Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

This was a fun read that I read in one sitting.  The story takes place in a domed city called New Worth where most of the society is implanted with a technological implant.  The story follows Emery, a college aged student, who is about to graduate and begin working in a mundane job dealing with data organization.  Only her extracurricular activities have caught the eye of a clandestine organization that transports data via couriers.  The hitch - the data is carried in an encoded format in the courier's blood.  The data is set to self-destruct in less than three days so if not removed the courier ends up dead.

Emery is a fun and fierce protagonist.  Besides having to be the actual mule for the data, belonging to the courier organization means that ye have to give up yer prior identity by faking yer death.  Being removed from all the data of yer previous life and learning the city from a implant free standpoint is rough.  Watching Emery try to reconcile the change is one of the better aspects of the novel.

The domed city has been working on revitalizing the land outside in preparation for "the Emergence" when the residents can leave the dome and start their lives anew.  However there is a faction of the city that does not have implants.  These people are called Disconnects and either don't have implants because of money or circumstance.  Like all places, money equals status.  The more money, the higher up in the dome ye live with access to cleaner streets, more light, and more space.  The Disconnects are the bottom dwellers of the dome.  Literally.  While I enjoyed the concept of the Disconnects, this is where the novel didn't fare as well for me.

The first half of the book dealing with Emery and her change in circumstances was easy to follow, engaging, and fun.  When she is pulled into a bad data exchange, the scope of the novel changes and becomes about the larger issues of the Disconnect and their dissatisfaction with being low-class citizens.  Add into the mix the politics of the Emergence and the plot became rather messy.  I wasn't sure which groups were the "bad" guys and the political issues were rather flat and one-dimensional.  Some of the outcomes were extremely predictable and yet the plot meandered in a rather odd fashion to reach these events.  Plus the romance lightly discussed in the beginning becomes an additional issue.  I missed the clear concise writing of the beginning.

Still I did enjoy this one and the other members of me crew seemed to have loved it.

So lastly . . .

Thank you Angry Robot!

Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this young adult gothic fiction eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

The beginning of this novel was promising but it ended up being not to me taste.  The positive things that made me finish the book were two-fold:

1. I liked the main character, Valentine.  She was smart and resourceful.

2. I wanted to know how Valentine was going to prove her mother's innocence and find the true killer.

Unfortunately, there were several plot issues that made this an unlikable read for me.

1. The love triangle.  This was the primary plot of the story.  Who was Val going to pick?  The angst drove me bonkers even though I liked both love interests for once.  I just honestly didn't care who she chose.

2. The murders.  Val did not really use her brain for solving the crime.  She was too busy trying to decide who she loved.  The "clues" were lackluster and Val admits to herself in the book that she was focused on boy problems and willfully ignored everything else.

3. The killer.  The who-dunnit was so boring and not really fun.  In fact I just sighed in exasperation about how reveal happened.

4. The scariness.  Well there wasn't really any.  I didn't really feel there was any suspense or danger or excitement.

5. The ending.  It had a convenient plot "twist" to make Val's life magically get better in an instant.

Though the Gothic elements were technically there, the novel itself really had no Gothic feel in either writing style or plot.  Most of it felt like a typical teen romance novel with a historical fiction veneer.  I was disappointed in the plot in terms of the murder mystery element.  The true version of events just felt convoluted and unexciting.  Shame because I wanted to like this one.  Unfortunately it must walk the plank!  Arrrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank you Macmillian-Tor/Forge!

Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

Ahoy there me mateys. I have been wanting to read this book for a long time. I know that I just read another book about implants but an audio copy of this was in the hold of a local library and so I commandeered it. From Scalzi’s BrainPal in the Old Man’s War series to Guppi in we are legion (we are bob) to multiple books in the hold like the red by linda ngatat and hot-head by simon ings waiting to be read – I have always been fascinated about the pros and cons of having an implant in me head and being continuously connected to a feed.

I can’t say that I liked this book and was in fact thinking about making it walk the plank. But it was one of those books that I really enjoyed thinking about after the fact. I have been pretty much continuously pondering the concepts of this book over the last two days.

One reason is because the audio book was just so well done. I had tried to read this book before and never could get into it. But the idea of the feed fascinates me and so many people loved this one. So I gave the audio book a shot. I think this be one of the experiences where the audio book enriched me enjoyment.

Ye see, I actually disliked every character – especially the main narrator. I disliked what society had become. I disliked that there really was strong plot. And yet listening to the slang and language of the characters and how the feed was portrayed felt so realistic. The commercials and advertisements were just amazing. Excellent production values. Horrible products. It is a future I never want to live in but I think the author did a fantastic job presenting a plausible possibility. I can’t stop thinking about the writing.

