Book Reviews

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Rusty
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Re: Book Reviews

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Secret of the Lost Race by Andre Norton - Plenty of adventure in this old science fiction story about an orphan boy who ends up a slave on a mining world after growing up in a gambling house in New York. It turns out that his heritage gives him long life and certain special abilities. A decent story.

The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues
The Stainless Steel Rat Goes to Hell
The Stainless Steel Rat Joins the Circus
The Stainless Steel Rat Returns by Harry Harrison
- The continuing adventures of Slippery Jim DiGriz and his family. The later adventures aren't as much fun as the earlier volumes, but they are okay.

Battle Magic by Tamora Pierce - Briar Rose, Rosethorn and Evvy find themselves in the middle of a war while on their way book home to Winding Circle. They've been away for a long time and are eager to get home, but can't ignore the threat of invasion to the country where they spent much of their journey.

The First Casualty
The Price of Peace
They Also Serve
To Do or Die by Mike Shepherd
- The story of Ray Longknife, Rita Nuu, Terrance Tordon, Ruth Tordon and their friends start out on different sides of a war, but end up forming a new alliance. These books take place some 80-90 years before the Kris Longknife books and provide a very nice backstory. I also like the space exploration that takes place in the third book. Very good military science fiction.

Liaden Universe Constellation 1 and 2 by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller - These short stories deepen the background for many of the characters in the Liaden series as well as introducing a few new characters. I don't read many short stories, but these were very good.

Deathworld by Harry Harrison - The writing style is definitely old fashioned. It deals with a gambler with mild telepathic powers who helps a man from a heavy gravity world earn enough money to help his people survive. He follows them to their homeworld and discovers that everything on the planet seems designed to kill humans. He sets out to find why this is the case in a fast paced and entertaining story.

Blood Ties by Garth Nix and Sean Williams - The latest Spirit Animals book continues the battle between the forces of good and evil.


This takes me up through around mid-June. I've read 83 books so far this year with around 60 of them of the audio variety. I have an ipod now that I carry around with me when I walk the dog, work in the yard and so on so that helps pad the numbers a bit.
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Re: Book Reviews

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Countdown by Natalie Standiford - The latest 39 Clues book continues with Dan and Amy still managing to stay a step ahead of their enemies, but time is running out. Fast paced and entertaining.

The Farfield Curse by Kaleb Nation - Bran Hambric's mother died when he was six years old. She was a wizard and died saving her son by transporting him away from her enemies. He was found sans memory in a bank vault and subsequently raised by the family that found him in the city of Dunce, where two things are outlawed - gnomes and magicians. Bran learns more about his past as the book progresses. A nice start to the series.

Gateway by Fred Pohl - Gateway is an asteroid where 10000 small alien ships were found. People are willing to take these ships to preset destinations in the hope of finding something of value. If they do, they get to share in the rewards. However, there are plenty of risks as well. This was a good science fiction book and is considered a classic. I started the second book, but couldn't get into it. I'll try it again later.

1st Book of Swords
2nd Book of Swords
3rd Book of Swords by Fred Saberhagen
- I loved this trilogy when I read it 30 years ago and still enjoyed it a lot now. In the distant future, the gods of Olympus are real and humanity has devolved back into a medieval culture where magic exists. A blacksmith and other townspeople are recruited by Vulcan to forge 12 swords of power, each imbued with its own special abilities. Then the swords were cast to the winds so that the gods could enjoy the game. Possession of even one of these swords can change the person's life forever.

Steadfast by Jack Campbell - The Lost Fleet series continues with Admiral Leary and his flagship taking the time to visit Earth. This book is really made up of 3 interlocking parts, but it is part of an entertaining series and doesn't disappoint.

Jupiter Pirates 1: Hunt for the Hydra by Jason Fry - Jupiter is at war with Earth and Privateers capture merchant ships that travel in the areas inbetween. However, Earth now seems to be using subterfuge to try and gain an advantage. A good young adult sci-fi adventure.

