Outlaw Planet by M.R. Carey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's a western, and I'm not a huge fan of westerns.

That being said, I got through the veiled references to all things wild wild west and the American Civil war and hungrily ate up all things that made it alternate universes, settling an alien word, high tech, many races, and, of course, the revenge story.

I'll be honest. It took me well over half the novel before I truly got into it, and by then, it was all about seeing new places and killing new people. And sometimes old people. And the intelligent gun.

But by then I liked it just fine. Entertaining.

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ソードアート・オンライン10: アリシゼーション・ランニング by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

New life to the series. It's full-on modern LitRPG now, but with a MUCH more solid foundation of multiple books deepening and enriching what is now to be the de facto standard of the genre.

Total praise.

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ソードアート・オンライン9: アリシゼーション・ビギニング by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a turning point for the series, I believe. Or rather, it takes on a whole new life, aka, ANY of the LitRPG novels that have come out AFTER this.

Indeed, my interest had been waning for the last couple of novels, but this one makes me feel like it's all brand new again. :)

Revitalized. :)

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ソードアート・オンライン プログレッシブ 8 [Sōdo Āto Onrain Puroguresshibu 8] by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

At this point, it's just about enjoying the world and characters in short stories or novellas. Specifically, early days and late days. I really enjoyed about half of them, and thought the others were fine. A nice combination of cuteness and battles.



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Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 7 by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think I do like the fact that these books take on different styles of storytelling as they go. Virtual reality games are now just a part of life, after all, and people change... and use them differently.

But this? It's about connections. True connections. Trying to give a little kindness out of a deep-seated need to pass along something good--because that's what she needs for herself.

Out of all the books in this series, this one is the most healing, the most down-to-earth. It's a nice change.

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ソードアート・オンライン 6: ファントム・バレット [Sōdo āto onrain 6: Fantomu Baretto] by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mysterious murders seemingly happening through the protected online rigs. Great gun battles. And enough trauma to choke a horse.

Really a fascinating arc and my favorite after the original. I even stayed up late because I was engrossed in it.



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ソードアート・オンライン 5: ファントム・バレット [Sōdo āto onrain 5: Fantomu Baretto] by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Part one of Phantom Bullet. I honestly enjoyed this setup more than the fairy world. Not just the world itself, but the characterizations and developments.

Gun trauma meets gun game. Pretty classic, all told, but tastefully done on all counts. Western/cyberpunk tones.

Can't wait to see where it goes. I don't think I saw further in the anime, and now I'm wondering why not.

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ソードアート・オンライン プログレッシブ 4 [Sōdo Āto Onrain Puroguresshibu 4] by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Maybe not as interesting as the first parts of this story, but it does complete the "save the princess" storyline begun in the previous book. I think my main problem with it is that he starts off OP instead of truly grounded. I wanted to like it more, but that's the risk with OP stats. Oh, the pitfalls for storytelling.



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Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 3 by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It feels like the aftermath story, but damn, I prefer it this way. Picking up the pieces, trying to get answers... and some semblance of a life back. Or bring someone back who is still lost.

Beautiful.

Plus, damn those companies. Seriously.

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Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 2 by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I can tell right away that many of the side-stories from the anime were taken from this volume while the main story was taken from the first volume. Together it makes up the whole first season. I have no complaints. They're both good. :)



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Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 1 by Reki Kawahara
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Originally, I watched the anime when it came out and was fairly blown away by the quality of what I now know to be the LitRPG genre. But even this wasn't my absolute first introduction to it. It just happened to be the Then-Best example of it. And it remained so for many years.

And then I got into the genre for real. And somehow, I just forgot about this.

I'm back. I wanted to see if it really WAS as good as I remember. I'm doing it as a light novel this time, however, and it really WAS as good as I remembered. :)


Classic storyline, told well.

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Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-Read 12/23/25

I've been enjoying all of Heinlein in order of publication and it's neat to finally come this far again. To me, it feels like a real turning point for the author, and obviously this is one of those all time favs.

Indeed, it's the classic MilSF. :)



Original Review:

One of the original Mil-SF classics!

I've read this before. Several times, even, back when I was a newb when it came to Heinlein or SF in general. You know, pick up the Hugo Award winners and see if I like the author enough to continue on. Twenty books later, (THAT YEAR,) I discovered something. I like Heinlein. A lot.

