Trey

Well that escalated quickly.

Unlikable characters. Implausible set up. Even less plausible resolution. I did not care for this book.

Thank goodness this is over.

This series is far, FAAAARRRR too long. There are a million zillion characters and they change names and/or have similar names to one another. They use magic in perplexingly dull ways. Every time the characters turn around they're offering some sweeping statement about men and women. And we get reminded repeatedly about trivial details. Many if not most of the tension and conflicts are the result of characters simply not having frank, honest conversations with one another.

I will say that the last three books, written by Brandon Sanderson, are much more action-packed and seem to actually have a directed plot. But they're still too long.

I know people love these books and I understand it up to a point. But it's far too long. I'm glad I'm done reading it.

I didn't realize all these authors knew one another. I also didn't realize that the pulp fiction industry operated in the way described here. So, that part was interesting.

The long digression into L. Ron Hubbard's creation of scientology was interesting, but I felt like it was taking up too much space in the book. I wanted to hear more about Asimov and Heinlein.

Also, holy racism and sexual assault, Batman!

This is one and a half books bound under a single cover.

But, also, this is the book I've been waiting for: It's when everyone just has the simple conversations they should have had at least six books ago.

I'm sure this is the most trite and overused description of this book, but it's true: it's funny, smart, and emotional.

There's so much that I relate to in his story and I have several friends to whom I will recommend this.

Things are happening!!!

I am still not loving this series, but this was the most exciting and purposeful installment of recent memory. I am actually looking forward to how things resolve over the next two books.

I absolutely adored book 1 of this series. Book 2 was meh to me. But this book recaptured a lot of the original magic of the first book and gave it a more mature patina. I'm tempted to immediately start the next book, but I think it's best if I wait.

I usually dislike what I've come to call “generation stories,” but Robinson does a marvelous job of making this personal and interesting. My only complaint is that some of the most exciting moments are skipped and described only after the fact.

Picked this up because it's in the same universe as the Temperance Brennan books.

This is nothing like those books.

This is YA sci-fi mystery.

The audiobook narrator is not great.

Absolutely fascinating!

I disagree with soooo much in this book, but it is thought-provoking.

The mot aggravating part is, I think, the lack of a clear counter-proposal to the problems he sees. It's clearly implied, of course, but he doesn't elaborate.

Erotica isn't really my jam, but I picked this up for a friend and was pleasantly surprised by how interesting I found the mystery to be.

Warning: the mystery isn't resolved in this book!

A very interesting character study in the form of a murder mystery. French's mastery of voice is truly incredible.

But I think this book has some first novel problems. The voice over in the beginning warning about lies, for instance. Also, the true bad guy was immediately recognizable. I'll avoid spoilers, but it's a very old trope.

It is interesting how this book does not have a happy ending at all. It makes me curious about how the rest of the series is set up. I'll definitely come back to the Dublin Murder Squad later on.

Another fairly exciting installment, but yet another that doesn't feel like a complete novel.

Funny and thought-provoking. I stayed up past my bedtime to finish this one. And the audiobook version is read by the author. It's wonderful!

A murder mystery classic. I was very pleased that I was able to not recall anything I'd ever heard about this book and so I was absolutely delighted at the revelation at the end.

I am not sure the audiobook reader really did justice to Poirot's voice, though. He came off as rather bland and uninteresting.

A nice conclusion to the series! I really enjoyed this trilogy quite a lot.

MUCH better reader on the audiobook version of this one than the reader on the first book.

I enjoyed this book, but it is very much a “middle” book or something. It starts midway through the action and ends midway through the action. Which means it ends with a cliffhanger and none of the major arcs are resolved.

This is a fun book, but I can't recommend the audiobook version. The reader's ability to do English accents is distressingly, embarrassingly weak.

Aside from that, though, this is a really solid YA book. And it's pretty different from the movie.

I listened to the audiobook version of this twice today and I think I'm going to buy the Kindle version so that I can highlight passages and make notes. Also, I think I need to go through and read this more carefully in order to better contemplate Harris's argument.

His objection to the claim of free will seems to be the combination of several premises:
1) We live in a causal universe.
2) Our bodies including our neural processes are all subject to causality as well.
3) It's not possible to consciously know and control all the biological factors that go into our decisions.

Therefore, what we subjectively experience as “free will” or acts of choice actually arise deterministically and are beyond our actual control.

I won't get into all the arguments and counter-arguments here. I also think it's important to remember that the burden of proof is actually on those who claim that free will exists. I don't like Harris's choice of definition of what free will is and what the requirements are, but I assume he came upon those honestly when he chose to present this counter-argument to the claim. I do wish, though, he had given more lengthy treatment to the compatibalist arguments on the topic.

This is an interesting read and there are a number of challenging and thought-provoking ideas in this book. Also, it's a very short read.

The low rating I've given this book is really just a reflection of my appreciation (or lack thereof) for this type of story.

I think the writing is pretty good. I appreciate all the scientific aspects of the story, which remind me a lot of Neal Stephenson's work. But the story itself isn't very compelling to me. The conflicts seem small, inconsequential, and without much tension.

The most frustrating aspect of the story to me is the fact that so little time is spent on/with Aurora, the source of the title of the book.

I really debated over whether this were a four-star or a five-star book. The only reason for the debate was the fact that this is like Gold Rising starring River from Firefly. But, you know what? I love Gold Rising and River from Firefly. So, that settled it. Five stars.

I appreciate the effort to make what would otherwise be a dry, recitation of facts into something more fun, but this book is far too romantic for my tastes. And I did not appreciate the constant references to supernatural and mystical things... I'm reading for science, not magic here.

I enjoyed all three of the books in this series quite a lot, but this is, in my opinion, the best of the three. It's tense and exciting. And it's the kind of mystery that – with the right knowledge and careful observation – you might be able to solve on your own.

But I was completely surprised.

SO FUN!!

Peculiarly engrossing.