Rob
Another solid entry to this series. I wish we got some more answers in the book. There was some promising setup that made me think we'd be learning more than we actually did about the publishing company. There were also a few places where it felt like it could use some editing, but overall enjoyable.
The audiobook was really good as usual. Roger Wayne does a bunch of voices that make it easy to know who is talking and really adds that extra something to the book with his reading.
Despite owning the ebook for some time, it took audible releasing new audiobooks that were included with my membership for me to give this series another try.
I'm glad I did. I ended liking this more than the first book (which I liked more in audio and/or on a second read). I still find some of the characters unlikeable, but Simon and Kai have both grown on me. I'll be moving right on to the final book (and not just because the included with audible timeframe is quickly dwindling).
The audio is good. I really like Travis Baldree. I will probably do Will Wight's Shadow and Sea books in audio because he narrates the Sea books.
3.5 stars. A bit cookie-cutter at times, but still pretty enjoyable overall. There were some interesting overarching developments in this one but for the most part I don't feel like this book covered much new ground. I still enjoyed it enough that I'll pick up the next one, but I'm hoping for something different in terms of the book structure and plot, kind of like how Dresden Files stopped being focused around a specific case each book.
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith continues to be the highlight of the series for me. He does another fantastic job with the audiobook.
Executive Summary: I thought this was an ok addition to the series, but a bit more melodramatic than the main series. 3.5 starsAudiobook: Suzy Jackson does a good job, but I kept thinking this was Spensa at times simply because I'm used to her normal voice being Spensa's voice.Full ReviewI think I was supposed to read this before [b:Cytonic 57571215 Cytonic (Skyward, #3) Brandon Sanderson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1622045953l/57571215.SX50.jpg 67851209] but I didn't seem to find an issue with reading it after.It follows FM, one of the supporting characters from the first Skyward novels. As I have been missing characters from that book, it was nice to get a story with them again. I believe the main series is considered YA, but it doesn't really strike me that way too often. However this book felt a lot more YA at times.I'm generally not a big fan of short fiction, but I thought this was a decent addition to the series for the length. I will probably try to pick up the other novellas at some point, but I'm not in a major rush.
Top Reads of 2021These are my top reads from 20211) [b:Leviathan Falls 28335699 Leviathan Falls (The Expanse #9) James S.A. Corey https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600283641l/28335699.SY75.jpg 48382891] - 5 Stars - (My Review)2) [b:Reaper 57640065 Reaper (Cradle, #10) Will Wight https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1630800925l/57640065.SX50.jpg 90283509] - 4 Stars - (My Review)3) [b:Project Hail Mary 54493401 Project Hail Mary Andy Weir https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1597695864l/54493401.SY75.jpg 79106958] - 4 Stars - (My Review)4) [b:Bloodline 55595995 Bloodline (Cradle, #9) Will Wight https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1616477745l/55595995.SY75.jpg 86702392] -4 Stars - (My Review)5) [b:The House in the Cerulean Sea 45047384 The House in the Cerulean Sea T.J. Klune https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1569514209l/45047384.SY75.jpg 62945242] - 4 Stars - (My Review)For the rest of my review here's the report generated by my GoodReads Parser Application and some general comments about the numbers. ^_^**** Yearly Report ****Year: 2021Total Books: 30Total Backlog Books: 7 (23.33%)Rereads: 8 (26.67%)2021 continued my downward trend of reading. I aimed for 25, and exceeded it, but just barely. I did a lot of other things (including listening to music with the windows down when the weather was nice) rather than reading. I mostly I'm ok with this, as reading was starting to feel like a chore, however my backlog continues to grow and there were several 2021 releases I just didn't have time for.Part of that was due to my massive Expanse re-read. That turned out to be worth it as [b:Leviathan Falls 28335699 Leviathan Falls (The Expanse #9) James S.A. Corey https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600283641l/28335699.SY75.jpg 48382891] was my favorite read of the year.