Category: Books

  • Review: Rave Master, Vol. 06

    Rave Master, Vol. 06 by Hiro Mashima My rating: 3 of 5 stars Although this volume is full of a lot of gobble-de-gook about the end of time, we do get a relatively fun fight that consumes most of the chapters. Kind of reminds me of Dragon Ball Z in that way. Also, if Seig…

  • Review: Wild Cards III: Jokers Wild

    Wild Cards III: Jokers Wild by George R.R. Martin My rating: 4 of 5 stars I don’t know if they did this consciously or if it was simply the consequence of a series that started in the 1940s and ended in the (at the time) present day of 1980s, but I think it’s fascinating that…

  • Review: The Cuban Table: A Celebration of Food, Flavors, and History

    The Cuban Table: A Celebration of Food, Flavors, and History by Ana Sofia Peláez My rating: 4 of 5 stars Mostly cookbook and part history of the Cuban diaspora and those still in Cuba. I really enjoyed the stories that surrounded each recipe and chapter. It really put many of the dishes into a personal…

  • Review: Throne of Jade

    Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book explores the consequences of the first book’s revelation: Temeriaire is not just a Chinese dragon that was meant to be a gift to the French, he is a Celestial – the breed of the imperial family. Thus, after a bit of…

  • Review: Rave Master Vol. 5

    Rave Master Vol. 5 by Hiro Mashima My rating: 3 of 5 stars The story has kicked into manga overdrive. Lots of mysteries all over the place. Hints that Haru Glory’s dad is maybe in Demon Card. Finally some clues about who Elie might be. The former is more likely to be a red herring,…

  • Review: Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 135

    Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 135 by Neil Clarke My rating: 3 of 5 stars Some COVID-circumstances led to me finishing the second-half of this two months after starting. So I don’t quite remember the themes that piece together this issue, but here are my per-story thoughts: The Rains on Mars: A delicate story of loss and…

  • Review: The Princess in Black and the Hungry Bunny Horde

    The Princess in Black and the Hungry Bunny Horde by Shannon Hale My rating: 4 of 5 stars If you read the first two books with your kids and then were about to give up, do not do so! When I read the second book, about Princess Magnolia’s birthday, to my four-year-old twins I was…

  • Review: Rave Master, Vol. 04

    Rave Master, Vol. 04 by Hiro Mashima My rating: 3 of 5 stars Part of me wonders – is this just meant to be a comedic manga hero’s journey or is it a straight up parody? I can’t tell from this volume. Story-wise it concludes the story from the previous volume about the town where…

  • Review: Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 138

    Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 138 by Neil Clarke My rating: 4 of 5 stars An issue in which I enjoyed pretty much every story. I didn’t detect the theme as easily in this issue as I usually do. The novella that anchors this issue, The Persistence of Blood, is really well-written. Here are my per-story thoughts:…

  • Review: The Princess in Black

    The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale My rating: 4 of 5 stars If you have little girls or little boys who love princesses and a little mischief, this book is a great first chapter book. I read this to my four year old twins and they really loved it and immediately asked for the…

  • Review: Rave Master Vol. 3

    Rave Master Vol. 3 by Hiro Mashima My rating: 3 of 5 stars All the manga tropes continue piling up. This book has the “pervert who wants to watch the girl in the hot springs” trope. Compared to the last two books this one is just wrapping up the last storyline and then ramping up…

  • Review: The Bob’s Burgers Burger Book: Real Recipes for Joke Burgers

    The Bob’s Burgers Burger Book: Real Recipes for Joke Burgers by Loren Bouchard My rating: 4 of 5 stars There are a lot of crazy burgers in here. What did you expect from a book inspired by a blog inspired by burger puns in a cartoon voiced by H. John Benjamin? And yet… the authors…

  • Review: Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 137

    Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 137 by Neil Clarke My rating: 5 of 5 stars This issue was full of longer piece, but also pieces I loved so much. I was cracking up so much with Solderin’. I felt pretty emotional with Umbernight, especially as I am getting older like the protagonist and slowly being replaced by…

  • Review: Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 136

    Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 136 by Neil Clarke My rating: 4 of 5 stars This one was a tough choice between three stars and four stars. The stories I didn’t like: “Say it Low, Say it Loud” and “Her Smoke Rose Up Forever” I REALLY didn’t like. But from the stories I liked, some of them…

  • Review: Rave Master Vol. 2

    Rave Master Vol. 2 by Hiro Mashima My rating: 3 of 5 stars Nobody does comics storytelling like the Japanese. Some 400 pages in we’re still meeting new characters and we haven’t really gone anywhere story-wise. Plotwise it’s a pretty standard journey plot a la Journey to the West, Dragonball, or even Pokemon. Haru, our…