**spoiler alert** In 2054, the RAGE tournaments are the most watched entertainment in the world. Players plug into the virtual world as teams clash wi**spoiler alert** In 2054, the RAGE tournaments are the most watched entertainment in the world. Players plug into the virtual world as teams clash with other teams to become the best.
Kali Ling, Chinese American master gamer, becomes the first female gamer to captain a team in the championships. When tragedy strikes, Team Defiance needs to adapt to a new member. Kali is feeling pressure from all sorts of directions, and has to overcome all sorts of demons while leading her team through the championship. Their arch-rivals, Team Invictus, seems like an unstoppable force. How are they going to find a way to beat them?
This book combines near future tech with some very believable societal issues (racism and sexism are still things, celebrities have access to everything and drugs are a problem. There's some great humor, as several of the team are hard core wise asses.
I was impressed with the writing, and that several tropes were avoided. The new guy on the team does naturally become a love interest after some tension, but he doesn't so much show her how to do things as support her when asked. It would have been easy to make Team Invictus flat out villains, and maybe make some kind of subplot where they cheat or spy, but none of that happened.
I had a great time listening to this, and the narrator did a great job. I'll get to book two when I can....more
First off, Scalzi is vastly entertaining. I truly have enjoyed everything of his I've read. He also has a wonderful sense of humor, and he lets that pFirst off, Scalzi is vastly entertaining. I truly have enjoyed everything of his I've read. He also has a wonderful sense of humor, and he lets that play a LOT in this book.
Charlie isn't exactly living the ideal life. He's a divorced substitute teacher living in his childhood home (that his other siblings want to sell), with a dream that's not exactly impossible but seems like it's out of reach.
Then, his uncle, who he hasn't seen or spoken to since he was a kid, passes away, and Charlie's life starts getting complicated. There was a LOT more to his uncle's life than a real estate holding company that specialized in parking garages. Charlie gets dragged into a world of unexpected allies, vicious enemies, and surprising relationships.
There are plot twists, great humor, and some really unexpected developments as the story moves forward in ways Charlie (and me, for that matter) didn't see coming. It was a fun read with a very entertaining and satisfying ending. ...more
I read the hardcover. Goodreads is in glitch mode and won't let me pick that one. I have no idea why.
I consider myself a Crichton fan. I read that thI read the hardcover. Goodreads is in glitch mode and won't let me pick that one. I have no idea why.
I consider myself a Crichton fan. I read that this was one of his unfinished works and, no offense to him, his wife who wanted it published, or Richard Preston who finished it, it kind of reads that way. There are some virtually identical sentences that follow each other, some odd editing, and the set up of the group we focus on almost felt like someone building an adventuring party in an RPG. The main villain was almost cartoonishly evil. There's another character that reminded me a lot of Nedry, the computer guy, from Jurassic Park.
The concept was good, some of the ideas within were really cool, and I will say this: don't presume anyone is safe when the deaths start. The unexpected happens. It just overall felt like it needed a bit more polishing.
A group of grad students get an incredible offer: fly from wintry Cambridge, Massachusetts to Hawaii to check out an amazing potential job. Know that bit about "if it sounds too good to be true..." They soon find virtually nothing is how it seems out there. And how does the death of a local PI fit in to all this? ...more
I did this as an audiobook, but that version doesn't seem to be in Goodreads.
Korrina has been trained by her Order to be a navigator of starships forI did this as an audiobook, but that version doesn't seem to be in Goodreads.
Korrina has been trained by her Order to be a navigator of starships for her whole life. They worship the goddess Vermicula (like I said, auiobook, I'm probably going to spell all the names wrong). She knows something is wrong with the order, and remembers a traumatic night when she was young that was not what she's been told it was.
She falls into the hands of a pirate who is also more than she seems, and and begins to learn about a great many things that have been hidden from her. The universe isn't what she thinks, and she learns so many secrets that go back to the creation of the universe. Drastic steps have to be taken and war risked to set things right.
The ending was a big surprise and I didn't see it coming. ...more
The Firebird trilogy concludes here. Marguerite is a prefect traveler, able to move between worlds and not lose herself in her alternat selves' consciThe Firebird trilogy concludes here. Marguerite is a prefect traveler, able to move between worlds and not lose herself in her alternat selves' consciousness. What started off as a scientific experiment and the wonder of different worlds has turned into horror as she has learned that an different version of herself is part of a vast conspiracy set on destroying whole universes. Marguerite has to overcome some of her own fears and doubts, a complicated romantic relationship with Paul, and different versions of her family in different worlds.
