Murderbot #2 & 3; Empyrean #2 & 3

Artificial Condition and Rogue Protocol (Murderbot #2 and #3), Martha Wells (3.5)

Good ole Murderbot is at it again. In trying to find out what really happened on the mining colony, he falls in with some hapless humans whom he helps and, of course, ends up liking. This time he has the help of a very funny AI from the cargo ship he smuggles himself onto. I look forward to this being season 2 of the streaming series. The third book continues his journey to find answers. Overall these are quite formulaic and short. I wish they would be incorporated as sections of a longer book.

 

Iron Flame and Onyx Storm (Empyrean #2, 3), Rebecca Yarros (3.5)

Both of these books continue the journey of Violet and her dragons and friends. It continues the plot with some twists and turns, though the love interaction gets tiresome. Hard to believe they are sooo attracted to each other that they are distracted by that when war is raging around them. One would imagine that is the last thing on your mind when you are about to die. These two books are definitely weaker than the first, but if you like those characters, you will hang-on till the end. ‘Iron Flame’ has quite a cliff hanger, but ‘Onyx Storm’ really just drags it out without a real finish. Guess there are more books in the future.

'Native Nations' by Kathleen DuVal

 Native Nations, Kathleen DuVal (4.0)

It’s a shame that it won’t happen, but this book should be required reading for all High School students. The author has done amazing research to accurately describe the history of the status and interactions of the native people of our continent with the incoming Europeans. She starts with the large ‘cities’ of the 11^th century (i.e. Cahokia) to illustrate how they had societies and a deep civilization prior to the arrival of others. She then spends a lot of time in the 15-19^th centuries as they start to interact, not quite realizing that the incoming people believe they ‘own’ this land that is new to them. I found most interesting the discussion of how the people here had to deal with 3 groups showing up to trade with them (Spanish, English, French) and how that changed after the Revolution when an actual country (US) turned their organized armies towards moving them out. The last few chapters are heart-breaking as you see the ignorance and bigotry wielded by people in power to try to squelch and frankly wipe out those here before them. My biggest complaint is the length of the book. The theme and wisdom sometimes got bogged down in lists of food, crafts, etc.

'All Systems Red, The Murderbot Diaries' by Martha Wells

All Systems Red, The Murderbot Diaries, Martha Wells (4.0)

The new streaming series follows the first Murderbot book rather closely, though as a YA novel, it is short and a bit simpler. If you like the series, you will smile at the narrator’s inner monologue throughout the book. That narrator is the security robot (aka Sec-unit) self-named, ‘Murderbot’. He has been assigned to a hippy-like group of scientists who are on a research mission to a new planet. When several inconsistencies and accidents happen, their leader and Murderbot start wondering if they are in trouble. The author has done a nice job of introducing new technology and mixing it with corporate overtones and complications. 

 

'Upgrade' by Blake Crouch

Upgrade, Blake Crouch (4.0)

While sticking with a couple of themes (family man separated by technology set in the near future), once again Mr. Crouch has come up with a unique plot that pushes technology to a point where the reader must consider the ethics and philosophy of what we may expect in our future. The main character in this story goes through genetic manipulation. This is particularly relevant given the recent CRISPR advances, cloning of animals and revival of the dire wolf. We have the technology to do this, but should we? I won’t say more as, with most Crouch books, the joy is in discovery, but I enjoyed the journey and appreciated his conclusion.

'Ready Player Two' by Ernest Cline, 'Fourth Wing' by Rebecca Yarros, and 'Is a River Alive' by Robert MacFarlane

 Ready Player Two, Ernest Cline (3.5)

Enjoyable – but completely derivative of ‘Ready Player One’. Really not much newly creative, which made the first book so unique. I did appreciate that he was able to do a round two using the same characters but with a new plot. Unfortunately, the main character had to go through a very unlikeable stage as part of his arc in order to make this book work. Cline predictably lies heavily on 80’s trivia, which works for many of his fans. There is a feeling of inclusion similar to finding Easter eggs in games. The ending seemed a bit abrupt and set things up for a possible third book, though given it’s Sci-Fi bent, he’s going to have to drop the 80’s schtick. 

 

Fourth Wing, Rebecca Yarros (4.5)

I enjoyed so many things about this book – but particularly the interactions between dragons and their riders. The author has taken the classic plot of a seemingly weak protagonist who is put in a precarious situation and has to continually battle the system and bad guys, and made it feel fresh with twists (some more obvious than others), interesting characters and dragons! My biggest concern with the book is that it seems to be written for YA (many accurately call it a blend of Harry Potter and Hunger Games), but it comes across as an R-rated book for language, violence and sex. There is a bit of a warning in the front, but that will just urge many YA readers on! 

 

Is a River Alive?, Robert MacFarlane (4.0)

The author has a nice way of going to places and writing as ‘doing, not telling’, which I appreciate. I also liked how he started with the small creak near his home that he has known all his life and returned to it after each journey. I loved the author’s young son’s comment to the subject of this book: ‘Of course a river is alive, this will be a short book’. Rather than arguing this point, MacFarlane journeys to three very different rivers and describes how some special people are working hard to protect and/or revitalize them. I was worried that it would be a sad tale of how we are ruining our environment, but he manages to highlight the positive work being done. My only complaint is that the poetic words sometimes were a bit over the top for me and made it feel fictional at times. 

'The Mad Crush' by Sean C. Weir

The Mad Crush, Sean C. Weir (3.0)

This book was interesting to me as it describes the history of a winery and area we very much enjoy in our area of the Central Coast of California. The author spent a couple of crush seasons in the 1990’s working at Saucelito Canyon Winery, a family run winery known for their delicious Zinfandels. It is a simple story that walks through the harvest season illustrating the random nature of growing grapes and making good wine told from the point of view of a somewhat rootless young man. I particularly enjoyed hearing about people I’ve met and places that haven’t changed much in all this time. The winery out in the canyon is still very rural and lovely.

'The Rose Code' by Kate Quinn

The Rose Code, Kate Quinn (4.0)

Once again Ms. Quinn has brought to life female protagonists fighting in obscurity during a war. This time the three women (two based on real women) worked at Bletchley House, the famous English location that housed many men and women who worked to break the German and Italian codes during WWII, Enigma being the most famous. As with her other novels, she throws in a few real people (e.g. Alan Turing, Dilly Knox, Prince Philip) but the story revolves around 3 very different women who found themselves doing important work during the war. Much of the intrigue of the story has to do with not being able to discuss their work and the small and large impacts that has on their lives. Even though we know what happened with Enigma and the war, the drama she deals with here was more individualistic and riveting. A few character arcs were predictable, but that didn’t take away from the enjoyment of reading a good, fast paced story.