From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

Well, here's what I read in 2025.

Everything up to the "====" mark, I believe I posted a review of.
It would be nice to post a link to each review, but I no longer
know how to do that with the demise of Google Groups (not that it
was easy *with* it).

The ones after that I have not reviewed, but tried to say a few
brief words about.

The links are generally Amazon affiliate ones which could, in theory,
earn me something, though in practice usually not.

Anyway, maybe this will start some discussion though that is
iffy lately.

Also, the heck with spell-check. You get what I typed.

To Turn the Tide
by S.M. Stirling
https://amzn.to/3CyPIn0

Sanctuary (Roman's Chronicles Book 1)
by Ilona Andrews
https://amzn.to/4hP6Bsn

Accepting the Lance (Liaden Universe Book 23)
by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
https://amzn.to/3WTWfzk

Hijack the Seas: Seismic
by Karen Chance
https://amzn.to/41Qa3hg

Meet the Tiger by Leslie Charteris
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/72869

A Brief, Interminable Peace: Alexis Carew #7
by J.A. Sutherland
https://amzn.to/43vroNB

Hell to Pay: Urban Fantasy Action with Witches and Demons
(Tear Down Heaven Book 3)
by Rachel Aaron
https://amzn.to/3EJfLJ2

The Calamitous Bob
by Alex Gilbert
Book 1 of 9: The Calamitous Bob
https://amzn.to/435noTp

In Kazar: The Calamitous Bob book two
by Alex Gilbert
Book 2 of 9: The Calamitous Bob
https://amzn.to/4dcftYd

The Death Path: The Calamitous Bob Book 3
by Alex Gilbert
Book 3 of 9: The Calamitous Bob
https://amzn.to/4cW8GBN

Gateway (Expeditionary Force Book 18)
by Craig Alanson
https://amzn.to/44VqDOX

Welcome to Harrak: The Calamitous Bob Book Four
by Alex Gilbert
https://amzn.to/4kiYZzJ

Disaster Classes: The Calamitous Bob Book Five
by Alex Gilbert
https://amzn.to/4mfQqHu

Black Mana Gambit: The Calamitous Bob Book
by Alex Gilbert
https://amzn.to/4j7Cvk9

The League of Lesser Evil: The Calamitous Bob Book 7
by Alex Gilbert
https://amzn.to/43vNHSU

Skulduggery Pleasant (17) -- A Heart Full of Hatred:
The latest epic adventure in the bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant series
by Derek Landy
https://amzn.to/3SRTQD2

Grimm's Legacy (Grimm's War Book 8)
by Jeffery H. Haskell
https://amzn.to/43KHYJl

Evolution: A LitRPG Adventure (Tower of Somnus Book 5)
by Cale Plamann
https://amzn.to/3FZPff9

(Totally not an) EVIL OVERLADY: The Calamitous Bob Book 8
by Alex Gilbert
https://amzn.to/4kzyGFU

Casus Belle: The Calamitous Bob Book 9
by Alex Gilbert
https://amzn.to/3ZvGKPF

Hijack the Seas: Tsunami
by Karen Chance
https://amzn.to/4mdfPkc

Leda's Log (Legion of Angels Book 13)
by Ella Summers
https://amzn.to/4gdPHUX

The Runaway Robot Paperback - January 1, 1965
by Lester Del Rey
https://amzn.to/463QfI8

Welcome To Night Vale [Podcast]
https://podbay.fm/p/welcome-to-night-vale

Welcome to Night Vale: A Novel
by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor
https://amzn.to/4ggzsqa

Big Demon Energy: An Enemies-to-Lovers Urban Fantasy (Bedeviled Book 1)
by Deborah Wilde
https://amzn.to/3JSee5A

Out of this World Hardcover - January 1, 1958
by Murray Leinster
https://amzn.to/481BpEy

The Seven Temporary Moons
Murray Leinster https://web.archive.org/web/20230124014207/https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69796
https://amzn.to/4niAiF5

The Worst Ship in the Fleet (Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Book 1)
by Skyler Ramirez
https://amzn.to/461gksN

The Worst Spies in the Sector (Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Book 2)
by Skyler Ramirez
https://amzn.to/45Rndg8

The Worst Pirate Hunters in the Fringe (Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Book 3)
by Skyler Ramirez
https://amzn.to/4mMNaTP

The Worst Rescuers in the Republic (Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Book 4)
by Skyler Ramirez
https://amzn.to/3I5JVYA

The Worst Detectives in the Federation (Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Book 5)
by Skyler Ramirez
https://amzn.to/466sGyx

The Worst Traitors in the Confederacy (Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Book 6)
by Skyler Ramirez
https://amzn.to/3HNgZ7P

The Worst Fugitives in the Star Nation (Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Book 7)
by Skyler Ramirez
https://amzn.to/4672jbH

The Worst Mercenaries in the Border Systems (Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Book 8) by Skyler Ramirez
https://amzn.to/4nfZhsv

Swords, Cider, and Other Distractions: A Glass Immortals Novella
by Brian McClellan
https://amzn.to/4m5Q2tP

Misfortune's Favorite (Orion Spur Book 1)
by John Spearman
https://amzn.to/4mP8BDQ

Scourge of the Scyllans (Orion Spur Book 2)
by John Spearman
https://amzn.to/47p8KJs

Merchant of Rebellion (Ard's Oath Book 5)
by Bruce Sentar
https://amzn.to/3HKnvMD

King's Fall (Ard's Oath Book 6)
by Bruce Sentar (Author)
https://amzn.to/4mVNgca

The Expendables
A. E. Van Vogt
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/70235

The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians 1st Editi
on
by Peter Heather
https://amzn.to/4gdR2uX

====

Starting here are books I have not gotten around to reviewing, and
I'm guessing probably now will not if this post acts as a purgative...

