Ron Andrea's Blog, page 50
February 12, 2024
Book Review: The Icarus Hunt by Timothy Zahn (four stars)
Book Review: The Icarus Hunt (Icarus Saga #0) by Timothy Zahn (four stars) “The future of the human race could well lie within your hands.” Zahn opens a space opera in an alien tavern. What could go wrong? Slow start … Continue reading →
February 9, 2024
Book Review: Fight the Good Fight by Daniel Gibbs (four stars)
Book Review: Fight the Good Fight (Echoes of War #1) by Daniel Gibbs (four stars) He always prayed before battle, but never for victory; only asking that God spare the lives of his crew. Kosher space opera. Five centuries in … Continue reading →
February 5, 2024
Book Review: The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem (four stars)
Book Review: The Jasad Heir (The Scorched Throne #1) by Sara Hashem (four stars) “If you are hoping to light a fire of fear in me, you are too late. It was lit long ago.” Fantasy Hunger Games. Good world … Continue reading →
February 2, 2024
Book Review: Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (three stars)
Book Review: Assistant to the Villain (#1) by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (three stars) “You are chaos.” Excellent and original fairy tale-like fantasy. The female protagonist is fully-developed and engaging; The Villain not so much. Wry humor abounds among the verbal … Continue reading →
January 29, 2024
Book Review: Long Chills & Case Dough by Brandon Sanderson (five stars)
Book Review: Long Chills & Case Dough: A Sanderson Curiosity by Brandon Sanderson (five stars) “The rain had stopped, but my mood was as bad as ever. I slunk down the street like a bad stench.” Hilarious SF/detective mashup. Written … Continue reading →
January 26, 2024
Book Review: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (five stars)
Book Review: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson (five stars) “The trick is to never stop looking. There’s always another secret.” Upon re-reading Sanderson’s first Mistborn novel, I add a star. His storytelling and character internal dialogue is … Continue reading →
January 22, 2024
Book Review: The Cursed by Dave Duncan (four stars)
Book Review: The Cursed by Dave Duncan (four stars) “War, the curse of Muol, had rolled to and fro over the land, squeezing the people out like juice from a press.” Well-written standalone fantasy. Refreshing approach: astrology works. Sort of. … Continue reading →
January 19, 2024
Review: Cross and Crescent (Shards of Empire #2) by Susan Shwartz (four stars)
Review: Cross and Crescent (Shards of Empire #2) by Susan Shwartz (four stars) “One who wishes to rule must first rule himself. Or herself.” Excellent historical fiction with a full measure of supernatural stirred in. Varied cast represents real and … Continue reading →
January 15, 2024
Book Review: The Sonnets by William Shakespeare (four stars)
Book Review: The Sonnets by William Shakespeare (four stars) Shall I compare thee to a summer‘s day?Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Talk about oldies. The Bard was among the premier wordsmiths of his day. That he could wring … Continue reading →
January 12, 2024
Book Review: Genesis by Poul Anderson (three stars)
Book Review: Genesis by Poul Anderson (three stars) “And the rest of the universe waiting.” Prescient plot about galaxy-spanning supercomputer intelligences in a post-human future, first published in 1998, seems positively prescient. But the storytelling reads like The Silmarillion—not a … Continue reading →
