Lyle

A wonderful tale, and fitting addition to the Legends of Ethshar universe. The author wove together a number of seemingly disparate threads into a seamless tapestry involving multiple types of magic and believable characters who readers will be happy to root for. The Ethshar world is so large and rich that one hopes there are a large number of these stories still to be written.

Intriguing sequel to “Quantum Space” which builds on both the newly-discovered 4-D world around us as well as some of the inhabitants of that world. The 4-D world interacting with the 3-D world forms the core of this volume in the series, in (usually) unexpected ways. Sometimes the effects described were hard to envision (as is to be expected) but obviously were pretty well thought out.

The first half of the tale was excellent – lots of forward-thinking concepts, well-told and engaging. The last half (for me) began to get bogged down, focusing too much on emotions and relationships rather than further scientific and technological advancements (although those were still present - just spaced farther apart). I was still sufficiently engaged in the story to finish the book, but at the end I was truly finished – I didn't have any desire to learn any more about the characters, or any possible future developments.

This collection of lunar-themed stories was an eclectic and enjoyable mix of tales that ranged from classical hard-science to mystery to near-fantasy. Also eclectic was the quality of stories; some were excellent while others were not at the same level. Of course, this is a very subjective observation, and should not dissuade anyone from picking up this volume and reading it for themselves.

While conceptually intriguing (environmental-themed stories, robot self-examination), the execution itself was pretty bland, with no real plot tension, nor character development. It was like dreams being recited; things happened but I didn't feel any real connection to the narrators nor the characters.

From the inside back cover flap: “Here are thirty mystery shorts, never before collected between a book's covers, each crafted with Asimovian artistry, studded with Asimovian wit, embellished with Asimovian asides, and propelled by that special Asimovian way with a story.” That, in my opinion, expresses my thoughts about this book in better words than I can come up with on my own. Excellent!

When I reserved this book from the public library, I was surprised to find that the slim volume that appeared contained young-adult mystery stories written by the great Isaac Asimov. I almost decided not to read them, and that would have been my loss. Despite being penned for the young teen set (or perhaps even earlier primary school age), these were very well-written and quite entertaining. The protagonist's “voice” was very much in line with his reported age (14 or so), and yet he was proven to be a capable and clever detective-in-the-making. Each of the tales in the book was fun to read and had a surprising twist. Don't let the fact that this book is a “young-adult” book keep you from the enjoyment to be found within. (NOTE: I also read “The Key Word and Other Mysteries”, with the same enjoyment, and my review of this book applies equally well to that collection. Asimov is truly a master.)

This collection, in which various writers pay tribute to Edgar Rice Burroughs and the worlds he created, was an entertaining and eclectic mix of stories and worlds. Tarzan, John Carter, David Innes and others were presented in new adventures which were admirably captured in the style of the original ERB tales.

I'm not usually a fan of “internal-dialogue/reflection”-themed tales, but this wasn't horrible. I did find that skimming through the historical replay of the main character's pre-mission life was sufficient for providing her current motivation and soon found myself skipping over those parts, and concentrating on the “current” situation which was more to my liking.

I won the omnibus edition of the Golden Wand trilogy via Goodreads giveaway; the premise seemed promising and I looked forward to reading the tales of someone learning about a magical universe from the ground up. The opening chapters were interesting and threw the reader right into a high-stakes situation (play chess for your life). However, the execution of this was just a bit...um, OFF. I did not find the supposed evil character terrifying, and other characters just seemed to be able to sway each other all too easily. The dialog was not very believable, IMO. The protagonist, upon seeking revenge for his parents earlier deaths meets the person responsible, and learns the truth of the situation, and still kills. Why? For a supposed follower of “good”, this was not believable. I got through the first bit, but soon had enough. “DNF”.

Very entertaining and exciting conclusion to the Out of Time Sequence (part of The Chaos Chronicles). Finishing the story started in The Reefs of Time, this book was a real page-turner, and contained shiploads of cosmic danger, mind-bending multi-dimensional action, missions in both deep space and deep time, well-developed characters, hard-won victories, heart-rending losses, and hope for the future all rolled into one.

Excellent and varied collection of stories in the science-fiction vein. Included here are a tale from Trankyky, a story where a thirst for knowledge is not a good thing, and a never-before-published novelette concerning AI. These, and the rest of the collection are quite thought-provoking and thoroughly enjoyable.

Full of intriguing concepts, characters, and situations - it feels like a cross between Lewis Carroll's “Through the Looking Glass” and L'Engel's “A Wrinkle in Time” with more than a dash of the multiverse thrown in for good measure. Quite the fun read! The author's Wanderer Universe just keeps getting richer and richer.

NOTE: I received a free review e-copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

The author's wonderful descriptive prose really helped me visualize both the action and the other-worldly environment, making it seem almost like watching a CGI-rich film. The main protagonist was well-developed (as it should be) and the other characters had enough uniqueness to keep them differentiated easily. But I was most impressed by the non-terrestrial life-forms; they were unique with distinguishing characteristics that made them such fun to envision. And the scene was set very well for the ultimate denouement. Well done.

While not an Ethshar-universe book, this first book in a duology (so far?) exhibited many of the same characteristics that make those books so enjoyable: relatable characters, an established magic system, unintended consequences, and a dash of action. I'm looking forward to the next volume (“Above His Proper Station”).

As is usual with collections, some stories were absolute winners and others, while perhaps intriguing and thought-provoking, somewhat less so. I must say I was impressed at the variety of approaches to the stated topic of “alien artifacts”; I would think almost anyone can find a story they'd enjoy in this collection.