Bowl of Heaven and Shipstar by Larry Niven - A colony ship on its 500+ year journey to a distant star comes across an odd construct traveling on the same course - a massive world shaped like a bowl powers by a captive dwarf star being used as a jet. Officers and scientists from the ship are woken from cryosleep to investigate the world. An interesting concept for a planet and a good story.

Book of Ore 1 - The Foundry's Edge by Cam Baity and Benny Zelkowicz - A wealthy young girl and her nemesis, one of the young household servants, embark on an adventure when her father is captured by the authorities. They discover that the wealth of their city has a sinister secret behind it as they find themselves in a world with living metal creatures.

Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi - This book is an update of H. Beam Piper's Little Fuzzy. The story is essentially the same, but is told in Scalzi's style. I thought it was on par with Piper's book, though not better.

In the Stormy Red Sky
What Distant Deeps
The Road of Danger
The Sea Without a Shore by David Drake
- These are the latest novels in Drake's RCN series and follow the adventures of Daniel Leary, a captain in the Royal Cinnabar Navy, and his signals officer, Adele Mundy. Both also happen to be aristocrats on Cinnabar. Their adventures find them on a number of missions to various worlds and include both military and political situations. A good military sf series

Furious
Defender
Target by Mike Shepherd
- These books include the two latest Kris Longknife books and the first book in the Vicky Peterwald series. The Wasp returns from alien space as the only survivor and the ship is in really bad condition. Kris is quickly shuffled off into exile where she descends into depression. She eventually is roused out of this and uncovers a plot by her grandfather that could end very badly. She later is sent on another trip into alien space and makes a surprising discovery. Vicky Peterwald was on the Wasp and returns to Greenfield and the Peterwald empire. Her father is the Emperor, but her stepmother seems to have it in for her and has set a bounty on her head. These books are sort of like mind-candy at times, but are fun.

The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander - This is the first book in Alexander's take on Welsh legends, though with a number of changes to fit the tale. A decent beginning with the story of an assistant pig keeper who has heroic qualities that even he was unaware of.

Dragon's Gold by Piers Anthony - The first book in the Kelvin of Rud series starts with Kelvin and his sister, Jon, encountering a dragon while exploring the wilds somewhat near their home. Kelvin is a round ear due to his father being a round ear from Earth, but his sister inherited their mother's features. They end up slaying the dragon and gain a fortune since the dragon's scales are made of gold, but they encounter a bandit who steals their gold and captures Jon, who is disguised as a boy. Jon is then sold to the boymarket to be sold as a slave. A nice start to this fantasy series.
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Re: Book Reviews

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Legend - Marie Lu - Day is a 15 year old criminal who is thought dead by most of his family lives in a dystopian future with a United States divided into separate countries. June is a brilliant student who is near graduation whose brother is a Captain in the military. She is assigned the job to track him down and does her job well, though things are not exactly as she has always believed them to be. A very nice start to the trilogy.

Victories by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill - The final book in the Shadow Grail series starts soon after the escape from Oakhurst Academy by a group of students. The school is really a secret school for magicians, many of whom are reincarnates from Arthurian legend and the school headmaster is really Mordred. They must meet up with Merlin and his emissary and plan the end of Mordred and his Shadow Knights who plan to start a war that will send the Earth back to the Middle Ages. This book was much simpler than its predecessors. It wraps everything up nicely enough, but is much less intricate and interesting.

Rocket Ship Galileo by Robert Heinlein - The first Heinlein juvenile follows three boys and the uncle of one of the boys as they build a rocket ship to take them to the moon. While dated, it is still an entertaining novel, though not as polished as Heinlein's later juveniles.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - Melinda Sordino starts her freshman year of high school with a much changed personality. She hardly speaks and remains mute much of the time. Her grades are also not what her parents were hoping for and she has no friends, except for a transfer from Ohio. As the book progresses, a trauma that Melinda suffered at an end of summer party slowly comes to light. A very good novel that portrays a girl recovering from PTSD.

Epic by Conor Kostick - The financial system on a distant colony world is dependent on residents playing an immersive computer game called Epic. Their society has revolved around this game for centuries and position in society, farm equipment and much more is affected by success in the game. One young boy whose family is on the brink of losing everything takes a chance on a fun character type unused in ages and finds success that could save his community and his family. Lots of fun.

