Good characters, good science (of course), interesting setting, and somewhat of a letdown.
This book shows just how hard it is to follow The Martian. Not that it’s a bad book, just not as good as the first one.
I wanted to love it as much as I loved The Martian, but that was unrealistic.
I really liked Artemis, so there’s that.
6/10 would read again.
Soul, Light, and Wings by Simon A. G. Spencer
Picked this up after reading a Reddit post from the author and glad I did.
Rookie cop Irene Kelnotch and ex-bounty hunter Eric Homens patrol the walls outside Snowvault. While on patrol, they stumble across a being called an avial and their lives will never be the same.
Good writing, characters, and excellent world building. Simon didn’t try to explain everything about how this world works, but he gives us enough to make sense of what’s happening.
Good characters, believable problems and solutions, even some world-specific but relatable theology.
7/10 would read again.
Wicked Winter: boxed set by various
Picked up another boxed set with my sister Christine Ashworth’s work in it.
What, I’m helping her on her way to quitting the day job and writing full time, you got a problem with that?
Anyway, out of the nine stories in this set, there were really only three worth reading, and yes, Christine Ashworth’s story was one of them.
Lots of sex and cold weather in this set.
It might be a limited time boxed set just like her last set, Venom and Vampires, was.
3/10 would read the whole thing again. But those three, 3/3 would read again.
The Book of Jhereg by Steven Brust
After reading more than a few passing recommendations, I picked up this set that contains the first three books of Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos series. The books are Jhereg, Tendi, and Teckla.
I’ve read Jhreg so far.
World-building, characters, and puzzles are good. Although it seems like a bit of an easy out to be able to use a measure of magic to either solve or create a puzzle.
I don’t like first person-narrated novels in general and this one didn’t win me over.
Most of the humor didn’t work for me, but your mileage may vary.
I did enjoy it enough to finish this trilogy and who knows, maybe it will grow on me to the point I finish the other ten or however many novels in the series.
7/10 will finish the other two I have.
Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson
The worlds of Rose, a poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks and Angie, a spoiled star of cyberspace, collide.
It was an OK story, with a few interesting new ideas.
The characters were fairly flat for me and the plot reveal was pretty quick.
I think I’ll have to take Gibson down from whatever literary pedestal I must have had him on.
Either our reality is catching up to his eerie future, or my expectations have gotten out of whack with his product.
5/10 would read again.
An old Western town abandoned both in the past and in the future.
Good story, scarier than you’d expect in a Western but not as scary as a scary story; if that makes any sense.
Good use of vernacular and I bet it was fun to blend modern things and language with the late 19th century.
Very slow-paced though.
7/10 enjoyed reading this one.
War Buds: Under Attack (A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Thriller) by Jack Hunt
OK, I fell for another one.
I should calculate how often this genre intrigues, excites, delivers on the promise.
I have a hunch I’d be disappointed.
Yet another novel with a different premise that derails into predictability, flat characters, and non-believable bad guys.
SIgh.
4/10 enjoyed this one.
The Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve
Saw this by my wife’s bedside and picked it up.
Not my usual cup of tea, there was lots of info about the grieving process and dealing with the sudden death of a spouse, complicated by mothers, daughters, and a possible secret life to be discovered.
Interesting, moody, slow-paced but not boring.
7/10 enjoyed reading this one.
Big Mistake by Gerald Hartenhoff
This whole book was a big mistake. On my part. The dialogue is terrible, the premise is worse. I tried to get back the time I spent reading this and I was unsuccessful.
On the other hand, this got written and published so who am I to say.
I think I better get busy on my own Western for someone not to like.
2/10
My Sister’s Grave (The Tracy Crosswhite Series Book 1) by Robert Dugoni
Trying to solve the murder of her sister twenty years earlier, this is an interesting look at memory, going home again, trying to move on and failing.
Good story, good character development, settings, all good stuff.
I enjoyed the SASS aspect and trying it all together.
8/10 enjoyed the read, will probably read more in the series.
