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Book Reviews

Cave ab homine unius libri.
Fear the man of one book.

Isaac D'Israeli

Since August of 2003, I've been writing reviews of nearly every book that I read. The reviews are just my personal opinion based on how much I like the book, although I try to provide some analysis of why I hold that opinion. I try to avoid major plot spoilers, but if you're striving to be completely spoiler-free, you may not want to read on, since I do sometimes talk about specific things I liked or disliked and that can include the general tone of the ending.

For more details and my review request policy, see my review philosophy.

Most recent reviews:

2013-05-29 Mark Forster Get Everything Done 8 out of 10
2013-05-28 Maurizio Lazzarato The Making of the Indebted Man 6 out of 10
2013-05-27 Sriram Srinivasan Advanced Perl Programming 5 out of 10
2013-05-03 Richard Wolff Democracy at Work 8 out of 10
2013-05-01 Neal Stephenson The System of the World 5 out of 10

An RSS feed of new reviews is available. My reviews are also posted to a limited distribution newsgroup and to a mailing list anyone may subscribe to.

Reviews are sorted by book type, genre, author, by order in a series, and then by title. The rating (out of 10) is given before each title. You can also see the same list sorted by rating or by review date. I also have lists of the award winners for best novel for a variety of science fiction and fantasy awards, including ratings and links to reviews when I've read the books.

