Again I’ve found a stack of reviews just waiting to be published and like with the previous I’ve compiled them all into a single post. No point in getting anyone’s hopes up.
Continue reading “The Memoirs of Lady Trent – Books 2-5 By Marie Brennan”Adult
The Murderbot Diaries – Book 2: Artificial Condition – By Martha Wells
Hey Jared
I really enjoyed the Lost Fleet series as well but never managed to finish the last couple of the Beyond the Frontier since they hadn’t come out then and I just forgot to check back.
Title: Artificial Condition
Series: The Murderbot Diaries; Book 2
Author: Martha Wells
Genre: Science Fiction
Audience: Adult
ROTS Setting: CU, Distant-Future, FTL (Wormholes), AI
Synopsis: It has a dark past – one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot”. But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more. Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don’t want to know what the “A” stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue. What it discovers will forever change the way it thinks…
Recommendation: I recommend this book. Teens or older. (But the series isn’t what I liked about the first book.)
Continue reading “The Murderbot Diaries – Book 2: Artificial Condition – By Martha Wells”
Tales of the King’s Blades – Book 2: Lord of the Fire Lands – By Dave Duncan
Hey Jared,
I could have sworn I’d read this before and I remember the beginning vividly……but not the middle…..or much of the end. In fact, the end I mostly remember from reading the next book in the series.
Title: Lord of the Fire Lands
Series: The King’s Blades #2 / Tales of the King’s Blades #2
Author: Dave Duncan
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Adult
ROTS Setting: AU, Medieval, No Higher Magic (sort of)
Synopsis: Young Wasp never intended to be a rebel. Yet, at the sacred ceremony of binding, he follows the lead of his friend Raider, and together they spurn the wishes of King Ambrose himself. Now Raider and Wasp are outlaws hunted by the very Blades whose ranks they were a breath away from entering, and joined together by a destiny that binds them more securely than any knot tradition and sorcery might tie. Amid the turmoil their “treachery” has inspired, Wasp and Raider must undertake a desperate journey into the heart of the dreaded Fire Lands. And the outcome of their terrifying confrontation with dark truth and darker magic in this realm of monsters, ghosts, and half-men will ultimately determine the fate of two kingdoms.
Recommendation: This book is intended for Adults. I highly recommend it.
Continue reading “Tales of the King’s Blades – Book 2: Lord of the Fire Lands – By Dave Duncan”
The Memoirs of Lady Trent – Book 1: A Natural History of Dragons – By Marie Brennan
Hi Jared,
I am thoroughly impressed by this book. The cover, the font, art and even how the pages were cut. Everything was spot on and I hadn’t even read the first line.
Title: A Natural History of Dragons
Series: The Memoirs of Lady Trent; Book 1
Author: Marie Brennan
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Adult
ROTS Setting: UU, Dragons, Science, Pre/Industrial Era
Synopsis: All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day. Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever.
Recommendation: I highly recommend this book. Suitable for adults and older teens.
Temeraire – Book 4: Empire of Ivory – Naomi Novik
Hey Jared,
Once again, I press on……..and it is glorious.
Title: Empire of Ivory
Series: Temeraire; Book 4
Author: Naomi Novik
Genre: Alternate History/Fantasy
Audience:Young Adult/Adult
ROTS Setting: Alternate History: Early 1800s, Dragons, Naval Ships
Synopsis: Tragedy has struck His Majesty’s Aerial Corps, whose magnificent fleet of fighting dragons and their human captains valiantly defend England’s shores against the encroaching armies of Napoleon Bonaparte. An epidemic of unknown origin and no known cure is decimating the noble dragons’ ranks–forcing the hopelessly stricken into quarantine. Now only Temeraire and a pack of newly recruited dragons remain uninfected–and stand as the only means of an airborne defense against France’s ever bolder sorties. Bonaparte’s dragons are already harrowing Britain’s ships at sea. Only one recourse remains: Temeraire and his captain, Will Laurence, must take wing to Africa, whose shores may hold the cure to the mysterious and deadly contagion. On this mission there is no time to waste, and no telling what lies in store beyond the horizon or for those left behind to wait, hope, and hold the line.
