Book #93 of 2024: Yendi by Steven Brust (Vlad Taltos #2) Published in 1984, this second Vlad Taltos novel is a prequel that’s lighter on the worldbuilding lore, taking us back to earlier in that assassin / crime boss’s career when the antihero was running a smaller territory and hadn’t yet married. In fact, he …
Tag Archives: reread
Book Review: Jhereg by Steven Brust
Book #82 of 2024: Jhereg by Steven Brust (Vlad Taltos #1) Pretty decent for an authorial debut, though it’s heavier on infodumping exposition than it needs to be, especially with the protagonist repeatedly learning something that he probably should have already known as a denizen of this particular fantasy world. (On the other hand, the …
Book Review: Alien Scream by Chris Archer
Book #75 of 2024: Alien Scream by Chris Archer (Mindwarp #3) Easily the best entry so far in my reread of this 90s middle-grade sci-fi series. The formula is pretty firmly established by this point — a kid in the small Wisconsin town turns 13, develops strange powers, and winds up getting attacked by a …
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Book Review: The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard
Book #72 of 2024: The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard (Lays of the Hearth-Fire #1) This is currently my very favorite book, which I’ve now read twice in as many years. What follows is an updated version of my original review: The Hands of the Emperor is a wonderful warm hug of a …
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Book Review: Book of Doom by John Peel
Book #64 of 2024: Book of Doom by John Peel (Diadem: Worlds of Magic #10) This is the last of the second wave of author John Peel’s Diadem novels, the four published from 2005 to 2006 under Llewellyn (following the original six volumes put out by Scholastic from 1997 to 1998). It also functions as …
Book Review: Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
Book #62 of 2024: Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson [Disclaimer: I am Facebook friends with this author.] I should admit upfront that I didn’t care much for this novel upon its initial release back in 2009. But I’ve heard so many people praise it over the years (and I’m such a big fan of author Brandon …
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Book Review: Alien Blood by Chris Archer
Book #59 of 2024: Alien Blood by Chris Archer (Mindwarp #2) This sequel is an improvement over the first book, but I’m still not yet loving the middle-grade 90s Mindwarp series on this adult reread. We’ve switched protagonists, and the new girl’s plot plays out along similar lines to the boy’s from the novel before: …
Book Review: Book of Reality by John Peel
Book #57 of 2024: Book of Reality by John Peel (Diadem: Worlds of Magic #9) It’s finally Pixel’s turn to revisit his original homeworld, and just like Score in Book #5 and Helaine in Book #7, the protagonist’s reentry into the wreckage of his previous life offers certain immediate stakes and pre-existing relationships to help …
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Book Review: Book of Oceans by John Peel
Book #51 of 2024: Book of Oceans by John Peel (Diadem: Worlds of Magic #8) Unfortunately the weakest Diadem title yet. This next sequel finds Pixel’s new girlfriend Jenna still squabbling with Helaine, despite six months having passed since they left their homeworld’s rigid class system behind them at the end of the previous volume. …
Book Review: The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson
Book #47 of 2024: The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson [Disclaimer: I am Facebook friends with this author.] I’ve read most of author Brandon Sanderson’s published writing, and this Hugo Award-winning fantasy novella from 2012 remains my absolute favorite, a title I’ve returned to and reread on multiple occasions (both as a standalone feature and …
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