Rated The Martian Chronicles 8/10
Bradbury shows little interest in scientific plausibility here, using Mars instead as an imaginative setting for poetic, humorous, and emotionally charged storytelling. Some elements, including the treatment of the native Martians and certain racial and gender stereotypes, have aged poorly, but the collection still held up well for me.<br/><br/>(also: that cover here is gorgeous!)<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/the-martian-chronicles---ray-bradbury/
Wants to read Working on a Song: The Lyrics of HADESTOWN
Rated Wind and Truth 8/10
Wind and Truth is a solid entry in The Stormlight Archive and a good capstone to its first main story arc. The writing is good and engaging, and the long build-up is very eventful. Still, at 1,330 pages, there is just so much of it. This could easily have been two decent-sized books, and I was somewhat glad to be done with it by the end.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/wind-and-truth---brandon-sanderson/<br/><br/>All my book reviews: https://puf.io/books/
Wants to read The Inn at the Foot of Mount Vengeance
Rated Fugitive Telemetry 6/10
All Murderbot books are relatively short, and this one is a novella rather than a full novel. I don't mind, as any story about a rogue security robot figuring out its place among humans is fun.<br/><br/>I didn’t enjoy this one as much as previous entries, though. The self-narration around feelings and TV shows feels repetitive by now, especially in such a short book. Still interesting overall, but I hope future entries pick up the pace a bit more.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/fugitive-telemetry-the-murderbot-diaries-6---martha-wells/
Since I read Cory’s blog (on https://pluralistic.net) regularly, the themes and even the wording in The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI were very familiar, but it was good to read them in a more condensed and better edited format.<br/><br/>As with Cory’s recent non-fiction, I still wanted more concrete solutions, but this book does offer more than just warnings and problem diagnosis. A good, entertaining overview of the current AI landscape/bubble, and I’m here to read future installments.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/the-reverse-centaur's-guide-to-life-after-ai---cory-doctorow/
Rated Dungeon Crawler Carl 6/10
A fun, punch-packing page-turner that mixes nail-biting fight scenes with exploration of its broader universe and some social commentary on both our world and the imagined universe of the series.<br/><br/>It didn’t fully live up to the hype for me, but I will gladly continue reading the series.<br/><br/>My full review (including a comparison to book 1 of Awaken Online): https://puf.io/books/dungeon-crawler-carl---matt-dinniman/
Wants to read The Wandering Earth: Classic Science Fiction Collection
Rated Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity 8/10
Lawrence Lessig’s Free Culture shows its age, but its core argument about copyright, creativity, and cultural freedom still lands. A good read for those who care about such things.<br/><br/>My full review: https://puf.io/books/free-culture---lawrence-lessig/
Rated Mr. Kiss and Tell 6/10
liked that this book picks up an annoying loose thread from the TV show: whatever happened to Meg Manning's little sister Grace?<br/><br/>Unfortunately the book's main plot didn't grip me very much, and Veronica herself is all over the place - in an annoying way. Wallace and Mac also feel too much like caricatures this time around.<br/><br/>The narration by Rebecca Lowman was fine, but a notch below Kristen Bell's narration in book 1.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/mr.-kiss-and-tell-veronica-mars-2---rob-thomas/
Rated Aan het einde van de oorlog 8/10
A very interesting, fresh take on a deservedly well-covered period of history. Including many perspectives on the same events the book gives it breadth and depth, and make for a compelling read throughout its 640 pages. Easy four stars.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/aan-het-einde-van-de-oorlog---bert-natter/
Rated Tooth and Nail: A Steampunk Sleeping Beauty 6/10
Fast-paced YA steampunk pulp that mixes classic fairy tales with vampires, gargoyles, and other traditional lore. The initial mystique of the setting is wearing a bit thin by book 3, and the romance is a bit overindulgent, but I still immediately put book 4 on my Kindle. 😄<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/tooth-and-nail---c.i.-chevron/
Wants to read Pride and Pistons: A Steampunk Little Mermaid
Rated System Collapse 8/10
I found the first half of the book a bit slow-going, but the pace picked up after that. I like how we continue to see Murderbot struggling with its place in society, while its human allies treat it more and more as part of the team and as a friend. The continued freeing of bots from their governor modules is both cool to see and opens up plot opportunities for future books.<br/><br/>Full review: https://puf.io/books/system-collapse---martha-wells/