Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

Homeland

Posted on June 15, 2018 by smellincoffee

Homeland© 2013 Corey Doctorow400 pages Two years ago, an innocent teenager was swept up on the streets and thrown into a blacksite prison run by the Department of Homeland Security. Initially a suspect for being near the scene of an … Continue reading →

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Rebel Dawn

Posted on June 14, 2018 by smellincoffee

Star Wars Han Solo Trilogy Vol III: Rebel Dawn© 1998 A.C. Crispin400 pages Rebel Dawn is the final volume in the “Han Solo” trilogy, a volume that stands more as an immediate prequel to the original Star Wars movie than a novel solely … Continue reading →

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The Hutt Gambit

Posted on June 12, 2018 by smellincoffee

The Han Solo Trilogy, Vol II: The Hutt Gambit© 1997 A.C. Crispin352 pages At the end of The Paradise Snare, Han Solo was a heartbroken man moving on with his life, doing his best to forget  about the woman who … Continue reading →

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Little Brother

Posted on June 9, 2018 by smellincoffee

Little Brother© 2008 Corey Doctorow380 pages Following the destruction of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, a nightmare begins for a high school student who is scooped up by police in the aftermath. Not only has one of his friends … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Civic Interest, Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Replay

Posted on June 8, 2018 by smellincoffee

Replay: The History of Video Games© 2010 Tristian Donovan501 pages Video games emerged in the late 20th century as a completely novel form of entertainment.  Replay recounts the history of how programming experiments and text-based adventures were transformed first into … Continue reading →

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Ready Player One

Posted on June 6, 2018 by smellincoffee

Ready Player One © 2011 Ernest Cline 354 pages Audible presentation read by Wil Wheaton, runtime 15 hr 46 min Who knew that School House Rock could save the world?  When an eccentric genius dies and leaves a will laden … Continue reading →

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The Paradise Snare

Posted on June 3, 2018 by smellincoffee

The Han Solo Trilogy: The Paradise Snare© 1997 A.C. Crispin338 pages Han Solo easily has the most personality of any of the original trilogy’s characters, but where did he come from? A.C. Crispin’s Solo Trilogy was the first to try … Continue reading →

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9 Dragons

Posted on June 2, 2018 by smellincoffee

9 Dragons© 2009 Michael Connelly544 pages Harry Bosch doesn’t know who they are.  He doesn’t know what they want.  If they’re looking for ransom,  he doesn’t have money, but he does have is a very particular set of skills, acquired … Continue reading →

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How Microsoft’s Mogul Reinvented an Industry

Posted on June 1, 2018 by smellincoffee

Gates: How Microsoft’s Mogul Reinvented an Industry-and Made Himself the Richest Man in America © 1994 Stephen Manes and Paul Andrews 560 pages   I recently watched Pirates of Silicon Valley, a questionably-acted movie based on the rise of  Bill … Continue reading →

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Stuff Matters

Posted on May 29, 2018 by smellincoffee

Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World© 2014 Mark Miodownik272 pages Stuff Matters begins with a photo of the authorhaving coffee on the roof of his London flat, the table before him scattered with papers and the … Continue reading →

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