Dec 27, 2016
From Our TBR Pile

Review – Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Illuminae
By: Amie Kaufman; Jay Kristoff
Website: http://amiekaufman.com/ ; https://jaykristoff.com/
Release Date: October 20, 2015
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Series: The Illuminae Files #1
Award: Audie Award for Multi-Voiced Performance (2016), Aurealis Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction Novel (2015), Australian Book Industry Award (ABIA) (2015), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2015)
Rating:


Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff is a sci-fi novel with unique formatting, a rogue AI, a little romance, and giant space ships. This is the story of Kady and Ezra, two teens whose day goes from a terrible morning as they end a year long romance to cataclysmic by lunch time when a rogue ship opens fire on their city. Sure, the mining colony might not be entirely legal, but wiping it off the face of the map is a pretty big overreaction. And their attackers don’t want witnesses. Crammed into three ships, the survivors struggle to outrun their adversaries, all while dealing with an outbreak of an unknown plague and a secret the higher ups are willing to kill in order to cover up.

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Dec 24, 2016
From Our TBR Pile

Review – How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
By: Charles Yu
Release Date: September 7, 2010
Publisher: Pantheon
Award: Locus Award Nominee for Best First Novel (2011), John W. Campbell Memorial Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction Novel (2011), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Science Fiction (2010)
Rating:


How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu has won several awards, has a pretty awesome title, and an interesting premise. The main character, referred to as Charles Yu the very few times he is named, is a time machine repairman. Haunted by his past, he lives largely between time. Ten years for him is only a handful of days as far as the rest of the universe is concerned. One day, he meets a future version of himself, winds up in a time loop he must break out of, and is trying to save his father from wherever it was that he has mysteriously disappeared to.

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Dec 17, 2016
New & Upcoming Releases

Review – Mostly Void, Partially Stars by Joseph Fink & Jeffery Cranor

Mostly Void, Partially Stars
By: Joseph Fink; Jeffery Cranor
Website: http://www.welcometonightvale.com/
Release Date: September 6, 2016
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Series: Welcome to Night Vale Episodes #1
Rating:


Mostly Void, Partially Stars, written by Joseph Fink and Jeffery Cranor, is the first volume in a series of a books featuring episodes of the podcast Welcome to Night Vale. Two volumes have been released thus far, the second being titled The Great Glowing Coils of the Universe. A must-have for fans of the podcast, this book contains the complete transcripts of the first 25 episodes of the Welcome to Night Vale along with one of the live shows, Apartments, a particularly excellent episode and one which I wish I’d known about earlier. Before each chapter is a small section by one of the creators or a member of the cast talking about that specific episode or the show in general, and some wonderful illustrations by Jessica Hayworth.

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Dec 15, 2016
From Our TBR Pile Throwback Thursday

#ThrowbackThursday Review – Slayers: The Ruby Eye by Hajime Kanzaka

Slayers: The Ruby Eye
By: Hajime Kanzaka
Release Date: (Original) January 1st 1996; (Translation) September 7th 2004
Publisher: Tokyopop
Series: Slayers #1
Rating:


Slayers: The Ruby Eye is the first book in the Slayers series by Hajime Kanzaka. Originally published in Japan in 1996, the translation was published eight years later in 2004 by Tokyopop. The story is centered on fifteen year old sorceress Lina Inverse and her newfound traveling companion Gourry Gabriev, a swordsman. A simple plundering of a bandit’s hideout for some loot has unforeseen and far reaching consequences for Lina, including a whole lot of people that would really rather see her dead.

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Dec 10, 2016
From Our TBR Pile Manga & Light Novels

#MangaMonday Review – No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular, Vol 1 by Nico Tanigawa

No Matter How I look at It, It’s You Guys' Fault I’m not Popular, Vol 1
By: Nico Tanigawa
Release Date: (Original) January 21, 2012; (English Translation) October 29, 2013
Publisher: Yen Press
Series: No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular! #1
Rating:


You know how sometimes you stumble on something that hits so close to home it makes you a little uneasy? This manga does that. Over and over again. No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular, Vol 1 by Nico Tanigawa is a story about an awkward teenage girl who loves video games and manga, has trouble making new friends and talking to boys, and isn’t as close to her brother as she used to be.

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Dec 06, 2016
New & Upcoming Releases

Review – Pirate Utopia by Bruce Sterling

Pirate Utopia
By: Bruce Sterling
Release Date: November 15, 2016
Publisher: Tachyon Publications
Rating:


Pirate Utopia is an alternate history novel by Bruce Sterling, an author and editor who helped define the cyberpunk genre. I was very excited to see this title. Despite my love of cyberpunk, it was the term pirate that had me hooked. Add in the alternate history and cool cover I was sold.[/drocap]

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Dec 01, 2016
Throwback Thursday

#ThrowbackThursday Review – I, Cthulhu by Neil Gaiman

I, Cthulhu, or, What’s a Tentacle-Faced Thing Like Me Doing in a Sunken City Like This (Latitude 47° 9′ S, Longitude 126° 43′ W)?
By: Neil Gaiman
Website: http://neilgaiman.com/
Release Date: (Original) 1986; (Tor.com) December 28th 2009
Publisher: Tor.com
Rating:


It’s Throwback Thursday once more. This week we read a short story by Neil Gaiman titled I, Cthulhu, or, What’s a Tentacle-Faced Thing Like Me Doing in a Sunken City Like This (Latitude 47° 9′ S, Longitude 126° 43′ W)? It’s a fun story with what is possibly the longest title that I ever have (and maybe ever will) come across.

But what, exactly, is it about?

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Nov 29, 2016
From Our TBR Pile

Review – The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher

The Aeronaut’s Windlass
By: Jim Butcher
Website: http://www.jim-butcher.com/
Release Date: September 29, 2015
Publisher: Roc
Series: The Cinder Spires (Book #1)
Award: Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel (2016), Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award for Fantasy Adventure (2015, Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fantasy (2015)
Rating:


I finally, finally, read The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher. This was another binge read. A whopping 570 pages in a day. And it was great. And I loved it. And you need to read it too.

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Nov 26, 2016
From Our TBR Pile

Review – A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab

A Darker Shade of Magic
By: V. E. Schwab
Release Date: February 24, 2015
Publisher: Tor
Series: Shades of Magic (Book #1)
Award: Goodreads Choice Award for Fantasy (2015)
Rating:


There’s something that just draws me to A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab. And sitting here behind my keyboard trying to explain why, I find myself returning to the oversimplified non-answers I’ve given when asked why I read fantasy novels. Because it’s wonderful. Because I should read it. Because I must read it. Because it’s the sort of thing that makes you believe in magic, or at least want to. Because A Darker Shade of Magic is a fantastic book, and I loved every second of it.

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Nov 23, 2016
Manga & Light Novels New & Upcoming Releases

Review – Overlord, Vol 2: The Dark Warrior by Kugane Maruyama

Overlord, Vol 2: The Dark Warrior
By: Kugane Maruyama
Release Date: (Original) November 8, 2012; (English) September 27, 2016
Publisher: Yen Press
Series: Overlord, Book #2
Rating:


Every time I go into a bookstore it’s the same. I chant “I just bought books; I will not buy more.” I’m not sure why I bother. It never works. This last trip to the bookstore was my best attempt yet. The last set of books I’d ordered had just arrived at my door that morning and I swore I wasn’t buying more. Then I saw Overlord, Vol. 2: The Dark Warrior sitting on a shelf with some recent manga releases, squee’d, and immediately bought it. Because I’m weak.

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