On the Beach
The only thing I knew going into this book was it was post apocalyptic. I will say, it was well written. The end hits hard, and although I’d hoped for a bit more science, the...
Book Reviews
As I work my way through wonderful works of literature, these are my thoughts.
The Martian Chronicles
This book is widely regarded, though I don’t find it to be my favorite I have read from Bradbury to date. I think part of that is it is more day in the life nature of the writing....
The Devil by Name
Book two of Fever House. I really like the pacing of this book, and the varied view points. I felt the back stories were right sized, and the characters made sense who we were...
Fever House
I don’t normally read Horror often, but this book leads into a post apocalyptic landscape and, well, this book was awesome. It just kept you wondering what was going on and led...
There is no Anti Memetics Division
I had no idea what to expect with this book, and right from the beginning, it starts off with an absolutely wild scene. There is so much meta in this book with regards to memory...
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
This book is regarded as one of Agatha Christie’s best works and I have to say, it did not disappoint. For a book released over 100 years ago, you’d never know. The characters are...
Apex
Starting the year out with a bang, book 3 of the Nexus trilogy. This is one of those books that I’d consider as go big or go home. This book definitely does that, opening up to...
Crux
Whew, book two of Nexus series came out swinging. I have to honestly say, I liked this book even more than the first one, and that’s saying something, cause usually the first book...
Nexus
It’s been awhile since a really good futuristic speculative sci fi book was recommended that I absolutely loved, but here we are. Naam really goes all out with having us consider...
Blood Meridian
Oh boy, this is not a book for those with a weak stomach. I’ll admit that I felt the beginning of this book was just a rush of summary to a life you really don’t get invested in,...
The Running Man
So if you’ve seen the 90’s movie with the same name, this book is not the same. Originally released under Richard Bachman, they have since re released under his more popular name....
No Country For Old Men
Having seen the movie, it was time to read the source material. It is amazing how close the book is to the movie, with one major change I didn’t mind either way. It does change...
What Stalks The Deep
Book three was interesting because it took us to America, a direction I wasn’t expecting the story to go. The book was very consistent in the style of writing as the other two,...
What Feasts At Night
Book two takes Alex Easton back home and to a whole new tale filled with lore, disbelief and a terrifying ordeal. We are pushed deeper into the characters we’ve come to love, like...
What Moves the Dead
A friend recommended this book, so I started it. When I realized it was a re imagining of Fall of House of User, which I did a paper on in college, I went to go see who the author...
Something Wicked This Way Comes
So this is only the second book by Ray Bradbury I have red (the first being Fahrenheit 451) and this book absolutely delivers. The writing is so poetic, so filled with beautiful...
Jade Legacy
The final book in the Green Bone Saga, even at 30 hours of listening time, there was never a dull moment. I continue to be impressed by Fonda Lee’s ability to write so lean, so...
The War of Art
This book had been suggested for a long time. It’s feels like a collection of blog posts, but that does not mean there isn’t value here. I like the concept of “resistance” being...
Jade War
This started up right where the first book ended, which was fantastic. This is the middle of a trilogy book so I wasn’t looking for closure, but some pretty massive things...
Jade City
Where do I even begin with how wonderful this book is. It starts out so unconventional to me, but with an insight to that power of jade. And from there, the story unfolds into a...
A Desolation Called Peace
Book two I found to be much better than book one, and I think it was because we got to see things unfold from a lot of different perspectives. It made the world feel bigger. The...
A Memory Called Empire
I selected this book because it won a Hugo. I have a lot of conflicting feelings on this book, but also some thoughts on what I prefer in a book. This title was listed as Space...
Service Model
It has been awhile since I read a book that was in the vein of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in terms of some of the humor, but this book really nailed it. The robots are...
Head On
This was another murder mystery, but I think compared to the first one, it was better crafted. The whole concept of a Haden sport and a bunch of drama around it was fun. I also...
Unlocked
This was a short epistolary account of how Haden’s syndrome came to be. It was much darker than the first book which I really enjoyed. I actually wish it had been longer and...
Lock In
The was a very light hearted murder mystery book. I love how the beginning started, with some really interesting intrigue about a body and a sofa. I didn’t realize the story...
Alien Clay
Another book in the Hugo nominee list and wow this book was fantastic. It’s funny because I wasn’t looking for first person and definitely not present tense, but Tchaikovsky is a...
Steering the Craft
What made this book on writing interesting is it was written for people who have already been writing, and this is about making that writing better. In addition, she has a lot of...
Some Desperate Glory
In preparation for having good comps for my novel, I decided to start reading winners and nominees for the Hugo award, but only focused on science fiction. This was the 2024...
The Elements of Style
Anyone into writing knows this book is a CLASSIC. Written originally by Strunk in around 1919 it has been updated a few times (50s and 70s) to try and bring it forward. The book...
System Collapse
Now we are back in the story, continuing on from where Network Effect left off. What I liked about this is getting to see the corporate workings and this planet that people...
