Category: 4 stars

SEMIOSIS by Sue Burke – Review

SEMIOSIS by Sue Burke – Review
Posted March 9, 2018 by Tammy in 4 stars, Reviews / 24 Comments

The nitty-gritty: A weird and wonderful story of colonization, survival and communication. We’d learned a lot, including one more thing. The bamboo was very friendly. Fruit appeared right away near the house where we stayed. Then one of the trunks where we’d tied our hammocks grew a shoot. Each of the new leaves had stripes […]

FIRE AND BONE by Rachel A. Marks – Review

FIRE AND BONE by Rachel A. Marks – Review
Posted February 23, 2018 by Tammy in 4 stars, Reviews / 14 Comments

The nitty-gritty: A great mix of contemporary urban fantasy and old-fashioned mythology, with a snarky teen character who won me over. A few years ago I had the pleasure of reading Rachel A. Marks’ debut, Darkness Brutal, and I was very happy to meet her at San Diego Comic Con sometime after that. Rachel was […]

PRIDE AND PROMETHEUS by John Kessel – Review

PRIDE AND PROMETHEUS by John Kessel – Review
Posted February 12, 2018 by Tammy in 4 stars, Reviews / 18 Comments

The nitty-gritty: A highly inventive mash-up of Pride and Prejudice and Frankenstein, told in pitch perfect prose that evokes the styles of both Jane Austen and Mary Shelley. What do you get when you take two beloved classics, one gothic and one romantic, and mash them together? In this case, you get a fascinating tale of […]

SENLIN ASCENDS by Josiah Bancroft – Review

SENLIN ASCENDS by Josiah Bancroft – Review
Posted February 5, 2018 by Tammy in 4 stars, Reviews / 24 Comments

The nitty-gritty: A surprisingly well-written, well crafted and thrilling adventure. I still recall a line from that feckless Everyman’s Guide. It said something like, “the Tower’s real trade is in whimsy, adventure, and romance.” I cannot image a less accurate trio. Though, who in their right minds would’ve come if the editors had said, “the […]

BLACK STAR RENEGADES by Michael Moreci – Review

BLACK STAR RENEGADES by Michael Moreci – Review
Posted January 2, 2018 by Tammy in 4 stars, Reviews / 10 Comments

The nitty-gritty: A fun and character-driven debut, fans of Star Wars will find much to love in this fast-paced space opera. In Michael Moreci’s afterward to his fun and furious debut, he unabashedly calls Black Star Renegades his “love letter to Star Wars,” and it shows. It’s easy to make your way through the story […]

ARTEMIS by Andy Weir – Review #RRSciFiMonth

ARTEMIS by Andy Weir – Review #RRSciFiMonth
Posted November 17, 2017 by Tammy in 4 stars, Reviews / 15 Comments

The nitty-gritty: Another winner for Andy Weir, full of his trademark irreverent humor, non-stop action, and fascinating science. Like many other readers, I was a little scared to read Weir’s follow up to The Martian, which earned five enthusiastic stars from me a few years ago. By now you’ve probably read a bunch of reviews […]

SPLICED by Jon McGoran – Review

SPLICED by Jon McGoran – Review
Posted October 30, 2017 by Tammy in 4 stars, Reviews / 5 Comments

The nitty-gritty: A super fun read with a cool concept, well drawn characters, and some social commentary for those who like depth with their action. This might be the quickest I have ever read a book! I got through Spliced in just over a twenty-four hour time period, mostly because I stayed home sick from […]