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Poul Anderson
Matucheck
7 - Operation Chaos (#1)
Kelley Armstrong
Women of the Otherworld
7 - Bitten (#1)
Eleanor Arnason
6 - A Woman of the Iron People
Catherine Asaro
Skolian Empire
7 - The Quantum Rose (#6)
8 - Spherical Harmonic (#7)
6 - The Moon's Shadow (#8)
7 - Skyfall (#9)
5 - Schism (#10)
Neal Asher
Agent Cormac
6 - Gridlinked (#1)
Isaac Asimov
Empire
4 - Pebble in the Sky (#1)
Paolo Bacigalupi
7 - The Windup Girl
Kage Baker
Company
7 - In the Garden of Iden (#1)
Iain M. Banks
8 - Against a Dark Background
Culture
7 - Consider Phlebas
9 - The Player of Games
8 - Use of Weapons
7 - The State of the Art
8 - Excession
6 - Inversions
7 - Look to Windward
John Barnes
6 - Finity
Stephen Baxter
4 - The Time Ships
Peter S. Beagle
7 - The Last Unicorn
Elizabeth Bear
9 - Bone and Jewel Creatures
7 - Carnival
7 - The Chains That You Refuse
7 - Undertow
Edda of Burdens
8 - All the Windwracked Stars (#1)
7 - By the Mountain Bound (#2)
Jacob's Ladder
8 - Dust (#1)
7 - Chill (#2)
8 - Grail (#3)
Jenny Casey
8 - Hammered (#1)
8 - Scardown (#2)
8 - Worldwired (#3)
New Amsterdam
7 - New Amsterdam (#1)
7 - Seven for a Secret (#2)
Promethean Age
8 - Blood and Iron (#1)
8 - Whiskey and Water (#2)
8 - Ink and Steel (#3)
7 - Hell and Earth (#4)
Greg Bear
8 - Moving Mars
Darwin
7 - Darwin's Radio (#1)
Songs of Earth and Power
4 - The Infinity Concerto (#1)
5 - The Serpent Mage (#2)
Gregory Benford
5 - Timescape
Alfred Bester
7 - The Demolished Man
8 - The Stars My Destination
Anne Bishop
Black Jewels
7 - Daughter of the Blood (#1)
8 - Heir to the Shadows (#2)
8 - Queen of the Darkness (#3)
9 - Dreams Made Flesh (#4)
5 - Tangled Webs (#5)
Michael Bishop
5 - No Enemy But Time
James Blish
1 - A Case of Conscience
Chaz Brenchley
Kingdom of Outremer
5 - The Devil in the Dust (#1)
6 - Tower of the King's Daughter (#2)
6 - A Dark Way to Glory (#3)
7 - Feast of the King's Shadow (#4)
6 - Hand of the King's Evil (#5)
7 - The End of All Roads (#6)
Patricia Briggs
Alpha and Omega
7 - Alpha and Omega (#1)
6 - Cry Wolf (#2)
David Brin
5 - Kiln People
4 - The Postman
Kristen Britain
Green Rider
4 - Green Rider (#1)
John Brunner
8 - Stand on Zanzibar
Steven Brust
8 - Agyar
8 - Brokedown Palace
7 - To Reign in Hell
Khaavren Romances
7 - The Phoenix Guards (#1)
7 - Five Hundred Years After (#2)
6 - The Paths of the Dead (#3)
7 - The Lord of Castle Black (#4)
8 - Sethra Lavode (#5)
Vlad Taltos
7 - Jhereg (#1)
6 - Yendi (#2)
7 - Teckla (#3)
8 - Taltos (#4)
8 - Phoenix (#5)
6 - Athyra (#6)
8 - Orca (#7)
7 - Dragon (#8)
8 - Issola (#9)
8 - Dzur (#10)
8 - Jhegaala (#11)
8 - Iorich (#12)
7 - Tiassa (#13)
M.M. Buckner
6 - Hyperthought
Lois McMaster Bujold
Vorkosigan
7 - Falling Free
4 - Shards of Honor (#1)
6 - Barrayar (#2)
7 - The Warrior's Apprentice (#3)
7 - The Vor Game (#4)
7 - Cetaganda (#5)
5 - Ethan of Athos
6 - Borders of Infinity (#6)
7 - Brothers in Arms (#7)
8 - Mirror Dance (#8)
6 - Memory (#9)
9 - Komarr (#10)
9 - A Civil Campaign (#11)
8 - Diplomatic Immunity (#12)
7 - Cryoburn (#13)
Chalion
8 - The Curse of Chalion (#1)
8 - Paladin of Souls (#2)
8 - The Hallowed Hunt (#3)
Octavia E. Butler
Earthseed
9 - Parable of the Sower (#1)
8 - Parable of the Talents (#2)
Pat Cadigan
6 - Synners
Jacqueline Carey
Kushiel's Legacy
9 - Kushiel's Dart (#1)
9 - Kushiel's Chosen (#2)
10 - Kushiel's Avatar (#3)
8 - Kushiel's Scion (#4)
9 - Kushiel's Justice (#5)
8 - Kushiel's Mercy (#6)
Naamah
9 - Naamah's Kiss (#1)
9 - Naamah's Curse (#2)
7 - Naamah's Blessing (#3)
Santa Olivia
8 - Santa Olivia (#1)
6 - Saints Astray (#2)
Gail Carriger
Parasol Protectorate
7 - Soulless (#1)
Raphael Carter
9 - The Fortunate Fall
Adam-Troy Castro
Andrea Cort
7 - Emissaries from the Dead (#1)
Michael Chabon
10 - The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Suzy McKee Charnas
Holdfast
3 - Walk to the End of the World (#1)
C.J. Cherryh
Company Wars
6 - Downbelow Station (#1)
Cyteen
10 - Cyteen (#1)
9 - Regenesis (#2)
Morgaine
5 - Gate of Ivrel (#1)
5 - Well of Shiuan (#2)
7 - Fires of Azeroth (#3)
Arthur C. Clarke
6 - The City and the Stars
8 - The Fountains of Paradise
