This was my first foray into Alastair Reynolds and I must say that I will be reading more of him in the future! This was a fantastic bit of hard sci-fi that I enjoyed. I brought in the familiar trope of What is Human? but in a slightly different method. A very enjoyable, if not a must read, for hard sci-fi fans for sure.

A great noir set in the political and social upheaval that was Mexico City in the 1970s. I quite liked it, which is exactly what I expected from Moreno-Garcia.

I fell slightly behind recently on updating here.

I really liked this bit of Asian-centric fantasy. The characters were fun, and I really enjoyed the world-building . I'll probably continue on with the series later on.

Man this was a trip. I only learned after the fact that it has garnered some controversial attention. It's a really good actiony horror. But be forewarned, the easiest I can compare it to would be the gore of Edward Lee, if you know, you know. But honestly I thought was a fun read. It really picks up at the halfway and gets out of its own way.

It is apparent to me now that you cannot separate any of the parts of the tetralogy of Aegypt from itself. It should, and must, be experienced as a whole. Endless Things is the end, the final culmination of what is likely the greatest work of fiction by a modern author that I've read. I'm baffled that the entirety of Aegypt is not more widely known. It should be lauded and Crowley held up as one of our greatest living authors. It's a masterpiece.

I'm only four chapters into the last of Crowley's tetralogy and already I'm utterly whisked away by the beauty of his prose... it just sings. And there is this constant feeling of... something, something I can't put my finger on that flows between the lines and forces self-introspection through Crowley, through Pierce (the main character), through the world and back into ourselves. Few things compare to Crowley at his best.

These are another guilty pleasure for me. The third in Peter's Cadfael series, the Titular monk has to figure out how someone was killed with Monk's Hood oil made from his own workshop. The series is a classic of British Mysteries, and is well worth reading, this installment is no different.

This is a dense, slow, frustrating little book. It is also containing one of the greatest reveals that I can recall in sci-fi. The book forces you to step so far outside of what we consider to be our comfort zone, not just personally, but culturally, and as a species as a whole. It is undoubtedly on someone's Sci-fi Must Read List, and it is on mine now as well.

Robin Hobb is a master. This is a fantastic follow-up to Assassin's Apprentice. The character's were so well defined, and the prose so well written that I was physically repulsed by the ignorance of Fitz at times, and I wanted to throw the book across the room when Regal was on the page. That much emotion being drawn from a book is unusual for me. I'm excited to finish the trilogy out.

The 9th novel in Cleeve's Vera Stanhope series doesn't disappoint. In fact we see more character building for Holly, a member of Vera's team, than we have previously. We also get a glimpse into the shrouded past of Hector's (Vera's late father) family. It's a good book, but I did pick out the murderer at about halfway through, although I did get the method and motive wrong. You really can't go wrong with a Vera novel, really.

Because I can't read just one WH40k novel at a time, I read this, the next in the Imperial Guard series. Unlike others, it wasn't quite as fast-paced, and tended to drag, not because of plot, but I believe because the quality of prose was a little lacking. All told it was a fun read, and wouldn't tell you *not* to read it if you are a fan.

The entirety of the Warhammer 40k universe and novels is a guilty pleasure for me. They are typically fast reads, filled with action and intrigue, and manage to touch on a surprising number of sci-fi tropes. Death World is no exception, and was better than expected.

Still in the vein of military sci-fi, I finished Hammer's Slammers by David Drake, and quite liked it. Drake has a way of writing war stories that emphasizes the realities of the troops on the ground, and how those same troops become policy makers, whether you want them to or not. And for a story released in '79, it has held up remarkably well. Easily on par with Haldeman's Forever War in terms of writing and relevance.

If you are looking for sci-fi action from start to finish, then any Warhammer 40k book is probably a good fit. I don't like giant power-armored space marines, however, so the Imperial Guard series is a good place to start. I wasn't sure how this would be, but was pleasantly surprised. Is it high-brow lit? Heck no. But, it is a lot of sci-fi fun and military action with a good story. It was just what I was after.

The second in the Old Man's War series. This time focusing on the new-borns in old bodies, as opposed to old souls in new bodies of the first. Scalzi is an excellent writer and this is no exception. It did remind me that I enjoy military sci-fi. And The book brings forth issues of morality, identity, and how we as humans perceive anyone that is different. A really good book.

Truly a surprising read here. If you are a fan of urban fantasy like Rivers of London, or Dresden Files, or Felix Castor then this is a must read. Really very well written. I burned through it. Honestly I didn't expect it to be this good. I'm going to read more shortly.

