The Last Colony by John Scalzi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
2012 January
At the end of the book Scalzi says he isn't going to write any more about these characters. So even though I'm midway in Zoe's Tale, I'm having a sad. It's smart science fiction, interesting characters, intriguing problems with colonization, and Sagan and Perry are so good at working things through. I would happily read many more stories about them. Great scifi, and, for those of us who enjoy twists, plenty of them. Really, Old Man's War is an unusually strong series. There must be flaws, but I can't find any.
Personal copy
1 September 2014
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Sunday, January 26, 2025
Review: The Last Colony
Friday, January 24, 2025
Review: The Sagan Diary
The Sagan Diary by John Scalzi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
September 1, 2014
I hadn't read this one before; it really gives a different view of Jane Sagan. And also, it adds to the series in a way that interstitial stories don't always. Too emotional a read, though, for me to love it completely.
Personal copy
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Thursday, January 23, 2025
Review: Questions for a Soldier
Questions for a Soldier by John Scalzi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
2012 May 15
Having just come off a very thick and marvelous novel, I felt like something short and light. I love Scalzi. Even in this little throwaway story he manages to make some very earnest points.
personal copy
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Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Review: Questions for a Soldier
Questions for a Soldier by John Scalzi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
2012 May 15
Having just come off a very thick and marvelous novel, I felt like something short and light. I love Scalzi. Even in this little throwaway story he manages to make some very earnest points.
personal copy
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Review: The Ghost Brigades
The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
2012 January 27
Scalzi incorporates some of the finest aspects of golden age scifi with a 21st century mindset. That makes his books not just guilt-free, but actually good for you. There's all the making-of-a-perfect-soldier, the training, the tactics, the interesting weapons, and interesting enemies, but that's not all. Because his protagonists are thinking, questioning, and looking for the best solution. Not just tactically in battle (although that's present and well-conceived), but big picture. People here are also trying to solve the really big issues facing all the intelligent space-going races. I was enjoying it so much that half way through I stopped to download the next book, The Last Colony to the kindle, so that I wouldn't have any delays in carrying on the saga.
Library copy.
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Review: Old Man's War
Old Man's War by John Scalzi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
2012 April 1
Scalzi takes a cue from Heinlein Robert a., respectfully acknowledged, and speculates on colonization and the military. Giant bugs are fought, among other species. He's got an interesting premise: experience is of value, even if old bodies are not, so all the soldiers are 75 or older, with physical enhancements. It's a strong idea and well explored and John Perry has just enough smartass to him to keep the story from becoming too grim.
But that's not why I love it. I love it because it is written by a warm, caring humanist. Some characters are really annoying, others are dangerous, but most people have depth. The cast is diverse with no obvious segregation by gender or race or background, and no one is cookie-cutter evil, even the opposite sides in all these battles. Scalzi is rapidly becoming one of my very favorite authors; I'm sure I'll gobble up the rest of this series right quick.
Library copy.
[I know I've loved everything the past couple of weeks. I've got no objectivity. Maybe everything really is fabulous, or maybe I'm just in a good mood]
***
2014 August 30
Since I was going to see him read Friday night, I decide to re-read, until I got my copy of Lock In. Then I got totally sucked in and had to read the whole Old Man's War series in internal order, back-to-back, up through Zoe's Tale. I know, I loved it before, but it's even better all together.
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Review: Thelonius Monster's Sky-High Fly-Pie
Thelonius Monster's Sky-High Fly-Pie by Judy Sierra
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A nice riff on the swallowed-a-fly theme. And such cute monsters.
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Monday, January 20, 2025
Review: The Sea of Monsters
The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I checked this out of the library a while ago, and never got around to it. Well, since then the Possum has finished The Lightening thief, and picked up this one at the store yesterday. So convenient, having it to hand.
***
It's not bad, but it suffers from comparison to The Siren Song. Mostly, I just don't like Percy as much as I like Charlotte.
***
Percy improves somewhat, but he still seems like a jerk to me. I think I'll just watch the movies.
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Review: Passage
Passage by Connie Willis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Passage - Connie Willis
1/1/1996
6/26/2000
09/26/2016
Four days ago I wrote a really touching and lengthy review of this book, all about how Willis makes me cry, but it feels earned, and how she is brilliant at portraying a busy work day, and the way some part of the hospital is always closed off, and some part is always being worked on, and how getting there from here is always impossible. And not one, but two different places failed to save it. So now I just can't even, I'm so vexed.
Library copy because I can't find my personal copy
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Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Review: Julia's House for Lost Creatures
Julia's House for Lost Creatures by Ben Hatke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I liked the book so much that as soon as I finished reading it I went back and read it again, and took more time to examine all the art, which is rewarding in that Hatke includes images from his other books. And since I’ve loved every one of this books….But this one got me to thinking. Julia lives in an adorable Queen Anne with a big front porch, and a fireplace, and built-in bookshelves and a big overstuffed comfy chair. It’s an immediately charming house, the big comfy chair by the fireplace is something that most people would love to have. So why is it no one builds houses like this? And why isn’t anyone selling chairs like this?
Library copy
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Sunday, January 12, 2025
Tuesday, January 07, 2025
Thursday, January 02, 2025
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