But not ALL of Heinlein equally. Starship Troopers seemed kinda preachy to me, a little slow, and RAH, RAH, RAH Civic Duty. :) Suffice to say, I liked it pretty well. Caveats: it did come out in 1059, riding the social wave following the Korean War and very reminiscent of WWII war stories, updated for SF and focusing less on the horrors of war and more on Heinlein's usual Self-Reliance, Responsibility, and Duty.

I can't say I mind that at all. In fact, it just made me feel rather warm and cuddly and proud to be an American. Just a few years later, Kennedy would ask us what we would do for our country. We would feel responsible enough to take on those other things we called a social wrong. Like Red Scares. Cuba. Vietnam. But that wasn't this. Not yet.

Patriotism was at an all-time high. And this novel reflects that. Wide-eyed wonder and hope and gritty realism when it came to doing What Was Right.

Coming from another generation, this novel didn't quite hit the same buttons for me. But that's all right because some really smart people made a different movie by the same name but using MOSTLY the same story in the 90's that rocked hard with it's updated sensibilities and satire. :) And yet, the core RESPONSIBILITY remained very much intact. Amazing, no?


This novel is far from being Heinlein's best, but damn if it isn't excellent in its own right. I don't always have to agree with the sentiments as they apply now to appreciate the idealism on parade then. :)

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Commerce Emperor 2: A Progression Fantasy Epic by Maxime J. Durand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First, the caveats: it's not really a Progression Fantasy the way the genre has developed. It's more of a fantasy that seems to borrow beautifully from Jim Butcher's Caldera fantasy (in style) and the demon arc in Dresden. Mind you, I LIKE that. But beyond that, it's not so much about growing more and more powerful as it is about doing the strategy thing, building relationships, and defeating the Blight and Wrath.

Which begs the question... what does commerce have anything to do with this? And it's a fair question. Buying and selling skills, time, effort is neat and all, but it's always in service to the greater plot, not a deep exploration of its abuses.

I can admire the way the text holds the line even if I kinda wanted to see the abuses. :)



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Commerce Emperor by Maxime J. Durand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This hits a solid political fantasy note with extremely solid magics--specifically, being the ultimate deal-maker. Not like Trump. More like any fair exchange is immediately and irrevocably binding. A lock of hair for gold? Instant. All your skills for swordsmanship for 10 gold? No problem. Your soul for your freedom?

Ehhh... yeah, that's where this could get very dark, very fast. Fortunately, heroes exist, as do gods and demons. Fun stuff.

I think Maxime Durand is threading some great fine lines between all their fiction. I still love the timey-wimey SF best, but between this dark and serious fantasy versus the humorous dragon, I think I prefer this. They're all quite decent, mind you. But I'm digging how serious this is.

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The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For a hot minute there I was worried that the whole hard-fought peace from the previous books would be shattered. (Damn that title.) Fortunately, it's okay. It's OKAY. We can blame all our troubles on someone else. Thank goodness. Gigantic super-smart aliens wanting to "fix" all the lower species. That's FINE. I just hate it when the crunchy peacemakers break down and let everything go to shit because they can't keep their colonies in their pants.

That being said, it IS a fun book. Snarky in the way the others were also snarky. Considerate in the way all these books are considerate. And ultimately--peaceful.

That's a strange thing to say about war stuff. But it's true, nevertheless.

I will say one thing, tho: it feels like a book out of another age. One where we are all working TOWARD a more positive future. It's an odd one for that. No?

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Halcyon Years by Alastair Reynolds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Truly entertaining.

Yuri, the first cosmonaut, works as a 40's noir detective. Such a sweet premise. I'm reminded of other great SF that pulls similar conceits be it Hitler as a Noir detective or the inestimable Dark City premise, but who cares, right? It's FUN.

Especially when it takes off with generational starship stuff, bringing Yuri right back into space, continuing a wicked mystery plot, this novel takes us so many great places.

Truly entertaining. :)

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Krampus: The Yule Lord by Brom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brom always hits it out of the park. I haven't read any of his horror that wasn't both overflowing with rich lore and mythology approached in fresh and very, very interesting ways. And the stories are overflowing with great characters that always get a full progression, if not revamp.