In this version of our future, the world is a toxic wasteland, the corporations own everything, and the feed’s main purpose seems to be to control the populist with a consumer driven culture. The feed tells everyone what to buy, listen to, and almost how to feel.

The main story-line follows Titus and a girl he meets on the moon named Violet. The young people are out at a club when their feeds are hacked and they are without the feed until it gets fixed. Only Violet’s feed can’t be fixed properly. This book explores the consequences of a malfunctioning feed, Titus’s conflicting thoughts about Violet and her non-standard ideas about the feed, and some of the larger ideas and problems of a feed-driven society.

It had quite a shift of me own in perspective. I went from thinking the book was awful immediately after I finished reading to enjoying the thoughts after the journey and finally growing to respect the author’s work. I will likely never re-read this again because I still don’t like it but I love the way it enriched me brain. Arrr!

Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

Ahoy there me mateys! This was a young adult book with magical realism and fantasy mixed in. I have no idea where I first heard about this but it has been on me list for quite some time. I finally decided to get this one in audiobook format. This ended up only being an okay read for me.

The story takes place in a town called Bone Gap where a girl named Roza has gone missing. Her arrival was a mystery and her departure was more of the same. The town assumes that the beautiful girl just moved on. Finn is the only one who knows she was kidnapped. But no one believes him. He is determined to find Roza and bring her back.

Now from the synopsis, I assumed that most of the story would involve Finn’s search for Roza. The parts of the book that dealt with Roza and her backstory and kidnapping were interesting. I loved Finn, Roza, and the other crazy characters of Bone Gap. I loved the magical realism elements like whispering, talking corn. I even thought the bullies were weirdly entertaining. The small town feel with quirky characters was captured nicely.

The flaw in this book came from the execution. I had a problem with several things:

- the plot – It stalls in the middle to become focused on Finn’s romantic relationship. I loved Finn. I loved his love interest. But it felt like I had jumped into another book. Roza’s disappearance took a back burner.

- Finn’s condition – it seem’s liked Finn’s issue was in the story just to be a plot device. It caused problems in searching for Roza and in his love life. It just seemed lackluster in it’s inclusion in the story. Now granted I don’t know the author’s background and have no real knowledge of the condition so I can’t say that the portrayal is wrong. It just didn’t work for me.

- solving the kidnapping – This was the part of the story I was most looking forward to and it satisfied me the least. I didn’t enjoy how he found Roza or how they escaped the kidnapper. Or the explanation for how they got away from him. Meh.

I did like the ending of the book and how Roza’s escape doesn’t magically solve all the problems. There is still work to be done by everyone involved. I enjoyed the writing style itself, the lyrical prose, and the slow-burn format. I would be willing to give more of this author’s work a shot.

Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

Ahoy there me mateys! This was an young adult fantasy audiobook that I picked up because it takes place in a magical Venice, the author is German, and it has a wonderful cover:

I loved the setting of the book. The story takes place in an alternate magical Venice. The world is ruled by the Egyptian Pharaoh who controls mummies and flying ships. The exception is Venice, a city whose waters are protected by the Flowing Queen. Mermaids and living stone lions are only some of the creatures that call the city home. This book tells the tale two children who apprentice with rival masters and stumble across a plot to destroy the Queen and allow the city to be overthrown. One is Merle, who apprentices with a mirror maker. The other is Serafin, an ex-thief apprenticed to a cloth maker.

The concepts of this story were very fun. I loved the murderous mermaids in the canals. I loved the living, breathing stone lions that guard the city. I thought the mirror magic was interesting and loved how it was used to make a blind girl see. I thought both Merle and Serafin were interesting characters. So what was the problem? The plot.

This story was all over the place. While the world building was interesting, the author didn’t really use it to good effect. It started out with an awesome friendship between two dissimilar girl orphans who end up with the same apprenticeship with a mirror magician. I thought it was going to be about the two friends on adventures with the mirrors as the plot points. But the author quickly dumps the second girl from the story and instead adds in a boy and hints of a young crush. Then ye get odd historical info-dumping, plot points that make no sense, meanderings to no purpose, and a Queen that was not only bizarre but annoying.

I ended up mostly being confused and unhappy with the outcome of it all. The book overall seemed to be just a set-up to a bigger story and nothing truly interesting happens with any of the fantastical elements. The ending was abrupt and seems to be heading towards a cliche, boring and silly conflict. I will not be reading and more of this series or any of the author’s other works.

For me this one walks the plank! Arrrr!

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this sci-fi dystopian eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

So I seem to be in the minority again.  This book irked me.  The premise is that a misogynistic bunch of males has taken over the government and women have become second class citizens.  Restrictions include, but are not limited to- no jobs, no financial control, no access to books, no passports, and no real use of language.  It's the last limitation that made me want to read this book.

