Book Reviews Archives - Page 10 of 16

Washington A Life by Ron Chernow

Introduction

Washington A Life by Ron Chernow is a one book biography of the first President of the United States from cradle to grave. History has portrayed Washington as a dull, taciturn man of granite self-control, so the author wanted to dig deeper into Washington’s correspondence to present the side of Washington that was vivid and dramatic. How did a British colonial aristocrat become the leader of the American Revolution?

Summary

The author divides Washington’s life into six parts. Frontiersman, part one, explains the history of the short-lived males of the Washington line. George Washington learned to become a surveyor and took part in the French and Indian War. Planter, part two, covers when he has taken control of the Mount Vernon plantation because of untimely deaths in his family and his marriage to the widow Martha Custis. General, part three, shows when he became the military leader of the American Revolution. He faces eight years of battle but only wishes to return to Mount Vernon. Statesman, part four, covers when the states are governed by the ineffectual Articles of Confederation. He serves as the president of the Continental Congress leading to the drafting of the Constitution. President, part five, is about his eight years in office. It details the battles in his cabinet between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Legend part six covers the years after Washington’s retirement to Mount Vernon with Martha. Second President John Adams named him a Lieutenant General for the last 17 months of his life but did not take a field command. He lived out his last days and passed into legend.

Recommendation

Washington A Life by Ron Chernow delivers on its premise to show how Washington was a vivid and dramatic person. He was a person of his times but tried to create a party-less government. Washington led by quiet example and held his fragile new country together. He was the only person who could have accomplished his great feats.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Washington A Life by Ron Chernow.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8255917-washington

Another book by Ron Chernow is Alexander Hamilton. I read the Washington biography because I liked how he wrote Alexander Hamilton. This is the link to my review of Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.

Hamilton, an American Musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, Book #1 of the Imperial Radch series

Introduction

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie is the first book of Imperial Radch series. Breq was once part of the Radch but has begun her own dangerous quest in this space opera. She has been planning her revenge on the Lord of the Radch, Anaader Mianaai, of the Imperial Radch for the past twenty years. Her plans are in jeopardy when Breq befriends the disgraced former Captain Seivarden Vendaai. Will Breq carry out her goals or will the powerful Lord defeat her?

Summary – Shis’urna

Ancillary Justice chapters alternate between two stories separated by twenty years. The viewpoints are in a way from the same point of view. The older viewpoint is from the perspective of the Justice of Toren. It is the almost three-thousand-year-old artificial intelligence of a Radch starship controlling thousands of ancillaries. The starship’s mission is to help facilitate the assimilation of the planet Shis’urna into the Imperial Radch. Her commander was Esk Decade Lieutenant Awn. What happens to Lieutenant Awn leads to the latter viewpoint.

Summary – Nilt

The latter viewpoint is from Breq, one of Justice of Toren’s ancillaries. Twenty years after the earlier viewpoint, Breq is on the remote ice planet of Nilt, putting together the final pieces for her plan of revenge. She encounters Seivarden who has descended into a drug-induced self-destructive path. Captain Sievarden lost her ship and was suspended in animation for a thousand years. She is a woman out of time and place and turns to drugs to escape. Breq knew her as one of her officers a thousand years ago and helps her at the risk of disrupting her plans for revenge. They end up needing each other to succeed in the finale of Ancillary Justice.

Review

The world building and the scope of Ancillary Justice impressed me. The two stories are expertly interwoven leading to a thrilling climax. Ancillary Justice is space opera at its best. At first, two ideas confused me. It was difficult to comprehend the multiple viewpoints of the Justice of Toren because of the unknown nature of the ancillaries. Eventually, it makes sense which is a great accomplishment by showing how a multiple viewpoint intelligence could think. The other idea that was difficult to understand was the Radch rationale for their difficulty in naming gender. The Radch are gender neutral and think of every character as female. There is a reason for the rationale and it makes sense on reflection.

Recommendation

I appreciated being challenged by the ideas in this novel and highly recommend it. Ancillary Justice won the Hugo, Nebula, Arthur C. Clarke, and BAFTA awards for best SF novel in 2014. It also won the Locus award for best first SF novel.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333324-ancillary-justice

A similar book in the space opera category is Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey. This is the link to my review.

