This is book 2 of the Embers of War trilogy and I have to say I could hardly put it down. I read it in two days, and I stayed up way past my bed time to finish the last 100 pages. I really enjoyed it. The book picks up several months after the conclusion of the first book. The Trouble Dog (sentient space ship, which I love) is in orbit while Sal (the captain)…
I only learned of this author this past summer as I began more deeply (broadly) exploring the world of speculative fiction after attending the virtual con. Actually, I first discovered Gareth because someone I followed on Twitter shared his space art and I really loved it. Then his name started popping up more and more frequently on lists of space opera authors and I figured I had to give this book a try. I was…
Well, I finished the series. This book, like the one before it, was a collection of related novellas that worked independently as well as telling a whole story. I really am impressed at his ability to pull that off. The series ended well, in my opinion. Not everything was tied up in a neat bow, but the major antagonist was handled and the future is uncertain. Not a cliffhanger, but certainly a way back in…
I was really going to read a different author but I’ve also really wanted to finish the Old Man’s War sextet so I went ahead and read this instead. I loved it. Which is really no surprise. I really like Scalzi’s writing style, sense of humor, and the OMW universe. I started reading this book about 6 weeks ago and got hammered by work and only finished it this past weekend while on a short…
I read this book about 3 weeks ago while backpacking in the Eastern Sierra. I enjoyed it. It was the tale of “The Lost Colony” from Zoe’s perspective, and after reading the afterward, I felt like I understood the difficulty of writing such a piece. Scalzi says there that writing a story that fit between the cracks of another story was way more difficult than he thought it was going to be. I can see…
It’s been more than a month since my last post. I’ve done a little writing but work has gotten in the way. I’ve spent as much time as I could reading this book, which is now up to a series of 7 more the same length. It is a long read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I watched part of The Expanse on a streaming service a few years ago and never got back to…
Spin, by Robert Charles Wilson. This book was a trip. I really enjoyed it. 3 teenagers, one October evening, sneak outside during a grown up party. And the stars and moon disappear. The Earth has been encased in a permeable membrane that slows time, so that for every minute, 3 years go by outside. This novel is broadly sweeping, discussing the technological, social, political, and religious fervor that grow up as millions of years go…
I first read Old Man’s War about 8 years ago and it was one of those books that I couldn’t put down. I am only 2 years younger than him, and I feel like the SF that motivated him in his debut novel was similar to what I read. I read Starship Troopers multiple times, enjoyed Friday for its strong female lead (I know that Heinlein is problematic in some ways but to have a…
I haven’t been able to put this book down all week. I have been reading it in every spare moment. And I figured out the third book that this series crosses with besides Ender’s Game and The Hunger Games… it is Dune. The houses, the families, the Greek mythology, coupled with epic space battles, and the rise to power where there can be only one survivor. I had read some reviews of this book and…
Red Rising, by Pierce Brown I needed something to do on a cross-country flight and a friend suggested this book once she confirmed I liked both Ender’s game and the Hunger Games. I listened to the first 33 chapters over the last month and just sat down and finished the book in an about 2 hour push. If you like Ender’s game or the Hunger Games, I think this book will suit your tastes as…