******* Format Breakdown ******Total AUDIO_BOOK Count: 25 (83.33%)Total BOOK Count: 1 (3.33%)Total EBOOK Count: 4 (13.33%)I haven't been motivated to sit down and read at all this year. I only completed 5 books that way. The others were all audio. Now I typically do far more audio than other formats, but this is an especially high ratio.******* Genre Breakdown ******Total FANTASY Count: 11 (36.67%)Total HORROR Count: 1 (3.33%)Total MYSTERY Count: 1 (3.33%)Total NONFICTION Count: 1 (3.33%)Total SCIFI Count: 16 (53.33%)This is probably the first time since I started tracking my reading that I read more Sci-Fi than fantasy. A large part of that (9) was the expanse. However there were a few other Sci-Fi releases from 2021 that padded that out as well. I expect next year things return to normal, especially since there are several fantasy releases of 2021 I haven't gotten to yet that I plan to next year.******** Author Gender Breakdown ********Total MALE Count: 26 (86.67%)Total FEMALE Count: 4 (13.33%)I had been trending more towards at least 3:1 or even 2:1 in years past, but I think since I mostly stuck with authors I already read, I ended up with a pretty bad ratio. I do have a few books by female authors I hope to add next year, but we'll see what I have time for.** Ratings ****Average Rating: 3.9Total 3 Count: 7 (23.33%)Total 4 Count: 19 (63.33%)Total 5 Count: 4 (13.33%)This is slightly higher than normal. It's skewed by the Expanse reread which are all either 4 or 5 star reads. I typically don't read many books I don't enjoy anymore though.Years Published:Total 1992 Count: 2 (6.67%)Total 1994 Count: 1 (3.33%)Total 2011 Count: 1 (3.33%)Total 2012 Count: 2 (6.67%)Total 2013 Count: 2 (6.67%)Total 2014 Count: 2 (6.67%)Total 2015 Count: 2 (6.67%)Total 2016 Count: 1 (3.33%)Total 2017 Count: 1 (3.33%)Total 2019 Count: 2 (6.67%)Total 2020 Count: 6 (20.00%)Total 2021 Count: 8 (26.67%)Decade Published:Total 1990 Count: 3 (10.00%)Total 2010 Count: 13 (43.33%)Total 2020 Count: 14 (46.67%)Heavy on the new stuff since it was mostly stuff from the last 2 years. That trend is likely to continue given how few books I'm doing now.Number of Books: 5Total Pages: 1625Total From Backlog: 1Longest Book: Reaper (Cradle, #10) by Will Wight - 465 pagesShortest Book: Dawnshard (The Stormlight Archive, #3.5) by Brandon Sanderson - 171 pagesAverage Pages: 325Number of Books (Excluding Graphic Novels): 5Total Pages (Excluding Graphic Novels): 1625Average Pages (Excluding Graphic Novels): 325Number of Audiobooks: 25Total Audio Hours: 398Total From Backlog: 6Longest Book: Persepolis Rising (The Expanse, #7) by James S.A. Corey - 21 hoursShortest Book: Fugitive Telemetry (The Murderbot Diaries, #6) by Martha Wells - 5 hoursAverage Hours: 15.92Overall this is the lowest quantity of reading I've done since I started tracking on goodreads, and that includes a partial year in 2012. I'm not sure what 2022 will bring. Maybe I'll read more, but likely about the same. I still enjoy reading books, but it's not my main focus anymore.
Executive Summary: Another decent entry in the series but far different than I expected.
Audiobook: Suzy Jackson does another good job here. She does a variety of voices to add a little extra something to the audio version.
Full Review
After Brandon's Reckoner's series, I thought I was done with his non-Cosmere books, but I picked up the first book in this series when looking for a light read and it fit the bill. So once again this year looking for a similar book before the holidays, I opted for the latest in the series.
This series has sort of gone off in a direction I didn't expect it to, but that hasn't been a bad thing per say. I do find myself missing many of the supporting characters from the first book, and then the second, but found myself enjoying the new supporting characters of this third book.
There was some interesting world building in here. I was a little skeptical for awhile, but it was well explained later on in the book.
That said, I'm hoping we get back the characters of the first book in the next one.
Executive Summary: Endings are hard. This one isn't “perfect” but is quite satisfying.Audiobook: Early on I felt that Jefferson Mays was just OK and kind of hoped for a better replacement. I'm not sure if he grew on me or simply got better, but he does a fantastic job here. I can tell who is talking just by the way he reads. It probably helps that I just redid the entire series beforehand, but either way I highly recommend this series in audio.Full ReviewI was late in coming to the Expanse. I think 3 (or maybe 4?) books were out by the time I first picked it up. However I was pretty instantly hooked. I tore through everything published and from then on I would eagerly await each new book.The series peaked a little for me with [b:Nemesis Games 22886612 Nemesis Games (The Expanse, #5) James S.A. Corey https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407524221l/22886612.SY75.jpg 42456264] and [b:Babylon's Ashes 25877663 Babylon's Ashes (The Expanse, #6) James S.A. Corey https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442247299l/25877663.SY75.jpg 45754030], but I enjoyed it enough to revisit the entire series ahead of this final book. This is one of those series that is really good from start to finish, which is rather hard to do with such a long series.I won't get into any real detail here, but I will say the book answered most (but not all) of my lingering questions and left things off at a pretty good stopping place with a satisfying conclusion.I'm pretty stingy with my 5 star ratings, but one of my go to criteria is a tendency to find extra time to read a book. There were several points in this book where I wanted to listen to “just 1 more chapter” only to find myself needing another 1 (or 2) because I really wanted to know what happened next.I thought the choice of POV was pretty good, although I did struggle a bit with Tanaka. Most of the characters in the series have been interesting, even if they aren't likeable. Tanaka is probably up there with Singh for least enjoyable. I think is in part due to a dislike of the Laconians in general. They zealotry is just hard for me to empathize with. Tanaka is a VERY different character than Singh, but yet I couldn't help to think back to him throughout this book.I've always been drawn more to fantasy than sci-fi with my reading. I don't really like too much “science” in my book. I'm not looking for the author to show me how smart they are with the science in their story. One of the things I've loved about this series is the science seems sound/interesting but doesn't beat you over the head with it. It comes up where relevant, but the characters are the main driving force of the plot.I'm going to really miss this series, because I've yet to find anything else like it. However I appreciate that the authors had a story in mind and they stuck to that. It'd be easy to drag things out or add on extra books because of it's popularity.In the meantime I'm excited for [a:Daniel Abraham 13557729 Daniel Abraham https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s return to fantasy with [b:Age of Ash 58340712 Age of Ash (Kithamar #1) Daniel Abraham https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1639378569l/58340712.SY75.jpg 90047600] while I wait to see what [a:James S.A. Corey 4192148 James S.A. Corey https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1573162332p2/4192148.jpg] has in store for us next.
Executive Summary: Another solid entry in the series with some major developments that will have some interesting repercussions in the next book.Full Review2021 has been a tough year of reading for me. In general I tend to do more audio books than text based (physical + ebook) reading. However this was only the fifth (and final) book I read for the year, when I'd typically read 12-15 in a normal year. And of those five, another was the previous book in this series. This has become my most anticipated release right now, and a major motivation for me to keep reading.Coming into this book, I tended to kind of gloss over some of the interludes and larger “cosmos” type details. I've struggled to put a lot of that in context and preferred to focus more on Lindon and his friends instead. After reading this book, I want to revisit all the past books with a closer eye to some of those details to see if they make more sense now.I don't want to say much more because 10 books into the series it would just be nothing but spoilers. I imagine for other readers who have been more observant than I am, the payoff in this book was probably huge.For me since I tend to prefer the Cradle aspect of the story, I found some of the early going of this book a bit slow. Once things got going and some major reveals occurred, I was sucked way in.So now I'm eagerly looking forward to [b:Dreadgod 59515764 Dreadgod (Cradle, #11) Will Wight https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1635808440l/59515764.SX50.jpg 93738439].
