Michael Cummings

I loved the Saga of the Seven Suns.

The story was ok, but the actual writing was far under par compared to other Anderson books. I would still be willing to try the sequel - I really did love the original saga - but expected better writing than this.

This is not literature. This is not high quality fiction, to be discussed in parlor's while sipping brandy. Not even during an afternoon respite, perhaps with some mint juleps or even just a cup of tea and biscuits.

For the record, I also didn't agree that this was a successor to the likes of Asimov (I've seen that reference).

So what was it, and why did I give it 4 stars? Bara's book was in line with Dickson's Childe Cycle, starting at Dorsai!, and that's not too shabby (Dorsai! will always be ranked in my top favorite books of all time). Impulse is a military space opera. Big events, big stakes, some big curtain tugs and waving of hands, and some big dumb objects. While I don't know if any one element of the story stood out for me (though it did remind me a bit of another guilty pleasure, Terry Nixon's Empire of Bones books), I found myself unable to put the book down. Maybe it helped that in this rare case, I was actually carting around a paperback copy of the book, but I found myself reading the entire book in just three days. In a week where I've been sick and missing all of my regular cadences, that says something.

With summer starting up here in the Northern Hemisphere, Impulse makes a great beach read. You're not reading a book like this because you want to explore the human condition - you're reading it for some fun adventure, and it delivers.

Really 3.5 stars, but I chose to round down. My biggest issue with this freshman novel by Brooks is that he hadn't learned to show instead of telling yet. I admit, I wasn't surprised by the heavy borrows from Tolkien, but (and this is why I marked it spoilerly) I can't help but wonder if Goodkind didn't in turn borrow heavily from Brooks with his Sword of Truth. Either that or the Sword of Shannara gets around.

Rawr

This is the roar of a dinosaur evolving into a primate and making a statement. One part manifesto, one short story, and some open letters. Its a format you don't see often these days, but its all Ken.

I grabbed the kindle edition, so these notes are particular to that release:

* Formatting: bleh. Not a single consistent font though the book. Pages that have two lines of text. At least the formatting made for a quick read (I see goodreads lists the book as having 200+ pages? More like 50. I read the bulk of it in an hour.)
* Content: I (mistakenly) expected something with a bit more discussion. This book is to Britain what Foxworthy is to Red Necks - largely a collection of “you know you're British if...” punchlines without any actual framing discussions.

Somewhat disappointing, to be honest. In chapter 3 there's a quiz for how British you are - I came out decidedly British, which was fun/amusing, but that was really about as deep as the book got.

How a Python was born

Cleese's autobiography is, on the surface, the story of his life leading up to the Python years. But really? A subtle farewell note to Graham Chapman. And a lot of background material. ☺

Like every Tad Williams book I've read, it takes 100+ pages to get the story going, but once set it's worth the wait. My only complaint (hence the spoiler marker, sorry) is that the answer to one of the mysteries was very much Deus ex Machina - the death caused by a thing we hadn't even heard of until the moment it was revealed to be the murderer. Otherwise, a great read, looking forward to the rest of the series.

There's talk these days of good retro-scifi, and in its own way I think this accidentally fits. Not because it's retro - it was written in its time - but because it has that perfect blend of 50's vernacular with future society problems. Pohl and Kornbluth took a stab at what the future would look like, and for all that they failed and missed with, they still managed to hit a few things dead on. A good read.

Really enjoyed this prequel. Readers of the original books may get a little teary eyed, and new readers will find it a good starting point. There were parts of the original series that make more sense now having read this book. A bit quick to read, but well worth it.

A good read, I couldn't help but hear Bogart in my head every time Marlowe spoke. I was a little surprised by the maturity of some of the content (filmed today, it would definitely be rated R), as well as some of the homophobic comments. I recognize and acknowledge that it is a product of its time and don't hold it against the book, but it was still unexpected.

I'm of the opinion that this quartet of books would have been better suited as just one long volume rather than 4 shorter works. That said, it fills the itch it was intended for - sword and sorcery with a touch of pulp.

A little heavy on the eco side at random intervals, but all in all a fun romp through the Spirit world with the Trickster (and maybe some other characters, but he was my favorite).

