The Interstellar Age: Inside the Forty-Year Voyager Mission by Jim Bell

The Interstellar Age: Inside the Forty-Year Voyager Mission by Jim Bell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Epic voyage, epic accomplishments.

Bell does a good job presenting the decades long epic accomplishments of the Voyager mission - a fascinating exploration of our entry into the interstellar community!

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Point of Divergence by Dayton Ward

Point of Divergence by Dayton Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The adventure continues! These are great - the mix of new characters and known from Star Trek make these a solid addition to the Trek literary scene. I think I'm locked in to getting these as soon as they come out -  and the covers! Fabuluous!


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Argo by Antonio J. Mendez

Argo by Antonio J. Mendez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Interesting - "Argo" was a real "Mission Impossible" story. Kind of an innocent depiction of the CIA and their operations, from an insider.


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Second Nature by David Mack

Second Nature by David Mack
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent! Anyone looking for classic TOS action, intrigue and more would be well advised to pick this up.  I found myself slowing down as I reached the end, because I didn't want this fun ride to end! (Happily I can look forward to more in this series!  Good news, indeed!)


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The Loudest Voice in the Room: How Roger Ailes and Fox News Remade American Politics by Gabriel Sherman

The Loudest Voice in the Room: How Roger Ailes and Fox News Remade American Politics by Gabriel Sherman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent! Disturbing to say the least, but a fascinating review of the career and influence of Ailes. Very well researched and documented.


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The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah

The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not bad, but can't say it entirely "rang true" to Christie and particularly Poirot. Maybe if David Suchet read the audio book?


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Murder in the Mews by Agatha Christie

Murder in the Mews by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A nice collection, and refreshing after the Monogram Murders, an official Poirot pastiche. That was okay-ish, but there's nothing like the real thing!


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Lock In by John Scalzi

Lock In by John Scalzi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent!

Police procedural, lots of good near-future world building and a lot of clever parallels/extrapolations to our world. Recommended!


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Bloodhype by Alan Dean Foster My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Bloodhype by Alan Dean Foster
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fun mix of mystery, intrigue and monsters!

A great story, stating Pip and Flinx, though almost in an offstage way. It's read this long ago, and enjoyed it all over again. Foster's humanx commonwealth is a great invention that deserves to be better known!


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Star Trek - Deep Space Nine: The Missing by Una McCormack

Star Trek - Deep Space Nine: The Missing by Una McCormack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

McCormack does a terrific job building the new DS9 series. The Roma-esque travellers and Pulaski's orneriness, not to mention the fencing with spooks created an excellent DS9 story. I look forward to her next books! (And am reminded to go back and find her earlier Trek novels I haven't yet read!)


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A New Dawn: Star Wars by John Jackson Miller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fun back story for Rebels!

Good example of how Star Wars stories can land in the hard SF area of space opera. Miller weaves together lots of nice details, foreshadowing the Star Wars saga of the original trilogy.


“Debating his directives only wasted time and made her look bad. It was the secret of advancement in the service: Always be on the side of what is going to happen anyway.”
― John Jackson Miller, A New Dawn: Star Wars

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The Tar-Aiym Krang by Alan Dean Foster

The Tar-Aiym Krang by Alan Dean Foster
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent!

1 why has no one made a movie of these?
2 I'm glad they haven't, they'd get it wrong.

Not to be missed!


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How Star Wars Conquered the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of a Multibillion Dollar Franchise by Chris Taylor

How Star Wars Conquered the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of a Multibillion Dollar Franchise by Chris Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a great book to read in the ramp up to the *new* Star Wars trilogy - something long time fans thought would never happen. This book provides a great backstory to the whole creation and growth of the franchise/fandom that is Star Wars.


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Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Deep Insights from a Remarkable Life

From his dramatic survival in the concentration camps to his insights in pursuing meaning in life through logotherapy, Frankl points us all to a life with meaning.