Spaceship Thrive (Thrive Space Colony Adventures Book 2)
by Ginger Booth (Author)
https://amzn.to/3NlXRjo

Interplanetary Thrive (Thrive Space Colony Adventures Book 3)
by Ginger Booth (Author)
https://amzn.to/3MWMazI

Starship Thrive (Thrive Space Colony Adventures Book 4)
by Ginger Booth (Author)
https://amzn.to/4qCtsfj

Although I was initially somewhat cool to the first one, it stuck in
my mind enough that I finally followed up, and was happy to have done so. Somewhat like the theme of Pohl & Kornbluth's _Search The Sky_.

Enthralled: Book 4: System Ascension
by Prax Venter (Author)
https://amzn.to/4qRdiyT

A decent enough conclusion to the series, without ruling out further adventures. In my mind it sort of scoped up too far when they came
out of the game and had to save the real world though, and the
sex scenes seemed more forced outside the context of being trapped in
an erotic roleplay game.

Courier Run (Adventures in the Liaden Universe Book 18)
by Sharon Lee (Author), Steve Miller (Author)
https://amzn.to/4aDYlv8

Daav & Aleana make a delivery to a (Terran) world that's sort of
like Regency with Social Media and get at cross purposes with
their client's love life.

Bread Alone: Adventures in the Liaden Universe Number 34
by Sharon Lee (Author), Steve Miller (Author)
https://amzn.to/4pgQ9Ew

Neglected by his House, Liaden Don Eyr takes the opportunity to
study baking off-world. Circumstances see him back to Liad and
finally to Surebleak with his adopted family. This is the closest
look we have had (or that I have yet read) of the aftermath of
Korval's orbital bombardment of The Bureau Of The Interior, and
it was not the surgical strike I had been imagining. Perhaps it
was "Necessity", but there was collateral damage and casualties in
in job lots.

Fondness for Adversity (Orion Spur Book 3)
by John Spearman (Author)
https://amzn.to/4qCt00B

Archer Devereaux, whose Naval missions always go sideways when they
touch politics, finds himself ground between two branches of the
government where one hand doesn't know what the other is doing.
But, he finally gets up with the love interest introduced in book
1, so he's got that going for him.


War of the Ascended: The Calamitous Bob Final Book
by Alex Gilbert (Author)
https://amzn.to/4sBBAi3

The final book, and payoff for the setup in book 1. A fairly satisfying conclusion, without totally closing off the possibility of more.
(And no, she doesn't ascend. Yet...).

Hell Hath No Fury: Urban Fantasy Action with Witches and Demons
(Tear Down Heaven Book 4)
by Rachel Aaron (Author)
https://amzn.to/490FXeB

A scouting expedition against Gilgamesh's Heaven unexpectedly turns
into a full-on invasion as Sumerian demon Bex's quest to reclaim her
horns (and crown) scopes up into a rescue of her witch Adrian. Along
the way we have an unexpected transformation. Good stuff.


Rebirth: A Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy (Dread Knight Book 4)
by Sarah Hawke (Author)
https://amzn.to/3YenHZ4

Dread Knignt Duncan & his battle-harem finally staunch the ongoing
zombie (more-or-less) apocalypse and find happiness. An adequate
finish, but not as good as the first books.


Swordsmen In The Sky Paperback January 1, 1964
by Donald A. ed. Wollheim (Author)
https://amzn.to/3L8mgsc

A collection of swords & planets adventures:

SWORDSMAN OF LOST TERRA by Poul Andersen
PEOPLE OF THE CRATER by Andre Norton
THE MOON THAT VANISHED by Leigh Brackett
A VISION OF VENUS by Otis Adelbert Kline
KALDAR, WORLD OF ANTARES by Edmond Hamilton

The Anderson is adventure inspired by the barbarian invasions
of Rome, set on a far future Earth which no longer spins and
has a desirable twilight zone. Setting aside the physics of that,
there is a bit of magic or psi as the main protag has a bit of
a bond with animals, and can blow the Doomsday Bagpipes like
nobody's business. (Why anyone made such a thing is unclear).

The Norton is very generic & atypical, a rare magazine piece
that shows she could be as speciesest as any Golden Age author.
Apparently this became part of the novel _Garan Eternal_. The
setup (involving a future US pilot at loose ends) is very labored
and all those pieces vanish from the board without effect.