Dodger by Terry Pratchett - Dodger (ala the Artful Dodger) is a teenage boy in early Victorian times who makes a living searching the sewers for things he can sell or for lost change. He is good at his job and maintains a sense of honor that leads him to help a girl who is being accosted by two men. This intervention leads to a big change in his situation and he becomes involved with Charles Dickens and other members of proper society. Pratchett is always worth reading.

Spirits of Flux and Anchor
Empires of Flux and Anchor by Jack Chalker
- The first two books in the Soul Rider series depict a world that is made up of two parts - Flux, a wild area where magic reigns that can change those who lack the power to shape Flux, but grants great power to the wizards with the ability to grasp it, and Anchor, 28 fixed areas where magic does not work. The Anchors are run by the Church and the sisters of the Church. Each year, they choose a varying number of Anchor residents who have just come of age and send them into Flux as slaves. This is to keep the population under control and to fill positions in other parts of World. One particular group contains Cass, Dar and others of their friends and events lead to them gaining their freedom and leading a revolution against the Church. The book features plenty of control freaks who run or want to implement repressive societies, though these are typically portrayed as being bad. Not my favorite series, but decent.

Farmer in the Sky by Robert Heinlein - Bill is a teenager on an overpopulated Earth in the distant future. He and his father (along with his father's new wife and stepdaughter) emigrate to Ganymede where they are promised land to farm and a place away from the crowded planet. Bill is a boy scout and forms a troop while on the ship that takes them to Ganymede. However, things are not quite as expected when they get to the colony as the colony is not set up to deal with the high number of immigrants. Another nice Heinlein juvenile.

Starman Jones by Robert Heinlein - Max lives on a farm with his mother and her new husband, an abusive and controlling man. Max runs away and plans to go the Astrogrator Guild in the capitol, hoping that his late Uncle Stacy had set him up as a legacy in the guild. Without that, his chances of getting in the guild and going to space are very slim. He makes a friend along the way who helps him ship out with forged papers after being turned down by the guild, but Max's skills eventually come to light. Yet another nice Heinlein juvenile.
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Re: Book Reviews

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Over 2 months since my last update - geez I've been lazy

Flashpoint by Gordon Korman - The latest 39 Clues book brings the Unstoppable storyline to a close. Plenty of action in the finale. Still a fun, quick read.

Veronica Mars and the Thousand Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas - This book takes place after the Veronica Mars movie. Veronica is trying to make a living as a P.I. again and ends up investigating a couple of missing girls during college spring break week in Neptune. A nice addition to the series, though maybe not for new fans.

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey - Aliens invaded Earth in a series of waves, each of which killed off more and more of the survivors. Now we’ve reached the 5th Wave and one teenage girl is trying to survive along with her father and little brother. A nice start to this science fiction series.

Pop by Gordon Korman - Marcus is the new kid in town. He is a really good football player and normally plays quarterback, but the local high school team already has a championship level team with a star quarterback firmly in place. He finds himself with few friends, though he becomes good friends with a strange middle aged man who plays football with him in the park and teaches him how to deliver and take a hit. Very nice and fast paced.

Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon - The first book in the Vatta’s War series starts with Ky Vatta getting booted out of the Slotter Key Academy and getting set up in an old trading ship on its final voyage by her prominent trading family. She ends up getting involved in a lot more than she bargained for as she captains the ship on its rounds.

Marque and Reprisal by Elizabeth Moon - The second book in the Vatta series ups the ante with an attack on the Vatta Family that seems related to the problems with the system ansibles. Ky gets a letter of Marque from Slotter Key and ends up encountering the black sheep of the family who may have ties to the pirates in the area.

Engaging the Enemy by Elizabeth Moon - Ky Vatta now has a fighting ship and she tries to take the battle to the pirates and also tries to gain allies in her fight. Her cousin Stella takes over the business aspects for the family while Ky hunts for their enemies.

Command Decision by Elizabeth Moon - The fourth Vatta book leads to the forming of the Space Defense Force, a group of privateers and system forces that band together to battle the pirates. The underlying plot becomes a bit more clear, but more layers are uncovered as well.

