Short and Sweet Book Reviews # 181 - Elysium Fire by Alastair Reynolds, Sisters Like Us by Susan Mallery

Elysium Fire by Alastair Reynolds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Prefect Tom Dreyfus is at the heart of this story. This is listed as Perfect Dreyfus Emergency #2. I did not read #1 but had no trouble following the story. I loved the world building. The Gilder Ring is made up of ten thousand city-state habitats that orbit the planet Yellowstone. On the surface is a large city under a lifesaving dome. This is a perfect world with a perfect democracy but something is going wrong. People are dying and the number is increasing. Drefus is the one who must find out who is next and why. This is a mystery with the solution found in both the present and the past. I loved the story, wished I had more of the back story from book one, and through the characters were as impressive as the plot.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.


Sisters Like Us by Susan Mallery
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is trademark Susan Mallery. The likable female characters span the age from teenage to very mature adults. The males come in several varieties. Some are just plain horrible, some are almost too good to be true, and some are in-between. The plot runs from teenage betrayals to reformed playboys with the life and relationship between the two sisters always at the heart of the story. One of the sisters seemed very familiar and I finally realized she was very like another very smart but socially clue less character from one of the Fool's Gold stories. She made for a lot of fun in many of the scenes as she did not realize the impact she was having on others. Like all of Mallory's stories this was a fun book to read.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

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Short and Sweet Book Reviews # 121 - Terran by Cara Bristol, Dark Horse by B.J. Daniels, Revenger by Alastair Reynolds

Terran by Cara Bristol
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Both Tara and Alpha Marlix were side characters in Breeder the first story in the series. Marlin starts out as an enemy of the treaty with Terra but he has a secret. Unlike other males on his planet he prefers sex with females not other males. When he rescues Tara feeling that he does not want drive the plot in the story. Tara starts out as a very strong characters but for me she weakens as her attraction to Marlix becomes stronger. Even so I liked the story. There is danger and tension driving the story line. While Marlix and Tara come to their HEA there is a lot more to change on the planet Parson.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Dark Horse by B J Daniels
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dark Horse is the start of the three book trilogy set in Whitehorse, Montana. Look for characters from previous books in the same setting. This time there is a 25 year old case to solve and Nikki St. James is going to make this her next true crime novel. There are secrets galore in the story. Nikki has one, as do the other members of the McGraw family. There is a current crime in addition to the 25 year old mystery of who took the McGraw twins. There were plenty of twist and turns as the story progressed. Nikki ended up solving two mysteries as well as finding one of the McGraw brothers to fall in love with. A great story that had a partial solution to the twins mysteries. There are still two McGraw brothers who need a HEA and the rest of the mystery to be solved so look for the next two books in the series.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.


Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved the setting of Revenger. There are hundred or maybe thousands of world that surround the old sun. None are that large and all have been occupied before. Revenger is set in the latest occupation and there are ships that look for and find the items left from previous occupations. Adrana and Fura Ness have a unique talent. They can read the skulls left from a previous occupation and those reading lead to bobbles or small locked worlds left from those who came before. When tragedy strikes Adrana is stolen and Fura starts on a quest to get her back. I have to admit that Fura is a character that I really did not like that much but I did admire her single minded focus to recover her sister. This was really fascinating science fiction. The world building, the backstory, and the plot kept me riveted to the story. I did listen to this as an audio book and the reading did a very good joy of telling the story in Fura's first person voice. A great book for Science Fiction fans.

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Slow Bullets by Alastair Reynolds

Science Fiction

From Goodreads:

From the author of the Revelation Space series comes an interstellar adventure of war, identity, betrayal, and the preservation of civilization itself.

A vast conflict, one that has encompassed hundreds of worlds and solar systems, appears to be finally at an end. A conscripted soldier is beginning to consider her life after the war and the family she has left behind. But for Scur—and for humanity—peace is not to be.

On the brink of the ceasefire, Scur is captured by a renegade war criminal, and left for dead in the ruins of a bunker. She revives aboard a prisoner transport vessel. Something has gone terribly wrong with the ship.

Passengers—combatants from both sides of the war—are waking up from hibernation far too soon. Their memories, embedded in bullets, are the only links to a world which is no longer recognizable. And Scur will be reacquainted with her old enemy, but with much higher stakes than just her own life.

Slow Bullets is novella length and while it does tell a story it could be setting the stage for something more.  It is told from Scur’s point of view and moves forward at a very brisk pace.  The story line is well developed, the back-story easy to understand and the tension builds as the story progresses.  Reynolds started his career writing short stories so he is a master at making the most of every word.  That is evident in Slow Bullets.

Slow Bullets is a easy read by a master story teller.  It could be the start of something else or it could be a stand-alone. There were hints that made me think there might be more to come.  They did leave questions that were not answered.

Tachyon published Slow Bullets by Alastair Reynolds in 2014.

I received an ARC of Slow Bullets from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Teaser Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:"
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book. 

Tax Day in the US and Teaser Tuesday!! What a combination.

My Teaser:

"I do work for them," he said...."They pay me to have interesting ideas, while at the same time recognizing that I could never function in an orthodox corporate environment."  Page 65

This is from Blue Remembered Earth by Alastair Reynolds.  The book was published in 2012.  I purchased it several months ago and it has been sitting on my TBR pile.  I think it will be there for awhile longer just because it is 562 pages long.  It is also book one in a trilogy.  Have any of you read it?  If so let me know if I need to move it up to the top of my pile. 

Stacking the Shelves - February 22, 2014

Some of the Books Stacked on My Shelves

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books I added to my shelves this week. They may it be physical or virtual. I include books I buy in a physical store or online, books I borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews.  Follow the link to see what others have on their shelves.

Purchased:

Blue Remembered Earth by Alastair Reynolds
The Clockwork Wolf by Lynn Viehl

From The Library:

Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner