Veronica

I took this review from a 5-star to a 4-star in my rereading. It's Dragonflight still an excellent book? Yes. But perhaps I read now with more of a critical eye than I did almost 20 years ago.

The Chronicles of Pern contain some of the most believable and relatable dragons in fantasy, and they're truly the mold from which other dragons in the genre are cut. However, I find my issues now revolve around the human characters in the story.

Lessa and F'lar, specifically, seem pulled from a YA novel of today. This isn't really meant to be a YA book, of course. But Lessa's incessant need to prove herself (and to whom, exactly? She was chosen) and F'lar's incessant need to... well, shake Lessa, grew tiresome (and even became a point of humor towards the end of the book, so many this was intended).

It's a book very much of it's time. It can also err on the side of the cheesy:

Mother of us all, he was glad that now, of all times conceivable, he, F'lar, rider of bronze Mnementh, was a dragonman of Pern!

The best part of the book, in my opinion, is the way McCaffrey deals with time travel. It's never an easy topic to deal with, but the entire setup comes together perfectly at the end of the tale.

There are some books that are called “classics,” but you don't really understand why until you read it and feel that you've been changed. You know, for certain, that even though the themes have been played again and again, that the story is as everlasting as the bricks in an ancient abbey. I'll save the rest of my thoughts for the Sword & Laser recap, but I'm glad that we've also read [b:The Sparrow 334176 The Sparrow (The Sparrow, #1) Mary Doria Russell https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1230829367s/334176.jpg 3349153] as an interesting comparison on the themes in both. Fantastic book, even if you don't speak a lick of Latin!

So happy to have an opportunity to catch up with Murderbot! In Fugitive Telemetry, Murderbot gets to experience what it's like to solve a murder mystery, much like one of their favorite soap operas. Gone is most of the self-doubt that they have previously shared internally in past books — this feels like a more self-assured Murderbot, who understands even more keenly how the rest of the universe sees and reacts to them.

While we get to see some old friends in this story, this book stands on it's own in many ways — I'd very much like to continue reading about Murderbot's adventures solving mysteries on Preservation Station or across the galaxy.

This book was an interesting read, especially the “hard” science aspects of it... though I'm still not buying the whole “vampires in space” idea. In fact... you could have taken vampires out of this book entirely (or replaced them with werewolves or witches) and I'm not sure that it would have changed the story at all... that's how peripheral they seemed to me.

And the ending felt totally tacked on, and I'm still not very clear on the “why's” of some of the character's motivations.

I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about this book. There was so much going on, and so much left to our own interpretation (not necessarily a bad thing) that even by the end of the book I felt like I was swimming in its own ideas.Definitely worth a read if you're a fan of [a:China Miéville 33918 China Miéville http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1243988363p2/33918.jpg], but I would more highly recommend [b:Perdido Street Station 2. Der Weber 71268 Perdido Street Station 2. Der Weber China Miéville http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170757666s/71268.jpg 10823949] over [b:The City & The City 4703581 The City & The City China Miéville http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266894982s/4703581.jpg 4767909].

I loved the world of Teixcalaan, with all its poetry and political brutality. With the second book in the series, I was at first disappointed that we were spending most of our time out in space on Weight for the Wheel and Nine Hibiscus. But the pace quickly picked up once we began encountering the unknowable enemy, and we reconnect with Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass. Their complicated relationship soon takes center stage, even though they share their POVs with Eight Antidote, the Emperor-To-Be who is trying to figure out what kind of leader he wants to become - even when it flies in the face of his teachers and mentors.

Good:
Cool aliens
Intel into the Shard pilots and Sunlit
Sexy times

Not my favorite:
I always want more Yskandr
The discovery amount what makes the aliens tick comes SO LATE in the story, and I would have liked to explore that more
Too much time spend on Stationer politics that didn't really go anywhere (in this book at least)

Overall, a good successor to A Memory Called Empire, and I'm excited to see how the trilogy ends!

This book brought me so much joy. It is sweet without being saccharine, inclusive on many different levels, and joyful while also touching on important issues like discrimination. I listened to the audiobook, and this is one of those instances where I think the performance really added to my overall enjoyment of the story. I want more from this world!

