David

I've heard really good things about this series (and some not so good). It sounds like the type of series I would like. But this first book DIDN'T GO ANYWHERE. I was a bunch of aimless wondering. When I finished the book I wasn't even sure there was a climax. It really felt like the first 200 pages of a 800 page book. I'm going to give this series two more books to win me over (maybe four considering they are only about 200 pages).

Great biography of Alex Dumas, the father of [a:Alexandre Dumas 4785 Alexandre Dumas https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1279049943p2/4785.jpg]. This is the best work of non-fiction I've read since [b:Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln 2199 Team of Rivals The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln Doris Kearns Goodwin https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347278868s/2199.jpg 2861004].I've always been a fan of Alexandre Dumas and have read a great deal of his work. It was interesting to read about the family history and the amazing things the his father accomplished. The biography starts with Alex Dumas' grandfather a minor son of a noble in France who took off to the new world to make his fortune. It continues through Alex's childhood in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) and return to France. His participation in the France Revolution and following campaigns. His eventual capture, imprisonment and life after his release. Truly, a rags to riches to rags story. The book is told in an easy to read voice. The footnotes are plentiful and particularly helpful. I'm going to have to check out more by [a:Tom Reiss 63278 Tom Reiss https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1354292860p2/63278.jpg]. If you enjoy a good biography, French History, or the writing of Alexandre Dumas you really should read this book.

The best book in the series since His Majesty's Dragon. It finally focused back on characters and action, instead of the world building that went on in the middle three books.

This book focuses on the aftermath of Temeraire and Laurence's decision to give the cure to the French and therefore commit treason. It does get a bit depressing watching Laurence deal with the effects of this, but Temeraire's child-like naïveté helps provide a lighter side to the situation.

I really like that the other dragons are starting to get personalities of their own. Naomi seems to have finally figured out how to make each and every dragon a unique character and not just a foil for Temeraire or their captain.

Through the book you also see Temeraire start to “grow-up”. He's not just the self-centered petulant child you have seen in the earlier books, but he is starting to learn what it is to be a leader. He doesn't have to be the smartest and the strongest and the bravest all the time. (Although he certainly exhibits those traits at different points in the book.) He allows the other dragons do what they do best. He also starts to learn the hard lesson of consequences that a leader has to shoulder.

How young adult science fiction should be done. There isn't much teenage angst when you compare it with your standard YA fare. I gave up YA fiction for a while precisely because of all the angst. Smart kids with non-idiot adults is also pretty rare in YA fiction. Sure the kids are a little too nice and the adults are probably a bit over-indulgent or naive. I think the is handled pretty well, considering the author is writing for a younger audience.

Great world building along with character growth and fast pacing delivery make a great story in Karl Schroeder's Sun of Suns.

It's been a long time since science fiction has captivated me the way that Sun of Suns has done. Usually I go to the fantasy realm to get good world building, but this book pulled me in from the beginning. The entire book I kept wondering if the world that this was set in actually followed Newtonian physics or not. The way the natural sciences of the world were introduced was easy to follow and given out in digestible chunks. It was done in such a wonder way as to make the natural science's feel like another character that drove the plot, just like the protagonists.

The character's in the book were all well described and showed growth throughout the book. Obviously the main character has his motivations and struggles with them, but so do all the side characters. There really are very few totally bad guys in this book, just like there really isn't any absolutely good guys. Every character has their yin and yang moments in the book. Every character is sympathetic at one point or another just like every character is very callous at times.

Mixed in with everything that typically slows down a good story is an extremely fast pace of action. The story moves from scene to scene, fight to fight with enough detail that you actually visualize the fights and world around everyone. I'm reminded of the great space opera fight scenes in Star Wars with all the speeders zooming in and around the large ships using speed and mobility to their advantage, while the large ships fight it out, while boarding parties fight in inside the ships.

The ending, while not unpredictable, left me wanting more. Wanting to see how the world itself develops. Wanting to know who get's what they strove for. Wanting to know what the future holds.

John Taylor is the new Walker and is getting married. For some reason he wants to take one last case. This book really feels like one last hurrah and really doesn't advance the overall story at all. I expect this to be the final Nightside book.

Not really sure it's worth reading, but if you've read the previous 11 books it's probably worth a library checkout. I'm glad it was a gift because I would feel ripped off if I had paid $13 for it.

Typical humor and over the top villains make this fun to read. John revisits old haunts and the past players are all there.

I hope this is the last Nightside book and if it isn't I won't be paying for the next one. The whole book just felt half thought out.

I bought the Clifton Chronicles on sale and didn't know what to expect. I was looking for a new author and series to follow. It turned out to be a pleasing read. The story is almost entirely character building and has very little plot.

Set between the World Wars in England. Harry Clifton is a fatherless boy that grows up on the docks of Bristol. He gets a scholarship to secondary school and life starts to get better. Falls in love with his best friend's sister. Harry's mother works lower-class jobs available to women to make the better life for Harry all the while keeping a secret that would destroy everything.

