Damocles

Book 17 of 2018 is Damocles by S. G. Redling.

I liked too much about this book. The linguistics side. The idea that two people can connect simply because they are open to.

This book was rich and enjoyable but it wound up too fast and too simply. It betrayed the rest of the book that had so much effort put in to it.

I wish this could be rewritten with a better and less predictable ending.

4 words and hand signals out of 5.

Should I read this? Yes, actually.
What did I learn? I love language and the idea of communication across understandings.

Children of Time

Book 14 of 2018 is Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

This book is excellent in every single way. This may become on of my most recommended sci-fi books since The Martian.

I was engaged the whole time and at times stayed awake too late just to finish a few more chapters.

Not going to give any more than to say that this is sci-fi that forces you to explore the way you think or where we evolved from. Strong female characters and great writing had me thinking of this book while out with friends rather than paying attention to the conversation.

5 evolutions and revolutions out of 5.

Should I read this? Yes. No buts about it.
What did I learn? The world could have been a very different place.

The End of Eternity

Book 35 of 2017 is The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov.

Wow, Asimov. Wow.

Every time I pick up a classic, I expect to be disappointed. Let me explain. Classics changed the world in their time and don't always travel through time well. I should have known that a time travel book would do so. Lesson learnt.

I picked this up this morning and was sad when I had to leave it with two chapters to go to head out to brunch with a friend. On returning, I consumed it fully and now can't recommend it more vehemently than this.

Read this book. For sci-fi lovers and book lover alike.

5 kettles out of 5.

Should I read this? Yeah, duh.
What did I learn? Asimov persists as one of the greatest sci-fi writers in history but does he have a time machine.

A Closed and Common Orbit

Book 33 of 2017 is A Closed and Common Orbit by Beck Chambers.

Having thoroughly enjoyed the first book in this series, I gifted e-books to two of my friends and insisted they read it. It was not as well received as I had hoped but that is ok. I really really like this series.

Despite the fact that the characters I became attached to in the first book were not major characters in this one, the established world and its species differentiation made this very enjoyable.

There were quite a few ethical challenges for me around artificial intelligence. I was uncomfortable a number of times with certain choices made but Chambers makes this easy to swallow.

If you start any series this year, start this one.

4 lines of altered code out of 5.

Should I read this? Yes. A solid series to commit to.
What did I learn? I am human biased. I am not sure how to change that but I am thinking about it now.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Book 25 of 2017 is The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet from the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers.

Everyone I know is reading this and loving it so I could not avoid it much longer. Only reason for avoidance is to stop starting new series when I have so many on the go.

This is a brilliant series about race, ethics and space. There is nothing I did not enjoy about this book so yeah, I recommend it to any sci-fi fan.

There are a lot of characters introduced in this first book. This can be done badly with too much to take in while adjusting to a new Universe and mythology. Chambers does it brilliantly.

The affection is not just boy and girl falling in love but many different kinds of friendship and interaction. All of it executed brilliantly. I put this down to a female author. My quest to read more female authors has paid off well.

This is Blade Runner crossed with Fifth Element and Star Trek with very few creases.

4 races out of 5.

Should I read this? Yes to absolutely everyone. This is sci-fi for the masses since it is written so well.

What did I learn? In the spirit of Pride, love is love.

Illuminae

Book 5 of 2017 is Illuminae by Amie Kaufman.

Continuing with consciously reading female authors in 2017 sees me read my fifth in five books. I'm sure I can't ignore male authors but this gives me a good incentive to read books I may have decided to top with something higher up the pile written by a man. It is changing my reading style.

This book is very interesting. It is written in the style of a hacked dossier so fits the whole wikileaks theme of the moment. The AI character is very HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey but extends that in a Young Adult book way. I won't say too much about that so as not to spoil it for anyone.

This is book one of a series and I'm not sure I will continue with it but this was enjoyable because it was original but safely predictable.

Three space walks out of five.

Should I read this? This is another YA book that will appeal to someone who wants an easy read with a few twists.
What did I learn? You never know when your entire world will fall apart so live life like this is your last day on Earth... or the moon.

Zer0es

Book 29 of 2016 is Zer0es by Chuck Wendig.

I picked up this book at The Elliot Bay Book Company on their shelf with recommendations from staff. They said this would be a book that would spark thought and conversation.

They weren't wrong but they weren't right either. The story is interesting enough but the characters are predictable, stereotypical... boring.

The premise is interesting. In an age of technophobia, it is right for us to stop and ask the question about how much technology is intertwined in our lives and what would happen if that was used against us.

Imagine if the Internet of Things was not controlled by us. Imagine if it isn't right now.

This is still a book I would recommend but more for the thought provoking ideas that drive it and not the characters.

Three intelligences out of five.

Should I read this? If you're at least open to the thinking behind a lot of technophobic literature, TV and movies now then sure. If not, this will bore you and seem paranoid.
What did I learn? Just because we can build it, doesn't mean we should.

Slaughterhouse Five

Book 27 of 2016 is Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

This book is original. It follows no cadence I know and chooses to tell it's story how it feels fit. You have to respect that. Or, so it goes.

