Scott - Book Invasion

I remember reading this when I was about 12-13 and it's never gotten out of my head. I found a hardcover of it and decided to dive back in for the season. It was as dark as I remember and the illustrations are quite vivid. A great haunting fable.

This was a great novella. Quinto does great on the audio narration and the dialog is classic Scalzi. Loved it!

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW -
This was a very interesting and engaging story. Norman is an ex-Navy, stuck-in-his-ways, anti-automation kinda guy who was raised on ‘putting in the work'. A no-nonsense master of his own domain until he gets thrown into an alternate universe where he becomes a second-class citizen working slave labor for brutish humanoids. As we watch him struggle, new things come to light and his motivation becomes heartfelt and the stakes were high. The secondary characters were genuine and Brandon was hilarious. (though this opinion not likely to be shared by people younger than say, 35)
Norman's struggles seemed genuine and I felt invested in his journey. The alien world wasn't too crazy and the ending did not end up ‘riding off into the sunset' - which i appreciate.

The author-narration is always a plus and this did not disappoint. The Bomba language was a great touch in presentation and added great flair to the story.

4.5 start

???In a forgotten time, in a forgotten world, deep within a forgotten chamber few have even seen, The Shadow Glass sees all.???

As one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 (and also being entirely new to this author) I was super excited to get into this super nostalgia trip. And what a trip it was!

I???m of the target age for this book 100%. I remember many days watching and re-watching The Neverending Story, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, even Fraggle Rock. I was so engrossed with these imaginary creatures and the surrounding world it really cracked open my imagination at a young age. But enough about me.

The Shadow Glass is the story of a lost man, jaded by life and estranged by his father, Jack Corman attempts to get out from under the looming shadow of his bad memories and into a ???new life???. Hes turned his back on the legacy that his father built and is done trying to reconcile his guilt for his fathers downfall. Though through the story Jack experiences the adoration of the fandom that his father had created and as the story progresses we see a bit more growth from Jack which was really well done.

The characters and creatures here are what really shines in the story. Sandwiched between the familial reconciliation of our protagonist Jack are fresh and exciting creature-characters that are not too far fetched and not too familiar. The world of Iri and it???s inhabitants ??? the Kettu, Wugs, Skalions, and the scene-stealing Lub- were the highlight of the story. I really wanted the book to spend more time in that world and really engross us in it???s lore. But viewing it from the outside combined with the sprinkles of the flashback snippets and original screenplay scenes in between chapters was a really great touch.

Josh Winning???s writing flourishes with nostalgia and references to the 80s puppet-fantasy fandom though never feels overdone. It???s also a story about re-capturing your imagination and inviting color back into a dull and de-saturated life. Winning has produced a fantastic contribution to the classic 80s puppet-fantasy fandom, and I???m here for it.

After reading and enjoying The Warehouse a couple years ago, I really enjoyed Hart???s take on the culture and future that we???re digging ourselves into. With The Paradox Hotel, a bit more suspension of disbelief is required of the reader.

The story takes place in the year ???twenty-goddamn-seventy-two??? following the hotel ???security??? guard January Cole. January has been around the hotel for quite a while and seen some shit. She embodies the no-nonsense, jaded, zero-F???s-gven, kind of attitude that results in hilarious exchanges with her all-knowing AI drone Ruby that floats over her shoulder. Also including a wide cast of characters from the rest of the hotel staff to the big-wigs and foreign diplomats wanting to put in their bid for ownership.

“He has wild hair and thick plastic-framed glasses, his paisley button-down tucked into a pair of mustard khakis. He???s the kind of person i would have taken seriously if not for the fact that he???s also wearing a bow tie. Some things are hard to forgive.”

The Paradox Hotel mixes up a stew of delicious concepts from time-travel, closed-room murder-mystery, spiraling psychosis, mistrust, raptors running-amok, and lost love. It then sprinkles on top some great humor and perspective from January which makes it go down smooth. The story was intriguing and engaging and there was constant question of the ???who??? and ???why???. The concept of January being ???unstuck??? in time, the flashbacks, and flash-forward really spun a solid web of intrigue and curiosity.

“This is a jigsaw puzzle someone dumped on the floor and then kicked a handful of he pieces under the couch. And they won???t show me the box, but they still want me to put it together. Quickly and in the dark.”


The complexity of this incredibly enjoyable story leaves readers guessing until the end, chuckling all the way through. I really enjoyed January???s character and the wit and humor throughout. I would recommend this for a light sci-fi fan who also enjoys a rich game of Clue.