Below you will find pages that mention the tag “review”

Review First of Their Kind (Chronicles of Theren Book 1)

I just finished reading First of Their Kind (Chronicles of Theren Book 1) by C. D. Tavenor.📚 Theren is an synthetic intelligence. At the beginning of the book, a research team creates him. But the world is not ready for intelligence next to themself. Can they achieve acceptance? Opinion Please note that from here on out, the text can contain spoilers of the book. I quite liked the setup of the book and the story.

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/review /ai /chronicles-of-theren /book-1

Review 100 Days of Sunlight

I just finished reading 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons.📚 Tessa is 16 years old when she is involved in a car accident leading to a loss of sight. Without sight, she cannot follow her blogging hobby anymore and, on top of it, needs to cope with the new situation. Her grandparents introduce her to Weston, a teenage boy. He should help her with writing. In the first moment, everything sounds typical about this boy.

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/review /love-story /personal-growth

Review of Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, Book 3)

I just finished reading Oathbringer: Book Three of the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson.📚 The desolation has started. Humankind is under attack and can only survive if united. In this book, we follow Dalinar Kholin in his attempts at uniting the Kingdoms of Roshar. Kaladin is on a journey to find his parents. Are they still alive, and what situation will he finds in his hometown. Shallan Davar is still learning how to cope with herself and is uncovering mysteries in the tower city of Urithiru, where the human forces have found refuge.

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/review /the-stormlight-archive /book-3

Review of Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, Book 2)

I just finished reading Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, Book 2) by Brandon Sanderson.📚 In the Stormlight Archive’s second issue, we follow Kaladin and his bridge four crew, now guardsmen for the king. Kaladin is still not clear what he wants from life, but he needs to find an answer and solution to fulfilling all his obligations. Then we have Shallan, who gets further instruction from Jasna and needs to leave her old self behind to solve her task, to find a fabled city.

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/review /the-stormlight-archive /book-2

Review of Will Save the Galaxy for Food

I just finished reading Will Save the Galaxy for Food by Yahtzee Croshaw and EM Gist.📚 In a future where humankind can travel space in seconds, we follow a Star Pilot story hoping to meets ends by chartering short “real” space flights for tourists arriving at the Quantunnel of the Moon city Ritsuko. One day he meets a mysterious woman who hires him for a private tour. Not knowing what he is in for and in desperate need of the paycheck, he takes the gig.

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/review /sci-fi /space-travel /change /adventure

Review of Firstborn Academy: Shadow Reaper

I finished reading Firstborn Academy: Shadow Reaper by Isla Frost.📚 In the series last book, the academy survivors move to the frontlines of the war against the Malus. They are now soldiers and divided into multiple units. Can Nova fulfill the hope vested in here and destroy the Malus for good? Opinion Please note that from here on out, the text can contain spoilers of the book. The final book has two main points, experimenting with Nova’s ability and how to use it against the Malus.

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/review /distopy /war /soldier /battle /the-one /firstborn-academy /book-3

Review of Firstborn Academy: Shadow Witch

I finished reading Firstborn Academy: Shadow Witch by Isla Frost.📚 Having passed the first three months of the academy, the Nova and her friends participate in a special transformation ritual. The ritual enhances the participants' magic ability and, in seldom cases, also creates new and special wildcard powers. What power will Nova receive? And how will the rest of the world react to them? Opinion Please note that from here on out, the text can contain spoilers of the book.

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/review /distopy /magical-school /the-one /firstborn-academy /book-2

Review of Firstborn Academy: Shadow Trials

I just finished reading Firstborn Academy: Shadow Trials by Isla Frost.📚 The world was taken over by magical beings called world walkers. Since then, humankind has a hard time. The main protagonist is called Nova. She is a firstborn human child living in the ruins of Los Angeles. As the firstborn child of the family, she needs to be given up to the walkers as soon as she turns 17. What happens with all these young children?

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/review /distopy /magical-school /human-sacrifice /firstborn-academy /book-1

Review of The Perfect Generation

I finished reading The Perfect Generation by C.P. James.📚 Dr. Brent Geller is one of the best researchers on this planet, and he is on a quest to find a solution against much of the genetic disorders children could afflict. At the same time, a billionaire philanthrope creates a special price for a team that can bring real progress to human health treatment. After winning this prize, the treatment developed by Geller, simply called the Cure, is deployed.

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/review /gene-therapy /research-action /utopia

Review of Power of Pen and Voice: A Spoken Mage Companion Novel (The Spoken Mage Book 5)

I finished reading Power of Pen and Voice: A Spoken Mage Companion Novel (The Spoken Mage Book 5) by Melanie Cellier.📚 Our heroes from the main series celebrate Elena and Lucas’s betrothal when the Sekali empire’s princes burst into the ballroom. She is heavily injured. She and Elena’s brother Jasper were on the journey back to the kingdom when an unknown force ambushed their party. Jasper and the princes are taken hostages but later manage to flee their captors.

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/review /magic /apprenticeship /magic-school /the-spoken-mage /book-5

Review of Crown of Secrets (The Hidden Mage Book 1)

I finished reading Crown of Secrets (The Hidden Mage Book 1) by Melanie Cellier.📚 This spinoff of the “The Spoken Mage” series, following the life of the younger daughter Verene of Elena and Lucas. She was born without any magical ability and struggles with this fact for most of her life. At age 16, she decided to spend her time at the academy in Kallorway instead of her home country. She hopes that she managed to create an alliance with the neighboring country as the crown prince is also attending the academy.

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/review /magic /apprenticeship /magic-school /hidden-mage /book-1

Review of Voice of Life (The Spoken Mage Book 4)

I finished reading Voice of Life (The Spoken Mage Book 4) by Melanie Cellier.📚 In the last issue of the series, the book expands the world quite a bit. After the kingdom got an offer for an alliance with the northern imperium, Elena and Lucas travel north to visit the potential new ally’s capital. Elena is not very happy about this development as it means she loses Lucas shortly after they found one another.

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/review /magic /apprenticeship /magic-school /the-spoken-mage /book-4

Review of Voice of Dominion (The Spoken Mage Book 3)

I lately finished reading Voice of Dominion (The Spoken Mage Book 3) by Melanie Cellier.📚 Elena is the only Spoken Mage so far, and she still needs to learn how to fight against the limitation of her magic. Compared to her class comrades, she needs a lot more energy as she cannot use stored compositions. And therefore cannot prepare her magic before a fight. The war with Kallorway is getting hotter by the day, so the third year is asked to go to the front lines.

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/review /magic /apprenticeship /magic-school /the-spoken-mage /book-3

Review of Voice of Command (The Spoken Mage Book 2)

I finished reading Voice of Command (The Spoken Mage Book 2) by Melanie Cellier.📚 Elena is now in her second year as a mage trainee at Academy’s. She earned respect from her classmates, found a home in the school, and completely unexpected some friends. But now disaster struct in the northern province of the Kingdom. A horrible case of green fever is menacing the people living there. The whole second year travels into the crisis region to be able to observe how to treat illnesses.

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/review /magic /apprenticeship /magic-school /the-spoken-mage /book-2

Review of Voice of Power (The Spoken Mage Book 1)

I recently finished reading Voice of Power (The Spoken Mage Book 1) by Melanie Cellier.📚 The world of our main protagonist is divided into two classes. Mages are allowed to learn reading and writing, whereas this is deemed dangerous for the common-born because writing and reading equal casting magic in this world. Elena is the daughter of two shopkeepers. Her older brother is off in the capital to learn at the university.

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/review /magic /apprenticeship /magic-school /the-spoken-mage /book-1

Review of A Wizard's Guide To Defensive Baking

I finished reading A Wizard’s Guide To Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher.📚 Mona is not a powerful mage like all the wizards working in the army to defend the city. She cannot change the weather or start a fire. But what our main character can do is bake fantastic bread and animated gingerbread men. But when she finds the body of a young girl in the bakery, her whole life is turned upside down.

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/review /hero-safe-the-day /dark /critical-of-authority

Review of To Be Taught, If Fortunate: A Novella

I just finished reading To Be Taught, If Fortunate: A Novella by Becky Chambers.📚 This book tells the story of Ariadne and her three fellow travelers. They are astronauts on a mission to multiple Exoplanets. The mission’s goal is to survey four habitable worlds ecologically and without destroying any local ecosystems. Due to the distance to eath - around fourteen light-years, the task takes multiple years. Each month they receive a news package from the Earth, which is already 14 years out of date.

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/review /space-exploration /space-travel /realistic

Review of Of Noble Family (Glamourist Histories Book 5)

I just finished reading Of Noble Family (Glamourist Histories Book 5) by Mary Robinette Kowal.📚 After the adventures time in Murano, Jane and Vincent spend some time with the Family in Vienna when Vincent receives a letter from his brother informing him that their father has died and asks him to look after the family affairs on the West Indies' properties. He is not happy to need to clean up after his father, but the two decide to take the journey.

