Scan barcode
tilduke's reviews
141 reviews
The Autumn Republic by Brian McClellan
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
While it was still and enjoyable book it felt very much like suddenly the author realised near the end that they were writing a trilogy and rushed to wrap up as many loose ends as possible. I feel many of the plotlines of this book could have taken another book to expand and explore more thoroughly and be written with more suspense.
The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
It generally just felt like the author threw a bunch of scifi concepts at the wall and hoped something would stick. By the end it was just a bunch of concepts scattered around in an attempt to make something that was greater than the sum of its parts; but, ultimately it failed and I didnt care at all about what happened - largely because the characters were extremely flat and left no impression on me and because I didn't care about the characters I didn't care about the impact of the overarching plot. The only character with any personaity was 大史 (Big Shi) who overall had a fairly minor part to play.
I really don't understand the people who have said this changed their world view. Now I've actually read it I'm keen to dive into that deeper.
I was excited to read this as its so well regarded .... but it was just average.
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It generally just felt like the author threw a bunch of scifi concepts at the wall and hoped something would stick. By the end it was just a bunch of concepts scattered around in an attempt to make something that was greater than the sum of its parts; but, ultimately it failed and I didnt care at all about what happened - largely because the characters were extremely flat and left no impression on me and because I didn't care about the characters I didn't care about the impact of the overarching plot. The only character with any personaity was 大史 (Big Shi) who overall had a fairly minor part to play.
I really don't understand the people who have said this changed their world view. Now I've actually read it I'm keen to dive into that deeper.
I was excited to read this as its so well regarded .... but it was just average.
Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
## Ratings
Cover: ⭐⭐⭐
Initial Draw: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐
Pacing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Finish Line Feeling: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
## Review
#### Cover
The cover of These Burning Stars is nice and simple if not a little generic. It doesn't really give you any insight into the story or evoke any particular emotion.
#### Initial Draw
I love sci-fi so any new sci-fi that pops up I am willing to give a go. The main plot reads as:
Jun Ironway, hacker, con artist, and only occasional thief, has got her hands on a piece of contraband that could set her up for life: evidence that implicates the powerful Nightfoot family in a planet-wide genocide seventy-five years ago. The Nightfoots control the precious sevite that fuels interplanetary travel through three star systems. And someone is sure to pay handsomely for anything that could break their hold.
Which sounds intriguing in itself. I work in cyber security so anything in the hacker culture vein gets extra points for me when it comes to picking it off the shelf.
#### Characters
The characters overall I didn't find particularly exciting. Not great but not bad either. I'm a sucker for a strong character driven story but this delivered less in character development and more in political intrigue and cat and mouse.
Esek and Chono were the two supposed "good guys" but it was clear that Esek was being portrayed as unhinged from the start so it really didn't provide much in the way of shock factor the more she did anything and everything in her persuit of justice.
The hacker Jun, Six and associated cast were much more engaging. I'm not sure if the intention was for the reader to engage with them more from the start but that was certainly what kept me interested.
#### Pacing
Pacing was fast and flowing but the jumping around between characters and time periods did break the flow a bit. In general it could do with a more engaging overarching story as a large chunk of the book was just between the hands and six going tit for tat over finding or evading each other.
I did enjoy the pace and constant action though as without it the story could easily have lost me.
#### Finish line feeling
Overall I found this book enjoyable but I don't think it will turn out to be overly memorable. It's an amazing effort for a debut novel and I am really keen to read the remaining books in the trilogy.
My hope is that the world that Bethany has created gets fleshed out more in future series as it seems to have a lot of potential to be explored and expanded upon with other stories. Similar to something like the Scythe book series.
Cover: ⭐⭐⭐
Initial Draw: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐
Pacing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Finish Line Feeling: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
## Review
#### Cover
The cover of These Burning Stars is nice and simple if not a little generic. It doesn't really give you any insight into the story or evoke any particular emotion.
#### Initial Draw
I love sci-fi so any new sci-fi that pops up I am willing to give a go. The main plot reads as:
Jun Ironway, hacker, con artist, and only occasional thief, has got her hands on a piece of contraband that could set her up for life: evidence that implicates the powerful Nightfoot family in a planet-wide genocide seventy-five years ago. The Nightfoots control the precious sevite that fuels interplanetary travel through three star systems. And someone is sure to pay handsomely for anything that could break their hold.
