Artificial Condition by Martha Wells: Book Review
4 Stars. These novellas read like engrossing episodes of your favorite science fiction TV show and I inhale them like popcorn. Murderbot is an unexpected, understated delight and its dry sense of humor keeps me smiling. Its observations of humanity are on point and hilarious. It’s teamed up with ART (short for Asshole Research […]
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss: Book Review
4 Stars. I enjoyed the premise and the story, but there were a few too many interruptions from the characters in their current time as they were trying to tell a story about their past. The interruptions give us a better sense of the characters overall and allowed the author to insert several points of view into a scene easily […]
The Secret Life of Bots by Suzanne Palmer: Story Review
4 Stars. I just finished Artificial Condition, the second book in the Murderbot Diaries series, and really liked it. Greg at Book Haven noted my excitement and recommended this short story to me. “The Secret Life of Bots” is not related to Murderbot in any way but they do have a similar feel. There’s a…not entirely compliant […]
All Systems Red by Martha Wells: Book Review
4 Stars. My husband isn’t much of a reader. He usually has a book on his Kindle (which I bought him) but he takes his time with it and usually only reads a handful of books each year. I thought he would enjoy this series and the way that the author mostly just plunges into the action. So I downloaded the audiobook and made him […]
The Space Barons by Christian Davenport: Book Review
3.5 Stars. This was fascinating, but I’m not sure why it’s called Space Baron*S*. The author came across as a huge fan of Elon Musk; I would guess at least 80% of the book is about Musk and SpaceX. That could be because SpaceX seems to be the company that’s really speeding forward, or maybe because Bezos and BlueOrigin are very […]
The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis: Book Review
3 Stars. The Screwtape Letters is honestly not the kind of book I would choose on my own but it filled a reading challenge prompt, I love Narnia, and one of my old bosses recommended it to me years ago. So my review should be read with that in mind. This just was not the book for me. I’m a fast reader and simply cannot bring […]
Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher: Book Review
4 Stars. I read quite a few books by Rosamunde Pilcher when I was in my late teens and twenties but I haven’t read much of her work since then. But somehow I stumbled on this title when I was looking for Christmas-y books that weren’t too sentimental. That’s just not my taste. But Rosamunde Pilcher seemed like a safe bet. And […]
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison: Book Review
2 Stars. I imagine that this book is a fantastic choice for a book club or assigned reading but I, as a solo reader, just found it confusing. The plot jumped around with little resolution, characters appeared and disappeared, and I couldn’t find an entry point to understanding it. To be fair, it’s written in an […]
Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen: Book Review
5 Stars. In my zeal to read a new book by Sarah Addison Allen, I found that I had inhaled this book in two sittings. Oops. No savoring the prose here. But a friend had sent me an ARC so I feel the need to write a more reasoned review and I wanted another chance to take my time with the book anyway. So I’ve read this twice within […]
The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis: Book Review
3.5 Stars. I don’t read a lot of poetry and don’t really feel that I have the tools to review it. All I can say is that I know what I like when I read it. I’m not someone who is going to devote a lot of time to dissecting a poem and wrenching every ounce of meaning from it. I had enough of that in school. I can’t even remember […]
The Feast of Roses by Indu Sundaresan: Book Review
4 Stars. I slightly preferred the first book to this one, only because this one dwelled so much on politics. I’m not a strategist so reading the machinations of the Mughal court was a bit less interesting to me than the events of Mehrunnisa’s earlier life. I also have very little patience for characters who make repetitive mistakes in […]