Rama
3 - Rendezvous with Rama (#1)
Susanna Clarke
8 - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Mark Clifton & Frank Riley
3 - The Forever Machine
Suzanne Collins
Hunger Games
8 - The Hunger Games (#1)
7 - Catching Fire (#2)
9 - Mockingjay (#3)
Susan Cooper
Dark is Rising
7 - Over Sea, Under Stone (#1)
8 - The Dark is Rising (#2)
5 - Greenwitch (#3)
7 - The Grey King (#4)
7 - Silver on the Tree (#5)
James S.A. Corey
The Expanse
7 - Leviathan Wakes (#1)
John Crowley
8 - Little, Big
Julie E. Czerneda
Trade Pact
7 - A Thousand Words for Stranger (#1)
6 - Ties of Power (#2)
7 - To Trade the Stars (#3)
Web Shifters
7 - Beholder's Eye (#1)
7 - Changing Vision (#2)
7 - Hidden in Sight (#3)
Cecilia Dart-Thornton
The Bitterbynde
6 - The Ill-Made Mute (#1)
6 - The Lady of the Sorrows (#2)
6 - The Battle of Evernight (#2)
Pamela Dean
7 - Tam Lin
Secret Country
6 - The Secret Country (#1)
6 - The Hidden Land (#2)
8 - The Whim of the Dragon (#3)
Samuel R. Delany
7 - Babel-17
5 - The Einstein Intersection
Charles de Lint
6 - Mulengro
8 - Waifs and Strays
Jack of Kinrowan
7 - Jack, the Giant-Killer (#1)
Newford
7 - Dreams Underfoot
10 - Someplace to be Flying
Tamson House
5 - Moonheart (#1)
Philip K. Dick
7 - The Man in the High Castle
Cory Doctorow
7 - Little Brother
Candas Jane Dorsey
8 - Black Wine
Diane Duane
Young Wizards
7 - So You Want to Be a Wizard (#1)
Hal Duncan
Book of All Hours
9 - Vellum (#1)
7 - Ink (#2)
George Alec Effinger
3 - The Zork Chronicles
Budayeen
6 - When Gravity Fails (#1)
Jane Emerson
7 - City of Diamond
Carol Emshwiller
7 - The Mount
Kelley Eskridge
9 - Solitaire
Philip José Farmer
Riverworld
2 - To Your Scattered Bodies Go (#1)
Cynthia Felice & Connie Willis
5 - Water Witch
Lynn Flewelling
Tamir Triad
6 - The Bone Doll's Twin (#1)
6 - Hidden Warrior (#2)
Michael Flynn
7 - Eifelheim
John M. Ford
6 - The Dragon Waiting
8 - Growing Up Weightless
C.S. Friedman
In Conquest Born
6 - In Conquest Born (#1)
Neil Gaiman
7 - American Gods
9 - Anansi Boys
7 - Coraline
7 - The Graveyard Book
Neil Gaiman & Charles Vess
8 - Stardust
James Alan Gardner
League of Peoples
5 - Expendable (#1)
7 - Ascending (#4)
7 - Commitment Hour (#2)
William Gibson
Sprawl
7 - Neuromancer (#1)
Terry Goodkind
Sword of Truth
4 - Faith of the Fallen (#6)
Mira Grant
Newsflesh
7 - Countdown
9 - Feed (#1)
7 - Deadline (#2)
7 - Blackout (#3)
Nicola Griffith
8 - Ammonite
9 - Slow River
Jon Courtenay Grimwood
8 - Stamping Butterflies
Joe Haldeman
7 - Camouflage
7 - Forever Peace
Forever War
7 - The Forever War (#1)
Laurell K. Hamilton
6 - Nightseer
Anita Blake
7 - Cerulean Sins (#11)
6 - Incubus Dreams (#12)
5 - Micah (#13)
Merry Gentry
8 - Seduced by Moonlight (#3)
8 - A Stroke of Midnight (#4)
6 - Mistral's Kiss (#5)
Elizabeth Hand
7 - Mortal Love
Charlaine Harris
Southern Vampire
7 - Dead Until Dark (#1)
Kim Harrison
The Hollows
6 - Dead Witch Walking (#1)
M. John Harrison
Kefahuchi Tract
7 - Light (#1)
Kenneth J. Harvey
5 - The Town That Forgot How to Breathe
Robert A. Heinlein
6 - Double Star
3 - Glory Road
6 - The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
4 - Starship Troopers
John G. Hemry
Paul Sinclair
8 - A Just Determination (#1)
8 - Burden of Proof (#2)
8 - Rule of Evidence (#3)
7 - Against All Enemies (#4)
Zenna Henderson
The People
7 - Pilgrimage (#1)
6 - The People: No Different Flesh (#2)
Frank Herbert
Dune
8 - Dune (#1)
Nina Kiriki Hoffman
7 - A Fistful of Sky
Barry Hughart
Master Li
9 - Bridge of Birds (#1)
Project Itoh
6 - Harmony
N.K. Jemisin
Inheritance
7 - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (#1)
Diana Wynne Jones
5 - Hexwood
7 - The Tough Guide to Fantasyland
Chrestomanci
7 - Charmed Life (#1)
7 - The Lives of Christopher Chant (#4)
Gwyneth Jones
Aleutian Trilogy
4 - White Queen (#1)
Guy Gavriel Kay
9 - The Last Light of the Sun
8 - Tigana
10 - Under Heaven
7 - Ysabel
James Patrick Kelly
6 - Burn
Daniel Keyes
8 - Flowers for Algernon
Kay Kenyon
The Entire and the Rose
4 - Bright of the Sky (#1)
Ellen Kushner
9 - Thomas the Rhymer
Riverside
9 - Swordspoint (#1)
Ellen Kushner & Delia Sherman
Riverside
6 - The Fall of the Kings (#2)
Mercedes Lackey
Heralds of Valdemar
7 - Arrows of the Queen (#1)
4 - Arrow's Flight (#2)
4 - Arrow's Fall (#3)
Larissa Lai
7 - When Fox Is a Thousand
Jay Lake
Mainspring
6 - Mainspring (#1)
Keith Laumer
Imperium
4 - Worlds of the Imperium (#1)
Ursula K. Le Guin
8 - The Dispossessed
7 - The Lathe of Heaven
8 - The Left Hand of Darkness
6 - The Telling
Annals of the Western Shore
7 - Gifts (#1)
10 - Voices (#2)
8 - Powers (#3)
Earthsea
6 - A Wizard of Earthsea (#1)
10 - The Tombs of Atuan (#2)
8 - The Farthest Shore (#3)
9 - Tehanu (#4)
7 - Tales from Earthsea (#5)
8 - The Other Wind (#6)
Fritz Leiber
5 - The Big Time
4 - The Wanderer
Madeleine L'Engle
Time
6 - A Wrinkle in Time (#1)
6 - A Wind in the Door (#2)
Jonathan Lethem
6 - Gun, With Occasional Music
Malinda Lo
Ash
7 - Ash (#1)
Scott Lynch
Gentleman Bastards
8 - The Lies of Locke Lamora (#1)
Ken MacLeod
7 - Learning the World
Engines of Light
6 - Cosmonaut Keep (#1)
Laurie J. Marks
Elemental Logic
8 - Fire Logic (#1)
7 - Earth Logic (#2)
George R.R. Martin
Song of Ice and Fire
7 - A Game of Thrones (#1)
6 - A Clash of Kings (#2)
7 - A Storm of Swords (#3)
5 - A Feast for Crows (#4)
Julian May
Saga of Pliocene Exile
7 - The Many-Colored Land (#1)
Paul J. McAuley
4 - Fairyland
Jack McDevitt
Academy
6 - The Engines of God (#1)
6 - Deepsix (#2)
8 - Chindi (#3)
7 - Omega (#4)
6 - Odyssey (#5)
5 - Cauldron (#6)
Alex Benedict
7 - A Talent for War (#1)
7 - Polaris (#2)
8 - Seeker (#3)
7 - The Devil's Eye (#4)
8 - Echo (#5)
Ian McDonald
7 - Brasyl
7 - The Dervish House
6 - River of Gods
Seanan McGuire
October Daye
8 - Rosemary and Rue (#1)
7 - A Local Habitation (#2)
Maureen F. McHugh
8 - China Mountain Zhang
Vonda N. McIntyre
7 - Dreamsnake
8 - The Moon and the Sun
Patricia A. McKillip
Riddle-Master
6 - The Riddle-Master of Hed (#1)
6 - Heir of Sea and Fire (#2)
8 - Harpist in the Wind (#3)
Robin McKinley
7 - Dragonhaven
9 - Sunshine
Damar
8 - The Blue Sword (#1)
6 - The Hero and the Crown (#2)
Richelle Mead
Dark Swan
4 - Storm Born (#1)
Georgina Kincaid
7 - Succubus Blues (#1)
China Miéville
9 - The City & The City
9 - Embassytown
New Crobuzon
9 - Perdido Street Station (#1)
9 - The Scar (#2)
Walter M. Miller, Jr.
6 - A Canticle for Leibowitz
Hope Mirrlees
7 - Lud-in-the-Mist
Sarah Monette
Doctrine of Labyrinths
7 - Mélusine (#1)
Sarah Monette & Elizabeth Bear
10 - A Companion to Wolves
Elizabeth Moon
9 - The Speed of Dark
Daniel Keys Moran
Continuing Time
8 - Emerald Eyes (#1)
9 - The Long Run (#2)
8 - The Last Dancer (#3)
Lyda Morehouse
AngeLINK
7 - Archangel Protocol (#1)
7 - Fallen Host (#2)
6 - Messiah Node (#3)
7 - Apocalypse Array (#4)
7 - Resurrection Code (#5)
Richard K. Morgan
Takeshi Kovacs
7 - Altered Carbon (#1)
7 - Broken Angels (#2)
Chris Moriarty
Spin
8 - Spin State (#1)
9 - Spin Control (#2)
Janet E. Morris
Silistra
2 - High Couch of Silistra (#1)
C.E. Murphy
Inheritors' Cycle
7 - The Queen's Bastard (#1)
Walker Papers
7 - Urban Shaman (#1)
Pat Murphy
8 - The Falling Woman
Audrey Niffenegger
8 - The Time Traveler's Wife
Larry Niven
Ringworld
7 - Ringworld (#1)
Larry Niven & Edward M. Lerner
Known Space: Worlds
6 - Fleet of Worlds (#1)
Mary Norton
The Borrowers
7 - The Borrowers (#1)
Naomi Novik
Temeraire
7 - His Majesty's Dragon (#1)
6 - Throne of Jade (#2)
7 - Black Powder War (#3)
6 - Empire of Ivory (#4)
George Orwell
9 - Animal Farm
David R. Palmer
9 - Emergence
Alexei Panshin
5 - Rite of Passage
Severna Park
6 - The Annunciate
J.A. Pitts
Black Blade
8 - Black Blade Blues (#1)
Frederik Pohl
6 - Slave Ship
Heechee
7 - Gateway (#1)
Mars
6 - Man Plus (#1)
Frederik Pohl & C.M. Kornbluth
Space Merchants
6 - The Space Merchants (#1)
Tim Powers
5 - Declare
Terry Pratchett
Discworld
6 - The Colour of Magic (#1)
6 - The Light Fantastic (#2)
7 - Equal Rites (#3)
7 - Mort (#4)
8 - Sourcery (#5)
7 - Wyrd Sisters (#6)
6 - Pyramids (#7)
7 - Guards! Guards! (#8)
7 - Eric (#9)
8 - Moving Pictures (#10)
7 - Reaper Man (#11)
8 - Witches Abroad (#12)
Cherie Priest
8 - Boneshaker
Philip Pullman
His Dark Materials
8 - The Golden Compass (#1)
7 - The Subtle Knife (#2)
7 - The Amber Spyglass (#3)

Science Fiction & Fantasy (cont.)

W.T. Quick
3 - Systems
Laura E. Reeve
Major Ariane Kedros
6 - Peacekeeper (#1)
Alastair Reynolds
Revelation Space
6 - Revelation Space (#1)
Jennifer Roberson
Tiger and Del
7 - Sword-Dancer (#1)
6 - Sword-Singer (#2)
7 - Sword-Maker (#3)
7 - Sword-Breaker (#4)
8 - Sword-Born (#5)
7 - Sword-Sworn (#6)
Kim Stanley Robinson
6 - The Years of Rice and Salt
Mars
5 - Red Mars (#1)
6 - Green Mars (#2)
5 - Blue Mars (#3)
Justina Robson
Quantum Gravity
8 - Keeping It Real (#1)
Matthew Rossi
4 - Things That Never Were
J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter
3 - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (#1)
2 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (#2)
4 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (#3)
3 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (#4)
Rudy Rucker
Ware
3 - Software (#1)
Matt Ruff
10 - Set This House in Order
Mary Doria Russell
Sparrow
8 - The Sparrow (#1)
Geoff Ryman
10 - Air
Fred Saberhagen
Empire
7 - Empire of the East (#1)
5 - Ardneh's Sword (#2)
Swords
5 - The First Book of Swords (#1)
6 - The Second Book of Swords (#2)
7 - The Third Book of Swords (#3)
Vlad Tepes
4 - Thorn (#4)
H.F. Saint
7 - Memoirs of an Invisible Man
R.A. Salvatore
Forgotten Realms: Dark Elf
4 - Homeland (#1)
Robert J. Sawyer
6 - Rollback
2 - The Terminal Experiment
Neanderthal Paradox
4 - Hominids (#1)
WWW
6 - Wake (#1)
John Scalzi
6 - Agent to the Stars
6 - An Election
8 - The God Engines
6 - How I Proposed to My Wife
7 - Judge Sn Goes Golfing
Old Man's War
6 - Old Man's War (#1)
5 - Questions for a Soldier
6 - The Ghost Brigades (#2)
7 - The Last Colony (#3)
8 - Zoe's Tale (#4)
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
8 - The Healer's War
Tibet
7 - Nothing Sacred (#1)
James H. Schmitz
6 - Telzey Amberdon
Karl Schroeder
10 - Lady of Mazes
9 - Permanence
7 - Ventus
Virga
7 - Sun of Suns (#1)
8 - Queen of Candesce (#2)
7 - Pirate Sun (#3)
8 - The Sunless Countries (#4)
7 - Ashes of Candesce (#5)
Melissa Scott
Roads of Heaven
8 - Five-Twelfths of Heaven (#1)
9 - Silence in Solitude (#2)
7 - The Empress of Earth (#3)
Charles Sheffield
7 - Brother to Dragons
Sharon Shinn
7 - Jenna Starborn
Samaria
8 - Archangel (#1)
6 - Jovah's Angel (#2)
Robert Silverberg
5 - A Time of Changes
Clifford D. Simak
8 - Way Station
Dan Simmons
Hyperion
10 - Hyperion (#1)
8 - The Fall of Hyperion (#2)
7 - Endymion (#3)
9 - The Rise of Endymion (#4)
Ilium
7 - Ilium (#1)
8 - Olympos (#2)
John Sladek
5 - Tik-Tok
Michael Marshall Smith
9 - Only Forward
Norman Spinrad
6 - The Void Captain's Tale
Nancy Springer
8 - Larque on the Wing
Rebecca Stead
7 - When You Reach Me
Allen M. Steele
5 - Galaxy Blues
Neal Stephenson
7 - The Diamond Age
9 - Snow Crash
Sean Stewart
8 - Nobody's Son
6 - Passion Play
Charles Stross
8 - Accelerando
9 - Glasshouse
7 - Halting State
7 - Saturn's Children
Singularity Sky
7 - Singularity Sky (#1)
8 - Iron Sunrise (#2)
The Laundry
7 - The Atrocity Archives (#1)
Theodore Sturgeon
6 - More Than Human
Michael Swanwick
6 - Bones of the Earth
6 - Stations of the Tide
Sheri S. Tepper
6 - A Plague of Angels
6 - Beauty
6 - Grass
James Thurber
6 - The 13 Clocks
J.R.R. Tolkien
6 - The Children of Húrin
Karen Traviss
Wess'Har
8 - City of Pearl (#1)
9 - Crossing the Line (#2)
7 - The World Before (#3)
7 - Matriarch (#4)
8 - Ally (#5)
9 - Judge (#6)
Dubravka Ugrešić
6 - Baba Yaga Laid an Egg
Catherynne M. Valente
7 - Palimpsest
Jack Vance
Dying Earth
3 - The Dying Earth (#1)
Greg van Eekhout
7 - Norse Code
John Varley
Gaea
4 - Titan (#1)
Joan D. Vinge
Snow Queen
6 - The Snow Queen (#1)
Vernor Vinge
6 - Rainbows End
Queng Ho
7 - A Fire Upon the Deep (#1)
8 - A Deepness in the Sky (#2)
Jo Walton
10 - Among Others
8 - Lifelode
9 - Tooth and Claw
Small Change
8 - Farthing (#1)
9 - Ha'penny (#2)
9 - Half a Crown (#3)
Tir Tanagiri
6 - The King's Peace (#1)
7 - The King's Name (#2)
Peter Watts
7 - Blindsight
Rifters
7 - Starfish (#1)
6 - Maelstrom (#2)
David Weber
Honor Harrington
3 - On Basilisk Station (#1)
H.G. Wells
6 - The Time Machine
James White
Sector General
6 - Hospital Station (#1)
6 - Star Surgeon (#2)
6 - Major Operation (#3)
6 - Ambulance Ship (#4)
Kate Wilhelm
5 - Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang
Walter Jon Williams
Metropolitan
7 - Metropolitan (#1)
8 - City on Fire (#2)
Connie Willis
8 - Bellwether
8 - Doomsday Book
7 - Fire Watch
7 - Lincoln's Dreams
7 - To Say Nothing of the Dog
Blackout
5 - Blackout (#1)
5 - All Clear (#2)
Robert Charles Wilson
6 - Julian Comstock
Spin
7 - Spin (#1)
Gene Wolfe
Book of the New Sun
8 - The Shadow of the Torturer (#1)
8 - The Claw of the Conciliator (#2)
7 - The Sword of the Lictor (#3)
7 - The Citadel of the Autarch (#4)
5 - The Urth of the New Sun (#5)
Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer
Cecelia and Kate
7 - Sorcery and Cecelia (#1)
Jane Yolen
6 - Cards of Grief
Roger Zelazny
7 - Lord of Light
7 - This Immortal
Amber
5 - Nine Princes in Amber (#1)
6 - The Guns of Avalon (#2)
7 - Sign of the Unicorn (#3)
7 - The Hand of Oberon (#4)
5 - The Courts of Chaos (#5)
Sarah Zettel
7 - Kingdom of Cages