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Spam Nation: The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime-from Global Epidemic to Your Front Door by Brian Krebs

Spam Nation: The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime-from Global Epidemic to Your Front Door by Brian Krebs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In Depth Look Behind the Spam...

Krebs provides a good tour of the history and mechanics behind all the spam we find clogging our inboxes. I especially appreciated his detailing the efforts of researchers trying to uncover the money trail, and the attempts to assess the quality of drugs offered.

“Whether we go online using a device powered by Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, or Android, each of us has a role to play in combatting or contributing to online fraud. As such, we are all either part of the problem or the solution. There is no in-between anymore. Today’s online threats take full advantage of people who fall behind on security updates, or those who wantonly open unbidden email attachments and click on random links in email or on Facebook and Twitter that seem legitimate. For more information on what all of us can do to fight spam and malware—and better protect ourselves online—check out the Epilogue that directly follows this chapter.” 
― Brian Krebs, Spam Nation: The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime-from Global Epidemic to Your Front Door

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Vanishing Grace: What Ever Happened to the Good News? by Philip Yancey

Vanishing Grace: What Ever Happened to the Good News? by Philip Yancey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Yancey writes:

“I’m convinced that human beings instinctively seek two things. We long for meaning, a sense that our life somehow matters to the world around us. And we long for community, a sense of being loved.”

Good reflection on the problem that Christians find themselves not seen as a bearers of grace, but condemnation and right-wing ideology.


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Sliding Scales by Alan Dean Foster

Sliding Scales by Alan Dean Foster
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Alan Dean Foster's Pip series (and the Humanx consortium) is a great, untapped Space Opera - every story has twists and turns, and the Pip-verse is full of rich detail that rivals Star Wars/Star Trek or the Barrayaran saga. I'm both surprised and glad these have not made it to film - I'd rather enjoy Foster's imagination without seeing it adapted into opblivion.


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The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie

The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Charming, quant and fun!

Miss Marple never disappoints! Neither does Agatha Christie. This is a nice story - fun, too, how she keeps Miss Marple offstage fire most of the story.


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The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Interesting - reading this and seeing the pilot for the Amazon produced series. They've made changes (the book is now mysterious newsreel footage), but the story - a world where Nazi's won WWII is the same.
A very dark story.


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The Martian by Andy Weir

The Martian by Andy Weir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent!
Five stars, because I can't give it six or seven. Really, I can't say enough about how excellent this was. Serious hard SF and a moving human story. Don't miss it!

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Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence--and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process by Irene M. Pepperberg

Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence--and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process by Irene M. Pepperberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fun, touching account of Dr. Pepperberg's research and relationship with Alex. A very interesting story that challenges preconceptions of "lower" animal intelligence as compared to human.

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Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast

Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Charming, funny and touching - a wonderful memoir!

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Turing's Cathedral: The Origins Of The Digital Universe by George Dyson

Turing's Cathedral: The Origins Of The Digital Universe by George Dyson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What Marvels They Wrought!

Excellent survey of the prehistory and growth of the digital age.  Dyson does a tremendous job here, providing insight into the roots of the world we now live in, spanning time, space and cyberspace.


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Yesterday's Son by A.C. Crispin

Yesterday's Son by A.C. Crispin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good book connecting to the original series and building. As the late A.C. Crispin's over-the-transom success and beginning of a career, it's delightful.

I enjoyed listening to the abridgement of a book I enjoyed years ago - and now am enjoying it's sequel. With the passing on of Leonard Nimoy, it's also a treat to hear him give voice to the inimitable Mr. Spock.


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Mr. Monk and the New Lieutenant by Hy Conrad

Mr. Monk and the New Lieutenant by Hy Conrad
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Terrific! Sorry to see Hy Conrad is moving on from this series, though. A nice collection of mysteries and Monk and Natalie action.

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Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World by Bruce Schneier

Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World by Bruce Schneier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent book - as a survey of the threats to privacy we face, and solid plans for action. This also prompted me to start re-reading "Dragnet Nation," an excellent survey of how to reduce one's data footprint....

