This Inn-verse book featuring Cora, the singer, the undead singer, pop-star, really got to introduce us to some great characters. It's very grounded aThis Inn-verse book featuring Cora, the singer, the undead singer, pop-star, really got to introduce us to some great characters. It's very grounded and has moments of comfort and progression, of course, but I was here for the whole package. Action, excitement, pumping up the audience--OR a group of noob hunters in WAY over their head--had me enjoying it even more.
This next book is just proving to me that I can't get enough.
I'm getting superstar-van-helsing vibes. :)
My synesthesia sees nothing but zombie moth-bears and pink hair. Cool, right?
Personal note: If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
Oh lordy, this is really hitting the spot for me. Pirateaba has been reliably hitting it out of the park with everything. The balance between comfort-Oh lordy, this is really hitting the spot for me. Pirateaba has been reliably hitting it out of the park with everything. The balance between comfort-emotions, overcoming odds, dealing with issues, and beautiful worldbuilding that sets up some pretty awesome foils--AND heart-wrenching action on a huge scale, as if the former wasn't enough, is just doing it all for my poor old heart.
The balance, here, is just as good as the later Wandering Inn books, and indeed, we are in the same world and hear some interesting, familiar names. But this one is special all on its own.
A song, whether it comes from an actress or a struggling earther thrust into a fantasy world that behaves by leveling-up rules, can still have enormous power.
It's just a bit more interesting when the song in question has THIS much power.
Really great stuff.
My synesthesia smells not grave-dirt or zombie rats, but comfort-tea and honey, together with a mouth watering biscuit and warm company.
Personal note: If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
This war-centered Fantasy continues to deliver with the war-flavor. If you've gotten this far in the story, you're really here for the gritty ambianceThis war-centered Fantasy continues to deliver with the war-flavor. If you've gotten this far in the story, you're really here for the gritty ambiance, the female-led gun-heroes, and a little bit of romance to go with the rare appearances of demon-infused carriers of the Names.
Honestly? I loved the end. I loved a little of the romance. The battles, when they happened, were fascinating.
But the rest--it was kinda a glide. I was there for a bunch of normal stuff written in a normal way. Every day life between battles. I'm sure others will get more out of that than me. I admit to being a bit bored during these much-longer sequences.
But overall, it was still solid--so no harm or foul.
My synesthesia really smelled a lot of airborne ash throughout the read.
Personal note: If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
Despite the pretty epic confrontation with the old village he founded, with plenty of surprises in store, or the overall re-focus on Earth and Earth'sDespite the pretty epic confrontation with the old village he founded, with plenty of surprises in store, or the overall re-focus on Earth and Earth's image of itself to grow and protect itself from the coming cataclysms, the whole novel has a serious introspective mood to it. Reflection and a sharpening of focus.
I think it's pretty awesome--like a self-therapy session that ultimately builds a brand new foundation for your soul.
Of course, this has happened multiple times in the series, but it really stands out as something that tackles much bigger "state of the universe, of existence," questions.
I'm a sucker for this stuff in OTHER literature. So the fact we're getting it taken seriously in a LitRPG where it OUGHT to be forbidden or laughed out of existence, I'm very pleasantly surprised to get a hefty dose of self-improvement alongside massive magics, cataclysms, and large-scale bloodshed.
I likey.
My synesthesia is getting the sensation of paper under my fingers, of a chocolate smell.
Personal note: If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
Any book that can keep me up all night wanting to know what happens next is obviously going to be a cherished one. And that's what happened to me withAny book that can keep me up all night wanting to know what happens next is obviously going to be a cherished one. And that's what happened to me with this.
I really enjoyed the progression and the whole "as above, so below" structure to this one. The soul skill, indeed, a whole world-building AS a narrative conceit and source of character power is pretty awesome to behold. And not only do we get to visit as a god, but all changes work both ways, changing yourself.
If that wasn't enough, the full, bright story of the world of Tellus comes to a head, complete with the Calamity and resolution. Nobody comes out of it unscathed.
Very neat novel. Humble beginnings for the series, but this one really made it stand out.
My synesthesia tasted a wholesome ham on rye with really spicy mustard, oddly enough--with a dose of blood in the air.
