AP Gaines

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Beautifully rendered vision of a journey into death and life. A seamless experience of reading, imagining and feeling was effortless, enlightening and spellbinding throughout.

The dialogue is superb. The thoughts of the protagonists felt so familiar I squirmed. The tone/theme/action congruence was so fluid I forgot that I was actually reading and not just seeing what was happening.

Techno-black-chaos magic realism in a syringe.

right in my wheelhouse. fantastic fiction of our shadow world. the stories show visions of where we might have gone, where we could be going, and, truthfully, where we ought to be.

orc tribes in Oregon, hacker harassment of ceo's, suicide cults and comrades these are a few of my favorite things

Heartfelt biography by Che's brother, a somewhat open look into the family dynamics and their role in Argentina's politics political tumult throughout the later half of the 20th century.

Should be required reading for anyone entering into criminal justice at any level, from beat cop to supreme court justice.

Five stars for a dynamic conclusion to an incredible journey with characters unlike most you'll find in speculative fiction or fantasy.

A mythological, techno-magical modern tale with an interesting cast of characters.

Nothing outstanding, nothing too deep, just a fun mystery/sci-fi page turner.

As great as Star Wars is The Empire Strikes Back is better. Godfather or Godfather part II? Part II. The Well of Ascension is yet another example of the sequel outperforming its precursor.

Espionage and political intrigue drive the plot as a city anticipates its demise. Throw in a love story between an assassin and a king; another love story between a eunuch and a matron who had been forced to breed babies throughout most of her life; then add an insane man who allows his father to believe he is trying to kill him.

The Power is powerful. The story repeatedly lulled me into its fictional world of what if, then blasted me with a shocking dose of reality. It's painful and poignant and perfect.

If a picture is worth 1000 words, this book is about 50 pictures- very cool pictures. The snapshots of future Earth create little itchy spots in my heart and brain, some get scratched some are still itchy. I'm very interested in sliding this slice of Le Guin's overall story arc into a slot on the bookshelf besides others in the Hainish series. This is the first I've read of that collective and will be reading more. I hope we get to meet up with Falk again.

The layers of intrigue and deceit spliced into an exceptionally well detailed world reverberate throughout the first person narrative. Instances of combat, sex, and torture are as lurid and explosive as the psychological/political manipulations are introspective and illuminating. The cyberpunk setting is not overly analyzed but gives enough detail to satisfy imagination, but you'd think with the pharmaceutical know-how and the advanced technology to transfer consciousness and simulate death someone would have found a cure for the common hangover.

I was very intrigued by the premise and it didn't disappoint. Although I'm a bit tired of the narrative by diary style it actually was integral in developing the character of the protagonist. The supernatural aspect of the story seemed unnecessary, it didn't detract so much as feel obligatory.

A courageous soldier's journey to the depths of what it means to be a soldier; both in becoming a part of the war machine and returning to life in “normal” society. A personal exploration of how the ruling class ideology transforms everyone, soldiers and civilians, during wartime-how each member of society deals with the brutality and psychic damage caused by the obligation to kill each other at the behest of those “in charge.”

“The end of the world can be cozy at times.”
“Yes, like a cave.”

One of the best non-apocalyptic apocalypse fiction books I've read. A beautiful exploration of unique love where the unimaginable realities of our lives are interwoven with a fantastical element to everyday life. When insanity comes to town the impossibility of leaving makes itself possible, and the things that are meant to tear us apart bring us closer together.

The usual tropes of humanities' salvation in the face of it's demise are set aside but ultimately illuminated in heartfelt illustrations of everyday people.

The 1st book, Sleeping Gods, is an excellent opener for a series setting the stage and developing the characters then ends with an intriguing twist. This second novel delivers the action and kept me in suspense throughout, and yet again ends with a deliciously baited hook.

If you're looking at the reviews it's likely that you're interested in sci-fi and have probably heard of this book already. I will add my voice to the cacophony of voices insisting that “you've got to read this book.” It's phenomenal.