Krampus is no different. Indeed, I thought it was meant to be a rather jokey, in the spirit of getting a grimdark version of Santa Claus, etc, but we get more than just that. We get SEVERAL revenge stories, an American Gods treatment colliding Norse and Christian faiths, AND an honest-to-Brom REDEMPTION story in the best tradition of everything Xmas. Or rather, YULETIDE.

Muahahahahaha

I love it. All the sad-sacks really got their own by the end. And damn Baldur. I'm rather fond of Krampus now.



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Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Definitely a good horror read if you A: like writers being messed up, B: like psychological mindfucks that carry over directly to the plot, C: like massive PoV jumps that make sense in the way that you like to string up facts on a pin-board like a detective OR a conspiracy theorist.

Me? I could have gone either way on this book.

I appreciate the messed up bits a lot, but by the time it was CONTINUING to get more messed up and I'd had to throw out all my working theories at least three times only to circle full back to the ORIGINAL theory, I was wondering if I even liked the tale at all.

Turns out, I did. But mileage may vary.



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Two Truths and a Lie by Cory O'Brien
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a pretty damn sharp cyberpunk Noir mystery that has all the markings of a Marlowe while being a clever different kind of bait-and-switch that I honestly admire in any kind of tight plot.

Of course, I'm not going to spill the beans here, but I can say right off the bat that I really enjoyed having an old combat vet with experimental anti-AI tech in his noggin, living practically on the streets and drinking his life away, turning into a real fact-checker in this cyberpunk world.

Feels fresh even though it has deep roots in the mystery genre.

Bonus, it's a cool as hell m/m romance dressed up in PKD nightmare scenarios.

Definitely worth the read.





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The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

*twangs banjo*

Hello West Virginia. Hello claustrophobic Southern Family Horror.

I can't really say much here without giving away all the little discoverable treats in this book, but I can say that the atmosphere is both strange and neat. A family that stays together--ah, well, let's not QUITE go there, yet, unless you start reading.

*twangs banjo*



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Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Strange book. It feels like a 70's pulp horror novel, complete with the same setting, types of characters, everything, but it's modern.

Vamps, revenge, massive disadvantages as a vamp, and every character is super flawed and grounded.

So, I should say it's a good novel in that it succeeds in all the ways it sets out to succeed.

And yet, I've read a number of novels quite like this and it'll never hold up to say, Interview, or many others. Indeed, it's a true-crime level, low-level thugs and regular people forced into hard circumstances type. It would have made a decent 70's hard-boiled movie with undertones of King but mostly like Bloch.

Not bad, all told.

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Shadows Upon Time by Christopher Ruocchio
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a wild, impressive ride.

I'm on the record for having issues with the first novel, it feeling rather derivative as a straight SF title, but after a few books in, it establishes itself as a monumentally good SF series. Not only great characters and plotting and SFnal ideas in a grand panoramic worldbuilding backdrop, but an adventure both deep, varied, and genuinely fascinating.

A few more books in, and it just gets deeper and mythical and even god-like in scope and adventure.

And then, by this book, the last, it managed to floor me.

This is a great SF series. Period. I can easily ignore the shades of the greats that were on full display in the first book--because Ruocchio twisted it all into his very own beautiful creation by the end.

And this is a genuine end. Full circle from where it began, with ALL the glory it promised and so much more.

And the tragedy.

Damn it. I really hate the tragic parts. I know it makes for a deeper story, but if only I could have stopped at the right point... I wouldn't have such a heavy heart.

It's like stopping Dune at book one. You could ignore the deeper tragedy and sit in the dark glory. But life and good art is never really that clean. And neither is this. Indeed, we were always warned what kind of story it would be, and yet we find the true heights and lows, nevertheless.

Sigh.

Truly delicious. It has just about everything SF has to offer, too. A full course meal with desert. :)



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First Lensman by E.E. "Doc" Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second Lensman book definitely hits all the classic Buck Rogers feel (while also predating Buck).

Notably, however, is the fact that this is where they go to the mysterious planet where they get the mysterious wristwatch that gives them mysterious powers.

It's funny. I kept wanting the book to SPELL OUT the powers. I'm so spoiled by today's fantasy with all its highfalutin rules and strict limitations. And it's even worse for SF, or rather, hard SF, which often tries to limit itself by its own rule-set!

But I digress. This is simply pure adventure. High adventure, complete with wars, vast attempts to understand strange creatures and cultures, and even politics at its most high-minded.

