Update Archives
- Thinking 101, by Woo-Kyoung Ahn
- Under the Smokestrewn Sky, by A. Deborah Baker
- Fire Truck vs Dragon, by Chris Barton
- The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, by Riley Black
- Whatever for Hire, by R. J. Blain
- Across the Desert, by Dusti Bowling
- Spider Woman's Daughter, by Anne Hillerman
- The View from the Cheap Seats, by Neil Gaiman
- Hello, Universe, by Erin Entrada Kelly
- The Clone Assassin, by Steven L. Kent
- A History of What Comes Next, by Silvain Neuvel
- Mammoths at the Gates, by Nghi Vo
- Song of Silver, Flame Like Night, by Amélie Wen Zhao
One month down, eleven to go...
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- The Hod King, by Josiah Bancroft
- Here and Now and Then, by Mike Chen
- Other Minds, by Peter Godfrey-Smith
- The Once and Future Witches, by Alix E. Harrow
- The Silver Metal Lover, by Tanith Lee
- The Princess and the Goblin, by George MacDonald
- Hold Me Closer, Necromancer. by Lish McBride
- Once & Future, by Cori McCarthy and A. R. Capetta
- Dreamsnake, by Vonda N. McIntyre
- You Need More Money, by Matt Manero
- Even Though I Knew the End, by C. L. Polk
- The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead
And that's another moderately-to-largely crudtastic year done and gone, with a new one on the horizon (that's unlikely to be any better).
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- Retribution Rails, by Erin Bowman
- My Sister, the Serial Killer, by Oyinkan Braithwaite
- The Lost and the Found, by Cat Clarke
- The Adventurer's Son, by Roman Dial
- Odd and the Frost Giants, by Neil Gaiman
- Fat Kid Rules the World, by K. L. Going
- Lifeboat 12, by Susan Hood
- Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves: The Road to Neverwinter, by Jaleigh Johnson
- Thornhedge, by T. Kingfisher
- Over the Moon, by Natalie Lloyd
- Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day, by Seanan McGuire
- Vessel, by Lisa A. Nichols
- The Lady from the Black Lagoon, by Mallory O'Meara
- Little Fuzzy, by H. Beam Piper
November slipped by with little enough worth showing for its passage.
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- Arm of the Sphinx, by Josiah Bancroft
- To Shape a Dragon's Breath, by Moniquill Blackgoose
- The Suicide Motor Club, Christopher Buehlman
- Three Little Wishes, by Paul Cornell
- Walk Two Moons, by Sharon Creech
- Fortunately, the Milk, by Neil Gaiman
- The Third Man Factor, by John Geiger
- The Zoologist's Guide to the Galaxy, by Arik Kershenbaum
- The Mist, by Stephen King
- Mechanical Failure, by Joe Zieja
Turns out that the "seasonal bug" from the end of September was actually COVID; that thing packs one heck of a punch, and I'm still not sure I've shaken
the last bits of it. One star, not recommended.
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Visit Update Archives For Older Updates
- Wolfwood, by Marianna Baer
- The Lesser Dead, by Christopher Buehlman
- The Terminal List, by Jack Carr
- Empire of Exiles, by Erin M. Evans
- Rise: The Complete Newsflesh Collection, by Mira Grant
- The Third Man, by Graham Greene
- Holmes on the Range, by Steve Hockensmith
- The Storyteller's Handbook, by Elise Hurst
- The Giver, by Lois Lowry
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, by Mark Manson
September's been one more month that could've been worse but also could've been much, much better (I type as I deal with a seasonal bug that's tearing through the household, while dealing
with other family health Issues).
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- Three Hearts and Three Lions, by Poul Anderson
- Senlin Ascends, by Josiah Bancroft
- Written in Bone, by Sue Black
- White Fragility, by Dr. Robin DiAngelo
- American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
- Pet Sematary, by Stephen King
- Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower, by Tamsyn Muir
- The Mimicking of Known Successes, by Malka Older
- A Darkening of Dragons, by S. A. Patrick
- A Vanishing of Griffins, by S. A. Patrick
- Crocodile on the Sandbank, by Elizabeth Peters
- Where's My Jetpack?, by Daniel H. Wilson
- Lost in Shangri-La, by Mitchell Zuckoff
Another late update. My likely-iffy count puts me at over two thousand reviews as of this update. I really need to double-check the numbers at some
point, but as I've mentioned earlier, I'm a bit lazy...
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- The Girl and the Ghost, by Hanna Alkaf
- Mickey7, by Edward Ashton
- Into the Windwracked Wilds, by A. Deborah Baker
- This Book is Not Yet Rated, by Peter Bognanni
- How It Unfolds, by James S. A. Corey
- The Smart Neanderthal, by Clive Finlayson
- Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland
- The Body, by Stephen King
- Lost in the Moment and Found, by Seanan McGuire
- Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry
- Dracopedia Field Guide, by William O'Connor
- The Builders, by Daniel Polansky
- The Kaiju Preservation Society, by John Scalzi
- Dogs of War, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead
- Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros
Another month lacking in any particular distinguishing characteristics.