Masters of Flux and Anchor by Jack Chalker - The third book in the Flux series brings the main story to a close. Suzall, Cass and their friends and family break free of New Eden’s influence and help deal with an alien invasion that has been on hold for the past 2600 years. A nice conclusion to the story.

Birth of Flux & Anchor by Jack Chalker - This prequel takes up back to the origins of the Flux & Anchor world. It starts at a base on Titan and follows Toby Haller and others in their establishing the new planet and discovering a number of things about their world that play an important role in the distant future. This was a pretty good novel and does a nice job weaving things in that were hinted at in earlier books.

False Future by Dan Krokos - This book closes out the trilogy - The many clones from the Main Earth have established a beachhead in New York City as they invade this dimension. Our heroes are a rogue set of clones who infiltrate their enemy in an attempt to bring them down. A good conclusion if not as much fun as the first two books.

Fire and Ice by Shannon Hale - The latest Spirit Animals book heads to the far north, a sparsely populated area covered year round in snow and ice. Another decent entry.

Eternity by Matt de la Pena - This book finishes off the Infinity Ring time travel series. I think the series could have ended after the previous book, but this one was okay.

Starbridge by A.C. Crispin - A voyage home from a distant colony is interrupted when signals from an unknown alien race are discovered. This leads to a first contact with a canine type race and a series of misunderstandings leads to potential ruin, unless it can be staved off by two young friends of different species.

Space Case by Stuart Gibbs - 12 year old Dashiell Gibson was excited when his family got the opportunity to live in humanity’s first moon base for a couple of years. His parents are scientists with the mix of skills that were in need. However, there are few kids Dashiell’s age and life on the moon is pretty boring. Until a murder/accident takes place with a prominent scientist and Dashiell tries to figure out what is going on. A very entertaining and quick read.

The Warrior’s Apprentice
The Vor Game
Cetaganda
Ethan of Athos
Borders of Infinity
Brothers in Arms
Mirror Dance
Memory
Komarr
A Civil Campaign
Winterfair Gifts by Lois McMaster Bujold
- The Vorkosigan series is my favorite series and I’m really enjoying revisiting them via the audiobooks. The series stars with a 17 year old Miles Vorkosigan trying to join the Imperial military, despite being fairly crippled since birth due to an attack on his parents before he was born. He doesn’t make it into the military through the academy, but finds an indirect route when he travels outside of the Barrayaran system and ends up creating an alter ego known as Admiral Naismith who takes over a group of mercenaries. The series follows his various adventures over the years and Miles is now in his early 30s and his military service is behind him, though he has moved on to a more powerful and important position.

I’m continuing through all of the Heinlein novels and short story collections that I’ve never read or haven’t read in many years.

The Door Into Summer by Robert Heinlein
- Daniel Boone Davis is an engineer and inventor in 1970. He invents a line of robots, but is forced out of the company by his partners and put in cryo-suspension for 30 years. When he wakes up, he searches for a way to make a living and later to find a way back to set things right. This was a pretty good story.

Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert Heinlein - Thorby is a slave on a distant world far in the future. He is purchased by a beggar and eventually freed. He later learns of his true heritage, though he is still a product of the environment he grew up in. This is one of my favorite Heinlein novels.

Double Star by Robert Heinlein - An actor is hired to impersonate a powerful politician who has been kidnapped. He continues the impersonation after the politician is recovered since the politician is in very poor health. He soon grows into the role. Another nice Heinlein novel.

The Green Hills of Earth by Robert Heinlein - This is a short story collection. Not bad, though I prefer novels.

The Man Who Sold the Moon by Robert Heinlein - Another decent short story collection.

Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein - Johnnie Rico enlists in the Mobile Infantry and grows as a person and as a soldier during the war with the Bugs. An excellent Heinlein novel. I liked the movie, too, though there are many differences. This was meant to be one of Heinlein’s juveniles, but was turned down for that purpose

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein - This is probably Heinlein’s best known novel. It deals with a man who was born on Mars during an exploratory mission and raised by Martians. He returns to Earth and seems fairly naive about life there, though he can do many things that astound the people there. He makes friends with a nurse, a reporter, an author and others and eventually founds a church after becoming quite a bit less naive. Very entertaining, though I like a number of other Heinlein novels more.

