Review: The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi

Genre: Science Fiction
Series: No
Pages: 371
Copyright: 2015 
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
In the American Southwest, Nevada, Arizona, and California skirmish for dwindling shares of the Colorado River. Into the fray steps Angel Velasquez, detective, leg-breaker, assassin and spy. A Las Vegas water knife, Angel "cuts" water for his boss, Catherine Case, ensuring that her lush, luxurious arcology developments can bloom in the desert, so the rich can stay wet, while the poor get nothing but dust. When rumors of a game-changing water source surface in drought-ravaged Phoenix, Angel is sent to investigate. There, he encounters Lucy Monroe, a hardened journalist with no love for Vegas and every reason to hate Angel, and Maria Villarosa, a young Texas refugee who survives by her wits and street smarts in a city that despises everything that she represents. With bodies piling up, bullets flying, and Phoenix teetering on collapse, it seems like California is making a power play to monopolize the life-giving flow of a river. For Angel, Lucy, and Maria time is running out and their only hope for survival rests in each other’s hands. But when water is more valuable than gold, alliances shift like sand, and the only thing for certain is that someone will have to bleed if anyone hopes to drink.

Feelings: 
Are you thirsty? Get a glass of water or maybe a gallon or two, and take a glimpse into a possible future.  

This was an amazing book. I think it will probably be the best book I read all year. I finished reading this in January 2016, so I've got 11 months before I find another book I love as much. At times, The Water Knife was a bit scary because the world created was close to the reality of our possible future. Water is more valuable than gold in the American Southwest and the large cities are fighting to control the Colorado River. Does this sound familiar? Maybe just a little bit. Other books I've read by Paolo Bacigalupi had a similar dystopian environmental catastrophe feel to them. This one felt like a reality that could easily be created and had less of the fantasy elements than his previous novels.  

I did not have expectations for this book when I picked it out. I was browsing the library's new books and realized I had just a few minutes before I needed to be somewhere, so I grabbed the first book that had a science fiction sticker on the spine. Not really your typical way of picking a book but a success in this case. I may be implementing this technique again in the future based on the results this time. That being said, I knew nothing about the book when I picked it up. When I read the inside flap, I wasn't sure because it sounded a little like a thriller and I don't normally read them. However, the topic of water shortages in the future intrigued me enough that I decided to give it a try. I'm very glad I did.  

Reading the first chapter I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy the book or not. Angel is not an easy character to connect with. Self-righteous and dangerous seem like apt descriptions of him. The story switches points of view between three characters and through Lucy and Maria I was able to engage with the story at the beginning. By the end of the novel my opinions of the characters had changed and Angel, while not an Angel, had become a character I felt much more connected with. Much of the story follows Angel and Lucy. Lucy, a journalist documenting the fall of Phoenix, has realized she is tired of hiding what she sees happening in the city and risks her life to report on what is really happening. They end up together when they realize they may need each other to survive in the city. I tend to like books with strong characters and this book had strong characters.  

After the first three chapters I did not want to put the book down. While I am glad I do not live in the world created in this novel, I loved reading about it. The book included violence (dystopian society that is falling apart) but I did not feel like it became the story. That being said, while I absolutely think this book is amazing, I know that for those that do not want to read about violence this will not be the book for them.  

I highly recommend this book. Did I say that I think it will be the best book I read all year? I think I did. I did not want The Water Knife to end, and while the ending was satisfying, I would be happy to spend a little more time with these characters. I know I'm not going to think about a glass of water as just a glass of water for a while. You should read it!

Review: Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson

Genre: Science Fiction 
Series: No 
Pages: 466 
Copyright: 2015 
Publisher: Orbit 
Buy: Amazon

Summary: from Good Reads
A major new novel from one of science fiction's most powerful voices, AURORA tells the incredible story of our first voyage beyond the solar system.
Brilliantly imagined and beautifully told, it is the work of a writer at the height of his powers.
Our voyage from Earth began generations ago.

Now, we approach our new home.

AURORA.

Feelings:
The story starts as an interstellar spaceship nears it's destination. Freya has growing up on the ship, and she has never seen a planet or stood on land. Her whole life has been spent on the ship much like those of the past six generations. However, soon they will reach their destination. Aurora is a moon that is much like earth, and the first generation on the ship hoped that their descendants would be able to build a new human settlement on the moon.

As the ship is traveling the last leg of the journey to Aurora we get to know Freya. Devi, Freya's mother, has instructed the ship's AI system to make a narrative account of the journey, and after struggling to do so the ship follows one individual on the ship. Through Freya we see current events on the ship that started it's trip 170 years ago.