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/review /alternate-history /plantation /slave-owning /humanity /glamourist-histories /book-5

Review of A Memory of Light, The Wheel of Time, Book 14

Review of A Memory of Light, The Wheel of Time, Book 14 audiobook 📚. The final book in the story! We stand before the last battle. Every faction is preparing his or her soldiers. War plans are made – and then discarded again. I have forgotten most of what happens in the last battle; I only remembered Egwene’s battle scenes. But this is a bit sad as so much is happening in this book.

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/review /audiobook /wot /book-14

Review of Valour And Vanity: (The Glamourist Histories #4)

I just finished reading Valour And Vanity: (The Glamourist Histories #4) by Mary Robinette Kowal.📚 Jane and Vincent finally travel to Murano to further experiment with encasing Glamour into glass. On the way to their destination, they get robbed by pirates, and thus they arrive penniless in Murano. Luckily there is a kind soul on board as well, and he offers them to use his house. He is a banker from Murano.

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/review /alternate-history /master-student /heist /glass-blowing /glamourist-histories /book-4

Review of Sunlight (Titans, Cranes & Monsters Games)

I recently finished reading Sunlight (Titans, Cranes & Monsters Games) by Kristian Joseph.📚 In a world in chaos, we observe how the last democracy is on the verge of collapse. We follow the journey of Sam Royle, an ill man without any memory of his life. Nathan Sahl, the Chief of Defence, needs to decide between his friends and his family as the consequences of his choices start to unfold. Then there is Lydia Jacobs, a soldier who begins a quest for revenge after receiving a phone call from her father.

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/review /revolution /moral-dilemmas /titans-cranes-monsters-games /book-1

Review of Attack Surface

I finished reading Attack Surface by Cory Doctorow.📚 Another book in the Little Brother universe, this makes me happy :-). In this book, Masha Maximow is the main character. She made different choices in her life, and people got hurt because of that. On the other hand, not everything in her life is terrible. She is just not sure on which side she wants to stand. Masha works for an InfoSec company and is responsible for upgrading software for a dictator.

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/review /revolution /moral-dilemmas /fight-for-the-good /security

Review of Station Theta: A Sci-Fi Dystopian Mystery (Miles & Breaker Book 2)

I finished reading Station Theta: A Sci-Fi Dystopian Mystery (Miles & Breaker Book 2) by Nicole Adrianne.📚 This book is the second issue in the Miles & Breaker series. The new school year has started, and Miles and Jana enjoy exciting lessons. But something is still off, and Jana decides to visit her parents on station Theta. The start is slow. The characters seem to have a different voice now: a lot more internal monologue and a fixation on clothes and looks and luckily some smaller amount on the characters' insecurities, which is good.

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/review /science-fiction /education /hunger-games /Miles-and-Breaker /book-2

Review of Selbstzuwendung, Selbstakzeptanz, Selbstvertrauen: Psychotherapeutische Interventionen zum Aufbau von Selbstwertgefühl

I just reading Selbstzuwendung, Selbstakzeptanz, Selbstvertrauen: Psychotherapeutische Interventionen zum Aufbau von Selbstwertgefühl by Friederike Potreck-Rose and Gitta Jacob.📚 A book about how to recreate your self-esteem and self-acceptance again when you have lost it is not directly a “self-help” book, and I liked this aspect of the book. The first part introduced the theoretical concepts of the topic. Whereas in the second part, the authors present multiple interventions to rebuild your self-esteem.

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/review /self-esteem /therapy /specialist-book

Review of Without A Summer (Glamourist Histories Series Book 3)

I just started reading Without A Summer (Glamourist Histories Series Book 3) by Mary Robinette Kowal.📚 Jane and her husband Vincent travel to London to handle a commission by an Irish Baron. They decide to take Melody – Jane’s sister – with them to enjoy London and find an eligible husband for her. The author changed the writing style and tone again in this book. Compared to the second issue, this book is nearer to the first book.

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/review /social-live /adventure /napolepn /alternate-history /war /master-student /glamourist-histories /book-3

Review of Glamour in Glass (Glamourist Histories Series Book 2)

I finished reading Glamour in Glass (Glamourist Histories Series Book 2) by Mary Robinette Kowal.📚 Vincent and Jane are married and work now together as Glamourists. After a successful commission by the prince regent, they start a honeymoon to Belgium. As the English defeated Napoleon, it is deemed safe again to travel there. But soon after arriving, there are signs that it could not be as safe as thought. The book’s tone has changed; this issue is a lot more adventure-driven, and Jane can finally be herself.

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/review /social-live /adventure /napolepn /alternate-history /war /master-student /glamourist-histories /book-2

Review of Station Alpha: A Sci-Fi Dystopian Mystery (Miles & Breaker Book 1)

I finished reading Station Alpha: A Sci-Fi Dystopian Mystery (Miles & Breaker Book 1) by Nicole Adrianne.📚 A book about Miles and Jana, two teenagers in a future world: Miles is from the earth, and Jana is born on Space Station Alpha. Due to good results in his last school year, Miles can switch to the school on Station Alpha and joins with Jana into the same class. Jana is the best pupil in the school system, and as such, she is quite famous.

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/review /science-fiction /education /hunger-games /Miles-and-Breaker /book-1

Review of Shades of Milk and Honey (Glamourist Histories Book 1)

I finished reading Shades of Milk and Honey (Glamourist Histories Book 1) by Mary Robinette Kowal.📚 It is the year 1800, and we follow the days of Jane, a young woman living at home with her parents and sister. She longs for love but thinks it unable to achieve. She is talented in the arts of the glamour, a special kind of magic. Unfortunately, most of the eligible men she finds are more interested in her sister as they look more to the outside of a woman then on then on the inside.

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/review /social-live /alternate-history /woman-role /glamourist-histories /book-1

Review of Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle Book 1)

I finished reading Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle Book 1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.📚 After a slow start where we get to know the characters, the book takes on steam, and we follow squad 312, taking our main hero Auri to safety. Auri is a young girl who got lost in cryo transit to a remote eath colony. Tyler, the squad leader, finds she again two decades later. Soon after, the Terran secret service takes an interest in her.

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/review /fantasy /space /cryogenics /good-vs-bad /the-aurora-cycle /book-1

Review of Sie wäre jetzt 17: Psychothriller

I just finished reading Sie wäre jetzt 17: Psychothriller by Nika Lubitsch.📚 Michaela is a successful businesswoman. She has a teenage daughter and is married to a lovely man in a second marriage. Together with the stepdaughter, they all live in Berlin in an old mansion. And she is now in a private clinic at some sea an talking to her therapist. In each of the multiple short chapters, a further layer is peeled away from her story, and we slowly get to see what happened.

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/review /thriller /mystery

Review of Towers of Midnight, The Wheel of Time, Book 13

Review of Towers of Midnight, The Wheel of Time, Book 13 audiobook 📚. It was a long journey for our heroes, but we arrived at the second to last book in the series. This book finishes most of Edmonds-Field’s five separate plots, and most of them get some time to take a breath, sit together and enjoy some “peaceful” time before the last battle. It is also interesting how you feel that the last battle is imminent, and it does not take any longer until it starts.

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/review /audiobook /wot /book-13

Review of The Aleph Extraction: The Galactic Cold War, Book II

I just finished reading The Aleph Extraction: The Galactic Cold War, Book II by Dan Moren.📚 The second issue in the Galactic Cold War series, and I loved it. The crew around Simon Kovalic receive a new undercover mission. They need to locate and retrieve a mysterious artifact out of an intergalactic crime boss’s hand this time. Additionally, Simon hired a new member for the team with a questionable reputation – a decision that is not greeted with enthusiasm by the rest of the group.

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/review /scify /agents /future /space /secret-organisations /The-Galactic-Cold-War /book-2

Review of The Relentless Moon: A Lady Astronaut Novel Book 3

I just finished reading The Relentless Moon: A Lady Astronaut Novel by Mary Robinette Kowal.📚 This book series is such a page-turner. Starting the book, I was hoping to get more from Elmas POV but reading the title clearly shows that this is not the case. I’m not sure what I was thinking there ;-) In this part, we see what happens on the earth and the moon from Nicole Wargin’s perspective.

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/review /alternate-history /space-travel /crime /sabotage /A-Lady-Astronaut-Novel /book-3

Review of The Bayern Agenda: The Galactic Cold War, Book I

I just finished reading The Bayern Agenda: The Galactic Cold War, Book I by Dan Moren.📚 An easy to read book with interesting characters, the author set the story in a backdrop of an intergalactic cold war. We follow a team of spy on they undercover operation behind enemy lines. The main character has his heart in the right place and does not seem to be your typical spy. I wonder how the bigger picture of the back story will play out.

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/review /scify /agents /future /space /secret-organisations /The-Galactic-Cold-War /book-1

Review of Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

I finished reading Range: How Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein.📚 Contrary to what the world wants to teach us, you do not specialize early in your life. It is ok to meander to find what fits you. And switching interests or work types is not harmful. Each chapter in the book showcases the life path of a different person and how it worked out for his career.

