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Rated Battle Ground 6/10

A week ago when I finished and reviewed the previous book, "Peace Talks" (16), I noted the exceptionally unusual development(?) that for once Harry had spent the entire book actually exhausting every possible avenue of diplomacy and non-confrontation. Of course, the book left the reader on a "to be continued" note and this book immediately picks up there. Soon after I started this book, I came across an interview of Butcher in which he mentions that the two books came out back-to-back because they started out as a single book. Then as time went on and it became tome-like, he/his editor(s) decided to split it into two. And now it makes sense as to why "Peace Talks" was all diplomacy and, now that I've finished this book obviously by the title it was all battle.<br/><br/>So about that... As others have said in a few reviews I read when I was getting to the back end of the book, I really don't think it was a good move to split the story into two books. I think it was a bad decision of editing. Even if the last book had become 600pp long, 300pp of skirmish after skirmish, setting up a returning character in each one, just became repetitive and a bit tedious. I certainly skimmed a good 100 pages of the back half mainly making note of which characters showed up and what if anything unusual happened with each. Other than Harry, I'd say of allll the characters who got their spotlight, five of them I felt were of the most consequence by the end. By the time I got to the last one, with a twist, I mostly just wanted to get to the end. It's not a terrible book, but it's was definitely a misstep in what I expect from a Dresden Files book.<br/><br/>One final thought: Unsurprisingly, LOTR is one of Butcher's favorite and influencing books. Remember Archangel Uriel giving Dresden a copy of "The Two Towers" in "Small Favor" (10)? It seems that we're up to "The Two Towers" with this endless battle.<br/><br/>And now here's where I put all the spoilers, so if you've not read this book, now's the time to stop reading or to not click this <spoiler>.<br/><br/>So yeah. All things had been pointing towards Murphy's death for a couple of books now. I was really hoping she wasn't getting off'd, but figured it was happening. I was still annoyed when it happened and had to put the book down for a short while before continuing the slog of endless skirmishes. On the other hand, as I and many others expected, she'll probably become a valkyrie. It would be the way to get around the whole immortal-mortal finite relationship problem, but there's the detail Gard said that everyone would have to forget who she was before the All-Father brings her back. So, how will everyone have their memory of her erased? That's what I'm wondering. A favor from Mab, Molly, or The Leanansidhe since at least 2 of them have pulled off that trick before? However, if it turns out she's really gone for good because Butcher decided to fridge her, what a garbage way to go. I mean, it's a garbage way to go either way, but the whole "she died killing a Jotun" just isn't true! She was killed by some asshat, Rudolph, who'd been ruining her life since nearly the beginning of the series! AFTER killing the Jotun.<br/><br/>As for the other 4, I keep rooting for the ever greater Toot-Toot! Now I'm kind of meh on the whole turning of Molly into the Winter Lady. I still roll my eyes at the whole Butters as a Knight with a light saber Sword. And finally, the big reveal at the end of Marcone getting his neck snapped by Ethniu and thrown on the ground only for the the head to rotate back and the second pair of eyes appearing above Marcone's, the eyes of Denarian Thorned Namshiel. Yep, he's been hiding out in Marcone since "Small Favor" (10). Ugh! I got so excited that Marcone's neck had been snapped! Only for this to happen! I've been wanting him gone since many books back. The good news is I can't wait for Mab to find out Marcone is colluding with Namshiel. She's going to rip him to shreds for Namshiel's attack on Arctis Tor back in "Small Favor"!<br/><br/>Now about Harry. "Excommunicated" by the White Council because he's become too powerful/scary. Also, he made a deal with Listens-To-Wind about having a conversation over what the hell is going on with the whole Starborn thing. Interestingly, as is left at the end once Ethniu the Last Titan is locked up in Demonreach, Mab decides to marry him off to Lara Raith - in a year's time. Mab and the White (Grey?) Council colluding? Or are they both manuevering to control Harry using the same star chart or whatever the hell? Honestly, the whole Starborn thing has dragged on long enough. Butcher needs to drop the knowledge already! How is this going to go on for another NINE books?? / rant</spoiler>

Wants to read The Fortress of Solitude

Rated Bossypants 8/10

Such a fun book. From the reviews I've read of it and comments I've seen of some of Fey's work and quotes, some people just don't get her dry, sarcastic, caustic humor. I'm not sure what others expected from this. Some sort of tell-all? I think it was written very much in her voice and I found it very hilarious. She also has a lot to say as a liberal, feminist, middle-class woman with which I would of course agree, considering myself those things as well. I remember seeing a comment on the internet that they had expected from her more (any?) views on working as a writer and comedian. I don't know what book they read, but it wasn't this one. The book is riddled with this with stories starting around college and doing improv to the near-present where she agonized over a seond pregnancy because 200+ people depend on her working to pay the bills, a financial concern she fortunately doesn't have anymore. Perhaps because she said all of it in a humorous way? I don't know, but I think that's the best way to cover serious subjects, a spoonful of honey helps the medicine go down.

