I received an advanced reading copy from Tor.com in exchange for an honest review.
Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars.
I wish to echo Ann Leckie and simply say “I love Murderbot!”
With Rogue Protocol, The Murderbot Diaries is indeed shaping up to be a fantastic series of novellas that tick all the right boxes, albeit in a smaller-sized package of excellent science fiction action and empathetic character development.
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ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit—in exchange for an honest review
Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O’Keefe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
An incredibly entertaining start to a new space opera series.
Velocity Weapon is the first book in The Protectorate series by Megan E. O’Keefe. This was my first experience reading O’Keefe’s work and I had a fantastic time with it. isn’t an easy book for me to review. It’s not because I found the book to be disappointing or not up to my preference, but I honestly think that many components of the storyline or what makes this book truly great can be considered a spoiler that the task of reviewing this book ended up being more difficult than usual.
“Being offended by facts is a long human tradition.”
Othello by William Shakespeare
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Yesterday I had a random hankering for some Shakespeare. Weird craving, I know, but it just hits me every once in a while. However, I feel like I can’t fully appreciate any of his work by simply reading it. So what I do is grab my giant collection of his plays, plug in either a film or dramatized audio version of whichever play I’ve chosen, and read along. Shakespeare never intended for his work to be read; it was written to be performed. Since it was a rainy afternoon, I could afford to devote three hours to simultaneously reading and listening to Othello, and it was by far the most I’ve ever enjoyed this particular play. …
The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Not much actually happened in The Dragon Reborn but it was more engaging than the previous two books.
The Dragon Reborn is the third book in The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. The title of this novel may be The Dragon Reborn, this title implies that Rand will take the central role again, but the main characters of this book were actually Mat, Perrin, and Egwene. If I’m not mistaken, Rand has only like three or four small POV chapters. This doesn’t mean that Rand wasn’t important to the main story, the storyline still heavily revolved around him. …
Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
I received a copy of this book from the publisher (Ace) in exchange for an honest review. While I’m incredibly thankful, all opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I was ecstatic to receive a copy of this book. First of all, Briggs’s Mercy Thompson series served as my gateway into truly appreciating urban fantasy. I had previous exposure to the genre, having binge read many of the Anita Blake novels (until it devolved into nothing but orgy after orgy), a handful of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, and the first five of Moning’s Fever series. While I enjoyed these books in the moment, I always viewed them as junk food, something to be consumed and forgotten, leaving nothing behind but a vague literary equivalent of a stomach ache from overindulgence. …
Age of Legend by Michael J. Sullivan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A brilliant sequel which fulfilled both my eager anticipation and high expectations, Age of Legend takes the First Empire series to another level of greatness with the promise of a showstopper by its finale.
Age of Legend is structurally different from the continuous narrative in the preceding three volumes. This book has three sections; the first part is the shortest which deals with the immediate aftermath of the battle at Alon Rhist. The second section takes place one year after that, and there will be another five years’ time leap for the third and largest part of the book. Without needing to go into too much detail and dragging the narrative, the three-part story enabled the reader to appreciate how protracted the war was between the Rhunes and the Fhreys, before going into the more portentous events.
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Hi everyone, TS here! This is the first time Novel Notions is hosting an interview on a co-authored series. Forever Fantasy Online is both the name of this LitRPG trilogy and the first book. Its sequel, Last Bastion, was released yesterday and I have to say that the book was fantastic and an improvement over the first book (which was a fun and great read as well) in every way possible.
Rachel Aaron and Travis Bach have kindly agreed to answer a few burning questions that I have, and so let’s get right to it.
Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Thanks, Mr. Levin. I hate it.
I had so many problems with this book. Because I feel the need to vent about said problems, there will be an abundance of spoilers in the review below. I’ll try to keep things as vague as possible, but yeah. Spoilers. If you’re unfamiliar with the story and have any desire to read it without prior knowledge, please skip reading this review.
You have been warned. …
Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
The Blackest Heart by Brian Lee Durfee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I’m absolutely stunned by this 960 pages marvel.
Seriously, The Forgetting Moon was awesome already, but The Blackest Heart triumphed over its predecessor in every possible way. I don’t even have words to express how grateful I am that the author sent me these two books, which weren’t even on my radar, to review; it’s truly serendipitous that I found a new ongoing favorite series because of it. …
I received an advanced reading copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.
An awesome sequel to All Systems Red, Artificial Condition pumps up the fun and action.
Before I continue, I maintain that our genderless robotic main protagonist sounded female in my mind and hence, I will refer to it as she. Our sardonic SecUnit decided to return to the mining planet where a prior incident culminated in her self-christening as Murderbot, with the intention to investigate the real cause of the said incident. In the course of attempting to hitch a ride there without being caught, she managed to bribe her way through by offering the transport bots her treasure trove of media, books, serials, and music downloads. I don’t know about other readers, but this cracks me up so much!
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