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/review /growth /learning

Review of Recovering Apollo 8

I just finished reading Recovering Apollo 8 by Kristine Kathryn Rusch.📚 A concise book shows what happens if you give a person with a fixed idea an unlimited amount of money. The main character is a child when the Apollo 8 mission fails in this alternate history novel. And form this moment on, he has the urge to rescue the capsule, which was unable to reach a moon orbit and lost in space.

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/review /scify /alternate-history /apollo /apollo-8 /astronauts /moon

Review of Meditation für Skeptiker: Ein Neurowissenschaftler erklärt den Weg zum Selbst

I just finished reading Meditation für Skeptiker: Ein Neurowissenschaftler erklärt den Weg zum Selbst by Ulrich Ott.📚 This book is a starter guide to meditation and explains the “current” state of the sciences regarding the usefulness of meditation. There is only the unfortunate fact that this book is already ten years old. So I assume the current research is already further again. I’ve enjoyed reading the book, and I think I could extract some value from it – I’ve not yet begun meditation in earnest.

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/review /meditation /research

Review of LIFEL1K3 (Lifelike - Book 1)

I just finished reading LIFEL1K3 (Lifelike - Book 1) by Jay Kristoff.📚 Another book proposed by the Amazon algorithm, Eve, is a teenager living in the leftover area of California after a big war. She does not have much, but as long as she and her team stick together, she can survive and earn enough money in the bot fighting arena to buy the medicine for her grandfather. But one day she finds a very special android and everything changes.

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/review /scify /amnesia /ai /robots /distopiha /Lifelike /book-1

Review of Gathering Storm, The Wheel of Time, Book 12

Review of Gathering Storm, The Wheel of Time, Book 12 audiobook 📚. The chapters of Egwene in the White Tower are excellent – and listening to them in audiobook form also makes the dialogs come fully to life. Just for these chapters, this book moved way up in the list of favorite WOT books – I still think that Book 3 is better but not by far! I’m not sure, but Matt sounds a bit off role the first time we see his POV.

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/review /audiobook /wot /book-12

Review of Shattered: Book 3 (Slated Trilogy)

I just finished reading Shattered: Book 3 (Slated Trilogy) by Teri Terry.📚 This book completed the story of Kayla. She finally gets to know her mother, but the reunion is only short, as her cover gets blown again. Can she outrun her captors? The third book is back on the level of the first issue. It is quite an action rich last part. Some unexpected revelations explain the motivation for some of the characters.

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/review /scify /amnesia /insurection /revolution /slated-trilogy /book-3

Review of Fractured: Book 2 (Slated Trilogy)

I just finished reading Fractured: Book 2 (Slated Trilogy) by Teri Terry.📚 Kayla’s story continues, and the stakes are getting higher. She starts to remember parts of her past life but soon realizes that she’s caught between multiple parties. How will she decide? This issue starts to explain why there are so many young terrorists in this world. Nevertheless, I still feel that some parties are exploiting the young and not only on the Lorders side.

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/review /scify /amnesia /insurection /revolution /slated-trilogy /book-2

Review of Slated: Book 1 (Slated Trilogy)

I just finished reading Slated: Book 1 (Slated Trilogy) by Teri Terry.📚 Kayla gets a second chance. The slate has been cleaned after nine months in the hospital, and she is finally ready to meet her new parents. Kayla has been slated a technic that allows removing all memories of a person, giving them a blank slate to start over again. The book is a page-turner, and I could not stop reading it.

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/review /scify /amnesia /insurection /revolution /slated-trilogy /book-1

Review of The Girl Cloaked in Shadow (The Chronicles of Maggie Trent Book 3)

I just finished reading The Girl Cloaked in Shadow (The Chronicles of Maggie Trent Book 3) by Megan O’Russell.📚 Maggie is off to a new adventure, Bertrand Wayland is missing. And the siren requires his presence in her realm, so Maggie is compelled to search for him. I had difficulty reading this book because this world did not catch my interest as much as the two other worlds. And also, the story did not felt finished.

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/review /fantasy /magic /The-Chronicles-of-Maggie-Trent /book-3

Review of The Girl Locked With Gold (The Chronicles of Maggie Trent Book 2)

I just finished reading The Girl Locked With Gold (The Chronicles of Maggie Trent Book 2) by Megan O’Russell.📚 Maggie has arrived in paradise. She lives next to the endless sea and finds friends and makes a livelihood without using her magic reserves. But the next adventure is calling. Together with Bertrand, she visits a world where magicians are slaves, and technology uses magic as fuel. They are soon involved in bringing freedom to the magicians, but Maggie needs to learn a hard lection and is not happy with the outcome.

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/review /fantasy /magic /The-Chronicles-of-Maggie-Trent /book-2

Review of the Girl Without Magic (The Chronicles of Maggie Trent Book 1)

I recently finished reading The Girl Without Magic (The Chronicles of Maggie Trent Book 1) by Megan O’Russell.📚 There was a green flash, and Maggie Trent vanishes from the battle she was fighting. First, she assumes she’s dead but soon realizes she is now in the Siren' Realm where every wish is fulfilled as long as you can pay the price. The book plays in the same universe as “The Tethering” series from the corresponding author.

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/review /fantasy /magic /The-Chronicles-of-Maggie-Trent /book-1

Review of Seven Things Not to Do When Everyone's Trying to Kill You (The Tale of Bryant Adams Book 2)

I just finished reading Seven Things Not to Do When Everyone’s Trying to Kill You (The Tale of Bryant Adams Book 2) by Megan O’Russell.📚 Bryant and his friends nearly survived the fight against the Ladies in the first issue, and he is now a wizard apprentice. And now the adventure continues. “There will be no room for argument. No time to second-guess my decisions. We’re waltzing into the best security system known to magickind.

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/review /fantasy /magic /apprenticeship /modern-setting /The-Tale-of-Bryant-Adams /book-2

Review of Promises To Keep: After the EMP (Disruption Trilogy Book 3)

I just finished reading Promises To Keep: After the EMP (Disruption Trilogy Book 3) by R.E. McDermott.📚 The last part of an excellent series so far and this issue also contains some surprises. I like that the author does not make the story longer. He certainly could. I certainly recommend this series when you want to read end of world scenarios. It contains some massive battles, but we don’t get pages upon pages with strategy guides like other books.

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/review /end-of-world /disruption-trilogy /book-3

Review of Knife of Dreams, The Wheel of Time, Book 11

Review of Knife of Dreams, The Wheel of Time, Book 11 audiobook 📚. In this book, the story continues to follow Matt on his travel out of Ebou Dar and how he starts to earn his respect from Tuon. He also asks Tom about the letter he is continually looking at, marking the start of a new plotline. Perrin releases his wife, and with this finishes, the slog. Rand tries to meet with the daughter of the nine moons, which does not go as planned.

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/review /audiobook /wot /book-11

Review of Push Back: After the EMP (Disruption Trilogy Book 2)

I just finished reading Push Back: After the EMP (Disruption Trilogy Book 2) by R.E. McDermott.📚 We follow the same characters as from the first issue in the time directly after the EMP hit. Everybody gets desperate. At the same time, part of the cast tries to reunite their families. The other half tries to collect the power or try to keep any power they gained in the first issue.

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/review /end-of-world /disruption-trilogy /book-2

Review of Network Effect: A Murderbot Novel (The Murderbot Diaries Book 5)

I just finished reading Network Effect: A Murderbot Novel (The Murderbot Diaries Book 5) by Martha Wells.📚 Murderbot accompanies a survey team to another planet, and on the earlier than planned return, the starship gets kidnapped by unknown aliens. Can Murderbot safe itself and it’s humans? I still like the character of Murderbot in this installment of the series. Next to the main storyline, the author also expands the character and interaction in the universe quite a bit.

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/review /scfi /ai /robot /murderbot-diaries /book-5

Review of Stolen Magic: A Sleeping Beauty Reimagining (Fairy Academy Book 3)

I just finished reading Stolen Magic: A Sleeping Beauty Reimagining (Fairy Academy Book 3) by RaShelle Workman.📚 Rory got tricked into using black magic, and her character dives into the unlikable. The book drags a bit, but it picks up again towards the end - luckily. I already lost all hope for the plot, but it still managed to get a bit better and come to a useful conclusion. I certainly did not expect this ending when starting the series, but this leads me to another point, this is not a three-book series!

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/review /fairy /magic /ya /fairy-academy /book-3

Review of Crossroads of Twilight, The Wheel of Time, Book 10

Review of Crossroads of Twilight, The Wheel of Time, Book 10 audiobook 📚. A lot of slog in this book, but I’ve realized that it is way more enjoyable when listing to an audiobook as compared to reading it yourself. So no jumping over the Faile storyline this time around! I like how you now see all the other characters react to the cleaning of the taint started by Rand in the last book.

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/review /audiobook /wot /book-10

Broken Curse: A Sleeping Beauty Reimagining (Fairy Academy Book 2)

I just started reading Broken Curse: A Sleeping Beauty Reimagining (Fairy Academy Book 2) by RaShelle Workman.📚 Following the invitation of her real aunt, Rory now attends the Fairy Academy in the under the kingdom. But the other students do not like her here, can she make any friends? The beginning of this book is still good, but I was not happy with the ending. Again, it ends with a cliff-hanger.

