Adventurers Wanted – Book 4: Sands of Nezza – By M. L. Forman

Robert @ ReadingOverTheShoulder, , 1 Comment

Hiya Jared,

Due to the unfortunate deficiency of the local library system (and me being too cheap) I’ve been forced to skip the 3rd book of this series, Tomb of Albrek, in my reread of the series. The only reason I chose to do this is because I had actually already read it before, and relatively recently. (Within the last 2 and a half years.)

On the bright side, you can expect my review of book 5, Axe of Sundering, this Friday.

sandsofnezza.jpgTitle: Sands of Nezza
Series: Adventurers Wanted; Book 4
Author: M. L. Forman
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Youth
ROTS Setting: EU/AU, Medieval, Higher Magic, Dragons
Synopsis: A call for help draws wizard Alexander Taylor into an adventure that he knows nothing about. To save a friend, Alex must travel to the land of Nezza, a land where war is part of daily life, where adventurers are imprisoned, and where all magic is believed to be black. Chance brings Alex into contact with young Rallian, a prince who might just be the true king of Nezza, and Alex s desire to do good sets loose a spell that could drive the land into all-out war. Alex must find a way for Rallian to be crowned king while also bringing peace to the land, but his magic and wizardry alone cannot make peace happen. His task is made more difficult when he learns that a group called the Brotherhood is actively working to keep the people of Nezza divided. Join Alex and some familiar friends in their search to unite the land of Nezza in this new adventure that will test their courage to the very core.
Recommendation: Highly recommend this series. Great for younger and older readers alike.

Continue reading “Adventurers Wanted – Book 4: Sands of Nezza – By M. L. Forman” →

Adventurers Wanted – Book 4: Sands of Nezza – By M. L. Forman

The Dagger and the Coin – Book 3: The Tyrant’s Law – Daniel Abraham

Robert @ ReadingOverTheShoulder, , Leave a comment

Hey Jared,

Ok, I don’t really know what to do for this review. Either my experience was reflective of the material or…….I’m just completely unfocused.

thetyrantslawTitle: The Tyrant’s Law
Series: The Dagger and the Coin; Book 3
Author: Daniel Abraham
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Adult
ROTS Setting: UU, Medieval, Dragons (Extinct?), Magic
Synopsis: The tyrant Geder Palliako had led his nation to war, but every victory has called forth another conflict. Now the greater war spreads out before him, and he is bent on bringing peace. No matter how many people he has to kill to do it. Cithrin bel Sarcour, rogue banker of the Medean Bank, has returned to the fold. Her apprenticeship has placed her in the path of war, but the greater dangers are the ones in her past and in her soul. Widowed and disgraced at the heart of the Empire, Clara Kalliam has become a loyal traitor, defending her nation against itself. And in the shadows of the world, Captain Marcus Wester tracks an ancient secret that will change the war in ways not even he can forsee.
Recommendation: Adult, but mid to late teen could probably read it too. Series is highly recommended!

Continue reading “The Dagger and the Coin – Book 3: The Tyrant’s Law – Daniel Abraham” →

The Dagger and the Coin – Book 3: The Tyrant’s Law – Daniel Abraham

The Four Thousand, The Eight Hundred By Greg Egan

Robert @ ReadingOverTheShoulder, , Leave a comment

Hey Jared,

Another short read, but not as good as the last one.

fourthousandeighthundred.jpgTitle: The Four Thousand, The Eight Hundred
Author: Greg Egan
Genre: Science Fiction
Audience: Adult
ROTS Setting: CU, Distant Future, Space Colonization
Synopsis: Camille is desperate to escape her home on colonized asteroid Vesta, journeying through space in a small cocoon pod covertly and precariously attached to a cargo ship. Anna is a newly appointed port director on asteroid Ceres, intrigued by the causes that have led so-called riders like Camille to show up at her post in search of asylum. Conditions on Vesta are quickly deteriorating—for one group of people in particular. The original founders agreed to split profits equally, but the Sivadier syndicate contributed intellectual property rather than more valued tangible goods. Now the rest of the populace wants payback. As Camille travels closer to Ceres, it seems ever more likely that Vesta will demand the other asteroid stop harboring its fugitives.
Recommendation: Recommended but only barely.

Continue reading “The Four Thousand, The Eight Hundred By Greg Egan” →

The Four Thousand, The Eight Hundred By Greg Egan

THE RITHMATIST – BOOK 1: THE RITHMATIST SERIES – BY BRANDON SANDERSON

Lisa, , , 2 Comments

Hello all!

First things first- we all made it to 2018! I feel like I probably haven’t posted since I lost a kidney… but during recovery and since then, I have read many books, maybe even while I should have been studying. What can I say? Books are my brain food.

therithmatistTitle: The Rithmatist
Series: The Rithmatist Series
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy
Audience: YA
ROTS Setting: Alternate Reality, Magic, Clockwork
Synopsis: More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Chosen by the Master in a mysterious inception ceremony, Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings—merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.

As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students study the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing—kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery—one that will change Rithmatics—and their world—forever.

Recommendation: I wholeheartedly recommend this book. Teens or older.

