PWarren reviewed The Bone Queen by Alison Croggon
Alison Croggon: The Bone Queen
A nice return to Pellinor
3 stars
and a nice bit of back story on Cadvan, competently written, but nothing incredibly special.
Reviews and Comments
Reading mostly SF/Fantasy. lutruwita/TAS, Australia.
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PWarren finished reading Mona Lisa Overdrive by William F. Gibson
Mona Lisa Overdrive is a science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer William Gibson, published in …
Gibosn had definitely hit his stride as an author by this one, nicely rounds out the trilogy.
PWarren finished reading Count Zero (Sprawl, #2) by William F. Gibson
Count Zero is a science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer William Gibson, originally published in …
A bit better written than Neuromancer, shows a maturing author I guess, still a classic!
PWarren finished reading William Gibson's Neuromancer by William F. Gibson
The first of William Gibson's 'Sprawl' trilogy, Neuromancer is the classic cyberpunk novel.
More …
Revisiting an old favourite, a classic for sure!
PWarren finished reading The pastel city by M. John Harrison (Unicorn)
Not too bad, the three novels are worth reading, the short stories didn't grab me much though.
Not too bad, the three novels are worth reading, the short stories didn't grab me much though.
PWarren reviewed Micromégas by Voltaire
Le Micromégas is a 1752 novella by the French philosopher and satirist Voltaire. Along with …
Quite entertaining!
4 stars
Very interesting as the first incarnation of the aliens visit earth vehicle to criticise society sort of trope.
There was a lot more of Voltaire poking fun at his contemporaries than I thought there'd be, but a fun read anyway. I may be missing some context given its age (1752!) and some philosohpy that I've not yet read.
It's quite short, so definitely recommend reading it.
Very interesting as the first incarnation of the aliens visit earth vehicle to criticise society sort of trope.
There was a lot more of Voltaire poking fun at his contemporaries than I thought there'd be, but a fun read anyway. I may be missing some context given its age (1752!) and some philosohpy that I've not yet read.
It's quite short, so definitely recommend reading it.
PWarren reviewed The Real Story by Stephen R. Donaldson (The Gap Cycle, #1)
Angus Thermopyle was an ore pirate and a murderer; even the most disreputable asteroid pilots …
Interesting ideas on aliens, lots of political intrigue. As brutal as I was warned about
3 stars
More of a review of the whole series, I forget which book was which really.
Yes, our protagonist endures crushing brutality, it's a lot. Almost unnecessary, but not quite. A showcase of what's required to slay metaphorical dragons that certain modern celebrity douchebags wish they were.
Ultimately it ends in the logical way for the story, with few surprises along the way really. Still mostly enjoyable.
More of a review of the whole series, I forget which book was which really.
Yes, our protagonist endures crushing brutality, it's a lot. Almost unnecessary, but not quite. A showcase of what's required to slay metaphorical dragons that certain modern celebrity douchebags wish they were.
Ultimately it ends in the logical way for the story, with few surprises along the way really. Still mostly enjoyable.
PWarren started reading The Real Story by Stephen R. Donaldson (The Gap Cycle, #1)
Angus Thermopyle was an ore pirate and a murderer; even the most disreputable asteroid pilots …
I'm told this can get very brutal and to take it easy, will see how we go!
I'm told this can get very brutal and to take it easy, will see how we go!
Series was OK, some cool ideas, especially around adaptations to the helliconian star system
3 stars
Not bad, not great.
I got bored reading the lives of the helliconians and kept wanting to know the greater arcs of the planet's great year, more details on it's previous societies along with more about earth's transitions. But still, well written, easy enough to read, though some casual slavery and a significant amount of brutality are present.
Although published in the 1980's it reads somewhat more like SF from 30 years earlier.
Not bad, not great.
I got bored reading the lives of the helliconians and kept wanting to know the greater arcs of the planet's great year, more details on it's previous societies along with more about earth's transitions. But still, well written, easy enough to read, though some casual slavery and a significant amount of brutality are present.
Although published in the 1980's it reads somewhat more like SF from 30 years earlier.
PWarren started reading Category Theory for Programmers by Bortosz Milewski
Going through it slowly in concert with the youtube playlist at: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbgaMIhjbmEnaH_LTkxLI7FMa2HsnawM_
And I'll be publishing my answers to the challenges at: git.pwarren.id.au/pwarren/CategoryTheoryChallenges
Going through it slowly in concert with the youtube playlist at: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbgaMIhjbmEnaH_LTkxLI7FMa2HsnawM_
And I'll be publishing my answers to the challenges at: git.pwarren.id.au/pwarren/CategoryTheoryChallenges
PWarren rated The Faith of Beasts: 4 stars
The Faith of Beasts by James S. A. Corey
The monstrous Carryx empire was built by subjugation and war. Thousands of species are bound to their Sovran's command in …
PWarren finished reading The Faith of Beasts by James S. A. Corey
The monstrous Carryx empire was built by subjugation and war. Thousands of species are bound …
The usual great standard from James S. A. Corey, eagerly awaiting the finale in the trilogy.
A satisfying conclusion to the story.
4 stars
More depth to our protagonist as his adventures send him across post apocalyptic Europe, quite enjoyable
4 stars
A bit gratuitiously violent, but an interesting enough take on post apocalyptic fantasy
4 stars
Much improved on previous works I read by this author, well edited, well crafted, protagonist is well developed, some background characters are a bit thinner, but that can be written of as a conceit of our unreliable narrator.
I did enjoy reading it, and the other two in the trilogy