My little black Christmas tree went up yesterday. It’s prelit with white lights but I added green to give it a Type O Negative kind of vibe. 😀
This past week has been very rocky. My coworker tested positive with Covid-19. He feels okay other than getting tired very easily. The rest of us tested negative at this time, but we’re all worried that it’s just the incubation period. We will see what this next week brings.
Onto books!
5 out of 5 stars – I went into this with little expectation given things I had heard and came out on the other end absolutely loving this book. If you don’t like political intrigue, I could see how you would say that this is boring or drawn out. However, if you’re like me and you dig that sort of thing, baby dive on in!
4 out of 5 stars – One of my favorite space opera series. The character building is always so great and the world encompassing those characters is always original. I feel like it may have been overshadowed by Dune but I still had a good time reading it.
Science Fiction unrelated to books:
Mr. C&M and I endulged in HBO’s Lovecraft Country. Other than there being plenty of horror, there was also quite a bit of science fiction. This series is incredibly brutal and gorey for anyone not into that sort of thing. We found it absolutely fascinating.
How was your November? Science fiction related or otherwise.
It’s a new glorious day folks. We spent last night having a very small going away party for a friend and celebrating the results of the election. So I come to you this morning, slightly hungover and slowly sipping this coffee. Oh, the wonders that are coffee. I was sick this last week (not covid, I was tested), and threw up coffee. It only put me off for one day. My love of coffee knows no bounds.
Okay well, I don’t see myself ever getting into coffee enemas, so I guess there are SOME bounds.
As many of you are already fully celebrating, November is Science Fiction Month. Usually, I hop on board another blog’s hosting of a sci-fi extravaganza, but not this year. I’m just not feeling the commitment this go-around. If you wish to join in those festivities however, check out Imyril’s blog. It is a great time.
I did decide to take on a sci-fi giant and since it’s a thicker book, I didn’t want to feel rushed reading to make blog content.
I’m already 344 pages in and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I look forward to a lazy Sunday and getting more of this in.
Three books is far better than the 1 book I read all of July. 😛
What can I say of August? Not a whole hell of a lot really. I’m ready and willing to head straight into autumn now thank you.
The first weekend in September will have me seeing my BFF FINALLY after 5 months of not seeing her other than on FaceTime.
By the way, I highly recommend drinking and FaceTime weekly with your favorite friend. It is the perfect way to finish out a week.
Anywho, onto the books!
4 out of 5 stars – This was a fun comic about villains and sidekicks. Nimona was a very fun, feisty character who found her way into many shenanigans.
4 out of 5 stars – I went into this not expecting much despite all the hype surrounding it and found myself pleasantly surprised. I found some scenes a bit hard to follow but I’m not sure it wasn’t just my attention span at the time. I will check out the next book.
5 out of 5 stars – The winning book of the month. I really enjoyed my time exploring this world and learning the beginning of Drizzt. I think I may just hop directly into the next book.
I ALMOST made it all of August not buying a single book, but alas, I just had to walk by the book section of the dollar store. I’m always surprised when I find familiar books there and absolutely cannot resist picking them up. I MEAN THEY’RE ONLY $1. I haven’t even read the first book by Vic James BUT I own it and know I would be mad at myself for not picking the second book up for so cheap especially if I end up liking the series.
BOOK WYRM PROBLEMS.
What treasures have you found at the dollar store lately?
A surprising amount of reading happened in June. Granted, many of them were smaller books, they still count!
4 out of 5 stars – I actually finished this the very last day of May but I had already done my May books post. If there is a strong female lead in an urban fantasy series, you bet your sweet honey ass I’m going to give it a go. I read the first book in this series years ago and enjoyed it, but it wasn’t something I was dying to get the next book. After book two, I feel much the same. I enjoy it, I’ll pick it up when it’s on sale, but I’m not rushing to purchase the next installment.
5 out of 5 stars – I couldn’t decide what I felt like reading so Ignited Moth kindly decided for me. This book has been sitting on my TBR shelf for roughly 6 years. I am so glad that I finally made the time to read it because it was splendid. Have you ever heard me call a book ‘splendid’? Probably means you should read it ASAP.
3 out of 5 stars – During this pandemic, I decided to bring a book for lunch reading that just stays as work to lower any chance of someone putting their filthy virus hands on it. (I’ve decided on all selections being something I’m not in a rush to read.) This is an easy, peasy read that I have described as a “cozy Southern murder mystery.”
