clacksee's reviews
1112 reviews

Plains of Utopia: Colony Six Mars by Gerald M. Kilby

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.75

Just how many times can one robot die?

It’s a conspiracy … on Mars!
Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

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emotional hopeful slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

You know inciting incidents, right? The thing that kicks the whole story off, yeah? Someone should tell Back Chambers about them. And story arcs. And plots. 

But here’s the thing… No one reads a Becky Chambers book for the plot. Well, anyone who tries is going to be sorely disappointed. You read her books for the characters. And this one has them in spades. 
The Blue Bar by Damyanti Biswas

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Cop uncovers big, terrible crime. He wants to investigate, but the top brass will do anything to prevent him from looking into it. Cop won’t  let  it go, so he ends up taking time off to investigate despite orders to stay away. 

The bones of the plot aren’t new. But what sets this story apart is the rich and vivid setting. The author drops her reader straight into the heart of Mumbai. 

I had trouble keeping all the characters straight, but it was still a worthy read. 
A Cut Below by T.W.M. Ashford

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A murder mystery in a futuristic, alien setting. Not my favourite in the sub-genre, but definitely not terrible. 

My favourite character was Beads.  
A Pirate's Life for Tea by Rebecca Thorne

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adventurous emotional funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

For me, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I did the first. Kianthe and Reyna are an established couple, which I love. This book continues to follow them, but also focuses heavily on the will-they/won’t-they story of Bobbie and Serina. It’s more of a traditional romance in that sense, which isn’t my (pardon the pun) cup of tea. But that’s not the author’s fault. 
All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall

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adventurous hopeful tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

In a post-climate-change world, Nonie and her family live on the roof of Amen – formerly the American Museum of Natural History. But when the flood waters rise even higher, they’re forced to flee. 

Reminded me of both Moon of the Crusted Snow and Be the Sea. I thought it was longer than it needed to be, but that might be just me. 
Simon Singh's Numbers by Simon Singh

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funny informative fast-paced

3.0

Each chapter zooms in on a specific number and talks about what it is and why it’s interesting. 

I’ve got a number they didn’t mention: 68%. That’s how far into this book you have to get before you discover that women exist. Many, many (mostly White) men feature in this book. Yet you can count the number of women on one hand. And one of them was only there to read a line from a play (written by a man, naturally).

Interesting? Yes. But it’s interesting that’s about data can manage to present such a skewed picture. 
Surface Tension: Colony Five Mars by Gerald M. Kilby

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Mia and Gizmo are back and there’s another murder for them to solve. 

Imagine, if you can, a world where wealthy corporate overlords buy their way into power, steal as much as possible, and convince the population that it’s the fault of people from over there. Inconceivable, right?
What a Way to Go by Bella Mackie

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dark funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Characters you love to hate!

Andrew’s a self-important prick who can’t remember how he died. Olivia’s a status-obsessed woman who can’t believe her husband had the audacity to ruin  her party by dying. Jade’s a true-crime obsessive who can’t believe her good luck when a rich man dies in her village. 

Horrible things happen to horrible people!
Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Murderbot solves a murder! This might be my favourite one yet.