Puppet Masters by Robert Heinlein - Secret government agents have to deal with an alien invasion where the aliens attach themselves to their hosts and control their actions. The battle ebbs and flows and much of the United States is overrun. This is a fairly taut and entertaining novel and one that came out around 5 years before Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Revolt in 2100 by Robert Heinlein - This book has one long story and two short stories. The main story deals with the overthrow of the Prophet who has ruled the United States for over a decade.

Time for the Stars by Robert Heinlein - Twins who have the ability to communicate telepathically are recruited for long space voyages to investigate new planets for colonization. One twin will remain on Earth and the other will travel on the ship at relativistic speeds, aging much more slowly than their twin. Telepathic communication bypasses the speed of light and is nearly instantaneous. It is also unaffected by distance, thus allowing the ships to remain in contact with Earth. Nicely done and another entertaining Heinlein novel.

Sixth Column by Robert Heinlein - This was an early Heinlein story and deals with a United States that has been taken over by an Asian invading force made up of a combination of Japanese and Chinese. The United States underground has a few advantages in recent scientific advances that haven’t been made public yet. In order to circumvent reprisals and discovery, they form a church and infiltrate numerous cities to spread their underground revolt. I thought the book was a lot of fun and moves very quickly.

Podkayne of Mars by Robert Heinlein - Podkayne is almost 9 years old (15 or 16 or so in Earth years) and has grown up on Mars. Her family is planning a trip to Venus and Earth, but it is canceled when circumstances arise. However, Podkayne and her annoying genius younger brother are eventually allowed to make the trip with their uncle. The adventure follows the siblings on the spaceship to Venus and then on the planet itself. However, a criminal element doesn’t want Podkayne’s uncle to make his secret diplomatic contacts and trouble arises. Very entertaining.
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Captain Vorpatril's Alliance
Cryoburn
Falling Free
Shards of Honor
Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
- This finishes off the Vorkosigan Universe books with Captain Vorpatril's Alliance telling the story of Ivan's sudden and unexpected marriage, Cryoburn finds Miles on another planet that has a huge industry based on cryogenic suspension, Falling Free going to a point 200 years earlier where genetically engineered Quaddies gaining their independence and Shards of Honor and Barrayar detailing how Miles's parents met, fell in love and dealt with an attempted coup on Barrayar. All are very entertaining.

Beguilement
Legacy
Passage
Horizon by Lois McMaster Bujold
- This is the four book Sharing Knife series where Earth in the distant future has fallen into an agrarian society with blighted lands to the North. Lakewalkers patrol the area looking for Malices, remnants of the path that occasionally arise and endanger the world. The series starts with a romance between a Lakewalker man and a Farmer woman, something that doesn't happen very often and is frowned upon on both sides. A fun series.

For Us, the Living
Waldo & Magic Inc.
Farnham's Freehold by Robert Heinlein
- For Us, the Living was a lost Heinlein novel and the first he wrote. Not great, but okay. Waldo is made up of two novellas. Farnham's Freehold has a family survive a nuclear war by being thrown into the distant future while in their bomb shelter.

Victory Conditions by Elizabeth Moon - The final book in the Vatta's War series brings the series to a nice conclusion.

Children of Flux & Anchor by Jack Chalker - This book picks up many years after the original trilogy and has another threat arise in the form of a new weapon that is stolen. This book was okay, but not as much fun as the earlier books and kind of unnecessary.

Pathfinder by Angie Sage - This is the first book in Sage's 'sequel' to the Septimus books. It starts 5 or so years later and the characters from the first series appear in the supporting cast here. The Pathfinder tribe is under attack and one girl escapes and seeks to help her friends and find her father. A good start to the series.

The Rogue Knight by Brandon Mull - The second book in the Five Kingdoms series moves on to the second of the five kingdoms where magic works differently. Mull's books are always fun.

The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss - This short novel deals with Auri and is very different than the other Rothfuss novels. Good, but very different.

