Book Review

#ScienceFiction Worth Reading: Starter Villain #BookReview #scifi #sciencefiction #booklover

Book Review, Science Fiction Books, Speculative Fiction / /

 

A riotous rollercoaster that delivers a fresh and uproariously funny take on the world of supervillainy.

science fiction worth reading Starter Villain

Warning: This book often made me laugh out loud!

Packed with wit, charm, and unexpected twists, this novel isdelightful and had me laughing from start to finish.

Charlie, a divorced substitute teacher with dreams of opening a pub, finds himself thrust into an unimaginable situation. When his long-lost uncle Jake dies, he bequeaths Charlie a supervillain business complete with an island volcano lair. What follows is a madcap adventure that turns Charlie’s life upside down.

Scalzi’s comedic genius shines through every page with clever humor and witty dialogue. From the absurdity of giant laser death rays to the complexities of managing a lair with unionized dolphins, Starter Villain keeps the laughs coming. Scalzi’s ability to blend humor with depth and heart makes this novel a standout in the genre.

The plot, filled with unexpected twists, takes readers on an eccentric journey. The cast of characters, including hyperintelligent talking spy cats and a terrifying henchperson, adds layers of charm.

Charlie’s reluctant journey into the supervillain world is a joy to follow. Scalzi deftly explores themes of identity, family, and the choices that define us, all while maintaining a lighthearted and humorous tone. The pacing is spot-on, with each chapter delivering new and hilarious challenges for Charlie to navigate.

In a genre often filled with clichés, “Starter Villain” stands out as a refreshing and original take on the superhero/supervillain dynamic. It’s a testament to Scalzi’s storytelling prowess that he can inject so much humor into a tale that also explores the complexities of power and morality.

I definitely recommend. This is now my favorite Scalzi read. Here’s the blurb:

Inheriting your uncle’s supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who’s running the place.

Charlie’s life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.

Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.

But becoming a supervillain isn’t all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they’re coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.

It’s up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyperintelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.

In a dog-eat-dog world…be a cat.

 

 

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#Fantasy With Reading: Murder for the Modern Girl #BookReview

Book Review, Fantasy, Science Fiction Books / /

best-selling fantasy

Murder for the Modern Girl by Kendall Kulper

Another supernatural fantasy set in a bygone era. In this book, the main character, Ruby, is a killer. It’s the 1920s in Chicago, and Ruby has the ability to read minds. She uses this skill to kill horrible people. The book opens with her committing a murder. That certainly caught my attention and kept me reading. Despite this deadly flaw, Ruby is a likable character that I ended up rooting for.

Her father is the district attorney and becomes the victim of violence. Will he live? However it turns out, Ruby is determined to continue his work fighting corruption in the city. Her proclivities and investigation take her to the morgue where she meets Guy. Guy isn’t his real name and he can change his appearace. Yes, he can shift his face and his body to appear like someone completely different.

He’s a scientist and is on the trail of a serial killer… Ruby. He ends up helping her with her investigation, which puts them together and in conflict from the moment they meet.

This was a fun read with some twists and turns. It’s the second in this series, and I liked it as much as the first.

Here’s the official description:

A ravishing young mind reader stalks the streets at night in kitten heels, prowling for men to murder.

A soft-spoken genius toils away in the city morgue, desperate to unearth the science behind his gift for shape-shifting.

It’s a match made in 1928 Chicago, where gangsters run City Hall, jazz fills the air, and every good girl’s purse conceals a flask.

Until now, 18-year-old Ruby’s penchant for poison has been a secret. No one knows that she uses her mind-reading abilities to target men who prey on vulnerable women, men who escape the clutches of Chicago “justice”. When she meets a brilliant boy working at the morgue, his knack for forensic detail threatens to uncover her dark hobby. Even more unfortunately: Sharp, independent Ruby has fallen in love with him.

Waltzing between a supernaturally enhanced romance, the battle to take down a gentleman’s club, and loyal friendships worth their weight in diamonds, Ruby brings defiant charm to every spectacular chapter of Murder for the Modern Girl—not to mention killer fashion. An irresistible caper.

 

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#ScFi Worth Reading: System Collapse #BookReview

Book Review, Science Fiction Books / /

best-selling science fictionSystem Collapse by Martha Wells.

This is the 7th installment in the Murderbot Diaries series. I loved, loved, loved this book so, so, so much. If you love Murderbot, you won’t be disappointed by this new novel.

Murdbot is its usual snarky self. It’s humorous commentary keeps pace with the action and the fast pace of the story. This novel pretty much picks up where the last one left off, except Murderbot is having a bit of a personal crisis.

The way Murderbot develops and grows and questions whether it wants to be more human is the beating heart of this series. This book continues Murderbot’s journey. And yay! ART is back too. I wasn’t at all disappointed, except there’ll be a long wait until the next one. Siiigh.

More please, Martha Wells!

Here’s the description:

Everyone’s favorite lethal SecUnit is back.

Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there’s an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can’t have the planet, they’re sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize.

But there’s something wrong with Murderbot; it isn’t running within normal operational parameters. ART’s crew and the humans from Preservation are doing everything they can to protect the colonists, but with Barish-Estranza’s SecUnit-heavy persuasion teams, they’re going to have to hope Murderbot figures out what’s wrong with itself, and fast!

Yeah, this plan is… not going to work.

 

 

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#Fantasy Worth Reading: Bookshops and Bonedust #BookReview

Book Review, Fantasy, Science Fiction Books / /

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

If you loved Legends & Lattes, you’ll love this second novel just as much. At least, I did. The first novel was so good, I feared not enjoying this new installment to the series. But I did. I loved it so, so much.

The story centers around the orc, Viv, once again. She’s just as lovable as in the first novel. This story takes place earlier in her life but has all the elements that made the first book so loveable. While in pursuit of a necromancer with her mercenary group, Viv gets injured and is left to recuperate in a quaint seaside town. Bored out of her mind, she enters a bookshop.

The story unfolds as beatifully with rich, loveable characters, lots of fantasy originality, and lots of charm. Returning to this cozy and comfortable world was pure joy.

My only complaint is I’ll have to wait quite a while for the next in this series. So yeah, I highly recommend Bookshops & Bonedust.

Here’s the description.

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

Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she’s packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk—so far from the action that she worries she’ll never be able to return to it.

What’s a thwarted soldier of fortune to do?

Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn’t possibly imagine.

Still, adventure isn’t all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.

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Aurora Rising: #SciFi Worth Reading #BookReview #sciencefiction #booklover

Book Review, Science Fiction Books / /
best science fiction books
best science fiction books, Aurora Rising

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.

What I loved: the setting in space. I love being in space. A mystery that leads to exploration and discovery. This is my favorite type of mystery in space opera. Traveling to different planets and meeting people from other planets is always a fun adventure.

The plot takes twists and turns. I love this sort of ride. The story is often gripping and thrilling. It’s written from multiple POVs, which makes it interesting. The POV always keeps the story moving forward.

There are two minor quibbles I have with it. The first is that it reads young. Well, young for me. You may think otherwise. The second was a plot twist that I didn’t think made complete logical sense. From all the 5 star reviews, it seems not many people notice that flaw. So you may not either. Either way, it’s a spectacular book to spend some time with.

Here’s the official description:

The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the academy would touch . . .

A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates
A smart-ass tech whiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder
An alien warrior with anger-management issues
A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering

And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem–that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline cases, and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.

NOBODY PANIC.

 

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Blight of the Necromancer: #LitRPG Worth Reading #BookReview #fantasy #booklover

Book Review, Fantasy, Science Fiction Books / /

best in fantasy booksBlight of the Necromancer: Khthonia Book 3 by C. Rains.

The problem with this book is that it’s the last in the series. It was a pleasure getting lost in this fantasy world for the third time and as pleasurable as the first two times. What makes this stand out from other LitRPGs is that it’s a well-rounded and well-crafted novel. Many are just a series of battles, which isn’t my favorite kind of story. This one has a lot of character and emotion in it that keeps the story moving forward and pulls the reader farther into this made-up world.

Khthonia is familiar and new, which is an irresistible combination. Part of this made me very sad. Not many books get emotion out of me, so that’s a good thing. And I took something away at the end, about the true love. Maybe it’s not what the author meant, but I took it to mean something other than another person.

No one rational ever wants to play a bard, but Nora Quinn believed she could use her class’ skills of perception to her advantage as an investigator. As Essaerae the elven bard, she regrets picking the role now that the players are trapped in the dark realm of Khthonia. She desperately desires to go home, but her friends want to stay in the fantasy world, causing a rift in the party. To lift the Specter Plague curse from the land and win the game, the heroes must defeat the conniving necromancer. Yet he’s shadowing them with death the entire way.

Seeking the tools they need, Nora and her friends must survive perilous side quests and hordes of undead. The answer to how to slay the villain lies in the western ruins, but Nora is certain he is the only one who can get her home. And for that, he needs to stay alive.

Nora must choose between killing the necromancer and lifting the curse or siding with him and going home. Neither choice feels like a victory.

A fantasy LitRPG/GameLit for fans of table-top role-playing games.

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