Nemesis Games by James S. A. Corey

A similar book I have read in the Hard Science Fiction category is All Systems Red by Martha Wells. This is a link to my review.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

Great Hunt by Robert Jordan, Book two of the Wheel of Time series.

Introduction

Great Hunt by Robert Jordan is the second book of The Wheel of Time series. It follows Eye of the World, the first book in the series. Someone stole the Horn of Valere. The prophecy says they need the horn to summon the great heroes of the ages at the last battle. Can Rand and his group retrieve it before the great enemy, Ba’alzamon, disposes of it and their chance to defeat him in the last battle?

Summary

The Great Hunt begins with the characters reflecting on the events of Eye of the World at the city of Fal Dara. Rand trains with the sword with Lan. The Amyrlin Seat, the leader of the Aes Sedai arrives in Fal Dara to access the situation. After someone steals the horn, Agelmar, the Lord of Fal Dara, forms a group to retrieve it. The group is lead by Ingtar and includes Rand, Mat, Perrin, Loial, and Ingtar’s soldiers. Padan Fain, the thief and the leader of the Trollocs the group chases, is not who he seems. They split the group up during their journey. Rand, Loial, and one of Ingtar’s soldiers named Hurin overcome challenges. Rand must face his destiny and Ba’alzamon’s lies.

Meanwhile, Moiraine, the Aes Sedai the characters followed in Eye of the World, takes Egwene and Nynaeve to the Aes Sedai city of Tar Volan to start their training to become Aes Sedai. Egwene and Nynaeve learn at the White Tower in Tar Volan and become friends with Elayne and Min.

The horn arrives in Falme, a city on the western coast. The characters meet in Falme for the confrontation which includes the Seanchan, a strange and violent people from across the sea, The Children of the Light, a military order attempting to exterminate Darkfriends, and Ba’alzamon. Rand proves his worth.

Recommendation

The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan is a great second novel to the Wheel of Time series. Jordan delivers the promise of the first book in the second. The novel could have suffered from becoming an episodic placeholder setting up the series conclusion but it does not. The two main storylines are strong. Their search for the horn and Rand’s journey of acceptance of his destiny flows well together. Egwene and Nynaeve’s training showcase the wider world and the use of the One Power. The two most important scenes in this novel are when Rand becomes the Dragon Reborn and the Seanchan capture Egwene. The Great Hunt sets up The Dragon Reborn, book 3 of the Wheel of Time. I am looking forward to watching the first season of the Amazon Prime Video adaption of the first two novels of the series in 2020.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/233649.The_Great_Hunt

This is the link to my review of Eye of the World by Robert Jordan.

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

This is a link to the post from March 7, 2019, on an update on the current situation with the Wheel of Time Amazon Prime Video adaption from the Wertzone website.

http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-wheel-of-time-tv-series-update.html

One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence

Introduction

One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence is the first book in the Impossible Times Trilogy. Nick Hayes enjoys playing Dungeons and Dragons (D & D) with his friends. The novel takes place in January 1986 in London, England. Nick has problems. They diagnosed him with leukemia and he likes the new girl in his D & D group, Mia, but a mysterious stranger arrives and turns his life upside down. Can Nick figure out his next move? His life and future depend on him making the right choice.

Summary

Nick friends are in his D & D group. They are Elton (the dungeon master), John (the warrior), Simon (the thief), Nick is the mage, and Mia is a priest in the group. Nick starts his chemotherapy for leukemia and thinks about his mortality. Demus is the mysterious stranger that wants Nick and Mia to do a dangerous task for him. Nick and Mia need the special talents of the kids in their group. John is wealthy, Simon is a skilled computer hacker, and Elton has a way to break into a computer facility The story is complicated by what the drug dealer Sacks wants and what the psychopath Rust wants from them.

