** Some books that wander are lost ** After returning from the dead, our hero, Fitz, goes wandering. … and wandering. … and wandering. He checks voicemail to find that the boss wants meet up in the mountains. So Fitz continues wandering; … and wandering. … and wandering. Then they find an air-wing of F-16s and kill all the bad people. The end.
TBW
2nd Sino-American War The US Army has not accepted the simple fact that its performance in the Korean War was lousy. This year I’ve endeavored to understand America at war. After the World Wars, where America was Johnny-come-lately with industrial-might-makes-right, Korea represents the first modern war, where American goals are muddled, local allies are weak, but airpower is dominant. The war in Korea could be the first chapter in a textbook on American military foreign policy about how the combination of paranoia, ignorance, and intolerance of casualties leads to irrational action. ...
** Tidy Narrative ** Few books can make any claim to have stopped nuclear war. But as JFK famously read Tuchman’s Guns of August, his understanding of the real possibilities surround unintentional escalation kept him from heeding to the cacophony of war hawks pushing for all out invasion of Cuba during the missile crisis. Half a century later, is this book still the the premier book to understand this era? I would say, no. ...
**Star Wars: Mission Impossible ** Mercy Kill follows the story of remaining members of Wraith squadron, which is the remaining members of Rogue squadron, which is the remaining side cast members from rebels in the original trilogy 30 in-universe years ago. Plot points revolve more around intrigue than star fighting which is a shame. Only Piggy gets character development through the book, and if you haven’t read the rest of the Rogue Squadron series and New Jedi Order, you’ll be lost. Andor, which is essentially the prequel with side characters to the prequel with side characters by the writer of the Bourne series, is similar and better. ...
2.5 stars. Similar but not nearly as good as a fire upon the deep. The entire star fleet plot seemed useless. Still worked as a distraction for a few hours.
3.5 stars, great setting, solid writing. Somewhat disappointing characters and a predictable plot.
surprisingly good, game of thrones + mulan + traitor baru thrown into one. Good setting.
Amazing that I like this series so much but am not a fan of Bujold’s other series. I enjoyed the main character, the different setting, and the reason-based mechanics of magic in this world. Will read more from this author.
Snackable ‘misfits in space’ book with a more modern take on gender and sex but the rest of sci-fi tropes intact. I’ve just read this story one too many times to get too excited.