“5 stars!” You exclaim. “For a Vaginal Fantasy pick!?”

Yes, and let me tell you why! Ghost Planet surprised me in a big way. I've read quite a bit of science fiction in my day, and this particular premise seemed very new and inventive to me. In fact, I feel like this book could have continued on to a more flesh-out series, since there's so much more we can learn about the planet and how it works.

Elizabeth, the female lead, is something of a Mary Sue. She's beautiful, intelligent, and can fight her way out of a pickle if she needs to. However, I found myself relating to the character. There was a lot of common sense thinking in her situation, which (unfortunately) we don't always see in the VF picks.

So yes, 5-stars for a really enjoyable book with an interesting premise (and some decent sexytimes). Plus, I very much enjoyed hearing Murphy's Irish accent in my mind :)

I agree with other reviewers who don't want to give anything away. So instead, I'll give this book my highest praise; praise that listeners of the Sword & Laser know to be true.

I stayed up on multiple nights, IN BED, reading this book without falling asleep. I actually had to put the book down, consciously, to go to bed.

This may not sound like a big deal (“Oh, the book didn't put her to sleep? Good for her I guess.”) but it really truly is. I so love these characters. It was so wonderful to see them again, and meet the new ones along the way. So much heartbreak and love, sadness and reconciliation. It makes we want to read the trilogy of trilogies again, which is kind of intense. I need to remember all the things I've forgotten! Thanks, Robin :)

I am a self-help cynic. I've never read any self-help, but I knew I needed to get a handle on my stress, anxiety and anger. When I read the description of this book (I listened to the audio version) I said, “OK, newsman, tell me how to be happier.”

Dan Harris is an anchor for ABC, and in this story (which reads more like a memoir than a self-help guide) he details his own struggles early in his career. I related to many of these difficulties (particularly the fear of freezing up while live on the air) and so I immediately felt a kinship. However, I don't think you need to work in media to get where Dan is coming from; anyone in a high-stress situation, be it work or personal life, can find connections.

For me, this book really opened my eyes to ways that I can relieve stress while still maintaining my “edge” in the workplace. My two biggest takeaways from this book are “Enlightened self-interest” and “Respond, not react.” I kind of want to make posters of these for my office.

Dan is personable and funny, but he looks at the world of self-help and meditation with the eyes of an investigative reporter, which I greatly appreciated. If you want to start your own journey of becoming at least 10% happier... well, this is a good place to start.

First of all, allow me to give Kiala her due for picking this book for Vaginal Fantasy. After last month's pick, we were sorely due for something of substance. I will also remind everyone that last month's pick was MY doing, so I'm duly chastened.

Anyhow. The Lions of Al-Rassan is an absolutely mesmerizing book. As I understand it (and please correct me in the comments if I am incorrect) it's a fantastical alt-history of the Iberian Peninsula. With one small exception, I would pause to call it fantasy at all.

In fact, the only issue I had with the book was my own lack of historical knowledge. I was constantly trying to make parallels between the nations, religions and peoples of the book with our own world history, and that was perhaps a little distracting.

But, to the story. I don't want to spoil, and I don't really want to get into the intricacies of the tale (there are many). This book does many things, and it does them all well. It's an action tale, a love story, a cautionary tale that seems to hit on modern fears and insecurities, and more. The web of characters seems to constantly expand, and yet I never felt as though I was receiving unnecessary information.

The people in this book are complex, and you'll come to care deeply about many of them. They are all flawed, though some more than others. There is romance, and it is very complicated. Life is complicated. War is horrible. Good people can do terrible things. You'll forgive some of it, but not all.

I feel bad. I finished this book two days after we recorded the episode of Sword and Laser where we wrap it up (first time I haven't finished a book for the audio show). I blame [b:Outlander 10964 Outlander (Outlander, #1) Diana Gabaldon http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1304187141s/10964.jpg 2489796] for being too long.Anyhow, I wish I had made it to the end, because coming away from the book now I feel much differently than I did at the 75% mark. If felt like the silliness that was almost a distraction for me came together in the end in a really beautiful and meaningful way. You all said I'd feel different, and you were right. I should listen to you more often.