The Brackett is by far the best here. An evocative tale of trancendescence
and loss where the broken hero must reject the godhead to retain
his sanity. Set in Brackett's habitable Solar System.

The second Venus tale, by Kline, is very slight. Amusingly the
compulsory Burroughsian framing mechanism makes us somewhat
voyeurs on the hero's love-life.

The Hamilton is entertaining, but features the very
pulp-like device of the Hero doing exactly what he must not do
to avoid being dragged out of his adventure. I presume the story
is resolved in a follow-up and may check for it someday.
I notice that apparently "Astronomer" used to be a very powerful
title, propelling both Hamilton's hero and REH's Esau Cairn
to their far-flung worlds.

A Small Matter of Impending Catastrophe: Another epic fantasy adventure set in the bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant universe
by Derek Landy (Author)
https://amzn.to/48ZHGkp

Skulduggery & Valkyrie get involved in a doomsday prophecy that has been hanging fire since the 1960s. A very annoying blind bureaucrat involves himself as well. I'm not sure exactly where in the timeline this one
fits, but Valkyrie seems fairly non-damaged.


From Every Storm: Adventures in the Liaden Universe Number 35
by Sharon Lee (Author), Steve Miller (Author)
https://amzn.to/3L4sXeR

A number of stories, most notably probably the story of the salvation
of Alieana's former House and the repatriation of its children. A bit
of a love story, or stories, involved not unusually.

Sky Shielder: A Fantasy Romance Adventure (Fire and Fang Book 1)
by Lindsay Buroker (Author)
https://amzn.to/4piwS5M

Red Dragon: A fantasy romance adventure (Fire and Fang Book 2)
by Lindsay Buroker (Author)
https://amzn.to/4pg7mxO

A return to form for Buroker after her rather lackluster Dark Elf
books. She does turn up the heat here unusually high, more at her
Ruby Lionsdrake pesudonym level. On a hostile world, ancient magic
tech shields the Gardner Kingdom's islands from a hostile environment
(and, notably, dragons) but now the Kingdom's exiles want to come
home, in force. Can the last survivor of the Royal Family's massacre
rally the Kingdom? And what about the very sexy enemy dragon-rider?

The Worst Admiral in the Star Cluster (Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Book 9)
by Skyler Ramirez (Author)
https://amzn.to/3YMLZtk

Newly minted Admiral Brad Mendoza and his wife of a week, Capt Jessica Lin start out persuing slavers but find themselves inexorably drawn into the Kingdom's ongoing civil war. Not to mention Space Nazis (I hate those guys!) Can Brad put his personal trauma behind him to do what needs to be done?

Warlock: Book One
by Daniel Kensington (Author)
https://amzn.to/4jgzgZk

Warlock: Book Two
by Daniel Kensington (Author)
https://amzn.to/4jnbQlh

Warlock: Book Three
by Daniel Kensington (Author)
https://amzn.to/4q2gFCZ

An entertaining melding of Hogwarts & harems. Orphan Noah Ash finds out
in fact he is a warlock and is hustled off to magic school to keep him
safe. As a warlock, he will eventually bind thirteen witches into his
coven (or be bound by them depending on which way the challenges work
out), but he considers the whole society to be messed up, and is not
willing to do the expected. Luckily his great^nth grandmother is the
most powerful witch alive. As I say, I'm enjoying this, but I'm ready
to learn what all this mana collection is for. So far, it seems to me
the witch families (the members of which are immortal for practical
purposes) could just live comfortably off their compound interest
and buy mundane tech for whatever they want to do. Instead they are
involved in byzantine scheming and power games.
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

Well, here's what I read in 2025.

One of the reasons I enjoy reading your reviews is that the books in
question are generally new to me, and even the authors are sometimes
people whose work I have not read.

The only thing I've read in this list is the Brackett - a writer I think
is underrated - though I have read something by some of the other authors.


William Hyde
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On 12/30/2025 4:36 PM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

Well, here's what I read in 2025.

Everything up to the "====" mark, I believe I posted a review of.
It would be nice to post a link to each review, but I no longer
know how to do that with the demise of Google Groups (not that it
was easy *with* it).

The ones after that I have not reviewed, but tried to say a few
brief words about.

The links are generally Amazon affiliate ones which could, in theory,
earn me something, though in practice usually not.

Anyway, maybe this will start some discussion though that is
iffy lately.

Also, the heck with spell-check. You get what I typed.

To Turn the Tide
by S.M. Stirling
https://amzn.to/3CyPIn0

Sanctuary (Roman's Chronicles Book 1)
by Ilona Andrews
https://amzn.to/4hP6Bsn

Accepting the Lance (Liaden Universe Book 23)
by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
https://amzn.to/3WTWfzk

Hijack the Seas: Seismic
by Karen Chance
https://amzn.to/41Qa3hg

Meet the Tiger by Leslie Charteris
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/72869

A Brief, Interminable Peace: Alexis Carew #7
by J.A. Sutherland
https://amzn.to/43vroNB

Hell to Pay: Urban Fantasy Action with Witches and Demons
(Tear Down Heaven Book 3)
by Rachel Aaron
https://amzn.to/3EJfLJ2

The Calamitous Bob
by Alex Gilbert
Book 1 of 9: The Calamitous Bob
https://amzn.to/435noTp

In Kazar: The Calamitous Bob book two
by Alex Gilbert
Book 2 of 9: The Calamitous Bob
https://amzn.to/4dcftYd

The Death Path: The Calamitous Bob Book 3
by Alex Gilbert
Book 3 of 9: The Calamitous Bob
https://amzn.to/4cW8GBN

Gateway (Expeditionary Force Book 18)
by Craig Alanson
https://amzn.to/44VqDOX

Welcome to Harrak: The Calamitous Bob Book Four
by Alex Gilbert
https://amzn.to/4kiYZzJ

Disaster Classes: The Calamitous Bob Book Five
by Alex Gilbert
https://amzn.to/4mfQqHu

Black Mana Gambit: The Calamitous Bob Book
by Alex Gilbert
https://amzn.to/4j7Cvk9

The League of Lesser Evil: The Calamitous Bob Book 7
by Alex Gilbert
https://amzn.to/43vNHSU

Skulduggery Pleasant (17) -- A Heart Full of Hatred:
The latest epic adventure in the bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant series
by Derek Landy
https://amzn.to/3SRTQD2

Grimm's Legacy (Grimm's War Book 8)
by Jeffery H. Haskell
https://amzn.to/43KHYJl

Evolution: A LitRPG Adventure (Tower of Somnus Book 5)
by Cale Plamann
https://amzn.to/3FZPff9

(Totally not an) EVIL OVERLADY: The Calamitous Bob Book 8
by Alex Gilbert
https://amzn.to/4kzyGFU

Casus Belle: The Calamitous Bob Book 9
by Alex Gilbert
https://amzn.to/3ZvGKPF

Hijack the Seas: Tsunami
by Karen Chance
https://amzn.to/4mdfPkc

Leda's Log (Legion of Angels Book 13)
by Ella Summers
https://amzn.to/4gdPHUX

The Runaway Robot Paperback - January 1, 1965
by Lester Del Rey
https://amzn.to/463QfI8

Welcome To Night Vale [Podcast]
https://podbay.fm/p/welcome-to-night-vale

Welcome to Night Vale: A Novel
by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor
https://amzn.to/4ggzsqa

Big Demon Energy: An Enemies-to-Lovers Urban Fantasy (Bedeviled Book 1)
by Deborah Wilde
https://amzn.to/3JSee5A

Out of this World Hardcover - January 1, 1958
by Murray Leinster
https://amzn.to/481BpEy

The Seven Temporary Moons
Murray Leinster https://web.archive.org/web/20230124014207/https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69796
https://amzn.to/4niAiF5

The Worst Ship in the Fleet (Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Book 1)
by Skyler Ramirez
https://amzn.to/461gksN

The Worst Spies in the Sector (Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Book 2)
by Skyler Ramirez
https://amzn.to/45Rndg8

The Worst Pirate Hunters in the Fringe (Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Book 3)
by Skyler Ramirez
https://amzn.to/4mMNaTP

The Worst Rescuers in the Republic (Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Book 4)
by Skyler Ramirez
https://amzn.to/3I5JVYA

The Worst Detectives in the Federation (Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Book 5)
by Skyler Ramirez
https://amzn.to/466sGyx

The Worst Traitors in the Confederacy (Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Book 6)
by Skyler Ramirez
https://amzn.to/3HNgZ7P

The Worst Fugitives in the Star Nation (Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Book 7)
by Skyler Ramirez
https://amzn.to/4672jbH

The Worst Mercenaries in the Border Systems (Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Book 8)
by Skyler Ramirez
https://amzn.to/4nfZhsv

Swords, Cider, and Other Distractions: A Glass Immortals Novella
by Brian McClellan
https://amzn.to/4m5Q2tP

Misfortune's Favorite (Orion Spur Book 1)
by John Spearman
https://amzn.to/4mP8BDQ

Scourge of the Scyllans (Orion Spur Book 2)
by John Spearman
https://amzn.to/47p8KJs

Merchant of Rebellion (Ard's Oath Book 5)
by Bruce Sentar
https://amzn.to/3HKnvMD

King's Fall (Ard's Oath Book 6)
by Bruce Sentar (Author)
https://amzn.to/4mVNgca

The Expendables
A. E. Van Vogt
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/70235

The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians 1st Editi
on
by Peter Heather
https://amzn.to/4gdR2uX

====

Starting here are books I have not gotten around to reviewing, and
I'm guessing probably now will not if this post acts as a purgative...

Spaceship Thrive (Thrive Space Colony Adventures Book 2)
by Ginger Booth (Author)
https://amzn.to/3NlXRjo

Interplanetary Thrive (Thrive Space Colony Adventures Book 3)
by Ginger Booth (Author)
https://amzn.to/3MWMazI

Starship Thrive (Thrive Space Colony Adventures Book 4)
by Ginger Booth (Author)
https://amzn.to/4qCtsfj

Although I was initially somewhat cool to the first one, it stuck in
my mind enough that I finally followed up, and was happy to have done so. Somewhat like the theme of Pohl & Kornbluth's _Search The Sky_.

Enthralled: Book 4: System Ascension
by Prax Venter (Author)
https://amzn.to/4qRdiyT

A decent enough conclusion to the series, without ruling out further adventures. In my mind it sort of scoped up too far when they came
out of the game and had to save the real world though, and the
sex scenes seemed more forced outside the context of being trapped in
an erotic roleplay game.

Courier Run (Adventures in the Liaden Universe Book 18)
by Sharon Lee (Author), Steve Miller (Author)
https://amzn.to/4aDYlv8

Daav & Aleana make a delivery to a (Terran) world that's sort of
like Regency with Social Media and get at cross purposes with
their client's love life.

Bread Alone: Adventures in the Liaden Universe Number 34
by Sharon Lee (Author), Steve Miller (Author)
https://amzn.to/4pgQ9Ew

Neglected by his House, Liaden Don Eyr takes the opportunity to
study baking off-world. Circumstances see him back to Liad and
finally to Surebleak with his adopted family. This is the closest
look we have had (or that I have yet read) of the aftermath of
Korval's orbital bombardment of The Bureau Of The Interior, and
it was not the surgical strike I had been imagining. Perhaps it
was "Necessity", but there was collateral damage and casualties in
in job lots.

Fondness for Adversity (Orion Spur Book 3)
by John Spearman (Author)
https://amzn.to/4qCt00B

Archer Devereaux, whose Naval missions always go sideways when they
touch politics, finds himself ground between two branches of the
government where one hand doesn't know what the other is doing.
But, he finally gets up with the love interest introduced in book
1, so he's got that going for him.

War of the Ascended: The Calamitous Bob Final Book
by Alex Gilbert (Author)
https://amzn.to/4sBBAi3

The final book, and payoff for the setup in book 1. A fairly satisfying conclusion, without totally closing off the possibility of more.
(And no, she doesn't ascend. Yet...).

Hell Hath No Fury: Urban Fantasy Action with Witches and Demons
(Tear Down Heaven Book 4)
by Rachel Aaron (Author)
https://amzn.to/490FXeB

A scouting expedition against Gilgamesh's Heaven unexpectedly turns
into a full-on invasion as Sumerian demon Bex's quest to reclaim her
horns (and crown) scopes up into a rescue of her witch Adrian. Along
the way we have an unexpected transformation. Good stuff.

Rebirth: A Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy (Dread Knight Book 4)
by Sarah Hawke (Author)
https://amzn.to/3YenHZ4

Dread Knignt Duncan & his battle-harem finally staunch the ongoing
zombie (more-or-less) apocalypse and find happiness. An adequate
finish, but not as good as the first books.

Swordsmen In The Sky Paperback January 1, 1964
by Donald A. ed. Wollheim (Author)
https://amzn.to/3L8mgsc

A collection of swords & planets adventures:

SWORDSMAN OF LOST TERRA by Poul Andersen
PEOPLE OF THE CRATER by Andre Norton
THE MOON THAT VANISHED by Leigh Brackett
A VISION OF VENUS by Otis Adelbert Kline
KALDAR, WORLD OF ANTARES by Edmond Hamilton

The Anderson is adventure inspired by the barbarian invasions
of Rome, set on a far future Earth which no longer spins and
has a desirable twilight zone. Setting aside the physics of that,
there is a bit of magic or psi as the main protag has a bit of
a bond with animals, and can blow the Doomsday Bagpipes like
nobody's business. (Why anyone made such a thing is unclear).

The Norton is very generic & atypical, a rare magazine piece
that shows she could be as speciesest as any Golden Age author.
Apparently this became part of the novel _Garan Eternal_. The
setup (involving a future US pilot at loose ends) is very labored
and all those pieces vanish from the board without effect.

The Brackett is by far the best here. An evocative tale of trancendescence and loss where the broken hero must reject the godhead to retain
his sanity. Set in Brackett's habitable Solar System.

The second Venus tale, by Kline, is very slight. Amusingly the
compulsory Burroughsian framing mechanism makes us somewhat
voyeurs on the hero's love-life.

The Hamilton is entertaining, but features the very
pulp-like device of the Hero doing exactly what he must not do
to avoid being dragged out of his adventure. I presume the story
is resolved in a follow-up and may check for it someday.
I notice that apparently "Astronomer" used to be a very powerful
title, propelling both Hamilton's hero and REH's Esau Cairn
to their far-flung worlds.

A Small Matter of Impending Catastrophe: Another epic fantasy adventure set in the bestselling Skulduggery Pleasant universe
by Derek Landy (Author)
https://amzn.to/48ZHGkp

Skulduggery & Valkyrie get involved in a doomsday prophecy that has been hanging fire since the 1960s. A very annoying blind bureaucrat involves himself as well. I'm not sure exactly where in the timeline this one
fits, but Valkyrie seems fairly non-damaged.

From Every Storm: Adventures in the Liaden Universe Number 35
by Sharon Lee (Author), Steve Miller (Author)
https://amzn.to/3L4sXeR

A number of stories, most notably probably the story of the salvation
of Alieana's former House and the repatriation of its children. A bit
of a love story, or stories, involved not unusually.

