His Majesty’s Dragon, Temeraire Book 1 by Naomi Novik. (4/5) I really enjoyed this one; it favorably reminds me of the other SF&F recastings of Napoleonic ships and tactics. As soon as I finished, I wanted to get the next ones in the series.
Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik was enjoyable, but not as successful as His Majesty’s Dragon. Started strong, but travel was lengthy — good for immersion, but hard to keep interesting. Characters still engaging; China events mostly pay off. (3/5)
Black Powder War (Temeraire book 3) was another slow start; after delay Istanbul becomes interesting, then it finishes strong. Enjoyed it, but not enough to keep going. (2/5)
The Oracle Year by Charles Soule. (4/5) A book set today with barely any fantastic elements. It’s engaging — kept me up reading late each night. It does a great job of providing tiny but affecting events and believable consequences from them.
Why Girls are Weird by Pamela Ribon. (4/5) Anna tangles with modern life, relationships, desires and delusions. Another entry in a tiny niche that I often enjoy: early blog writers as stars of the story.
Sheri S Tepper- The Visitor: A decent idea that I never really warmed to; not as well executed as most of her novels. (2/5) A few parallel stories that come together; an odd mash of modern, religious, and post apocalyptic.
In an Absent Dream – Seanan McGuire (4/5). An interesting trip through the door, great interactions and grounded perspective. Not the best starting place for the Wayward Children series.
The Return of Depression Economics by Paul Krugman: Well presented, with clear and illustrative examples. The various replays and “contagion” affecting investors with broad heuristics (instead of deep research) feels like shortcuts bite us 101. 4/5
How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin. Great collection of short stories, including a few concepts that went a different direction elsewhere. Strong stories for many different reasons–The Effluent Engine characters, … Not Enough Tomorrows setting. 4/5