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- Any Sign of Life, by Rae Carson
- 0.44, by H. A. DeRosso
- Blue Moon Rising, by Simon R. Green
- The Magicians, by Lev Grossman
- Winterhouse, by Ben Guterson
- Restart, by Gordon Korman
- The Spare Man, by Mary Robinette Kowal
- First Watch, by Dale Lucas
- Flying Snakes & Griffin Claws, by Adrienne Mayor
- Elric of Melniboné, by Michael Moorcock
- Northwind, by Gary Paulsen
- Three Quarters Dead, by Richard Peck
- Tyrannosaur Canyon, by Douglas Preston
- Ghost, by Jason Reynolds
- The Athena Protocol,by Shamim Sarif
- Nightwings, by Robert Silverberg
- The Jewel and Her Lapidary, by Fran Wilde
Apparently, as of this update, the "new" version of Brightdreamer Books is now five years old (and probably obsolete again, as if it was ever relevant to begin with).
Aside from some behind-the-scenes maintenance (which I never really do enough of, if I'm being honest, but I've never pretended to be great at this), I've done
nothing to mark the occasion.
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- On My Honor, by Marion Dane Bauer
- It Came in the Mail, by Ben Clanton
- At the Mountains of Madness, by Howard Phillips Lovecraft
- Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves, by Meg Long
- Monster, by Walter Dean Myers
- The United States of Cryptids, by J. W. Ocker
- Story Thieves, by James Riley
- Cities, by Monica L. Smith
- An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir
- The Thickety: A Path Begins, by J. A. White
- Beyond the Bright Sea, by Lauren Wolk
Almost summer already, and still not a lot to show for the year except more reviews.
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- Never Say You Can't Survive, by Charlie Jane Anders
- Dinosaurs Rediscovered, by Michael J. Benton
- Race for the Escape, by Christopher Edge
- The Ballad of Perilous Graves, by Alex Jennings
- Fireborne, by Rosaria Munda
- The Scavenger Door, by Suzanne Palmer
- Five Total Strangers, by Natalie D. Richards
- Age of Myth, by Michael J. Sullivan
- Chasing Helicity, by Ginger Zee
And the actual April update. Other projects have been eating my life, but not a bad reading month.
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- The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
- The Darkest Time of Night, by Jeremy Finley
- Once Upon a Toad, by Heather Vogel Frederick
- The Wolf Hour, by Sara Lewis Holmes
- Nightflyers, by George R. R. Martin
- The Lost City of the Monkey God,by Douglas Preston
- Saturn Run, by John Sanford and Ctien
- Full Tilt, by Neal Shusterman
- Into the Riverlands, by Nghi Vo
- Cast the First Stone, by David James Warren
A day late and a dollar short on March's reviews, because the month was full of time sucks, but at least I got these updated...
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- Sister of the Chosen One, by Erin Armknecht and Colleen Oakes
- Looking Backward: 2000 - 1887, by Edward Bellamy
- The Face in the Frost, by John Bellairs
- A Psalm for the Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers
- The Book Eaters, by Sunyi Dean
- Killing Mr. Griffin, by Lois Duncan
- Flesh and Fire, by Laura Ann Gilman
- Trigger, by N. Griffin
- A Mirror Mended, by Alix E. Harrow
- Under an Outlaw Moon, by Dietrich Kalteis
- Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, by Robin Sloan
- We Shall Sing a Song into the Deep, by Andrew Kelly Stewart
- Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
2023 continues to lack significant improvement compared to 2022. Still, at least there's books... for now...
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- Light From Uncommon Stars, by Ryka Aoki
- Wake of Vultures, by Lila Bowen
- The Benefits of Being an Octopus, by Ann Braden
- Scritch Scratch, by Lindsay Currie
- The Exiled Fleet, by J. S. Dewes
- Time Tourist Outfitters, Ltd., by C. N. Jackson
- Scatter, Adapt, and Remember, by Annalee Newitz
- The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, by Axie Oh
- Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow, by Jessica Townsend
- The Thief, by Megan Whelan Turner
A new year, and so far not a marked improvement on the previous one. (Is it too much to ask for a span of time where "at least I'm not entirely on fire yet" is
not as close to "doing well" as I can manage?) But, hey, that's why I hide out in books...
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- Track of the Cat, by Nevada Barr
- Doll Bones, by Holly Black
- Arkhangelsk, by Elizabeth Bonesteel
- The Last Watch, by J. S. Dewes
- The Kingless Land, by Ed Greenwood
- The Darwin Elevator, by Jason M. Hough
- Polaris, by Michael Northrop
- True Grit, by Charles Portis
- How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question, by Michael Schur
And another less-than-spectacular year finally makes its exit...
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- Ice Planet Barbarians, by Ruby Dixon
- When the Sky Fell on Splendor, by Emily Henry
- Everless, by Sara Holland
- The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories 2018, by N. K. Jemisin, editor (with John Joseph Adams, series editor)
- A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L'Engle
- A Snake Falls to Earth, by Darcie Little Badger
- There There, by Tommy Orange
- The Poodle of Doom, by Susan Tan
- Osmo Unknown and the Eightpenny Woods, by Catherynne M. Valente
November's been another cruddy month in many respects, for non-reading-related reasons.
