Reviews and Comments

This was a great book that was very fun to read. Very lively characters and engaging plot all set in a refreshing fantasy setting that breaks from the European tropes. The magic was exciting, yet not overbearing- at the end of the day the story is about the relationship between the four main characters and how that ties to the greater geopolitical struggles they find themselves in. The novel also wraps up very neatly making this a good standalone book, though I wouldn't mind reading other stories set in this world!

For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2020/01/book-review-steel-crow-saga-by-paul.html

I'm a fan of Sanderson and this is a classic Sanderson novel. Good characters, intricate setting, and a racing plot. One of my favorite things about his books is how he sets up a mystery for the characters to solve and effectively encourages the reader to do the same. Yet somehow, he always manages to stay one step ahead of me- I always think I know what the 'answer' is yet at the end, I'm always proven wrong and the real answer is far more interesting than what I expected. This happens again here and in hindsight there is plenty of cleverly hidden foreshadowing that would be rewarding to look through in a re-read.

For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2020/01/book-review-starsight-by-brandon.html

This was quite a good book, with lots of grand topics and epic feats as ordinary people struggle against the forces of nature. It has a decent set characters, though it changes part way, and there is no single main character across the whole story. In typical hard-scifi fashion, a lot of time is spent describing scientific concepts, such as orbital mechanics or genetics. I was OK with this, but your mileage may vary.

For a more in-depth review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2019/07/book-review-seveneves-by-neal-stephenson.html

This was a great book. It combines an interesting historical period with some magic and strong character-driven stories. I was fascinated by the historical aspect and kept trying to guess or find out what the various nations and people were supposed to represent. Although I can't say I'm an expert of the late 1400s, I still was able to see the main historical players at the time and could research the rest. Of course, none of this is required to enjoy the story, but for me it was an added bonus.

For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2019/04/book-review-children-of-earth-and-sky.html

Overall, this is a nice, short book that further continues the story of The Interdependency. In my opinion, it's not as good as its predecessor though it has its redeeming moments. I wish the characters or the plot were a bit more complex, but at least the setting gives me many things to think about. Even though it started slow, it certainly picked up pace in the later half of the book and ended with some epic scenes.

For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2019/02/book-review-consuming-fire-by-john.html

This was a very enjoyable read. I approached it as a standalone novella, yet was surprised to see it's a full length novel (~500 pages) and the first in a series. This means there's more cool things to see in this world. It's among the few Sanderson sci-fi works I've read so it's good to see he can also excel here as he does in fantasy. The characters were cool (especially the ship!) and the plot, though at times predictable, is paced perfectly. This will be a series to look out for.

For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2018/12/book-review-skyward-by-brandon-sanderson.html

Very interesting ending to the trilogy. It felt like it had an extended epilogue since the main climax happens early on, but this was actually quite satisfying as it allowed us to see lots of threads wrap up and discover even more about the universe that Binti lives in.

If you've been reading the series, I recommend you finish it by reading this book. It wraps up several of the overarching plot lines and brings closure to many character stories. This series is a bit of an odd one for me. Despite classifying it as fantasy in my blog, it isn't quite that. It has elements of fantasy, but it's more grounded in reality. Yet it's not magic realism in that way either; if anything, it's its opposite: magic without fantasy. This is a book about magic and fantasy for fans of neither, for fans of contemporary fiction that have little to no idea about speculative genre fiction and have no strong interest in pursuing it. It's nevertheless, an interesting and engaging read, and this final book is probably the best one in the trilogy.

See a full review at my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2018/11/book-review-magicians-land-by-lev.html

An great continuation in the Binti universe. This one really feels like a second part of the story and ends in a bit of a cliffhanger, but otherwise it was good to see more of Binti's experiences as she struggles to accept who she is, who her family wants her to be, and who she is becoming.

An excellent collection of hard sci-fi stories from Liu Cixin, author of The Three Body Problem. Lots of really interesting concepts and themes are explored, ranging from alien contact, technology, exploration, and the end of the world.

See my review on my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2018/06/book-review-wandering-earth-by-liu-cixin.html

Overall, this was a pretty interesting book. A Ringworld would be incredible to behold and live in. While this novel is just the introduction to this world, it does a good job at selling the wonders and dangers of it. Plot-wise and character-wise it's not particularly noteworthy, but I think this is the type of book you read just for the setting. Maybe the other books in the series drive up the story, but even if they only explore the Ringworld and it's mysteries, that might be enough.

See my full review on my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2018/05/book-review-ringworld-by-larry-niven.html

I can see why this is a well-regarded book. Its strengths, like many classic science fiction novels, is in the setting, in the way alien ideas are presented in a way that reflects modern life today. This is a story of making an alien culture feel more human than our own. I was left wondering if a society like theirs could somehow improve upon the ills of our own world or if it would only make things worse. While I didn't care much for the slow plot and the cast of characters, I was impressed by the philosophical implications of their society and I'm sure it's the sort of thing I will think of for years to come.

See my full review at my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2018/04/book-review-left-hand-of-darkness-by.html

This was a fascinating short read. It can be finished in an hour or two and you can even find a free preview of it at Tor. I'm always a fan of world building but frequently forget that while other species and distant planets are fine, there are plenty of exciting peoples here on Earth too. Binti is indisputably human and a hero with intriguing talents and an exotic culture that makes her that much cooler. I'm curious to learn more about her story and wonder what the other two books in the series are about.

You can find my full review over at my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2018/02/book-review-binti-by-nnedi-okorafor.html

I'm sad to say I was a bit let down in this book of the series. Maybe I over-hyped my memory for the past books or maybe I've just been reading too many good books recently, but I felt it fell far short of what I remembered from the past. The characters are still there, though I didn't feel they were as outstanding on this novel. Plot wise the book felt incomplete; clearly setting up for the next installment. I still intend to finish the 5-book series, though, since I have hopes that the latter two novels will be as good as the first two.

For my full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2018/02/book-review-tyrants-law-by-daniel.html