Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

 I received an eARC of Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I rated this book: 4 Stars

Let me start by saying: this book gave me a book Hangover.  It's been two days and I still cant stop thinking about that ending!!  Took me totally by surprise and I might actually have to reread it soon!

This book follows Dr. Ryland Grace in a Dual Timeline.  In the first he wakes up in a spaceship in a solar system that is not our own, with no memory of how he got there or even who he is.  The second timeline is his slowly regained memories from before he left earth and the events leading up to his adventure into the Deep Dark.  As the story unfolds Dr. Grace discovers he might not be quite as alone out there as he though.

As with The Martian, one of Andy Weirs other Novels (and probably Artemis as well, but I haven't gotten to that one yet), Project Hail Mary is very heavily science based.  I was surprised then to realize with my limited science understanding, I was able to comprehend everything discussed in this book.  For that I would like to give a hand to Weir as that is truly a remarkable feat.  To take dense, advanced science and make it understandable to a neophyte I am in awe.  I believe it did help that I read this at a slower rate then I normally do and would recommend doing the same if, like me, science is not your strong suit.

However, now we need to talk about the main character himself.  Dr. Grace.  I don't think I actually like him at all, and I get the feeling that's kind of the point.  He came off, to me at any rate, as a PG, blasé Mark Watney, from The Martian, only instead of being a Botanist Dr Grace is a biologist.  A lot of the times he is funny, and other times I can't tell if he's suppose to be funny or if he just likes stating the obvious.

Overall I did love this book.  I just couldn't put it down!  I couldn't really sleep until I was finished with it and I'm positive I drove my co-workers utterly bananas talking about it.  I could never predict what was about to happen and that ENDING.  Wow!   As I said, 4 stars.  I can't wait to get my hands on a finished and as always, can't wait to see what Weir's going to come up with next!

 

You can find me at Goodreads

Let's Try This Again!

 Well, the years haven't been kind but I'm back to talk to you, dearest readers, about books!  As of this moment I am not planning on rebooting my BookTube channel, but I reserve the right to change my mind at any time.  So instead I hope to write many reviews here over the coming weeks!

Dragonflies by Pieter Van Dokkum

Stars: ****
Publisher: Yale University Press
Release Date: March 31st, 2015

I received this book from Yale University Press through Netgalley.

I requested this book because I have always loved Dragonflies.  Despite loving them I didn't really know much about them but after reading this book I know a great deal.  As the author states in the book this is not a field guide and does not go into too much depth about the different species of Dragon and Damselflies but looks over their shared characteristics.

This is a delightful book with some truly stunning photography.  I now know the difference between a Dragonfly and a Damselfly (I hadn't even previously known they where two different species) and have a good grasp as to the particulars of their life cycles.

While this book is a great introduction to Dragonflies and Damselflies I found myself wishing there was more information on the different species and even more of their history besides the brief blurb mentioned.

I recommend it or anyone who enjoys nature, bugs and photography.

The Merit Birds by Kelley Powell

Release Date: May 2nd 2015
Publisher: Dundurn Group

I recieved a copy of this book to review from NetGalley.

Stars: ***

I was so excited to read this book but felt it could have been so much more.

This book follows three characters, two natives of Loas and one Canadian.  Cam is an 18 year-old with some pretty extreme anger issues who moved with his mother from Canada to the country of Laos.  Nok is the masseuse he befriended and even started dating, Sheng is her brother who is a bit of a dim wit.  When Nok ends up killed everyone blames Cam and it's up to everyone else to do the right thing.

This story takes place in Loas and Tailand, after reading the first few chapters, where Cam admits he has no idea how Loas is pronounced I realized, I had no idea either.  So I tracked down this:    

Then I realized I only knew vaguely where Laos is actually located.  Asia somewhere so I looked it up:

Over all this book taught me quite a bit about Laos culture.  It's not a place that you hear a lot about so it was nice to read something set there.  I fell in love with the setting and looking at pictures on Google I believe it is the type of place I would like to hike around in.

Cam has a very bad relationship with his mother when they moved to Laos for her job, a common theme in Young Adult books.  What was so refreshing about this particular relationship though was that they actually worked things out, which is also pretty rare in YA.  So it definitely had that going for it!

At the back of the book it mentions that a breathing technique used in the book (The 1 minute breath) is a real technique and the book has been checked and approved by Kundalini Research Institute and is used in Yoga.  This technique is something that I picked up and now use on a regular basis.

While there are a lot of really great things about this book there are also a lot of not so great things about this book.

This book talks about Merit and Karma and has many great philosophies mentioned but when it plays a part as important as it is in The Merit Birds you really need more depth.  The information we are given is shallow and almost cosmetic in it's brevity which I found very disappointing.

The whole thing felt rushed and while it was concluded at the end it somehow felt unfinished and the end was really abrupt.  One moment Seng was in Thailand and the next he was in prison, Cam finally learned to gain Merit and then that's it, the end.  WTF?  How does he continue?  Does he continue?  Did his lesson really stick or will he forget about it when he returns to Canada?  I feel that Cam learned a lesson but we as readers where not given long enough to know that it is more then temporary.

Now I did want to make something clear, I did enjoy this story, but it could have been so much better.

The Silence of Six by E.C. Myers Review

4.5 stars.  
I received a copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I received this book to review I wasn't sure when I would get to it.  The synopsis was enough to make me interested but I felt no real rush to start.  I am so glad that I jumped right in!

E.C. Myers uses the world around us.  Snowden, Anonymous, the fight for the privacy and freedom on the net, all of these things are real.  He takes them and turns them into a nightmare.  Panjea is a social networking site like Facebook and twitter and he shows us exactly what can happen when we put all this information about ourselves online. It is some truly scary premises.

One of the most infuriating things I found about this book was the emotional detachment I felt from Max.  Max watched his friend commit suicide and he manages not to react in front of hundreds of kids.  He's a teenager for crying out loud, not some sociopath!  There is a difference between keeping your head in tough situations and what happened in the beginning of this book.  Then there is his girlfriend who goes full blown reporter not even an hour after Evan is dead!  What a bitch!  Other then this I found the rest of it plausible and understand his cool head is the only reason he made it out of there.

Other then that Max and the others seemed like a pretty solid character, he wasn't contradictory or full of holes to be poked at and wondered over.  Getting involved in a world you thought you had left behind is no small feat, especially when it comes to hackers.   (Every time I read a book that has hacking and or virtual worlds it makes me wish I was better with computers, unfortunately it is all I can do to keep my laptop operational) but Max and his friends will do whatever it takes to make sure Evan's story isn't buried, that his life wasn't for naught.

Overall I loved this book.  It was full of danger and excitement and even political intrigue.  

Recommended if you like:
Ready Player One By Ernest Cline

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab! Excerpt review!

To be released Feb 24 2015

I received and excerpt of this book from Tor Books on Net Galley and boy am I glad I did.

This excerpt got me hook, line and sinker from the get-go. 

Four different versions of London, two people who can walk among them.   Both are used as pawns for their magic to 'deliver messages' with varying degrees of freedom.   One illegally transports trinkets between the worlds, considered Treason, and the other is trapped in a horrible situation!

Then there is Lila, a cross-dressing, pick-pocket who aspires to be a pirate.  What's not to love?  Add a magic with a Dark history, and the fact that one of the London's is dying and you have the melting pot of mysterious intrigue  that is A Darker Shade of Magic.

Magic is dangerous, it needs to be treated with care, but is it?

I simply can not wait to get my hands on the full text!  The characters are interesting in their ambitions and drives and even just the general circumstances of their being combined with the amazing world building that Victoria Schwab has done leaves me craving more!

This is definitely one of my most anticipated books in the history of my reading career!

The Siren and the Sword: Magic University Book One by Cecilia Tan

I got a Galley of this book from Riverdale Avenue Books for review.

I was drawn to this title because it was recommended for people who where looking for a more adult version of Harry Potter.   This was nothing like an adult Harry Potter.  This book was listed as New Adult and Sci Fi & Fantasy, but that is missing one very important marker, Erotica.

I was so excited to start reading what they hailed the 'American Harry Potter' and on the second page I wanted to gouge my eyes out, and it just got worse from there.   First off, the main character Kyle was suppose to go to his senior year of high school but because he's such a special snowflake he gets to skip his senior year and jump straight into the magical side of Harvard.  From here he remains pretty damn clueless about everything. 

"So… Magic people eat Spanish food?"  "Magic people drink soda?"  No, Kyle, they only drink the blood of innocent animals and potions with eye of newt.

Now, at this school, he falls in love with the very first girl he meets.  She is saving her virginity for 'esoteric studies' but they do date and get each other off, in vivid and horrifying detail.  In fact, that is pretty much the first half of the book. 

The second half is where the plot gets involved, Alex, Kyles best friend is attacked by the Siren that haunts the library and put into a coma.  Which means clueless little Kyle is going to try to find the Siren.

The end part where he may or may not find the siren was the only real part that I enjoyed.  It was a surprise I didn't see coming but the ending was also horrific. ' Yes, you can now have sex with your girlfriend to save someone's life, but she's no longer your girlfriend because she found the man she dreamed of when she was a little girl.  Oh and you have to make her come twice. ' 

Not to mention the detail to the sex scenes… Odd wording and too detailed about weird aspects of it.   Not to mention it was like 75% of the book.  Honestly I've read better erotica in fanfictions.  This was just horrible. 

Needless to say I will not be continuing this series.