Sky Shielder: A Fantasy Romance Adventure (Fire and Fang Book 1)
by Lindsay Buroker (Author)
https://amzn.to/4piwS5M

Red Dragon: A fantasy romance adventure (Fire and Fang Book 2)
by Lindsay Buroker (Author)
https://amzn.to/4pg7mxO

A return to form for Buroker after her rather lackluster Dark Elf
books. She does turn up the heat here unusually high, more at her
Ruby Lionsdrake pesudonym level. On a hostile world, ancient magic
tech shields the Gardner Kingdom's islands from a hostile environment
(and, notably, dragons) but now the Kingdom's exiles want to come
home, in force. Can the last survivor of the Royal Family's massacre
rally the Kingdom? And what about the very sexy enemy dragon-rider?

The Worst Admiral in the Star Cluster (Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Book 9)
by Skyler Ramirez (Author)
https://amzn.to/3YMLZtk

Newly minted Admiral Brad Mendoza and his wife of a week, Capt Jessica Lin start out persuing slavers but find themselves inexorably drawn into the Kingdom's ongoing civil war. Not to mention Space Nazis (I hate those guys!) Can Brad put his personal trauma behind him to do what needs to be done?

Warlock: Book One
by Daniel Kensington (Author)
https://amzn.to/4jgzgZk

Warlock: Book Two
by Daniel Kensington (Author)
https://amzn.to/4jnbQlh

Warlock: Book Three
by Daniel Kensington (Author)
https://amzn.to/4q2gFCZ

An entertaining melding of Hogwarts & harems. Orphan Noah Ash finds out
in fact he is a warlock and is hustled off to magic school to keep him
safe. As a warlock, he will eventually bind thirteen witches into his
coven (or be bound by them depending on which way the challenges work
out), but he considers the whole society to be messed up, and is not
willing to do the expected. Luckily his great^nth grandmother is the
most powerful witch alive. As I say, I'm enjoying this, but I'm ready
to learn what all this mana collection is for. So far, it seems to me
the witch families (the members of which are immortal for practical
purposes) could just live comfortably off their compound interest
and buy mundane tech for whatever they want to do. Instead they are
involved in byzantine scheming and power games.

Thank you for the URLs. That makes it so much easier to look at the books.

Lynn

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On 12/30/2025 4:36 PM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

Well, here's what I read in 2025.

Everything up to the "====" mark, I believe I posted a review of.
It would be nice to post a link to each review, but I no longer
know how to do that with the demise of Google Groups (not that it
was easy *with* it).

The ones after that I have not reviewed, but tried to say a few
brief words about.

The links are generally Amazon affiliate ones which could, in theory,
earn me something, though in practice usually not.

Anyway, maybe this will start some discussion though that is
iffy lately.

Also, the heck with spell-check. You get what I typed.

To Turn the Tide
by S.M. Stirling
https://amzn.to/3CyPIn0

When did you review "To Turn The Tide" ? I would like read your review.

Lynn

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

In article <10j78em$72r$1@dont-email.me>,
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

On 12/30/2025 4:36 PM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

Well, here's what I read in 2025.

Everything up to the "====" mark, I believe I posted a review of.
It would be nice to post a link to each review, but I no longer
know how to do that with the demise of Google Groups (not that it
was easy *with* it).

The ones after that I have not reviewed, but tried to say a few
brief words about.

The links are generally Amazon affiliate ones which could, in theory,
earn me something, though in practice usually not.

Anyway, maybe this will start some discussion though that is
iffy lately.

Also, the heck with spell-check. You get what I typed.

To Turn the Tide
by S.M. Stirling
https://amzn.to/3CyPIn0

When did you review "To Turn The Tide" ? I would like read your review.

Lynn

As I said, I don't know how to link to my previous Usenet posts anymore,
but here is the review:

==
To Turn the Tide
by S.M. Stirling
https://amzn.to/3CyPIn0

Here Stirling returns to the sort of _Lest Darkness Fall_ story he
told in his "Island In The Sea Of Time" series twenty years ago,
and though this is not a bad story, he did it a bit better there.

In a time-line which seems to have diverged from ours in 2020, a
group of five American historians, all experts on the Roman era,
are lured to Vienna under false pretenses. In fact their Austrian
physicist host has invented a working time machine, and (apparently)
wants to do a Mr. Atoz to Principate Rome to escape the (pretty
much clearly coming) nuclear holocaust. We don't know much about
him aside from his being a manipulative jerk because just as the
American team arrives, the balloon goes up, and he activates the
machine just as the fireball is knocking out the windows, killing
him and stranding our heroes (still physically in the same place)
in Provincia Pannonia Superior in June 165 A.D..

