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Lynda Engler

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Great sequel

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-20-24

The Outland series is a "build a new world and government" story that happens to be set in a scifi universe. Not comedic like 'We Are Bob' though it has it's moments, and much bloodier. If you could build a new world on an unspoiled (and dangerous) version of Earth, what would you build? I enjoyed the political and economic discussions by the characters. I'm sure there will be a 3rd book, and hope for even more in this series as they discover even more Earths through the gates.

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Reality or fiction?

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-15-24

In a future where everyone digitally overlays their own "theme" on the world, what is real, and what is fiction?

I love Julia's narration, and of course Brandon and Mary are tops in scifi writing, so I spent 3.5 hours listening to this short story. I am not a fan of short stories because by the time I get into the narrative, it's over. Still, this is 4.5 stars!

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Will's journey is a wild and crazy ride.

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-11-24

Insane AI... falling in love with an artificial intelligence... immortality... simulated realities... this book goes through hours and hours of this stuff before I even figured out what was happening.

It's a very well written novel, but it's a bit, no a LOT, OUT THERE. And note: RC Bray is one of the absolute BEST ever narrators, so take advantage of this one on Audible.

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indy is like a frustrating toddler...

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 08-24-24

... you love them to death, but communicating with them is almost impossible!

Cute story... aliens are real, which makes the premise of Francie warning her BFF off her wedding to a nutjob alien chaser a moot point. As she and a cast of characters, all well voiced!, drive all over the SW as they figure out what their alien wants and fix it.

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Almost as good as the first 2

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 08-06-24

This 3rd book was written after Paul Antony Jones passed away of cancer, written by Robert Greenberger from Paul's notes. it wraps up the series nicely.

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A bit long winded

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 07-16-24

I have truly loved every Adrian Tchaikovsky book I've ever read, but this one wasn't my favorite. It was very long, stretching out a lot of the plot over chapters where very little happened. It was good enough, but not his best work. I started it many months ago, then put it aside for about half a year, and finally decided I'd finish it because I didn't want to get into something new just yet.

The narration was well done making each character truly come alive.

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Liked this one a lot

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 07-16-24

I've read and/or listened to a lot of Winters' books and they are always compelling. #Speculativefiction: it's our world, but ONE thing is different. In this case, it's a scientist who thinks they can pull pieces of time from one person and inject them into another person (who presumably is dying). It all starts with Grace, an FDA employee of 14 years, a middle-aged, divorced woman with a teenager and an elderly mom she takes care of, who is assigned a project involving a catheter port in a young Jane Doe. The case is dropped, but she keeps going with it, unable to get the woman out of her mind.

Mystery, a victim on the run, identity questions...the book is great, but I give it 4 stars because it took the entire first half of the book to really get into the story. Too much background to start, especially around Grace. It's worth the read; It's just not as great as his "Last Policeman" trilogy which I loved!

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Never a dud from John Scalzi

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 07-16-24

This was smart, funny, full of twists and turns, and of course... 🩵 the cats and dolphins. 🐈🐈‍⬛️🐬

Please listen to this one on audiobook. Wil Wheaton does a masterful job narrating it.

Goodreads description: Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place.

Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.

It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyperintelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.

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Any book I finish this fast deserves 5 stars

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 07-16-24

I hope to see more from this debut novelist.

I preordered this one on Audible, then promptly forgot. Of course, I also selected it as my May book from Book of the Month club. No more preorders!

"A time travel romance, a spy thriller, a workplace comedy, and an ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all: Welcome to The Ministry of Time, the exhilarating debut novel by Kaliane Bradley.

Sometimes, time travel means falling in love with a man from 1845 who is scandalized by your calves."

The first third of the book is a comfortable romp through what it means to be part of the 21st century, through the eyes of the "expats" (those saved from death by the time device and brought to "our" time). Not much action, but lots of heart. Then it gets supercharged, in more ways than one.

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For the love of the classics

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 07-16-24

This was a well-produced full cast audio production of George Orwell's classic novel, not a reading of the novel. At just over 3 hours, it was a wonderful listen.

The repercussions of state control over its people still plays out today. And the fears of it happening here and now is the thing of apocalyptic nightmares.

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