Tag Archive: sci-fi



Wicked : The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Wicked Years, #1)Wicked : The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Oz research continues. I dove deep and read the complete Oz books so I would be ready for Wicked. Having done that, a lot felt like the same story just a different point of view.

Though this was fantasy, it doesn’t take a genius to see how a person born and raised unloved, becomes wicked. But what if you are trying to be the best you can? In this book, you learn to feel for Elphaba. And maybe see the wickedness in the people surrounding her whole life.

I recommend others take the time to read Frank L. Baim’s entire series and delve into this world of Oz. My goal now is to watch the movie, eventually buy the Blu-ray, get the musical recording, and finally the sheet music to learn to play all the songs. When I dive, I dive deep. I can’t wait!

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Full Speed to a Crash Landing (Chaotic Orbits #1)Full Speed to a Crash Landing by Beth Revis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Where did I hear about this book? I have no idea. But it was a welcome change. I only found the Kindle version at first. And reading this with Text-to-Speech on my older Fire worked out quite well until my Fire died. Then, I was in a tailspin to figure out how to read it. I learned that you can set up TTS on your cell phone. I set it up, but the British TTS’s voice on the phone was horrid. I didn’t know how close to the end, but I wanted to read this while I still remembered what happened. I picked up the Audible version. I did enjoy the voices of the main characters. But sadly, I finished the book within half an hour.

However I read it, I did love this story. It’s a little different than other space travel science fiction books. I don’t like a cliff-hanger. This wasn’t quite that. But I felt the book ended too early. Now, I have to wait for the second and third parts to be published. Maybe I’ll wait for the third one and reread them all.

Maybe, like me, you need the diversion. Try this sci-fi. You might like it, too.

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Sea of TranquilitySea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I will re-read this one in the future. As with many time-travel audiobooks, I found myself confused—until I didn’t. There came a time when it all started gelling.

As a writer, I was stunned by the most boring first chapter ever. I get it. I know now why the author did it this way, but wow, I nearly quit reading/listening from the very beginning. What drew me on? The blurb of what was supposed to happen in this book. There was to be time travel and time to be on the moon. Stick it out as it all circles back and makes sense.

Emily St. John Mandel’s book is brought to life by a host of narrators. Because of these people, I think the audiobook is the way to read it: John Lee, Dylan Moore, Arthur Morey, and Kirsten Potter.

It’s interesting, if nothing else. And, like all time-travel books, it makes you think.

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This Is How You Lose The Time WarThis Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time travel is interesting. Yeah, but here we have one more reason for war. The espionage is too much. I can’t handle more reasons to feel paranoid. I read to escape the heavy stuff or to study writing. But this didn’t do either job for me.

Cynthia Farrell’s (the Narrator) voice was good for the story, but sadly, I didn’t feel she saved it.

A friend recommended this to me. Time travel piqued my interest. Here, take a look at the blurb:

Goodreads Choice AwardNominee for Best Science Fiction (2019)
Two time-traveling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange letters—and fall in love in this thrilling and romantic book from award-winning authors Amal-El Mohtar and Max Gladstone.

Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading.

Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future.

Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war. That’s how war works. Right?

Cowritten by two beloved and award-winning sci-fi writers, This Is How You Lose the Time War is an epic love story spanning time and space.

Maybe it was the COVID brain. Maybe I’ll try it again someday. Maybe you will love it. It just didn’t do it for me.

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The Psychology of Time TravelThe Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Below is a previous review of Kate Mascarenhas’s The Psychology of Time Travel. It was with Kindle text-to-speech. I have to admit that this Audible version rates the same. Ellie Heydon (Narrator) doesn’t vary her voice enough to help the listener tell the differences between characters, places, emotions, or times. One difference was one character sounded like they had a cold, but other than that, it was all the same, and I couldn’t figure out why the nasal voice belonged to who it belonged to.

Even so, it was a fun read with time travel rules bent a little differently than other books of this nature. I think it is worth the read, and maybe, in this case, just a paper or visual read.
~~~

A friend recommended this to me. She knew I loved reading about the concept of time travel. And she was not wrong. This was very interesting and even brought up ideas I hadn’t considered before. A lot of time travel science is included in the book, but I loved the story. I loved reading about all the different women who invented the time machines.

I borrowed this Kindle edition from the library. And for a lot of books, the text-to-speech works quite well. But for this book, it made it more challenging. All the voices are the same one, no matter the time or area the person was from; it was the same voice with no emotion. So I got pretty mixed up with who was who. So I have ordered the Audible version to try again later. I am concerned as there are so many characters I may have to take notes to keep it all straight.

Still, even as it was, I found it engaging every single night. I never wanted to quit reading, even when confused.

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EruptionEruption by Michael Crichton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Scott Brick’s overacted narration kind of ruined this experience for me. BUT I could see this as a movie!

This is the kind of story you expect from Michael Crichton. The research on volcanoes was evident without being preachy or pedantic. As expected, the story kept me on edge, worried about the characters and the island.

May I say I hope this never happens to anyone. It is a scary concept. But it’s a super book and hopefully a great disaster movie.

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Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries, #4)Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The story continues. Again, it is fast. I hardly started reading, and suddenly, it was over.

Kevin R. Free (Narrator) makes the story come to life. And though the actual robot isn’t male or female, his voice makes me think the robot is male. I have to keep readjusting my visuals.

I love how the robot, programmed to kill, is finding ways to reprogram itself to save people and care for ideas and other robots.

I was lucky to pick this up on Libby and can’t wait until the next book is available.

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Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries, #3)Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Far too short! I finished another book way before it was time to sleep, but finished this before I was actually sleepy!

All of the books in this series are fun. I love this murdering, well, programmed to do so, robot. Watching his conscience grow as he becomes a person in his own right is heartwarming and hilarious. In spite of himself, he protects the people and even other robots. The things he speaks in the inner dialogue the reader is privy to surprise or make you laugh out loud.

This book just felt like a continuation of the last two books, just a new situation to maneuver.

I have already put the next in the series on hold on Libby. If you haven’t discovered Libby, you should, especially if you have a lower-than-adequate income.

I just learned that Apple TV has this series. I’d love to see this acted out.

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Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries, #2)Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, I didn’t love this as much as the first one, but it kept me wanting to read more of the series.

Kevin R. Free (Narrator) reads the story with enthusiasm.

Sorry this is so short, but I want to go find the next one and read it soon! I read it on Libby!

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All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)All Systems Red by Martha Wells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well, this was clever and different. And a very short read. But Kevin R. Free (Narrator) keeps the story moving and interesting.

Who knew that Murderbots kept diaries? Well, that represents the humor of this science fiction. My friend, Yvensong, raved about it. She was right. It was a lot of fun.

I was lucky to find this on Libby, but I may buy the whole series soon.

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