Book Review: Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee (Three Stars)

Book Review: Revenant Gun (The Machineries of Empire #3) by Yoon Ha Lee

(Three Stars)

“At least then the music tells you when the bad guys are about to sneak up on you.” “In the dramas, we’d be the bad guys.” “Not helping.” “Someone has to be a realist.”

Normally, one should not start a series in the middle; it makes no difference here. Like the previous stories in this series, totally confusing to start. Consumes half the book with the setup. Complex personalities and motives collide, again.

“I hadn’t thought the mating urge would take you so strongly, the Revenant remarked.” “The instinct has been suppressed in me, or I would not be a good weapon. I thought the same would be the case for you, but then, the hexarch

Book Review: Outriders (#1) by Jay Posey (Four Stars)

Book Review: Outriders (#1) by Jay Posey

Four Stars

“No matter how far into space humanity got, it would never be far enough to escape its own nature.”

Excellent military science fiction. Better than average space opera; better than Tom Clancy; almost as good as John Scalzi. These characters–good, bad and other–have souls. Mission Impossible meets Starship Troopers but with a soul. Almost five stars.

“He couldn’t remember a time that he’d ever been glad he ignored his gut.”

Introspective main character who is often confused and conflicted without the teen angst most war story heroes wallow in. Thoughtful, three-dimensional characters on all sides. Great depth of story and

Book Review: The Empress Game by Rhonda Mason (Two Stars)

Book Review: The Empress Game by Rhonda Mason

Two Stars out of Five

Think Hunger Games meets Double Star with a dash of Tristan and Iseult.

The wonder is not that I rated this book so low, but that I finished it. The setup is hokey, plot is derivative, and characters are cardboard. But I did read it all because Mason’s storytelling is wonderful. Her prose is compelling and just when you’re starting to wonder why you’re still reading this, she throws a curve.

Probably the only worse way to choose a ruler than heredity is