murderofcrows – Page 2 – Cannonball Read 17

Paladins, Clay Men and Bears, Oh My!

Paladin's Strength (The Saint of Steel Book 2) by T. Kingfisher

February 28, 2021 by murderofcrows 2 Comments

What do you get when you combine fantasy, a sort of murder mystery/horror and romance with a healthy dash of humour? Why you get the latest book by T. Kingfisher, Paladin’s Strength. In the second book in the series, which continues in the same world as Paladin’s Grace, the lay sister Clara and Paladin Istvhan solve a growing horrific problem in headless bodies and murderous clay golems while realising they might actually have feelings for each other. Istvhan is from the same order of […]

What intelligence means to a human, spider and octopus

Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky

February 25, 2021 by murderofcrows 2 Comments

In this sequel, we jump back and forth across time and watch the beginnings of new sentience both planned and unplanned by humans and its inevitable fallout discovered aeons later by the first book’s descendents. And true to how things always go awry, nothing is ever what humans (or any sentient species) plan to begin with and that’s what saves us in the end. Tchaikovsky will ultimately assure us this inability to be totally in charge of our destiny is a good thing, though no […]

We’re the aliens, man

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

February 25, 2021 by murderofcrows 3 Comments

I was raised on the optimistic technology sci fi of Arthur C. Clarke who believed our future was in the stars and that technology was our only way there. But he often threaded his optimism with warning of our hubris and innate inability to understand a mind truly alien to ours. I’ve waited to read a successor that expanded on these twin stars of hope and wariness. Children of Time succeeds and then carries it into realms I couldn’t conceive, ones I can’t even fully understand […]

Family, War and Making a Better Life for Your Kid

Saga book 3 by Brian K. Vaughan Fiona Staples

February 23, 2021 by murderofcrows Leave a Comment

The young narrator of Saga, book 3 is born of parents from two different species engaged in a brutal war. Hazel is now old enough to understand that her family must hide, not only because her mom was a soldier who freed her dad while under her guard, but because her very existence disproves that the two species most definitely can co-exist. The war is a profitable venture for powers far beyond the hero parents and all the other grunts used as fodder on both sides. Hazel […]

The Empathy and Kindness of Becky Chambers

The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers

February 20, 2021 by murderofcrows 7 Comments

In her final installment of her Wayfarer’s series, The Galaxy, and the Ground Within , Becky Chambers continues to explore themes of friendship, diversity, cross cultural and cross species understanding. It is a beautiful book. Beautifully written and beautiful in that the heart of the author shines in her love of her characters and a deep respect she conveys for each being’s right to exist. Many have characterised Chamber’s writing as uplifting and comforting and that is no small thing in a genre rife with […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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