Weekly Round-Up #6
A weekly newsletter about some of the interesting things I've read / listened to over the last week.
This week was a bit of a mixed bag. Was able to get some reading done this week but the weekend turned out to be a bit stressful hence the delay in sending this out. Without further ado here are the books I’ve read in the last week.
Books read in the last week
1. In the Blood - Jack Carr: This is the fifth and latest installment in the Terminal List series of books. I reviewed the fourth installment in last week’s round-up. This book picks up from the last one and yet again the author has decided to draw inspiration from the real world. While the fourth installment focused on a pandemic, this fifth installment talks a lot about AI. Think Person of Interest only on a much larger scale. There are several references to real-world events that the author has either employed as a focal point of the story, or mentioned in passing. What I do like about Jack Carr’s books so far is that he makes sure we know what events actually happened. In a fictional story like this it’s sometimes difficult to know what’s based on real events and what isn’t, and the author does a nice job of informing the readers about that. The book was an entertaining, action-packed, fast-paced read. Definitely recommended, though please do read the series in order to get a better understanding of the story overall.
Rating: 3/5
2. The Light Fantastic - Terry Pratchett: The second discworld novel and also the only discworld novel that has to be read in order after the first. We pick up at the end of the first book ‘The Colour of Magic’ where we once again meet our favourite Wizzard Rincewind, and our lovably naive tourist Twoflower as they continue to find themselves in and out of deadly situations. This book is just as irreverent and funny as the first one. Again, not anywhere close to being the best of the discworld books but fun nonetheless.
“He felt that the darkness was full of unimaginable horrors - and the trouble with unimaginable horrors was that they were only too easy to imagine...”
“The sun rose slowly, as if it wasn't sure it was worth all the effort.”
Rating: 4/5
3. Dark Force Rising - Timothy Zahn: The second installment in the Thrawn trilogy was amazing. Every bit as awesome as the first. Do yourself a favour and read these books. Definitely recommended.
Rating: 4/5
4. The Hawthorne Legacy - Jennifer Lynn Barnes: This is the second book in the Inheritance Games trilogy. It continues onward from the events of the first book as we follow Avery further cementing herself in the Hawthorne household. At the end of the first book I was a little miffed with the lack of mystery and the abundance of sexual tension between Avery and the Hawthorne brothers. This time around I was mentally prepared for the romance so was able to appreciate the book more for what it is. A young adult romance novel set in an escape room; more or less. Fairly decent read with twists and turns that you more or less tend to see coming. Like the first it's more of a one-time read and a perfect pick-up for those cozy lazy afternoons. While, at this point, I am intrigued enough to pick up the last book to know where the story is finally heading, I also can’t wait to finish the series and move on. Sort of a mixed bag really.
Rating: 3/5
5. Dark Matter Empire - Alex Zadeh: This review took a while in coming. While I had promised to be a little less critical while judging this book there were just too many things that didn’t work for me. As mentioned in Weekly Round-up #3 this book is a sci-fi / litRPG novel about a person who is abducted by an alien ship and is thrown into a universe and a war he didn’t know existed. While the novel started off ok, it soon devolved into something a little more hodge-podge as the book went on. The author took efforts at the beginning to describe alien races, mannerisms, cultures, etc, only for them to all turn into human phrases and experiences. I mean for an alien race, that had never encountered humans before, how do they know what the/a devil is? Also, in one instance an alien race has memories of its time in the Marines. Wait, what?! With all that effort it wouldn’t have been hard to make the new sentient species of the galaxy maybe a tad different. The author tried to justify the similarities by mentioning that the alien race and humans share an approximate 90% genetic makeup. Ok, sure. That incensed me further as it doesn’t explain the rest of the inaccuracies. I’ll stop here. Rant over. Apologies.
tl;dr - This book was interesting to read at times but frustrating most other times. It’s not a bad book, it’s just not a good one either.
Rating: 2/5
Books still ongoing:
Moon Over Soho - Ben Aaronovitch
Why we sleep - Matthew Walker
What’s been on my playlist this week
Because you move me - Tinlicker & Helsloot
Warrior - Oscar and The Wolf
What I’ve Done - LINKIN PARK
Superheroes - The Script
Miss You - Jeremie Makiese
Games played this week
FIFA 23 - Here we go again. Every year the same mistake. No regrets though.
Toem - A delightful little game around photography which I absolutely loved. A full review of the same will be shared soon!
Well, that's it for this week! Thanks for making it this far! As mentioned before if you think someone might enjoy my ramblings then please do share this with them. I hope you had a good weekend, and here's to a good week ahead. Until next time!