Vineel
This book has nothing to do with my life. Really – this guy lives in Brooklyn, works from home in the web business, has kids, is around forty, is unathletic, buys a bigger vehicle so he can fit his kids, and dreams of moving to the suburbs. He writes about bringing his kids to play in Carroll Park and looking for part-time nannies. Really nothing like me at all.
I felt like the rock musicians in the 80s who saw This is Spinal Tap for the first time. You come out of it thinking, haha, that was really funny! After a little while – it's funny because it's true! Then eventually, oh my god, it's true. Then it's just, oh. god.
This was a fun romp through aliens and music copyright law. It reads a lot like a one of John Scalzi's less serious efforts (so much so that I originally suspected it was a pen name.) Anyway, the author also wrote the non-fiction “Architects of the Web” and founded Listen.com aka Rhapsody, so he knows what he's talking about. (Re: music, probably not re: aliens.)
Just read the whole series (and all the short stories.) Really great near-term, solar-system-only Space Opera. Weird alienness and familiar human politics and great characters that I actually cared about. I want the series to go on and on.
This is the first parenting book that has appealed to me as intelligent and worth reading. Most are propaganda for one particular person's idea of what kind of kid to raise. This is more a survey of research and finding out what seems to be working, and why. Great stuff!
This was a very satisfying read! The language and characters compelled me to keep reading. The magical realism was seriously intertwined with the reality of the character's lives, not glued on like window dressing. I'm a sucker for metaphorical realities! This isn't really a plot-driven story, but if you like good characters and interesting magic, you should give this is a try.
Fun, thought-provoking science fiction with great characters. You find yourself caring for a very non-humanoid character, because he cares – and has a hilarious sense of humor. Plus the puzzle-solving nature of the book, like The Martian, is just plain entertaining!
I'm totally on board for the rest of the series!
This series is really fun and a pleasure to read. Actual characters that are worth caring about and moderately plausible animal communication and delicious “aliens have been here since ancient times” mythology keep me swiping pages. This latest book has got me excited again and I'm dying to read the next one!