An excellent conclusion to a great trilogy. Walton never falters throughout the series and her characters remain just as real and enjoyable to read throughout. She has a true gift for making her readers understand how good people can get caught up in their environment and become bad. It's fantastic.
And, of course, part of the reason the books remain readable and not overwhelmingly depressing is that great people rise above their surroundings to do some good.
My one...comment is that the ending seems almost a bit too hopeful. It's, perhaps, a sad statement about human nature that it's more believable that we get worse than better.

I've been meaning to pick this up for ages, ever since I read Walton's reviews of the Vorkosigan Saga and thought "Yay, kindred spirit, I bet her writing is wonderful!"

I love being right. Though this is decidedly not scifi, it draws on similar skills in its ability to evoke a world that never was, but could have been. Her alternate England, in which peace is brokered between Britain and Hitler, is chillingly rendered and wonderfully, terrifyingly real. She's an incredible investigator of how and why good people come to do bad things.

Farthing uses the frame of the English mystery novel to tell a chilling story about people and humanity and what might have been. The combination of alternate universe with Sayers-esque whodunnit makes for a great story and I cannot wait to pick up Ha'penny, the next book in the series.

I'm not entirely sure how I managed to miss Scalzi's work till now; it's right up my alley and I do love me a good, absurd, brilliantly written and hilarious sendup of science fiction.
This one was perfect, straddling the line between telling a space opera and making me snicker uncontrollably. I must find more of this man's work.

I really like John Scalzi. He has this amazing talent to get me to read books that are usually far out of my ordinary interests (I say I don't like military sf. We ignore my obsession with Miles Vorkosigan when I say this).
He's also funny. Not in a Douglas Adams sense, but in the sense that his characters have great senses of humor and he is brilliant at the subtle deadpan. Okay, so maybe a little like Douglas Adams.
But there's a deeply interesting story at the heart of the book and an adventurous attempt, on Scalzi's part to portray both age and was through as clear a gaze as possible.
What can I say; I really liked this book and was more than a bit impressed by it. Well done, where's the next one?

This one of the least hopeful YA dystopias I've ever read, which is surprisingly odd; odd because most YA dystopias focus on change and fighting back and a better world and surprisingly because...well...dystopias.

I'm not sure how to respond to this book, though I do get the feeling that it is, somehow, demanding a response (and that maybe said response should not be mediated through a company owned by Amazon, but hey). It's a book that leaves you angry and, like the main character, insisting that you haven't done anything wrong, that it's not your fault. And even as you know you're right, you know you're lying.
It's an uncomfortable book and a bit like admiring a the open contents of a human body; you're fascinated and more than a little repulsed all at once.
It's one of those books where the rating system of 1-5 stars has to be completely divorced from the idea of how much I liked/enjoyed the book, because those words have nothing to do with the experience.
I don't know what to do with this book.

An interesting book, one that asks a familiar question of what it means to be human and what would a non homo sapien look and think and feel like. Sawyer avoids certain fairly common tropes, though he does fall into a familiar trap of...idolizing, perhaps, the peaceful Neanderthal. Somehow or other, homo sapiens always come off looking particularly nasty and blood-thirsty. We do better than usual in this story.
On the other hand, the Neanderthals have their moments when their style of living and the things they are willing to sacrifice recast the tradeoff and make us wonder.
I had a few objections to the story - some of the humans were rather flat compared to the Neanderthals and behaved in a manner that made me wonder where exactly all their animation was - but I was, overall, impressed with Sawyer's storytelling and enjoyed his version of "What would a different "people" be like?"

Another great debut novel up for awards that probably deserves one, Rajaniemi's "Quantum Thief" is a dizzying story that shows off both the writer's extensive technical background and his neat ability to turn a phrase. He writes well, with a certain showmanship that perfectly matches the thief around whom the novel, more or less, revolves.
The plot is convoluted, though possibly not as twisted as the science upon which its based. This is one of those books that is a fine read without any current science background, but which grows far richer with some knowledge (I found that my knowledge of some of the theory behind quantum computing, michel foucalt, and Hebrew all enhanced my experience of reading and could only imagine what more information might provide).
Of course, the beauty of Rajaniemi's novel is that, while it rewards outside knowledge, it does not require it. The story reads perfectly well with basic knowledge and still manages to catch you up in its mystery and majesty within the first few pages.
I really enjoyed it as an example of what a very good writer with a background in current science is capable of doing - telling a great story.

There is an argument in my household about the book. My sister claims that, having gone into raptures over it for about half an hour straight, it is entirely MY fault that it took me four months to get around to reading it. I claim that, as she did not remind me that she'd recommended the book or, more importantly, actually HANDED me her copy, it's her fault I didn't get around to reading them until my mother-in-law took pity on me and bought me the series. (I love my mother-in-law, she's a wonderful woman and I don't just say that because my books are signed).

Anyway, this book was worth the wait. Raybourn is a delightful writer with an ear for character and a talent for walking the fine line between Victorian setting and modern sensibilities. Her characters are appealing to a contemporary audience, but fit in within the historical world she portrays as well.
Her grasp of the era is spot-on and her research shows through without ever feeling as though she's showing off.
And, of course, the plot is well handled, the familiar tropes feel fresh in her hands, her actual style is a cut above the rest for both mystery and romance writers. She's a talented storyteller; one of the best compliments I can give a writer.
And, of course, the couple at the center of the book(s) are wonderful and I look forward to reading more about them.
Well done, Ms. Raybourn.