Dangerous Deception by Peg Kehret - A girl tries to help a family in need of food and other supplies, but finds herself in danger when she runs afoul of a thief.

Visitors by Orson Scott Card - The final book in Card's Pathfinder series has several storylines in action. One Rigg travels back to Earth to try and stop the fleet that will eventually destroy Garden. The other Rigg, Umbo, Param and the others try to effect things on Garden. Not quite as much fun as the first two books, but a good finish to the series.

Shattered Shields ed. by Jennifer Brozek - A mixed anthology of stories involving warriors. I liked some of them quite a bit and others not so much.

Maddy West and the Tongue Taker by Brian Falkner - A British girl has the gift of tongues and can understand and speak and language. Her parents seek to capitalize on this, but a witch wants her to translate a few ancient spells for her own benefit. A pretty quick read and decent story.

Tenacious by Mike Shepherd - The latest Kris Longknife book wasn't bad

Spirit's Key by Edith Cohn - 12 year old Spirit lives on Bald Island with her father. Her father has a gift where he can see the future when he holds somebody's key. This is how he makes his living. Spirit is of an age where she should inherit the ability soon. Wild dogs are dying on the island, including Spirit's domesticated dog, Sky. This mystery and Spirit's developing powers lead to an interesting adventure on the island.

Saga by Conor Kostick - This sequel to Epic has more of a science fiction feel. Saga was a game much like Epic, except that it is now ruled by a Dark Queen and the characters are alive in their own right. Saga suddenly shows up on the Epic servers and the humans log in to Saga and soon find themselves captives of the Dark Queen through an addictive virus. Epic was more fun, but this was good.

Imperfect Sword by Jack Campbell - The third book in the Lost Stars series continues the science fiction political and military intrigue. This is a nice series with a different twist from the Lost Fleet series.
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Re: Book Reviews

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For the year, that makes 163 books read with 132 being audiobooks, 30 being print books and 1 where I mixed the two mediums.
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So much for my thoughts of updating this more frequently...

The Dragons of Dorcastle by Jack Campbell - This is the first book in a fantasy series by Campbell, who up until now has only written military science fiction. The Mechanics and the Mages are rival guilds who want to have as little as possible to do with one another. When a caravan is attacked, one young mage boy and a mechanic girl have to rely on one another and slowly become friends. They come across a few mysteries which involve their respective guilds and work together in secret to solve them. This is a nice start to the series.

Clariel by Garth Nix - The latest book in the Old Kingdom series takes place around six hundred years earlier. Clariel is an heir to the Abhorsen line, but has lived most of her life in a rural forested area. When her family moves to the capitol, she feels trapped by the stone walls and all of the people whose ways she does not fully understand. There is free magic, plots against the king and plenty of other intrigue in another nice book in the series.

Spirit Animals - Against the Tide and Rise and Fall - These two books advance the story as the four fallen spirit animals and their human partners try to stop the Devourer from conquering the world. Entertaining and quick reads.

The Future Falls by Tanya Huff - The third book in the Enchantment Emporium series again focuses on Charlie, the wild magic offspring of the Gale clan who travels where she wants with guitar in hand. She catches wind of a potential threat to Earth in the form of a rogue asteroid that has been overlooked by scientists. She tries to figure out a way to keep the asteroid from destroying life on Earth. Huff's books always seem to deliver and this one is no different, though I did like the first two books in the series a bit more.

Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare - This book contains a number of short stories focusing on the wizard Magnus Bane from the Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices series. Not bad, but they don't really stand on their own very well.

Sagan Diary by John Scalzi - This book ties into Scalzi's Old Man's War series. While I liked Old Man's War a lot, this one wasn't as much fun.

Coming Home by Jack McDevitt - The latest Alex Benedict novel involves the rescue of Alex's uncle, Gabriel, from the ship which has been skipping through time for the past 15 years. Gabriel is rescued and a new status quo has to be created. There is also a mystery involving the missing artifacts from the Apollo missions, some 9000 years prior to the events in this series. A serviceable entry in the series - good, though not the best in the series.

Four by Veronica Roth - This book contains four stories involving characters from Roth's Divergent series. The last story contains parts of the first novel from a different perspective. Decent stories, though like the Bane Chronicles book, not good enough to really stand alone.