Fugitive Telemetry
Coming off of Network Effect this book really surprised me in that it really could have been an email. I don’t say that lightly as the other books before this have been great....
Dead Silence
This book was a recommendation from a friend on s good example of how an author can really describe settings well. I concur, Barnes did a great job of setting up the ghost ship. I...
The Testaments
Margaret Atwood said that people wanted to know what happened after the Handmaid’s Tale and this book delivers. Set 15 years later but written almost 35 years after the fact, it...
Method Acting for Writers
This book was recommended by my author friend Pete Lester after a discussion on deep point of view. He is a fan of Lisa Hall Wilson’s instruction so I gave her book a go. There...
Bird by Bird
I read a lot of books about writing, but so far, none of been books about being a writer. This book talks about the struggle of writing itself, the variety of thoughts everyone...
The Handmaid's Tale
It’s clear why this book is a classic, although I can see why some people struggle to get into it. Given it’s a telling of the story from the perspective of Offred, you do get...
Network Effect
Book 5 of the Murderbot series. The first book of the series where we are starting out with a new adventure. I think what made this book fun was two things; the return of ART and...
Exit Strategy
Novela 4 of the Murderbot series. This appears to be the end of the first story as a whole as it loops back around to helping Mensah. I enjoyed the story, mainly for Murderbot’s...
Rogue Protocol
Novela 3 of the Murderbot series. While the action was really good in this one, the story does feel a bit repetitious with the sec bot having to help a bunch of humans he doesn’t...
Artificial Condition
Novela 2 of the Murderbot series. I feel like Martha Wells is really getting into the voice and feel of the sec bot in this one. I really enjoyed ART and the sec bot having to...
Saturn Run
This book was mentioned as enjoyable for people that enjoyed The Martian, and I can see that if you enjoy the technical aspects. The science in this book was intended to be...
Forever Free
And then it was the third book to finish off the series (not including the short story I am not going to look for.). The good part is we are back to Mandela and Mary Gay from the...
Forever Peace
The second in this series and I have to say, it started out super confusing. I was expecting it to be more related to the first book, but it wasn’t. Once I got through that, then...
Altered States
I’ve had this book for some time but never got around to reading it. The movie was incredible and I was shocked to hear a line in the film that had been sampled by the band...
The Forever War
Anytime a friend tells me they have a favorite book, I generally give it a listen if it’s Sci Fi. This book is a classic, but it was definitely an odd read. The reason? The main...
Metamorphosis
Someone had written a short story they presented to the writing group I am in and it reference Gregor. Having not read this before, I didn’t get the joke so it was time to rectify...
Drown
This book was recommended by a friend due to how tight the writing is. I have to agree, it’s very well written, and the similes are some of the best I’ve read in some time. It’s a...
Last Chance To See...
I don’t remember how long ago I started this book, but it has definitely sat on my end table for a few years. Part of me did not want to finish this book as this was the last of...
Parable of the Talent
Book two was very interesting in the sense we get three perspectives and one of them being her daughter. While I enjoyed the amazing writing, and Butler’s incredible ability to...
Parable of the Sower
So I decided to give this book a listen because I was looking for dystopian with a female lead. Once again, a book that is not too dissimilar to The Road but in a different way....
I Am Legend
The interesting thing about this book is I saw the movie with Will Smith first, then also saw Omega Man with Yul Brynner after that which was much closer to the story. The overall...
The Road
I knew this was a rough read, and wow, it did not disappoint. There are few books that get my heart racing. This book, multiple points that happened. It is amazing how visceral...
The Man in the High Castle
I had started this one many years ago and never finished, so I restarted it because I know how much praise this book has received, especially from Le Guin. Compared to other...
Slaughter House-Five
One thing I love is how easy Vonnegut is to read. His dark humor and just overall way of delivering his stories are always enjoyable. Cat’s Cradle was my first introduction, so it...
UBIK
This is probably the oddest book I have read in some time. It is a mixture of people with telepathic capabilities and those that can stop them along with the concept of living...
The Time Machine
This is the farthest back I have read in quite awhile. One thing I always find challenging is the word usage and distance from the people in the story. For instance, the people...
And Then There Were None
So this was a break from my Sci Fi reading as I was beta reading what turned out to be a murder mystery, so a friend told me I needed to read Christie’s most popular novel. One...
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Having read Stranger in a Strange land and finding it to have gone off the rails near the end, I wanted to try what most people consider the best of Heinlein. This is a solid...
Brave New World
How could I not follow up 1984 by not taking it a step further back and going through this gem. Overall I think it’s a good book, but boy is it a mixes bag of experience. I can...
1984
This year I decided to work through a large back catalog of classic sci fi that I never got around to reading. While I had seen the movie, I had not read the book. It’s sad we...
Expeditionary Force - Fallout
This is a series I have been reading for a long time, and I am getting close to the first end, before Alanson decided to add some more titles at his wife’s urging. Trying to cover...