ThatBookIsOnFiyah

5/5 stars. This debut novel by Bethany Jacobs is one of the best space opera stories that I have read. I waited to read this book until after the trilogy was complete, but I wish I had started it sooner. This tale is filled with politics, scheming, deception, and the foreshadowing of a coming war. I look forward to completing this trilogy. The Kindom is a political entity that consists of three main branches – the Clerisy (religion and law), the Cloaksaan (the enforcers of law), and the Secretariat (the financial representatives). Jacobs has created some excellent characters for us to follow in this story, with three primary points of view: Esek Nightfoot – a cleric of the Kindom and member of one of the most powerful families, Chono – a cleric and former novitiate of Esek, and Jun Ironway – a caster who specializes in hacking the net for the highest bidder. These main POVs are linked together by another person, who does not have their own POV, but who is present throughout the story...

5/5 stars. Mark Lawrence is one of my favorite authors and this new book reinforces my opinion of his writing. Lawrence started his career with Prince of Thorns, one of the best Grimdark stories I have ever read. In Daughter of Crows, Lawrence creates another Grimdark world filled with dark beings and the people who follow them. This story has three main points of view: girls in the Academy of Kindness, a younger girl kept as a hostage and tortured in a mansion, and an older-aged woman (Rue) who, we learn, once served as a Kindness. The Academy of Kindness trains young women to be the physical representatives of the Furies on Earth, carrying out vengeance on those who violate the rules of hospitality and kindness. Only three girls from each class of 100 survive to become Kindnesses. Lawrence has crafted an entertaining dark story that kept me turning the pages late into the night. I also want to say that it is refreshing to have a main character who represents the oldest generation ...

4/5 stars. Reynolds is able to take some seemingly disparate ideas and build them into an amazing space opera detective story. Initially, we follow two separate timelines – one a noir-style detective story set in 1959 Paris, the other setting roughly 300 years in our future, where archeologists are studying a dying Earth’s history. In true Reynolds fashion, he brings these two stories together into an excellent space opera action/adventure. This story was a pleasure to read. I also listened to much of the audiobook while reading immersively. The narration was good, with John Lee creating some wonderful French accents and layering the detective story with typical 50s detective-speak! Certainly recommended!

4.5/5 stars. In this new story by the author of Dungeon Crawler Carl, we follow a group of young people on the planet New Sonora, descendants of a generation ship sent from Earth hundreds of years ago to colonize this new planet. The grandparents of our protagonists were the first humans to set foot on New Sonora, and now this generation is starting to settle into their lives as farmers. Recently, the colonists have fully reconnected with Earth via a jump gate that was sent with them but has just fully come online. To everyone’s surprise, Earth has begun Operation Bounce House, a gaming experience for anyone willing to pay to participate in the invasion of New Sonora to eliminate the ‘terrorists’ who have set up a base on the planet. The surprise is that no one on New Sonora was aware there were ‘terrorists.’ The reader soon discovers why they were not aware of that, as the gamers begin to attack the farmers and their families, having been told these people are indeed the ‘terrorists’...

4/5 stars. In this second book, we get to see Rohan return to Earth and take up his mantle as The Griffin once again, but more importantly, we get to meet his old friends, some other superheroes, some old enemies, and his MOTHER!! Rohan meets emissaries from Earth who are looking for Hyperion to help with a situation involving giant sharks that are attacking major cities across Earth. He informs them that Hyperion was killed but agrees to go to Earth and do what he can to help them. We learn a great deal of Rohan’s backstory and much of why he avoids Earth, but we also witness his further growth as a person as he fights to help save his planet of origin. Berne writes adventure stories with lots of philosophical meaning and deeply human character study. This was a well-written second book to the series and I look forward to reading more in the Hybrid Helix series, but more importantly, I look forward to more Audible releases with narration by Wayne Farrell. The first two audiobooks ha...

4/5 stars. Dan Brown’s books always have some fascinating ideas, but to say this is a Robert Langdon book does not seem entirely true. Langdon’s POV is a main part of the story, but we do not really get the typical Langdon puzzle-solving scenarios. The story centers around an academic book that his newest girlfriend, Katherine, has written that encompasses a new theory of consciousness in the field of Noetic Science (the study of consciousness, intuition, and the mind’s potential bridging spirituality and scientific study). The manuscript is stolen and Katherine is missing. It is up to Langdon to find her and discover what is happening with the manuscript. All of this occurs in Prague – we can always count on Brown to take the reader to the most interesting places! Overall, I enjoyed the science behind the manuscript in the story and enjoyed Brown’s exposition, through Robert and Katherine, regarding the potential findings inherent in the study of human consciousness. As always, Brow...

4.75/5 stars. This is my first read of a book by KJ Parker. I have been interested in reading his work for some time, so when I got the opportunity from Orbit Books and NetGalley to read the eARC of this book, I was very excited. My excitement was not misplaced. Parker is an excellent writer and wordsmith; he creates intriguing characters and tells an interesting political/religious story in a richly constructed fantasy setting. Our two main characters, the narrator – Brother Desiderius, a notorious forger; and, the titular Sister Svangerd, an assassin, are both monks who are sent to the ecumenical council of the Church of the Invincible Sun to carry out an assassination. Oh, and did I mention that Desiderius is deeply in love with Svangerd, but she only tolerates his companionship, at best. While at the council, they encounter ‘walkers’ – zombie-like creatures who are only found in Desiderius’s homeland of the Mesoge. Quite a coincidence that the only person in attendance just happen...

5/5 stars. This is the first book I have read by Joe Hill, and I am glad it was. This is one of the most unique and intriguing books I have read, encompassing a central horror plot with fantastical and mythical characters. Hill has a writing style that matches my reading preferences to a tee, while his character work is excellent, and the execution of the story was magnificent. This book will continue to impact me as I think about it in more depth, but my initial thoughts are about King Sorrow’s development as the evil incarnate for this fairy-tale horror story, and the connections within the friendships of the six main characters over the course of 40 years. When King Sorrow was first introduced, I thought this was a fascinating use of the dragon character. I love dragons in stories, but to take that character and make it into a trickster who thrives on human pain and suffering was a master stroke of writing. Later, when Hill introduced giants and trolls as historical creatures, the...