Alyce Caswell - Author
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Book Reviews

Enter the Oasis

27/11/2020

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Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline

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Wade Watts doesn't have time to settle down and enjoy life after his big win - another hunt has been unlocked for Halliday's heir and there will be a toll to pay if he pursues it. And this time his pop culture knowledge may not actually be enough to save the day.

I adore the music and movies of the 1980s, so Ernest Cline's books are like crack to me. Wade traipsing around a whole world full of John Hughes' movies? Be still my beating heart. But Ready Player One and Armada had problems that grated on me. I'm not talking about Cline's less-than-fantastic prose (which, honestly, isn't an issue considering how much fun the books are). I'm talking about the female characters and the diversity problems.

After being disappointed so many times by male authors refusing to grow and continuing to treat female characters as afterthoughts, objects, or complete trash (here's looking at you, Jim Butcher), I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Cline actually put in the effort to address the problems from the first book. Is it perfect? Well, no. But Ready Player Two might be my favourite book of Cline's, because he didn't ignore a large portion of his readers. This book is not just for CIS white dudes.

Yep, I outright cackled when John Hughes' world got called out for being very white. And I think about the ending to Pretty in Pink practically every week lol. I think I'll re-read this book a lot.

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Thrawn: Secret Origins

14/11/2020

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Chaos Rising (Thrawn Ascendancy #1)
by Timothy Zahn

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Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Ascendancy is a genius at tactics, his interest in studying art giving him an edge over his opponents. But when it comes to politics, he is constantly out of his depth, and his career is not the only casualty when things go sideways.

Finally, we get the full Thrawn origin story. Given how tightly the other Disney novels have to colour in between the lines (often to the detriment of plot), it's nice to read a book that doesn't have to obey all the rules. Very interesting, though not always engaging. I suspect the next couple of books will give us a better villain - this book was primarily about set-up.

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Heaven's Sk8er Boi

11/11/2020

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Unseen (The Fallen Guardians #3)
by Cassie Laelyn

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I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hailee has spent her life never putting down roots, thanks to her mother's strange need to keep moving, and finds solace in her book boyfriends. But Fate will soon throw her into the path of EJ, an immortal Guardian barred from returning to Heaven and more interested in living it up than in being someone's knight in rockstar jeans. The growing attraction between them might just be hotter than where they're headed...

I didn't think I'd enjoy EJ's book, but I was very wrong about that! I think Hailee might be my favourite heroine of the series so far - perhaps the book is my favourite of the series too. Laelyn is settling into a comfortable rhythm with her romances and the pacing is just right, with nothing ever dragging on too much. I'm often wary of insta!love situations, but I did enjoy this one.

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A Little Bit of This and That

1/11/2020

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Warlords, Witches & Wolves by Various

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I received an ARC of this book, but only after I'd already preordered it so I'm not sure what disclaimer to put here! I'm definitely going ahead with the preorder though.

This anthology collects romantic fantasy stories involving characters that are at least one of the promised "warlords, witches and wolves". There are magical lands to discover and pockets of our own world to revisit with new eyes.

I was a little daunted by the size of this anthology (14 hours to go, or so the Kindle informed me at the start), but each novella is just the right size for someone who's about to fall into bed. Unsurprisingly, the authors I already like were behind he novellas I enjoyed the most. My favourite novellas, however, would be Daniel de Lorne's (I always enjoy an exploration of the power dynamics in a relationship) and Claire Boston's (Mongolian fantasy!).

Less enjoyable were the novellas that stopped before reaching a conclusion. I think a novella should have a fully realised story - prequels and spin-offs are fine, but cutting the story off is less preferable to me.

All in all, a fine collection that lets you dip your toes into the work of various authors. I found at least one new author that I'd like to investigate further.

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    About

    Alyce Caswell, when she isn't buried in a book or drinking her way through a giant pot of tea, is a keen writer of science fiction and romance. She has published two novels and four novellas in her space opera family saga, The Galactic Pantheon Series.

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  • Home
  • Books
    • The Galactic Pantheon >
      • The Tortured Wind
      • The Twisted Vine
      • The Flickering Flame
      • The Shifting Ice
      • The Whispering Grass
      • The Creeping Moss
      • The Galactic Pantheon Novellas
      • The Adventures of Grace Pendergast, Galactic Reporter
    • The Shadow of the Gods
    • Dealing with the Demon
    • Love and Lockdown
    • The Eyes of Charon
    • Sweet Delights
  • Other Works
  • Book Reviews
  • Contact