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The Black Ice by Michael Connelly

The Black Ice by Michael Connelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nice, complicated and convoluted.

Harry takes on the suicide of a fellow cop, and unravels a pretty intricate web of crime, betrayal and more.


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Fighting Chance: A Gregor Demarkian Novel by Jane Haddam

Fighting Chance: A Gregor Demarkian Novel by Jane Haddam
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Complex and well done

Another interesting entry in the Demarkian saga - and this time Father Tibor is the main suspect! As always I couldn't put this down once I started!

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Sarek by A.C. Crispin

Sarek by A.C. Crispin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Spock's World plus Sarek - a great pair. Just finished re-listening to Mark Lenard's abridged recording (I've got the unabridged as well. And the book. And the ebook. I really like these classics, don't I?)



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Indistinguishable from Magic by David A. McIntee

Indistinguishable from Magic by David A. McIntee
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Scotty, Geordi, and Nog - oh my.

The most talented Starfleet engineers of two generations unite to solve a two-hundred-year-old technological mystery that turns out to be only the beginning of a wider quest. With the support of Guinan and Nog, as well as the crew of the "U.S.S. Challenger," Geordi La Forge and Montgomery Scott soon find themselves drawn into a larger, deadlier, and far more personal adventure. Helped by old friends and hindered by old enemies, their investigation will come to threaten everything they hold dear. Seeking out the new, and going where no one has gonebefore, Geordi, Scotty, and Guinan find that their pasts are very much of the present, and must determine whether any sufficiently advanced technology is really indistinguishable from magic.

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Savage Trade by Tony Daniel

Savage Trade by Tony Daniel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Enjoyable TOS adventure bringing back the Excalibans. When I saw the author is an editor at Baen it occured to me the kind of reincarnation (but not *really*) of historical figures that the Excalibans provide struck me as a bit of a way to bring something of the 1633-verse to the world of Trek.

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The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War by A.J. Baime

The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War by A.J. Baime
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Terrific history. Excellent review of the history leading to and through WWII as well as the history of Ford motors! Was a good pairing with The Wright Brothers this summer.

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Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain

Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A bit rambling, but so does the river. An enjoyable recollection of times past on the Mississippi. Paired with the Grover Gardner audible version, it made for a great way to spend time with Mark Twain (particularly during my lunchtime walks *along*... the Mississippi!

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Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Spiritual Life by Nancy Koester

Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Spiritual Life by Nancy Koester
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent account of HBS's life (and spiritual journey). Not only a sort of pilgrimage through 19th century America (and some Europe), but a thoughtful and accessible engagement with the theological journey Stowe made. It increased my (already deep) appreciation of Uncle Tom's Cabin, and also has given me a reading list of Stowe's other books that I've overlooked.

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The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War by A.J. Baime

The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War by A.J. Baime
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Terrific history. Excellent review of the history leading to and through WWII as well as the history of Ford motors!

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The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good

I enjoyed this a great deal, especially as I recently finished The Arsenal of Democracy - the story of Ford motors and their efforts to build heavy bombers for World War II. The massive, gargantuan effort of the titans of industry to build bombers is quite a contrast with what two brothers did with wood, wire and fabric.

McCullough gives a strong, clear account of the amazing accomplishments of the brothers - I'm glad I read it. It's not dramatic per se - they kind of spring up fully formed as the serious, dedicated pair who just set to work and got the job done. Inspiring.

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Everybody's Somebody's Fool by Ed Gorman

Everybody's Somebody's Fool by Ed Gorman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Enjoyable - for the setting, for the period, for the politics. The mystery per se is less the attraction than the excuse to read the book. I enjoy Gorman's reading back to the bygone days with the wise, if a bit hapless sleuth Sam McCain. (Mr. C :)

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Star Trek: Voyager: Protectors by Kirsten Beyer

Star Trek: Voyager: Protectors by Kirsten Beyer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Continuing the saga of Voyager.

Lots of Voyager drama. My knowledge of the complete television series and the novels was a bit of a handicap, but Beyer does well in filling in what I don't know. I've already got the next book queued up and I look forward to it.