4 out of 5 stars – Not my favorite Alpha & Omega installment but I still thoroughly enjoyed myself and the drama of Bran’s disappearance was riveting, since he’s never bailed on the pack before.
Rants From the Hill (Pictured above)
4 out of 5 stars – An educational, fun essay collection from an environmentalist who lives out in the high desert of the United States. It’s a different world out there but the author manages to make it sound magical and just as important as all other ecosystems out there that have better reputations.
4 out of 5 stars – Dina is forced (kind of) to host an intergalactic summit at her inn. The inn requires guests to thrive and so she must accept a deal that no other inn on Earth would. She’s not sure she’s powerful enough to keep the peace between three warring factions from another planet, but her little dog Beast is there to help her try.
4 out of 5 stars – The inn’s latest guests are a race of aliens who have been hunted to near extinction by another close by planet. If there is one thing Dina can’t resist, it’s helping out the underdog. Not to mention, rescuing her sister and niece from a barren planet exiled from the rest of the galaxy. Just another week at the inn.
Travel between planets is relatively easy. Therefore, aliens, werewolves, vampires, and all manner of creatures and humanoids can show up at anytime, anywhere, on any planet.
Dina Demille is an innkeeper on Earth. Inns are neutral territories. Innkeepers do their best to remain neutral so long as it doesn’t threaten their clientele. People come to them for sanctuary and protection.
Dina’s inn was once abandoned and almost decayed beyond repair. She’s been nurturing it back to health for awhile now but with only one resident, the process is slow going. With limited money coming in, she can’t provide it with all the materials it needs to rebuild itself. (The inns themselves are considered sentient by some. They have a symbiotic relationship with their keepers.) So, when trouble comes in the form of creatures killing neighborhood dogs, the local werewolf giving her attitude and warrior vampires showing up, demanding to be let in, Dina must decide whether to get involved. If she doesn’t, her inn may never earn a higher rating from the Council, which means more business, or she does and ruins the reputation herself. A bit of a catch 22. Piss off a faction of beings who can report her or have the secrecy of her inn exposed before she can make something substantial of the inn?
I enjoyed the hell out of this. It’s short, yet full of world building and action packed. I liked Dina and her little dog creature, Beast. I loved the concepts of the inns and the healthy helping of science fiction thrown in with magic. There is a possible love triangle beginning but even that cannot deter my enjoyment.
Three different antagonists take on the Dutch, in secret, to bring
down their empire of mechanical servitude.
The Dutch empire rules much of the world. They invented mechanical
slaves called Clakkers, and use them to control everything. They use
them for household service, they make up much of the military and
others yet, are used to subdue anyone violating the laws.
One thing the empire cannot abide to let the public become aware of
is, rogue Clakkers. Clakkers granted Free Will. They are to be hunted
down and destroyed at all costs. Their enemies cannot know that their
Clakkers have any kind of soul, it would unravel all they have built
if people knew that these weren’t just mindless robots.
Jax is a rogue. Accidentally granted Free Will in a mishap, Jax flees
before his secret is found out. Unfortunately for Jax, other Clakkers
can sense his difference if he slips up even a little. One command
ingrained in all Clakkers, is to do everything to take out a rogue
when detected. He’ll need the help of humans if he’s to get out
of the Dutch grasp.
Only one country resists the Dutch, they’ve been at war for years
and recently had a cease fire. New France. Their draw is precarious.
One wrong step and war can begin again in an instant. Berenice is in
the business of knowing everything about the enemy. When given a
chance to study the inside of a military Clakker, she will risk
everything to unwind the Dutch’s secrets. She’ll even risk the
King’s wrath if he finds out she went against his wishes.
Pastor Visser works in secret through the church. He’s apart of a
network of people working to bring about the destruction of the
Dutch, free Clakkers that they believe are sentient and bring back
the Catholic church, currently outlawed as heresy. He’s willing to
martyr himself to do so but the price may be more than he expected,
for the Dutch are especially cruel.
This was a decent read for ¾ of the book. I wasn’t really
connecting with any of the characters but the premise was interesting
enough. It began to really come together in the last quarter when a
couple of the antagonists joined forces.
My lingering question is, how can robots taste or smell? It was
mentioned briefly in the beginning of the book and I’m left
wondering if it was a mistake. Or, are these sciences really THAT
advanced?
As a kid, I regularly watched Star Trek: NTG and Star Trek: Voyage with my dad. Despite that, I don’t consider myself a Trekkie. Star Wars will always own my heart but I respect all the Trekkies out there.