It definitely FEELS like Golden Age SF. Complete with that vaunted optimism.

I can't say I dislike it, either. Whatever else it is, it's high-minded and hopeful.



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Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel by Guanzhong Luo) Roberts Moss (trans)
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can now say I've read the full Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

In English. With very little context. lol

BUT, I did flow with it even if I often got lost in a sea of names, often always those names dying in quick, gruesome manners. It reminds me a lot of how I felt when I first read the Iliad. An endless progression of the dead and soon-to-be-dead. But this is war, and at this point, GENERATIONS of war. It's beautiful and rich and as I said before, rather requires a full map with markers for troops.

Am I happy I finally got through it?

Yep.

Was I often overwhelmed?

Yep.

But since I am not studying to be either an ancient Chinese scholar or an armchair tactician, I still feel like I got a lot out of it.

Challenge accepted and met.

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Three Kingdoms, Volume 2 by Luo Guanzhong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I may be five starring this simply because I'm overwhelmed, but there ya go.

I neither know most of the names or their importance, nor do I know all the provinces in China, ancient or otherwise, and frankly, I think I'd need a full map and a whole board of figures and footnotes to show me each and every battle in its entirety just to GET what the hell just happened here.

But unfortunately, I'm ACTUALLY just trying to read this to say I've read it, if not for enjoyment's sake. And trust me, I did enjoy swaths of it. Both the history and some of the stories are just fantastic--those I followed, those I outright recognized, and those that made me wonder and wonder.

Let me be honest: I'm more fascinated by the role this has played in the formation of all of Chinese history and culture than any personal desire to learn tactics and wartime strategy. But if I was to want to get into all that seriously, then I'd do worse than to seriously study this text again with a different focus.

So, with that, volume 2 is done. On to volume 3.



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Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was very, very enjoyable for many reasons. Okorafor has pulled off either an amazing hat trick or has just bared her soul to us readers with a book that is simultaneously a deeply interesting read and a rather personal one.

Of course, I can only assume it's a personal one. I do not know and haven't researched anything. But TRUTH rarely needs facts to display its nature.

I was just as interested in the tale within the tale as I was the author's life. And death, in either case, was something rather more than the surface. Beautifully so.

As I was reading this, I was reminded very positively of similar books that made me feel this way, like The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Almost meta, very personal, switching back and forth between mediums, but always soulful.

I especially loved the commentary on fandom and the artist, the stressors, the expectations and the betrayals. It's doubly funny how GRRM was quoted on the cover-and Okorafor nails the fundamental reply.

This book is simply a wonderful conversation. Art and artist, culture versus individual, family versus autonomy, mind versus body.

I wholly recommend.

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Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have nothing really bad to say about this book. Not really. It's a Flannagan-era take on demons and a haunted house as seen through a young influencer's eyes and how she grew up.

Put simply.

It's giving the popular crowd and the newly popular take on the horror genre exactly what it desires. I, too, really enjoy Mike's takes, and this gives us more. So, bon appetite!





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The Merged: A multi timeline cosmic horror of shattered realities by T.M. Yomide
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was asked by the author to read this and I did so quite willingly because I have a natural soft spot for this kind of thing. I mean, shattered realities, cosmic horror, timey-wimey stuff in one shot? Hell yeah.

Diving right in, it had some massive hard SF feels to it AND major classic Fantasy feels in different sections. Indeed, we're thrown into into three timelines of the deep past with sword and sorcery, WWI getting weird, and the far future, complete with AIs, VR, and hacking.

It was almost like I was reading the Elric Saga, classic Conan, a hint of Tad William's Otherland series, and a modern technothriller all in one.

One caveat to your enjoyment, however: It's a very rich novel in terms of imagery and mythos. In some places, I wished we had slowed some to get to know the characters in times of rest, but it isn't that kind of story. It's epic and fraught throughout. As it probably ought to be, with stakes this pervasive.

In the end, however, it's very much a standard quest story and very satisfying for that reason.

Highly recommended for anyone wanting a rich brew to sate themselves.

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Deep Black by Miles Cameron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Much better than I thought it might be after reading the (1.5). Indeed, it's a great space opera full of mystery, action, rising through the ranks, and learning. And let's not forget the overarching plot and how it makes me worry. :)

It's an all-rounder of a story. A little merchanting, a little war, a little romance, a little first contact, a lot of OP spoilery stuff that I won't mention here for the sake of future readers' enjoyment. All said, I had a great time. And I really can't wait for the next.