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All Who Go Do Not Return by Shulem Deen

All Who Go Do Not Return by Shulem Deen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Remarkable, interesting, riveting. Deen pours out his life and shares his passage from Hasid to Hasidic Rebel to a man adrift. And how he finds support and carves out a new life.

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Star Wars: Tarkin by James Luceno

Star Wars: Tarkin by James Luceno
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A nice chapter in the Star Wars realm...

An interesting take on a villain, making him more of a character. A good background to A New Hope- benefits from the prequels and the Clone Wars series.

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Laika by Nick Abadzis

Laika by Nick Abadzis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a wonderful and terrible book.

Wonderful in bringing to life a moment in history. Wonderful in its captivating portrayal of Laika and her history - some imagined, some historical.

And terrible - in a good way - in how it will, if you have any heart for our canine friends, leave you mourning a brave little dog.

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The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin

The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mysterious and interesting! At a certain point felt a *bit* bogged down, but it's worth pulling through to the end. As a window into Chinese SF, and a neat mix of ideas, this is a great book.

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Aftermath by Chuck Wendig

Aftermath by Chuck Wendig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Non-stop. Excellent reboot of the post "Return of the Jedi" era.

Taking nothing away from the classics now deemed "Legends," Wendig launches a great story, well paced and with plenty of twists and turns. The measure (to me) of a good Star Wars novel is one that turns the dial of "fantasy" down and the dial of "hard SF" way up. Zahn is a master of that, along with Karen Traviss - authors who can take the Universe of the GFFA and build a credible hard SF story in it.

Wendig likewise draws in the vocabulary, races and settings of Star Wars, and builds a fun, thrilling story - I hope to see more!

It's interesting also, to see how the tone and ideas can reflect our times. Disillusioned soldiers, PTSD, liberated lands with crumbling infrastructure - there's things in here that give you a way to reflect on our own galaxy, not so far away.


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100 Reasons To Run...Now! by Jeff Galloway

100 Reasons To Run...Now! by Jeff Galloway
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Nice collection of inspiration for a runner.

I really appreciate Galloway and his tips for running, especially the run-walk-run approach, which has been invaluable in keeping me on my running. This book is a nice collection of advice and aphorisms from Galloway. I do suspect anyone who has read any of his other books would find it repetitive or redundant, but I found it useful - it worked for me as a sort of sampler of his other books.

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Experimentally updating the blog.....

Not that I expect many (or any) notice or care, but I'm trying a new thing, using my Goodreads logging and reviews to update this blog... we'll see how it works...

Of Bone and Steel and Other Soft Materials by Annie Bellet

Of Bone and Steel and Other Soft Materials by Annie Bellet
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent, brisk, nicely paced short cyberpunk story! Maybe cyberpunk isn't the right word, but it's neatly put together adventure which slowly teases out the details of it's post-human protagonist caught in a situation where she has to take a chance to save a child who she comes across while scavenging in abandoned buildings. I'd like to see more of the same from Bellet! [Hat tip to the recent Worldcon events to point me in her direction - something good that came of that mess. A plus - the story was a free Kindle download!]

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The Returned, Peter David

The Returned, Part III by Peter David
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Never a disappointment - Peter David knows his stuff!

I'll admit, I've not followed all the New Frontier Trek stories - I think I need to revisit them. I got signed up for this serialized adventure and it was terrific. His charactes and ideas are well integrated into the 'verse of TNG and beyond.

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Flunking Sainthood

Flunking Sainthood: A Year of Breaking the Sabbath, Forgetting to Pray, and Still Loving My Neighbor by Jana Riess
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Terrific! Like "The Year of Living Biblically," this is a fun, clever, funny and deceptively thoughtful book. Riess disarms you with her underselling herself (she's *been* to seminary, she IS a PhD - she's not as naive as she paints herself). It's a great travelogue through the world of devotional practice. And DON'T skip the Epilogue! It's the pot of gold at the end of this delightful rainbow.

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