Veronica
Discovering your new favorite series is going from a trilogy to a tetralogy is always good news. Nona the Ninth picks up seemingly where Harrow left off, but I honestly wish I had reread Harrow another time before starting this one. I loved the story, and yet I found myself constantly wondering if I remembered where all the characters fit in with one another – this could be because Harrow the Ninth left me with so many questions about who is alive, who is dead, and who is somewhere in-between.
All I can hope for is that Alecto will give us more answers, but I'm happy to have met Nona along the way!
I loved the world of Teixcalaan, with all its poetry and political brutality. With the second book in the series, I was at first disappointed that we were spending most of our time out in space on Weight for the Wheel and Nine Hibiscus. But the pace quickly picked up once we began encountering the unknowable enemy, and we reconnect with Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass. Their complicated relationship soon takes center stage, even though they share their POVs with Eight Antidote, the Emperor-To-Be who is trying to figure out what kind of leader he wants to become - even when it flies in the face of his teachers and mentors.
Good:
Cool aliens
Intel into the Shard pilots and Sunlit
Sexy times
Not my favorite:
I always want more Yskandr
The discovery amount what makes the aliens tick comes SO LATE in the story, and I would have liked to explore that more
Too much time spend on Stationer politics that didn't really go anywhere (in this book at least)
Overall, a good successor to A Memory Called Empire, and I'm excited to see how the trilogy ends!
This book brought me so much joy. It is sweet without being saccharine, inclusive on many different levels, and joyful while also touching on important issues like discrimination. I listened to the audiobook, and this is one of those instances where I think the performance really added to my overall enjoyment of the story. I want more from this world!
So happy to have an opportunity to catch up with Murderbot! In Fugitive Telemetry, Murderbot gets to experience what it's like to solve a murder mystery, much like one of their favorite soap operas. Gone is most of the self-doubt that they have previously shared internally in past books — this feels like a more self-assured Murderbot, who understands even more keenly how the rest of the universe sees and reacts to them.
While we get to see some old friends in this story, this book stands on it's own in many ways — I'd very much like to continue reading about Murderbot's adventures solving mysteries on Preservation Station or across the galaxy.
There are some books that are called “classics,” but you don't really understand why until you read it and feel that you've been changed. You know, for certain, that even though the themes have been played again and again, that the story is as everlasting as the bricks in an ancient abbey. I'll save the rest of my thoughts for the Sword & Laser recap, but I'm glad that we've also read [b:The Sparrow 334176 The Sparrow (The Sparrow, #1) Mary Doria Russell https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1230829367s/334176.jpg 3349153] as an interesting comparison on the themes in both. Fantastic book, even if you don't speak a lick of Latin!
I agree with other reviewers who don't want to give anything away. So instead, I'll give this book my highest praise; praise that listeners of the Sword & Laser know to be true.
I stayed up on multiple nights, IN BED, reading this book without falling asleep. I actually had to put the book down, consciously, to go to bed.
This may not sound like a big deal (“Oh, the book didn't put her to sleep? Good for her I guess.”) but it really truly is. I so love these characters. It was so wonderful to see them again, and meet the new ones along the way. So much heartbreak and love, sadness and reconciliation. It makes we want to read the trilogy of trilogies again, which is kind of intense. I need to remember all the things I've forgotten! Thanks, Robin :)
I am a self-help cynic. I've never read any self-help, but I knew I needed to get a handle on my stress, anxiety and anger. When I read the description of this book (I listened to the audio version) I said, “OK, newsman, tell me how to be happier.”
Dan Harris is an anchor for ABC, and in this story (which reads more like a memoir than a self-help guide) he details his own struggles early in his career. I related to many of these difficulties (particularly the fear of freezing up while live on the air) and so I immediately felt a kinship. However, I don't think you need to work in media to get where Dan is coming from; anyone in a high-stress situation, be it work or personal life, can find connections.
For me, this book really opened my eyes to ways that I can relieve stress while still maintaining my “edge” in the workplace. My two biggest takeaways from this book are “Enlightened self-interest” and “Respond, not react.” I kind of want to make posters of these for my office.
Dan is personable and funny, but he looks at the world of self-help and meditation with the eyes of an investigative reporter, which I greatly appreciated. If you want to start your own journey of becoming at least 10% happier... well, this is a good place to start.
First of all, allow me to give Kiala her due for picking this book for Vaginal Fantasy. After last month's pick, we were sorely due for something of substance. I will also remind everyone that last month's pick was MY doing, so I'm duly chastened.
Anyhow. The Lions of Al-Rassan is an absolutely mesmerizing book. As I understand it (and please correct me in the comments if I am incorrect) it's a fantastical alt-history of the Iberian Peninsula. With one small exception, I would pause to call it fantasy at all.
In fact, the only issue I had with the book was my own lack of historical knowledge. I was constantly trying to make parallels between the nations, religions and peoples of the book with our own world history, and that was perhaps a little distracting.
But, to the story. I don't want to spoil, and I don't really want to get into the intricacies of the tale (there are many). This book does many things, and it does them all well. It's an action tale, a love story, a cautionary tale that seems to hit on modern fears and insecurities, and more. The web of characters seems to constantly expand, and yet I never felt as though I was receiving unnecessary information.
The people in this book are complex, and you'll come to care deeply about many of them. They are all flawed, though some more than others. There is romance, and it is very complicated. Life is complicated. War is horrible. Good people can do terrible things. You'll forgive some of it, but not all.
SPOILERS
A Natural History of Dragons is the story of Isabella (or Lady Trent, who functions as the story's narrator in her later years). A curious and tomboyish girl who grows up to be fascinated by the Dragon species. This book is different from most traditional takes on the dragon theme, since it's really more like an alternate history story that just happens to feature dragons in it, as opposed to something more high fantasy.
I read a few complaints in the S&L forums that since the narrator exists, there are no high stakes (she must have lived through the trials and tribulations of the story, since she's alive to tell it), but this is not the case. People close to her die, and she shares that grief with the reader in a very forthright way.
This is a mystery tied up in a tale of discovery. It's a book more about Isabella than about dragons. Let's call them the scaly icing on the cake!
This book had all the elements that should have made it a hit (for me, at least). Strong, powerful female lead; sexy, manly (yet sensitive!) soldier-type who only wants to defend the one he loves; and magic. Also, horses.
Maybe it was a little too straightforward. Maybe all the pieces came together a little too easily (heh heh). Whatever it was, the book never seemed to connect with me. I liked the characters, but I didn't find them especially compelling.The magical Sources were a little too obvious in their construction. And the secretive societies charged with their protection (or with their acquisition) are never quite fleshed out for me.
Overall, a quick, pretty entertaining read, but nothing to keep me going with the rest of the series.
