Joe Reviews: Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

The first four Murderbot books make a complete story arc, so this one in a lot of ways felt like a satisfying wrap up to the series, even though of course there are other books. I strongly suspect that Martha Wells wrote these with the intent of self-publishing them, but her traditional publisher gave her …

Joe Reviews: Archangel Down by C. Gockel

I really need to get a handle on the rapidly growing backlog of books to review, so I’m going to focus on books that I’ve read this year and catch up with the older ones as I go. This book showed a lot of promise, and to be fair, it held my interest through to …

Joe Reviews: Jerusalem Fire by R.M. Meluch

DNF after 50 pages. Here’s why: 1. The story is just too convoluted. It starts out with the main character leading an evacuation, and preparing to go down with his ship to lead the enemy away from the refugees… except then, he’s attacked by the mysterious Flying Dutchman, which appears out of nowhere… except, he …

Joe Reviews: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

This review is going to have spoilers for the first book. If you want to read my take on the series as a whole, read my review for All Systems Red. Of all of the Murderbot books, this one is my least favorite. It’s still pretty good, but not as good as the first. Thankfully, …

Joe Reviews: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Ah, the Murderbot diaries. If you haven’t heard of these books yet, you’re in for a treat, because this is one of the best ongoing series currently in science fiction. This review will mostly just be for the first book, but since my reviews of the other books will probably contain spoilers, much of what …

Review: Anti Life by Allen Kuzara

I got to about the halfway mark of this one before I gave up on it. When I skipped to the end, though, it looked like the action picks up in the second half, so if none of my issues are problems for you, it may be worth checking out. First, I felt like there …

Review: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

I have tried twice now to read this book, and both times I found I couldn’t stand it. Perhaps the third time will be the charm, but I doubt it. The first time, it was all the moon slang. Some people find it interesting and clever, but honestly, it just grated on me. It’s kind …