The Alchemy of Stoneby Ekaterina Sedia304pp (Trade Paperback)My Rating: 8/10Amazon Rating: 4/5LibraryThing Rating: 4.13/5Goodreads Rating: 3.78/5 The Alchemy of Stone is the third novel by Ekaterina Sedia, author of The Secret History of Moscow and According to Crow. This beautifully written, character-driven story focuses on themes of social inequality and humanity within a fantastic steampunk setting combining science and magic. While it is a thoughtful tale, it can be read quickly and easily without getting bogged down by too many […]

The Cipherby Diana Pharoah Francis432pp (Paperback)My Rating: 4.5/10Amazon Rating: 4/5LibraryThing Rating: 4.14/5Goodreads Rating: 3.67/5 The Cipher is the first novel in the Crosspointe series by Diana Pharoah Francis. The next book, The Black Ship, is supposed to be out in November of this year and the third book, tentatively titled The Turning Tide, is in progress. From what I have read about the series in brief descriptions and an even briefer excerpt from the third book, each novel has a […]

Archangel Protocolby Lyda Morehouse352pp (Paperback)My Rating: 8.5/10Amazon Rating: 4.5/5LibraryThing Rating: 3.54/5Goodreads Rating: 3.14/5 Archangel Protocol is the first book in the AngelLINK series by Lyda Morehouse (who also writes the Garnet Lacey series under the name Tate Hallaway). This book is followed by Fallen Host, Messiah Node, and Apocalypse Array, which are supposed to work as stand-alone novels even though they are set in the same universe as the first book. Unfortunately, the books in this series are out of […]

Wanderlustby Ann Aguirre320pp (Paperback)My Rating: 8/10Amazon Rating: 4.5/5LibraryThing Rating: 5/5Goodreads Rating: 4.34/5 Wanderlust, which just came out this past Tuesday, is the second book in Ann Aguirre’s Jax series following her debut novel Grimspace. Grimspace did have the distinction of being the most entertaining, easy to get into and most difficult to put down book I had read this year – at least until I read Wanderlust, which I liked even better. Fair warning for those who haven’t read Grimspace […]

Before They Are Hangedby Joe Abercrombie539pp (Paperback)My Rating: 7/10Amazon Rating: 4.5/5LibraryThing Rating: 4.24/5Goodreads Rating: 4.34/5 Joe Abercrombie’s Before They Are Hanged is the middle book in his First Law trilogy, following The Blade Itself and preceding Last Argument of Kings (which has an official US launch date of Sept. 23, but is already available from some outlets). Much like The Blade Itself, Hanged is a book that I enjoyed reading for reasons I don’t entirely understand. When viewed separately its […]

Use of Weaponsby Iain M. Banks512pp (Trade Paperback)My Rating: 8.5/10Amazon Rating: 4.5/5LibraryThing Rating: 4.1/5Good Reads Rating: 4.23/5 The Culture novels by Scottish science fiction writer Iain M. Banks are stand alone stories taking place within the titular universe, an egalitarian interplanetary utopia in which capitalism, disease, and (to an extent) even death no longer pose a problem to humanity. Although each book has a different storyline with a separate set of characters, it is often recommended that The Player of […]