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- Between Two Fires, by Christopher Buehlman
- Those Across the River, by Christopher Buehlman
- The Stranger in the Mirror, by Liv Constantine
- The Wizards of Once, by Cressia Cowell
- Fragile Things, by Neil Gaiman
- The Sandman Volume 2: The Doll's House, 30th Anniversary Edition. by Neil Gaiman
- The Girl in Red, by Christina Henry
- Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin
- A Spindle Splintered, by Alix E. Harrow
- The Jewel of Seven Stars, by Bram Stoker
- Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
It's been rather a busy month (in an everything-seems-to-go-wrong-at-once way), but hiding in books helps...
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- Clap When You Land, by Elizabeth Acevedo
- Great Classic Science Fiction, by BBC Audio, editors
- The Wild Robot Escapes, by Peter Brown
- The Marrow Thieves, by Cherie Dimaline
- Bloody Rose, by Nicholas Eames
- Rocannon's World, Ursula K. Le Guin
- Gods of Jade and Shadow, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- She Who Became the Sun, by Shelley Parker-Chan
- Black Leviathan, by Bernd Perplies (translated by Lucy Van Cleef)
- Strange Practice, by Vivian Shaw
All around not a great month, but at least I read (and listened to) some decent books...
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- Like Never and Always, by Ann Aguirre
- Dead Voices, by Katherine Arden
- The Cold Between, by Elizabeth Bonesteel
- Firekeeper's Daughter, by Angeline Boulley
- Good Guys, by Stephen Brust
- Mystic, by Jason Denzel
- Windward, by S. Kaeth
- 13 Minutes, by Sarah Pinborough
- Witchmark, by C. L. Polk
- The Talisman, by Stephen King and Peter Straub
- Paradise Lost, by John Milton
- Gilgamesh the King, by Robert Silverberg
Another generally unnoteworthy month, save a little behind-the-scenes maintenance.
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- Borderline, by Mishell Baker
- City of Stairs, by Robert Jackson Bennett
- The Diviners, by Libba Bray
- How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge, by K. Eason
- Lovabye Dragon, by Barbara Joosse
- Billy Summers, by Stephen King
- Swordheart, by T. Kingfisher
- Year Zero, by Rob Reid
Not much else worth noting, save adding the "Crime" genre to Mystery. (I generally don't read enough crime novels to justify the genre
heading.)
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- The Library of Ever, by Zeno Alexander
- Rebel in the Library of Ever, by Zeno Alexander
- Along the Saltwise Sea, by A. Deborah Baker
- Who Goes There?, by John W. Campbell Jr.
- The Queen of Blood, by Sarah Beth Durst
- The Reluctant Queen, by Sarah Beth Durst
- Dragons in a Bag, by Zetta Elliott
- The Machine Stops, by E. M. Forster
- Ascender Volume 4: Star Seed, by Jeff Lemire
- I Am Legend and Other Stories, by Richard Matheson
- Hunt the Stars, by Jessie Mihalik
- Ikenga, by Nnedi Okorafor
- The Night Raven, by Sarah Painter
- Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell
- Elder Race, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Prolific month for reading, if a truly terrible one in many other ways...
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- Willodeen, by Katherine Applegate
- Fortune's Pawn, by Rachel Bach
- The Nonexistent Knight, by Italo Calvino
- Unflappable, by Suzie Gilbert
- Shipwreck, by Gordon Korman
- Survival, by Gordon Korman
- Escape, by Gordon Korman
- Beowulf, by Stephen Miller
- Hench, by Natalie Zina Walschots
- Network Effect, by Martha Wells
Not much else worth noting.
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- Crownchasers, by Rebecca Coffindaffer
- Thronebreakers, by Rebecca Coffindaffer
- Witches of Lychford, by Paul Cornell
- The Love Con, by Seressia Glass
- Elatsoe, Darcie Little Badger
- Why Bother, by Jennifer Louden
- The Mountain Between Us, by Charles Martin
- The Psychology of Time Travel, by Karen Mascarenhas
- Oona Out of Order, by Margarita Montimore
- Certain Dark Things, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Captain Raptor and the Space Pirates, by Kevin O'Malley and Patrick O'Brien
- The Book That Did Not Want to Be Read, by David Sundin
- Shards of Earth, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- The Wolf's Curse, by Jessica Vitalis
Another unnoteworthy month, for good or ill...
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- The In-Between, by Rebecca K. S. Ansari
- Within the Sanctuary of Wings, by Marie Brennan
- Memory's Legion, by James S. A. Corey
- How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse, by K. Eason
- Alone, by Megan E. Freeman
- The Shining, by Stephen King
- An Unwanted Guest, by Shari Lapena
- 7 Ate 9: The Untold Story, by Tara Lazar
- Promise of Blood, by Brian McClellan
- The Girl in the Well is Me, by Karen Rivers
- Guns of the Dawn, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Three months in, and 2022 remains willfully, persistently, and borderline maliciously 2022.
