(It’s late, I’m just back from vacation, and this review is nearly 4,500 words. Just to warn you: I’m not proof-reading this.) Earth is small and insignificant. Humanity doesn’t matter. This series is set about a hundred and fifty years in the future. Earth has been forcibly pulled into a vast and cold Galactic Empire, where all the power and decision making exists at the center of the galaxy. Earth is a backwater on the frontier, marking a sharp divergence from typical science fiction, where […]
Well, That’s Done
I read the first two of these novels earlier in the year, and the amusement quickly wore thin for me. However, I already had the third novel on my Kindle, I was slightly curious to see how it ended, and since I have been on a streak of good books lately, I thought enough time had passed where some of the flaws would be less grating. Overall, I was less irritated with this one than the previous one since I had taken a break from […]
Scheming, Snark and a Society on the Precipice
IT’S HUGO TIME! Which means it’s time for me to tackle the best novel nominees! The Collapsing Empire is the first instalment in ‘The Interdependency’ series, which is John Scalzi’s take on a space opera. If you’re already a fan of Scalzi’s work, rest assured you’ll probably enjoy this one. All the tonal hallmarks of his previous writing – breezy, minimalist and snarky – are intact. So is his inclination to weave politics into otherwise lighthearted writing. What’s interesting about this series is that it […]
Lie down; try not to cry; cry a lot
Saga is always an emotional trip, where even the highs are touched by a rather unsettling nervous feeling. And really, only after reading the gut punch that was Volume 7, would anyone read #8 and think, “Oh, that one was actually pretty uplifting!” Volume 7 takes place on a comet that is caught in the middle of the war between Wreath and Landfall. Hazel’s collected family have settled there for some months, finding it to be a surprisingly hospitable place in the midst of the […]
Just your run of the mill novelization, with some deleted scenes.
The movie did it better. To be fair, the movie always does it better than the novelization. Novelizations are nearly to a one marketing ploys. But after having read the novelization for Rogue One, I am now spoiled for all future movie novelizations. That book was fantastic. It was a piece of art all on its own, and I nearly liked it better than the movie. This was not that. It was competent. Nothing was wrong. But most importantly, it didn’t really translate; the big […]
Unpretentious, brilliant, engaging sci-fi.
Two books into the Vorkosigan Saga, and I’m increasingly flabbergasted that it took me so long to read not only this series, but Bujold in general. These books are so competently written, and I want that understatement to be interpreted as laconic reverence, and not as an underhanded jab. The writing is uncomplicated and efficient, and is a real testament to the power of honestly good storytelling. A lot of sins can be forgiven by covering them in flowery, lyrical, and highly figurative prose. Bujold’s […]
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