Welcome to the first Reading Roundup post for March! It seems such a long time since I last wrote one of these. Unfortunately, I have been very ill, but I do have some books to tell you about. I will spread them out a bit over the next few weeks as I am unable to write very long posts as yet.
Here is the first book:
Our Library’s ebook service has loads of John Scalzi’s books at the moment and I was very pleased to find one that I hadn’t already read: The Android’s Dream. This is the blurb:
“When a human kills an alien during diplomatic negotiations, the fall-out is astronomical. To prevent interstellar war, humanity must deliver an extremely rare sheep for the aliens’ coronation ceremony – or face enslavement. So Earth’s government turns to Harry Creek: ex-cop, war hero and hacker extraordinaire.
It should be a straightforward mission, but there are others who covet the priceless animal. Ruthless mercenaries, a religious cult, and alien races eager to spark revolution. Harry’s mission will take him across the galaxy, as he tries to pull off the grand diplomatic coup of the century. There’ll only be one chance to save the life of the sheep – and ensure the future of humanity.”
Readers of Philip K Dick should get the joke! Anyway, this was my response on Goodreads:
The Android’s Dream by John ScalziMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
An enjoyable, humorous read, but not quite as good as many of his other works. Amongst the clever and funny set pieces (the shopping centre section), there were long passages where I began to lose interest. Still, it was all wound up nicely with a very satisfying ending.
As always, I highly recommend Scalzi for his imagination and humour. Just start with Old Man’s War!
View all my reviews
For my next book, I returned to Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga, volume 8 this time!
I have really enjoyed this series so far and love Bujold’s clever writing and sense of humour. This is the blurb:
“After the audacious prison camp escapade described in Borders of Infinity, Miles is on the run from the Cetagandans, who aren’t about to take that kind of thing lying down. The worst of it is, Miles and his friends are starting to see double, and it takes a while to find out who is responsible.”
Oh dear, it is so short! Let’s see if I can find a better one…
“Miles is having enough trouble keeping his two identities separate — the charismatic Admiral Naismith of the Denarii Mercenary Fleet and a Vor lord of the Barrayan aristocracy — when assassination attempts begin. But are his enemies after Miles Naismith or Lord Miles Vorkosigan? The problem of split identities becomes even more confused when a clone of Miles is discovered, in this novel Booklist called “a first-rate sf tale that mixes court intrigue and galactic warfare.””
Not much better. Anyway, I wrote this on Goodreads and awarded the book four stars:
Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster BujoldMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Yet another entertaining and enjoyable episode in this epic series. As usual, the author’s sense of humour was great and her story telling excellent. The character of Miles is well drawn and now there is an additional player on the scene! I will continue to read this series with the anticipation of having a great experience.
View all my reviews
Sorry that this is such a short post today, but my concentration and energy are very limited at the moment. I should have a trilogy to write about next week, all being well, and I will try to expand a bit more on my Goodreads comments.
Until then: Happy Reading to you all!
Love and best wishes,
Anne
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The Librain
The Librain......retired 