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- The Coward, by Stephen Aryan
- Crooked Kingdom, by Leigh Bardugo
- The Blacktongue Thief, by Christopher Buehlman
- Day Zero, by C. Robert Cargill
- Where the Drowned Girls Go, by Seanan McGuire
- Gone to the Woods, by Gary Paulsen
- Nation, by Terry Pratchett
- Fan Fiction: A Mem-Noir, by Brent Spiner
- Comfort Me With Apples, by Catherynne M. Valente
- The Empress of Salt and Fortune, by Nghi Vo
- A Pale Light in the Black, by K. B. Wagers
By my likely-inaccurate count, I posted my 1,800th review this month (Stephen Aryan's The Coward, for the curious).
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- Granted, by John David Anderson
- Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo
- Penric's Demon, by Lois McMaster Bujold
- The Conductors, by Nicole Glover
- Full Throttle: Stories, by Joe Hill
- One Word Kill, by Mark Lawrence
- Angel of the Overpass, by Seanan McGuire
- Beasts Made of Night, by Tochi Onyebuchi
- Lord Valentine's Castle, by Robert Silverberg
- Envy of Angels, by Matt Wallace
First update of a new year, and an odd year it's proving to be, too...
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- Leviathan Falls, by James S. A. Corey
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman
- Into the Drowning Deep, by Mira Grant
- City of Ghosts, by Victoria Schwab
- The Bear and the Serpent, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- The Hyena and the Hawk, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The last update in a year that was, to be honest, quite lousy on many levels (but probably much better than next year's going to be).
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- In the Labyrinth of Drakes, by Marie Brennan
- A Dead Djinn in Cairo, by P. Djèlí Clark
- A Master of Djinn, by P. Djèlí Clark
- NOS4A2, by Joe Hill
- Let's Get Textual, by Teagan Hunter
- Under the Whispering Door, by TJ Klune
- The Body Scout, by Lincoln Michel
- In the Red, by Christopher Swiedler
- The Tiger and the Wolf, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Dragon's Green, by Scarlett Thomas
Aside from going through my blog to strip out Amazon links (still ongoing), not much else of note has happened sitewise in the past month.
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- Fox & Phoenix, by Beth Bernobich
- Blackout, by Mira Grant
- Brimstone Bound, by Helen Harper
- The Hollow Places, by T. Kingfisher
- Catalyst Gate, by Megan E. O'Keefe
- Root Magic, by Eden Royce
- The Doors of Eden, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
All none of you who visit this site may notice a lack of Amazon Affiliate links. I am no longer an active Amazon Affiliate.
Therefore, Amazon links are being removed. I hid them with a CSS cheat for now; given the sheer number of pages to go through,
it's going to take some to actively root them all out. (I'm still deciding how to handle Graveyard reviews going forward;
previously, my main criteria was the title vanishing completely from Amazon. It seems there should be a separate category for
"dead" books, especially ebooks that are no longer available anywhere, but I'll need to reconsider how to determine that, I
suppose.)
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- Sparkers, by Eleanor Glewwe
- Adrift, by Paul Griffin
- The Last Human, by Zack Jordan
- The Girl in the Green Silk Gown, by Seanan McGuire
- A Dignity of Dragons, by Jacqueline Ogburn
- Lagoon, by Nnedi Okorafor
- Cold Cereal, by Adam Rex
- Hard Reboot, by Django Wexler
Getting back in my reading groove, at last.
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- The Good Luck Girls, by Charlotte Nicole Davis
- InterWorld, by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves
- Deal with the Devil, by Kit Rocha
Yeah, not a lot of new reviews this month. I've been busy with some other stuff that's been gnawing on the headspace I normally fill with books.
Hopefully I get back on track in September; I miss my reading time...
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- Beauty Queens, by Libba Bray
- Heart-Shaped Box, by Joe Hill
- The Outsiders, by S. E. Hinton
- Three Mages and a Margarita, by Annette Marie
- Driving the Deep, by Suzanne Palmer
- Made Things, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- California Bones, by Greg van Eekhout
Not much else of note, save a little minor housekeeping.
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- Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo
- Deadline, by Mira Grant
- The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
- Nine Perfect Strangers, by Liane Moriarty
- Have Sword, Will Travel, by Garth Nix & Sean Williams
- Chilling Effect, by Valerie Valdes
- When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain, by Nghi Vo
- Ashes of the Sun, by Django Wexler
Not much else of note.
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- Race the Sands, by Sarah Beth Durst
- The Echo Wife, by Sarah Gailey
- The Girl from Everywhere, by Heidi Heilig
- Chaos Vector, by Megan O'Keefe
- The Faithless Hawk, by Margaret Owen
- Finder, by Suzanne Palmer
- Long Way Down, by Jason Reynolds
- The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas
I've been tweaking the appearance of the site a little.
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- Midnight Riot, by Ben Aaaronovitch
- Small Spaces, by Katherine Arden
- The Expanse #4, by Corinna Sara Bechko and James S. A. Corey (creators)
- Ring Shout, by P. Djèlí Clark
- The Red Canary, by Tim Birkhead
- The Warehouse, by Rob Hart
- The Loneliest Girl in the Universe, by Lauren James
- The Merciful Crow, by Margaret Owen
- Captain Blood, by Rafael Sabatini
- Clash of Eagles, by Alan Smale
- The Boy Who Lost Fairyland, by Catherynne M. Valente
- The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home, by Catherynne M. Valente
Still need to get back on the maintenance schedule.
