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 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 […]
Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston: Book Review
3 Stars. This was pretty good but it never fully grabbed my attention and I can’t say why. I liked the main characters well enough, though the secondary characters weren’t very distinct in my mind. Ana was a bit too stupidly headstrong for my taste but I mostly liked her well enough to overlook it. I’m always a fan of found […]
The Giver by Lois Lowry: Book Review
4 Stars. This was published in 1993, when I was 15 years old, and I must have just barely missed having it as assigned reading in school. While it’s probably a classic to many of you, this was the first time I’ve read it. I was surprised by how unsettling it is. Jonas’s world seems almost perfect at first. Everyone apologizes […]
Time and Again by Jack Finney: Book Review
3 Stars. I’m not a fan of New York. To be fair, I’ve only spent one day there and that was the day after my best friend’s funeral; still, nothing about the city has ever appealed to me. That said, Time and Again didn’t work particularly well for me but I think those who love New York and its history will relish it. I don’t […]
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne: Book Review
3 Stars. Eh. Axel was a whiny wimp who complained endlessly about having to go on the trip. The minute his uncle, Professor Liedenbrock, started to get the least bit angry with him over his dithering, Axel would cave and blithely go along with whatever ridiculous plan the professor has in mind. Axel was generally the one with […]