Personal note: If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
Solid work. If you've come this far in the series, you know you'll have to challenge your current limits with every volume, so it should come as no suSolid work. If you've come this far in the series, you know you'll have to challenge your current limits with every volume, so it should come as no surprise that Randidly must face some demons and get pounded before arising to the top again.
In this volume, we return to the world of spears. Stronger, a little wiser, and now a bit more smug than is healthy, he turns to ash and cold and mass annihilation to get the respect of his peers. He's living the dream.
Honestly, I'm having as much fun as I generally do with these, which is to say, I'm quite amused and invested. It's all action and leveling and finding all new ways to level. In this case, imagery. And what monstrous power it is.
My synesthesia tastes yet more ash, but this time it's not a hot wind, but a cold one. Kinda perfect for the setting.
Personal note: If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
What's weird: novel structure. Some of the characterizations.
I'll explain. Randidly builds his own class at the end of the last novel, and now jumps into a high-level dungeon with a few friends to flesh it out. It's all cool. His old, pre-apocalyptic friends are kinda ass-hats. And upon leaving that dungeon, which takes up what I thought was a big deal of the novel, Randidly up and skips town and levels up in a time jump to an all new place and PoV which builds a nice little western/cyberpunk city that feels like a completely different novel.
Ok, no problem, except, for the most part, we're generally always focused on Randidly. It does go back to him, and he's kinda aimless again, but I enjoyed watching him grind through new skillsets, so the original purpose of the novels was served.
Weird? Perhaps. But still enjoyable in the end.
My synesthesia smells gunpowder and a forge.
Personal note: If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
I don't really have anything super bad to say about this except it felt very... how should I say this... done before. Like, very.
I mean it's a SF withI don't really have anything super bad to say about this except it felt very... how should I say this... done before. Like, very.
I mean it's a SF without the charm of Mandolarian, Fallout game minus the humor, and all the the tropes of hundred years or more of westerns.
It's written fine, but it's simply something that doesn't stand out to me. Alas.
I'll try some of her space opera later, perhaps.
My synesthesia tastes dried cowhide. Chewy. Not very satisfying.
Personal note: If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
I wasn't sure this would work, at first, but I should never ignore the power of any Count of Monte Cristo story.
This SF novella is nommed for '25 NubI wasn't sure this would work, at first, but I should never ignore the power of any Count of Monte Cristo story.
This SF novella is nommed for '25 Nubula awards and is a bare-bones, quick-blossom retelling that really underscores not just the anti-colonialism sentiments, but the inequality and proper clever revenge needed to lay out a satisfying solution on the edge of a blade.
It worked.
Fun, fast, lucky, this short work is full of the kind of rage that most of us feel, today, at the immense propaganda and injustice all around us. And it has an ending that only Hollywood (or Dumas) can deliver.
My synesthesia tastes cold revenge: something similar to a leftover cold ragu sauce on toast. Nummy.
Personal note: If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
This is a '25 Nebula nom for best novella and I'm honestly impressed at the depth of worldbuilding. It's never really enough to carrClim-SF AfroPunk.
This is a '25 Nebula nom for best novella and I'm honestly impressed at the depth of worldbuilding. It's never really enough to carry a Silo or a Ballardian High Rise feel to an African climate dysfunction. Just these two in a juxtaposition is nice, but if we add stories within stories, an attempt to wrest meaning from a hard, unjust life--it simply elevates it all.
If I were to re-comp this, I'd say it's Binti meets High Rise.
Definitely worth the read.
My synesthesia smells the pervasive damp, the cloying sourness of packed bodies and darkness.
Personal note: If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
I'm boosting this book because Zuck REALLY REALLY hates that it's out there and is doing all he can do to squash it.
Yeah, I know. I'm just a contrariI'm boosting this book because Zuck REALLY REALLY hates that it's out there and is doing all he can do to squash it.
Yeah, I know. I'm just a contrarian.
-- And now, I'm here after reading an insider's accounting of What Facebook Is.
And honestly, the title really says it all. Sarah hopped on board early on, idealistic as hell about WHAT Facebook could have been: a platform to reach out and connect people, to boost important messages, to change the world. She was a true believer. And it took some time for her to see how Zuck's power, the company's greed, the utter unfeeling pursuit of users, of cow-towing to authoritarian governments to get more market share made her realize, at long, long last, that she couldn't make things right from within the belly of the beast.