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- The Long Price Quartet, by Daniel Abraham
- A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying, by Kelley Armstrong
- The Expanse #3, by Corinna Sara Bechko and James S. A. Corey (creators)
- Recursion, by Blake Crouch
- Driftwood, by Marie Brennan
- Breaking Wild, by Diane Les Becquets
- War Girls, by Tochi Onyebuchi
- Walking to Aldebaran, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Night Train to Rigel, by Timothy Zahn
I've been slacking off on general maintenance, dang it... been busy lately.
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- Sentient, by Jeff Lemire
- The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two, by Catherynne M. Valente
- The Cloud Roads, by Martha Wells
- The Last Star, by Rick Yancey
The last update of 2020 (may the likes of this year never return) is sadly thin, but holidays eat a lot of time and energy.
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- The Expanse #2, by Corinna Sara Bechko and James S. A. Corey (creators)
- The Canyon's Edge, by Dusti Bowling
- The Haunting of Tram Car 015, by P. Djèlí Clark
- Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch
- The Disasters, by M. K. England
- The Fourteenth Goldfish, by Jennifer L. Holm
- I'm Not Dying with You Tonight, by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal
- Ascender Volume 3: The Digital Mage, by Jeff Lemire
- Acheron Rising, by Ken Lozito
- Across the Green Grass Fields, by Seanan McGuire
- Burn, by Patrick Ness
- Blazewrath Games, by Amparo Oritz
- When They Find Us, by Jenifer Ruff
- Silver in the Wood, by Emily Tesh
- The Art of The Dragon Prince, by Wonderstorm
And, until my next cull of Graveyard reviews (reviews of books no longer available, even in e-print form), I have - by my likely-off reckoning - topped
1,700 book reviews. (Silver in the Wood was lucky 1,700.)
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- The Caves of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
- Hollow Kingdom, by Kira Jane Buxton
- To Be Taught, If Fortunate, by Becky Chambers
- The Expanse #1, by James S. A. Corey and Corinna Sara Bechko
- Raybearer, by Jordan Ifueko
- A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking, by T. Kingfisher
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V. E. Schwab
The first update of a turbulent new year, and five more titles have gone to the review graveyard, in addition to a few other minor tweaks and fixes about the site.
- Over the Woodward Wall, by Seanan McGuire
- Nobody Likes a Goblin, by Ben Hatke
- Emergency Skin, by N. K. Jemisin
- Steel Crow Saga, by Paul Krueger
- Planet Paradise, by Jesse Lonergan
- Haunter of Dreams, by Claudya Schmidt
- I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf, by Grant Snider
- The Bone Shard Daughter, by Andrea Stewart
- Alif the Unseen, by G. Willow Wilson
I also moved four reviews to the Graveyard.
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- Voyage of the Basilisk, by Marie Brennan
- Middlegame, by Seanan McGuire
- The Wendy, by Erin Michelle Sky and Steven Brown
- Lumberjanes Vol. 8: Stone Cold, by Noelle Stevenson et al.
- Space Opera, by Catherynne M. Valente
Not much else of note, save the ongoing existential dread that is modern American life.
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- Growing Gills, by Jessica Abel
- The Discovery of Dragons: New Research Revealed, by Graeme Base
- Pulp, by Ed Brubaker
- Die Volume 1, by Kieron Gillen
- Their Fractured Light, by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
- The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune
I also moved another entry to the Graveyard reviews, and fixed an issue caused by a back-up glitch.
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- How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi
- Ascender Volume 2: The Dead Sea, by Jeff Lemire
- The Demon Awakens, by R. A. Salvatore
- The Glass Town Game, by Catherynne M. Valente
- Birthright Volume 9: War of the Worlds, by Joshua Williamson
Slowly getting back into a reading routine...
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- The City We Became, by N. K. Jemisin
- Arabella the Traitor of Mars, by David D. Levine
- The Tea Dragon Festival, by Kate O'Neill
Not a great month for reading, but I'm trying to get a secondary income stream going so I'm having to adjust my schedule and time management expectations.
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- An Illustrated Guide to Welsh Monsters & Mythical Beasts, by C C J Ellis
- The Story of Owen, by E. K. Johnston
- An Accident of Stars, by Foz Meadows
- Fantasy World-Building, by Mark A. Nelson
- Saga, Volume 1, by Brian K. Vaughan
Back to work at last. It's been a not-great month for reading time, unfortunately, due to reality complications.
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- Ill Wind, by Rachel Caine
- House of Dragons, by Jessica Cluess
- The Sandman Volume 1: Preludes and Nocturnes, 30th Anniversary Edition, by Neil Gaiman
- Feed, by Mira Grant
- This Shattered World, by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
- Run, by Patti Larsen
- Artifical Condition, by Martha Wells
- Rogue Protocol, by Martha Wells
- Exit Strategy, by Martha Wells
This is the first update from my new Windows 10 computer: it feels like a milestone but probably isn't.