I wanted to like this book much more than I ended up liking it. Parts of it were really good, but I found parts a bit slow, and I would get bogged down. I didn't like that aspect of the book. I did like the story. I liked the arc of the story and the growth of characters. However, I did not find the ending to be satisfying in the way I wanted. I don't want to discourage someone from reading the book because overall it was good. I just had some questions about the end and the logistics of it. Not all that big, I came up with a few explanations; however, I would have preferred that one of them be given in the story. I almost felt like it would have been more satisfying to me if the last chapter/section had not been included. I'm not sure but I think I would have been happier.

I think this book is worth a look if you like science fiction. Know that it can be slow at times, and while the ending is satisfying there is one problem that I think should have been addressed but wasn't. That is why I'm not highly recommending this book.

The Martian by Andy Weir

Title: The Martian
Author: Andy Weir
Type: Novel  
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: No
Pages: 384
Copyright: 2014
Publisher: Crown
Rating: 4.5 out of 5


Summary: from goodreads
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him & forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded & completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—& even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—& a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

Feelings: 
I really enjoyed this book. It is one of the first science fiction books, I've read it a while, that felt like it was science fiction and not fantasy. I liked that it was based on science and the character needed all of the science he knew to survive on Mars.

Marc Watney is one of the best characters I've read recently. He is fun, self-detrimental, and self-perserving. It is the mix of traits that made The Martian such and enjoyable book to read. I don't really feel like there is much I can say about this book without giving something away and it is worth reading and discovering. I loved this book. I admit I wasn't sure I was going to but it was really really good. I highly recommend this book. However, if you are easily offended by crude language, this may not be the book for you.

Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie

Title: Ancillary Mercy 
Author: Ann Leckie 
Type: Novel 
Genre: Science Fiction 
Series: Imperial Radch #3 
Pages: 330 
Copyright:  2015 
Publisher: Orbit 
Rating: 5 out of 5


Summary: from Good Reads
The stunning conclusion to the trilogy that began with the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke award-winning Ancillary Justice.For a moment, things seem to be under control for the soldier known as Breq. Then a search of Atheok Station's slums turns up someone who shouldn't exist - someone who might be an ancillary from a ship that's been hiding beyond the empire's reach for three thousand years. Meanwhile, a messenger from the alien and mysterious Presger empire arrives, as does Breq's enemy, the divided and quite possibly insane Anaander Mianaai - ruler of an empire at war with itself.

Anaander is heavily armed and extremely unhappy with Breq. She could take her ship and crew and flee, but that would leave everyone at Athoek in terrible danger. Breq has a desperate plan. The odds aren't good, but that's never stopped her before.

Feelings:
This book was everything I hoped. Breq was an amazing character. I am sad that the series is now complete. While the world Leckie created is not always kind or beautiful, it is well build and expansive. I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book since the other two were such strong books. I had a hard time believing that it would be possible to complete the series in one book, as well. However, Ancillary Mercy was able to just as engaging as Ancillary Justice and Ancillary Sword. This book did have a bit of a different feel. Ancillary Justice had lots of flash backs to the Justice of Toren that the next in the series didn't have. Ancillary Sword was more developed Breq as an ancillary without a ship. Ancillary Mercy shows the transformation and growth of Breq as AI and as an individual.

Ancillary Mercy had me laughing and cheering for the characters. I don't feel like there is much I can say about the book without giving away the enjoyment of discovery. By all means I suggest you get out there and discover the world of the Radch. If you enjoyed the first two in the series, you should pick this one up. My only regret is that there will not be more books telling Breq's story. This is probably my favorite series of books, it might be one of very few books that I will reread down the road.

While I highly recommend this book and series, you should go out and get it right now, I also know that the series is just edgy enough that it will not be for everyone. I am so glad this series is getting the credit it deserves. So when I recommend this book to you, please know that it may not be for you and that is alright. However, give it a chance you may discover a new favorite.  

Ruby: The Adventures of a galactic Gumshoe

Title: Ruby: The Adventures of a Galactic Gumshoe 
Author: Thomas Manuel Lopez 
Type: Radio Story   
Genre: Science Fiction 
Series: Yes 
Copyright: 1982 (radio production) 1993 (audio cd) 
Publisher: ZBS Foundation 
Rating: 4 out of 5 
Actors and Production Team:

• Ruby: Laura Esterman
• T.J. Teru: Bill Raymond
• Angel Lips: Robin Karfo
• And/Or, Rodant Kapoor, and Mother Kapoor: Tom Stewart
• The Android Sisters: Ruth Breuer & Valaria Vasilevski
• Chief Moliere, the Tookah: Fred Neuman
• Onoffon and Moleena Mole: Honora Ferguson
• Offonoff: Valaria Vasilevski
• Monet: Count Stovall
• Moonbeam: Elaine Graham
• Toots Mutant: Cara Duff-McCormick
• Harold Matisse: Chris McCaan
• The Vocoder Chorus: Tim Clark
• The Announcer: Dave Herman
• Executive Producer & Director: Thomas Manuel Lopez
• Author: Meatball Fulton
• Music: Original score for Ruby, composed and performed by Tim Clark

Summary: from Gooreads
Ruby: The Adventures of a Galactic Gumshoe is fast-paced and funny intergalactic entertainment the Marx Brothers would be proud of, with slick, splashy high-tech music and effects created by Tim Clark. The music and sound effects are stunning.