The statistic in the blurb claims that the is that the average person currently speaks 16,000 words a day.  In this book the woman can only speak 100 words a day.  To enforce this quota, all women are equipped with sensors around their wrists.  Go over the limit and ye get an electric shock.  And it isn't mild.  With every misbehavior, the force and duration of the punishments only increase.

The concepts behind limited women's speech were fascinating.  In particular the relationship between the main character, Jean, and her youngest child, a girl, was the most poignant part of the novel.  The consequences for a generation of girls brought up without the skills of reading and the outlet of speaking were harrowing.

But unfortunately the expression of the novel's concepts and the impact of its message were completely filtered down by the awkward execution of this novel.  Some of the problems:

- unlikable protagonist - Jean is supposed to be smart and intelligent.  She holds a PhD and was about to make a major achievement in treating the problems of language malfunction in stroke patients.  And yet throughout the book she was whiny, unfocused, clueless, and meek.  It made sense for the beginning of the novel but she never really became a strong force.

- unrealistic and unneeded plot elements - So much of this book felt unreal.  Subplots about animal testing that were unnecessary.  Brand-new drugs working the first and only time on a human subject.  Multiple characters important to Jean that happen to be conveniently in a cell and rescued at a critical moment.  No cameras or recording devices in any place that seems rational.  Escalation of a bio-terrorist threat that literally makes NO SENSE and would hurt the bad people just as much as the others.   

- too tied to current events - This book seemed to bash the reader over the head with it's lack of subtlety.  I am extremely liberal and yet this book seemed to be a political soapbox for hatred of the current regime.  I feel it would have had more force if set in slightly more distant future.

- the muddled message - The theme seems to be a call for women to be active in politics.  And yet it lambastes any woman who doesn't follow a certain type of political activism.  It doesn't even seem to want women to have individuality of their own.  Fie on any woman who wants to be a stay-at-home mom.  Fie on any woman who doesn't attend political rallies and march the streets.  Fie on any woman that is a Christian.  I do believe that all people should vote.  But this seems to suggest if ye aren't a rabid fanatic about yer politics then ye are useless.  I get that a passive approach to horrible behavior can allow that behavior to flourish.  Think the Nazis.  But there are many different types of activism and legitimate lifestyles.

- the lackluster ending - What a crock.  For a book to be about women power, a man is needed to bring down the regime.  Then the main character runs to another country and doesn't even stay to help mitigate and direct the consequences of her actions.  She is basically a coward through and through.  She is always being selfish and really never cared about the greater good.

It's been compared to the Handmaid's Tale.  Skip this one and read that one instead.  This book was a muddled mess  and therefore must walk the plank!  The Handmaid's Tale is a modern classic for a reason.

So lastly . . .

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group!

Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

Well, I have to admit that this was just an okay read.  One of me crew, Sarah @ theillustratedpage's review, accurately described it as:

"The majority of The Stars Now Unclaimed is action scenes. I really can’t emphasize how much of this book is action. You mainly get a few paragraphs or pages between various huge action set pieces, which doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for anything other than action. It was a bit like a Hollywood blockbuster in book form."

Hollywood action film indeed.  The characters are fun.  Ye have the hardened snarky daredevil female fighter pilot, an analytical robot, the ship AI, and the rescued orphan girl with telekinetic powers who might one day save the world.  Later ye add in the traitor who happens to be the soldier's ex-lover and the spy.  But while I liked them, there is very little depth to any of them.  The dialogue is full of catchy one-liners but nothing of major substance.  The bad guys are all literally interchangeable faceless guys in suits with no names, no real intellectual reasoning, and no goals other than to take over the universe.

The science-fiction part is also Hollywood-lite.  There was a "pulse" which was a science experiment gone wrong.  It knocked out the technology in the universe with very little rhyme or reason.  Some places keep their technology and other places have gone back into the stone age.  The threat of the pulse is still out there and it's gonna come back.  There is no real explanation for how it works.  The main characters says things like "I can't walk you through it all that well, I'm not a - I don't do science - " and "do I look like I'm wearing a lab coat?  I know what the scientists tell me . . ."  The use of the technology doesn't really make sense either.  Things work or don't work depending on what the author needed to happen to forward the plot.  Logic doesn't really suffice.

Actually that was me major problem with this read - the sheer unbelievably of the plot in general.  There are the many, many lucky coincidences that happen throughout.  There is the last-ditch, one-chance effort against all costs.  There is the main character who is charmed and somehow evades death at every possibility - despite poison, bullets, overwhelming legions  of enemies, and everything but the kitchen sink.  The battle is saved through the actions of a single person.  Remove the main character and the universe is doomed.