One thing I'll mention, however. I do NOT recommend reading the Beyond the Fringe: An Arcana Imperii Collection book until AFTER reading this second book. Very little is necessary in it to enjoy book 2 and indeed, I probably would have gotten a LOT more out of it after reading this book first. Your mileage might vary, but I'm serious. :)



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The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Definitely an uncomfortable, even rage-baiting read. But then, where else should we be in a horror about real life child abuse, institutional-style?

It may have taken place in the 1950's at the height of the Jim Crow era, and the kinds of reform schools for boys, especially black boys, are a well known tragedy just one step to the side from actual slavery, but that doesn't make it any the less resonate with today.

Racism is absolutely rampant and it takes a whole village to create a slave and the slavery mindset.

I can't tell you how happy I was to see some kind of happy ending to this novel.

Ghosts aside, abuse and death aside, I have to say this book was rather soul-killing. I guess that CAN be a mark of a good horror, no? I just wish it wasn't hitting so close to home.



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Clarkesworld Magazine Issue 231 by Neil Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Tomorrow. Today." by R.T. Ester -- (4*) A fairly interesting ship of Theseus story revolving uploadable bodies.

"Imperfect Simulations" by Michelle Z. Jin -- (5*) Lots of great probability ruminations butting heads against friendship. Great worldbuilding, too.

"The Cold Burns" by Anne Wilkins -- (5*) Great dystopia. Utopia. Lol. A pretty hard-hitting capitalist nightmare. I'd say cyberpunk, but this is one step beyond.

"The Hole" by Ferenc Samsa -- (4*) A pleasure-filled and debased vision of a future. Feels distinctly post-humanity, post-bodies, while reveling in the the same--as a mystery story. :)

"Between Here and Everywhere" by Robert Reed -- (5*) I'm reminded, AGAIN, how much I enjoy the Greatship series of Reed's. Memory and quest, yet again. :)

"This Sepulchral Aegis" by Rob Gillham -- (5*) Thank goodness for strange, disturbing, layered post-human space fiction. :) Best because it'll always be horribly human.

"Home Grown" by Madeleine Vigneron - (3*) Birth, direction, future. Pretty simple. Not sure I found it all that interesting, though. At least, not written like this.


I suppose I simply loved Imperfect Simulations. Between Here and Everywhere was great for its own story and how it builds on all of the rest of Reed's stories. I loved This Sepulchral Aegis for its oddities.

Not a bad month.


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The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I cannot rightly say this has been my favorite magical fox tale, whether couched in historical magical realism or not, but I can say it was a solid tale of slow-burning love, trickery, and even a good helping of mystery.

The plot was slow and meandering but that should be everything you might want in a slow and meandering tale that's more about a lifetime of a fox than it being about the many, many trickeries.

And yet, if you, dear reader, are fond of asian fox tales, I'm sure you'll have a good time with this. There's a lot to snack on, here. Fried tofu or otherwise.

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Beyond the Fringe: An Arcana Imperii Collection by Miles Cameron
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

To be honest, I was hoping to continue with the characters I'd grown to love in the first book, but these mostly just have the feel of dirtside warfare, more MilSF, and some more MilSF without the charm that I'd grown to love in the first book.

As a short story collection, I won't say that they were all bad. Indeed, some were fairly entertaining, but as a whole, I hope this isn't just a way to tease the plot threads for the second book--that may be nothing but new characters.

I WAS invested in the rest. I hope this is just a one-off.

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Artifact Space by Miles Cameron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This really was pretty much perfect if you're looking for a merchant marine space opera. It has all the best aspects of keeping secrets, investigation, battle, and, of course, making good with your ranks.

The best part is that it's a bit more detailed and has slightly better characterizations than, say, Honor Harrington. Or maybe that's just me. I think I'd put this on the same level, or even above, Elizabeth Moon.

Make no mistake, this is absolutely a MilSF, but the focus is more on a grand sweep of ship life than rah rah rah. It's there, of course, and I even felt the pressure of Battlestar Galactica later on in the novel, but I'm honestly really happy with the balance.

Good stuff.

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