Our party, stunned unconscious, and not fully understanding what
has happened is a mixed group: An older (but not old) Army veteran
professor, and four graduate students including two men and two
women. As is necessary in this type of story (if it is not to be
short & depressing) they have incredible luck: They meet an
honest man -- A middling prosperous & ambitious Jewish trader, educated
and knowledgeable about Roman society, but enough apart from it to
not feel any special compulsion to take them to the authorities.
With his backing (abetted by the wealth & supplies provided by the
dead physicist), the group sets up shop on a Pannonian plantation
and begins to work to try and change the future they just escaped.
Complicating matters no little bit is that they have arrived on
site just before the start of the Marcomannic wars and that anything significant they do is bound eventually to bring the attention of
Marcus Aurelius, who is no dummy.

I enjoyed this book, and will read the follow-on. It was nice
to have a lot of hats tipped towards Martin Padway, as the group
has all naturally read LDF, and I enjoyed the explication (and
examples) of the two types of possible technological developments:
A) The stuff the Romans could do if they thought of it (wheel-barrows, stirrups, chimneys) and B) The stuff that would take a lot more
working up to, like steam engines.

That said, as I intimated above, I believe _Island In The Sea Of Time_
is a better book, as the characters were more strongly drawn there,
or at least that's how I remember it. Here they are a bit stereotyped,
and subordinate to the bootstrapping tech. The professor has a bit
of a character arc, the others less so. There is also not a lot
of establishment as to why the group should all stay together, and
why the "change the future" project should be their common goal.
Yes, they are all fish out of water, but three of them, at least,
do find love on the local economy and could easily take their
wealth and "go native". To be fair, Stirling does make the point
several times that Rome is just the best thing going, not that
it is "good" by uptime standards, but I think some more debate
before everyone falls in line would be welcome.
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On 1/1/2026 9:04 PM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

In article <10j78em$72r$1@dont-email.me>,
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

On 12/30/2025 4:36 PM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

Well, here's what I read in 2025.

Everything up to the "====" mark, I believe I posted a review of.
It would be nice to post a link to each review, but I no longer
know how to do that with the demise of Google Groups (not that it
was easy *with* it).

The ones after that I have not reviewed, but tried to say a few
brief words about.

The links are generally Amazon affiliate ones which could, in theory,
earn me something, though in practice usually not.

Anyway, maybe this will start some discussion though that is
iffy lately.

Also, the heck with spell-check. You get what I typed.

To Turn the Tide
by S.M. Stirling
https://amzn.to/3CyPIn0

When did you review "To Turn The Tide" ? I would like read your review.

Lynn

As I said, I don't know how to link to my previous Usenet posts anymore,
but here is the review:

==
To Turn the Tide
by S.M. Stirling
https://amzn.to/3CyPIn0

Here Stirling returns to the sort of _Lest Darkness Fall_ story he
told in his "Island In The Sea Of Time" series twenty years ago,
and though this is not a bad story, he did it a bit better there.

In a time-line which seems to have diverged from ours in 2020, a
group of five American historians, all experts on the Roman era,
are lured to Vienna under false pretenses. In fact their Austrian
physicist host has invented a working time machine, and (apparently)
wants to do a Mr. Atoz to Principate Rome to escape the (pretty
much clearly coming) nuclear holocaust. We don't know much about
him aside from his being a manipulative jerk because just as the
American team arrives, the balloon goes up, and he activates the
machine just as the fireball is knocking out the windows, killing
him and stranding our heroes (still physically in the same place)
in Provincia Pannonia Superior in June 165 A.D..

Our party, stunned unconscious, and not fully understanding what
has happened is a mixed group: An older (but not old) Army veteran
professor, and four graduate students including two men and two
women. As is necessary in this type of story (if it is not to be
short & depressing) they have incredible luck: They meet an
honest man -- A middling prosperous & ambitious Jewish trader, educated
and knowledgeable about Roman society, but enough apart from it to
not feel any special compulsion to take them to the authorities.
With his backing (abetted by the wealth & supplies provided by the
dead physicist), the group sets up shop on a Pannonian plantation
and begins to work to try and change the future they just escaped. Complicating matters no little bit is that they have arrived on
site just before the start of the Marcomannic wars and that anything significant they do is bound eventually to bring the attention of
Marcus Aurelius, who is no dummy.

I enjoyed this book, and will read the follow-on. It was nice
to have a lot of hats tipped towards Martin Padway, as the group
has all naturally read LDF, and I enjoyed the explication (and
examples) of the two types of possible technological developments:
A) The stuff the Romans could do if they thought of it (wheel-barrows, stirrups, chimneys) and B) The stuff that would take a lot more
working up to, like steam engines.

That said, as I intimated above, I believe _Island In The Sea Of Time_
is a better book, as the characters were more strongly drawn there,
or at least that's how I remember it. Here they are a bit stereotyped,
and subordinate to the bootstrapping tech. The professor has a bit
of a character arc, the others less so. There is also not a lot
of establishment as to why the group should all stay together, and
why the "change the future" project should be their common goal.
Yes, they are all fish out of water, but three of them, at least,
do find love on the local economy and could easily take their
wealth and "go native". To be fair, Stirling does make the point
several times that Rome is just the best thing going, not that
it is "good" by uptime standards, but I think some more debate
before everyone falls in line would be welcome.

Thanks for the review ! I have not read "Lest Darkness Fall", I think.
BTW, S.M. Stirling is 72 now and definitely slowing down.