Me most recent science fiction reads have had depth of character, plot, and world-building.  In comparison, this be a pleasant, if forgettable read.  I will not be reading any more of the series.  I might have enjoyed it more in movie format.

So lastly . . .

Thank you Macmillian-Tor/Forge!

Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

This book was not to my taste. I found it rather generic and bland. I did not finish and will not be reading more of this series. I will not be doing a full review on my blog.

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this children's fiction eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here are me honest musings . . .

The recommend age for this yarn be 3 - 5 years of age.  But I firmly believe I should be allowed to read whatever I want and this captured me fancy for five reasons:

1. cats;
2. history;
3. illustrations;
4. the cool title; and
5. it was said to be a town mouse / country mouse retelling.

Sign me up!  Apparently the book was:

"inspired by the exhibition Beyond the Nile: Eqypt and the Classical World at the J. Paul Getty Museum.  The exhibition explores artistic and cultural exchange among Egypt, Greece, and Rome from the Bronze Age through the decline of the Roman Empire."

The exhibit has over 200 artifacts and some of them show up in the pages of this book!  That's pretty neat.  As the exhibit is in Los Angeles through September 9th and I be on the opposite U.S. coast, it doesn't seem likely that I will get to see this exhibit in person.  But ye can check out some of the pieces on display on the museum's website.

While the book illustrations are truly lovely, there isn't much of an actual plot.  I didn't really get a town mouse / country mouse vibe at all.  Both cats are from Egypt and visit Rome.  It isn't a cat from each city sharing it with the other.  I believe I would have preferred that (or is it purrfurred?  hardy har har!).  But I do believe children would like the illustrations and if they are in the projected age range then they likely are readin' this with the help of an adult anyway.  I, of course, liked the "Notes to the Reader" section with additional facts about the time period.  So overall the illustrations are what makes this read worthwhile.  The story - not so much. 

So lastly . . .

Thank you Getty Publications!

Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

This book appealed to me because it is by an author whose work I have had an interest in reading and it is about a prison city in space with gang warfare.  Unfortunately I don't think I was the target audience for this one and two issues led me to abandon ship at 25%.

So this book starts with a gang on a "motorcycle" ride through the space prison.  Now why would a prison have motorcycles and guns?  I was hesitant at the start but decided to go with it.  Angry Robot tends to have premises that are not mainstream and it is one of the things I love about them.  So the gangs in the prison are on a city-wide truce.  But trouble is brewing and the truce is barely hanging on.

One of the main characters, Lena "Horror" Horowitz, leads one of the three gangs in the prison called the Daughters of Forgotten Light.  There are two other gangs.  One is called the Amazons and is an all-white cannibalistic group.  The other is an all-black group called the Onyx Coalition.  A supply shipment is coming in and what is in that box will change the status quo of the prison.

So one of the things that is in the box is a baby.  Aye mateys.  A baby was sent to the prison.  This was the first thing that I didn't like.  It made absolutely no sense (motorcycles and guns aside).  I didn't read the entire blurb when I requested the book worried about spoilers.  Well had I read the entire blurb, the two spoilers contained in it may have stopped me from requesting this one.

But it was the second issue that led to the abandonment of the novel.  The women in the prison have to be hard to survive.  It is literally a prisoner-eat-prisoner kinda world if ye aren't careful.  It seems that each gang has six members.  In the Daughters of Forgotten Light there is the leader who is called "the head."  The others are called the right arm, left arm, right leg, left left leg, and the ass respectively.  The ass of course is the newest member, Sarah, who was told, "You're at the end and take all the shit."

Now I understood the gang members are harsh.  But the newest member is the subject of cruel hazing pranks.  Stupid stuff like being told to stand naked, having cold water thrown over her, etc.  I know hazing exists in the world but personally, I think it is pointless and shouldn't exist. 

But the main problem of the pecking order was a member called Hurley Girly who used to be at the bottom and has now moved up a step.  Hurley Girly is sexually interested in the new girl and is a predator.   She doesn't care about Sarah's preferences, physically intimidates her, leers, and makes highly inappropriate comments.  The only thing really stopping Hurley Girly from outright assault is the other gang members.  And I couldn't stomach watching this person abuse her new status and power.  I don't  care how harsh the gang is, I don't want to read about abuse and watch it happen.  So that was the end of the book for me.

Side note: the first mate claimed me brief description of this book reminded him of a movie called "Escape from New York."  Now I haven't seen it but if ye liked that then maybe this be the book for yer tastes!

While this book didn't end up appealing to me, I may be willing to give this author another shot.  I am on the fence.

So lastly . . .

Thank you Angry Robot Books!

Check out me other reviews on https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/