ThatBookIsOnFiyah

4.5/5 stars. We get the story of the early life of Redlin of the Wolves. Redlin quickly becomes a classic Grimdark character for whom the reader feels sympathy - until he does something so unexpected and vile, one must wonder if he is worthy of that sympathy, or if he is even a good person. Redlin’s story is one of abandonment and the desire to become famous to prove to his family that he was worthy of their love, but maybe he is nothing more than a psychopath in the vein of Jorg Ancrath. Steele is an excellent writer whose imagination is only exceeded by his ambition in telling this dark framed narrative. Redlin is one of the most intriguing characters I have read since reading The First Law, The Broken Empire, and The Sun Eater series. I admire the way Steele references earlier works by other authors that were influential on his writing by using names and places that tie aspects of those to his story, but this is also distracting at times and a bit overdone, in my opinion. Somewhat...

4/5 stars. Sometimes, I do not like Harry Bosch, but other times I feel sympathy for him. He is certainly a darkly emotional character and has some difficult life events to overcome; however, some of his choices seem disjointed and out-of-place for a (mostly) successful LAPD detective. The word unhinged definitely applies to him at times. This novel begins with Harry on Involuntary Stress Leave, being required to attend counseling sessions with the department psychologist. He’s not happy about it at all and he has too much time on his hands. He starts investigating a cold case that has personal meaning to him. The case leads him in unexpected directions and causes his continued employment with the LAPD to be further in question. Thankfully, his old nemesis, Capt. Irving, is on his side and wants him back on the job. These books offer some wonderful backstory, and the writing is superb. Connelly has created an interesting and multi-faceted character in Harry Bosch. I am especially gl...

5/5 stars. Yet another great read this month for me! This novel is the story of The Void (aka The Sink), the ‘rocks’ floating in it (places where the people live), and the Sinkers and Risers traveling within the Void from one rock to another. When I picked up this novel initially, I thought I would be reading a science fiction story, but it turned out to be a fantasy adventure focused on the lives of five main characters: Emery, The Sinker, Crooked Arm, The Garent, and Hiram Goegal. The lives of these characters intertwine in mystical ways as each of them travels through the Void. The use of subtle magic, with magical objects that can provide various powers to its user, provides the primary impetus for the narrative, with one of these objects becoming like the proverbial Great White Whale to The Garent. All the story elements come together in fascinating ways to build the story of the Void and its backstory. I could say more, but I do not want to reveal too many details and spoil the...

4.5/5 stars, rounded down. This is the third Bosch novel that I have read and is certainly the best of the three. The character of Harry Bosch continues to be revealed slowly through these novels, and I am glad I started with book 1 in the series, so I can get the full picture as it develops. Connelly is an excellent writer, his prose makes the reader want to continue reading, and his storytelling keeps the focus on the case and moves it forward. In this story, Harry is facing a civil rights lawsuit related to a case from four years ago. Connelly writes the courtroom drama as well as, or even better than, he writes police procedural and crime scene investigation aspects. The experience of reading this part of the book makes me even more interested in reading his Lincoln Lawyer books. I definitely look forward to reading more of the Harry Bosch novels and plan to branch out to Connelly’s other works, in publication order, except that I might read the Catalina novels sooner. I hear his...

3/5 stars. I am glad that I started the Harry Bosch series in publication order, but I certainly enjoyed The Black Echo, book one, quite a bit more than this one. I struggled to get through The Black Ice, although I did enjoy the audiobook narration, and the last third of this novel was action-packed, but the set up took a while to develop, which detracted from my reading experience quite a lot. My experience of the series so far shows that Harry Bosch is a genuinely authentic and caring detective who wants to do the right thing, even if it goes against his bosses’ wishes. He is such a well-written and true-to-life character. My favorite parts of these stories is the backstory - how Harry got to where he is today and how much those experiences have impacted his character. I look forward to continuing the series with book three very soon and I look forward to the continuing development of Harry’s character. As I said after reading The Black Echo, I regret that I did not pick up this ser...