Graphic Novels & Comic Strips

Kiyohiko Azuma
7 - Azumanga Daioh: The Omnibus
Yotsuba&!
7 - Yotsuba&! 1 (#1)
7 - Yotsuba&! 2 (#2)
7 - Yotsuba&! 3 (#3)
6 - Yotsuba&! 4 (#4)
6 - Yotsuba&! 5 (#5)
6 - Yotsuba&! 6 (#6)
Brian Michael Bendis, et al.
7 - Ultimate Fantastic Four Volume 1
6 - Ultimate Marvel Team-Up
7 - Ultimate Spider-Man Collection
Berkeley Breathed
6 - Politically... Incorrect
Neil Gaiman & Yoshitaka Amano
The Sandman
6 - The Sandman: The Dream Hunters
Neil Gaiman, et al.
6 - Neil Gaiman's Midnight Days
The Sandman
7 - The Sandman: Endless Nights
Edward Gorey
9 - The Gashlycrumb Tinies
Frank Miller
Sin City
6 - The Hard Goodbye (#1)
Alan Moore & David Lloyd
8 - V for Vendetta
Alan Moore, et al.
Extraordinary Gentlemen
6 - The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 1 (#1)
Dave Sim
Cerebus
7 - Cerebus (#1)
Jill Thompson
7 - Death: At Death's Door
Joss Whedon, et al.
5 - Serenity: Those Left Behind
Bill Willingham, et al.
Fables
7 - Fables: Legends in Exile (#1)