I returned to this short novella series once again. I loved it, once again. I will say that the impetus for the story, or the hook for this third installment, was beginning to get a little cliche. But, the writing is good, the pacing is great. and the plot itself is great. I didn't expect to like a story about witches dealing with the Brexit vote as much as I did. I'll finish this series soon, and then I will be sad.

I last read this twenty years ago, and honestly, I remembered that I loved it but not much else about it. It deserves every bit of hype that it has ever received. It is a wonderful book that had me guessing, fretting, speculating, and flat out worrying about Fritz, the protagonist, well past the end. In fact the 2nd book is going to get bumped and read rather quickly now as well. This is a fantasy masterwork. Full stop.

I got Bloody Pages from the Early Reviewer Program at LibraryThing, and then promptly lost the email until yesterday. I got about 1/2 way through before I gave up. The first third isn't bad, but every POV is introduced via a dream, and that got ridiculous fast. Supposedly that makes sense later on, but good luck getting there. The dialog of the detective was wooden, really I just have better things to read.

I picked this up from the publisher at a trade show last month. It is exactly what you would expect from the title, sexy, weird, horrific, and exciting. All those things I would associate with Anais Nin and The Grand Guignol Theater. I am a fan of weird fiction and I thought this was a great little book. I have read Mr. Levy before in other horror compilations and he doesn't disappoint here at all.

Part two of the Witches of Lychford novellas. Another solid outing honestly. If you like contemporary witches that aren't all evil as all heck, then this may be the series for you/me. I really enjoyed it.

The only downside of this was its brevity. I didn't realize it was a novella, another downside of ebooks, until I started it. Everything else about this, was fantastic, with strong, yet quirky and sometimes irascible, female characters and a plot that kept moving forward. I finished it within a sitting and then immediately grabbed the second, third, fourth.... you see what I mean? Damn good stuff.

I came across this one quite by accident when someone said it was a fantasy novel about aged adventurers that moan as much about their joints and digestion as they do about monsters and gold. That's a fair assessment of it. I liked it, it was fun and took a different spin on the standard fantasy retrieval trope. It was well worth the read. I am still on the fence about the sequel for Reasons... We'll see.

Tamsyn Muir continually surprises me, and I'm not even sure why at this stage. It was a ballsy choice to follow-up an amnesiac story with another amnesia/unknown-self/lost-soul story, but she pulled it off. Overall it was really good, and will likely warrant a re-read fairly soon just to cross reference all the biblical references that appear throughout.

“The name of the god Dionysos first appears on a clay tablet from the Greek bronze age, over three thousand years ago. And so he is our oldest living symbol.“

An academic treatise on the Dionysos, I have to admit it was far more interesting than you may imagine. If you enjoy the history of religion, or Greek mythology, then this might be an informative read into how a mystery cult might have operated, and why Dionysos was so important to Greeks.

This has been on my TBR since I bought the book last year and I finally got to read it. I was immersed in the cult of Alcibiades throughout. Now, when I see an article about the Fall of Athens, I'm looking for Alcibiades' name to see how much research the author may have done. An utterly fascinating tale about a man that might be the most interesting man in ancient history. A definite must for any Ancient Greek fans. Top Notch.

A mystery book within a mystery book, both containing mysteries that allude to one another. A nested murder mystery, by Horowitz who I was more familiar with from his TV work. Plenty of call backs to his TV roots and little cozy mystery tie-ins that are made throughout. It was a really fun read, even if I was able to pick out the killer fairly early on.

I really liked this one. I went in blind based on some list recommendation and was not disappointed. The family dynamic between the main character and her sister was really endearing. And this was a much funnier book than I would have thought it would be at first glance. Overall, I enjoyed it and would suggest for anyone wanting a quick, dark, sometimes humorous read.

I wasn't sure what to expect when going into this, but I admit I was drawn to it mainly because I remember my kids watching Ms. McCurdy in iCarly when they were young. I'm really happy I decided to read it. It is a definite must read for those that like memoirs and are/were fans of McCurdy's or Nickelodeon back in the day. It turns out she is a great writer, and this was a much better read than I thought it would be.

The Goldfinch is an emotional journey for the reader. Tartt sneaks in this vested interest in the characters and ties them to us as readers. The novel culminates in one of the most furiously read and emotionally charged endings that I've come across. At times I wanted to throw it across the room, and others I refused to put it down. A fantastic read, and something different than my norm.