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/review /fairy /magic /ya /fairy-academy /book-2

Review of Hidden Princess: From the Blood and Snow World: A Sleeping Beauty

I just finished reading Hidden Princess: From the Blood and Snow World: A Sleeping Beauty by RaShelle Workman.📚 Rory is a normal girl going to high school. She lives with her three aunts and does not know what happened to her parents. Surely, there is more to it then the aunts have told here. And then she meets Carson and everything changes. It takes a very long time to start with the actual storyline.

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/review /fairy /magic /ya /fairy-academy /book-1

Review of Bel Canto

I just finished reading Bel Canto by Ann Patchett.📚 A birthday party for a Japanese industry boss goes the wrong way. In the middle of the party, the terrorist shows up – not to kidnap him but kidnap the country’s president. Unfortunately, the terrorist source was wrong about the president’s location, and what should have been short in and out situation turns into a multi-week hostage situation. And then there is also an opera singer who enchants everyone.

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/review /hostage /opera /heist

Review of The Boy Who Sailed To Spain

I just finished reading The Boy Who Sailed To Spain by Paul Ogarra.📚 This book tells the story of a young boy on a quest for Spain. His father is dangerously injured. Masuhun needs to travel to Europe to stand on the rock where the Mother and the Child stood. I liked the writing style of the book. At times, I felt like reading a shorter the Stand, although I’m not sure if the author thinks about his book as a work of fiction or criticism of society.

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/review /coming-of-age /christian-values /fight-against-evil

Review of Catfishing on CatNet: A Novel (A CatNet Novel Book 1)

I just finished reading Catfishing on CatNet: A Novel (A CatNet Novel Book 1) by Naomi Kritzer.📚 Imagine a social network managed and organized by an AI that collects cat pictures and is for once not out to kill all humans. And then there are Steph one of the members of this page. She lives together with her mother and is on the run from an abusive father. Unable to make friends in each new school, she comes as she anyway will move on in a week or month.

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/review /scfi /sentinent-ai /coming-of-age /lgbqt /catnet-novel /book-1

Review of Final Days

I just finished reading Final Days by Gary Gibson.📚 In the near future, humans have found a wormhole technology and founded colonies in distant solar systems. To travel between colonies, you can use the wormholes linking them back to the moon, allowing for multi lightyear moving in mere hours. But it also creates conflict as the colonies don’t have access to the wormhole tech effectively binding them back to Earth. Saul Dumont was stranded on Earth after a separatist group destroyed the wormhole to the Galileo colony, separating him from his wife and daughter.

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/review /scfi /worm-hole /time-travel /revolution

Review of Ghost Frequencies

I just finished reading Ghost Frequencies by Gary Gibson.📚 A standalone short story. Susan MacDonald is a researcher in retrocausality. But her project funding is on the bring of vanishing due to missing results. She firmly believes that she is on to something, but time is running out. And then she starts to hear disembodied voices in her lab as well. This book is a real page-turner and did also follow me into my dreams.

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/review /scfi /reasearcher /faster-than-light-communication /ghosts

Review of Doomsday Game, The Apocalypse Duology Book 3

I just finished reading Doomsday Game (The Apocalypse Duology Book 3) by Gary Gibson.📚 This book action takes place multiple years after the first two issues. The Authority has found an alternate Earth and is working on its evacuation plan. But as always, not everything wants to follow the program. And they need again fight new and old enemies. And there is still the question concerning the Pathfinders. What will happen to them at the end of the day?

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/review /scfi /multiverse /alternate-history /the-apocalypse-duology /book-3

Review of Survival Game, The Apocalypse Duology book 2

I just finished reading Survival Game (The Apocalypse Duology Book 2) by Gary Gibson.📚 Katya is on the run from the Russian Empire. She is a scientist working on a secret project for the Zar. They want her to fix an old artifact, which can send you to every alternate universe you want. Unfortunately, this artifact has some significant drawbacks and can cause the extinction of the Imperium and the Authority.

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/review /scfi /multiverse /alternate-history /the-apocalypse-duology /book-2

Review of Extinction Game, The Apocalypse Duology book 1

I just finished reading Extinction Game: The Apocalypse Duology: Book One by Gary Gibson.📚 A good idea and perfect execution! Jerry is the last human on Earth. He managed to survive a global pandemic created by a sect. Until one day, he finds footprints in his backyard. The book starts slow but takes up its pace towards the middle. I liked the POV of Jerry quite a lot – he is an interesting character, perhaps a bit naive but certainly not stupid.

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/review /scfi /multiverse /alternate-history /the-apocalypse-duology /book-1

Review of Winter's Heart, The Wheel of Time, Book 9

Review of Winter’s Heart, The Wheel of Time, Book 9 audiobook 📚. The saga continues. Perin needs too cope with missing his wife and makes plans to get her back. Elayne arrives in Caemlyn, starting the succession arc. Mat still tries to flee Ebou Dar and meet his future wife. And Rand plans something big, but first, he needs to hunt down some renegade Asha’man. I like this book, as it brings the story forward, and the ending with cleaning the taint on the male source is epic, also, like the scene in chapter twelve where the Elayne, Aviendha, and Min bond Rand.

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/review /audiobook /wot /book-9

Review of Restriction: Age Of Magic (The Rise of Magic Book 1)

I just finished reading Restriction: Age Of Magic (The Rise of Magic Book 1) by CM Raymond, LE Barbant and Michael Anderle.📚 Hannah is a teenager living in the city of New Arcadia. She tends for her sickly brother and lives with him under the roof of her alcoholic and abusive father. Her mother died some time ago, and she needs to earn money for the family. The only way to earn an income is by hustling in the city due to the restrictive laws of the city hero.

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/review /growing-up /apprenticeship /magic-systems /rise-of-magic /book-1

Review of Path Of Daggers, The Wheel of Time, Book 8

Review of The Path Of Daggers, The Wheel of Time, Book 8 audiobook 📚. The hot weather has broken, and winter finally starts. Rand is now king of another county but has increasing problems with the tain on the source. I enjoyed the further development of the White Tower hunt for the black Ahja. The Aes Sedai finally do something instead of constantly talking. It does not quite work as expected, but it is a step in the right direction.

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/review /audiobook /wot /book-8

Review of The Quantum Magician (The Quantum Evolution Book 1)

I just finished reading The Quantum Magician (The Quantum Evolution Book 1) by Derek Künsken.📚 Belisarius Adjina is a Homo Quantus, further development of the human species capable of entering a quantum state and able to understand and compute multiple dimensions of the space-time continuum. He also flew from his home planet and is passing his time with confidentiality scams. He at the beginning of the story, he gets a visit from a Major of a long lost military expedition, tasking him with a new job.

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/review /heist /scfi /evolution /quantum-evolution /book-1

Review of the Settling (The Memory Trader Book 3)

I just finished reading The Settling (The Memory Trader Book 3) by Angeline Trevena.📚 This book is the last part of the Memory Trader series. It tells the story multiple years in the future. The main protagonist is Sula, a teenager who not yet know what she want’s to do with her political voice. The second person is the last vessel who managed to escape before finishing here education and is searching for her roots.

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/review /growing-up /revolution /mind-reading /memory-trader /book-3

Review of the Sister (The Memory Trader Book 2)

I just finished reading The Sister (The Memory Trader Book 2) by Angeline Trevena.📚 The book connects after the first issue, and we follow the story of Kioto further. They still fight in the revolution to get fair treatment from the government. Compared with the first book, the character of Kioto has changed quite a lot. She now feels a lot angrier and also more undecided about what she wants to do.

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/review /growing-up /revolution /mind-reading /memory-trader /book-2

Review of The Smudger (The Memory Trader Book 1)

I just finished reading The Smudger (The Memory Trader Book 1) by Angeline Trevena.📚 The story about our main protagonist Kioto. She is a memory trader – meaning she can extract memories from other peoples. Memory traders are not loved and are at the very bottom of society. She is continually searching for a way to survive. The book takes quite some time to start with the actual plot. And at the moment when it starts, it is already over again.

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/review /growing-up /revolution /mind-reading /memory-trader /book-1

Review of Helm

I finished reading Helm by Steve Gould.📚 The book is a story about Leland Laal, the youngest of four sons. He is unlike his other brothers and more interested in knowledge instead of fighting. But he also likes to explore so at the beginning of the book he climbs the needle – a small mountain, six meters wide at the base. Unfortunately, it is prohibited to climb this mountain, and when his father finds out that he did this, he gets punished.

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/review /growing-up /know-it-all /akido

Review of a crown of swords, The Wheel of Time, Book 7

Review of A crown of swords, The Wheel of Time, Book 7 audiobook 📚. This book spans the shortest period over all the books in the series. Only 11 days pass. I like that when you have such a long series that you can do such things. Slow the flow of time and tell a story from multiple viewpoints in parallel. The following points I’ve observed while listening to the book:

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/review /audiobook /wot /book-7

Lord of Chaos, The Wheel of Time, Book 6

Review of Lord of Chaos, The Wheel of Time, Book 6 audiobook 📚. In this book, we see how the Aes Sedai in Salidar make politic and manage to lift somebody to the stole in the hope to control here. But soon will learn that they miscalculated. On the other side, we also see how the Aes Sedai ruins the meeting with Rand, causing a lot of pain in the future as well.