Wants to read Chevato: The Story of the Apache Warrior Who Captured Herman Lehmann

Rated Lock In 6/10

I'm not sure why I put off reading this book for so long. Somehow the name wasn't attracting me to it. The premise is an interesting mix of mystery and, I'm not sure what it would be called, maybe cyberpunk? That doesn't seem quite right. Futuristic tech misused, at least.<br/><br/>It's a what-if in more than one way. What would happen if terminally-online people were that way not by choice? One character is extreme in that they were never corporeal to begin with in their memory. Humans, of course, find new and innovative ways of hurting and killing each other with people living this way, as always due to (corporate) greed.<br/><br/>It just occurred to me that main character Chris Shane faintly reminds me of Asimov's Daneel Olivaw. Thinking about it further, I suppose the FBI vet he's partnered with, Leslie Vann, perfectly fits as his Elijah Baley. Huh. Except this "Baley" definitely swears! There's also an interesting if maybe a little too peripheral inclusion of an Indigenous Nation and I wonder how they'd feel about it considering how problematic it is for settlers to often commit crimes on their lands while too often not having the ability to deal with it themselves.<br/><br/>At least there's a happy ending involving them and the people locked in. I would be interested in another mystery with Chris or maybe a collection of short stories? Recommended for a nice easy scifi read, light on the sci.

Rated Blood Rites 8/10

In the Dresden continuing saga, after Butcher drops off a lot of the remaining characters with little use in the last book and closed out story arcs then, it was time to take a bit of a new direction. Whereas in the first few books it was a lot of what I think of as kind of "monster of the week" type of stories, as they used to call them in the tv show "Supernatural," finally the stories start to take a much bigger personal turn with this book. Picking up where the first shoe dropped near the end of the last book regarding his personal history, I also loved that there was also more room to expand Murphy's character into the one I love as a more full primary character. I just keep looking forward to her character arc! There's still the dry, ironic self-deprecation of Harry, but it's starting to take the darker battle-hardened edge from here on out. No Butters in this book! and I totally forgot to mention my glee at his introduction in the previous book, but I see he makes a comeback in the next, so I'm looking forward to that. Harry's new household at the end is a great setup for what comes next. Onward!

Wants to read The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin

Finished reading Rotherweird

Finished reading Fourth Wing

Rated A League of Their Own 8/10

I've loved the movie "A League of their Own" and is one of the (relatively) few movies I will re-watch without hesitation. A new generation is going to take a swing at a tv series version of the AAGPBL this month, so while digging around for a book to read I found this one and decided to read it. It turned out to be just a novelization of the movie, but it's great how indelibly the actors' performances are that I could picture every scene, every way the dialogue was played from reading this book. The movie really was pretty perfectly cast. I can't say enough about Penny Marshall's greatness, too. The dialogue and scene descriptions differed a little here and there, but considering the book was released on the same day as the movie, that's probably from slight editor/director changes that weren't going to make the novelization. Definitely not in 1992 anyway. As always, I recommend this story, in any format.<br/><br/>Sidenote: I've apparently had this book forever as it's stamped from the South Bend, IN public library where I've not been in for decades. Hopefully I bought it and didn't accidentally keep it!

Wants to read The Everlasting

Wants to read Parable of the Sower

Rated Klara and the Sun 4/10

Rated Between Two Fires 10/10

Rated Neuromante 6/10

Finished reading Kill It with Fire: Manage Aging Computer Systems

Wants to read Tracking Classical Monsters in Popular Culture

Wants to read Rogue Moon

Wants to read Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything

Rated L'ultimo orizzonte: Cosa sappiamo dell'universo 6/10

Finished reading Dieci cose che ho imparato

Wants to read The Role Ethics of Epictetus: Stoicism in Ordinary Life

Rated La piena 6/10

Wants to read The Design of Everyday Things

Finished reading Deep Freewriting: How to Masterfully Navigate the Creative Flow