Which sounds intriguing in itself. I work in cyber security so anything in the hacker culture vein gets extra points for me when it comes to picking it off the shelf.
#### Characters
The characters overall I didn't find particularly exciting. Not great but not bad either. I'm a sucker for a strong character driven story but this delivered less in character development and more in political intrigue and cat and mouse.
Esek and Chono were the two supposed "good guys" but it was clear that Esek was being portrayed as unhinged from the start so it really didn't provide much in the way of shock factor the more she did anything and everything in her persuit of justice.
The hacker Jun, Six and associated cast were much more engaging. I'm not sure if the intention was for the reader to engage with them more from the start but that was certainly what kept me interested.
#### Pacing
Pacing was fast and flowing but the jumping around between characters and time periods did break the flow a bit. In general it could do with a more engaging overarching story as a large chunk of the book was just between the hands and six going tit for tat over finding or evading each other.
I did enjoy the pace and constant action though as without it the story could easily have lost me.
#### Finish line feeling
Overall I found this book enjoyable but I don't think it will turn out to be overly memorable. It's an amazing effort for a debut novel and I am really keen to read the remaining books in the trilogy.
My hope is that the world that Bethany has created gets fleshed out more in future series as it seems to have a lot of potential to be explored and expanded upon with other stories. Similar to something like the Scythe book series.
The Digital Aesthete: Human Musings on the Intersection of Art and AI by Alex Shvartsman
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Received this as an eARC on netgalley
Overall it's a masterclass by some of the current greats of SciFi in how to write speculative fiction. Some of these short stories were 5/5 blackmirror-esq masterpieces articulating a bleak but realistic picture of where the current AI obsession is taking us. There are a couple of the stories though they completely lost me on what they are trying to convey and didn't have nearly the witty point of the majority of the stories bringing this down to an overall 4.5.
I'd recommend this as a read for anyone into sci-fi, speculative fiction or who works on or with AI.
Overall it's a masterclass by some of the current greats of SciFi in how to write speculative fiction. Some of these short stories were 5/5 blackmirror-esq masterpieces articulating a bleak but realistic picture of where the current AI obsession is taking us. There are a couple of the stories though they completely lost me on what they are trying to convey and didn't have nearly the witty point of the majority of the stories bringing this down to an overall 4.5.
I'd recommend this as a read for anyone into sci-fi, speculative fiction or who works on or with AI.
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A Sword of Bronze and Ashes by Anna Smith Spark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I received this as an eARC from Netgalley.
I really struggled with this book. The concept sounds fantastic. I have been getting into grimdark lately, having discovered it later than I should have. This grimdark with Celtic elements should have been right up my alley; but, ultimately it wasn't and I was pretty bored and keen for it to end.
I realised it was going to be a slog when at 30% in we are still going back and forth between the main character and her children on the run from an unspeakable evil. Even after spending that first third of the book doing nothing but building the characters (the plot certainly wasn't progressing) I found I didn't care about any of them and ultimately didn't care what happened.
Overall I think the concept is great but it wasn't for me. If you want something that focuses on what older parents with a young family on the run is like then this might be for you. If your idea of a good grimdark is more like first law then this is not going to scratch your itch.
I really struggled with this book. The concept sounds fantastic. I have been getting into grimdark lately, having discovered it later than I should have. This grimdark with Celtic elements should have been right up my alley; but, ultimately it wasn't and I was pretty bored and keen for it to end.
I realised it was going to be a slog when at 30% in we are still going back and forth between the main character and her children on the run from an unspeakable evil. Even after spending that first third of the book doing nothing but building the characters (the plot certainly wasn't progressing) I found I didn't care about any of them and ultimately didn't care what happened.
Overall I think the concept is great but it wasn't for me. If you want something that focuses on what older parents with a young family on the run is like then this might be for you. If your idea of a good grimdark is more like first law then this is not going to scratch your itch.
Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A strong finish to the trilogy that I didn't find as engaging as the first two books but I loved all the same.
Abercrombie still showed his mastery of character development and wrapped the various story lines up well.
<Spoiler>Some twists I saw coming but others like the first magi being in control of the bankers I did not
Overall - amazing. I can't wait to read the other books in the universe.
Abercrombie still showed his mastery of character development and wrapped the various story lines up well.
<Spoiler>Some twists I saw coming but others like the first magi being in control of the bankers I did not
Overall - amazing. I can't wait to read the other books in the universe.