Executive Summary: I thought this started a bit slow, had a pretty good middle and a somewhat underwhelming ending.
Audiobook: Dick Hill does a pretty good with the book. He does a few voices that makes it easier to distinguish between the characters and making this book work pretty well in audio.
Full Review
This is now the 3rd Harry Bosch book I've read, and I thought it was OK, but I was sort of let down by the ending a bit. I also found some of the issues raised in this book by the trial of Harry Bosch stirring up memories of recent events in the news (and not in a good way).
I found the actual mystery part of the book pretty enjoyable. I liked the way in which Harry went about investigating things. I thought things felt pretty believable all along. However I found the final reveal and some of the fallout from it, a bit of a let down.
I'm not sure what I was hoping for, but I'm not sure I'll continue on with the series. I haven't found the sequel books nearly as enjoyable as the first one was.
Executive Summary: A bit of a slow start and some VERY clunky prose, But overall another fun entry in the series. 3.5 stars, rounded up.Audiobook: I really like Nick Podehl and he once again does a great job here. He uses a variety of voices that makes each character distinct. There are parts of this book through no fault of his own that are a bit painful to listen to as “unabridged” audio, but not too many. Overall I really enjoy audio and will continue to do this series that way.Full ReviewI struggled with the start of this book to get back into things. It didn't help that it felt like the author was frequently advertising his other related books. The characters are often telling other characters stories or commenting how a character might tell them a story later.All that was missing was the author's footnote saying “available now where all books are sold”. I tried [b:Six Sacred Swords 43902687 Six Sacred Swords (Weapons and Wielders, #1) Andrew Rowe https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1551600782l/43902687.SY75.jpg 67973755] which is one of those series and generally struggled with it.I enjoy this series and its characters, so now I feel like I'm missing out on important backstory by not reading the other series. Especially when the author continued to bring it up as part of this story. All this is to say that it really put me off on the wrong foot with this book from the beginning.However as things went along, I remember why I enjoy this series so much. The prose has not always been the best, but the world building and the towers are just a lot of fun.I just generally enjoy the characters as well. I also particularly like the main character. That can help when the dialogue is clunky too.Overall, I found this a fun read, but it still suffers from polish issues. I'm looking forward to the next book, but I hope there is less talk about how events will be taking place in one of other connected series.
Executive Summary: If you liked the Martian, you'll probably like this. It follows a very similar structure. I didn't like this quite as much, but overall enjoyed it.Audiobook: Ray Porter does a fantastic job as usual. I always enjoy his narration style and he's a good fit for tone of this book. It really adds a bit extra that makes me glad I did the audio version.Full ReviewI really loved [b:The Martian 18007564 The Martian Andy Weir https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413706054l/18007564.SY75.jpg 21825181]. I'm generally not a “hard” sci-fi fan. I tend to prefer space fantasy or space opera. However there was something about that book that just really appealed to me.Their wasn't so much of a plot as a series of scientific problems where our overqualified protagonist managed to “science the shit” out of them until the book ended. This book had a very similar structure. The protagonist felt like it could have easily been Mark Watney.I struggled a bit with this at the start. Our protagonist wakes up with amnesia which to me felt like it was simply a plot device to create more mystery and suspense as the slowly remember critical details at just the right time of the book.That said at a certain point of the book (I won't say which, since I don't like to include spoilers in my reviews), things really picked up for me and I was hooked in. It was this aspect more than anything that distinguished this book from the Martian for me.That said I felt like I had to suspend my disbelief a bit. Things just felt a bit over dramatic at times. I was also starting to wear down a bit at the “formula” of problem after problem with science to the rescue.Overall I found this to be a fast and (mostly) fun read, but a bit derivative of his earlier work. I think if you enjoyed the formula of the Martian, you'll likely enjoy it again here.
