#43 Slow Bullets by Alastair Reynolds

At the end of the war but before Scur can get back to her side she is attacked and tortured by an enemy soldier. She is rescued as she is passing out from blood loss and wakes up out of hibernation on a ship mostly packed with soldiers on their way to war crimes trials.  The problem with this is the ship is failing and they are not where they should be.  Hard decisions need to be made by the people that woke from cold sleep on their continued survival.

No knowledge of any of his previous work was needed to understand what was going on and it certainly has me wanting to read more of his stuff.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

#44 From a High Tower by Mercedes Lackey

The latest installment in the Elemental Masters series is a loose retelling of Rapunzel. The early chapters are straight out of the traditional retellings of the story with the mother’s desire for food sends the father out to steal from a vegetable garden.   After the witch in the house catches her father raiding the garden a deal is struck for the baby.  After that the story then starts to veer away from the fairy tale with the exception there is a tower, fast growing hair and a mysterious man wanting in the tower.


The setting for this is in Germany so the reader doesn’t need to have read the earlier books that were set in England.  I do highly recommend that you do read the forward since there is info there will help the reader understand a facet of the story that there is almost no good way to give that info to the reader without being a complete infodump. I like this series since it does take the framework of fairy tales and stretch them to fit into this large world that she has created.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

#45 Of Noble Family by Mary Robinette Kowal

The final book in any series is bittersweet but I think this one ends on an up note for Vincent and Jane. Tragedy has struck Vincent in Vienna with the arrival of a letter telling him that his father has died and shortly after that his brothers were in a carriage accident and his eldest brother, the new Earl is dead and his middle brother is now the new holder of the Earldom but is crippled from accident and not able to travel to Antigua to follow up on word that a newer will has been filed down there since that was where his father was living before he died.   They both go to help out his brother since England is in mourning for the death of the Prince Regent’s daughter and there will be no work for them.  What they find is a complete mess once they arrive on the island that will take time to sort out.

I liked that since this is the last book we also get an epilogue about what happens with them both in the future.  It is a bit bittersweet knowing the stories have come to an end but it was a very enjoyable reading journey.

#46 The Dragons of Dorcastle by Jack Campbell

This originally came out as an audio book only but has since been released as an ebook.  The premise is there are two guilds in this world. One is the Mages and the other is the Mechanics.  Neither guild has anything to do with the other stating that each uses tricks and lies and that they are the only ones doing real work.  The common folk are treated lesser by both groups with the Mages the worse of the two since they will take anything they want without paying for it and even raping someone if they feel like it. The rape point I felt was a bit odd since the Mages are taught to be emotionless. The Mechanics will pay for things but will still order a common person around when the need arises.

Alain is a mage on his first assignment of guarding a caravan to another city. They are ambushed and the only survivor is a Mechanic named Mari. They agree to team up to make it through the desert to their destination.  This causes no end of grief for the both of them from their respective guilds.  And things are not what they seemed at either guild when they do arrive.  Interesting world building in the story with more details about the world coming out near the end.

Digital review copy provided by the agent through NetGalley