Quick Sips - Lightspeed #99

The four original short stories of August’s Lightspeed Magazine have a lot to do with age and aging. They find characters at different stages of their lives, from adolescents running afoul of a truly foul justice system to people pushing middle age and having to make some hard decisions to older characters making a difference even after their so-called retirement. The worlds explored here are varied and strange, bent reflections offering views through which we can examine areas of our own world, our own lives. It’s a varied and interesting slew of short fiction, so without further delay, to the reviews!

Art by Waiji Choo

Quick Sips - The Book Smugglers December 2015

So December sees the third and final installment of the Spindle City Mysteries from The Book Smugglers (for now, at least) and manages to bring to a satisfying conclusion a series that I have absolutely loved. With all three-part stories, there is some question as to how things are going to go. Will the story bring the characters through the storm of pain and problems that have been plaguing them throughout, or will there be a more tragic end in store for Jimmy and the gang? With a whole lot of happily ever after baggage to unpack, this series continues to impress, and I will just get to reviewing it already!

Art by Melanie Cook

Quick Links - 04/26/2015

Wow, this week has a lot of reviews for my Quick Links. I had a review go up at Nerds of a Feather and Teenreads, plus mostly caught myself up on my Goodreads reviews. So there's a lot to enjoy. Most of the entries are a little on the meh side of things, but there were a few that brought the average up, and no stinkers, so that's always good. Hurrah!

Prophecies, Libels, and Dreams by Ysabeau S. Wilce (Nerds of a Feather, my score 6/10) - A good collection with a great structure and idea. I wanted so much for this to succeed a bit more than I feel it did for me. Still fun, though.

Prophecies, Libels, and Dreams by Ysabeau S. Wilce (Goodreads, my score 3/5) - And here is my inevitable review for myself. Once again, the theme is that I liked it, but wanted a bit more cohesion and a bit more of a complete picture. Still, some very good stories.

Last of the Sandwalkers by Jay Hosler (Teenreads) - I did my Goodreads review of this last links, but here is my more "official" review. Basically, it is a great story. Science! The entire time I was thinking of Bill Nye taking apart Ken Hamm's "science" argument. Good times...

Prince of Dogs by Kate Elliott (Goodreads, my score 4/5) - I liked this entry in the series a bit more than the first book, which bodes well for the rest of the Crown of Stars. Of course, it might be a year or two before I read the next book, but it's still a good read.

Mameshiba: On the Loose! by James Turner, Jorge Monlongo, and Gemma Correll (Goodreads, my score 4/5) - So Mameshiba is adorable! Go look it up on YouTube if you don't know what it is. Bean Dogs! Random Facts! Good life decisions!

MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood (Goodreads, my score 3/5) - I read this out of order as part of a challenge and it was pretty good. I really didn't care for the ending, but I loved the Pigoons!

The Great Glass Sea by Josh Weil (Goodreads, my score 3/5) - This one took me forever to read. I was hoping for more spec but it's definitely in the lit camp and as such is tragic and slow and a bit of a slog at times. Still, an interesting read.

And there you go, seven reviews for your viewing pleasure. And lots of things to come in the next week, as I reach the end-of-the-month crunch. Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Urban Fantasy, Terraform, Lightspeed, and Tor.com all on the docket to review this week, plus a book of poetry I was approached to review. That might not go up until I have an open day, but we'll see. Anyway, thanks for reading!