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- The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
- The School for Good and Evil, by Soman Chainani
- Crystal Singer,by Anne McCaffrey
- In An Instant, by Suzanne Redfearn
- They Called Us Enemy, by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, and Steven Scott
- Updraft, by Fran Wilde
- The Stars Now Unclaimed, by Drew Williams
Another month of quarantine, and I whittle further into the reading backlog. After this update, I'll be switching over to a new computer. Hopefully that won't
be too disruptive...
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March 2020 update details were eaten by a back-up glitch. Seven reviews added:
- The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind, by Jackson Ford
- Revenger, by Alistair Reynolds
- Every Tool's a Hammer, by Adam Savage
- The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater
- The Shadows, by Jacqueline West
- Birthright Volume 8: Live by the Sword, by Joshua Williamson
- Cards of Grief, by Jane Yolen
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- Sea of Stars Volume 1, by Jason Aaron and Dennis Hallum
- Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes (translated by Walter Starkie)
- I Am Still Alive, by Kate Alice Marshall
- Soonish, by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith
- Princeless: Love Yourself,by Jeremy Whitley
- A Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans, by Laurence Yep & Joanne Ryder
February's been at least as draining as January, unfortunately...
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- Camp Tiger, by Susan Choi
- The Tea Master and the Detective, by Aliette de Bodard
- Mythic Creatures, by Richard Ellis, Laurel Kendall, & Mark A. Norell
- Terminal Alliance, by Jim C. Hines
- The Fifth Season, N. K. Jemisin
- Bob, by Wendy Mass & Rebecca Stead
- Come Tumbling Down, by Seanan McGuire
- The Black Prism, by Brent Weeks
- Princeless: Princesses, by Jeremy Whitley
- The Rage of Dragons,by Evan Winter
I am attempting to resume maintenance sweeps and such, but there are personal issues devouring my time and energy, and this site's not exactly a jumping
hot spot of internet activity anyway.
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- Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman
- Robots Vs. Princesses Volume 1, by Todd Matthy
- The Art of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, by Linda Sunsine
- Never Trust a Dead Man, by Vivian Vande Velde
- Paleofantasy, by Marlene Zuk
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- Flunked, by Jen Calonita
- Sorcerer to the Crown, by Zen Cho
- Auberon, by James S. A. Corey
- Low Road West, by Phillip Kennedy Johnson
- Dragon Pearl, by Yoon Ha Lee
- Ascender Volume 1: The Haunted Galaxy, by Jeff Lemire
- The Art and Making of The Expanse, by Titan Books
- Nightbooks, by J. A. White
It's a busy time of year, so not much has happened behind the scenes, though I did note where a few standalones have become part of ongoing series.
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- Unicorns 101, by Cale Atkinson
- YOU WILL BE MY FRIEND!, by Peter Brown
- Morning Star, by Pierce Brown
- Catwings, by Ursula K. Le Guin
- The Ruin of Kings, by Jenn Lyons
- Rosemary and Rue, by Seanan McGuire
- Day Dreamers: A Journey of Imagination, by Emily Martin Winfield
- Run Program, by Scott Meyer
- Fangirl: A Novel, by Rainbow Rowell
- Lumberjanes Vol. 7: A Bird's Eye View, by Noelle Stevenson et al.
- Paper Girls Volume 6, by Brian K. Vaughan
I also added a reminder to all pages that all Amazon links are from the Amazon Associate program, meaning I earn a small amount for qualifying purchases
made through them.
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- Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George
- Empress of Forever, by Max Gladstone
- The Imaginary Corpse, by Tyler Hayes
- Storm, by Brigid Kemmerer
- Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie
- The Illustrated Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
- The Alloy of Law, by Brandon Sanderson
- The Murders of Molly Southborne, by Tade Thompson
It's been a busy month (aside from reading), so I still haven't finished the maintenance sweep.
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- Self / Made, by Mat Groom
- It's Not Rocket Science, by Ben Miller
- Velocity Weapon, by Megan E. O'Keefe
- Seafire, by Natalie C. Parker
- Way Station, by Clifford D. Simak
- The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There, by Catherynne M. Valente
- Princeless: Find Yourself, by Jeremy Whitley
The maintenance sweep continues.
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- The Myth of Multitasking, by Dave Crenshaw
- Beasts of Burden: Wise Dogs and Eldritch Men,by Evan Dorkin
- Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon,by Mary Fan
- Three Parts Dead, by Max Gladstone
- Stranger Things: The Other Side, by Jody Houser
- The Dragon of Trelian, by Michelle Knudsen
- Arabella and the Battle of Venus, by David D. Levine
- Altered Carbon: Download Blues, by Richard K. Morgan and Rik Hoskin
- Trail of Lightning, by Rebecca Roanhorse
- The Mueller Report, by The Washington Post (with Rosalind S. Helderman and Matt Zapotosky)
- The Infinite Sea, by Rick Yancey
I cleared 1,600 reviews with this update. (The 1,600th was Beasts of Burden, incidentally.) And I've started another maintenance sweep.
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- Endling #2: The First, by Katherine Applegate
- Dragons vs. Drones, by Wesley King
- A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine
- Altered Carbon, by Richard K. Morgan
- Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood, by Trevor Noah
- The Tiger's Daughter, by K. Arsenault Rivera
- The Last Wish: Introducing the Witcher, by Andrzej Sapkowski
- The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon
- The Sad Little Fact, by Jonah Winter
- What Do You Do With a Chance?, by Kobi Yamada
On a trivial note, this month marks the one-year anniversary of the site overhaul.
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- The Dragon's Path, by Daniel Abraham
- The Only Harmless Great Thing, by Brooke Bolander
- You've Got Dragons, by Kathryn Cave
- Ocean Meets Sky, by The Fan Brothers
- The True Meaning of Smekday, by Adam Rex
- The Collapsing Empire, by John Scalzi
- Coda Vol. 1, by Simon Spurrier
- Lumberjanes Vol. 6: Sink or Swim, by Noelle Stevenson et al.
- The Whispering Skull, by Jonathan Stroud
- Bitter Seeds, by Ian Tregillis
I also found a few more errors that needed fixing.
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- Skyfarer, by Joseph Brassey
- Thieving Forest, by Martha Conway
- Tiamat's Wrath, by James S. A. Corey
- The Cuckoo's Calling, by Robert Galbraith
- A Couch for Llama, by Leah Gilbert
- One Trick Pony, by Nathan Hale
- For a Muse of Fire, by Heidi Heilig
- The Fated Sky, by Mary Robinette Kowal
- Dragon Night, by J. R. Krause
- Swords in the Mist, by Fritz Leiber
The maintenance sweep has cleared the J - Z reviews.
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- All the Birds in the Sky, by Charlie Jane Anders
- Blacksad Volume 1: Somewhere Within the Shadows, by Juan Diaz Canales
- Persepolis Rising, by James S. A. Corey
- Breaking Cat News, by Georgia Dunn
- Discount Armageddon, by Seanan McGuire
- The Mermaid's Sister, by Carrie Anne Noble
- Skyward, by Brandon Sanderson
- Birthright Volume 7: Blood Brothers, by Joshua Williamson
- Sister Emily's Lightship and Other Stories, by Jane Yolen
I also updated some broken Amazon links and moved one review to the Graveyard list after another spot check. My maintenance sweep has cleared the A - I reviews.
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- The Tropic of Serpents, by Marie Brennan
- The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly
- Fur Magic, by Andre Norton
- Book Love, by Debbie Tung
- The Copper Promise, by Jen Williams
- Fast Focus, by Damon Zahariades
Not a great month for reading, but my cross-linking efforts have finally cleared the Z reviews, meaning Phase II of the site overhaul is now complete.
The next planned phase is mostly maintenance, though I hope to eventually swap out placeholder graphics.
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- Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi
- Endling #1: The Last, by Katherine Applegate
- The Name of This Book is Secret, by Pseudonymous Bosch
- My Lady's Choosing, Kitty Curran & Larissa Zageris
- Spellslinger, by Sebastien de Castell
- Fire & Heist, by Sarah Beth Durst
- These Broken Stars, Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
- In an Absent Dream, by Seanan McGuire
- Binti: Home, by Nnedi Okorafor
- Binti: The Night Masquerade, by Nnedi Okorafor
- Norroway Volume 1: The Black Bull of Norroway, by Cat Seaton
- Beyond Science Fiction, by Michael Whelan
- A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe, by Alex White
- The Hidden Life of Trees, by Peter Wohlleben
I've managed to cross-link through the U reviews.
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- Strange Dogs, by James S. A. Corey
- Kings of the Wyld, by Nicholas Eames
- Rebel of the Sands, by Alwyn Hamilton
- The Magic Misfits, by Neil Patrick Harris
- The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal
- The Reason for Dragons, by Chris Northrop
- The Realm Volume 1, by Seth Peck
- Embers of War, by Gareth L. Powell
- Jim Henson's Labyrinth Coronation: Volume 1, by Simon Spurrier
- The Art of How to Train Your Dragon 2, by Linda Sunshine
- Paper Girls Volume 5, by Brian K. Vaughan
- The Wild Book, by Juan Villoro
- Wanted: A Western Story Collection,by The Western Writers Group
- The Black Tides of Heaven, by Neon Yang
As for cross-linking, I made it partway through the R reviews (the holidays were busy.)
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- Swordquest: Realworld, by Chad Bowers and Chris Sims
- Babylon's Ashes, by James S. A. Corey
- Everyone Loves Bacon, by Kelly DiPucchio
- Ocean/Orbiter Deluxe Edition, by Warren Ellis
- The Depths, by Kirk Kjeldsen
- The Ballad of Black Tom, by Victor LaValle
- Drawn Together, by Minh Lê
- Jade City, by Fonda Lee
- Alice: From Dream to Dream, Giulio Macaione with Giulia Adragna
- Akata Witch, by Nnedi Okorafor
- The Green Ember, by S. D. Smith
- Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, by Neil deGrasse Tyson
- The Snow Queen, by Joan D. Vinge
- Quantum Mechanics, by Jeff Weigel
- Heartstone, by Elle Katharine White
I've cross-linked the J through Q reviews, and moved five titles to the Graveyard after a spot check.
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- My Diary from the Edge of the World, by Jodi Lynn Anderson
- The Black God's Drums, by P. Djèlí Clark
- She Persisted Around the World, by Chelsea Clinton
- The Armored Saint, by Myke Cole
- The Vital Abyss, James S. A. Corey
- Jupiter Winds, by C. J. Darlington
- The Flaw in All Magic, by Ben S. Dobson
- Fairy Quest Volume 1: Outlaws, by Paul Jenkins
- Descender Volume 6: The Machine War, by Jeff Lemire
- Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik
- Everything All At Once, by Bill Nye
- Artemis, by Andy Weir
- The Secret Hour, by Scott Westerfield
The F, G, H, and I reviews have been cross-linked, as well.
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- Art & Fear, by David Bayles and Ted Orlando
- The Girl With No Name, by Marina Chapman, Vanessa James, and Lynne Barrett-Lee
- She Persisted, by Chelsea Clinton
- Imagine!, by Raúl Colón
- Gods of Risk, by James S. A. Corey
- The Stone Girl's Story, by Sarah Beth Durst
- Incriminating Evidence, by Rachel Grant
- Eclipse Volume 1, by Zack Kaplan
- Ghost Talkers, by Mary Robinette Kowal
- Sparrow Hill Road, by Seanan McGuire
- WE3, by Grant Morrison
- What Unites Us, by Dan Rather and Elias Kirschner
- A Darker Shade of Magic, by V. E. Schwab
- The Dream of the Thylacine, by Margaret Wild
I have reached the D and E reviews in the cross-linking efforts, and moved older updates to a separate Archives page.
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- Retrograde, by Peter Cawdron
- The Expanse Volume 1: Origins, by James S. A. Corey, Hallie Lambert, and Georgia Lee
- Rebel Genius, by Michael Dante DiMartini
- Fairy Quest: Outcasts #2, by Paul Jenkins
- Furthermore, by Tahereh Mafi
- Too Like the Lightning, by Ada Palmer
- Words of Radiance,by Brandon Sanderson
- Disenchanted & Co., by Lynn Viehl
- Fables: Legends in Exile, Volume 1, by Bill Williamson
And my cross-linking of Themes has reached the C reviews.
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- Serafina and the Black Cloak, by Robert Beatty
- In Search of Lost Dragons, by Elian Black'Mor, Carine-M, and Jézéquel)
- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, by Marlon Bundo and Jill Twiss
- Nemesis Games, by James S. A. Corey
- Pines, by Blake Crouch
- Afar, by Leila del Duca
- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass
- Scales & Scoundrels: Into the Dragon's Maw, by Sebastian Girner
- Scales & Scoundrels: Treasurehearts, by Sebastian Girner
- Vacation Guide to the Solar System, by Olivia Koski and Jana Grcevich
- Binti, by Nnedi Okorafor
- Windsworn, by Derek Alan Siddoway
I have also begun Phase II of the site overhaul, which involves cross-linking each review to its relevant Themes and to other titles on the site (and the odd DVD or other
item of interest on Amazon.) This also involved a bit of a Themes shuffle. So far, I have finished the A and B reviews.
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In any event...
New reviews:
- Sherlock Holmes: The Breath of God, by Guy Adams (older title, lost in the update shuffle)
- The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, John Joseph Adams (editor) (older title, lost in the update shuffle)
- Watership Down, by Richard Adams (older title, lost in the update shuffle)
- Traitor's Blade, by Sebastien de Castell
- Dirigible Dreams: The Age of the Airship, by C. Michael Hiam
- Dragons Love Tacos 2: The Sequel, by Adam Rubin
I also have been fixing various errors and link issues as found, though more likely lurk.
Phase II of the site update (firming up the Themes lists so I can start linking to them from reviews, adding cross-links to related titles and DVDs, etc.) will
commence later this year, and likely occur in steps; I need a bit of a break after Phase I, and no way am I going offline for a full year again if I can help it.
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Welcome to the new, improved Brightdreamer Books review archive site. Changes are too numerous to list completely, but include the following:
- Rebuilt the HTML and CSS behind the site from scratch.
- Created more consistency in how I classify books, and added new markers to separate children's (CH), middle grade (MG), and young adult (YA) titles.
- Added a new Themes list, wherein I try to group books in a way that genre classifications don't always allow.
- Moved "dead" book reviews (ebooks that have disappeared from Amazon, mostly) to a Graveyard list.
- Created a new, dedicated e-mail address for my site.
- All-new site graphics and color scheme.
- Generally fixed errors and performed other nitpicky maintenance tasks as I stumbled across them.
With luck, I won't have to do that again for a while...
I have also archived all the new reviews from the blog since I declared an update hiatus. In the future, I'll be listing new reviews here; with a year's
worth of new material, it was impractical to do so this time.
For now, as noted on the index page, this is still something of a work in progress; I had to go "live" before I could go any further, to see how things were
behaving (or failing to behave.) I am still working on cross-linking and some mobile layout issues, for instance, and my Themes sections probably need some
tinkering to make more sense outside my head. I'm sure other errors and issues that weren't apparent when I was revamping the site will come to light now that it's
in the wild.
In the meantime, enjoy!