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/review /audiobook /wot /book-6

Review of 7th Sigma

I just finished reading 7th Sigma by Steven Gould.📚 I found another book by one of my favorite authors, the perfect thing to read right now. The main character is a teenage boy living on the street due to an abusive father. His mother died some years ago. Kimble lives in the part of the USA called the territory. Due to a “bug” infestation, you cannot use any metal. The bugs are small replicating machines detecting and then eating the metal.

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/review /agent /spay /growwing-up /know-it-all

Review of The Blade Itself: Book One (The First Law 1)

I just finished reading The Blade Itself: Book One (The First Law 1) by Joe Abercrombie.📚 I’ve decided to read this book after watching Why You Should Read: The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie by Mike’s Book Reviews the other day. Inquisitor Glokta: The inquisitor of the king. He was once a successful person but got caught by the enemy and tortured until he is now cripled and continuously in pain.

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/review /The-First-Law /book-1

Review of The Fires Of Heaven, The Wheel of Time, Book 5

Review of The Fires Of Heaven, The Wheel of Time, Book 5 audiobook 📚. We follow three main plots-threads in this book. Elayne and Nynaeve search and travel to the gathering of the blue Aes Sedai, who collected in an old town. Min, Siuan and Leane are also on their way to Salidar and try to stay relevant now that they no longer are Aes Sedai. Rand is moving out of the Aiel Waste to Cairhien, where he fights his first big battle.

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/review /audiobook /wot /book-5

Review of Predator's Gold (Predator Cities Book 2)

I just finished reading Predator’s Gold (Predator Cities Book 2) by Philip Reeve.📚 After reading the first part last year I fought, I could try the second part as well. Our main characters Tom and Hester, meet a famous explorer and author, and while fleeing from some other airships, get lost on a dying city in the far north. Although the book is an easy read, the story did not manage to glue me to the book.

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/review /Predator-Cities /book-2

Review of The Shadow Rising, The Wheel of Time, Book 4

Review of The Shadow Rising, The Wheel of Time, Book 4 audiobook 📚. Part four of the series and the last time for a very long time where our three ta’veeren are together in the same location. The book starts in Tear, where Rand is learning to be a ruler and how to be in love. But soon, the different groups split up. Perin travels back to the Two Rivers together with Faile and Loial, where he hopes to settle his debt with the Whitecloaks.

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/review /audiobook /wot /book-4

Review of A Series of Unfortunate Events #2

I just finished reading A Series of Unfortunate Events #2: The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket.📚 After successfully hinder Count Olaf in the first book, the children now move to a new relative of them. A strange snake researcher by the name of Dr. Montgomery. They learn a lot about snakes and finally found a home where somebody cares for them. But the unfortunate events are not waiting for too long.

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/review /Review-of-A-Series-of-Unfortunate-Events /book-2

Review of A Series of Unfortunate Events #1

I just finished reading A Series of Unfortunate Events #1: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket.📚 At the beginning of the story, we are introduced to the three main protagonists, the Baudelaire siblings. Due to a fire, the parents are dead, and they now need a new home. The home is found quite fast, but unfortunately, the person responsible for them currently does not really love them and has a more significant interest in getting to the inherited fortune of the orphans.

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/review /Review-of-A-Series-of-Unfortunate-Events /book-1

Review of The Blacksmith's Son (Mageborn Book 1)

I just finished reading The Blacksmith’s Son (Mageborn Book 1) by Michael G. Manning.📚 As I liked the other books by the same author quite a lot I fought, I try one of his earlier works. The book starts with the main person named Mordekai rescuing a horse from a river. While doing this, he realizes that he is a wizard. To research this better, he goes on a holiday to his friend’s castle, where he also luckily directly finds three beginners' spellbooks.

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/review /fantasy /magic /apprenticeship /mageborn-book /book-1

Review of The Dragon Reborn, The Wheel of Time, Book 3

Review of The Dragon Reborn, The Wheel of Time, Book 3 audiobook 📚. One of my favorite books in the series. I especially like the ending with the fall of the Stone. I also like the first real occurrences of the Aiel and how our main cast works with them. I have again forgotten how Gaul got attached to Perin so early on in the series. And in these earlier parts, I still like the storyline of Perrin.

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/review /audiobook /wot

Review of Secrets and Spellcraft (Art of the Adept Book 2)

I just finished reading Secrets and Spellcraft (Art of the Adept Book 2) by Michael G. Manning.📚 After finishing the first book, I directly wanted to know how the story develops further. We still follow Will, who is now a student at Wurthaven. And he also realized that the teaching method at this school is not good enough for himself. And as expected in such a story, our main protagonist still starts to accomplish one unimaginable feat after another – which at times is a bit hard to believe to be realistic.

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/review /fantasy /magic /apprenticeship /Art-of-the-Adept

Review of The Choice of Magic (Art of the Adept Book 1)

I just finished reading The Choice of Magic (Art of the Adept Book 1) by Michael G. Manning.📚 Another book proposed by the algorithm of Amazon, and as I was for the lookout for something lighter to read, I’ve decided to give it a try. The book did not disappoint. It is the classic hero story but with some twists. I especially liked how magic is working in this world and how he is learning it.

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/review /fantasy /magic /apprenticeship /Art-of-the-Adept

Review of The Word for World is Forest (Hainish Cycle)

I just finished reading The Word for World is Forest (Hainish Cycle) by Ursula K. Le Guin.📚 The story played on a world overgrown by a vast forest. Inhabited by humans adapted to the living on such a world in small tribal structures. The humans from earth started a colony to harvest wood on this planet. They use the native tribes as “slaves,” although not called by this name, it is the same.

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/review /anti-war /forest /sf /Hainish-Cycle

Review of The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia (Hainish Cycle)

I just finished reading The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia (Hainish Cycle) by Ursula K. Le Guin.📚 The book’s story has an unusual structure. It starts in the middle of the story, and each chapter is alternating between the past and the future. In the past chapter, we are told the childhood and growing up of the main character Shevek. In the future chapter, we are told about his journey to the sister planet Urrasti where he is a guest of a country called A-Io.

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/review /wall /sf /Hainish-Cycle

Review of Shadow of the Conqueror (Chronicles of Everfall Book 1)

I just finished reading Shadow of the Conqueror (Chronicles of Everfall Book 1) by Shad Brooks.📚 This book is the first book by Youtuber Shad from Shadiversity channel. I’m a subscriber for some time mainly for his technical videos about how castles work. I’ve known for some time that he wants to write a book but did not realize that it was already published. So I was happy to start the book when he mentioned it the other time in one of his videos.

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/review /winter /sf /chronicles-of-everfall

Review of The Left Hand of Darkness (Hainish Cycle)

I just finished reading The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin.📚 I stumbled over this series on Micro.blog, I think, and as I needed something new to read, I started it. It is fascinating how Ms. Le Guin can write Science Fiction without ever needing to invent or explain technology. This book has Aliens and Spacecraft, but most of the book, the two main protagonists are walking though the big open world.

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/review /winter /sf /Hainish-Cycle

Review of Infinite Detail

I just finished reading Infinite Detail: A Novel by Tim Maughan.📚 It took some time to get into the story. The book contains two timelines. One timeline called “After” is situated after the global networks stopped working. The reason for this crash is not explained in the beginning; it is just a given. But not all technology is death. The other timeline is called “Before” and shows the situation just before the crash.

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/review /network /end-of-world

Review of The Great Hunt, The Wheel of Time, Book 2

Review of The Great Hunt, The Wheel of Time, Book 2 audiobook 📚. The journey goes further. We start seeing some growth in Rand in this book. I’ve entirely forgotten how early the Black Ajah is mentioned for the first time. Or better, I see now that on the first – and second – time reading, I did not give it’s mention as much thought as I give it now.

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/review /audiobook /wot

Review of The World According to Bob: The further adventures of one man and his street-wise cat

I finished reading The World According to Bob: The further adventures of one man and his street-wise cat by James Bowen.📚 After reading the first issue, I also decided to read the follow-up book. This book did not feel as coherent as the first one. But it is still an exciting and easy read. James goes into more detail of different parts of his life and also the writing process of the first book.

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/review /cat /biographie

Review of A Street Cat Named Bob

I read A Street Cat Named Bob: How one man and his cat found hope on the streets by James Bowen.📚 After I watched the movie see here, I fought that I also should read the book. And it was the right decision. The book has a sort of a feelgood feeling to it, no matter that something does not work out, James manages to see something positive in it.

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/review /cat /biographie

Review of The Fated Sky: Lady Astronaut Novel

I finished reading The Fated Sky: Lady Astronaut Novel by Mary Robinette Kowal.📚 The second issue connects directly after the first book. We now have a station on the moon, and Elma York – the main protagonist – works now as a space bus driver on the moon for half the year. But as this does not make for an exciting book, she soon managed to get onto the first mission to Mars.

