Review: The Fifth Season

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze — the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization’s bedrock for a thousand years — collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman’s vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.

Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She’ll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.

View all my reviews

Review: Solid-State Guitar Amplifiers

Solid-State Guitar Amplifiers by Teemu Kyttälä
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

How guitar amps work and much more.
A LOT of information.


View all my reviews

Review: Screwdriver Experts Guide To Peaking Out And Repairing Cb Radios

Screwdriver Experts Guide To Peaking Out And Repairing Cb Radios by Lou Franklin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some CB Radio troubleshooting.

"You can repair 95% of all CB radio problems yourself with NO electronic knowledge, and NO expensive special test equipment. Just let my simple book, THE "SCREWDRIVER EXPERT’S" GUIDE, show you how.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Lou Franklin, and I am a professional electronic repairman with 36 years experience in the design and repair of radio communications equipment."



View all my reviews

Review: Spoonbenders

Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A generations-spanning family of psychics--both blessed and burdened by their abilities--must use their powers to save themselves from the CIA, the local mafia, and a skeptic hell-bent on discrediting them in this hilarious, tender, magical novel about the invisible forces that bind us.

The Telemachus family is known for performing inexplicable feats on talk shows and late-night television. Teddy, a master conman, heads up a clan who possess gifts he only fakes: there's Maureen, who can astral project; Irene, the human lie detector; Frankie, gifted with telekinesis; and Buddy, the clairvoyant. But when, one night, the magic fails to materialize, the family withdraws to Chicago where they live in shame for years. Until: As they find themselves facing a troika of threats (CIA, mafia, unrelenting skeptic), Matty, grandson of the family patriarch, discovers a bit of the old Telemachus magic in himself. Now, they must put past obstacles behind them and unite like never before. But will it be enough to bring The Amazing Telemachus Family back to its amazing life?

View all my reviews

Review: A Clash of Kings

A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time is out of joint. The summer of peace and plenty, ten years long, is drawing to a close, and the harsh, chill winter approaches like an angry beast. Two great leaders—Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon—who held sway over an age of enforced peace are dead...victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns, as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms prepare to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war....

View all my reviews

Review: Managing For Dummies®

Managing For Dummies® by Bob Nelson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"Whether you've been a manager for years, or you were just recently promoted, the world of management can be frustrating, confusing, and intimidating. Don't stress! With "Managing For Dummies"

View all my reviews

Review: The Ring of Solomon

The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is 950 B.C.E., and King Solomon rules Jerusalem with a steely hand; a hand on which gleams a magic ring of immense and unforgiving power. Solomon has just begun work on his marvelous temple, charging Khaba, a formidable magician in his royal court, to oversee its construction. The workforce is an ill-behaved bunch of demons, a particularly unruly djinni named Bartimaeus among them. True to form, Bartimaeus promptly gets kicked off the temple project and assigned the even more miserable task of hunting bandits in the desert. There he crosses paths with Asmira, a highly skilled and loyal captain of the Queen of Sheba’s guard, on a suicidal mission to save her country from Solomon’s imminent attack. Of course, Bartimaeus has no intention of helping her. That is, until Asmira makes him an offer he cannot refuse. . . .

A spellbinding addition to Jonathan Stroud’s New York Times bestselling Bartimaeus audiobooks, The Ring of Solomon brims with dazzling wit, unforgettable characters, and powerful themes of freedom and slavery, with or without magical bonds.

View all my reviews