The Darkness Outside Us is the story of Ambrose and Kodiak. Two young men who are selected and trained to go on a months-long mission to Saturn's moon Titan to save Ambrose's sister Minerva.
I found this book utterly charming and intense. Ambrose is funny and smart while Kodiak is brooding and may be smarter than Ambrose, though Ambrose won't admit it. I picked it up after hearing about it on the Talking About Dragons and S*!t podcast and I am so glad I did.
Son of the Storm brings us into the world of Danso, a man whose life is set before him. In training to become a jali, Danso's life is orderly and boring. He must find time for his studies, his intended Eschme, his father, uncles, and all the demands of his life. Everything is upset when a strange figure snatches him from the dark and shows him a magic that is more fantasy than legend. Once shown this folk tale made flesh, however, Danso's life cannot be boring again.
I'm not usually a romance reader; even if the romance is men-loving-men or queer-based, they just don't interest me. Usually. Me picking up this series and book is totally the fault of TikTok, Connor Storrie, Hudson Williams, and Rachel Reid. After seeing all the hype, I gave in.
I am absolutely glad I did.
While the book does have its flaws (namely the pacing of the relationship, some vernacular, and depth of character), I found the story enjoyable and moving.
On to the second book in the Game Changers series.
So I found the pacing much better in this book than in the first one, and the use of dates and times to show how long it takes Ilya and Shane to finally get together. Their relationship seems much more grounded and real vs. what Scott and Kip went through in Game Changers.
I really wanted to like this series. It has plenty of ideas and individual plotlines that I liked, but taken as a whole, it was just okay. The MC is insufferably juvenile for all but a bit of book two and the latter third of book three. Things happen to him and it's rare for him to be proactive about making things happen. I understand that it's part of his journey, but to spend roughly 15-20% of a three book series just being reactionary is underwhelming.
The rest of the stories surrounding the Quentin's are well done and seem more proactive in their lives. I especially liked Julia and Elliot's arcs and found them much more engaging than the rest of them. Learning the fates of the Chatwin's is a pleasant surprise and helped to drive the plot nicely.
All-in-all the books were a good read, but had some issues with character agency and story pace.
I first read HGTTG in junior high and fell in love with not only its sense of humor but the world as well. Arthur just wants a highway bypass not to go where it's supposed to go, Zaphod wants to not have to do anything, Trillian is just cool, Ford really knows where his towel is, and a bowl of petunias is wondering how in the hell it got into this mess ... again.
This series is one of the ones I go back to as a comfort and nostalgia read. Also, it helps if you read it in Stephen Fry's voice.
I read I'm Glad My Mom Is Dead right after reading Wil Wheaton's Still Just A Geek. I don't suggest that. Wil's book destroyed me. Jennette's left me sobbing on the bus during my commutes.
As a child of a narcissistic mother, this hit closer to home than I first thought it would. Trying to be good enough to be loved to that final realization that you aren't the problem, her story could have been mine (minus working on a hit TV show). Her prose, while perfunctory, tells of the anger, heartbreak, and resilience that healing adults should all strive to have.
I came to Jenny's unique life via Jennette McCurdy. It was suggested to me as a next read, and after hearing a sample, I was in.
Jenny's writing is like that of a friend who you can't wait to catch up with, and when you finally do, you're both shocked and tickled about her comings and goings. Maybe it was her ... less than conventional life, love of odd taxidermied animals, or the anxiety that was running both her and my life at the time; I just couldn't stop reading.
Her storytelling is warm, inviting, moving, and deeply unhinged. She is a voice that helped me through some rough times, and I am grateful.
As a fan of the Jaysea Lynn's (@sea.ya.later) Hell's Bells series on TikTok, I was ecstatic to hear that she was writing a prequel novel. I was blown away by the depth and care to which she wrote these characters. The relationships between Lily, Bel, Sharkie, Luci, and all of the others feel grounded in reality even if she is talking about a 7 foot tall purple demon or a sentient Hobbit-hole.
Another “pick up on a whim” read. I had been hearing a lot about Project Hail Mary in relation to Dungeon Crawler Carl and decided to give it a read. While it isn't as puntastic as DCC can be, there were many times that I laughed really hard. All the characters, from Grace to Rocky, have an emotional depth that is missing in a lot of sci-fi. Highly recommend.
With All Systems Red, Martha Wells brings us into the inner life of a rogue security bot who just wants to be left alone and watch their stories. When they don't get that, they realize that they have to stop half-assing their job and actually protect the people they work for.
I have never related more to a character in my entire life.
In The Monster of Florence, Preston and Spezi give us the inside details of not only one of Italy's most horrific crimes, but also one of it's most perplexing investigations. With a cast of hundreds, including the authors, The Monster of Florence is about murder in the birthplace of the Renaissance and what can happen when people try to “save face”.
This book is insufferably boring. The author, who is a sports writer, jumps back and forth in the narrative so much that it not only feels disjointed, it's so bad you feel whiplash. Also, it sometimes feels as if every stray thought from the author's mind about the case gets written down. Avoid this book.