And yes, usenet is a write once, read once thing now. I post all of my reviews to
https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/
now. This specific review is at

https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/1pxdm4f/to_turn_the_tide_1_make_the_darkness_light_by_sm/

Warning, reddit is full of hyperactive man children posting from their mother's basements. They try to post the worst comments ever, treating
their comments as an ever climbing pyramid of dung.

Lynn

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

In article <10j94dj$kjv9$1@dont-email.me>,
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

On 1/1/2026 9:04 PM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

In article <10j78em$72r$1@dont-email.me>,
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

On 12/30/2025 4:36 PM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

Well, here's what I read in 2025.

Everything up to the "====" mark, I believe I posted a review of.
It would be nice to post a link to each review, but I no longer
know how to do that with the demise of Google Groups (not that it
was easy *with* it).

The ones after that I have not reviewed, but tried to say a few
brief words about.

The links are generally Amazon affiliate ones which could, in theory,
earn me something, though in practice usually not.

Anyway, maybe this will start some discussion though that is
iffy lately.

Also, the heck with spell-check. You get what I typed.

To Turn the Tide
by S.M. Stirling
https://amzn.to/3CyPIn0

When did you review "To Turn The Tide" ? I would like read your review. >>>
Lynn

As I said, I don't know how to link to my previous Usenet posts anymore,
but here is the review:

==
To Turn the Tide
by S.M. Stirling
https://amzn.to/3CyPIn0

Here Stirling returns to the sort of _Lest Darkness Fall_ story he
told in his "Island In The Sea Of Time" series twenty years ago,
and though this is not a bad story, he did it a bit better there.

In a time-line which seems to have diverged from ours in 2020, a
group of five American historians, all experts on the Roman era,
are lured to Vienna under false pretenses. In fact their Austrian
physicist host has invented a working time machine, and (apparently)
wants to do a Mr. Atoz to Principate Rome to escape the (pretty
much clearly coming) nuclear holocaust. We don't know much about
him aside from his being a manipulative jerk because just as the
American team arrives, the balloon goes up, and he activates the
machine just as the fireball is knocking out the windows, killing
him and stranding our heroes (still physically in the same place)
in Provincia Pannonia Superior in June 165 A.D..

Our party, stunned unconscious, and not fully understanding what
has happened is a mixed group: An older (but not old) Army veteran
professor, and four graduate students including two men and two
women. As is necessary in this type of story (if it is not to be
short & depressing) they have incredible luck: They meet an
honest man -- A middling prosperous & ambitious Jewish trader, educated
and knowledgeable about Roman society, but enough apart from it to
not feel any special compulsion to take them to the authorities.
With his backing (abetted by the wealth & supplies provided by the
dead physicist), the group sets up shop on a Pannonian plantation
and begins to work to try and change the future they just escaped.
Complicating matters no little bit is that they have arrived on
site just before the start of the Marcomannic wars and that anything
significant they do is bound eventually to bring the attention of
Marcus Aurelius, who is no dummy.

I enjoyed this book, and will read the follow-on. It was nice
to have a lot of hats tipped towards Martin Padway, as the group
has all naturally read LDF, and I enjoyed the explication (and
examples) of the two types of possible technological developments:
A) The stuff the Romans could do if they thought of it (wheel-barrows,
stirrups, chimneys) and B) The stuff that would take a lot more
working up to, like steam engines.

That said, as I intimated above, I believe _Island In The Sea Of Time_
is a better book, as the characters were more strongly drawn there,
or at least that's how I remember it. Here they are a bit stereotyped,
and subordinate to the bootstrapping tech. The professor has a bit
of a character arc, the others less so. There is also not a lot
of establishment as to why the group should all stay together, and
why the "change the future" project should be their common goal.
Yes, they are all fish out of water, but three of them, at least,
do find love on the local economy and could easily take their
wealth and "go native". To be fair, Stirling does make the point
several times that Rome is just the best thing going, not that
it is "good" by uptime standards, but I think some more debate
before everyone falls in line would be welcome.

Thanks for the review ! I have not read "Lest Darkness Fall", I think.
BTW, S.M. Stirling is 72 now and definitely slowing down.

And yes, usenet is a write once, read once thing now. I post all of my >reviews to
https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/
now. This specific review is at

https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/comments/1pxdm4f/to_turn_the_tide_1_make_the_darkness_light_by_sm/

Warning, reddit is full of hyperactive man children posting from their >mother's basements. They try to post the worst comments ever, treating >their comments as an ever climbing pyramid of dung.

Lynn

You've sold me!
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

On 3/01/26 08:34, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:

In article <10j94dj$kjv9$1@dont-email.me>,
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

snip

And yes, usenet is a write once, read once thing now. I post all of my
reviews to
https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/

Warning, reddit is full of hyperactive man children posting from their
mother's basements. They try to post the worst comments ever, treating
their comments as an ever climbing pyramid of dung.

You've sold me!

Sounds like frustration with Dimwire's lack of SF reading comprehension
is not limited to this forum.
And perhaps his inflexible well bound political views (oil well bound).
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2