Two by Two

Really well-written story, great characters, interesting twists, good psychology, engaging. 5/5 stars.

The Way of Kings

Wow!  What a great series!  I really enjoyed the world building and high fantasy.  I cannot wait to read the next one.  5/5 stars.

Grigorii Efimovich Rasputin: Almost the Truth

It is unusual to find anything written about Rasputin that tries to get past all of the gossip and hype.  And because of the politically charged time of the fall of Tzarism, rise of Communism, and tumult in the region, everything written is suspect.  None-the-less, the BBC has tried to present facts and both sides of the historical event, painting Rasputin as a victim of larger forces while unapologetically describing his evil.  I knew very little about the events surrounding his life and times and enjoyed this short audio play.

4/5 stars

Dataclysm

I was hoping for more but the book is pretty good, 4/5 stars.  Very short, lots of pictures.  It is better than other blog articles to book compendia.

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Rebel Fleet

Meh. 2/5 stars.

Data and Goliath

​Fantastic book, dense with information, positive, upbeat, and optimistic despite the audacious, brazen, evil, pernicious mass surveillance he explains in detail.  Bruce's privacy concerns are tempered by his respectful and open debate with David Brin.  It is extremely enlightening.  5/5 stars.

Babylon's Ashes

The awesome saga continues.  I could barely put it down. 5/5 stars.

Packing for Mars

Most of the humor fell flat (for me); the science itself was good, though a little too elementary for my taste.  It is more of a kids-only book and I am sorry my youngest daughter did not like it.  2/5 stars.  

Shores of Tripoli

I have read all of the C.S. Forester books and all of the Patrick O'Brian books, along with some sundry other Napoleonic Sea war stories and am therefore a little disappointed by the un-sea-man-like manner in which these adventures are portrayed.  None-the-less the history itself is eye-opening and enlightening.  The timeless and unchanging institutions of the Barbary region are very-well presented.  And the characters are appealing despite the poor writing style.  3/5 stars.
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Despite my hate for all things Rowling writes, I actually found this play to be actually pretty good. It is very consistent with the original Pothead universe and the new characters are well-drawn.  The old characters are as terrible as the original books (e.g. Ron) and the time travel BS is well done.  3/5 stars.

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