On the planet Summa Nulla (the "high point of nothing") someone is manipulating the media. And Ruby, our hip, tough-talking detective is hired to track down the malefactors.

The Android Sisters perform their satirical speak-songs as Ruby, the galactic gumshoe, encounters some pretty weird planetary inhabitants on her quest for truth and the intergalactic way: The Tookah, with four tentacles, three eyes, a blue mustache and red fez, TJ Teru the archaeologist, Chief Molierre of the Mole People, sneaky little Rodant Kapoor, Angel Lips (the femme fatale of androids) and the Slimeys, genetically engineered assassins.

Originally broadcast around the world in 23 foreign countries: including the CBC, Canada, BBC, England and ABC, Australia.

The Mark Time Award for Best Science Fiction of the Year.

Ruby officially entered Science Fiction's Audio Hall of Fame for Best Science Fiction of 1982. 

Feelings:
I almost gave up on this because I found the background music a bit difficult to listen to. I am so glad I didn't though. Even thought this is now over 20 years old it still is a satire on modern life that rings true.

Ruby was a character that I ended up really enjoying. Most of the story is told from her point of view but it does also have segments that are a radio broadcast with the android sisters. Every time I hear the word "money" now I think of the android sisters and how they messed with peoples minds talking about money.

I highly recommend listening to this. It is a fun adventure in a space world. I hope to be able to find the rest of the series.

Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie

Title: Ancillary Sword 
Author: Ann Leckie 
Type: Novel  
Genre: Science Fiction 
Series: Yes, Imperial Radch #2 
Pages: 391 
Copyright: 2014 
Publisher: Orbit 
Rating: 4.5 out of 5


Summary: from Goodreads
What if you once had thousands of bodies and near god-like technology at your disposal?
And what if all of it were ripped away?

The Lord of the Radch has given Breq command of the ship Mercy of Kalr and sent her to the only place she would have agreed to go -- to Athoek Station, where Lieutenant Awn's sister works in Horticulture.

Athoek was annexed some six hundred years ago, and by now everyone is fully civilized -- or should be. But everything is not as tranquil as it appears. Old divisions are still troublesome, Athoek Station's AI is unhappy with the situation, and it looks like the alien Presger might have taken an interest in what's going on. With no guarantees that interest is benevolent.

Feelings: 
This book was just as good as the first book. I was worried that maybe the story wouldn't bee as strong. I should not have worried. Breq is still a character I like spending time with. Again I had difficulty adjusting to reading book in which gender is not something we can get from the use of pronouns. I actually like that there is only one pronoun for both genders. However, I did find myself guess about the gender of the characters frequently. I thought I know about Breq's gender but I'm not sure anymore and I don't think it really matters.

This story takes place after the Lord of Radch has gone to war with herself. Breq is sent to protect a station and the surrounding planets. The previous novel switched back and forth between the present time and the past.  This book is all in the present.

I'm really looking forward to the next book coming out in October of this year. I highly recommend this book and series to anyone who enjoys science fiction.

This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Title: This Shattered World 
Author: Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner 
Type: Young Adult Novel 
Genre: Fantasy 
Series: Yes. Starbound  #2 
Pages: 394 
Copyright: 2014 
Publisher: Hyperion 
Rating: 4 out of 5


Summary: from good reads
The second installment in the epic Starbound trilogy introduces a new pair of star-crossed lovers on two sides of a bloody war.

Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac should never have met.

Lee is captain of the forces sent to Avon to crush the terraformed planet's rebellious colonists, but she has her own reasons for hating the insurgents.

Rebellion is in Flynn's blood. Terraforming corporations make their fortune by recruiting colonists to make the inhospitable planets livable, with the promise of a better life for their children. But they never fulfilled their promise on Avon, and decades later, Flynn is leading the rebellion.

Desperate for any advantage in a bloody and unrelentingly war, Flynn does the only thing that makes sense when he and Lee cross paths: he returns to base with her as prisoner. But as his fellow rebels prepare to execute this tough-talking girl with nerves of steel, Flynn makes another choice that will change him forever. He and Lee escape the rebel base together, caught between two sides of a senseless war.

Feelings: 
I think I might actually like this story more than the first in the series. We did have a small over lay in characters but mostly it was the same universe. I didn't mind it having new characters because the first in the series, These Broken Stars, was a complete story. This Shattered World did reference the first book enjoy that reading it without having read the first book might have been a little confusing.

The characters in this story, Jubilee and Flynn were interesting characters and I liked them. This book was a little more chaste than the first book. In the first book the characters spend a lot more time together and I felt like they really knew each other. In this story Jubilee and Flynn are just starting to get to know each other so I didn't feel like anything was missing as far as the romance goes.

I really enjoy the universe that is creating in this series. While the both books are grounded on a planet we know that the expanse of the universe is large.

I recommend this series. 

Falling Sky by Rajan Khanna

Title: Falling Sky 
Author: Rajan Khanna 
Type: Novel 
Genre: Dystopian Fantasy 
Series: No 
Pages: 255 
Copyright: 2014 
Publisher: Pry 
Rating: 3 out of 5


Summary: from good reads
Ben Gold lives in dangerous times. Two generations ago, a virulent disease turned the population of most of North America into little more than beasts called Ferals. Some of those who survived took to the air, scratching out a living on airships and dirigibles soaring over the dangerous ground.

Ben has his own airship, a family heirloom, and has signed up to help a group of scientists looking for a cure. But that's not as easy as it sounds, especially with a power-hungry air city looking to raid any nearby settlements. To make matters worse, his airship, the only home he's ever known, is stolen. Ben must try to survive on the ground while trying to get his ship back. 

This brings him to Gastown, a city in the air recently conquered by belligerent and expansionist pirates. When events turn deadly, Ben must decide what really matters--whether to risk it all on a desperate chance for a better future or to truly remain on his own.

Feelings: 
I wasn't sure what I was going to think of this book. There are sort of zombies but called Ferals that are humans who have lost their sanity and will kill other humans just because they can. If a human's skin is in contact with fluids from a Feral they become Feral themselves. A little like zombies.

I was surprised that I like this novel as much as I did but I enjoyed it. People live in floating cities to get away from the Ferals and to keep themselves safe. I found the story intriguing and the characters interesting. This was not a book that I would normally read. I would recommend the book to anyone who enjoys dystopian fiction.

A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin

Title: A Storm of Swords
Author: George R. R. Martin
Type: Audiobook
Narrator: Roy Dotrice
Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction
Series:Yes, A Song of Ice and Fire #3
Pages: 39 CDs, 47.5 hours
Copyright: 2012
Publisher: Random House Audio
Rating: 5 out of 5


Summary:  from Good Reads.

Here is the third volume in George R.R. Martin's magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings. Together, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.

Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, victim of the sorceress who holds him in her thrall. Young Robb still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world. And as opposing forces maneuver for the final showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost limits of civilization, accompanied by a horde of mythical Others—a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords...

Feelings: 
I again listened to the audiobook of this George R. R. Martin book. I enjoy the reading of the book and think it also gives me a little more self control than I would have if I was reading the book. I don't want to miss work because I'm reading. I'm already tempted sometimes and that is without "A Song of Fire and Ice" to tempt me.

In a series like this it is difficult to write a review without giving away what happened in previous books or some hint of what will happen in this book. The next book is going to be so different. The changes that in character, growth, were amazing. I went from liking some characters to disliking them and visa versa.

My partner who has already read the books likes to ask what happened in the story recently. I found myself telling him, almost every time he asked, "people died" or "more people died."

On of my favorite parts of George R. R. Martin's writing is that he is able to surprise me, yet once it happens I can't imagine it any other way. The inevitability of an occurrence without it being so obvious that I guess exactly what is going to happen.

I highly recommend this series. I can't wait to start the next. Still deciding if I want to listen to it or try reading it.

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

Title: Ancillary Justice 
Author: Ann Leckie 
Type: Novel 
Genre: Science Fiction 
Series: Yes, Imperial Radch #1 
Pages: 409 
Copyright: 2013 
Publisher: Orbit 
Rating: 4 out of 5


Cover Rating: 2.5 out of 5
I do not think I would have read the book if I had seen this cover. I was picturing something more like a planet dark blue with a yellow line of light on the edge from maybe one of the lotuses that Breq carries. I don't think that the Star Wars theme cover is bad I just don't like it as much. I think I did a much better job imagining what the ships looked like that the cover does. Even though the cover does fit the book it doesn't make me what to read the book at all. Thus I would say it is a failure in that respect because what is inside is an amazing story.

Before Cover was drawn.

Summary: from Good Reads.
On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.

Breq is both more than she seems and less than she was. Years ago, she was the Justice of Toren--a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of corpse soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.

An act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with only one fragile human body. And only one purpose--to revenge herself on Anaander Mianaai, many-bodied, near-immortal Lord of the Radch.

