Dragon Rigger by Jeffrey A. Carver

Dragon Rigger by Jeffrey A. Carver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Magical - AND SF!
A fantastic turn through space, with a fantasy - but not fantasy - theme. Hard to describe, but in the realm of space opera, so often filled with military campaigns and battles, this Tolkeinesque story of spaceships and dragons was ... refreshing. And the themes of risk and sacrifice were deep and meaningful - not simple adventure.

View all my reviews

Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn (audiobook)

Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked this up some time ago - it's a book I own in print (autographed!), ebook and audio. The Force Awakens, which I thought excellent(!), made me want to revisit this *other* sequel to Star Wars. It holds up very well - though clearly a story that could never have been filmed, both for its scope and the fact all the principal actors had moved on (and aged) by the time it was written.

Marc Thompson is - as always - amazing with his tour de force of character voices. Paired with John Williams music and just enough sound effects - it's a cinematic experience. On to the next volume!

View all my reviews

Minecraft: The Unlikely Tale of Markus "Notch" Persson and the Game that Changed Everything by Daniel Goldberg

Minecraft: The Unlikely Tale of Markus "Notch" Persson and the Game that Changed Everything by Daniel Goldberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Good, quick read - wish I'd read it before my recent trip to Sweden!

I didn't realize what a phenomena Minecraft was - I've only recently begun learning about it through the version on my Raspberry Pi *and* the Pocket Edition I put on my Fire - it's fascinating, and fun to see what people have done with it!

Even more interesting is arc of the games history and it's creator "Notch." Not quite a Cinderella story - I'd say JK Rowling is a better example of a creation and creator developing well together - but the history of Swedish game development in general and Minecraft's in particular is fascinating.

View all my reviews

Leaving Mundania: Inside the Transformative World of Live Action Role-Playing Games by Lizzie Stark

Leaving Mundania: Inside the Transformative World of Live Action Role-Playing Games by Lizzie Stark
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An interesting world - not one I'm joining anytime soon.

Stark provides a wide range of anecdotes and accounts (as well as her own forays) into the world of live action role playing. While I'm clearly a SF fan, to the extent of making up tools for alien language... but so far, this isn't something that appeals to me.

View all my reviews

The Art of Language Invention: From Horse-Lords to Dark Elves, the Words Behind World-Building by David J. Peterson

The Art of Language Invention: From Horse-Lords to Dark Elves, the Words Behind World-Building by David J. Peterson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Interesting, could have been more accessible.
Exhaustive, though also exhausting.

I'm very impressed by the breadth and depth Peterson provides to anyone interesting in Conlang-ing (making up languages). The book is more than a bit daunting though - while it would make a good textbook, it's not light reading. I'm not sure how to suggest it could be improved. I have a memory of the Time-Life book on language, sadly now absent from my public library - it was comprehensive and gave a good overview of how language works and was much more accessible.

View all my reviews