Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

A Daughter of Fair Verona

Posted on June 27, 2024 by smellincoffee

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was a cautious tale about the dangers of pride and unbridled passion. A Daughter of Fair Verona says phooey on that, tweaks Shakespeare so that our teenage lovers prove too incompetent to actually do … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade

Posted on June 26, 2024 by smellincoffee

France, 1918: the Great War is almost over, but it doesn’t feel like it for civilians close to the lines, where the threat of a German resurgence hangs as close to the battered ground as the dust from the constant … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Thousand Ships

Posted on June 24, 2024 by smellincoffee

Sing, muse, of the confusion of Croseus, and of the anguish of Penthesilea! A Thousand Ships collects stories about the women of the Illiad — mostly of Troy, but of Achaea, too, across the wine-dark sea — and framed by … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Fan Fiction

Posted on June 22, 2024 by smellincoffee

First up: do not read this. Do not read this. Listen to it. Reading this is the equivalent of getting your knowledge of War and Peace from a Wishbone classics edition. Fan Fiction is an audiobook that’s transcended to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Dune

Posted on June 21, 2024 by smellincoffee

For as long as I’ve been online, I’ve heard of Dune, have heard expressions like “The spice must flow” and seen the “I must not fear / fear is the mind-killer / fear is the little death (etc)” recitation embedded … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Mythos

Posted on June 21, 2024 by smellincoffee

This book will hold a record for the title it took me the longest to complete, as I’ve been listening to it off and on since fall 2021, attracted by both the premise and (chiefly) the narrator, Stephen Fry — … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Zero Days

Posted on June 20, 2024 by smellincoffee

Jack and her husband, Gabe, are professional security analysts — pen-testers, red-teamers. Their job is to test the security measures of companies, both digital and physical, to find weaknesses. After one case goes a little sideways and Jack is briefly … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

The spice must flow: Dune, the Graphic Novel(s)

Posted on June 12, 2024 by smellincoffee

Purists may give me the stink-eye, but when I spotted these in our new acquisitions in the children’s department, I snatched them right up. I aim to read Dune this year, and I figured a graphic novel version might break … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , | 33 Comments

Tiger Chair

Posted on June 11, 2024 by smellincoffee

War. War never changes. Oh, the execution of it changes — spears become rifles, scouts on fast horses are replaced by drones and mining photos for GPS data — but the horror of it remains, as does certain truths like … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews, science fiction | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Top Ten Bookish Wishes

Posted on June 11, 2024 by smellincoffee

Today’s a day for sharing the books we’d really love to own. But first, teases! Pondering the implications of a red-hot cowpat landing on my head, I felt a surge of unease and retraced my steps. I hadn’t gone far … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | 20 Comments