Reviews and Comments

"Cascade Failure" is a fairly quick but fun read that is reminiscent of many a space pirate or space cowboy story, but updated with some new elements and sensibilities. The story is generally pretty fast-paced and action-packed that occasionally pauses to give the reader a look into the thought processes of the characters as events happen. Some may find this jarring or boring, but as a person who has tried to read through "Dune" multiple times - and failed, primarily due to Herbert's exhausting method of trying to accomplish this same feat - I did not find these interruptions disruptive. In fact, I believe they are necessary to really show all the emotions that are in play as this "found family" comes together and grows into the family that they all need (but will never admit to themselves).

This has all the trimmings of a good old-fashioned space western but without all the hard sci-fi and verbosity getting in the way of the world-building. It's fun and the characters are easy to identify with without becoming tropes or stereotypes. If you're a fan of the "Firefly" franchise, or you enjoy the works of the likes of Martha Welles or Becky Chambers, I think you'll really enjoy this book. I know I did!

"Gravity Lost" is the follow-on to "Cascade Failure" (in the "Ambit's Run" series), and it picks up shortly after the events of the latter book in the story. I'm betting that L.M. Sagas is an unapologetic Browncoat when not writing, as the crew of the Ambit bears a striking resemblance (albeit updated to today's standards) to that of the Firefly.

I've been enjoying this series and like how Sagas tells the story by switching between character perspectives - sometimes for a whole chapter, other times in blocks within chapters. The primary focus is the interplay between the crew as they become a family while working with some very hard issues that we all go through - betrayal, loss, misunderstanding, and the eventual reconciliation. Each character has their own unique personality, and Sagas goes to great pains to weave a story that shows how each of those personalities works with the others to create a formidable force of family, duty, and love. A lot of the internal dialog is reminiscent of Martha Welles' Murderbot series without being derivative (as there are no actual "murderbots" in this story, thus far at least). It examines the human condition in similar but noticeably different ways.

If you're a fan of Firefly or of Murderbot, or the works of Becky Chambers, I would highly recommend giving "Gravity Lost" a tumble (after you read "Cascade Failure", of course).

The moment I discovered the book on the shelf, I couldn't put it down and tore through it like a starving man at a buffet table. If you're a fan of Deadly Class like I am, then this book belongs on your bookshelf! The dark humor that clearly indicates that this is just a book of fantasy is well-timed and lighthearted without being too overbearing. I think many people have secretly thought about what it might be like to give their horrible bosses their final desserts and Holmes indulges those fantasies while still managing to drive home the point that even horrible bosses are people too and are they really, really deserving of murder?

I also really enjoyed the production values of the book itself, from the included visual aids to the incorporation of various media styles used to convey the information - journals, reports, emails, etc. It excellently described an exclusive and completely hidden "tradesman's institute" so well that I found myself wishing that such an exclusive campus existed and that I could somehow go and visit.

I am anxiously awaiting Holmes' second book in the series, Murder Your Mate, as I am looking forward to how he intends to cover that particular topic in the same handle-with-acerbic-care sort of way.

This book is a very refreshing change of pace in the fantasy genre, just as advertised. It is well written and has a lot of nifty nods to modern culture but couched in setting-appropriate ways. The phrase "Technology, when sufficiently advanced, is indistinguishable from magic" comes to mind when thinking of how the gnomes, being technical savants of their time, could make versions of the various coffee-making apparatuses that are commonplace to us today. The "magic" of sufficiently advanced technology relative to the time period and setting in which the story is told makes it easy to accept.

The characters are all interesting in various ways, well thought out, and easy to identify with. There are one or two mysteries left unexplained by the end, although not major plot points, which leaves just enough desire for the next tale in the series without being a cliffhanger. This book is (hopefully) just the first of several in this world, but is a self-contained story that doesn't need a sequel in the sad event that it never gets one.

The paperback version that I picked up also included a short prequel vignette called "Pages To Fill" that was a nice set piece to fill in some of the back-story after finishing the main story.

L&L is a short, relatively fast read but is so rich with characters, world-building, and details that you will want to savor it as if it was one of Thimble's cinnamon rolls!

I finished @pluralistic’s #RedTeamBlues this evening, and I would highly - highly - recommend it! It’s a short read, just a tad over 200 pages but it’s quite engrossing. I probably could have finished it last night, but I forced myself to sleep instead.

I really like Doctorow’s writing style, and I always learn some new words (and not just technological ones) when I read his books. One of my favorite hallmarks of his fiction is the use of what I would term “non-standard” protagonists - in this case a 67-year-old confirmed bachelor facing retirement. Definitely not someone I would have expected to be enmeshed with a cast of Very Ruthless People ™️ and crypto-bros. That alone makes the stories so much more relatable and entertaining to me and easier to identify with. And as always, the more technical elements of the plot are thoroughly well-researched and expertly woven together like an episode of #MrRobot, but explained in an accessible and easy-to-follow manner.

If you’re looking for a short(ish) techno-thriller to read with a page-turning plot, this book should be right up your alley. That ain’t no lie, cutie pie.