Fabulous fantasy! If you don’t like books about dragons, griffins and magic, this is not for you. But if you like action, tension, battles (real and sFabulous fantasy! If you don’t like books about dragons, griffins and magic, this is not for you. But if you like action, tension, battles (real and simulated), then this is highly recommended!
Set in an indeterminate time and place with no relationship to the present, the story begins a couple of decades after the rebellion has been defeated. The central character is a young woman who has been training as a scribe (essentially a keeper of the country’s history), but mom (second in command it appears in the army) insists she is destined to be a dragon rider. So off the dragon riders schools she is dispatched.
Many tests of character ensue, some physical, some mental, and some moral. Along the way she bonds with a dragon, learns to ride, and falls in love (or at least lust) with a third year student who has vowed to kill her!
Some sex, and lots of violence, later, she has matured from a young naive girl into a fighting woman. More than that, I won’t say to avoid any spoilers. But trust me, it’s a long book (~500 pp), but we’ll worth your while! I started this as an audio book (which is great, btw) but then my time expired and I immediately got the physical book and finished it in one sitting..then immediately checked out the sequel. Can’t wait to start it—but a couple of other books take priority in the interim...more
This is a sci-fi book set about 400 years from now. Earth has now reached the stars, and is in constant battle with an (undeveloped--but there are twoThis is a sci-fi book set about 400 years from now. Earth has now reached the stars, and is in constant battle with an (undeveloped--but there are two more volumes) alien race for control of planets at the edge of the earth based empire.
The basic set up is that what appears to be a hyper-extended version of football has become virtually (no more concussions to worry about), and now consists of both group battles and individual contests--where all "players" are assisted by high tech armor (it does far more than armor--but I won't provide details to prevent any spoilers). The other neat part is that the revenue from these contests is now (apparently) the sole source of financing for the war (which nicely dovetails with the close association of today's NFL and the US Military). People able to use this armor are called "Users," a higlhy sought after and prestigious position. The best Users play matches to finance the military. The rest fight the war. To prepare them they attend what seems to be roughly equivalent to West Point--a combination of academics and training with the armor (called "academies" in this book).
The plot centers on one underqualified "User" Rei Ward, his long-time friend Vivian, a friend he meets at the academy, and a hero of the circuits, who gave it up to go fight the war, and now heads the academy. There are another dozen or so characters who are not nearly as well developed (with hints that at least some of them will move closer to center stage in later volumes).
As with many such sprawling sci-fi series, it starts slowly, as the author(s) build the world, and introduce their main characters. But about 100 pages in, things pick up considerably, and the book becomes one of those page turners that makes you stay up far too late reading.
Can't wait to dig into the rest of this series....more
Odd little book. Basic plot is straightforward: First the tree. Then a house. Then a family moves in, have a couple of adventures, get evicted, and areOdd little book. Basic plot is straightforward: First the tree. Then a house. Then a family moves in, have a couple of adventures, get evicted, and are forced to scatter. But the devil is in the details.
The “family” are all dead, or were dead, or have a memory of death—except the kid. They include a mummy from the Pharos, vampires, spirits, winds that used to be….and a spider and a cat. Each is creatively described by Bradbury, given a personality, and has adventures fitting to their particular version of “used to be dead.” You get a hint of the complexity and tone by understanding that the original plan was for an illustrated book by Bradbury and the New Yorker’s Charles Addams.
The only negative is that it reads too much like what it in fact is—an amalgam of short stories originally written for magazines (and a couple of which were actually published that way).
Quite an enjoyable read…if you have a tolerance for weirdness....more
Nice easy read for adults; good pick for YA. NOTE: This review is intentionally vague so as to avoid any hint of a spoiler.
The basic plot is pretty siNice easy read for adults; good pick for YA. NOTE: This review is intentionally vague so as to avoid any hint of a spoiler.
The basic plot is pretty simple: aliens came to earth a generation ago, and left behind a sleeper. They have now returned, and retrieve the sleeper (now a teenage girl) and recruit five other brilliant teens to join the aliens (they left a computer behind a long time ago which has been running tests ever since to find the smartest people). The reason they need to recruit earthlings is that the aliens are in a fight with a breakaway faction, and their warship is seriously under staffed. Lots of tech allows the earthlings to communicate seamlessly with the aliens, and the aliens have solved all the problems with gravity, high speed travel, etc. (in ways not really explained by the author).
With this set up, the narrative moves on to a series of crises, interposed with growing self-awareness by the teens. This sounds a lot like a typical "coming of age" novel. What sets this apart, aside from the addition of alien and space battles, is the author's focus on gender. At the most basic level, the alien tech automatically adds someone's preferred pronouns to their name when translating. But the author also introduces various alien species with a variety of different genders, thus normalizing the fact that gender is not binary. In addition, the author makes our six earthlings have a variety of genders, thus reemphasizing the non-binary nature of gender. Finally, the love story is not between two cis people of opposite genders.
If all of this sounds like the author tried too hard to fit political messaging into the narrative. I would have to strongly disagree. All of these gender issues are treated quite naturally as part of the story. They are simply there, as if of course this is the way the world works. I found it quite refreshing, rather than annoying or intrusive.
Looking forward to reading the second entry in the series....more
Mr. Malhotra has written a great science fiction book! The premise is much the same as many books: earth first encounters aliens, who threaten to destMr. Malhotra has written a great science fiction book! The premise is much the same as many books: earth first encounters aliens, who threaten to destroy the world. What makes this one different? Several things. First, his main character has more depth than one often finds in science fiction. Kudos to him for spending the time to make him a more or less real person. Too many sci fi authors forget that part. Second, the plot twists are great.
But the real strength of this book is that Mr. Malhotra uses his professional background as a negotiator to build a story which gives the readers a view of the motives of BOTH SIDES--earth and alien. And does so in a convincing way. Of course, it doesn't hurt that he writes a gripping narrative to keep you turning the pages.
So why four stars instead of 5? This book could have been cut by a hundred pages or so by reigning in the author's instinct to tell rather than show. There are several long passages devoted to telling the reader about the strategy behind the action, explaining what the right way is to negotiate, etc. That message comes through very clearly in the story, and did not need to be spelled out.
But this is a minor quibble in a book I stayed up way too late too many nights devouring....more
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