Other Fiction

Eric Ambler
9 - A Coffin for Dimitrios
Jane Austen
8 - Pride and Prejudice
7 - Sense and Sensibility
Barbara Bickmore
3 - Distant Star
Dan Brown
Robert Langdon
6 - The Da Vinci Code (#2)
Eileen Chang
6 - The Rice-Sprout Song
6 - The Rouge of the North
James Clavell
8 - Shōgun
Helen Cresswell
Bagthorpe Saga
7 - Ordinary Jack (#1)
8 - Absolute Zero (#2)
7 - Bagthorpes Unlimited (#3)
7 - Bagthorpes V. the World (#4)
8 - Bagthorpes Abroad (#5)
8 - Bagthorpes Haunted (#6)
Emma Donoghue
8 - Landing
Lynn Galli
7 - Wasted Heart
Nicola Griffith
Aud Torvingen
9 - The Blue Place (#1)
10 - Stay (#2)
9 - Always (#3)
Mark Haddon
8 - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Joseph Heller
Catch-22
7 - Catch-22 (#1)
Georgette Heyer
7 - These Old Shades
Norton Juster
8 - The Dot & the Line
10 - The Phantom Tollbooth
Ellen Klages
8 - The Green Glass Sea
Harper Lee
9 - To Kill a Mockingbird
J. Robert Lennon
6 - Familiar
Paul Malmont
6 - The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril
Yann Martel
9 - Life of Pi
Alice Munro
6 - Runaway
George Orwell
6 - Keep the Aspidistra Flying
Carolyn Parkhurst
9 - The Dogs of Babel
Ellen Raskin
8 - The Westing Game
Geoff Ryman
10 - The King's Last Song
Felix Salten
10 - Bambi
Dorothy L. Sayers
Peter Wimsey
6 - The Nine Tailors (#11)
Anna Sewell
8 - Black Beauty
Alexander McCall Smith
The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency
6 - The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency (#1)
Dodie Smith
8 - I Capture the Castle
Dalmatians
5 - The Hundred and One Dalmatians (#1)
7 - The Starlight Barking (#2)
Neal Stephenson
5 - The Big U
9 - Cryptonomicon
7 - Zodiac
The Baroque Cycle
5 - Quicksilver (#1)
6 - The Confusion (#2)
5 - The System of the World (#3)
Robert Louis Stevenson
David Balfour
7 - Kidnapped (#1)
Rex Stout
Nero Wolfe
7 - And Four to Go (#30)
Anne Tyler
7 - A Patchwork Planet
Elizabeth Wein
10 - Code Name Verity
Catherine M. Wilson
When Women Were Warriors
7 - The Warrior's Path (#1)
8 - A Journey of the Heart (#2)
8 - A Hero's Tale (#3)

