Res > Recent Status Updates

I just noticed how Murderbot expresses risk assessment basically in insurance language. Will that ship be armed? Probably - for a journey like this, the bond they'd be required.to buy would be more affordable if they were armed.

I dropped this about a third of the way in, not because the quality standard was any worse than a typical short story collection - in fact it was shaping up to be a bit better - but because the motif of female rage and pain is not something I can handle in summer 2022.

Weird reading a profic like this. It has so many of the virtues of good fanfic, but no ratings, no warnings, everything comes as a surprise.

Almost dropped it before I started - it tripped my torture squick in the prologue, and I said, "OK, book, you've got ten pages to persuade me to keep reading." And it did, mainly because I've never met two characters who need an ally as badly as these two guys do, and I'm thinking it will be very satisfying to see them get one.

My physical therapist recommended this as we work on an old injury

Bought this because I had to force the spouse to read "Mister Costello, Hero" because it's so damned relevant. Guess I might as well read the rest.

Holy crap, I checked this out based solely on the author's name without knowing anything about it, and it's so directly targeted at all my interests that I'm already concerned about my ability to put it down and sleep.

There are two introductions. Both of them are the kind of introduction that gives a brief summary of each story. Why.

Reading the 2019 update. I do training at work, but only of humans.

I just struggled through The Scarlet Letter. I deserve a comfort reread.

I never noticed, back in eighth grade, how much the beginning is like Lord of the Rings.

I've read "Air Valve Semilunar Astern" twice and consulted half a dozen anagram solvers and I still don't understand what's going on.

Oh, my. A Brief History of Montmaray is either *very* derivative or an intentional homage.

Really? The editor called for entries to a book about paradigm change and could only find two stories by women?

Started reading a fanfic story, dropped it in the middle to go read the source material.

Oh, Rowan, no! Not again!

"He came in slowly, like somebody else's cat."

I had a real struggle with Page 1. In a fantasy novel, when you say that the carpet "liked to" retain past smells, you may actually be implying a sentient and self-willed carpet! (It got better almost immediately.)

Military SF isn't generally my kind of thing, but this was Tor's ebook of the month, and I have to admit it's an old-fashioned rip-roarin' yarn so far.

This book was published in 2010. There is no damned excuse for it to keep referring to the human race as "man."

This book is excellent -- simultaneously well-researched and deeply felt -- but more than that, it's incredibly important. I want to send a copy to every doctor, every lawmaker, every adult child with living parents, and every parent. Parts of it struck so close to home that they were emotionally difficult to read, but it was worth it.

Must be rough to have a dust allergy in Coldtown. Everybody is far too cool to clean.

Gripping! For anyone who, like me, was a bit put off by the characterization of Triss in the beginning -- it's on purpose and it's worth sticking with.

This is some mighty fine Jonathan Strange fanfic, but the author could have done a better job of filing the serial numbers off.

Strangely common element in gritty books of all kinds: the hero is so exhausted on Page 1 that he can barely stand up ... and yet he keeps going ... and going ...

At this point I'm only reading to find out whether the author knows Rob is a class-A jerk, or whether I'm supposed to love the guy as much as he loves himself.

Loving this! One of the things I love about fantasy is descriptions of worlds thoroughly unlike ours, and every now and then a history book hits the same target.

Not sure I would have taken this on if I'd understood that it was steampunk. On the other hand, the first chapter was a masterpiece of shoehorning characterization and exposition into a scene without anyone gazing into mirrors and musing.

Kelly Link's "The Wrong Grave" isn't scary, but it is excellent.