Inside Straightby George R. R. Martin432pp (Paperback)My Rating: 7.5/10Amazon Rating: 4/5LibraryThing Rating: 4.18/5Goodreads Rating: 3.6/5 Inside Straight is the first of a trilogy of newer books set in the Wild Cards universe of superheroes. The sequel, Busted Flush, was released in December 2008 and the next book, Suicide Kings, should be released around December 2009. There are also 17 older books in the series, and most of these are written as anthologies containing contributions by several different authors. Inside Straight […]

Childhood’s Endby Arthur C. Clarke256pp (Paperback)My Rating: 7.5/10Amazon Rating: 4.5/5LibraryThing Rating: 3.94/5Goodreads Rating: 4.01/5 Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke has become a classic of science fiction since its publication in 1953 and has been very influential in the genre. This fairly short, stand alone novel is light on characterization but heavy on ideas. For some reason I’d categorized this book in my head as “scary science fiction” that I’d probably find dry or difficult to read, but that was […]

Kushiel’s Dartby Jacqueline Carey901pp (Paperback)My Rating: 8.5/10Amazon Rating: 4/5LibraryThing Rating: 4.3/5Goodreads Rating: 4.48/5 Kushiel’s Dart is the first book in the Kushiel’s Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey. The series contains two related trilogies, each about different main characters with Naamah’s Kiss, the first book in a third trilogy coming out in June 2009. Kushiel’s Dart is followed by Kushiel’s Chosen and Kushiel’s Avatar, and the second trilogy consists of Kushiel’s Scion, Kushiel’s Justice, and Kushiel’s Mercy respectively. This is one […]

The Jackal of Narby John Marco768pp (Paperback)My Rating: 6/10Amazon Rating: 3.5/5LibraryThing Rating: 3.34/5Goodreads Rating: 3.9/5 The Jackal of Nar, John Marco’s debut novel, is the first book in a completed fantasy trilogy, Tyrants and Kings. It is followed by The Grand Design and concluded with The Saints of the Sword. The Jackal of Nar was unevenly paced, too long, and had a rather stupid main character, yet in spite of that I did find this character-driven novel enjoyable once it […]

An Accidental Goddessby Linnea Sinclair464pp (Paperback)My Rating: 6/10Amazon Rating: 4/5LibraryThing Rating: 3.95/5Goodreads Rating: 4.54/5 An Accidental Goddess is a science fiction romance novel by Linnea Sinclair. It is a far future sequel to Wintertide, which I did not know until after reading this one. An Accidental Goddess is self-contained and makes perfect sense read on its own, though. I read this book right after Gabriel’s Ghost and Shades of Dark because I loved those two so much that I wanted […]

Miles, Mystery, and Mayhemby Lois McMaster Bujold576pp (Paperback)My Rating: 8/10Amazon Rating: 3.5/5LibraryThing Rating: 4.16/5Goodreads Rating: 4.13/5 Miles, Mystery & Mayhem contains three stories in the Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold: the novel Cetaganda, the novel Ethan of Athos, and the novella Labyrinth (originally published in Borders of Infinity). It also has a 4 page afterward written by Bujold. Chronologically, this omnibus comes after the Young Miles collection in this space opera series, although it can be read as […]