From debut author Ann Leckie, Ancillary Justice is a stunning space opera that asks what it means to be human in a universe guided by artificial intelligence.

My idea for the cover

Feelings: 
I thought that this was a hard book to read. This was largely because of how gender is written. The narrative is in the first person and the narrator comes from a place were gender is neutral and thus has a hard time defining gender when she is talking in other languages and must identify the gender of the person she is talking to. The language the narrator speaks uses the female pronoun "she" "her" for all genders and this can get a bit confusing.

"I'll rent a sledge," I said, "and buy a hypothermia kit."
Behind me one of the patrons chuckled and said, voice mocking, "Aren't you a tough little girl." (p. 2)

This is the only indication I have of the narrators gender through out the book. Gender is often from another characters insight or comment and not from Breq. I really liked Breq, the narrator, she (using it here not because she is female but because that is the pronoun the book uses) is very different from most narrators I've read. There are many odd things that we learn as we travel with Breq. The book also follows Breq's character 20 years in the past leading to the events of today.

For the first fifty pages maybe more I found the lack of gender really hard to follow. However, I did get used to it and as we gathered a group of characters and stayed with them it got easier to follow what was happening and not get caught up in the oddness of only seeing the female pronoun used.

She was probably male, to judge from the angular mazelike patterns quilting her shirt. I wasn't entirely certain. It wouldn't have mattered, if I had been in Radch Space. Radichaai don't care much about gender, and the language they speak--my own first language--doesn't mark gender in any way. (p. 3)

I don't want to give to much away about the story because it was really good and I thought reading it without a cover or a story blurb added to the appeal of the story.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes Science Fiction.

Across The Universe by Beth Revis

Title: Across The Universe

Author: Beth Revis

Type: Young Adult Novel
Genre: Fantasy

Series: Yes, Across The Universe #1

Pages: 398
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: Razorbill

Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Summary: from Good Reads
A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.


Feelings: 
Space travel on a huge ship with hills and farms sounds pretty cool right? Well it is a ship and it is heading for a planet that is supposed to be an earth substitute, but is possible that it might not be habitable.

The story moves back and forth between Amy, who is traveling as frozen cargo aboard the ship to be woken when the reach the new planet, Centauri-Earth, and Elder, the next leader of the ship. This turns out to the the story of Amy and Elder as they get to know each other and protect the other frozen people from being killed and woken up. Amy is terrified by the fact that she won't be able to see her parents and that everything she knows is gone. Elder is frustrated that he is stuck on a ship and the planet is still in the future. Elder has never been of the ship but he longs to leave.

I enjoyed the story of trying to figure out how and why Godspeed, the ship, was the way it was and how the people ended up being so different that what Amy remembers, yet they think they are normal.

It would be interesting to think about space travel in this way, generation after generation piloting the ship on its way across space. I enjoyed this book a lot and am looking forward to reading the next in the series.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Title: Allegiant

Author: Veronica Roth

Type: Young Adult Novel
Genre: Fantasy

Series: Yes, Divergent #3
Pages: 526
Copyright: 2013

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

Feelings:
This book explains the world in which they live but I have to admit I didn't really like the explanation. I also didn't think this book was as strong as the other books. The weakest point in the books has been the relationship between Tris and Tobias, Four, and this book didn't improve in that regard. The way the relationship is dealt with still seems weak to me and not believable.

The ending of the book was a bit of a surprise and I appreciated that. I just felt that everything that lead to that point was weak and needed to be a little more developed. They just left one dangerous situation I don't think they are going to jump right into another one. It seems more like they would want to have a little time to themselves and to digest what they just learned but they don't do that.

Of all of the books this one was my least favorite. I would recommend it to those that want to finish the series but I wouldn't start the series if again if I knew the last book would be a let down.

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson

Title: The Summer Prince
Author: Alaya Dawn Johnson
Type: Young Adult Novel
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: No
Pages: 289
Copyright: 2013
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine 
Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Summary: From Good Reads

A heart-stopping story of love, death, technology, and art set amid the tropics of a futuristic Brazil.

The lush city of Palmares Três shimmers with tech and tradition, with screaming gossip casters and practiced politicians. In the midst of this vibrant metropolis, June Costa creates art that’s sure to make her legendary. But her dreams of fame become something more when she meets Enki, the bold new Summer King. The whole city falls in love with him (including June’s best friend, Gil). But June sees more to Enki than amber eyes and a lethal samba. She sees a fellow artist.

Together, June and Enki will stage explosive, dramatic projects that Palmares Três will never forget. They will add fuel to a growing rebellion against the government’s strict limits on new tech. And June will fall deeply, unfortunately in love with Enki. Because like all Summer Kings before him, Enki is destined to die.