Executive Summary: I've had this book on my radar for a bit. I was in the mood for some non-fiction was able to pick this up from the library. I thought it was interesting at times but not as good as some of the other books about the early days of hacking that I've read. 3.5 stars.Full ReviewI got my first computer in the late 80s, but didn't get my first modem until the mid 90s. I played around a bit on bulletin boards, but missed a lot of the heyday that lead to development of formation of the cDc.I don't recall where I first encountered the cDc in my early internet travels. I never used any of their tools. I think I might have read a few of their t-files, but it was so long ago now that I can't really be sure. I was kind of curious to see what sort of things this book would cover. Turns out not a lot. You get some heavily curated history, but not any real juicy stories.Unlike most other books I've read on this subject, much of the content comes directly from the people involved, rather than some kind of investigative journalist. That has led to some interesting anecdotes and inside knowledge, but can make the book feel a bit biased at times. I found it a bit remenecist of Kevin Mitnick's book [b:Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker 10256723 Ghost in the Wires My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker Kevin D. Mitnick https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344265017l/10256723.SY75.jpg 15156997] where you sometimes had to take things with a bit of skepticism.That said as someone who loves reading on the early days of the internet and hacker culture, this was a pretty enjoyable read overall. I wish we had gotten some more detail, but unlike Mr. Mitnick some of those details could lead to legal issues rather than recounting history they'd already served jail time for.As a side note the author recommended the 8-part documentary series from 2005: BBS which includes some interviews with cDc members, (in particular during episode 6), and I probably found that even more enjoyable than this book.
Executive Summary: I love Murderbot. There is some good humor and a decent story. I probably didn't quite enjoy it as much as some of the past stories though. I will definitely pick up the next book though 3.5 stars. Maybe 4.Audiobook: I think Kevin Free does a fantastic job as usual. There was some discussion in my book club about him not being a good fit, but I Full Review2020 was a looong year and I didn't remember that well most of the details of [b:Network Effect 52381770 Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5) Martha Wells https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1568667704l/52381770.SX50_SY75.jpg 63614271]. Turns out this was a prequel and so it didn't matter too much.I feel like this is more of a return to the sort of one-off nature of the novellas rather than advancing the overall plot too much. I thought the mystery was ok. At this point it was my investment in the characters that kept me engaged more than the plot itself though.However I continue to enjoy this series despite disliking the rise in popularity of the novella format. I had hoped after Network Effect we'd be getting novel length stories going forward.Either way I'm definitely in for a sequel whatever form that takes.
Executive Summary: I thought this was the strongest of the series, but still not as good as [b:Crooked Kingdom 22299763 Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456172607l/22299763.SY75.jpg 42090179]. I think had I read this series first, I might not have continued on. 3.5 Stars. Audiobook: I thought the narration was very good, and one of the things that kept me going in the slower parts of the series. If you want to do this series, the audio is a good option.Full ReviewWith the Netflix series finally being released I really wanted to finish this book in case they brought some random details forward into season 1. I don't really recall there being anything but I blew through the show pretty quickly.There was a bit too much teenage angst and melodrama for my liking, but far less than the previous book. There was also a lot more plot.I still struggle with the cartoonish nature of the Darkling, but I probably like Nikolai enough to balance that out somewhat. Meanwhile the relationship between Alina and Mal felt less terrible, so it had that going for it.I thought the ending for this went about as well as I could have hoped. I'm tempted to do a reread of the sequel series before picking up [b:King of Scars 36307634 King of Scars (King of Scars, #1) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1525110825l/36307634.SY75.jpg 57978319] (which I already own).Overall this is one of those rare occasions where I like the show/movie better than the books. I hope they do more of the show and I hope they eventually get to do the stuff from the sequel series. I'm glad I read it finally, but I will not likely revisit them again and if I were to recommend the Grishaverse books to anyone, I'd suggest they skip this series and start with [b:Crooked Kingdom 22299763 Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2) Leigh Bardugo https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456172607l/22299763.SY75.jpg 42090179] instead.