It has been a very long time since I have read a book and felt every chapter was an easy breeze carrying so much weight. Actually, I'm not sure I can say it has ever been quite like this.

This is a war novel, a sci fi novel and a travel journal rolled in to one.

Five time travels out of five.

Should I read this? Yes. No buts about it. Just read this.
What did I learn? There is hope that life in not sequential.

The 5th Wave

Book 18 of 2016 is The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey.

This book has been on list of books to read since 2014. It was actually in my top ten reads and kept getting pushed down the list by other books because I always knew I'd read it one day. It only took two years to get there.

This is another Young Adult book, which is I genre I enjoy for the adventure and very easy reading.

This is another post apocalyptic tale with a strong female lead with a mission that will not be taken from her.

This is another sit down and read in two days book.

The main character Cassie is believable and likeable. There are moments when she says something very teenage girl and then snaps herself out of it. This gave truly gives away the fact that a man wrote her and not a woman. I say this because women can have multiple trains of thought going simultaneously without so deliberately halting a thought as silly and starting a new one. That other way is a very male way of thinking.

Through this book, all the major characters are fighting to save someone more innocent than themselves. It is as if when the world as they new it ended, they fought to hold on to their own innocence. This is repeated and honed as a well played metaphor in this story. Nicely original in many ways. Or at least originally presented.

Four waves out of five.

Should I read this? Yes, if you like sci-fi AND you like young adult fiction.
What did I learn? We protect in others what we lost in ourselves.

Cinder

Book 17 of 2016 is Cinder by Marissa Meyer. This is the first book in the Lunar Chronicles.

I mostly cringe at fairytales - originals or those retold.

Unlike the massive fail that was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies as a mashup of genres, this sci-fi fairytale is a total win. Even the lovey dovey teenage rubbish doesn't dominate and is managed well by the female lead.

The plot was nowhere near as vacuous as the original and follows it very loosely. This was more like a modern teeny bopper sci-fi story than any fairytale.

Now to read the rest of the Lunar Chronicles.


Four kick-ass female mechanics out of five.

Should I read this? If you like old stories re-written well and with better female characters then you should.
What did I learn? Saving the world is much more important than falling in love.

Seveneves

Book 10 of 2016 is Seveneves by Neil Stephenson.

This book has been a reading project for the last 4 months. At Christmas time, I bought four copes and distributed to my reading friends. One took it up and demolished it in no time while the others, I must chase to complete this 880 page tome.

What I can tell you is that this book is worth every second I got the pleasure to spend on it. There were no slow moments. Every part lead to the next. Every challenge felt uncomfortable but absolutely necessary. Each word and page and chapter and plot and play was well played and entirely satisfying.

I won't ruin anything for you except to say that if there were seven Eves then this is the way the nine should end.

In the words of the recently departed Prince of purple...
All seven and we'll watch them fall
They stand in the way of love
And we will smoke them all
With an intellect and a savior-faire
No one in the whole universe
Will ever compare

5 evolutions out of 5.

Should I read this? This is a sci-fi must. A must. Like, read it NOW.
What did I learn? Who runs the world? Girls.

Timebound

Book 9 of 2016 is Timebound by Rysa Walker.

This was another Kindle Unlimited book that I chose because it was free. Again, this was a great recommendation that I didn't expect much from. When will I learn that the one thing you can trust on Amazon is a book rating?

Another strong female lead who I want to read more about. In fact, all the important characters are women or respectful supportive males. Obviously written by another female. I didn't know that for sure until I checked while writing this. Female sci-fi fantasy authors are owning the genre in these modern times and thank goodness for that.

These are not only written for women but for everyone and quite well. Well worth the read.

4 disappearing photo IDs out of 5.

Should I read this?  Yes and possibly the whole series. It is so promising.
What did I learn? Recessive genes can really count against you.

A Princess of Mars

Book 67 of 2015 is A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

The first book in the John Carter series is much better than the movie. Considering it was written in the early 1900s, this is a very good book. Much better than War of the Worlds in writing, that I often rant about with much dislike and was written in a similar era.

Written in the first person from Carter's point of view, the read was easy and not as predictable as I was expecting.

The world created will draw me back at some stage but not soon.

3 giant leaps forward for mankind out of 5.

Should I read this? Only if you like sci-fi. If not, do not bother starting here.
What did I learn? Tom Cruise does no justice to anything and anyone. Don't watch the John Cater movie.

The Martian

Book ten of 2015 is The Martian by Andy Weir.

I giggled and smiled through this entire book. Mark Watney is the kind of person I'd like to be if I was ever abandoned on Mars or in the equivalent awful situation on this planet.

It is written as a series of log entries and that flows beautifully. I'd go as far as to call it a travel journal.

Usually swearing in books comes across as unnecessary and contrived but this was like listening to the thoughts in someone's head. Completely perfect.

The science doesn't get too deep and I think that is what saves this book. You get the idea of how difficult what he is doing is but you don't feel as though it is condescending or worse, gets the science wrong by oversimplification.

The Martian is one of the most balanced and entertaining books I've read in a while and certainly in 2015.

Five potatoes out of five.

Should I read this? Do it. This is worth the read.
What did I learn? Human waste can be used for many things but I never want to get to the point that I need to use it.