Recommendation

I wasn’t sure where this novel was going because the cliched use of amnesia seemed unlikely. The thrilling ending saves the novel by connecting it all together. With the nostalgia angle, I thought this short novel would be more like Ready Player One, but it was not. One Word Kill is a time travel novel. It explores time travel, destiny, and paradox. I thought it interesting that the Goodreads readers shelved it as 144 Fantasy and 103 Science Fiction. In my experience, time travel was known as Science Fiction. Is this a changing of genres? What changed to make this story fantasy? Maybe readers shelved this novel as fantasy because they know Mark Lawrence as a fantasy author.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39792427-one-word-kill

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Limited Wish by Mark Lawrence. Book 2 of the Impossible Times Trilogy.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41771517-limited-wish

A similar book that uses a knowledge of the 80s a critical part of the plot is Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.

This is the link to my review of Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Redshirts by John Scalzi

Introduction

Redshirts by John Scalzi starts with Ensign Andrew Dahl assigned to the Universal Union’s flagship, the starship Intrepid. He works in the Xenobiology department and his coworkers advise him not to go on away missions with the officers of the starship. Crewmembers on away missions who are not officers are dying at an alarming rate. Dahl must discover the unbelievable truth, or he will die like the other Redshirts.

Summary

Andrew Dahl connects with a group of new crewmen on the Intrepid. His group includes Maia Duvall who transferred from her last post, his rich friend Jimmy Hanson, a suspected ‘fungus’ dealer Finn, and the mysterious Hester. They learn not to go on away missions with the ship’s officers or risk death. The officers to watch are the Intrepid’s Captain Abernathy, chief science officer Q’eeng, astrogator Kerensky, medical chief Hartnell, and chief engineer West. The key to the mystery is finding the missing crewman Jenkins. The story is connected to the original Star Trek TV show. They must discover the nature of what Dahl’s coworkers call the sacrificial effect and another effect called the Narrative. Shenanigans ensue and the conclusion arrives to complete Dahl’s story. There are three codas that are from different viewpoint characters that finish the theme of the story.

Recommendation

Redshirts by John Scalzi is a great novel. It’s funny, has an unusual premise, and moves quickly to the conclusion. The novel is sneaky because the humor overshadows a great theme. The three codas bring home the theme of making your own reality. There is a first-person coda and a second person coda. The third person coda ties up the themes explored in the novel and the final image ends the novel perfectly. I like that there is no sequel because the end says it all.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page for Redshirts by John Scalzi

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13055592-redshirts

The following links are for my reviews of other John Scalzi books.

This is a link to my book review of The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi, Book 2 of the Interdependency Sequence.

The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi

This is a link to my book review of The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi, Book 1 of the Interdependency Sequence

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

This is a link to my book review of the Dispatcher by John Scalzi, Book #1 of the Dispatcher Series.

The Dispatcher by John Scalzi

Broken Eye by Brent Weeks

Introduction

Broken Eye by Brent Weeks is the third book of The Lightbringer series. This novel follows the exciting events detailed in Burning Knife, the second book in the series. The four main narrators are Gavin, the current Prism who has lost his powers, Kip, Gavin’s son, and a Blackguard trainee, Teia, Kip’s friend and a Blackguard trainee (and Kip’s slave, but that is another story), and Karris White Oak, Gavin’s wife (she is also a former Blackguard and The White’s assistant. The White is the leader of the spy corps of the Chromeria). These four characters have important tasks to carry out in the war against the Color Prince and a shadowy group of assassins named the Order of the Broken Eye. If they fail in their missions, then the colors will become unbalanced and they risk the destruction of their world.

Summary Background

Chromaturgy is the magical system of the Seven Satrapies. They call magicians who use Chromaturgy drafters and the best drafters live on the Chromeria, the seat of the Satrapies government. Drafters can take a part of the spectrum of light and make a substance called luxin. They can shape luxin into items, with the color of the luxin determining the properties of the item. Most drafters can draft one or two colors while the Prism can draft all the colors. There is only one Prism alive at one time and the Prism is the military, spiritual, and political leader of the Satrapies.

Summary Plot

Gavin is the Prism, but he had lost his powers. He is a galley slave under Captain Gunner and Gavin searches for a way to escape. Kip is a Blackguard trainee but is being coerced and groomed by his grandfather Andross to do Andross’s bidding as the potential next Prism. Kip is conflicted with his feelings for Andross. He is also conflicted with his feelings for Teia, who is his friend, comrade, and a reluctant slave who he would like to become romantically involved. This plot becomes more complicated when Tisis is interested in getting to know Kip physically and Kip finds he is also interested in her. Events get beyond Kip’s control and he must try to escape the Chromeria before someone assassinates him. Teia is tasked by the White to infiltrate the secret Order of the Broken Eye. It is a dangerous mission complicated by her interaction with the assassin named Murder Sharp. Kariss White Oak assists the White by gaining intelligence about the Color Prince’s rebellion.

Meanwhile, the Color Prince has been marshaling his land forces beginning an invasion of the Blood Forest which is one step from the Chromeria. The main characters must become involved in defeating him before he becomes too strong.

Recommendation

The story of the Lightbringer series gets more complicated and interesting in this novel. This novel is a part of the larger series. The author resolves plot points from book 2 and the author introduce others to be explored in the next book. The four main characters are well drawn. The author pushes their arcs in this novel to a climactic confrontation at the Chromeria. There were other viewpoint chapters in the novel, but I believe those chapters were unnecessary though they were well written. It would take more space to develop more than the four main characters. The next novel in the series is named the Blood Mirror and I will read it this year. The last novel in the series is named the Burning White and is scheduled to be published on October 22, 2019.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Broken Eye by Brent Weeks.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12652457-the-broken-eye

This is the link to my review of the Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks.

The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks

This is the link to my review of Black Prism by Brent Weeks.

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks

Self-Publishing Boot Camp by Carla King

Introduction

Self-Publishing Boot Camp Guide for Authors, 4^th Edition: Your roadmap to creating, publishing, promoting, and selling your books is written by Carla King. It is a comprehensive guide for authors interested in self-publishing their work. The book strives to be up to date with current information. This is the fourth edition and Carla King updates the consumer’s guide section periodically through her website, so to use this book to its fullest effect, authors should seek out and use the updates to the consumer’s guide by subscribing to her reader’s list.

Summary

Self-Publishing Boot Camp is divided into seven sections which cover her advice on all aspects of becoming a self-publisher because self-publishing is a business and authors must understand what they want to achieve by self-publishing. There are certain tasks to self-publishing that can be completed by hiring the work out based on the project’s budget and the author’s ability to complete certain tasks.

These are the seven sections in the book.

Prepare for success by using beta readers (she uses Word to write the book and BetaBooks to distribute to beta readers), beta publishing (she uses LeanPub), self-edit your work (she uses ProWriting Aid, MasterWriter, and Fictionary), and hiring a professional editor.
Create a publishing business by developing a business plan, creating your publishing imprint, and buying at least ten ISBN for all your book formats.
Good book design is important to make your book look as close as possible to the mainstream publishers. Book Design involves the interior design and most critically the book cover. It is important to hire out this task to a professional. Create the book with a PDF for printing and an e-book.
Distribute your book using Amazon KDP for Amazon ebooks (MOBI book format), Smashwords for all other ebooks (EPUB book format), Amazon Kindle Print for Amazon POD (Print on demand with PDF book format), and IngramSpark for all other POD (PDF book format).
Selling your book direct by your website and through other means. (She uses WordPress and GoDaddy.com for her websites. She uses Gumroad for direct orders.)
Book marketing and promotion through your website and social media.
This section is the consumer’s guide for self-publishers where the available vendors are reviewed, and recommendations are made. This section is updated and if you subscribe to her reader’s list, then Carla King will email you the updates in a separate web book. This is the link to the subscription page. https://selfpubbootcamp.com/readers/

Recommendation

This book has all the knowledge you need to decide if self-publishing is the right way to release your book. It seems like a daunting task, but Carla King takes each necessary step of the process and explains what to do clearly and simply. The consumer’s guide gives options for help in producing a self-published book. Let Carla guide you on your journey of self-publishing. That’s my plan and I will update this post to show my progress.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Self-Publishing Boot Camp by Carla King.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39091803-self-publishing-boot-camp-guide-for-authors-4th-edition

These are other writing books I have read and reviewed like Self Publishing Boot Camp.

