@ambartz.bsky.social
#25- Differently Morphous, by Yahtzee Crowshaw. A supernatural buddy cop adventure, the rookie Allison is partnered with a clinically insane Doctor Diablerie during the revealing of Magic to the British public. The hijinks are hilarious, with cute shoggoths and terrifying Ancients overshadowing all!
#24- Will Leave the Galaxy for Good, by Yahtzee Crowshaw. The conclusion of Jacques McKeown’s adventures ties up the trilogy in an enjoyable and unexpected way. Still the same starship explorer humor, cursing in Calculus, but resolving the storyline conclusively but still following genre tropes.
#23- A Parade of Horribles, by Matt Dinniman. Holy crud, Carl has really decided to become chaos incarnate this time. I wasn’t a fan of the heats in the race at first, but it turns out Carl wasn’t either, and the payoff for getting around the rules was epic. Multiple plot lines resolved superbly.
#22- We are Legion (We are Bob), by Dennis Taylor. Philosophical musings of a replicant (destructively uploaded Human based AI), exploring consciousness in a near term sci-fi setting. Despite the “magic” propulsion tech, Bob delves into Von Neumann probes, religion, ethics, & self reflection.
#21- Artificial Condition, by Martha Wells. Our intrepid Murderbot makes a friend! A research ship (ART) serving as a foil to a SecUnit is absurd, and wonderful humor from their interactions balance nicely with drama and character growth. Excellent follow up to the first book.
#20- Sandworm, by Andy Greenberg. Want to know the realities of what computer hacking can do to affect the physical world and disrupt society? This book covers the topic in detail, and has left be other terrified and in need of a good drink. A horror story of reality and required read for IT admins.
#19- All Systems Red, by Martha Wells. A cute books about an artificial construct more worried about soap operas than trying to take over the galaxy while cackling and murdering all the humans, it puts a very good spin on what we prioritize in life in a humorous novella. Why kill when you can read?
#18- This Inevitable Ruin, by Matt Dinniman. The payoff from the last three books is exquisite, with epic twists and turns. Several of the storylines resolved in unexpected ways that made me tear up. Somehow, the 9th floor surpassed my high expectations. War Crimes and Astral Paw breaks stuff 😉
I have to admit that every time I see someone confidently state "no one reads anymore" I wonder a) who hurt them, b) where all my royalty statements are coming from, I mean, that's pretty concrete evidence that someone is reading or at least buying
#17- The Eye of the Bedlam Bride, by Matt Dinniman. Holy shit the pace picked up on this one, and the feels- oof. The sixth novel characterization is believable and horrifying; I was put off initially by the card game aspect, but it added a surprising dimension that made the book come together.
I still think a lot about how GPT told me I was wrong and cited a paper to prove it. I asked it to look at the authors of that paper and tell me if any names looked familiar. It was my paper. I authored it. I AM PRETTY SURE I KNOW HOW THIS WORKS.
Congratulations to @stephenking.bsky.social for this well-deserved honor!👍 (Novels/Novellas: Approximately 65 to 67 Non-fiction books: 5 books. Short Stories: Over 200 Pseudonyms: 7 novels were published as Richard Bachman. Frequency: He has published at least one book almost every year since 1974)
#16- The Butcher’s Masquerade, by Matt Dinniman. Focusing heavily on character building more than leveling and stats, I really appreciated the way Pony and Miriam developed, and how Donut’s relationship has grown and matured. The twists throughout the climax come fast, but feel natural.
#15- The Gate of the Feral Gods, by Matt Dinniman. Following the adventures of Donut and Carl, we witness some real strikes back against the organizers of The Dungeon Crawl, setting the stage for the Sixth Floor with momentum and anticipation of if Carl will ever stop digging himself into a hole!
#14- The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook, by Matt Dinniman. A delightful romp that integrates newly introduced Katia into the team in a believable and enjoyable manner. Mongo is his hilarious self, and the author starts showing glimpses behind the curtain of the setting in a delightful, teasing manner.
#13- Carl’s Doomsday Scenario, by Matt Dinniman. An interesting twist for the second novel, Carl and Donut have a good amount of character development, and set the scene well for future novels. Humorous and fast paced, this novel settles into a groove and lays the foundation for future novels.
#12- Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman. A superb LitRPG set with a man and his exGF’s cat, this buddy adventure plays on tropes of the genre and satire of reality TV in such a way that I was literally giggling. It was a bit gorier than preferred, but that anchored the existential terror nicely.
#11- The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah. An excellent WWII French resistance novel following two sisters, it encapsulates the brutality, terror, and hope that drove the downfall of Nazi fascists. Great novel, inspiring and horrifying parallels to the modern day. “Wounds heal. Love lasts. We remain.”
#10- When the Moon Hits Your Eye, by John Scalzi. A satire science fiction, Scalzi captures each day from a different point of view after the moon turns into cheese, and the whole world deals with the fallout. Pastors, kids, feuding brothers, writers, even the president has a moment to shine.
#09- The Last Letter, by Rebecca Yarros. A deeply emotional rollercoaster of a modern post war novel, it weaves in characters in a way that has you sympathizing with them and wanting to shake them silly for not clearly communicating. An excellent read, but be prepared for emotional damage.
#08- Democracy Awakening, by Heather Cox Richardson. A phenomenal book about the rise of autocracy in the United States, the first third of the book made my blood boil, with the extensively cited history I had not been taught in school; the latter two thirds were full of hope that made it worth it!
#07- The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner. A wonderful short fantasy story about a thief as an unreliable narrator that has a lot of omissions from the reader. Plenty of interesting twists along the way that tie into a fun adventure.
#06- Blind Date with a Werewolf, by Patricia Briggs. A short novella with interconnected short stories of Asil the Moor trying to get his love life back in order, the hijinks are amusing and well written. A good distraction for a quick read, but not the most riveting Briggs story I’ve read.
Months after NPR reported on the Pentagon's efforts to sever ties with Scouting America, efforts to maintain the partnership have new momentum n.pr/4cg5CSK
Pentagon shifts toward maintaining ties to Scouting
Months after NPR reported on the Pentagon's efforts to sever ties with Scouting America, efforts to maintain the partnership have new momentum
n.pr
#05- White Fragility, by Robin Diangelo. One of the harder reads that I’ve been through, it was more enlightening and brought more self reflection than decades of work training and schooling. I wish that this was mandatory reading in the high school I went to; well worth the read and reflection.
