Pete (pasmith) - Marlborough, MA (111 books)

Pete is now friends with Squish

Pete voted on a poll

Do you work as a librarian for a living?

he voted for No

Pete is currently reading:

Asunder (Dragon Age, #3)
by David Gaider

My rating:

Pete gave

to:

The Emperor's Edge (The Emperor's Edge #1)
by Lindsay Buroker (Goodreads Author)

read in January, 2012

My rating:

I was first introduced to The Emperor's Edge world in Ice Cracker II, a collection of short stories that I got gratis via some steam punk site. I've since become quite a fan of Lindsay Buroker.

This is the first novel in the Emperor's Edge series and ...moreI was first introduced to The Emperor's Edge world in Ice Cracker II, a collection of short stories that I got gratis via some steam punk site. I've since become quite a fan of Lindsay Buroker.

This is the first novel in the Emperor's Edge series and it's basically Amaranthe's origin story. She's not as much of an ass kicker as she was in Ice Cracker II and I found that a bit disappointing. Too often she winds up the damsel in distress that has to be saved by brooding assassin Sicarius. This probably wouldn't have bugged me as much if I'd read this book first, and it's kind of a nit to pick anyway.

I love this world. The technology is based on steam but it doesn't really feel seriously steam punky to me. There's not a lot of focus on steam contraptions. The characters live in this world and don't really focus on steam anymore than you and I make special note of an electric lamp. That made the world feel real to me. Plus there is magic in the world, even if the local government swears there isn't (which is part of the fun). In a lot of ways the world feels fairly modern...just without electricity. And petroleum. Hmm, and they're still using muskets instead of rifles. Or crossbows, but they're repeating crossbows. OK so technology-wise it isn't so moderm, but culturally it feels pretty modern.

Anyway, stop rambling. At its core, this is a caper story. Amaranthe has to put together a team to pull off a crazy scheme to save the emperor, even though she herself has been branded an outlaw. There're two factions vying to do the emperor harm and Amaranthe's gang has to vex them both, preferably while staying alive and out of jail. Her team is, of course, quirky and fun to watch. They don't always get along but you can see the foundations of long-term relationships being laid.

It's a fun tale and I'm glad I read it, but I'm really looking forward to the next book. The first half of this one was heavy on setup, as it kind of needed to be, but that made it a tad slow. Once I hit the 50% mark (or thereabouts) it was a real page turner though.(less)

Pete gave

to:

Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)
by Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author)

read in January, 2012

My rating:

I found this book hard to get into at first. In fact I started reading it, put it down, then came back months later and restarted it. But by the time I was about half-way through I was totally immersed.

Part of the "problem" is that it's such an unusu...more

Pete marked as to-read:

Cochrane: The Real Master and Commander
by David Cordingly

My rating:

Pete liked Mike Smith's review of Cochrane:

" OK biography of British naval hero of Napoleonic era. Admiral Cochrane was supposedly the model for Jack Aubrey of the O'Brien novels, and he was apparently quite a dashing character as a young captain. But like so many naval officers, he was all at ... "
Read more of this review »

Pete marked as to-read:

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
by Susan Cain (Goodreads Author)

My rating:

Pete made a comment on Emily's review of The Black Company

"I read a whole bunch of The Black Company books a long time ago and LOVED them. I'm glad to hear that they've aged well and are still enjoyable. I mig...more"

Pete liked Emily's review of Clockwork Fagin:

" This short story is free online, and clearly I need to read more Doctorow because I really liked both this and For The Win. Sort of a steampunk re-imagining of Fagin's orphanage from Oliver Twist. Well-written and entertaining. "

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Pete is now friends with Squish
Feb 01, 2012 05:29pm
Pete voted on a poll Do you work as a librarian for a living? he voted for No
Jan 27, 2012 05:19am · take the poll
Pete is currently reading: Asunder (Dragon Age, #3) by David Gaider	My rating:
Jan 27, 2012 05:18am
Pete gave to: The Emperor's Edge (The Emperor's Edge #1) by Lindsay Buroker (Goodreads Author) read in January, 2012	My rating:
I was first introduced to The Emperor's Edge world in Ice Cracker II, a collection of short stories that I got gratis via some steam punk site. I've since become quite a fan of Lindsay Buroker. This is the first novel in the Emperor's Edge series and ...more
Jan 23, 2012 03:08pm · see review
Pete gave to: Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1) by Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author) read in January, 2012	My rating:
I found this book hard to get into at first. In fact I started reading it, put it down, then came back months later and restarted it. But by the time I was about half-way through I was totally immersed. Part of the "problem" is that it's such an unusu...more
Jan 13, 2012 01:14pm · see review
Pete marked as to-read: Cochrane: The Real Master and Commander by David Cordingly	My rating:
Jan 07, 2012 06:19am
Pete liked Mike Smith's review of Cochrane: " OK biography of British naval hero of Napoleonic era. Admiral Cochrane was supposedly the model for Jack Aubrey of the O'Brien novels, and he was apparently quite a dashing character as a young captain. But like so many naval officers, he was all at ... " Read more of this review »
Jan 07, 2012 06:19am · see review
Pete marked as to-read: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (Goodreads Author)	My rating:
Jan 04, 2012 05:41am
Pete made a comment on Emily's review of The Black Company "I read a whole bunch of The Black Company books a long time ago and LOVED them. I'm glad to hear that they've aged well and are still enjoyable. I mig...more"
Dec 26, 2011 07:41pm · see review
Pete liked Emily's review of Clockwork Fagin: " This short story is free online, and clearly I need to read more Doctorow because I really liked both this and For The Win. Sort of a steampunk re-imagining of Fagin's orphanage from Oliver Twist. Well-written and entertaining. "
Dec 20, 2011 07:23pm · see review

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