More Than Honor by David Weber - a short story collection in the Honor Harrington universe. Good stories for the most part.

GOD Inc Books 1-3 by Jack Chalker - This series starts out as a noirish detective series that ventures into parallel worlds. A husband and wife duo from Philadelphia are hired to investigate a banker and stumble upon a number of other mysteries, including a company that functions across many dimensions and has ties to the mob. The later books lead to investigating the enemy to the company and include visits to several of these other worlds. A fun series to read.

Starhawk
The Engines of God
Deepsix
Chindi by Jack McDevitt
- Starhawk is a prequel and deals with Priscilla Hutchins as she first gets her pilot's license. She ends up working for a company that is terraforming worlds, though there is a lot of opposition to their activities, including bomb threats. The later books deal with alien civilizations, alien artifacts and plenty of personal issues. A good series, though I tend to like the Alex Benedict books more.

I Will Fear No Evil by Robert Heinlein - An elderly billionaire named Smith in the early 21st century uses a radical brain transplant operation to continue living in what had been a young, but brain dead body. The catch is that the body is of a young female and Smith has to get used to not only being young again, but being female. The book is a bit long, but I thought it was good. Heinlein had health problems around this time and the book was published without his giving it the final polish.

Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein - This book starts in the far future where the oldest man alive, Lazarus Long, has decided to finally die, though his descendants try to convince him otherwise. He agrees to hold off and to tell a few stories from his past and eventually regains his will to live. The final story in the book sees him travel back in time to 1916 when he was only four years old. The book seems a bit long, but overall is not bad.

The Number of the Beast by Robert Heinlein - A group of explorers travel through space and parallel worlds aboard a car turned space ship. This book is sort of a parody of a number of different types of fantasy and science fiction tropes. It is kind of hard to follow at times with its quick twists, but there is enough here to enjoy. The names of the major characters include Dejah Thoris Burroughs and John Carter.

Friday by Robert Heinlein - Friday is an artificially conceived woman, though she is mostly indistinguishable from normal humans. Her reflexes and though processes are quicker, though, and she serves as a courier/assassin. The book is essentially her coming to terms with her own humanity, something she doesn't totally believe in. I liked this book a lot.

Heinlein's 1970s and 1980s books have gotten a bad rap, especially with the topics of free love, incest and other taboos that are explored. I had never read later Heinlein, but overall have been enjoying them, though not as much as the Heinlein juveniles from the 40s and 50s.


The Tree of Water by Elizabeth Haydon - Haydon finally returns to the Ven Polypheme series as Ven and a couple of his friends explore the lands underneath the ocean. They have adventures and encounter a number of different creatures, including a couple of sea dragons. Another fun entry in the series.

It's Up to Charlie Hardin by Dean Ing - This book takes place during World War 2 and deals with 12 year old Charlie and his friends as they unknowingly help to break up a counterfeiting group. A light, quick read based in part on Ing's childhood in Austin, Texas.

Jupiter Pirates 2: Curse of the Iris by Jason Fry - This book takes place a few months after the first book in the series. Tycho and his family stumble across a clue to the long lost Iris, a cursed ship thought to contain a lost treasure from 80 years earlier. As they investigate and hunt for the Iris, they also discover some of their family secrets about one of their ancestors and dishonorable things they did in their pirate days. A nice young adult science fiction series.

Changewinds 1 and 2 by Jack Chalker - Two girls are transported into a strange land where the landscape changes when a Changewind blows through. It also changes the people and animals that it encounters in strange ways. They have to seek out the wizard Boolean who saved them from capture when they first arrived, but they encounter a number of problems along the way, including slavery, magic, demons and more. This has been a decent series so far.

Midkemia The Chronicles of Pug by Raymond Feist - This book serves as an overview to the Midkemia books through the lens of Pug, the magician who lived through all of the Riftwar novels. The illustrations are excellent, but the book is more or less just a synopsis of the previous 20 or so books with lots of things left out and few original insights.

