Science Fiction Books - Page 8

Small Favor (The Dresden Files, Book 10)

Jim Butcher

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 127 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

I miss Lash 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Jim is at it again. Butcher has two issue that keep the stories from being Masterful IMO. First is that he has too much going on all at once. There is almost never just one bad guy normal three or four coming from different angles. He is amazing in that the story does not end up with a lot of confusing. The second is that he writes every book for the mass audience. Where this is great for his publisher, hearing the recap gets a bit old for some of us when we hit book 10. I'd like to see him put a Dresdin companion in every book telling the story to date and explaining how spell circles work... Either way though i'm hooked and am going to keep reading.

joe

Small Favors 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Totally disappointed at the way this book was recorded.
If it was not for the voice of James Marsters, I would return it and not buy another one recorded under your label.
The previous 4 Dresden books were recorded under Buzzy Multimedia,came each book in one CD. Total 4 CD'S.
Yours, one book in 6 CD!!! Some, as I'm listening now, skip words, come scratchy as if they have been used (heavily) before.
I hope that the quality will improve in the following books.
Ana Reber

Editorial Review:

Unabridged CDs • 9 CDs, 11 hours

The new novel in the New York Times–bestselling Dresden Files series.

A War of Gifts: An Ender Story (Ender)

Orson Scott Card

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 42 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

There are better alternatives out there 1 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I've read a lot of Orson Scott Card's books, and have always found myself coming away from them a little frustrated. The ideas always seem to be interesting, but end up getting lost in mediocre storytelling. Card dwells on the same unique ideas so persistently, going back to the same well so often, that by the end of the book what I had originally found unique now just seems hackneyed. And now that I've found out Card is so outspoken politically with such (literally) fascist and discriminatory views, I don't even want his books in my house. I've sold them online and donated the money to a worthy charity.

If you find Card's story ideas at all interesting, I'd suggest the following authors for a more satisfying storytelling experience:

Neil Gaiman. Gaiman has the same unique flavor to his ideas, but he also has the execution to deliver an incredible story as well. His work is more on the fantasy side, like Card's Alvin Maker series. The only problem is that Gaiman writes so few books that I find myself becoming incredibly impatient waiting for his next story to come out.

Stephen Baxter and Isaac Asimov. Asimov's works can sometimes be a little less accessible then Card's, but Baxter's are not; they are just as easy a read. Both men are visionaries scientifically, and tell gripping, page turning stories. Both are sci-fi based, like Card's Ender Series.

Stephen King. Most people groan when I say how much I love King's writing, but universally I come to find out that those people have never read his Dark Tower series, just his horror. The seven books that comprise the Dark Tower story, widely considered King's Magnum Opus, are a truly unique blend of equal parts fantasy, sci-fi, and western. Note these are not in any way like King's horror writings, though once you've read the Dark Tower you'll see characters from it turn up in ancillary roles in many of his other books. The Dark Tower, like the Alvin series, is set is a world that is kind of our world, kind of not. The Dark Tower series is hands-down the best series I've ever read. Period.

I hope this helps some readers find some great stories they may have otherwise not found. Happy reading!

Editorial Review:

Orson Scott Card offers a Christmas gift to his millions of fans with this short novel set during Ender's first years at the Battle School where it is forbidden to celebrate religious holidays.  The children come from many nations, many religions; while they are being trained for war, religious conflict between them is not on the curriculum. But Dink Meeker, one of the older students, doesn't see it that way. He thinks that giving gifts isn't exactly a religious observation, and on Sinterklaas Day he tucks a present into another student's shoe.

This small act of rebellion sets off a battle royal between the students and the staff, but some surprising alliances form when Ender comes up against a new student, Zeck Morgan. The War over Santa Claus will force everyone to make a choice.

Rule of Two (Star Wars: Darth Bane, Book 2)

Drew Karpyshyn

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 55 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In the New York Times bestseller Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, Drew Karpyshyn painted a gripping portrait of a young man’s journey from innocence to evil. That man was Darth Bane, a twisted genius whose iron will, fierce ambition, and strength in the dark side of the Force made him a natural leader among the Sith–until his radical embrace of an all-but-forgotten wisdom drove him to destroy his own order . . . and create it anew from the ashes. As the last surviving Sith, Darth Bane promulgated a harsh new directive: the Rule of Two.

Two there should be; no more, no less.
One to embody the power, the other to crave it.

