Review: Witches of Lychford

Witches of Lychford by Paul Cornell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A surprisingly complex novella. Intriguing world building, great characterization in a short form, self contained story. I liked it, and I'm not generally a fan of shorter form fiction.

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Review: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The happy-go-lucky multispecies ragtag crew of the Wayfarer, a wormhole tunneling ship, get a once in a lifetime chance to open a new wormhole to a new planet. The pay is great and the authorities promise they'll be safe, even if they do have to pass through some dangerous systems. However, as usually happens, things aren't quite what they seem with this contract.

Adorable characters, nice world-building and very up-beat attitudes make this book really enjoyable.

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Review: Behind the Throne

Behind the Throne by K.B. Wagers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A gunrunner is captured and taken back to Indrana kicking and screaming. It seems she's a runaway princess.

Haili learns that her mother and sisters are under attack back on Indrana. So home she goes, reluctantly, but determined to discover who's been attacking her family.

Very interesting world building, complex and well drawn characters, and a plot that if it doesn't always keep you guessing, certainly presents tons of action and character growth.

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Review: The Death of Kings

The Death of Kings by Conn Iggulden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent writing, and the author can make history come alive.

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Review: The Winds of Khalakovo

The Winds of Khalakovo by Bradley P. Beaulieu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Steampunk with lots of air and sea ship confrontations as well as a pretty complex magical sort of world.

I listened to this and found it a bit hard to follow. Wasn't that happy with the reader, whose voice seldom got beyond a rather humdrum sort of sound.

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Review: Waking the Moon

Waking the Moon by Elizabeth Hand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow. What an intense book. Creative, imaginative, populated with people well drawn and complex, and a setting that, for me, dredged up a lot of personal history.

Secret societies, goddess cults, complex personal relationships, all conspire to wake the moon.

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Review: Hidden Empire

Hidden Empire by Kevin J. Anderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Humans have reached the stars and are quite determined to take control of every system they can find. They discover some tech that had been developed by an extinct alien race, and use it to light up a gas giant and turn it into a star. When lights rise from the planet no one takes any particular heed. Until factories in orbit around other gas giants are suddenly attacked by a previously unknown race. Or, perhaps the knowledge of this alien species has been hidden?

Anderson can spin a yarn and populate a galaxy with complex civilizations of many species. The action, a bit slow to start, heats up into a galactic war that threatens to destroy humans outright.

And, semi-sentient trees!

Cliff hangers, alas, but not personal ones. Just an ongoing story far too big to fit into one book.

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Review: Sorcerer's Legacy

Sorcerer's Legacy by Janny Wurts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An early work by Janny Wurts. Lots of action, likeable characters, and an interesting world. My only complaint is the use of stupid choices by the characters to develop the plot. Yes, they were justified by the story but they were still not very bright.


But you can see her ability to weave a story already, so it was great to see her growth since then.

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Review: Where Shadows Dance

Where Shadows Dance by C.S. Harris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent entry to the series. Maybe the best so far. And given spoilers, can't say much more than, Hero is my Hero!

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Review: Luna: New Moon

Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Five families (Five Dragons) control the Moon. They are in constant competition to have more influence, more control.

A trip to the Moon, if you stay long enough, becomes one-way as your bones and body won't stand Earth's gravity well. So there is no leaving, unless you choose to leave early. After that, you swear allegiance to one of the Five Dragons and are swept into the politics and everything short of open combat between the families.

Characterization and society are detailed and complex. You can understand how this all came about, even if it seems so very alien at the same time as completely human.

I listened to the audio book and am very glad I did, as the singsong of Brazilian Portuguese was lovely.

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