Tag Archives: Science Fiction

The Blondes, Fates and Furies, And Again, The Fifth Season

Some strong reads in the last few weeks. I want to get Fates and Furies out of the way because I basically hate-read it. I just didn’t get what the big Story was. While I liked Mathilde’s backstory and some of her choices in the second half, I just couldn’t get over how fusty and edge-less it felt to me. Not enough rock ‘n’ roll for a story about young people in the West Village in the late 1990s… maybe because that’s where I lived…

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Homeschool 3rd Grade Weeks 1&2–Madeleine L’Engle & US History

We’ve hit the ground running with my 3rd grader. We read aloud A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, which remains basically one of the greatest books of all time, and it was so fun to experience again it through my daughter. I’ll be reading it later this fall with the 4th/5th graders and I think we’ll have some great discussions about sacrifice, fear, and flaws. The first two books we finished for Sonlight Core D were A Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Robert…

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Emma, Wild, Phantom Tollbooth, Under the Skin

I keep getting fed up with books and not finishing them. What is wrong with me? Two recent give-ups were The Buried Giant and The Book of Strange New Things. The former I dropped because it just go so boring, and the latter I dropped because the Christian missionary main characters didn’t ring true for me and my brain got tired from arguing with the book. I didn’t quite finish Wild by Cheryl Strayed, which was this month’s pick for book club. I meant to…

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The Peripheral by William Gibson

Synopsis: When Flynn’s brother hires her to take his place as a security guard in an online game, she witnesses what appears to be a murder, but the murder weapon (?) is an apparatus that defies her brain’s abilities to comprehend it; meanwhile, publicist Wilf Netherton is approached by an old friend who knows how to make phone calls into the past. Review: The “no spoilers” ethos of blogging does prove somewhat limiting when it comes to complex works like The Peripheral. How much can…

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Golden Son by Pierce Brown (Red Rising)

Synopsis: The second book in the story of Darrow, a liberated mine worker who has infiltrated the highest military ranks of the ruling class governing the colonized universe. Review: I was scared that Golden Son was going to get bogged down and disappoint me. Red Rising was such a knockout of a series opener and my expectations were high. I should have reread the first book before diving into Golden Son, because Brown doesn’t waste any time on exposition. It’s a good move, but I…

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Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer (Southern Reach Trilogy)

Synopsis: In the conclusion to the Southern Reach trilogy, the answers to the mysterious area known only as Area X may be revealed to Ghost Bird, Control, and someone with a deep connection to the enigmatic lighthouse keeper. Review: I read Acceptance about as avidly as I read the first two books in the series, making sure to read slowly so as not to miss any of the small pebbles and stones constructing the majestic stone wall that is the Southern Reach Trilogy. He knows…

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Authority by Jeff VanderMeer (The Southern Reach Trilogy)

Synopsis: An operative is assigned to investigate an anomaly in the latest investigation into dangerous, mysterious, paradoxical Area X, but the truth seems to lie on the other side of insanity. Review: Authority is the second in the trilogy that began with Annihilation, a story that promises the kind of enigmatic secrets that make your skin crawl. We’re talking Blair Witch stuff. House of Leaves. I’m such a sucker for this genre and when it’s as well written as these books are, I do a…

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Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (The Southern Reach Trilogy, Book 1)

Synopsis: A biologist signs up for an expedition to discover the secrets of Area X, a mysterious place that has driven the members of 11 previous to madness, suicide, and murder. Review: I am really glad that all three installments of this trilogy will be released this year, because after finishing Annihilation I am itching for more and certain that Jeff VanderMeer can deliver. The mood here is sublimely creepy, with outstanding descriptive passages that bring to life Area X in all its fecund, biologically…

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Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Synopsis: Offered the chance to infiltrate the training academy for the elite ruling class in a future where Mars has been colonized, a young miner who once believed in love transforms himself completely into a ruthless killer. Review: All comparisons between Red Rising and Ender’s Game and The Hunger Games are entirely and awesomely appropriate. I’m almost sad I got a review copy because I’ll just have to wait that much longer for the next installment in the story. The storytelling, worldbuilding, character development, and…

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The Circle by Dave Eggers

Synopsis: When Mae gets a job at The Circle, the greatest tech company in the history of the world, she tries to reserve a little bit of privacy for herself, but The Circle is an all-consuming fire of connectivity and transparency. Review: I’ll blog about The Circle, but please do not like, share, or tweet this post. I certainly do not want you taking a selfie with this blog post, applying a sepia filter, and posting it to your stream. Please just read this book…

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