Now Darth Bane is ready to put his policy into action, and he thinks he has found the key element that will make his triumph complete: a student to train in the ways of the dark side. Though she is young, Zannah possesses an instinctive link to the dark side that rivals his own. With his guidance, she will become essential in his quest to destroy the Jedi and dominate the galaxy.

But there is one who is determined to stop Darth Bane: Johun Othone, Padawan to Jedi Master Lord Hoth, who died at Bane’s hands in the last great Sith War. Though the rest of the Jedi scoff at him, Joshua’s belief that there are surviving Sith on the loose is unshakeable.

As Johun continues his dogged pursuit of the man who killed his master, Zannah, faced unexpectedly with a figure from her past, begins to question her embrace of the dark side. And Darth Bane is led by Force-induced visions to a moon where he will acquire astonishing new knowledge and power–power that will alter him in ways he could never have imagined. . . .


From the Hardcover edition.

Neverwhere

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 579 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Don't buy audio version 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The primary aim of an audio recording is to be clear and understandable and Neil Gaiman's recording of Neverwhere is neither. The author has the annoying habit of dropping his voice on the last few words of each sentence, making them unintelligible. The only option is to turn up the volume, thus risking hearing damage as the first part of each sentence is now very loud. On certain sections, he adds special effects (echos, static) which make those sections completely unintelligible. This may be a great book, but I will never know as I gave up in frustration after about 1 hour.

Editorial Review:

Richard Mayhew is a young man with a good heart and an ordinary life, which is changed forever when he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk. His small act of kindness propels him into a world he never dreamed existed. There are people who fall through the cracks, and Richard has become one of them. And he must learn to survive in this city of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels, if he is ever to return to the London that he knew.

"A fantastic story that is both the stuff of dreams and nightmares" (San Diego Union-Tribune), Neil Gaiman's first solo novel has become a touchstone of urban fantasy, and a perennial favorite of readers everywhere.

Dauntless (The Lost Fleet, Book 1)

Jack Campbell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 105 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Clean and Absorbing! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Whenever I try a new series, especially in sci-fi, I am always a little nervous about the content. I love sci-fi, but sometimes the books just aren't what you'd expect. I am pleased to say that this book was clean enough to be read by teenagers but still written in a way that could appeal to adults.

This book reminds me a bit of the success of the Law and Order and CSI TV shows that could draw in a viewer but kept some normalcy by admitting that cops, forensic experts, and prosecutors don't normally spend all of his or her free time drinking and sleeping around. The portrayal of a hero who doesn't fit in to his society and sometimes not in with his fleet and the explanation of his real thoughts and insecurities, makes Captain Jack Black Geary seem like a real human hero instead of a James Bond Hollywood fantasy. If you enjoy reading sci-fi that makes you think about how you and people you know would handle things, then I would highly recommend this book!

Editorial Review:

The Alliance has been fighting the Syndic for a century-and losing badly. Now its fleet is crippled and stranded in enemy territory. Their only hope is Captain John "Black Jack" Geary-a man who's emerged from a century-long hibernation to find he has been heroically idealized beyond belief. Now, he must live up to his own legend.

The Killer Angels

Michael Shaara

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Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> Civil War -> Campaigns -> Gettysburg
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Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> War

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 517 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Beautifully written and a joy to read 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

One of two books read in my entire lifetime that I consider a masterpiece.

This book's language is sweet, smooth-flowing, stunning in its simplicity and focus. The Battle of Gettysburg is well documented and has been written about since July 4, 1863..... but to someone unversed in warfare and battlefields, it brought home the bravery, certainty and uncertainty, fear, foolishness, conflicts, nobility, and humanity of the men struggling to survive the 3 days in Pennsylvania that turned the tide of the war.

I loved the structure of the novel - alternating chapters among the key figures of the war - Lee, Chamberlain, Longstreet, Buford, Armistead, The Spy, Freemantle. I appreciated the maps, the brief biographical notes at the beginning of the novel and the afterward describing the principal characters lives after the war.

I want to learn more about Longstreet and Chamberlain particularly and want to see Gettysburg.

I'm not sure I could have appreciated this book at any earlier time in my life so am grateful that I've read it now.

Editorial Review:

"My favorite historical novel...A superb re-creation of the Battle of Gettysburg, but its real importance is its insight into what the war was about, and what it meant."
JAMES M. McPHERSON
Author of BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM
Winner of the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for fiction
In the four most bloody and courageous days of our nation's history, two armies fought for two dreams. One dreamed of freedom, the other of a way of life. Far more than rifles and bullets were carried into battle. There were memories. There were promises. There was love. And far more than men fell on those Pennsylvania fields. Shattered futures, forgotten innocence, and crippled beauty were also the casualties of war. Unique, sweeping, an unforgettable, THE KILLER ANGELS is a dramatic re-creation of the battleground for America's destiny.