An unlikely alliance forms to oppose the evil (there really isn't another word for what they do) machinations of an opposing force with a grim goal in mind. It's an interesting take on the multiverse concept, and I enjoyed the story. ...more
A new chapter in Star Trek history begins here. This is a very well written story that links the Borg, an old, lost Earth colony ship, and the after-eA new chapter in Star Trek history begins here. This is a very well written story that links the Borg, an old, lost Earth colony ship, and the after-effects of the Dominion War. There's too much going on for any one crew to handle, so the threat is being addressed by Piccard's Enterprise, Riker's Titan, and Dax's Aventine. It's the first book in a trilogy, and sets the story moving nicely.
David Mack is a great Star Trek writer, giving a good feel for that universe and the characters therein. This is the start of something really big. ...more
I definitely enjoy Becky Chambers writing, although I'm not sure this book is part of the series. It seems to be off on its own to me. That said, thisI definitely enjoy Becky Chambers writing, although I'm not sure this book is part of the series. It seems to be off on its own to me. That said, this was a really good story.
Gora isn't much of a planet. Barely an atmosphere, no water, no native life. But it's conveniently located at a junction between various tunnels that allow for travel between systems, so an industry to care for assorted travelers has sprung up there. The Five-Hop One-Stop is a sort of interplanetary truck stop, whose host, Ouloo really does want to see to her guests' needs, helped (and occasionally hindered) by her adolescent child Tupo (I'm likely spelling these wrong, it was an audiobook).
A freak accident freezes all travel off the planet, temporarily marooning three very different travelers from different races and cultures. What happens is a big getting to know each other story, with the various characters forced to confront their beliefs and how they relate to other races.
It's a little light on plot but more than makes up for that with character development and ideas. I really enjoyed this a lot. A light, hopeful tale of the far-future. ...more
Eve Dallas speaks for the dead, taking whatever case she gets and running it wherever it goes. She has dealt with victims from all over the social speEve Dallas speaks for the dead, taking whatever case she gets and running it wherever it goes. She has dealt with victims from all over the social spectrum, and is fair, but unimpressed, no matter where they're from. She and her team excel at finding killers.
This time around, the death comes to a very rich man in what at first looks like a night of sexual misadventures gone awry. Eve doesn't buy it, and digs in, despite the various roadblocks from the assorted well to do who don't want the police in their business.
It's another good addition to the series. Eve, Roarke, Peabody, and everyone get their screen time and and we see the various developments in their lives. This story also gives us some ore time with Louise and Charles.
More good action, detective work, and Eve's unswerving devotion to the job. It's a series I greatly enjoy, and I always look forward to another instalment. ...more
This is a fun series. There's a major threat, but some great humor worked out. The viewpoint of the story changes between several different charactersThis is a fun series. There's a major threat, but some great humor worked out. The viewpoint of the story changes between several different characters, and Kaufman makes that work really well, which isn't the easiest thing to do.
Aurora Legion Squad 312 have suffered a great loss, been labeled as outlaws and traitors, and are discovering they might be all that stands between the galaxy and a threat that would not end, but change, all intelligent life as it's known. They find a slight bit of help from some mysterious gifts and a hidden message, but that makes things less clear on most fronts.
They have to learn to work together, which gets harder as the squad gets smaller through more losses of various kinds. Can what's left pull together to stave off an ancient and merciless foe?
The book ends on both a major cliffhanger for the larger events in play, and for everyone in the squad individually. I am definitely going to read book three when I get a chance.
Honestly, I wasn't hugely impressed. This is two books collected together, and even granted that they were written in the 1950's, the language and stoHonestly, I wasn't hugely impressed. This is two books collected together, and even granted that they were written in the 1950's, the language and story seem a bit stiff and dated.
Kana Karr signs up to be a mercenary, the only way humans are allowed out into the stars. His unit gets caught up in some bad political maneuvering and has to find a way out of their contract and then back home. In the second book, the Rangers that Karr ends up joining are falling apart with the rest of the Empire. Karr and his comrades have to find a way to keep going, and things get harder after they crash on a mysterious planet that ends up having a surprising secret.
The nameless "Murderbot" from All Systems Red is back for another adventure. It (?) is looking into its own mysterious past. What happened before the The nameless "Murderbot" from All Systems Red is back for another adventure. It (?) is looking into its own mysterious past. What happened before the events in that other book? Why was its memory erased? Did that lead to other problems?
Murderbot goes after answers. Along the way, it finds a new job that it didn't want, a new ally it wasn't looking for, and enemies new and old. There surprises, answers, and more questions as it tries to find out what happened to it on that other mission.
Good sci fi, good world building, and some great twists.
It's a really short book and well worth the quick read. ...more
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