Book Review: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

All Systems Red is the first of The Murderbot Diaries, a series long recommended by a good friend of mine. I finally got the chance to check it out and after the last book it was a palette cleanser in terms of being a very short, self-contained story. 

As for other novellas, I'll forgo my usual setup and just write out some of the highlights. More after the jump.

Book Review: Ten Arrows of Iron by Sam Sykes

Ten Arrows of Iron follows Seven Blades in Black in the series The Grave of Empires by Sam Sykes and continues the story of Sal the Cacophony. Being a fan of the first one I had to check out the second. Here's the Goodreads blurb:

The second novel in an epic fantasy trilogy that follows an unforgettable outcast mage caught between two warring empires.

Sal the Cacophony-outlaw, outcast, outnumbered-destroys all that she loves. Her lover lost and cities burned in her wake, all she has left is her magical gun and her all-consuming quest for revenge against those who stole her power and took the sky from her.

When the roguish agent of a mysterious patron offers her the chance to participate in a heist to steal an incredible power from the famed airship fleet, the Ten Arrows, she finds a new purpose. But a plot to save the world by bringing down empires swiftly escalates into a conspiracy of magic and vengeance that threatens to burn everything to ash, including herself.

Read on for my full review.

Data Science: An Update on my Goodreads Reviews as of 2020

A few years ago, in 2016, I wrote a brief post on statistics when looking at my Goodreads reviews. A friend's comment recently reminded me of this work and I decided to update it with information all the way up to the present day. Unfortunately, a big limitation has been that, as of earlier this month, Goodreads discontinued their API. I had a lot of code written to access it and generate the plots and had to spend some time rewriting it to use a CSV export of my library. It's not the same, but I was able to reconstruct most of the information. So without further ado, let's look at what we can discover.

Book Review: Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson

Brandon Sanderson's Rhythm of War is the 4th book of The Stormlight Archive series. I've been a huge fan of this series since it started and eagerly await each book. The books, however, are quite massive and intricate and benefit from multiple readings. I wish I had re-read the prior book, Oathbringer, before starting this one as there were many details I had forgotten! Still, it was good to revisit this world and see how the story is building up.

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Book Review: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern came highly recommended from a good friend of mine who lent me her copy. She was not wrong, this book is so interesting in so many unexpected ways. I haven't read The Night Circus either, but that was also highly recommended. 

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Book Review: Blackout / All Clear by Connie Willis

This is a review of two books in one. Blackout and All Clear are a two part series by Connie Willis of time travelers back to London at the time of the Blitz, around 1940. I decided to review them together since each is incomplete without the other. I'm not sure of the reasoning behind splitting them (I'm fine reading really long novels), but that's all right. 

Read on for my spoiler-free review.

Book Review: Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

The Locked Tomb Trilogy by Tamsyn Muir continues with Harrow the Ninth. This takes place shortly after the events of Gideon the Ninth and quickly starts tackling some of the loose ends left from that book, all while introducing new things to be excited about. Combining science fiction, fantasy, horror, and who knows what else, this book will surprise you.

Read on for my spoiler-free review, but bear in mind that, as a sequel, I consider events from the prior novel fair game.

Book Review: The Last Days of New Paris by China Mieville

I've had The Last Days of New Paris on my to-read list for a while. I'm a fan of China Mieville and enjoyed many of his books, particularly The City and The City and The Scar. This is a novella, so it's much shorter than before and I decided to go ahead and just dive right into it.

Read on for my spoiler-free review.