Non-Fiction

David Allen
9 - Getting Things Done
7 - Ready for Anything
Karen Armstrong
6 - A History of God
John Berendt
8 - The City of Falling Angels
Peter L. Bernstein
6 - Against the Gods
Hanne Blank
8 - Virgin
Joshua Bloch
9 - Effective Java, Second Edition
Robert Borski
8 - Solar Labyrinth
Damien Broderick & Paul Di Filippo
6 - Science Fiction: The 101 Best Novels: 1985–2010
Bill Bryson
8 - The Mother Tongue
Susan Cain
9 - Quiet
Richard Carlson, Ph.D.
5 - Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
Edward Chancellor
6 - Devil Take the Hindmost
Damian Conway
9 - Perl Best Practices
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
9 - Flow
Samuel R. Delany
9 - About Writing
6 - Silent Interviews
Edmund de Waal
7 - The Hare with Amber Eyes
Mark Jason Dominus
8 - Higher Order Perl
Marcus du Sautoy
9 - The Music of the Primes
Bruce Eckel
8 - Thinking in Java
Richard P. Feynman
9 - Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
7 - What Do You Care What Other People Think?
Mark Forster
10 - Do It Tomorrow
8 - Get Everything Done
John Kenneth Galbraith
9 - The Affluent Society
Erich Gamma, et al.
6 - Design Patterns
George Gamow
9 - One Two Three... Infinity
Malcolm Gladwell
9 - The Tipping Point
James Gleick
7 - Faster
Ben Goldacre
10 - Bad Science
Anthony Grafton
5 - The Footnote
Brian Greene
9 - The Elegant Universe
Jerome Groopman, M.D.
7 - How Doctors Think
Sam Harris
6 - Letter to a Christian Nation
Richard Hofstadter
8 - Anti-Intellectualism in American Life
Jane Jacobs
8 - Cities and the Wealth of Nations
8 - Dark Age Ahead
9 - The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Edward James & Farah Mendlesohn (ed.)
7 - The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction
Ralph Keyes
7 - Nice Guys Finish Seventh
Henrik Kniberg
8 - Scrum and XP from the Trenches
Mark Kurlansky
6 - Salt: A World History
David Langford
7 - The Complete Critical Assembly
7 - The SEX Column
9 - The Silence of the Langford
8 - Up Through an Empty House of Stars
Maurizio Lazzarato
6 - The Making of the Indebted Man
Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
7 - Freakonomics
David Levering Lewis
8 - God's Crucible
Michael Lewis
8 - The Big Short
7 - Liar's Poker
9 - Moneyball
8 - The New New Thing
Michael Lewis (ed.)
7 - Panic
Thomas A. Limoncelli
10 - Time Management for System Administrators
Jessica Livingston
8 - Founders at Work
Barry N. Malzberg
5 - Breakfast in the Ruins
Bethany McLean & Peter Elkind
9 - The Smartest Guys in the Room
Bethany McLean & Joe Nocera
8 - All the Devils Are Here
Mark Monmonier
6 - How to Lie with Maps
Nick Montfort
7 - Twisty Little Passages
Michael Moorcock
8 - Wizardry & Wild Romance
Toni Morrison
7 - Playing in the Dark
Teresa Nielsen Hayden
8 - Making Book
George Orwell
9 - Homage to Catalonia
8 - The Road to Wigan Pier
Collected Writing
9 - An Age Like This (1920–1940) (#1)
7 - My Country Right or Left (1940–1943) (#2)
9 - As I Please (1943–1945) (#3)
9 - In Front of Your Nose (1945–1950) (#4)
Dr. Laurence J. Peter & Raymond Hull
Peter Principle
4 - The Peter Principle (#1)
Julie Phillips
9 - James Tiptree, Jr.
Robert M. Pirsig
Quality
9 - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (#1)
8 - Lila (#2)
Christopher Priest
6 - The Book on the Edge of Forever
Karl Sabbagh
8 - Dr. Riemann's Zeros
Bruce Schneier
8 - Liars and Outliers
Ken Schwaber
6 - Agile Project Management with Scrum
Peter Seibel
10 - Coders at Work
Simon Singh
6 - Fermat's Enigma
Rebecca Solnit
8 - A Paradise Built in Hell
Robert C. Solomon & Fernando Flores
7 - Building Trust
Sriram Srinivasan
5 - Advanced Perl Programming
Duncan Steel
7 - Marking Time
Rory Stewart
10 - The Places in Between
10 - The Prince of the Marshes
William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White
10 - The Elements of Style
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
9 - The Black Swan
9 - Fooled by Randomness
Colin Thubron
7 - The Lost Heart of Asia
Jeffrey Toobin
8 - The Nine
Lynne Truss
7 - Eats, Shoots & Leaves
Edward R. Tufte
8 - Envisioning Information
8 - Visual Explanations
9 - The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint
Peter Tyson
8 - Getting Started with Dwarf Fortress
Robin Wilson
6 - Four Colors Suffice
Gary K. Wolfe
7 - Soundings
Richard Wolff
8 - Democracy at Work
Howard Zinn
8 - A People's History of the United States

Role-Playing Games

Steven S. Long
Hero System
7 - Hero System 5th Edition
John Nowak
AADA Road Atlas
6 - AADA Road Atlas: The East Coast (#1)
Posthuman Studios
Eclipse Phase
9 - Eclipse Phase

Note that ratings for books that I actually like will be between 5 and 10; a rating of 5 indicates that I felt neutral about the book after having read it. Anything below 5 means that I considered reading the book to be a waste of my time. As such, an "average" good book will get a 7. Since I mostly read books that I have some reason to believe I'll like, you won't see many ratings below a 5.

I also write magazine reviews (only of science fiction and fantasy so far). An index of all my SFF short fiction reviews, from magazines, collections, and anthologies, is available.

For more information about where I get the other information I collect about the books I read and about how I maintain this site, see my review notes. For a list of authors I've not yet read or reviewed but plan to at some point, see my authors to read list.

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Last modified and spun 2013-05-30