Ross

Jason finally back to the other world. An enjoyable excursion and we see some old friends again.

Surprisingly readable shlock honestly. Donald Barr is the person who hired Jeffery Epstein, a man with no bachelor's degree, to teach math at the prestigious Dalton School. I'd seen the book characterized in Julie K. Brown's work as "...a science fiction novel, Space Relations, about a planet of wealthy aliens who kidnap humans and force them into sex slavery," which is broadly accurate though the slavery they're forced into isn't strictly sex slavery.

The more troubling theme to me is the main character becoming the personal companion of his lady slaveowner, falling in love with her, and returning to the planet after he escapes captivity to see her again. He saves her from a slave revolt and another landowner high on the drug that makes you think you're God, and then they get married. Slavery on the planet is abolished at the end of the book, but it's full of confusing thoughts from the main character about how he'd have been happy in servitude if he hadn't made the discovery that aliens were real and left behind guns on the slave planet.

I didn't gain any insight into why Donald Barr might have given Epstein's professional life such a boost, but I enjoyed the book far more than I thought I would. It was still pretty underwhelming.

An interesting change of pace from what I expect from Weir, but a good one. We follow a youthful smuggler on a lunar colony, who quickly gets into a job much bigger than she is. Lots of interesting scientific explorations in typical Weir style, though less than you'll find in The Martian and Project Hail Mary due to the nature of the story.

An enjoyable collection of sci-fi short stories from some greats and some names I'd never heard of before. I particularly enjoyed Hamilton taking the piss out of himself in his (quite) short story contribution. I think the two standouts for me were The Lives and Deaths of Che Guivera by Lavie Tidhar and How We Came Back from Mars by Ian Watson.

The collection is great. There's no overarching theme but I found myself burning through the stories regardless.

An interesting character, the Swamp Thing. Not having any background with the series at all, I feel like I was sort of thrust into the comic in the middle of the action with Loose Threads tying up a bunch of threads I wasn't aware of at all. That said, once I figured out who was who the book had some very interesting things to say. The art is top notch and there's lots of great horror and general comic book weirdness going on here. I'm excited to read the rest.

An interesting conclusion to an interesting series. Lots of heady sci-fi stuff continues as well as Peter's signature writing style.

A little short vignette about the main character from Blindsight's father and what's going on back on Earth. I'm guessing the intent is to set the scene for Echophraxia, which I'll read next, but it's a fun diversion regardless.

An interesting and dark sci-fi story. This one is closer to hard sci-fi than soft, with most things having a realistic explanation. It will keep you turning pages until you're done with the book. I'm excited to read the rest of the series.

There may or may not be some useful information here, but the first part felt interminable. It was like the book of Matthew's famous Begats section, almost. And about stuff like the OSS and moving opium with the KMT: interesting topics but not really what I'm here for.

After a slower start than the first novel in the series, an explosive back half makes the book a great read.

A heartfelt history of the Simpsons, the people who made it, and other shows made during the era. If you're well informed about the show, you'll appreciate the interviews and statements from series greats. If you're less well informed, you'll be informed after this book!

Another great one from Sanderson with lots of good Cosmere information and tantalizing teasers of what's to come

A stunning look into the miscarriage of justice that is the Epstein case, by the journalist who is in large part responsible for Epstein's second arrest. You'll be shocked at how brazen the elites act to protect this pedophile and stunned at every connection Julie K. Brown draws.