Reviews and Comments

Jonathan Trott

jonathantrott@outside.ofa.dog

Joined 10 months ago

Voracious reader of all genres of fiction, leaning towards sci-fi, crime, mystery, thriller, and comedy.

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William Gibson: Neuromancer (2017, Orion Publishing Group, Limited)

Neuromancer is a 1984 science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer William Gibson. Considered one of …

Seminal book

No idea how its taken me so long to read this book. So far ahead of its time, so prescient in its future world building. Twisty plot with good characters and a must read just for its cultural influence alone.

reviewed World War 3.2 by John Birmingham (The Axis of Time Reloaded, #2)

John Birmingham: World War 3.2 (EBook)

History didn’t just change. It exploded.The war that erupted with a Soviet orbital strike on …

Excellent next chapter in the The Axis of Time series

Don't start with this one, start with World War 2.1 and work your way through. Excellent series building from a very interestin alternate history premise. Characters are well built and there is lots of snark and 'splosions.

John Scalzi: The God Engines (Paperback, 2009, Subterranean Press)

Devoted to the Bishopry Militant and to his crew, ship captain Ean Tephe is given …

Weird one

Not my kind of thing. Missing any trace of humour or snark. Getting lost in the weeds of Gods vs Gods action. Wouldn't have believed it was Scalzi if his name wasn't on the cover.

John Scalzi: The Android's Dream (2006)

The Android's Dream is a 2006 science fiction novel by American writer John Scalzi. The …

Sneaky Title

This book doesn't even have a single android in it that I remember. Doesn't matter, it's a rollicking action filled romp of a story with some great characters and the Scalzi level of snark that we all look for.

John Scalzi: Redshirts (2012, Tor)

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship …

Fourth wall smashed!

Love how this turns the star trek trope on its head and focuses on the minor characters that get killed off with disturbing regularity. Great inception like descent into further levels to resolve the key plot points. Good characters and good development.

John Scalzi: Fuzzy Nation (2011, Tor)

Jack Holloway works alone, for reasons he doesn't care to talk about. Hundreds of miles …

Delightful

Who doesn't like courtroom dramas featuring cute and fuzzy aliens? Great characters and some good plot twists to wrap everything up.

John Scalzi: Murder by Other Means (Hardcover, 2021, Subterranean)

Welcome to the new world, in which murder is all but a thing of the …

Good premis

The premise of this whole world is a very interesting one that has been explored pretty well in these three books. I'd like a bit more humour but I guess the style of hard boiled detective fiction doesn't lend itself quite so well to sharp one liners.

reviewed The Dispatcher by John Scalzi (The Dispatcher #1)

John Scalzi: The Dispatcher

The Dispatcher is a 2016 science fiction novella by John Scalzi. It was originally published …

Tasty Morsel

Nice quick read of an interesting premise. Not as much comedy as you usually get from Scalzi, but the characters are nicely wrought and the plot is very interesting in how everything wraps up.

John Scalzi: The Kaiju Preservation Society (EBook, 2022, Tom Doherty Associates)

Jamie’s dream was to hit the big time at a New York tech start-up. Jamie’s …

Such a fun read

If you like SiFi at all, you'll love this book. Lots of sharp lines that cause you to laugh out loud. Some good call backs to popular culture and just a fun read all round. The characters are pretty well fleshed out and there is some good plot and action.

reviewed The Last Emperox by John Scalzi (The Interdependency, #3)

John Scalzi: The Last Emperox (Hardcover, 2020, Tor)

The Last Emperox is the thrilling conclusion to the award-winning, New York Times and USA …

Awesome finish to this trilogy

Love how this tale wraps up. Good twists, settling of important plot lines, answering the question of how in the hell things are going to get resolved.