Posts in category 'books'

  • Review: Nemesis Games

    Review of Nemesis Games (The Expanse #5.0) by James S. A. Corey (9780316334716)★★★★
    (https://b-ark.ca/AU2Q2K)
    Cover for Nemesis Games by James S. A. Corey

    A thousand worlds have opened, and the greatest land rush in human history has begun. As wave after wave of colonists leave, the power structures of the old solar system begin to buckle.

    Ships are disappearing without a trace. Private armies are being secretly formed. The sole remaining protomolecule sample is stolen. Terrorist attacks previously considered impossible bring the inner planets to their knees. The sins of the past are returning to exact a terrible price.

    And as a new human order is struggling to be born in blood and fire, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante must struggle to survive and get back to the only home they have left.

    Nemesis Games is a breakneck science fiction adventure following the bestselling Cibola Burn.

    To say this book was better than Cibola Burn would be an enormous understatement… in fact, it was a close call as to whether I would bother continuing the series after book four, but I decided to take a crack at it, and I’m very glad I did!

    Continue reading...
  • Review: The Last Hero

    Review of The Last Hero (Discworld #27.0) by Terry Pratchett (9780060507770)★★★★
    (https://b-ark.ca/WwO64Y)
    Cover for The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett

    Cohen the Barbarian.

    He's been a legend in his own lifetime.

    He can remember the good old days of high adventure, when being a Hero meant one didn't have to worry about aching backs and lawyers and civilization.

    But these days, he can't always remember just where he put his teeth...

    So now, with his ancient (yet still trusty) sword and new walking stick in hand, Cohen gathers a group of his old -- very old -- friends to embark on one final quest. He's going to climb the highest mountain of Discworld and meet the gods.

    It's time the Last Hero in the world returns what the first hero stole. Trouble is, that'll mean the end of the world, if no one stops him in time.

    Just what I needed to wash away the lingering after-effects of Revelation Space… short, sweet, perfect Pratchett. If you’ve ever wondered why satire is an important artform, Pratchett shows us, with his uncanny ability to take cliches and archetypes, twist them around, and use them to teach us a little more about ourselves:

    “He’d never been keen on heroes. But he realised that he needed them to be there, like forests and mountains… he might never see them, but they filled some sort of hole in his mind. Some sort of hole in everyone’s mind.”