This is the link to my review of How to Write Best Selling Fiction by Dean Koontz.

How to Write Best Selling Fiction by Dean Koontz

This is the link to my review of Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys to Writing an Outstanding Story by K. M. Weiland.

Structuring Your Novel: Essential Keys to Writing an Outstanding Story by K. M. Weiland

Camino Island by John Grisham

Introduction

Camino Island by John Grisham is a thriller about the theft of rare manuscripts from the Princeton University Library. Frustrated writer Mercer Mann is recruited by the FBI rare asset recovery unit to get inside the inner circle of rare book dealer Bruce Cable, the FBI’s suspect for buying the stolen original handwritten manuscripts of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s five novels. Mercer must go to Bruce’s bookstore, Bay Books, on Camino Island in Florida. If she can convince Bruce to show her the manuscripts, will she turn him into the FBI or will she let him go?

Summary

The first three chapters of Camino Island follow the viewpoints of the three main characters in succession. The first chapter, The Heist, follows Denny Durban a disgraced Army Ranger as he and his crew steal the manuscripts from the Princeton Library. Chapter Two, The Dealer, is the backstory about how Bruce came into money, opened his bookstore, and becomes a dealer in rare writings. Mercer is introduced in Chapter Three, The Recruit, when she had just lost her job as an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina. She had written a well-received novel years ago and a book of short stories. She had been unsuccessfully trying to write her next novel as she taught. Elaine of the FBI rare asset recovery unit has an offer for Mercer. Return to her childhood summer retreat of Camino Island to learn what she can about Bruce and the FBI will pay her well including eliminating her student loan debt. She had spent her summers there with her Aunt Tessa until her Aunt died. Mercer is reluctant to go, but she accepts the offer for the money. She engages with the writer’s community on Camino Island and is soon introduced to Bruce. He is a notorious ladies man, who is married to Noelle but is rumored to bed young female writers as they come for book tours at his store. Mercer is a likely target for Bruce and that is why Elaine recruited her. The story continues following Mercer, Bruce, and Denny until the conclusion.

Recommendation

I liked this book, but something was missing. It had to do with my expectations for the novel and the characters. I can’t decide who the protagonist is and the genre of this novel falls. The three main characters are Denny, the antagonist, Mercer, maybe the protagonist, and Bruce, who is somewhere in between. The categories on Amazon put this novel under thrillers and suspense with subcategories of Heist, Crime, and Conspiracy. It could have been a thriller, but Denny never threatens or even meets Mercer or Bruce. The secondary plot involves the writing community on Camino Island. It could have been a literary novel where Mercer found her muse to write by interacting with the community, but that’s not how the novel turned out. So, it’s a non-thriller thriller or a non-literary literary novel. The setup and characterization are well done, and that makes the unfulfilled ending disappointing.

Links

This is the link to the Goodreads page of Camino Island by John Grisham.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38398224-camino-island

Two recent thrillers I have read and reviewed are like Camino Island.

This is the link to my review of Bleak Harbor by Bryan Gruley.

Bleak Harbor by Bryan Gruley

This is the link to my review of The Speed of Sound by Eric Bernt.

The Speed of Sound by Eric Bernt

Origin by Dan Brown

Introduction

Origin by Dan Brown is his fifth book featuring Harvard professor of symbology and religious iconology Robert Langdon. Edmond Kirsch is a former student of Langdon. Kirsch is a billionaire computer tech genius who has a controversial presentation to make. When his presentation is interrupted, it falls to Langdon to solve the riddle to unlock Kirsch’s research. Langdon’s life is threatened by unknown assailants desperate to keep Kirsch’s research from the public. Can Langdon solve the riddle before Kirsch’s research is lost forever?

