User Profile

Stephen

tinheadned@ramblingreaders.org

Joined 2 years ago

I read when I can't sleep, so yes there's a lot of books here. Nearly all SF.

he/him

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2025 Reading Goal

Stephen has read 0 of 45 books.

John Scalzi: Fuzzy Nation (Fuzzy Sapiens #7) (2011) 4 stars

Jack Holloway works alone, for reasons he doesn't care to talk about. Hundreds of miles …

Felt slightly unfinished

3 stars

This is based on someone else's short story, about which I know nothing. Maybe this is better with more context? Anyway, on its own merits, it's a reasonable story. Funny, some obvious twists. Unlike Starter Villain, the protagonist feels more consistent in character. The end just starts to feel a little patchy or thin or something. Can't quite explain it.

reviewed Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree (Legends & Lattes, #0)

Travis Baldree: Bookshops & Bonedust (EBook, 2023, Tor Books) 5 stars

Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned.

Wounded during …

Almost as good as the first one

5 stars

I found this one less cozy than the first book. I think there's more explicit threat hanging over it. But still very enjoyable if bittersweet throughout. Goes well with cake.

T. Kingfisher, Kaylin Heath: The Seventh Bride (AudiobookFormat, 2015, Brilliance Audio) 4 stars

Great, but not for me

2 stars

I always feel bad for giving a rating a book by how I enjoyed it rather than its quality. But after suspecting I wouldn't like Kingfisher's teen horror books, I bought one in a sale. And I don't like it. But it's just as well written as her other books, just creepier and more dreamlike.

John Wiswell: Someone You Can Build a Nest In (2024, DAW) 5 stars

Discover this creepy, charming monster-slaying fantasy romance—from the perspective of the monster—by Nebula Award-winning debut …

Novel enjoyable idea, monster's perspective

5 stars

This is a love story, but quite a messy one. I'm a bit sad the protagonist didn't get to eat more people! Also quite funny, despite touching on a number of quite sad themes.

John Scalzi: Starter Villain (2023, Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom) 4 stars

Inheriting your mysterious uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might imagine.

Sure, there …

Fine

4 stars

This is alright, I preferred Kaiju Preservation Society. As I read more Scalzi (and I enjoy his work so I will continue to do so) I haven't quite worked out why I like some books more than others. This one I felt I was missing some American references as it felt like there were more than usual.

I think one thing for me is the story is both a "fish out of water" story as the protagonist is introduced to this new world of villainy, and also a "quiet competence" one of he just makes all the right decisions. But his character is that he's also ruined his life, so why is he suddenly much better at all this stuff? Yeah that's it, I didn't really get the main character, unless it's an unreliable narrator and he's just taking credit for everything.

Entertaining though.

Laura Beatrice Berton: I Married the Klondike (Paperback, Lost Moose Publishing, Lost Moose) 5 stars

Fantastic autobiography

5 stars

Really enjoyed this, very easy to read, very relaxing. Although the of-the-time racism (that she explicitly regrets) and misogyny is sometimes a surprise! Oh, she got married, so she's not allowed to keep working. The irony of trying to work out whether she uses farenheit or celsius is also entertaining, as -40 degrees is the same in both.

Went to Dawson City this year, and it's very easy to see it through her eyes.