Category Archives: Reviews

Book reviews, as well as Reads to Reels

The Sleeping Beauty

Posted on June 19, 2022 by smellincoffee

A Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms #5: The Sleeping Beauty(c) 2010 Mercedes Lackey352 pages Rosamond has the bad luck to be an orphaned princess in a wealthy little kingdom surrounded by larger, hostile enemies, any one of whom will … Continue reading →

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Of kidneys, the Lionheart, and Star Trek

Posted on June 18, 2022 by smellincoffee

Ever since my kidney transplant Tuesday, I’ve seen doctors, surgeons, and nurses on a daily basis with updates. They’re all very pleased about the progress I’m making toward recovery: my new kidneys (I received two, from a deceased juvenile) are … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Collateral Damage

Posted on June 13, 2022 by smellincoffee

Star Trek TNG: Collateral Damage© 2019 David Mack383 pages Years ago, the decisions of Federation leadership and Starfleet command placed Captain Picard and the Enterprise between a moral Scylla and Charybdis, and his dogged efforts to keep the peace were … Continue reading →

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CS Lewis, alt-history Brits, and a Trek repast

Posted on June 9, 2022 by smellincoffee

Still offline, so — quickie reviews. Call C.S. Lewis’ friends to mind and the mental image, invariably, will be that of Lewis and the Inklings gathered around a table at the Eagle and Child, drinking and talking.  But one of … Continue reading →

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Doctorow duo on digital rights activism

Posted on June 2, 2022 by smellincoffee

I recently read two short titles by Cory Doctorow, a SF author and internet freedom activist. For  at least the last twenty years, Cory Doctorow has been thinking about the future of intellectual property, copyright, and the open internet. He … Continue reading →

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CS Lewis and the Catholic Church

Posted on May 26, 2022 by smellincoffee

C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church© 2013 Joseph Pearce280 pages When C.S. Lewis began writing on Christian belief and practice in the mid-20th century,  reviewers at the time took it for granted that he had joined the Catholic church, despite … Continue reading →

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Optimal

Posted on May 23, 2022 by smellincoffee

Optimal© 2020 J.M. Berger355 pages Jack has known nothing but the System his entire life.  He rises when it tells him to, he dresses in the outfit its algorithms choose for him, he follows prompts to a selected diner and … Continue reading →

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Excellence requires work

Posted on May 23, 2022 by smellincoffee
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Cloud Judgement

Posted on May 20, 2022 by smellincoffee

Cloud Judgement© 2022 Kat Wheeler193 pages Cam Caldwell was a conscientious saleswoman whose interest in a product defect inadvertently threw her into the middle of a murder mystery.  The culmination of that drama in There is no Cloud cost Cam … Continue reading →

Posted in science fiction | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Dogfight

Posted on May 20, 2022 by smellincoffee

Dogfight: How Apple and Google Went to War and Started a Revolution© 2013 Fred Vogelstein272 pages Fifteen years ago, Apple inaugurated a technical and social revolution when it released the first iPhone.  It did so in close partnership with Google, … Continue reading →

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