Read this in just a few days - somewhat of a record for me in these modern times. First, let me repeat sentiments from my review of the first Paladin book - Dalgish packs a nice, old school epic fantasy punch in a short amount of space. The book is only 250ish pages long (hence my being able to read it so fast), and avoids being overly complicated. At the same time, a wonderful reminder that you can have fun in fantasy still. A book doesn't need to be 1000 pages long to be enjoyable.

A bit darker than the first book, book 2 sticks with the general formula of dealing with only one major plot line successfully. Enjoy!

I must admit, an unexpectedly good time if brief. Old school fantasy (I really mean no offense by this, but it had an 80's fantasy vibe, only complete if there was a heavy metal thrash soundtrack in the background), but at the same time somewhat refreshing. It didn't linger or try to be more than it was - a story about two opposing paladins for opposing religions fighting an army of wolf men. Of course it wouldn't be book one in a series if that was all there was to it, but it didn't overstep too much either.

Overall, I enjoyed Terry's book. It was a lot of rough around the edges at times (repetition of phrases, one case of bad math, or at least unclear math), but I'm sure this is something improved on in later books. As for the story, they're the kind of tropes I love reading - human empires broken of from old Earth, lost and alone, attempting to regain contact. There were some elements that reminded me a lot of Weber's Dahak books (in a good way :) )

Meh.

If you look at the reviews for this book, you will see that folks either fall into the love it or hate it crowd. I didn't hate it, but I really, really didn't love it. While I agree there are same languid points in the book, my biggest problems were that I felt nothing for the main character, and was frankly a little disturbed that every woman he met was either sexy or a shrew. I realize the main character is in his late teens, presumably his world view being skewed by hormones - but we have no real feel for the other characters outside the cardboard shadows they cast.

I might give another book in the series a shot - I liked the magic system, thought the world had some potential - but it's not on my TBR list any time soon.

I have to admit, going solely on the back cover blurb, I was skeptical about this book, putting it off as a TBR for the last few years. I finally found a copy at a used bookstore and was in the mood for something that was a bit more meaty than usual faire of Sci-Fi I'd been reading later.

What won me over in the end was that it was an Alastair Reynolds book. I loved his Revelation Space books; the same can be said for this first chapter in the Poseidon's Children series. It starts off as a future drama, but quickly unfolds into the kind of space opera I've come to enjoy. We worth the week long marathon I spent reading it :)

Like Dave Barry giving writing advice (am I dating myself?), Resnick's book is a somewhat humorous collection of anecdotes focussed on reminding writers bad things happen, it's a career not a hobby, and the rewards aren't always greater than the investment. And yet we keep doing it.

Distance and bad memory lured me to the second book on a used bookstore binge trip - I'd forgotten that I didn't enjoy the first one that much. In that ranking scale, I enjoyed this book much more, though I was still reminded of the Seven Suns Saga a lot.

Brief but thorough introduction to Smith's writing style, aka organic or pantsing (or as Smith refers to it, writing into the dark). Quick motiviational collection of essays.

I hate starting reviews with “it was better than I expected” - but it really was. Somewhat pulpy, solid military sci-fi story. You get what you expect out of it - action in a spacefaring future. As a freshman publication, it was solid if a little fast. I'll definitely be happy to read the next two volumes in the series.

Perfect summer read. Not quite as much fun as book one, but still a good time. Same campiness you would find in a Buffy or such, only with a druid and his baggage.

Oberon might be my spirit animal.

Book five in the series returns us to the Solar System as the focus of our plot. Fast paced, this novel withdraws from some of the alien protomolecule activity to focus more on people being people.

I still miss Miller, but a good addition to the series.

Repeats a lot of advice others give (only sub to pro markets, keep on subbing, etc.), but with a mix of some fresh perspective and a real kick in the pants attitude, a solid motivational book for short story writers, especially in SF/F/H genres (Smith doesn't exclude others, but he has an obvious preference/history). Five stars for the kick, I needed that.

The Widow's House suffered from a dragging middle as Abraham's put pieces in place for the concluding volume(s) of the series. Not a bad book, just a bit long in parts.