The character development is very intriguing and drives the story. For the most part it's very well done and the reveals can for deduced without being obvious. The story is told from multiple points of view and this gives you even more insight into the characters motivations and struggles.

Unfortunately, the author uncharacteristically explicitly gives away a major spoiler with about 10% of the book left and I spent the last 10% of the book wondering how the author was going to continue the series instead of enjoying the final two twists. My enjoyment of the book would have been immeasurably improved without a single sentence at the end of Chapter 51.

I'm looking forward to reading the second book of the series and finding out where the story goes.

Best book I've read this year. The book is very much like a baseball game. Graceful moments, followed by “what just happened” moments. At times a bit slow. At times a bit frenetic. It kept me reading, and finally satisfied when it ended.The story of Henry “Skrim” Skrimshander college shortstop for a Westish College. It follows him and friends through twists and turns. All the people you meet are important, though not always in a way that is apparent when first introduced. The book is all character development, with the baseball serving as the stage, the college as the backdrop. I think it would make a great play, if you could sit for 8 hours.Henry is a straight laced kid through the book and amazingly this works. Usually this makes the character seem too one dimensional. The problems with Henry are mostly his own doing. But you never get the “just get over yourself” feeling. You struggle with Henry and can feel the doubt along with him. It's also interesting to me that the Henry never has a love interest. I can't remember the last time I read a book or saw a movie that didn't have the obligatory love interest for the main character.Owen (Henry's gay roommate) is such an interesting character that his story eclipses Henry's and delivers the climax of the book. His sexuality is critical, but not overwhelming. (I read this right after trying to read [b:The Song of Achilles 11250317 The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1331154660s/11250317.jpg 16176791] and the homosexual aspects of that were so stilted I had to give up.)Mike is the broken down mentor even though he is slightly older than Henry. He has his own story about finding a place in the world is possibly the most normal and most unusual of the group.Pella is the daughter of the President of Westish and is probably the most damaged. She's young, married, and hurt. Yet, somehow she manages to be the most together part of the group.How these four and the many other characters circle, interact and close with each other make this book an amazing journey. Everyone has real issues and sometimes do the right thing, but often times are their own worst enemies. Amazingly this isn't cliche.

Is this Space Opera? Is this a Murder Mystery? Yes. Yes. It has the best of both of these. This is the best space opera since David Weber's Honor Harrington series lost my interest. Smooth formula of a Murder Mystery. It blends these two genres was well as Firefly blended Space Opera and Western on TV.
The setting is entirely within our solar system and there are no aliens. Some may say this disqualifies it from being Space Opera, but the setting is such that the size and scope matter. Earth, Mars and the Belt are three distinct factions fighting for control or independence. Humans are on the verge or launching a generation ship to fly to the stars. They have a sub-light speed drive, but no faster than light travel. Travel between planets and asteroids takes time and impacts the characters.
Miller is a believable as the over the hill cop with an unbending moral compass. He's fired from his job working security in Ceres after refusing to drop a nonsense case that was only given to him because he way viewed as inept. Investigating the murder of an Earth heiress turned Belt rebel, Julie, he meets up and joins the crew of Holden.
Holden is the captain of a crew of four survivors from the ship that investigates the destruction / sabotage of the ship Julie was on. Holden is the honorable XO that is thrust into the roles of Captain when most of the crew is killed off. His strong belief system clashes with Miller, but they have the grudging respect that comes with people that have different outlooks on life, but respect each other for it.
Like a lot of murder mysteries, the murder isn't as simples as it seems. There are a lot of fast starts and misdirection that keep the reader guessing. This reads a lot like hard science fiction, without having the hard science descriptions in it.
The real story is the compelling character interaction. There aren't any throwaway characters. The deaths matter. The red herrings matter. If you can follow through the various twists and turns the climax is very rewarding.
This doesn't read like the first in a series. It's a well fleshed out world and has a very satisfying conclusion. It will be interesting to see where this series goes in the future. I know the author has a second book in the series and a short story that details one of the shaping events of the first novel.
Note on this version: This version contains two full novels. Both of which are the first book in series by the same author. I didn't know this when I read it. This impacted my reading of the book quite a bit because the climax came about half way into the book, so took me a bit by surprise.

This is a story of four characters trying to find their way in a kingdom with a passive leader. The king is unwilling to make difficult decisions so ends up having his court intrigues run the kingdom. This leads to ambitious court players, military leaders, and foreign powers playing elaborate games.
Marcus is an old war hero trying to live a quiet life as a caravan guard and come to terms with what he has done. Cithrin is a young orphan adopted by the local bank leader that is tasked to care for and deliver a huge amount of wealth across the continent. The naïve lieutenant Geder is sent to track down the money by a commander that doesn't respect him. Dawson, a major court player, uses Geder for his own purposes. The story is written from the point of view of these four characters. It's interesting to see how the POV story makes us sometimes sympathetic to a character and sometimes repulsed by the character.
It reads a lot like the first book in a long series. You get the feeling that each of the character's lives are about to get a lot more interesting in the upcoming books. Many of the characters meet, but only 2 spend any length of time each other.
There's a little world building, but there is too much not explained. The author assumes you know the cultures, races, and creeds of the world. But these things are too foreign for me follow without more exposition.
If I had come into this series when it had 5+ books finished, I would probably read everything as quickly as possible. Then plan to follow the series after every yearly installment. At the time of this writing there are only two books written and I have enough serials to come back too. If Daniel Abraham has the staying power of Piers Anthony, Larry Niven, Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin I'll probably re-discover him in a few years. If not, oh well.