Making this list made me realize, I don’t actually watch too many sci-fi TV shows. I’ll have to consider this when I pick out new shows to try.
I was SO into Alf as a kid, I don’t remember if anyone watched it with me. When Alf was on, nothing else existed.
Mr. C&M and I watched this some what recently. Each episode is it’s own story, so some are winners and some are just okay. I don’t think there were any episodes that I down right hated.
We aren’t caught up on this gem yet but I absolutely love the mix of western and sci-fi.
We just finished this last night and it was SO good. I went in not expecting a lot and ended up enjoying the absolute shit out of it.
I have no qualms about naming this my favorite sci-fi TV show maybe, ever. For the record, Eleven is my least favorite character.
What are some of your favorite sci-fi TV shows?
I’m about to jet off on a four day weekend in northern Michigan tomorrow, so I may not catch up with everyone until I get back. Hope your weekend is full of delicious science fiction things!
Wooooooo boy. Get ready for unpopular opinion time folks. I fully
expect the trolls to come for me on this one.
I’m not entirely sure why I even finished this book. I think only
because it is considered a science fiction classic. However, now that
I’ve finished it, I wish I had never wasted my time.
It took me almost 3 months to read The Left Hand of Darkness. After
an unimpressive start, I took it to work to leave and read on my
lunches. Sometimes it’s nice to not tote a book back and forth
every day. But putting even 15 minutes into reading it, 5 days a week
was a chore. There were some days that I ignored it to play on my
phone or I brought another book anyway because I just could not bring
myself to pick up.
The promise of a gender fluid society with mating seasons, and how
that went against the grain of human society, was what sparked my
interest in this novel in the first place. It turns out to be a very
small portion of the book. It quickly develops into political
intrigue and some of the most boring politics I’ve read yet. I want
to say that some of the terminology was never fully explained but
it’s possible that my very bored brain skimmed past it and never
let it sink in. It’s also still possible that it was not explained.
If I thought I was bored the first half of the book, the second half
only proved that it was possible to make it worse. Daily descriptions
of a journey across ice and very little dialogue, stretched my
patience and I almost threw the book in the garbage. That’s not an
exaggeration. I eyeballed that trash can like it was a promise of
relief.
The chapters switched back and forth between the two main characters.
The problem with this is that both characters sounded much the same
and I wasn’t sure who’s point of view I was reading from until
sometimes, several pages into each chapter. Neither character was
likable and I could care less if they perished before their mission
was complete.
The only parts I enjoyed were the small chapters that told myths and
legends of the planet of Winter and they were few and far between.
So go ahead, lambaste me that I don’t know good writing or that my
small brain just couldn’t comprehend the genius of the author
during that time. I don’t care, I should have never tortured myself
to finish this.
Oh yeah, I’m counting all three of these bad boys as one because otherwise, it would make this list too easy. I’ve been mad for Star Wars since I was a kid and burnt out my aunt’s VHS of Return of the Jedi. Pretty sure that’s how everyone got me to calm down, they just put Star Wars on.
2. I absolutely love this movie and I don’t watch it nearly enough. I should probably change that like ASAP.
3. If I was batty for Star Wars, I was equally batty for dinosaurs so this one is an obvious pick. I took me three times when I was little to sit through this movie because the raptors scared the shit out of me. I specifically remember running out of the theater and banging my broken arm in a cast on the seats on my way out.
4. I’ve been watching this movie since I was a kid too. I will forever love these aliens. Some of the coolest ones ever invented.
5. I had this really good hiding place as a kid, behind the couch. I was master level sneaky and watched a lot of movies my dad was watching that I’m sure he would not have let me if he knew I was there. This was one of them.
Hey guys! All that paranormal/horror reading was great leading up to Halloween but now it’s onto new things. I usually participate in my own way for Science Fiction month every November for the past couple of years. This year, I’ve signed up to participate with the current blog hosts of Sci-Month, Onemore.org.
Besides book reviews, I plan to do some other sci-fi related posts. I haven’t quite figured out what yet but I look forward to thinking something up.
I should FINALLY be finishing The Left Hand of Darkness this week. It’s only taken me over a month. I warn you now, it’s going to be an unpopular opinion.
I have started The Mechanical by Ian Tregillis as my next sci-fi read.
Are you participating in Sci-Fi month? If so, what are your big plans for it?