The Last Colony

John Scalzi

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 66 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Not as good as Old Man's War or Ghost Brigades 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Not too bad to read on a plane - which is where I read it - but definitely not as good a read as the two Scalzi books that preceded it. Too much talking, not enough action, and a less compelling story line.

The Last Colony 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

A good story. Guy just can't write them fast enough. Rushed the ending a little bit but overall a good job. Makes you hope this is not the end of the story.

Plots and hazards on a New Colony 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

John Perry, the main character of the excellent _Old Man's War_, which kicks off this trilogy, has left the Colonial Defense Forces and is a colonial administrator (ombudsman) on a quiet farming colony with his wife, Jane Sagan (formerly of the Special Forces), and their adopted 13 year old daughter Zoe. General Rybicki, a man from Perry's past, arrives with a proposal that he and Jane lead a new colony that is being planned. After eight years of peaceful predictability, he's ready for a change.

Unfortunately, the new colony of Roanoke lives up to its namesake. Things go bizarrely wrong from the start, with hidden conditions and plans imposed on them by the Colonial Union. Hints about the way the Colonial Union controls information and has too much power over all of humanity point to problems that come to fruition in this book. Intrigues and plots have placed John in the position of both fall-guy and possibly the only savior in a situation that could lead down the road to the failure of mankind in space.

This book covers, briefly, life on an established colony, the planning and politics involved in a the colonization of a new world and the dangers from enemies in space (and betrayal by their own government) and natural hazards on the ground. Then there are the tricky decisions and maneuvers in order to deal with the huge threat to the entire Colonial Union.

These books can be read as stand-alones even though they have common characters, but why not start at the beginning, since they are all excellent books full of adventure and suspense? This is a universe with exciting tales that one wish would never end.

Editorial Review:

Retired from his fighting days, John Perry is now village ombudsman for a human colony on distant Huckleberry. With his wife, former Special Forces warrior Jane Sagan, he farms several acres, adjudicates local disputes, and enjoys watching his adopted daughter grow up.

That is, until his and Jane's past reaches out to bring them back into the game — as leaders of a new human colony, to be peopled by settlers from all the major human worlds, for a deep political purpose that will put Perry and Sagan back in the thick of interstellar politics, betrayal, and war.

The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Eleanor Atwood

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 560 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

I wasn't expecting this!!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book was written very well. I had the creeps while I was reading it. It reminded me of the movie "Children of Men" and the book "The Giver". The entire time I was reading this book, I kept thinking of a certain female vice presidential candidate. I am afraid that she would love the form of government that is described. This is a short read. Give it a whirl.

A little too obvious. 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Considered a modern Classic, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood had been on my must read list for some time now. I checked it out once before from the library and never got past the first couple of pages before I had to return it. I probably should have left it at that, because I'd rather be wishing I read it, then feeling the keen sense of disappointment like I do now.

The story is narrated by Offred- not her real name; which I'll get to later- in the first person. Technically I don't mind first person. There are quite a number of books I've truly enjoyed from that POV. However, for this book, it didn't work for me. Even though it was written from the most intimate of narratives, I still felt like I was watching from afar. None of Offred's true feelings came through to me, which frustrated me completely, because this story demands that we connect with the character.

Here's the lowdown;

The story is set in the not too distant future where a totalitarian state is in control and the women are treated shamefully- right down to forcing the women to wear oppressive clothing.

Something has occurred- which is never quite clear to me- where the nation's birth rate is nil and many women are unable to have children. (The author hints at a nuclear war but she also hints at the low birth rate trend.) Of course, the men in control blame it on the women and not their own sterile likelihood and have set up a system to alleviate the problem.

Enter The Handmaids. They are women who have been ripped from their families- families from 2nd marriages after divorces and "living together" unions- neither of which are valid in the new States' laws.

These women have given birth to children in the past and are therefore considered an effective tool to alleviate the world "problem". They are reprogrammed and subjugated into becoming the "handmaid" for leaders who are unable to begat children on their wives- much like what happened in Biblical Old Testament times when women were barren.

The new names for The Handmaid's are given to them at the time of their programming and they are a connected to the Commanders they will eventually be given too- names such as Of-glen, Of-warren, and for this narrative, Of-fred.

The premise of the book fell apart for me because it was a little too obvious and preachy, and, to make things worse, I couldn't follow Atwood's style of writing. It also seemed scattered and disjointed- which I believe is why I couldn't connect with Offred.

As scary dystopian fiction, this book's as good as any- it's a frightening world Atwood conjures up. However, I'm giving this one 2 out of 5 because it fell flat and failed to hold my interest- I ended up skimming two chapters towards the end!

Editorial Review:

Offers offred only one function: to breed. If she deviates, she will, like dissenters, be hanged at the wall or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness. But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire - neither Offred's nor that of the two men on which her future hangs.

Star Trek: Destiny: Mere Mortals (Star Trek)

David Mack

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

2nd Installment in the Destiny Trilogy 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Picking up where Gods of Night left off, Captain Riker and the Titan have stumbled upon the Caeliar and are now trapped as another captain and crew was. Meanwhile, Captain Picard and Captain Dax have joined forces to investigate the area that the Borg may be using to enter the Alpha Quadrant. And back on Earth, President Bacco must convince every neighboring empire and alliance to help defend the quadrant against the Borg invasion.

Time is running out for the crew of the Titan, and not just in their fight against the Borg. Deanna's pregnancy is becoming more detrimental to her health. But she doesn't want help from the Caeliar even though they are far more advanced technologically. This part of the story bothers me a bit. Obviously, she's distraught and wanting to keep her baby at all costs. But wouldn't you check to see if the Caeliar had the technology to help heal her and keep the baby? I know she doesn't trust them. But if she's truly as desperate to keep her baby (as most women would be), you'd think she'd be willing to try anything. As a female reviewer, I obviously got hung up on this subplot and found myself siding with Troi from the beginning.

Captain Hernandez has gone through a lot of changes, mentally and physically. Her character has the most depth in this story, as the central storyline revolves mostly around her. She's intriguing and easy to sympathize with. I'm looking forward to seeing where the author takes her next.

And, of course, on the frontlines of the invasion, the Borg are proving to be near impossible to combat. As the situation grows worse, tensions and suspense run high. And Mere Mortals ends on a major cliffhanger that left me on the edge of my seat. I'm eagerly awaiting the conclusion - Lost Souls, set to release in late November. Again, Star Trek fans, don't miss this crossover trilogy!

Editorial Review:

On Earth, Federation President Nanietta Bacco gathers allies and adversaries to form a desperate last line of defense against an impending Borg invasion. In deep space, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Captain Ezri Dax join together to cut off the Collective's route to the Alpha Quadrant.

Half a galaxy away, Captain William Riker and the crew of the Starship Titan have made contact with the reclusive Caeliar -- survivors of a stellar cataclysm that, two hundred years ago, drove fissures through the structure of space and time, creating a loop of inevitability and consigning another captain and crew to a purgatory from which they could never escape.

Now the supremely advanced Caeliar will brook no further intrusion upon their isolation, or against the sanctity of their Great Work....For the small, finite lives of mere mortals carry little weight in the calculations of gods.

But even gods may come to understand that they underestimate humans at their peril.

The Darkest Kiss (Lords of the Underworld, Book 2)

Gena Showalter

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 62 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Uh, WoW! What a sequel... 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

When I first read Showalter's Darkest Night, I really enjoyed this new take on paranormal romance. I've mostly been reading vampire romances so... I quite enjoy Greek mythology so I welcomed a story involving old myths with new. And to add hot romances to them, well... makes for a great Girl's Night IN. So I didn't hesitate buying Darkest Kiss, but what I didn't expect was a saucy leading lady paired w/ an unlikely withdrawn man. A combo that turned into a heated page turner for me! I try going in without expectations so books like these can give me awesome surprises. I can't wait to read more about these Men & their follies, the Lords of the Underworld. Bring em on...

Editorial Review:

She has tempted many men… but never found her equal.

Until now.

Though she has lived for centuries, Anya, goddess of anarchy, has never known pleasure. Until Lucien, the incarnation of death—a warrior eternally doomed to take souls to the hereafter. He draws her like no other. And Anya will risk anything to have him.

But when the merciless Lord of the Underworld is ordered by the gods to claim Anya herself, their uncontrollable attraction becomes an anguished pursuit. Now they must defeat the unconquerable forces that control them, before their thirst for one another demands a sacrifice of love beyond imagining.…