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/review /alternate-history /space-travel

Review of The Calculating Stars: A Lady Astronaut Novel

I just ended reading The Calculating Stars: A Lady Astronaut Novel by Mary Robinette Kowal.📚 I’m not sure anymore where I found this book, but I liked it! It reminded me a lot to the Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. I think mostly due to a similar structure, but this book is undoubtedly less science fiction and more alternate history. Another aspect is for this story is the accessible writing style of the author.

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/review /alternate-history /space-travel

Review of Starsight (Skyward Book 2)

I just finished reading Starsight (Skyward Book 2) by Brandon Sanderson.📚A worthy second issue for this series. Spin’s character is growing in this issue, form only beeing a pilot to something more. Now she also needs to be a spy and a politician. And infiltrate a base of the central galactic government. So this book expands the universe of the story quite a lot, and we also finally get some answers – not all answers but certainly enough to understand the setting better.

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Review of Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed

I just finished reading Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed by Ben R. Rich and Leo Janos.📚 We get an introduction into the secret world of the development of multiple secret airplanes, and the problems the engineers needed to overcome to deliver these fantastic machines. The book is captivating and exciting to read about the development of airplanes. But I would like to get more technical depth in the book, and fewer war stories.

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Review of Radikalisierungsmaschinen: Wie Extremisten die neuen Technologien nutzen und uns manipulieren

I just finished reading Radikalisierungsmaschinen: Wie Extremisten die neuen Technologien nutzen und uns manipulieren by Julia Ebner.📚 I’ve got the recommendation for this book via the Episode DA009: RECHTSEXTREME PARALLELWELT of the Denkangbeot Postcast. The book shows how humans are radicalized with the help of the Internet. It has a main topic on the right radicalism. It also shows some of the aspects of radical Islamic groups as well. I was missing any mention of left radicalism in the book :-) as I’m pretty sure these are also using the same mechanisms to achieve their goals.

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Review of DOORS X - Dämmerung: Roman (Die Doors-Serie Staffel 1)

I just finished reading DOORS X - Dämmerung: Roman (Die Doors-Serie Staffel 1) by Markus Heitz.📚 It is the last book of the first season, and I liked it the least of all. The protagonists go through the door into the future. And we get a short introduction to a future version of Frankfurt. But only for a short time. Afterward, most of the time is spent in the cave labyrinth and a strange room where your fears come true.

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Review of Girl of Glass

Another late review of a book I’ve read: Girl of Glass by Megan O’Russell📚. I’m not sure what I should think about this book. The book was entertaining to read, but for some reason, I could not connect with the main protagonist. The story is a Vampires and Werewolf placed into a futuristic SciFi setting. The main character lives in a glass dome where they protect the DNA of plants and humans for a time when Earth is habitable again.

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Review of Against the Tide of Years

Another book I’ve finished reading this year and where I forgot to post my review: Against the Tide of Years: A Novel of the Change (Island Book 2) by S. M. Stirling.📚 Some years ago, I started reading the Change World Series and read quite some of the books in there, but I think not all. Further, I also read the first issue of the Island Books. But at the time, I did not read any further as the first issue was quite heavy on the military side of storytelling.

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Review of DOORS ! - Blutfeld: Roman (Die Doors-Serie Staffel 1)

I just ended devouring DOORS ! - Blutfeld: Roman (Die Doors-Serie Staffel 1) by Markus Heitz.📚This book is the second door to choose from in the Doors series (see here for the review of the first book). This time around, our heroes land in the middle ages around 850 and need to fulfill the task to find the missing person. Initially, it was unclear for me if they can find her, as she could logically one be behind one door.

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Review of DOORS ? - Kolonie: Roman (Die Doors-Serie Staffel 1)

I just finished reading DOORS ? - Kolonie: Roman (Die Doors-Serie Staffel 1) by Markus Heitz.📚 I’ve got this book recommended by our neighbor, you start with the initial start of the story DOORS - Der Beginn: Roman (Die Doors-Serie Staffel 1) and then decide for one of three possible doors the heroes need to go through. The door selection for this book, we dive into an alternate history of our world around the end of the second world war.

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Review of Born of Embers

I have forgotten to post the review for Born of Embers (The Valdir Chronicles Book 2) by RA Lewis.📚I was eagerly awaiting the release of this book as I quite liked the first issue of the series. The second book directly connects to the end of the first issue. Kalina is now Queen of the Valdir - but she is not happy. I quite liked this part of the book; she is not ready for this role and does not fit it.

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Review of The Obelisk Gate: The Broken Earth, Book 2

I just ended reading The Obelisk Gate: The Broken Earth, Book 2 by N. K. Jemisin.📚 The second book starts directly after the end of the first book. I’ve liked this issue better than the first one. I think this is because I’ve already known the characters and the world. So I could dive directly into the story. This book expands the world-building concepts from the first issue - and also delivers the explanation and reasoning I’ve missed at the end of the other book.

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Review of The Eye of the World The Wheel of Time, Book I

Review of Eye of the World, The Wheel of Time, Book 1 audiobook 📚. In preparation for the release of the TV series, I’ve decided to reread the series once again - but as this takes way to long, and I still want to be able to read new books as well, I tried the first issue now as an audiobook. I’m surprised how this book still catches my interest no matter that it is the third time I’ve heard the story now.

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/review /audiobook /wot

Review of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed

The other day I finished reading Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb.📚 I’ve noticed this book due to a mention on micro.blog and checked it out as it sounded interesting. I enjoyed reading about the different patient cases and how the problems get solved. In between the patient session, she tells about her problems and how she is addressing them.

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Review of The Fifth Season: The Broken Earth, Book 1

I just finished The Fifth Season: The Broken Earth, Book 1 by N. K. Jemisin.📚 I needed some time to get into the book, but once I understood it’s structure, I liked it. The story has good pacing and excellent worldbuilding. I did not understand the ending at all. But I’m stoked to know how it develops further. I’m still confused about it’s ending, which also felt very abrupt. I don’t yet understand where the book will journey.

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Review of Composing Software

For a long time, I wanted to learn about the theoretical background of functional programming. But I always waited to do it. So, when I stumbled over a blog article by Eric Elliott (Composing Software: An Introduction), I decided to buy and read his book - Composing Software by Eric Elliott📚. I’m torn apart regarding this book. It has useful chapters introducing you to new concepts. And then there are chapters which feel like they were just added to “fill-up” the book.

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Review of Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life

I finished reading Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life by Peter Godfrey-Smith.📚 I quite liked the first half of the book, where the author shows how life has evolved from single-cell organisms to the complex multicell combinations we have now. The chapter about how the color change works in some of the squids was also exciting. I did not expect such a complicated mechanism to be present in animal life.

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Review of The Testaments: The Sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale

I decided to read The Testaments: The Sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood📚 after not being sure to read a book which looked for me like an unneeded sequel after the TV show. But I’m happy that I did read it because my fears did not come true. And you do not have to read the original book to enjoy this book. This book is a page-turner, from the first moment you get sucked into the world and the protagonists.

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Review of Skyward

I finished reading Skyward: The Brand New Series by Brandon Sanderson.📚This book is so good; I could not stop reading it! The book tells the story of Spensa, the daughter of a fighter pilot. Her home is a desert planet in the distant future, and she belongs to a group of humans who crash-landed on this planet 2 Generations ago. She dreams of being a pilot, as well, but there are quite some obstacles for her to overcome.

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Review of the Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, Book 1)

I just finished reading The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, Book 1) by Brandon Sanderson.📚This book is good, and the pages are just flying past me while reading. I like how the author describes the ever desperate live of Kaladin and how he always managed to go further. Then we have the opposite character trying to get a position as a ward with a famous researcher but only with the plan to betray her.

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Review of the Academy of Stolen Magic

I just finished reading The Academy of Stolen Magic: YA Paranormal Academy Book Two (Blakemore Paranormal Academy 2) by Sullivan Gray.📚 The second book connects directly to the end of the first book, and actually, these should have been one book. This book mostly covers the relationship drama of the main character. And we also get to know a bit more about the main story. But I got the strong feeling that the main adventure is not essential, and the love relationship is the central part of the story 😢.

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Review of Supernatural Reform School

I just finished reading Supernatural Reform School (Blakemore Paranormal Academy Book 1) by Sullivan Gray.📚 I got this book recommended by Amazon, and the brief sounded interesting. It reads quite easy and is not too long and expensive, and I like the setting, so I started reading it. I did not like the main character in the first few chapters; she is not real and has some strange ideas. But this gets a lot better after the introduction to the book.

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Review of Under a Tell-Tale Sky

I just finished reading Under a Tell-Tale Sky: After the EMP (Disruption Trilogy Book 1) by R.E. McDermott.📚This book was another Amazon proposal, and I quite liked it. The story starts just before a significant solar eruption hits the earth destroying the complete power grid on most of the planet. It then shows the actions of multiple groups in North America how they try to survive in this post-apocalyptic world.