There's plenty of evidence already of Facebook (now Meta) gave over all its user's data to the Chinese government, of how it just ignored laws because it had already gotten so powerful, so pervasive, and how so many other governments just loved what it gave them. And it isn't the worst of it. There's also the Rohingya genocide. You know, the Myanmar massacre. What happens when the only internet that's available happens to be stripped down versions of Facebook promoting hate and persecution and calls for mass rape and murder.
And we know that Zuck got away with it because he just said he can't control what others do. And yet, the platform not only let it happen, it helped others with hate on their minds find each other and boost that algorithm. Money, lawyers, political influence. Facebook is the goose that laid the golden eggs for all those authoritarians.
And Sarah was there as the political arm, the idealist forced to watch as her ideas were ignored in favor of Right Wing advisors and the power hungry, how endless Harvard Grads were installed in all key places. And then there was the 2016 American Elections. They patted themselves on their backs for how they managed to promote and algorithmically skew all the right messages in all the right ears. How hate speech in America got boosted. How White Power got boosted. How Trump was catapulted, monetized, and incentivized right to the top of all of Facebook's feeds, an endless loop, AND an utterly successful deployment of media manipulation.
One that could be incentivized again and again. And of course, we know that Facebook got extremely rich during this time. The culture in their offices did nothing but promote how they did nothing wrong, how they were on a mission that is hard to understand, how they were getting things done.
Sarah, by this time, was utterly disillusioned, a victim of the old boy's network, and drumrolled out because she couldn't stand what was happening by this point.
We can take her accounting of this with a grain of salt if you want, but really, I've also been paying attention to the social media giants for many years. If you don't see how they make their money, then YOU are the product, after all.
I've read the news and read the full investigations of these ties, and let me be frank: it all fits. I don't see any reason to doubt Sarah. Her story is an old one. She thought she was doing great work, but her bosses succumbed to the call of greed and power and when they discovered they were hurting people, they didn't stop. Indeed, they just hunted for more power and the ability to shrug off whole governments' pressure. After all, if you have that much power, you can make your own rules.
Zuck even wanted to become president after Trump's first success. Too bad he has all the presence of a Bond Villain--or Lex Luthor. And I think we've all seen what those kinds of cartoon characters are like once they are told no. Or that they aren't popular.
They get mean.
Or, in this case, he's been hell bent on stopping people from reading THIS book. An army of lawyers, injunctions, gag orders--enen trying to squash the publishers FFS.
I'm glad I got to read this. This much smoke generally means there's a fire.
My synesthesia tastes ash. I just hope this fire gets boosted.
Personal note: If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
You know your life is getting strange if, within two weeks, you read two books with intelligent parasites learning to live and love their potential hoYou know your life is getting strange if, within two weeks, you read two books with intelligent parasites learning to live and love their potential hosts. Hell, it's even more odd to see these parasites suffering from social anxiety or just plain anxiety, feeling needy and pathetic like an ACTUAL parasite.
Too funny. This isn't Leech, however. The other was a doctor. This one was just lovestruck in a framework story that was all pretty awesome horror. Or dark supernatural fantasy, if you like.
Enjoyable, either way. Nommed for '25 Nebula.
I guess I kinda expected this to be richer, more imaginative. The premise was delicious. My synesthesia tastes good gore. Exactly what the parasite ordered.
Personal note: If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
Unfortunately for me, this book was kinda a slog. Other people's mileage might vary, of course.
I've read quite a few books like it--just imagine a buUnfortunately for me, this book was kinda a slog. Other people's mileage might vary, of course.
I've read quite a few books like it--just imagine a bunch of young idiots, have them die, come back, have magic they need to control, but underneath it all, they're all pretty self-absorbed and thoroughly NORMAL in how they mess up their lives, love-lives, etc.
Sure, it's magical realism, and that's unfortunate, because realism when it comes to young idiots is all too commonplace and... frankly... dull.
But what about the fantasy elements? Wasn't that good, Brad?
Yeah, well, it was okay as far as it goes. On par with Locke and Key or any number of UFs, just so long as you imagine a goodly solid handful of main characters all circling each other on the peripheral, bound by the same aegis, and eventually requiring themselves to do SOMETHING (that something taking a LONG time to get to in the plot) while messing around with their after-life afterlife. Or rather, love-life.
