Category Archives: Book reviews

2021 Year in Review

Posted on January 23, 2022 by thebookgator

  Oh, Goodreads. Oh, 2021. Oh, Year 467 of the Pandemic. Books were about as average as one can get, evidenced by a 3.4 rating for the year. Fitting for a year which one could never claim was ‘average,’ but … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, opinion | 2 Comments

Night Watch by Terry Pratchett, take two

Posted on January 18, 2022 by thebookgator

Read December, 2021 Recommended for aging Pratchett fans ★   ★    ★    ★     1/2   In one timeline, I read this in 2015 and it was a total miss even though I had an affection for the character … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Epic fantasy, fantasy | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre

Posted on January 5, 2022 by thebookgator

Read December, 2021 Recommended for people who really like classic sci-fi ★   ★     1/2 I abandoned this at about page 183. Why? I fully admit much of it is me, in this particular mood in my life at this … Continue reading →

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Provenance by Ann Leckie

Posted on December 31, 2021 by thebookgator

Read December, 2021 Recommended for people who don’t want to commit to the trilogy ★   ★     1/2   Note to self: Probably you should write a review right after you finish reading, no matter how uninspired you may find … Continue reading →

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Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

Posted on December 30, 2021 by thebookgator

Read December, 2021 Recommended for the Lovecraft-curious ★   ★   ★   1/2     I had heard this was a collection of short stories, so I went into it with fair expectations, I think. There’s an interesting blend of Lovecraft and … Continue reading →

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Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Posted on December 22, 2021 by thebookgator

Read December, 2021 Recommended for sci-fi fans ★   ★   ★ Elder Race, or, a post on which I muse about feelings, productivity, and the futility of blurbing. Goodreads lists over thirty books written by Tchaikovsky, and that’s not including another … Continue reading →

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Far From the Light of Heaven by Tade Thompson

Posted on December 14, 2021 by thebookgator

Read December, 2021 Recommended for ? ★   ★    If there is any hook guaranteed to make me sit up and pay attention these days, it’s the futuristic mystery-in-space. After the peaks and valleys of the Rosewater series, I wasn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Science fiction | Tagged | 2 Comments

A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge

Posted on November 30, 2021 by thebookgator

Recommended for fans of Hardinge Read October  2021 ★   ★   ★   1/2 “They had found the edges of each other’s temper, like jagged rocks under a placid skin of water.” Frances Hardinge is an amazing writer. She is one of … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Epic fantasy, fantasy | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Penric’s Fox by Lois McMaster Bujold

Posted on November 24, 2021 by thebookgator

Recommended for fans of light fantasy Read October  2021 ★   ★   ★   Further story-telling strides have been made since the first two installments of Pendric and his demon, Desmonda. This is a straight-up mystery that brings the gang of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Epic fantasy, fantasy | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Penric and the Shaman by Lois McMaster Bujold

Posted on November 23, 2021 by thebookgator

Recommended for fans of light fantasy Read October  2021 ★   ★   ★    An improvement on the first book, Penric and the Demon, the shaman’s story picks up four years later. Penric has finished school and is working for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Book reviews, Epic fantasy, fantasy | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments