djwudi's reviews
990 reviews
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 204 by Neil Clarke
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Grounded by David Bischoff
1.0
Uff. Bad enough that the characterizations are off for everyone, especially Picard, and that the threat comes off as a bad B-movie monster. But on top of that, one of the introduced characters is described as “having Autism”, which is presented as a disease in a way that may have been acceptable 30 years ago, but is just offensive now, and, of course, which later gets tied to psychic abilities and is apparently curable. Cannot recommend.
Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
4.0
Really good continuation of the story from Shards of Honor, even beginning the day after the earlier book ended. Bujold manages to create fascinating, sometimes relatable, and often very flawed characters, and to craft a world that's an interesting mix of almost medieval feudalism and future technology. For a series I didn't know anything about and initially approached with a little skepticism, I'm definitely understanding why it got the awards and the good words it has from many of my friends.
Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold
3.0
More interesting than I’d expected it to be, given that neither military nor romance are among my generally preferred SF genres. Bujold’s characters are interesting, making even the “captive falls for noble captor” scenario more workable than it might have been, though there were definitely still moments that didn’t really work for me. And there was an unexpected coda, unconnected from the main plotline and characters, that was a neat way to end the book.
Nightshade by Laurell K. Hamilton
2.0
Some potentially interesting situations hobbled by poor writing and in need of at least one more editing pass. Characters seemed to make out of character decisions because that was what was needed to move the plot along. Not one of the more impressive TNG novels.
Sourcery by Terry Pratchett
3.0
Back to the wizards of Discworld. Last time (in _Equal Rites_) we had the eighth child of an eighth child, this time we have the eighth son of an eighth son of an eighth son, all wizards, making them a "sourcerer" -- someone who can tap into the very source of magic to create new magic. This does not go well for the Discworld, or for hapless reluctant participant (not really a hero) Rincewind. Once again, somehow, while not necessarily _doing_ much, the Luggage is a standout character.
Mort by Terry Pratchett
3.0
Death has made appearances in every Discworld book so far (my understanding is that this continues throughout the series), but this is the first where Death is more of a central character -- though most of what we learn is through Death's apprentice, Mort. A neat way to really start to flesh out Pratchett's cosmology and how he approaches Death (and death) on the Discworld.
Uncanny Magazine Issue 53: July/August 2023 by Monte Lin, Michael Damian Thomas, Lynne M. Thomas
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Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
3.0
More Discworld silliness, this time following the eighth child of an eighth child who, for very good reasons, is asking just why women can't be wizards. Something of a mid-80's take on feminism in fantasy literature.
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 203 by Neil Clarke
4.0
I’m using our vacation time to focus on eBooks, including finally diving into my ever-growing backlog of SF/F magazines. For me, the standout stories in this most recent issue of Clarkesworld are Stephen Case’s “Every Seed is a Prayer (And Your World is a Seed)” and M.J. Pettit’s “Empathetic Ear”.