Tag: sci-fi books

Book Review: Carl’s Doomsday Scenario (Dungeon Crawler Carl #2) by Matt Dinniman

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Length: 371 pages
Author: Matt Dinniman
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: September 24th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

“The training levels have concluded. Now the games may truly begin.”

The ratings and views are off the chart. The fans just can’t get enough. The dungeon gets more dangerous each day. But in a grinder designed to chew up and spit out crawlers by the millions, Carl and Princess Donut need to work harder than ever just to survive.

They call it the Over City. A sprawling, once-thriving metropolis devastated by a mysterious calamity. But these streets are far from abandoned. An undead circus trawls the ruins. Murdered prostitutes rain from the sky. An ancient spell is finally ready to reveal its dark purpose.

Carl still has no pants.

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. For Carl and Donut, it’s anything but a game.

ENJOYABLE SEQUEL.

I don’t have much to say about this installment?? It was a good, but not GREAT sequel. There’s definitely enough momentum that I will be picking up book three. I still delight in the uniqueness of this series and how different it is from my usual stories. I find the world fascinating and I’m always curious where each turn will lead. I feel like there’s a lot we don’t know yet and I’m super curious where it’s all going to lead.

Carl and Princess Donut are humorous and easy to follow. I like all of the video game pieces and NPC’s. There’s more achievements and another level conquered. I’ll be getting to book three soooooon!

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy / Sci-Fi
  • Language: moderate-strong
  • Romance: none
  • Violence: high
  • Content warnings: murder and loss of life, near death experiences

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Book Review: The Book That Wouldn’t Burn (The Library Trilogy #1) by Mark Lawrence

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Length: 576 pages
Author: Mark Lawrence
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: May 9th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A boy has lived his whole life trapped within a vast library, older than empires and larger than cities.

A girl has spent hers in a tiny settlement out on the Dust where nightmares stalk and no one goes.

The world has never even noticed them. That’s about to change.

Their stories spiral around each other, across worlds and time. This is a tale of truth and lies and hearts, and the blurring of one into another. A journey on which knowledge erodes certainty, and on which, though the pen may be mightier than the sword, blood will be spilled and cities burned.

I AM INTRIGUED.

I have never read a Mark Lawrence book (though I’ve always been meaning to do so) and I felt like this was a great introduction and a series I definitely want to continue with. I love books about books and this was very interesting. While a lot of the world building and magic system clicked for, I do feel like I was missing those last few pieces (and maybe that was me listening on audio issue) to fully grasp what was happening. There was SO MUCH time warping situations and I am notoriously baffled by those.

I did love the characters. It’s dual POV between Livira and Evar. I was smitten with these two. There’s a slow and subtle romance between them that crosses time and who doesn’t love a star crossed union? And I really enjoyed them on their own too. I love seeing that growth and exploration of self over a book. I am very curious about how this connection will continue to play out and grow in the future books.

This was a great fantasy series starter and a hidden gem to me that I’m glad I took a chance on. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high

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Book Review: Sky Without Stars (System Divine #1) by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Dystopian/Sci-Fi
Length: 582 pages
Author: Jessica Brody & Joanne Rendell
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: March 26th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A thief. An officer. A guardian.

Three strangers. One shared destiny . . .

When the Last Days came, the planet of Laterre promised hope. But five hundred years later, it’s now a place where an extravagant elite class reigns supreme; where the clouds hide the stars and the poor starve in the streets; where a rebel group, long thought dead, is resurfacing.

Whispers of revolution have begun—a revolution that hinges on three unlikely heroes…

Chatine is a street-savvy thief who will do anything to escape the brutal Regime, including spying on Marcellus, the grandson of the most powerful man on the planet.

Marcellus is an officer—and the son of a traitor. Groomed to command by his legendary grandfather, Marcellus begins to doubt the government he’s vowed to serve when he discovers a cryptic message that only one person, a girl named Alouette, can read.

Alouette is living in an underground refuge, where she guards and protects the last surviving library on the planet. But a shocking murder will bring Alouette to the surface for the first time in twelve years…and plunge Laterre into chaos.

All three have roles to play in a dangerous game of revolution—and together they will shape the future of a planet.

Power, romance, and destiny collide in this sweeping reimagining of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece Les Misérables.

BETTER THAN EXPECTED.

This has been floating on my radar for awhile but I kept putting it off for other books. I had a small break in-between audio holds and here we are! I now have a new series I want to continue (Thank heavens it’s already complete).

I LOVED this dystopian reimagining of Les Mis. I could clearly see the nods and allusions to the original classic, but throwing it much more sci-fi aspects on a whole new planet.

The characters were perfectly set for a YA fantasy read. I don’t think I have any major complaints about anyone. I liked the progression of individual journeys and how things flowed up and down until that intense ending. I would love to continue and see how things continue to shake out.

It is a BIG book and I did read it as an audio. I don’t know if that helped me move through it better of if I would have thought things were a bit long. There’s a lot more to the world building and political system I’m intrigued by and the raw experiences that kept happening.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Dystopian
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: torture, death/execution, persecution, murder, oppression, abuse

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Book Review: The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Sci-Fi / Fantasy
Length: 372 pages
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Publisher: Dragonsteel
Release Date: April 1st, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson meshes Jason Bourne and epic fantasy in this captivating adventure that throws an amnesiac wizard into time travel shenanigans—where his only hope of survival lies in recovering his missing memories.

A man awakes in a clearing in what appears to be medieval England with no memory of who he is, where he came from, or why he is there. Chased by a group from his own time, his sole hope for survival lies in regaining his missing memories, making allies among the locals, and perhaps even trusting in their superstitious boasts. His only help from the “real world” should have been a guidebook entitled The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, except his copy exploded during transit. The few fragments he managed to save provide clues to his situation, but can he figure them out in time to survive?

I HAD A GOOD TIME.

This book is definitely different than any other Sanderson book I’ve read before (and I have 15+ under my belt). But that’s also why I enjoyed it!! He wanted to write something unique and he did and I got a kick out of listening to his audiobook. This is also shorter than his usual too (the audio was 9 hours) so it’s all around a nice change of pace.

Our mystery man wakes up and has no idea what’s happening and I loved learning the world with him. Slowly uncovering clues and putting together the handbook and watching things unfold. I enjoyed the side characters and the general story. There’s some good quirky laughter moments and even a little sub-plot romance! I thought the leading man went through some good growth too. He really has to evaluate himself and the choices he’s made and I love deep character moments.

Everything may feel a little chaotic, though I found that to work in it’s favor. I’m just a Sanderson fan and liked getting something new from him.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sci-Fi / Fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: cheating (main character’s ex), physical and weapons violence, loss of life, murder, grief and depression depiction, mentions of the pandemic, suicide ideation

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