Book Review

A collection of 58 posts

Blog

Book Review: Harrow the Ninth

I won't mince words: Harrow the Ninth was a slog. The only reason I didn't rage quit 10 chapters in was because a good friend had prepped me that Muir had attempted something that was clever but ultimately "just didn't work." Unlike

Blog

Book Review: Sweep of the Heart

Sweep of the Heart is a worthy addition to the Innkeeper Chronicles. Andrews continue to up the scope and stakes while keeping the story's heart around a girl and her magical inn.

Blog

Book Review: Wool

A post-apocalyptic exploration of humanity in an extended pressure cooker. While I disagreed with some of the premise and struggled with a few mechanics, I enjoyed Wool enough to recommend it.

Blog

Book Review: Red Rising

Red Rising has been recommended to me by everyone, everywhere (all at once) for so long that I must be the last sci fi lover on the planet to have read it. But in case I'm not, here's a review to convince you why you should drop everything and read it right now.

Blog

Book Review: Gideon the Ninth

Gideon was so good that it threw me into a book coma and has made me question my skills as an author, and I mean those in the best possible ways.

Book Review

Book Review: Rhythm of War

An amazing sequel that took me 2+ years to finish because it has all the excitement—and the long buildup—of 4 books combined.

Blog

Book Review: The Red Scholar's Wake

­­­­The Red Scholar’s Wake ticks many boxes on my science fiction checklist: artificial lifeforms (can’t call them “AI”s these days) with human-like emotions; focus on relationships, complicated by extra-human concerns; realistic romance that complements the plot, instead of overshadowing it; great world building; a well-thought-out, imperfect, futuristic

Blog

Book Review: Legends & Lattes

What an amazing fantasy tale! At its heart, Legends & Lattes is a “retired adventurer” trope in a fantasy setting with a twist of steam punk, yet those descriptions alone don’t do the story justice. The protagonist, Viv, is endearing, as are her partners in crime, especially Tandri. The

Blog

Book Review: Magus

Chalut really delivers with this last book of the Unwoven Tapestry fantasy series, wrapping up Donovan and Ruben's epic struggles in a memorable finale that kept me turning pages into the night. Magus expands on the unique magic system outlaid in the previous books, answering every question I

Blog

Science Fiction Books That Broke the Mold

Shepherd.com just posted my list! This list contains some of the science fiction titles that inspired me to push genre boundaries and explore new territory with every series and book I publish. Each entry also has a brief summary of why I believe it belongs on the list. Shepherd

Blog

Book Review: The Coaching Habit

In addition to being a science fiction author, I'm also a scrum coach (the software kind) of, well, many years. I've had the good fortune to work with some of the best coaches in the industry and met several who quite literally wrote the book in

Blog

Book Review: All Systems Red

All Systems Red is a wonderful science fiction novella that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The protagonist, self-named Murderbot, is exactly that. Its only problem? These pesky things called feelings that prevent it from not caring about its clients so it can go back to watching serial shows. Wells

Blog

Book Review: Better Angels

Better Angels is a short Truck Stop at the Center of the Galaxy story, the first scene of which made me wonder if I’d somehow stumbled into the taboo category of Amazon’s adult reading section. Having read other Water Dragon Publishing titles, however, I took a leap of

Blog

Book Review: The Smugglers

At its core, The Smugglers is a heartwarming coming-of-age story that shifts perspectives between the mother, Deralka, and “Boy,” giving tender insights to the challenges each faces during the most difficult physical transitions of any adolescent’s life. How is that science fiction? Neither Deralka nor Boy are human; they

Blog

Book Review: Trade Wars

Trade Wars picks up not long after Foreign & Domestic. It grabbed my attention from the very first paragraph, which also set the tone for the book. Phillips delivers yet another Clancy-esque Navy thriller starring the Texian Armada misfits on another banter-filled, high-seas adventure. The stakes are higher this time,

Blog

Book Review: Storm Front

I first started Storm Front several years ago. I don’t think I made it past the first chapter before quietly yawning and moving on to another book. This time, I listened to the audiobook narrated by James Marsters and wow! I honestly don’t know whether I just hadn’

Blog

Book Review: Hunter

Hunter resumes Donovan's exploration of “New Seeking” with the addition of court intrigue and an old flame. The book also shifts to the perspective of Ruben, the aspiring and highly coveted magus boy wielding incredible power in a series of nostalgic training sequences worthy of Feist or any

Blog

Book Review: Sinera

Sinera is one of my favorite characters from the Glass Bottles Series, so as you can imagine, I was thrilled when I discovered she had an entire book dedicated to her. It’s a short book (novelette), but gives great insight into a very complex elf with a quiet but

Blog

Book Review: The Stargazer Gift Shop

“Gentle” is the best way I can describe The Stargazer Gift Shop. The story is told from the perspective of Rhoda, a high-functioning, artificially intelligent robot with a heart of electrum who runs a gift shop on The Truck Stop at the Center of the Galaxy. What starts as a

Blog

Book Review: Coke Machine

Coke Machine is a delightful little adventure in the Truck Stop at the Center of the Galaxy universe. Marichka is starship engineer working on an ancient machine that doles out a caustic brown, sticky liquid. Things go from bad to warp-core-breach faster than Scotty can say “She cannot take any

Blog

Book Review: Caliban's War

Leviathan Wakes is some of the best science fiction I’ve read in a long time. So, when I picked up Caliban’s War, I was prepared to be let down because nothing could compare to the wonderful book I’d just finished. Fortunately, I couldn’t have been more

Blog

Book Review: Seeker

Seeker has all my favorites aspects of epic fantasy: an engaging and varied cast of characters, a wonderfully developed world, and a unique magic system that is balanced, well defined, and bursting with possibility. This first book of The Unwoven Tapestry series introduces Donovan, a grizzled veteran mage who doesn’

Blog

Book Review: Silence Fallen

Silence Fallen is the first audiobook I’ve ever listened to with 2 different narrators voicing the characters and their respective chapters. I didn’t know that at the time, however, so when George Newbern started talking, I thought for a moment my device had switched to a different book.

Blog

Book Review: Magic Triumphs

I’m glad I took my wife’s advice and read Iron and Magic before tackling Magic Triumphs. Without that little gem, there just wasn’t enough coverage of Hugh and Elara in this book for me to connect with them. So, if you’re thinking of finishing this one

Blog

Book Review: Beguiling Voices

Beguiling Voices, the third book of the Glass Bottles series, takes place soon after the conclusion of Broken Bridge. Fern Fatelli is, understandably, an absolute wreck after the traumas of the previous book, and to the author’s credit, faces it like many of us would if facing the same