Executive Summary: I'm a big fan of the magic school trope. This isn't quite that, but it was in a similar wheelhouse if told from the adult's point of view. Overall I found this a really fun book.
Audiobook: Daniel Henning does a fantastic job. If you enjoy audiobooks, do this one in audio. He does a variety of voices so that it's very clear which of the characters are speaking that really elevated an already delightful book.
Full Review
This last year has been rough for everyone. I had not heard of this book at all until it was entered in the Sword & Laser March Madness tournament. I actually voted against it in the finals but probably would have still read it had it lost.
I can't speak to how much I'll enjoy the runner-up, but this ended up far exceeding my expectations. I like my job a lot, most days. If I had Linus's job however I'd have gone crazy.
I am someone who follows a routine like Linus, but even for me the rules of his employer are far too much.
The actual house and the children were all delightful. I enjoy the sarcasm and dark sense of humor this book seems to have. While the children definitely play an important role in the book, this is really more about Linus and his journey.
Overall I found it had a nice message about treating everyone with respect regardless of your differences and loving yourself for who you are without beating you over the head with it.
Executive Summary: Another solid entry in this series, albeit not quite as good as the last one. I'm not sure if this broke my reading slump, but I sure read it much faster than I have been lately.Full ReviewThis has quickly become one of my favorite series. I was especially looking forward to this volume since there has been so much character development since we last saw the Sacred Valley.I think I enjoyed [b:Wintersteel 55423083 Wintersteel (Cradle, #8) Will Wight https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600740062l/55423083.SY75.jpg 73600841] more, but it was more like the second half of [b:Uncrowned 50789354 Uncrowned (Cradle, #7) Will Wight https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567730777l/50789354.SX50_SY75.jpg 72716950]. This one for all the hype in my mind took a little while to pay off.That didn't seem to slow my reading though. I've really been struggling to read lately. I either can't keep focused or I doze off. This book had no such issues. I might have even finished it sooner, but I forced myself to go to bed.Normally for me that would mean a 5 star book, but for whatever reason it was still just a 4. It was just nice to read for a change and not lose my focus.I found a lot of the character interactions annoying, but expected. I think Lindon handles things with far more patience than I'd have had. It was also really nice to see Orthos again. I've missed his sense of humor.The end of the book was a pretty nasty cliffhanger. Hopefully we get the next book sometime later next year. I for one will be dropping everything to read it whenever it comes out. If you haven't tried this series yet, I highly recommend it. Plus if you have audible you can listen to the first 8 books are part of your membership. I haven't tried them myself yet, but I plan to do an audio reread at some point before the series concludes.
Executive Summary: I struggled a lot with this book. The beginning kind of annoyed me, but then things picked up only to get bogged down again. I'm definitely not enjoying this as much as the sequel series. 2.5 stars
Audiobook: Lauren Fortgang does another good job. Her narration definitely helped keep me going during the slow parts. There is only so much that can be done with so much melodrama though.
Full Review
I'm still interested in the Netflix series coming out later this month, but I'm becoming less interested in the book series the further in I get. I find Mal pretty insufferable. I find the Darkling pretty cartoonish. I find Alina OK, but not particularly endearing.
I feel like not much actually happens in this book, and most of what does happens either fairly early on in the book, or right near the end. The rest is just a lot of waiting and melodrama.
I'm going to finish the series, but mostly since I already bought it. I'm hoping things pick up in the final book, and if not hopefully I enjoy the TV series more.