Pulsing with the beat of futuristic Brazil, burning with the passions of its characters, and overflowing with ideas, this fiery novel will leave you eager for more from Alaya Dawn Johnson.

Feelings:
June Costa is a resented in the Palmares Três pyramid and she has always put her art first. She lives in tier eight one of the higher levels placing her among the individuals with more going for them. Enki the new Summer King is from verde the lowest level and not the nicest place in Palmares Três. 

June and Enki form a friendship built around creating political art. Gil Junen's best friend became Enki's lover his first night as the new Summer King and June feels it is necessary to keep things between herself and Enki about art and not to let it become sexual. As the Summer King Enki has many lovers. People allow him this because he will die at the end of the summer to justify the queen staying on a queen. 

The third thing you should know about Enki is that he wants to die. He doesn't seem like the kind of boy, I know. They almost never do. But he wants to be a summer king, and so he wants to die. (p. 13)

This is a story about young individuals in a world of adults that don't age and who are given power but Enki a young summer king who will die. I really enjoyed reading this book. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting but it was still good.

I would recommend this book to individuals that like young adult fantasy and science fiction.
 

Brilliance by Marcus Sakey

Title: Brilliance
Author: Marcus Sakey
Type: Novel
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Yes, Brilliance Saga #1
Pages: 452
Copyright: 2013
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer 
Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Summary: From Good Reads

In Wyoming, a little girl reads people’s darkest secrets by the way they fold their arms. In New York, a man sensing patterns in the stock market racks up $300 billion. In Chicago, a woman can go invisible by being where no one is looking. They’re called "brilliants," and since 1980, one percent of people have been born this way. Nick Cooper is among them; a federal agent, Cooper has gifts rendering him exceptional at hunting terrorists. His latest target may be the most dangerous man alive, a brilliant drenched in blood and intent on provoking civil war. But to catch him, Cooper will have to violate everything he believes in - and betray his own kind.

From Marcus Sakey, "a modern master of suspense" (Chicago Sun-Times) and "one of our best storytellers" (Michael Connelly), comes an adventure that’s at once breakneck thriller and shrewd social commentary; a gripping tale of a world fundamentally different and yet horrifyingly similar to our own, where being born gifted can be a terrible curse.

Feelings:
The reason I'm not giving this book a 4 is because Nick Cooper is an asshole and he knows it but he doesn't seem to care. Somehow, I did come to like him as a character but it took a while. I liked the premise of the book and found that interesting so I thought I would give it a try and see how it turned out. I'm glad I did but it was difficult at first because Cooper really is a difficult character.

Brilliants are a little like the X-Men with special skills. Brilliants aren't quite as powerful as the X-Men though. When I first picked up this book to read it I didn't think it was a series. I found out when I got to the end that it is a series.

The government is made up mostly of non-brilliants, the majority of the population. The brilliants are often subjugated and this leads to them form a resistance. The resistance is viewed by the government as terrorists and thus begins a war that Nick Cooper working for the government would do anything to stop. After hearing a person ask "how do we tell who is good and who is bad," he has an idea about how to gain access to the other side. He agrees to take the blame for an attack and thus be hunted by his own organization. I thought the second half of the book, Cooper on the run, was better than the first. I'm interested to see were it goes in the next books.

I would recommend this book but it is violent and I don't think for everyone.

A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin

Title: A Clash of Kings

Author: George R. R. Martin

Type: Audiobook
Narrator: Roy Dotrice
Genre: Fantasy

Series: A Song of Fire and Ice book #2

Copyright: 2004
Publisher: Random House Audio

Rating: 4 out of 5


Summary: from Amazon


A comet the color of blood and flame cuts across the sky. Two great leaders—Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon—who hold sway over an age of enforced peace are dead, victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns. Six factions struggle for control of a divided land and the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms, preparing to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.

Feelings:
I didn't like this book as much as I did the first in the series. It felt much slower than the first book to me. I kept reminding myself that this and the next book were originally going to be one book but because of length they were split into two books. That being said, it would have been very long if it was one book and splitting them was probably a good thing.

In this book we keep some of the old narrators from The Game of Thrones: Tyrion Lannister, Catelyn Stark, Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, Bran Stark, Jon Snow, and Daenerys, and gained some new: Davos Seaworth, and Theon Greyjoy. Nine points of view. We all have the characters that we would rather read and the ones we wish would just shut up, or die, but they don't seem to. I was pleased to find that Tyrion seemed to have a large potion of the narration dedicated to him. He is a wonderful character and he lends humor to a book that is often dark.

