Surface Detail

Book 9 of Ian Banks' "Culture" space operas is more of the same, fun, interesting, thrilling, and filled with philosophical themes.  The space battles were more bizarre with less high-tech magic than previously.  The limits of the tech, with more-closely matched opponents made the plot a little less predictable.  4/5 stars.

What would Google Do?

This one is better than I expected.  I normally don't like Jeff Jarvis' blog entries or writing and I disagree with some of his ideas but they are all thought-provoking and interesting.  It's a short book and I plan to re-read it because I was dead tired in the plane and did not absorb enough.  4/5 stars.

Planetfall

This one is very painful to read because it describes mental illness so vividly and accurately from the sufferer's point of view.  The author herself apparently lived through parallel events to those in the space opera story.  It is very powerful.  I did not like the ending -- it is depressing and surreal.  3/5 stars.

Dreadnaught

Jack Campbell's "Lost Fleet" series, book 7 continues the adventures of John "Black Jack" Geary.  Now he leads his fleet against enigmatic space aliens instead of other people.  It's still a fun space opera.  Keep them coming.  4/5 stars.

The Algebraist

A "prequel" in the Culture universe by Ian Banks, The Algebraist is a fun thriller with compelling characters, space aliens that are similar to the "mind" ultra-AIs in the Culture stories, and good a good mystery. Very enjoyable.  4/5 stars.

Victorious

Book 6 of the "Lost Fleet" space opera by John Henry (aka Jack Campbell) had some fun twists and enigmatic space alien behavior that made the story even more fun.  I also enjoyed the end of this one. 5/5 stars.

Stephen Moss: Fear Saga 1: Fear the Sky

Disappointing.  The author does not use the awe-and-wonder mystery of advanced technology and uses magical pseudo-science in explicit detail.  The characters and plot are cool.  But the science is crap.  2/5 stars.  Yuck.

On the Razor's Edge

And they keep getting better!

Love this book Michael Flynn book as well.  Non-stop action!  I could not put it down.  5/5 stars.

In The Lion's Mouth

Continuing the stories of the characters in January Dancer, Michael Flynn tells a fun story with complex treachery and shifting alliances among powerful characters in a far flung future.  This one is almost but not quite as good as the first book and much better than all the others in the series so far. 4/5 stars.

DC-1a aka Falcon-9/Dragon Sticks the Landing

After 11 years of hard work, functional, single stage to orbit rockets have finally arrived.   I was crying when I watched this video.  Elon Musk calls his Space-X company's rocket the "Falcon-9."   It is the first incarnation of our dream, the delta clipper (DC-1) conceived in the 1960s and  first funded by the US government in 1991. My grand children can be free from this repressive gravity well and will be able to reap the resources and benefits of space.

Congratulations to everyone involved.  Ad astra!