Continue reading “THE RITHMATIST – BOOK 1: THE RITHMATIST SERIES – BY BRANDON SANDERSON” →

THE RITHMATIST – BOOK 1: THE RITHMATIST SERIES – BY BRANDON SANDERSON

The Murderbot Diaries – Book 1: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Robert @ ReadingOverTheShoulder, , 5 Comments

Hey Jared,

Ok. Getting back into things has been harder than I remember. I always struggle after Lisa has been home (no school or work) for a few days and this has been two weeks. But no excuses! I will prevail.

all systems red.jpg

Title: All Systems Red
Series: The Murderbot Diaries; Book 1
Author: Martha Wells
Genre: Science Fiction
Audience: Adult
ROTS Setting: CU, Distant-Future, FTL (Wormholes?), AI
Synopsis: In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern. On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is. But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it’s up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.
Recommendation: I recommend this book. Teens or older.

Continue reading “The Murderbot Diaries – Book 1: All Systems Red by Martha Wells” →

The Murderbot Diaries – Book 1: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Blog News: Changes in 2018

Robert @ ReadingOverTheShoulderLeave a comment

Happy New Year!

My reading ambitions were pretty high for the holidays since I was mostly going off my experience last year when we had Christmas with the in-laws……..There was plenty of time to read. This year we were home so everything was different and now I’ve got a backlog of books I got from the library. So I’ll be attempting to clear those out and then setting in to churn through those on the shelves.

I alluded to some changes in my last post before the holidays and I wasn’t ready to share them because people needed to be informed personally and we wanted to wait until after the holidays before breaking the news.

Lisa will be graduating at the end of Spring and has gotten a job offer, which we have accepted. This will mean relocating from the Phoenix, Arizona area to Central Washington state this June.

I expect to be MIA for that month. Between now and then I’m hoping to get through most of the books on my shelves, at least the ones from new authors or series, because I don’t want to cart books I’m not interested in reading or keeping across the country.

So as one member of the family goes from being a student to working full time, another will be starting their very first year of school. This Fall our son will be starting Kindergarten. And that will leave me with several hours of time…..alone. While it’s tempting to just devote myself to reading it’s just not practical. Honestly, I don’t really want to reenter the job market but that might just be what needs to happen. But we’ll see how things play out and things might change between now and then anyway.

What does this mean for the blog? Not too much right now. Again, I’ll be focusing on books I already have, so my book acquisition will be limited. And you probably won’t see me in June. After that will depend on how much free time I end up with. I could end up at home and busy or working and busy…..so not too different from right now just different kinds of busy with their own adjustment periods. Long term, this shouldn’t affect the blog at all.

Now I just need to get back in the groove.

Robert

Blog News: Changes in 2018

Proof of Concept by Gwyneth Jones

Robert @ ReadingOverTheShoulder, , , 3 Comments

Hey Jared,

I’ve been a little MIA the past couple of weeks due to all the holiday stuff and some major life changes in the not too distant future. I’ve found it increasingly difficult to just sit and read, so I’m not making any promises of anymore posts for the year.

Also check out the Brandon Sanderson’s State of Sanderson post if you haven’t already.

proofofconceptTitle: Proof of Concept
Author: Gwyneth Jones
Genre: Science Fiction
Audience: Adult
ROTS Setting: CU, Distant-Future, Potential-FTL, AI
Synopsis: On a desperately overcrowded future Earth, crippled by climate change, the most unlikely hope is better than none. Governments turn to Big Science to provide them with the dreams that will keep the masses compliant. The Needle is one such dream, an installation where the most abstruse theoretical science is being tested: science that might make human travel to a habitable exoplanet distantly feasible. When the Needle’s director offers her underground compound as a training base, Kir is thrilled to be invited to join the team, even though she knows it’s only because her brain is host to a quantum artificial intelligence called Altair. But Altair knows something he can’t tell. Kir, like all humans, is programmed to ignore future dangers. Between the artificial blocks in his mind, and the blocks evolution has built into his host, how is he going to convince her the sky is falling?
Recommendation: I do not recommend this book. Nothing particularly wrong with it but I don’t feel it’s worth your time.

Continue reading “Proof of Concept by Gwyneth Jones” →

Proof of Concept by Gwyneth Jones

The Last Machine in the Solar System by Matthew Issac Sobin

Robert @ ReadingOverTheShoulder, , 1 Comment

Hey Jared,

thelastmachineinthesolarsystemThis was just a neat little book I found at the library.

It’s a bit of a melancholy tale. No blue skies and roses here, but it is thought provoking. We as a species have trouble seeing beyond ourselves, children or grandchildren. So this sort of serves as a warning more than an accurate portrayal of our future. We have the technology, right now, to send humans to other starts. The biggest hurdles being cost and infrastructure but the book indicates that big projects have been accomplished in the millions of years it would take to get to where the book would theoretically start. The expansion of the sun.

Either way, this book was tiny and it was worth the read so if you can find it at your local library you should definitely give it a shot.

Robert

Links

The Last Machine in the Solar System by Matthew Issac Sobin