Alias: Sister Spy by Laura Peyton Roberts - Sydney is assigned to infiltrate a sorority where one of SD-6's agents recently died under mysterious circumstances. The action soon moves to Hawaii where Sydney has to recover a secret weapon that has been underwater since the early 1940s. These tie-in novels are fun to read, though being a fan of the series helps.

Five Kingdoms 3: Crystal Keepers by Brandon Mull- Cole, Dalton and friends move on to the kingdom of Zeropolis in search of Cole's missing friends and in search of their friend Mira's sister, Constance. Zeropolis reminds them of Earth in many ways since it has mag-lev trains, computers and many modern conveniences. An old computer that once tried to take over Zeropolis may be their only hope when a new threat emerges in the form of another supercomputer. I have yet to read one of Mull's books that I did not enjoy. He has a very nice style.
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Re: Book Reviews

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Changewinds 3: War of the Maelstrom by Jack Chalker - The Changewinds reaches its conclusion with a bang. There have been lots of twists and turns throughout. Sam and Charlie have been separated for quite some time, but are finally reunited and meet Boolean at the same time. Boolean facilitates a mindswap where Charlie is placed in Sam's huge and pregnant, but healthy body and Sam ends up in Charlie's thin, but blind body. Boolean and Sam then pursue the Storm Princess and Boolean's enemy wizard. A very nice conclusion to what was overall a pretty nice series.
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I finished reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas last night. I've been reading it for the past month and it is one loooong book. I think the printed version is 1200 or so pages. I listened to the audiobook which was on 35 cds. Edmond Dantes is a young sailor who is about to get married when he is set up by a couple of jealous rivals. He is sent away to prison where he languishes for years before escaping. He attains fabulous wealth thanks to a hidden treasure he learned of from a fellow prisoner and eventually reemerges into society a decade later as the Count of Monte Cristo, a mysterious person who is extremely talented in many areas. He sets his plans for revenge into motion and things slowly come together. It is an excellent book and well worth the time needed to read it.
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Re: Book Reviews

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Last August, I decided to listen to the audiobooks for Raymond Feist's Riftwar books. The series includes 30 books from a variety of series published between 1982-2013. I had read all but the last three in print form, but had never gotten around to reading the last three for one reason or another. I enjoyed the audiobooks quite a bit and have now (after nearly a year) finally completed the series, though I did read the last two books in print form rather than as audiobooks. The series had a few ups and downs, but I thought that it ended very well and the last book, Magician's End, was very good.

I also read quite a few other books during the past year (over 150), but am happy to have completed this series. I also read Feist's Faerie Tale for the first time and plan to read his more recent book, King of Ashes.
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Re: Book Reviews

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I finally finished reading all of the novels of Charles Dickens, a goal that I set for myself back during the summer of 2017. I read eight of the novels and several short stories/novellas during the following year before getting a bit burned out. I got back to it in January and just finished Our Mutual Friend. Here are my personal rankings:

Upper Tier
Nicholas Nickleby
Bleak House
Our Mutual Friend
David Copperfield
Great Expectations
Little Dorrit

Middle Tier

Oliver Twist
Hard Times
A Tale of Two Cities
Dombey and Son
The Old Curiosity Shop

Lower Tier
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Martin Chuzzlewit
The Pickwick Papers
Barnaby Rudge

I think that the books in the lower tier are still worth reading once, but each has their issues. The main problem with Edwin Drood is that it was only half completed when Dickens died. Otherwise, it probably would have ended up in the middle tier. I've read all five of his Christmas novellas, but the only one that I really enjoyed was A Christmas Carol, which would fall in the upper tier if I included it.

Nicholas Nickleby is probably an unusual choice for the top spot, but I think that the top three or four books are all pretty close and the order could change slightly if I ever decided to read them again.
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Re: Book Reviews

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I've decided to read all of the fiction that Isaac Asimov wrote that I haven't already read. This means I need to read 4 novels and around 300 short stories, many of them part of his Black Widowers mystery series. I did the same thing for Robert Heinlein a within the last decade and it shouldn't be too hard to do the same here, though a bit time consuming to get through all of those short stories.

Arthur C. Clarke is the other big name from the golden age of science fiction, but I've never really enjoyed his stories that much.
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