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Review of The Circle

I finished reading The Circle by Dave Eggers.📚 The book starts quite harmlessly, but somehow you suspect that something is off. It does not take long until you begin to see the cracks in the shiny circle world, which each additional monitor installed at the main protagonist desk. Sometimes I felt exhausted thinking about all the thing which are expected of the circle workers in the after hours. They are never mandatory, but if you miss them, you will get a concerned talk.

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Review of Rise of Gaia

I finished reading Rise of Gaia by Kristin Ward.📚 This book was hard to start and get into the story. The main protagonist of this story has a connection with mother earth. And she is angry because we humans destroy everything. The story spends quite a lot of time showing how the protagonist lives and get deeper into the connection with Gaia. Part of the book reminded me of the Princess Mononoke anime.

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Review of Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones

I finished reading Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones by James Clear.📚I liked this book quite a lot, and it is easy to read and written in an accessible style. The book is divided into four sections, each explaining how you can build new habits and improve your life. The main takeaway of the book is that you don’t need significant practices but just a lot of small good ones.

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Review of A Wind in the Door (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet Book 2)

I’ve decided to read the next issue of the “A Wrinkle in Time Quintet”. And just finished A Wind in the Door (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet Book 2) by Madeleine L’Engle the other day 📚. The story was a lot easier to get into; I suspect this is because I already know the characters and the writing style of the author. We start back at the home of our protagonists, and Charles Wallace sees strange occurrences in the garden.

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Review of Soul Jacker: A Science Fiction Thriller (Soul Jacker Book 1)

I ended reading Soul Jacker: A Science Fiction Thriller (Soul Jacker Book 1) by Michael John Grist.📚It took quite a while to get into the book and get used to the writing style of the author. But starting with the middle of the book, I was hooked. The story is set in the future in a world which was destroyed by tsunamis. The only habitable place is near the poles, which are no longer covered in ice.

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Review of How I Magically Messed Up My Life in Four Freakin' Days (The Tale of Bryant Adams Book 1)

I just finished reading How I Magically Messed Up My Life in Four Freakin' Days (The Tale of Bryant Adams Book 1) by Megan O’Russell📚. Another book by the same author as “The Tethering” series. I’ve quite liked her writing style so far. The main character finds a phone on his way home, and it happens to be magical. And unfortunately, the owner wants the phone back ;-) But it’s not as simple as it’s sounds, so the adventure begins.

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Review of Practical Microservices: Build Event-Driven Architectures with Event Sourcing and CQRS

I just ended reading Practical Microservices: Build Event-Driven Architectures with Event Sourcing and CQRS by Ethan Garofolo.📚 This book finally gave me an understanding of microservices I now see the value in this architecture. Before the book, my understanding was, that I split my monolithic data model into multiple smaller data models and connect everything back together. However, I was never so happy with this concept, as we now lose the capability to make SQL joins over the full data model.

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Review of The Dragon Unbound (The Tethering Book 3)

I read The Dragon Unbound (The Tethering Book 3) by Megan O’Russell.📚 After the second issue, this book felt like it moved the plot forward again. It keeps the focus on the four main heroes and shows how they try to take part in the war. They still need to learn how to work together and especially trust each other’s intuition. A big part of the book looks at the relationship between Emila and Jacob.

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Review of The Sirens Realm (The Tethering Book 2)

I finished reading The Siren’s Realm (The Tethering Book 2) by Megan O’Russell.📚 This issue deepens the connections between our two main protagonists, while the war between the wizard fractions is starting, Jacob and Emilia go onto a quest together to find some information they hope can help in the fight. I like the second issue a bit better compared to the first, as it took some different turns I was not expecting at the time.

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Review of the Tethering (The Tethering Book 1)

I found my next Harry Potter-like series: The Tethering by Megan O’Russell📚. An orphan gets to know that he is a wizard and goes off to a small private Wizzard boarding school. The first half of the story, I was not yet so convinced about it, as it looked too much like a clone. Though starting with the middle, this changed, and the author introduced some original ideas in her book.

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Review of The Expert System's Brother

I finished reading The Expert System’s Brother by Adrian Tchaikovsky📚a short book about an unknown future of the human race. The social life of the human species was modified to survive in the current ecosystem, and everybody now has a specific job in the group. The planning and thinking are taken care of by specialized humans who have a direct computer connection in their brain. Unfortunately, this does not work correctly every time.

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Review of Born of Air

I just finished gorging Born of Air (The Valdir Chronicles Book 1) by RA Lewis 📚 and now I need to wait for the next issue OO. This book is a classic coming of age fantasy story, and it is written obviously for children. You see through the secrets in the plot quite quickly, but for a short book in-between more complex texts, it is quite right. I love the main protagonist Kalina and how she develops during the book.

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Review of On the Oceans of Eternity

I just finished reading On the Oceans of Eternity: A Novel of the Change by S. M. Stirling.📚This book was not an easy read – which I expected from the start – but it was still a good book. This book concluded the series of the Islander’s from Nantucket, they finish the war with Walker and live happily ever after ;-) I like the idea of this story quite much, but for my taste, it has to much battle and scenery description instead of storytelling.

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Review of Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It

I recently finished reading Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss.📚 The book reads quite easy, and each chapter begins with an example of a real live negotiation situation from the authors past. I like the examples better than the explanation parts following after. But both are needed, and the explanation help understand how you should handle yours.

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Review of A Wrinkle in Time

I just finished reading A Wrinkle in Time (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet Book 1) by Madeleine L’Engle📚 this was another Amazon recommendation which I liked quite a lot. The book is rather short but luckily there another three books :-). The book was reminding me of the book Momo by the German author Michael Ende. It has a lovely main cast with problems I can relate quite a lot. And a valid message that you don’t need to fit in to be accepted.

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Review of La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One

I did not realize that there is a prequel to His dark materials but after I found out I needed to read La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One by Philip Pullman📚at once. The author set this book at a time when Lyra is still a small baby and describes the events shortly after her birth when Malcolm and Alice need to protect here and travel with her to a safe place or perhaps more aptly said find a safe haven for her.

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Review of Homeland

After reading Walkaway, I realized that there is a sequel to Little brother. So I naturally read Homeland by Cory Doctorow📚 as my next book. The book was a rollercoaster for my emotions, but I still liked it. The story starts slow but is accelerating throughout the novel, and I could not let go of it until I nearly had it finished. Compared with Walkaway it is a lot more on the practical side and less philosophical, which makes it easier to read.

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Review of Walkaway

To the first days of a better nation – or not, I just finished reading Walkaway: A Novel by Cory Doctorow 📚. Walkaway is the second book I read from this author, some years ago I strumbled upon Little brother which I liked. I’ve seen some parallels from that book to Walkaway, but you also notice that the author has grown in his writing style. At the start of the book, I was expecting something lighthearted and less dense to read – more like from what I remember Little brother to be – but I’ve got something entirely on the other side of the spectrum.

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Review of Pitch Anything

I just finished reading Pitch Anything: An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal by Oren Klaff.📚 I’ve heard about this book from multiple sides. And I was interested in the topic to broaden my horizon. It took me quite some time to get into the subject of the book. And I have problems believing the content; it’s not that’s something is with it, but the author does feel strange to me.

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Review of Freeze-Frame Revolution

The Freeze-Frame Revolution by Peter Watts📚 was a book proposed by Amazon. The plot description sounded excellent and captivating, and I’ve tried the free reading example. I had some issues to get into the story and understand what’s going on, but once I passed this, the book was terrific, a good idea and perfect execution of it. The main character is a member on a starship cursing through the universe building gateways for faster than light traveling.

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Review of Murderbot series book two to four

I finished the Murderbot (📚) series, should have done it earlier but somehow lost sight of these books. I review the following books here: Artificial Condition: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells Rogue Protocol: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells Exit Strategy: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells The story expands on the concept of the first book, but it starts a new story arc over the next three books.

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Review of The Uninhabitable Earth: A Story of the Future

I just struggled through The Uninhabitable Earth: A Story of the Future by David Wallace-Wells📚. The book has a good beginning followed by a big letdown in the middle and end :-( I think the message is significant in this book is essential and the author manages to explain the side effects of warmer earth quite well. But he then tends to drift off into philosophy and mystical ideas. Some chapters were nearly unreadable.

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Review of The Singularity Trap

Review of The Singularity Trap by Dennis E. Taylor.📚 I want more from this book :-(. It is good, not perfect, but good; unfortunately, it’s not a series. The main character needs the money and joins a crew of an asteroid mining ship. This job pays better than anything else he could do. Of course there is also a high risk of dying, but in this case, there is insurance. And you can always hope for the big lucky strike which earns you more money than you ever will need!

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Review of Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe

I just finished reading Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe by Roger McNamee.📚 The book is a good read, and it confirms what we today know if you follow the topic. Interestingly that I just recently stumbled onto this youtube video: Manipulating the YouTube Algorithm - (Part 1/3) Smarter Every Day 213. It also mentions the same issues and even interviews Renée DiResta as well. It is the third time this year I stumble over here name.

