Category: Books

  • Review: The Philosopher Kings

    The Philosopher Kings by Jo Walton My rating: 4 of 5 stars I had no idea how the story could continue after The Just City. It seemed to have such a finality to it. Yet Ms Jo Walton has really shone with this sequel. It finds a way to build on just about everything from…

  • Review: Rave Master, Vol. 01

    Rave Master, Vol. 01 by Hiro Mashima My rating: 3 of 5 stars I think this is the first manga I’ve read since DeathNote. I’m having a little trouble getting into this, but maybe it’s just one of those stories that starts off a little strange and then finally builds up to a plot? It…

  • Review: Summer Knight

    Summer Knight by Jim Butcher My rating: 4 of 5 stars Things continue to evolve in Dresden’s Chicago. By this point it’s become obvious to me that the main series (as opposed to short stories) requires the reader to read them all in order rather than just jumping in to any particular case. Like a…

  • Review: Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon

    Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon by Mary Fan My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is the second book I added to my to-read list after meeting Ms. Fan at Farpoint 2019. Even though both Starswept and this one are rated 4 stars, that’s more a consequence of only have 5 stars to choose from,…

  • Review: Soleil

    Soleil by Jacqueline Garlick My rating: 1 of 5 stars It is a real bummer for me to give this book 1 star. I really enjoyed the first book in the trilogy. The second book was fun. But this book… kind of just felt like perhaps this series should have been a duology instead of…

  • Review: Serious Python: Black-Belt Advice on Deployment, Scalability, Testing, and More

    Serious Python: Black-Belt Advice on Deployment, Scalability, Testing, and More by Julien Danjou My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is an AWESOME book that has completely transformed the way I code in Python. That might sound like the opening to a parody review, but I’m being sincere. One of the best things about Python…

  • Review: Over the Wine-Dark Sea

    Over the Wine-Dark Sea by H.N. Turteltaub My rating: 3 of 5 stars This is the second time I’ve read this book, the first time being nearly 20 years ago when it first came out. A few key bits had stuck with me, like Menedemos’ womanizing and a battle at sea. But after 20 years,…

  • Review: Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 134

    Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 134 by Neil Clarke My rating: 3 of 5 stars I wasn’t quite into this one as much as some other recent issues. Here are my reviews per story: Prasetyo Plastics – Less of a traditional story and more of a meditation on unbridled capitalism that does not descend into a libertarian…

  • Review: Starswept

    Starswept by Mary Fan My rating: 4 of 5 stars I met Ms. Fan at Farpoint 2019 at her booth after seeing some of the panels she was on. We started talking about her books and I was intrigued and put this book and Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon on my To Read list. I…

  • Review: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking

    Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’ve been really improving my cooking by leaps and bounds thanks to America’s Test Kitchen’s books. They make sure recipes are perfect (or as near as can be) in terms of directions, ingredients, etc. They have…

  • Review: A Man On the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts

    A Man On the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts by Andrew Chaikin My rating: 4 of 5 stars The book that was used by Ron Howard, et al to make the Apollo 13 movie! I got this book as part of a space-themed Humble Audiobook Bundle. As I was choosing the next audiobook…

  • Review: Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 133

    Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 133 by Neil Clarke My rating: 4 of 5 stars As usual, the per-story reviews are below this section. But first, a ranking of said stories. The stories I REALLY liked: The Sum of Her Expectations, The Last Boast-Builder in Ballyvoloon, Intro to Prom, Shiomah’s LandGreat: Red Lights, And RainGood: The Psychology…

  • A Tip for Reading Manga on the Kobo Clara HD

    Recently I got a bunch of manga through a Humble Bundle sale. Having read “authentic” style manga before, the Kobo Clara HD seemed to be about the right size to read manga without having to do any zooming. So, naturally I uploaded the .epub for the Kobo. It was HORRIBLE. It cut off part of…

  • Review: Soleil (The Illumination Paradox, #3)

    Soleil by Jacqueline Garlick My rating: 1 of 5 stars It is a real bummer for me to give this book 1 star. I really enjoyed the first book in the trilogy. The second book was fun. But this book… kind of just felt like perhaps this series should have been a duology instead of…

  • Review: Serious Python: Black-Belt Advice on Deployment, Scalability, Testing, and More

    Serious Python: Black-Belt Advice on Deployment, Scalability, Testing, and More by Julien Danjou My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is an AWESOME book that has completely transformed the way I code in Python. That might sound like the opening to a parody review, but I’m being sincere. One of the best things about Python…