Honestly--it was rather annoying. If you are looking for loving with a little fantasy, with all the miscommunications and ennui it involves, then this one is okay.
I don't really understand why it was nommed for the '25 Nebula.
My synesthesia smelled very little but wet fur and dust. It was familiar, but not in a good way.
Personal note: If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
The author has been getting quite a bit of notoriety for her fantasies for the last few years, sticking close to fairy-tNebula award nominee for '25.
The author has been getting quite a bit of notoriety for her fantasies for the last few years, sticking close to fairy-tale retellings and generally feel-good light fantasy that manages to satisfy that comfort-food craving we all seem to get these days.
As I was reading it, I thought it might have started a bit heavy-handed, but I REALLY loved the whole Miss Marple meets a good old fashioned Regency novel feel. The sorcery, mischief, and murder was quite fun.
My synesthesia tastes bread and marmalade. Yes, seriously. Marmalade. And it's good.
Personal note: If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
Like the Saint of Bright Doors, it teases with real life and then just catapults us into a rich afterlife/world of uploaded minds, gods, and rebirths.Like the Saint of Bright Doors, it teases with real life and then just catapults us into a rich afterlife/world of uploaded minds, gods, and rebirths.
It's Buddhist SF, ya'll. It's a playground for the imagination.
I love the creativity and I admit I like to think, think, and think about all the worldbuilding here, not to mention the theology, the scope, the Akashic record.
We also get a ton of story-within-story action here, which is quite delightful.
So, why am I only giving it 4 stars? Because the core story wanders. It's fun as long as you go into this for the journey, for the sightseeing, but plot is subsumed in experience. Even dead-experience. You might say--it's just a slice of life.
Nommed for '25 Nebula awards.
My synesthesia sees a lightshow of colors throughout the novel, but all the other senses are dulled--especially the scents. I experienced this at a remove, alas. Wanting to get deep into it isn't the same as being deep in it.
Personal note: If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
Absolutely un-put-downable. This is one of those razor-sharp books that follow through a line of storytelling reasoning, slams the foot on the gas, adAbsolutely un-put-downable. This is one of those razor-sharp books that follow through a line of storytelling reasoning, slams the foot on the gas, adding ALL the relevant AND gloriously detailed details to make it pop (mostly real information, well researched) and yet also sticks to its storytelling guns to drive home a very hard point.
This could have been a simple, fun, popcorn ride of a novel, and indeed it absolutely begins that way. This regular guy has lived with a peace-loving talent for always seeing seconds in to the future, but when he looks a cop wrong and mouths off, EVERYTHING goes wrong.
I won't spoil it, but this has some of the very best action scenes I've ever read in a book. It's fantastic fun from start to finish for just that, alone.
But what sets this book apart is the OTHER layers. The layers that show a great little juxtaposition between seeing myopically, or in this case, only a few seconds ahead of time, versus relying on a grand systemic edifice of cultural contingencies that that is, if anything, even blinder, and ANOTHER, almost completely hidden juxtaposition, that rails against the necessity that got us all here in the first place.
For, without spoiling, the consequences of such a small inflexibility was both fluid, deadly, and amazingly pertinent to us all.
We, as a human species, are watching the death of critical thinking in real time. This book makes that extremely clear, as if we didn't need further proof.
At least this book had the glorious benefit of being wildly entertaining, smart (unlike the things going on in the real world), and actual FICTION.
100% recommend for thriller and SF fans. This one OUGHT to get tons of traction. Hell, I think it'd make a BRILLIANT high-budget mini-series. Keep everything, and watch the sparks fly.
My synesthesia smelled cold, hard steel, gunpowder, and even though I don't know what dumdums smell like, I get this impression of an air blast to the face.
Personal note: If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
Getting really fun now. The LitRPG brought Randidly back to Earth, way overpowered, but still managed to give him a little space to grow and tend his Getting really fun now. The LitRPG brought Randidly back to Earth, way overpowered, but still managed to give him a little space to grow and tend his garden. How nice!
(And for those who actually KNOW how it turns out: yes, I'm being wildly droll.)
What a seed to grow at the end of that novel, right?
Can't wait to get back in and see what this first class will do to him.
My synesthesia smells wet fur, sweat, and a hint of sulfur--and not unpleasantly so.
Personal note: If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to requests. Just direct message me in goodreads or email me on my site. I'd love to get some eyes on my novels.
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