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Review of Vortena: Everybody Loves Large Chests (Vol.3)

I just finished reading Vortena: Everybody Loves Large Chests (Vol.3) by Neven Iliev,📚 this is for the time being the last issue in this series I’m reading. I’m not completely happy with the story development. I especially disliked how Fizzy is treated, and the amount of sex scenes is also increasing for no apparent story-related reason :-( I’m currently not sure if I will follow on this book with the next issue when it is released.

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Review of Fizzlesprocket: Everybody Loves Large Chests (Vol.2)

After being surprised by the first volume, I wanted to know how the story evolves further, so I read Fizzlesprocket: Everybody Loves Large Chests (Vol.2) by Neven Iliev 📚 as well. The mimic goes further on his quest to world domination. It learns a new skill from a gnome by the name of Fizzlesprocket. But due to his nature, it will screw up and will discover that you need to be careful with humans.

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Review of Morningwood: Everybody Loves Large Chests (Vol.1)

After Amazon proposing this book to me for quite some time, I finally took the bate and read Morningwood: Everybody Loves Large Chests (Vol.1) by Neven Iliev.📚It was unexpectedly good. You read this book like when you are playing an RPG it needs a bit getting used to having the status messages of the characters repeated constantly. But when you ignore them the story reads quite well. The main character starts as a cute little mimic in box shape.

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Review of Not On the Label - What Really Goes into the Food on Your Plate

Not On the Label - What Really Goes into the Food on Your Plate by Felicity Lawrence is a 📚 about how our food chain is working nowadays. I’ve read the second edition published after 2013. The book is quite old, but still relevant today. Each chapter of the book explains how the food chain works for a given food item, and what the issue is. We start with beef which includes horse to keep the price low.

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Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

Another book finished: Seveneves by Neal Stephenson.📚 The story starts quite harmless; the moon gets destroyed by an unidentified object. I somehow would have expected a different story behind this setup, compared to what the author produced, he does not answer how and why the moon was destroyed; he follows the consequences of this event, which are rather dire! The author divided the book into three parts; each reads like a different book.

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Review Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible by Jia Jiang

📚 Review of Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible by Jia Jiang, I’ve heard the interview of the author on the episode 49 of the “You are not so smart” podcast and was intrigued about his story. I’m a prime candidate for rejecting myself constantly. Just the idea of asking somebody something is causing me anxiety. And he writes this quite clearly do not stop doing something just because you think other persons would not approve of your idea - ask.

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Review Bobiverse Book 1 to 3

I just devoured the Bobiverse trilogy: We Are Legion (Bobiverse Book 1), For We Are Many (Bobiverse Book 2) and All These Worlds (Bobiverse Book 3) all by Dennis Taylor 📚. Amazon recommended this series – once again, and as I just came of reading something longer and more substantial, it sounded like the right thing to dive into next. And I just consumed all three book back to back!

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Review of Becoming by Michelle Obama

I just finished reading Becoming by Michelle Obama.📚 I did not know much about the Obama family when starting this book, but I remember that I was following the campaign a bit more closely at the time, so I was interested in the book to get some insight and perspective from the inside. The book starts with how she grew up to become the women she is today. It was interesting to read how she needed to learn how to be strong and how important it was for her in reaching any life goals.

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Review of Out of Spite, Out of Mind by Scott Meyer

And another Magic 2.0 book read: Out of Spite, Out of Mind (Magic 2.0 Book 5) by Scott Meyer.📚 I gave the series another change, the characters are still a bit shallow, and the author is continually repeating the same thing the characters are doing. But somehow I cannot stop reading it! The beginning of the book was dull, but it got better towards the end. I like the concept behind the series, but I cannot lose the feeling that the characters are a bit childish.

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Review of The Invisible Gorilla by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons

Review of The Invisible Gorilla by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons.📚 I will never trust my brain again! I think this is what I take out of reading this book. Especially chapter two about the “illusion of memory.” I can see how this works with the example given in the book, where they ask the question what you did on nine eleven. I have a strong memory of this day, but after reading this chapter, I start to doubt it even more.

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Review of Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

Last week I finished reading Mortal Engines (Predator Cities Book 1) by Philip Reeve.📚 Seen the trailer for the movie before Christmas and was intrigued about the story. The book is an easy read. Unfortunately, the author is quite repetitive in his writing. Multiple characters are saying the same things. I understand that these are like proverbs in this world, but it still sounds a bit forced. Luckily the book took some unexpected turns towards the end, and I’m glad it did not lead to an entirely happy ending.

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Review of The Stand by Stephen King

I just finsihed reading The Stand by Stephen King.📚 I’ve heard about this book on the Reconcilable Differences podcast on episode 90. It is my second time reading anything from Steven King. The first instance was Firestarter, which I consumed last year. I have not read more from him as I was subconsciously making a big circle around this author, as for me his name is connected with horror, a genre I don’t like at all.

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Review of All Systems Red by Martha Wells

I just finished reading All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells.📚 This was such a good book it reminded of Run Program by Scott Meyer but in a more adult version. Although the main character is not a human you still care for it – and I’m pretty sure it would not like this ;-) It’s a rather short novel. There are further issues, but the first book can stand on its own.

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Review of the Gate of Gods (The Fall of Ile-Rien Trilogy 3)

I just terminated reading The Gate of Gods (The Fall of Ile-Rien Trilogy 3) by Martha Wells.📚 This book was a lot better again compared to the central issue. I was glad not to abandon the series after the second book. This book finishes the story arc and gives a nice conclusion for the characters. I would gladly read more book set in the same universe. There is undoubtedly a lot of potential for good books here.

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Review of The Selection (The Selection Series, Book 1)

I just finished reading The Selection (The Selection Series, Book 1) by Kiera Cass – again.📚 This series is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. It’s not high-quality prose, but I still like it, and I think this is now the third or fourth time I read this book, which makes it onto the third place of the most reread books (this is an excellent topic to write about – need to take a note of it).

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Review The Ships of Air (The Fall of Ile-Rien Trilogy Book 2)

Last week I finished reading The Ships of Air (The Fall of Ile-Rien Trilogy Book 2) by Martha Wells.📚 The second book starts, where the story in book one ended. The first half of this book could not deliver on the high expectations I had after reading the first issue. The story was dragging along most of the time, and there was no sense of progress. I see that this is quite a different way to manage long journeys in books, instead of just ignoring the time it takes to get from a to b.

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Review The Wizard Hunters (The Fall of Ile-Rien Trilogy Book 1)

I was following the discussion of some of the people on Micro.blog about Martha Wells and decided that I want to read The Wizard Hunters (The Fall of Ile-Rien Trilogy Book 1) by Martha Wells.📚 I like, how the author does the worldbuilding in this book. It has a refreshing combination of a modern tale about ware sprinkled with fantasy elements. I had some problems with getting the motivation of the main character, but after the first third of the book the motivation was understandable, and to the end of the book, it was also relatable.

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Review Hello World - How to be Human in the Age of the Machine

On my stay in London this autumn I saw an advertisement for Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine by Hannah Fry.📚 I like thinking about such problems, and the book displays all the problems we have with AI and machine learning algorithms. Some of the examples given in the book are known when you are interested in this topic. But this book composes a nice collection of all the anecdotes and also gives further insight into the issues the different algorithms have.

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Review of Borderline – Book one of the Arcadia Project series)

Borderline (The Arcadia Project) by Mishell Baker 📚 is a rather short book which went onto my reading list, I think while browsing Amazon the other day. Due to travel plans for the weekend, I needed something new to read, so I gave it a shot. I only realized after half of the book that this is sort of a detective/crime solving novel, a genre I usually avoid. It was a lucky happenstance as otherwise, I would have missed out of a good book and possible series.

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Review Twenty Thousand Leagues Under

I’ve read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne.📚 when I was a child quite some time ago and decided it is time for a reread. It is still a beautiful book to read, but I completely forgot that it consists of mostly listing of fish and other beast living in the sea. I’m not sure if as a child I was riding an abridged version of this book.

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Review Children of the Mind

The last book in the Ender series (Children of the Mind📚) and the second best in my opinion after the first part. I’ve started reading this book and did not realize how fast I was reading it when I’ve next looked at the page counter, and it was already up to 75 percent. I like the how this book creates a logical conclusion of the story arc and at the same time introduces new concepts which allow transforming the whole universe created in the first three books.

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Review Xenocide

I just read Xenocide (The Ender Quartet series Book 3) by Orson Scott Card.📚 I’ve just finished the third book in the Ender quartet series from Mr. Card. I needed to force myself multiple times to “close” the book in the evening and go to sleep as the pages were flying past my eye. It was a long time since I was so immersed in a book like with this.

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Review Speaker for the Dead

I just read Speaker for the Dead (The Ender Quartet series Book 2) by Orson Scott Card 📚. I’ve read this after finishing Enders Game starting the book I was not sure if I will like it as it is entirely different from the setting of Enders Game. But after the first 100 pages, I was in the story and could not stop reading the book. This story has a lot of persons and a lot of names which are (for me) quite similar in sound, never mind that I’m unable to sound out the names correctly, as they are mostly Portuguese.

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