This book slowed down the series and action. I noticed that lots happened when the narration wasn't with that individual narrator. This leads to there being lots of hearsay. There were a few characters that this was not the case for mostly because of their isolation for others, Jon Snow and Daenerys. I don't know that not always being present at the moment of the battle was a bad thing but I think that maybe it would have been good to see the action as it happened rather than by messenger birds. 

The book does hold on the the reader and the world that is created is amazing. I would recommend the book to those that liked the first and the series to those that like epic fantasy. Also, be warned this is not a completed series, only five out so far, so you will be left hanging until the author finishes the last two books.

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Title: Ship Breaker 
Author: Paolo Bacigalupi 
Type: Young Adult Novel 
Genre: Science Fiction 
Series: Companion to The Drowned Cities 
Pages: 323 
Copyright: 2010 
Publisher: Little Brown and Company 
Rating: 3 out of 5


Summary: from Good Reads.

A gritty, high-stakes adventure set in a futuristic world where oil is scarce, but loyalty is scarcer.

In America's Gulf Coast region, grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts by crews of young people. Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota-and hopefully live to see another day. But when, by luck or by chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it's worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life....

In this powerful novel, Paolo Bacigalupi delivers a thrilling, fast-paced adventure set in a vivid and raw, uncertain future.

Feelings: 
This book felt like it was trying to make a point about climate change. The oceans have risen and many cities are now underwater. Oil is scarce and the jungle has taken over the world that we know. The rich sail in clippers with para-sails that get shot up into the jet stream.

Nailer dreams about what it would have been like if he had not been born where he was. What might have been if Richard Lopez was not his father. What would have happened if he hadn't been able to get out of the oil. An event that changes the way he thinks. Could he leave someone to die like Sloth was going to do to him? But family is blood and Nailer doesn't leave his father to die even when a city killer sweeps the beach of all their houses and Richard is to high and drunk to wake up.

"My dad!" He waved back at his own shack, a shadow still miraculously upright. "He won't wake up!" Pima's mother stared through the blackness and rain towards the shack. Her lips pursed. "Hell. All right." She waved at Pima. "You take him up." (p. 65-66).

After the storm is over Nailer realizes that he can't just let someone die when he could help them even when he doesn't know that person.

What was wrong with him? Nailer wanted to punch a wall. Why couldn't he just be smart? Why couldn't he just crew up and cut the girl and take the scavenge? Nailer could almost hear his father laughing at him. Mocking him for his stupidity. But as Nailer stared into the drowned girls pleading eyes, they might as well have been his own. (p. 99-100)

Knowing what it felt like to be left to die Nailer can't do that to someone else. The act of saving the girl, Nita, changes how he views the world. It also leads to Nailer wondering about family and blood and what it really means.

This book is full of character development. It also stresses the importance of environmental consciousness in a new and different way. Placing the story on the gulf coast after there are no longer big cities because of the number of hurricanes and storms that hit the coast, creates a kind of awareness of what might happen without it seeming to be a dooms day environmental book.

I would recommend this book to readers that enjoy a good story with adventure, chase, and fighting.

A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix

Title: A Confusion of Princes
Author: Garth Nix
Type: Young Adult Novel
Genre: Fantasy
Series: No
Copyright: 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads

You'd think being a Prince in a vast intergalactic empire would be about as good as it gets. Particularly when Princes are faster, smarter, and stronger than normal humans. Not to mention being mostly immortal.

But it isn't as great as it sounds. Princes need to be hard to kill--as Khemri learns the minute he becomes one--for they are always in danger. Their greatest threat? Other Princes. Every Prince wants to become Emperor, and the surest way to do so is to kill, dishonor, or sideline any potential competitor. There are rules, but as Khemri discovers, rules can be bent and even broken.

Soon Khemri is drawn into the hidden workings of the Empire and dispatched on a secret mission. In the ruins of space battle he meets a young woman called Raine, who challenges his view of the Empire, of Princes, and of himself.

But Khemri is a Prince, and even if he wanted to leave the Empire behind, there are forces that have very definite plans for his future. . . .

Feelings: 
I enjoyed reading this book it was very different from many of the other Grath Nix books I have read. My favorite by him are the Abhorsen series. I think those are by far the best books by him. I have not read his other well know series The Keys to the Kingdom.

This book takes place in a very different world than what we would know. There is space travel and a higher intelligence that dictates what princes must do as well as others. The world which this is set in is very unique and described in a way that makes it easy to understand and enter.

Khemri is a Prince and he has died three times. When he is connected to the Mind he can be reborn, yes, as an adult the same age as he was when he died. a little odd I know but I enjoyed it. The deaths are even a confusion to Khemri at first.

This is in many ways a love story but it is well written and worth reading. I would recommend this to those that have read Garth Nix's other books and like them.