I loved the book and look forward to each new addition to the series. It's amazing to think about the length of the series and how the characters continue to change and yet remain familiar and true to form. This series is a wonderful departure from the Wheel of Time / Song of Ice and Fire trend in fantasy where you need a thousand pages to get to the point.

In this book John Taylor get's Excalibur delivered to him in the mail and typical Simon R. Green adventure ensues. Shotgun Susie accompanies him as he travels Nightside and London Proper trying to figure out what his destiny is as it relates to the legendary sword.

Of course not everyone in Nightside is the the typical black and white paragon of good or evil. There are exceptions of course, such and King Arthur and Sinister Merlin. Even those exceptions have there typically Green moments of folly. Almost nobody is safe from Green taking his jab at their stereotypical nature.

One particularly fun scene is when John is walking through London Proper and no one get's out of his way. Don't they know who he is?!?!?! Oh wait, they don't know who he is. Last time he was in London Proper he was a less than successful private investigator.

I particularly liked Green's treatment of the Lady of the Lake and what the true nature of Excalibur is.

This book is a fun and funny romp through some the more common legends in English folklore.

An introduction to Riley Sparks a reporter for Channel 3 TV News in Minneapolis. Her husband is recently deceased. Her best source, Nick Garnett, is retired. Her boss doesn't like her. But she has to keep going.
She is fed a story about two Susans that are killed one year apart. This turns into four-plus Susans. The investigation takes her all over the state. Her boss pulls her off the story, makes Riley work on a worthless tip-line story, and hand it to Mike Flagg, the ladder climbing, leech reporter. The tip-line story turns into a major story and Riley stay on the Susans case of her own volition.
The main issue I have is it reads like a procedural on TV. There's the A story line and the B story line. There's the friendless, put-upon, female where everyone is against her and no one is as smart as her. A lot of bad things happen to her but none of these things AFFECT her. The one bad thing that happens directly to her is written about and wrapped up about two pages later. Bad things happen to the males around her, Garnett “best friend/source/ex-cop” (to many archetypes in one body) is put in the hospital protecting her, charged with murder because of information she led police to. Even the dog that was loaned to her is nearly killed in a fight with a trained pit-bull protecting her. , but good old pretty-little-rich-girl that is “too skinny for TV” Riley just keeps going obliviously on her way.
The thing that put me over the edge was ... How is she able to write a check for a quarter of a million dollars? Seriously a $250,000 check, not a loan, not the $25,000 bond. A quick call to the accountant is all it takes to get a quarter of a million dollars to get Garnett out of jail.
There are good Minnesota shout outs sprinkled in. Being a Minnesota native and recognizing the shout outs was fun. I think there are good inside looks at how a TV station operates. Obviously there are two things Julie Kramer should know about from being a TV news producer in the Twin Cities. I particularly like the way she uses teleprompter style writing in places. Great concept, well done. These all add flavor to the book.
Unfortunately, this feels like John Sandford Lite. There's no spice. There's no struggle for Riley. The only bad thing that happens to her happens before this book. I think an extra hundred pages of back story would be helpful. I can only think of one female supporting character in the entire book. Changing one or two of the males would have removed some of the chic-lit flavor to the book.
I probably shouldn't compare the first book of an author to an author that has written many bestsellers. I'll give the next book in the series a try and hopefully there is some spice to it.

The border between noir and horror was crossed in this book. It's straight up horror. Bobby Dollar spends ninety percent of the book traveling through hell and doing what he does best. Getting “the point” beaten into him until he FINALLY figures it out. I'm not a horror reader and find the genre pointless is most cases.

I'm hoping the third book focuses on heaven and makes Bobby go through compelling struggles while getting “the point”. If this is the case the series will be redeemed.

The book and series in general is full of interesting ideas and twists. The heaven vs. hell concept as addressed in genre writing is thought provoking. The noir aspect is a different take. I just hope the third book makes it worth going through 350 pages of horror.

Could not do it. I was looking forward to trying steampunk some day. When this book came up in Amazon First I was ready.
I honestly tried. I loved the concept of the book, but could not get get past the pseudo-latin named, described in detail gadgetry. About 5 pages into the book I even told myself that “if these things were horses and swords or laser guns and rockets I would probably like it, keep going you will get used to it.” I never did get used to it, because there was just too much of it in too much detail.
I'm not ready to give up on the sub-genre. But I need to find another example. I won't say better, because I really can't judge this book's quality.