Recommendation: I surprisingly/not surprisingly have fallen in love with this series. Highly recommend it.
Continue reading “Temeraire – Book 4: Empire of Ivory – Naomi Novik”
Dragonlance Second Generation – Book 1: The Second Generation – By Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
Hey Jared,
I am so behind on getting some reviews out. There’s no real excuse for it. In general I’ve just been oddly stressed and life here in Washington state has just been very, very different than Phoenix. I’ve found myself either fixating on something or needing to push relentlessly to get something finished. But enough about me!
Title: The Second Generation
Series: Dragonlance Second Generation; Book 1
Author: Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Adult
ROTS Setting: UU, Medieval, Higher Magic, Dragons
Synopsis: Years have passed since the end of the War of the Lance. The people of Ansalon have rebuilt their lives, their houses, their families. The Companions of the Lance, too, have returned to their homes, raising children and putting the days of their heroic deeds behind them. But peace on Krynn comes at a price. The forces of darkness are ever vigilant, searching for ways to erode the balance of power and take control. When subtle changes begin to permeate the fragile peace, new lives are drawn into the web of fate woven around all the races. The time has come to pass the sword — or the staff — to the children of the Lance. They are the Second Generation.
Recommendation: Adult, maybe late teens. Any admirer of high fantasy should be familiar with this series.
Available May.15.2018 – Ascendant by Jack Campbell
Continue reading “Available May.15.2018 – Ascendant by Jack Campbell”
Available May.8.2018 – Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
Continue reading “Available May.8.2018 – Artificial Condition by Martha Wells”
The Red – Book 3: Going Dark – By Linda Nagata
Hey Jared,
Ha! Finally finished the trilogy and it was well worth it.
Title: Going Dark
Series: The Red; Book 3
Author: Linda Nagata
Genre: Science Fiction, Military Scifi
Audience: Adult
ROTS Setting: CU, Modern/Near-Future,
Synopsis: James Shelley has left his lover, Delphi, and his companion-in-arms, Jayne Vasquez, with a fortune acquired from a fallen oligarch. They believe him to be dead, and he doesn’t try to set the record straight. His long-running question has been answered: There are other soldiers like him who have served the purposes of the Red—and he has accepted his place among them. As a soldier of the Red he pursues covert missions designed to nudge history away from existential threats—but that doesn’t mean the world is growing more orderly. It’s only in the froth of a “managed chaos” that human potential can grow and thrive. Shelley’s missions eventually take him into orbit—and into conflict with those he loves—Delphi and Jaynie—who are determined to escape the influence of the Red.
Recommendation: Highly recommended! For mature readers. Graphic violence.
Continue reading “The Red – Book 3: Going Dark – By Linda Nagata”
The Expanse – Book 7: Persepolis Rising – By James S. A. Corey
Hey Jared,
I’m late and I don’t really care at the moment. For the past couple of days I’ve been strung out on meds with a box of tissues within arms reach. It’s either an anvil of spring allergies or a hammer blow of a cold……ugh. Thankfully I finished this book before it hit because I don’t want to do anything at the moment.
Title: Persepolis Rising
Series: The Expanse; Book 7
Author: James S. A. Corey (Pen Name)
Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera
Audience: Adult
ROTS Setting: CU, Futuristic, FTL Gates
Synopsis: In the thousand-sun network of humanity’s expansion, new colony worlds are struggling to find their way. Every new planet lives on a knife edge between collapse and wonder, and the crew of the aging gunship Rocinante have their hands more than full keeping the fragile peace. In the vast space between Earth and Jupiter, the inner planets and belt have formed a tentative and uncertain alliance still haunted by a history of wars and prejudices. On the lost colony world of Laconia, a hidden enemy has a new vision for all of humanity and the power to enforce it. New technologies clash with old as the history of human conflict returns to its ancient patterns of war and subjugation. But human nature is not the only enemy, and the forces being unleashed have their own price. A price that will change the shape of humanity — and of the Rocinante — unexpectedly and forever…
Recommendation: I strongly recommend this book to mature audiences only. (Late teens or adult.) This is due to the quantity and detail of the violence.
Continue reading “The Expanse – Book 7: Persepolis Rising – By James S. A. Corey”
Reading Over The Shoulder 