Railsea by China Miéville

Title: Railsea

Author: China Miéville
Type: Novel
Genre: Fantasy/Science Fiction

Series: No
Copyright: 2012
Publisher: Del Rey Books

Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads
On board the moletrain Medes, Sham Yes ap Soorap watches in awe as he witnesses his first moldywarpe hunt: the giant mole bursting from the earth, the harpoonists targeting their prey, the battle resulting in one’s death and the other’s glory. But no matter how spectacular it is, Sham can't shake the sense that there is more to life than traveling the endless rails of the railsea–even if his captain can think only of the hunt for the ivory-coloured mole she’s been chasing since it took her arm all those years ago. When they come across a wrecked train, at first it's a welcome distraction. But what Sham finds in the derelict—a series of pictures hinting at something, somewhere, that should be impossible—leads to considerably more than he'd bargained for. Soon he's hunted on all sides, by pirates, trainsfolk, monsters and salvage-scrabblers. And it might not be just Sham's life that's about to change. It could be the whole of the railsea.

From China Miéville comes a novel for readers of all ages, a gripping and brilliantly imagined take on Herman Melville's Moby-Dick that confirms his status as "the most original and talented voice to appear in several years." (Science Fiction Chronicle)

Feelings: 
This is not a book for everyone but for those that like to think and be challenged by the way language is used this is a good book for you. This was classified as Young Adult by some places and not by others. This is not an easy book to read and I would think that much of what makes it interesting would be lost on younger readers. My feeling is that because the book is told from a young boy's perspective it is categorized as such. There are some young adults that would be able to understand all the  intricacies of this book but I think it is more appropriate for an adult audience.

At a fair on Streggeye, a show of restored findings. Hooked  up to chuggering generators, a whining thing like a needy animal prince issuing stupid orders: a fax machine. An ancient screen on which enthusiastic badly drawn figures hit each other: a vijogame. (p.156)

Miéville plays with language in this story in a way that makes the reader at times feel like they are being told a story but so all knowing being and at times as though they are with the characters on the railsea living through the struggles they face. Because of the use of language in here this is not a book for everyone, there will be people that will love it, and those that will hate it. I can't say that being a fan of Fantasy/Science Fiction is going to make you a fan of this book. Nor can I say that like the intricacy of language play will help you like this book. If you do decide to pick of this book, which I would suggest you do, you need to give it at least until page 30 where much of the world the book takes place in is described. I would however suggest reading at least to Part II before you say it isn't for you.

People have wanted to narrate since first we banged rocks together & wondered about fire. There'll be tellings as long as there are any of us here, until the stars disappear one by one like turned-out lights. (p. 106)

This is an exert from a short chapter that is more about something outside of the story than within the story or a comment on the actual telling of the story. The book is full of short chapters that are both thought provoking and remove the reader from the story, these will annoy some readers but I found them intriguing.

The use of "&" rather than the writing out of "and" will take some getting used to but the explanation which doesn't come until page 163 is worth reading and had it come any sooner would not have had the same impact that it does coming later in the story.

I do not want to say to much about the plot of the story as saying more than is in the summary will give away to much and the discovery is worth the read. This is one of the best books that I have read in a long while. I highly recommend it.

Review: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Narrator: Christopher Hurt
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Series: No
Copyright: 2005 (first published 1953)
Publisher:  Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Buy: Amazon

Summary:
In an alternate time line Guy Montag is a fireman. Instead of putting out fires he starts them. In a day when all houses are fire proof one must take different measures if they wish to get rid of things that the government bans. He and the fire department are in charge of making sure everyone follows the rules. This means no books, and those who have books must be punished. Guy Montag enjoys starting fires to burn the houses with books. He enjoys the heat, the smell of kerosene. He does not question the reason why he must burn the books he just does it, until he meets a 17 year old girl who moves in next door to him and a professor who no longer teaches but hides in fear like everyone else. The girl is different and she makes him think about the world around him and how it got to be the way it is.

Feelings:
I really enjoyed listening to Fahrenheit 451. The descriptions were amazing. There is nothing like a good book burning when described with such beauty. This is the first Ray Bradbury book I have heard/read. I have to admit I'm surprised I didn't find him sooner. Guy Montag is an interesting man who starts out just like everyone else in the book he doesn't think for himself. He doesn't love. He doesn't feel anything. The world Bradbury creates is so like our own yet so different. I wonder if we are moving towards a world like the one in Fahrenheit 451 or if books will survive in this area of immediate pleasure. The characters in here were vibrant and full of life until the very end. The mechanical hound with eight legs is such a strange hound we wonder how it can be a hound. The fire engine named after the mythical salamander that breathed fire is such an interesting image. I don't imagine wheels but legs that crawl down the roads to start the next fire and then back to the station. I would recommend this to anyone that likes science fiction. It is a vibrant colorful book.