Summary

Edmond Kirsch has discovered something about the origin of man that will challenge the world’s religions. He tells his findings to a religious leader from Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. They are shaken by the news. Kirsch plans to announce his findings at a large event watched worldwide at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Langdon is one person Kirsch invites to the event. Ambra Vidal is the museum director who planned the event with Kirsch. She is also the finance of Prince Julian, the heir to the Spanish throne. Edmond talks to Langdon before the event in private. He poses two questions about the human race to Langdon. How did it all begin? Where are we going? Kirsch starts his presentation but something goes wrong. Langdon and Vidal must flee the museum and solve a riddle to unlock Kirsch’s presentation so everyone can see what he planned to say. Their only ally is Winston, the artificial intelligence that Kirsch had invented. They must avoid the Guardia Real (the Spanish Royal Guard), the Spanish police, and members of the Palmarian Church on their journey from Bilbao to Barcelona. The finale takes Langdon and Vidal from Gaudi’s Casa Mila to Sagrada Familia to the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and a final resolution.

Recommendation

I liked this book, and it fits well with the other novels in the series. The plot moves quickly, and the premise is intriguing. I was worried the solution would not be as shocking as it was portrayed to be in the novel. Without providing spoilers, I would say Kirsch’s conclusions do not pose the threat to religion he proposes. Where do we come from? There is still room for a creator. Where are we going? The answer has been used in science fiction novels for decades. I think it is good that mystery readers will be exposed to science fictional topics in this novel, so like that idea. The formula of the book is like a travelogue, send Langdon to a location and set one scene in each famous landmark that is there. It’s easy, but it works.

Links

Origin by Dan Brown is Book #5 of the Robert Langdon Series

This is the link to Origin’s Goodreads page.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32283133-origin

This is a link to my book review of The Atlantis Gene by A. G. Riddle, Book 1 of the Origin Series. This novel is about the origin of man. It is a technothriller like Origin, but it takes a different path than Origin does by having an extraterrestrial solution. It is a quick read with an interesting premise.

The Atlantis Gene by A. G. Riddle

The Dispatcher by John Scalzi

Introduction

The Dispatcher by John Scalzi is about Tony Valdez who is a legal professional murderer. In the future, people who are murdered come back to life in the place where they find most comforting. People who commit suicide and have natural deaths stay dead. Murder victims return to life naked but alive. So, murderers can keep people from dying an eternal death. Someone has kidnapped one of Tony’s colleagues, another Dispatcher and Tony must rescue him, or his colleague may be killed and stay dead. Will Tony continue to search for him even though Tony may face his own eternal death?

Summary

The story starts with Tony at the hospital on an assignment covering for his friend Jimmy Albert. Insurance companies demand Dispatchers are present at risky surgeries so if the operation goes wrong the Dispatcher can murder the patient so the patient can live again. This will protect the hospital and the insurance company from wrongful death lawsuits. It is a judgment call for the Dispatcher on whether to do the task. After he completes his assignment, Chicago detective Nona Langdon interviews Tony about Jimmy. Jimmy is missing and Nona thinks Tony can help her find him. Tony knows the right people to ask about what assignments Jimmy was working on. Jimmy was taking less than legal jobs and they wondered if that was why he was kidnapped. Tony uses his contacts without Nona knowledge and it gets him into trouble. Nona and Tony follow their leads to find out what happened to Jimmy.

Recommendation

The Dispatcher is a 130-page novella and is a tight, intriguing story. The mechanism of how murder victims are returned to life is an interesting idea and the ramifications are explored in this story. It’s a future police procedural with a surprising moral. If you don’t pay attention to your loved one’s wishes, you will suffer at your own peril. I want to read the next novella, The Dispatcher 2 when published and learn more about Tony and the role of Dispatchers in this world.

Links

The Dispatcher by John Scalzi is Book #1 of the Dispatcher Series

This is the link to The Dispatcher’s Goodreads page.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33910936-the-dispatcher

John Scalzi read the first chapter in his work in progress, the Dispatcher 2, at the science fiction conference ConFusion in Detroit on January 19, 2019. This is a link to my recap of the conference and John Scalzi’s reading

Conference Recap ConFusion Detroit 2019

This is a link to my book review of The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi, Book 1 of the Interdependency Sequence. It is the next most recent book I have read by John Scalzi.

The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi