djwudi's reviews
1066 reviews

The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold

4.0

Miles's adventures continue, with all the twists, fun characters, double-crosses, and humor that make this series so enjoyable. The adventure is fun, but it really is the characters and how they relate to each other that impress the most. Four books in, and so far the only disappointment is that I didn't find this series earlier.

The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold

4.0

This series continues to surprise and satisfy me. Lots of adventure that’s somehow both ridiculously improbable and entirely believable within the story, and characters that feel much more real than in many other books. There’s an underlying humor throughout, but also manages to handle resolving one troubled character’s fate in a way that respects their past and the present they had built. I’m increasingly glad my Hugo reading project started me reading these books.

The Romulan Prize by Simon Hawke

3.0

A better-than-average Romulan villain and a quest for a mysterious quarantined planet make this one quite enjoyable. Wraps up a bit quickly at the end, but even so, does so while bringing in some fun threads that could lead to more stories down the line (though I have no idea if the author wrote more Trek or followed up on any of those threads).

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan: The Making of the Classic Film by John Tenuto, Maria Jose Tenuto

4.0

A very nice "coffee table" book covering the making of TWoK. For someone with a long-time interest in both Trek and behind-the-scenes tidbits and interviews, there isn't a lot in the text that's brand-new to me, but there were some things that I hadn't heard, and the book gives a lot of nice capsule biographies of many of the principal people involved in the film. The look of the book is excellent, much like Titan's earlier look into the art and effects of TMP (https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/61200670-9a67-4e38-a681-230d61028ead). Definitely worthwhile for fans of TWoK.

Cyberbooks by Ben Bova

3.0

Not really that great of a book, but entertaining now as a bit of retro-tech kitsch. A bit of noir mystery and a lot of needling of the publishing industry, all based around the then-SF idea of publishing books electronically. In some ways somewhat naïve about the progression of technology, but in other ways remarkably prescient about the upheaval that electronic publishing and distribution would cause in the traditional publishing world. An entertaining curiosity if you come across it, but not good enough to be actively sought after.

Uncanny Magazine Issue 54: September/October 2023 by Lynne M. Thomas, Michael Damian Thomas

3.0

Standouts for me this month are Catherynne M. Valente’s “Can You Hear Me Now?”,  Grace P. Fong’s “We Do Not Eat Much Fish”,  Sarah Monette’s “The Kingdom of Darkness”, and AnaMaria Curtis’s “The Coffin Maker”.

Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 204 by Neil Clarke

3.0

Standout stories this month are Djuna’s “The People from the Dead Whale”, RJ Taylor’s “Upgrade Day”, and Arula Ratkanar’s “Axiom of Dreams” (which also introduced me to some mathematical concepts I didn’t know about).

Grounded by David Bischoff

1.0

Uff. Bad enough that the characterizations are off for everyone, especially Picard, and that the threat comes off as a bad B-movie monster. But on top of that, one of the introduced characters is described as “having Autism”, which is presented as a disease in a way that may have been acceptable 30 years ago, but is just offensive now, and, of course, which later gets tied to psychic abilities and is apparently curable. Cannot recommend.

Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold

4.0

Really good continuation of the story from Shards of Honor, even beginning the day after the earlier book ended. Bujold manages to create fascinating, sometimes relatable, and often very flawed characters, and to craft a world that's an interesting mix of almost medieval feudalism and future technology. For a series I didn't know anything about and initially approached with a little skepticism, I'm definitely understanding why it got the awards and the good words it has from many of my friends.

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold

3.0

More interesting than I’d expected it to be, given that neither military nor romance are among my generally preferred SF genres. Bujold’s characters are interesting, making even the “captive falls for noble captor” scenario more workable than it might have been, though there were definitely still moments that didn’t really work for me. And there was an unexpected coda, unconnected from the main plotline and characters, that was a neat way to end the book.