3/5 stars. There are a few very good (4-5 stars) stories and there are some not so good (1-2 stars) stories in this collection of short stories. The stories tie in together in ways that are unique and surprising, and the final tale itself brings several of the previous ones together. When I started the final story, I was impressed with this tying together and thought this story would be 5 stars, raising my overall opinion of the collection significantly. However, this novella-length last story was repetitive, frustrating to finish, and, I felt, could have ended many pages before it did. The repetitive narrative of this story actually detracted from my enjoyment of the book significantly. Others might not experience this book the same way, but I can only address my own concerns. Without revealing spoilers, I will say that the title of the book establishes the connective commonalities among the stories – out of body in various ways! Ghosts, demons, existential experiences, and lost tim...

5/5 stars. This novel addresses the dystopia of advancement for the sake of advancement, without a clearly defined meaningful purpose, especially when we cross new technologies with biology and human beings. In the bookstore, this book immediately appealed to me because of the title’s allusion to Philip K. Dick, one of the most seminal science fiction writers of the 20 th Century. I have not read anything by Paul Tremblay before, but I feel like this was a great place to start with his canon of novels. Julia is a former professional gamer whose estranged mother is the CFO of one of the most important tech companies in the USA. When her mother reaches out to Julia for a favor that could be beneficial for both, Julia hesitates but sees an opportunity for a good paying job and a way to (somewhat) address her rift with her mother. Little does she know that her mother might be holding back some information about this job, and what exactly she will be asked to do. One important note: always...

5/5 stars. I have never been a big reader of cyberpunk, but this is about the fifth book of this genre that I have read this year, and the second that I have finished in the last couple of weeks. This was a short, fast-paced novel filled with action that features an assassin hired to PROTECT a client who has been targeted for murder twice already. As we would expect from Mr. Islington, this story features great world building, excellent character development, and a fascinating storyline with intriguing twists. This novel has the dark setting and vibes of Blade Runner and Neuromancer mixed with a protagonist like Kalam Mekhar (Malazan) or Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher). So good!! This novel feels mostly like a standalone, with one or two exceptions, so I am not sure that Islington has plans for more stories in this world, but I do hope so. I am pleased to see him writing some scifi, especially since his fantasy novels always seem to have a hint of scifi in them. I am also excited to fi...

5/5 stars. I have been fortunate to have read some really good, newer science fiction this year, and this cyberpunk, dystopian novel by M.J. Kuhn might very well be the best of them. I believe this is Kuhn’s third novel – two fantasy books and now this scifi story. As a young writer, Kuhn has polished prose beyond her years, and I am impressed with her ability to tell a fascinating story that has kept me interested and entertained. New Avarita is an isolated society that follows the rules of the founder, Lucre, who developed an implantable chip and created an algorithm designed to maximize production and usefulness within the society, while eliminating those who were no longer needed and we’re taking up important resources, using Ascent. Individuals who do not contribute can be removed from society at the metaphorical flip of the switch. Most people have been brainwashed into believing Ascent is good and just; they do not give it a second thought and celebrate the life of the Ascende...

5/5 stars. What if the first alien contact species that humanity meets is a sentient floating mountain? That is the basic premise for this story, but it also so much more. This novel is a science fiction space opera in the vein of The Expanse, with found family and a small cast of close-knit friends and fellow shipmates. It is a military sci-fi adventure like some of David Weber’s best writing. This story at times reminded me of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Alien Clay or Shroud, where the alien life on the planet might be what kills our heroes. This novel also has elements of cosmic horror that profoundly affects the reader’s view of what first contact might eventually lead to. With all that being said, this novel releases on September 8, 2026, in the USA and should be read by all fans of science fiction, especially if you enjoy any of the elements that I previously mentioned. Nix has authored a wonderful story of friendship, camaraderie, and what it means to look out for each other in warti...

4.5/5 stars. Another great installment in the life of Rohan and his compatriots. (There are a few spoilers here if you are not caught up to this point in the series.) This story was one of the more difficult to read for me, as Rohan attempts to learn to use the fighting technique gifted to him by Spiral. Spiral used it to defeat a god in battle. If Rohan can learn to use it, maybe he can defeat the new Hyperion. Berne writes characters in a way that is both consistent and frustrating. I deducted half a point from my rating for my frustrations, but those might not reflect everyone’s experience of this novel. For all of Rohan’s intelligence and powerful abilities, he makes some bad decisions, and Berne relishes the level of conflict that he throws Rohan into. In this story, he has suppressed his powers, has to deal with a young Kaiju on Toth 3, a group of Tolene’ans who want to kill him - in revenge for the deaths of their families in one of Rohan’s most difficult past decisions, gets ...