Fugitive Telemetry (The Murderbot Diaries, #6) by Martha Wells – Review

Tags

3.5 stars, AI, artificial intelligence, Book Review, humor, Martha Wells, mystery, robot, scifi, series, space opera

About Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

No, I didn’t kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn’t dump the body in the station mall.

When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the body is (was), how they were killed (that should be relatively straightforward, at least), and why (because apparently that matters to a lot of people—who knew?)

Yes, the unthinkable is about to happen: Murderbot must voluntarily speak to humans!

Again!

**********************

Review of Fugitive Telemetry

SecUnit is still anti-social and full of snark,  And smarter than everyone else.  That doesn’t mean SecUnit has all the answers.  If that was true, there would be no story.

Is this book scifi?  A little.   Fugitive Telemetry is actually murder mystery.  Sure, SecUnit has superior technology and logical thinking abilities.  But a murder mystery is a murder mystery.  A space setting does not change that.

I enjoyed the first installments of SecUnit’s story (1-5). In previous books, the I felt SecUnit’s emphasis was on protecting humans. In Fugitive Telemetry it’s emphasis was on solving a crime, which made SecUnit seem self-absorbed.  Or maybe SecUnit is just more comfortable being itself – becoming more of an individual.  Time will tell.

I missed ART, the AI from previous books. ART is a friend and that is what our favorite SecUnit needs.

I’m pretty sure that Murderbot fans are going to love this book even if I did not.  Fugitive Telemetry is entertaining, but is my least favorite of the series.

Thanks to the publisher who provided a copy through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

**********************

Links

Add Fugitive Telemetry to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Fugitive Telemetry:

**********************

Temple of Ice by Christian Cura – Review

Tags

3.5 stars, Book Review, Christian Cura, fantasy, young adult

Temple of Ice by Christian Cura

Meet Tama, an adept winter mage of Khione, a beautiful, dangerous land. Bloodthirsty monsters roam the frozen wilderness, and the unforgiving elements are a constant. Tama and her friends—Kachina and Masou—are on the cusp of completing their education at the temple where they have trained for the past four years. They need only to do one more thing: earn the Goddess Tira’s final anointing. But to do that, they must fight through hordes of corrupted creatures and endure the perplexing obstacles within Mount Orodani.

The road before them is long and bloody, and Tira’s evil sister, Malsumi, won’t stop sending her minions until she is strong enough to break free of her prison. Tama fights valiantly to defend herself and her people from these twisted monsters. But she will soon discover the real threat is much closer than she initially thought…

**********************

Review of Temple of Ice

Temple of Ice is a young adult fantasy adventure set in an icy world full of magic, evil, friends and trials. The strong heroine, Tama, begins as an ornery school girl, getting into trouble. About to finish her mage education, her final exam is a vision quest. The vision quest will send Tama and her two friends, Kachina and Masou, into the dangerous frozen world outside of the city.

The danger comes in the form of corrupted creatures, sent by the evil goddess Malsumi in the war against her sister goddess Tira. The three young mages command of the winter elements, wind, ice and water, enables them to defeat the creatures and complete their vision quests. But the battles with the creatures were only the beginning.

What follows is an epic war between good and evil with Tama at the front of the battlelines for the most part. The story is filled with scenes depicting the war against the corrupted creatures. Interspersed with the battles the reader gets to know the characters. Other characters include Tama’s parents, the headmaster of the mage school and the headmaster’s daughter, Liseli.

Temple of Ice is not a long book. The shorter length (200-ish pages?) means that I missed a few things in this tale. The detail regarding religion, the worshipping of Tira, Mother Goddess, seemed perfunctory. This led to superficial motives for both good and evil characters. I also felt the romance between Tama and Liseli lacked depth, although that can also be attributed to youthful characters. Liseli herself, did not add that much to the story. Tama’s heroism would have been the same with or without Liseli.

What I really appreciated was the cold icy world that Tama and her people lived in. Wind, snow and ice had me feeling the chill. Luckily the action scenes warmed me up. I also enjoyed Tama’s growth from a frivolous young student to a strong heroic mage.

A strong heroine, magic, good friends, betrayal, war, and hope are the choice ingredients in Temple of Ice. This book will appeal to readers of young adult fantasy.

Thanks to the author who provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

**********************

Links

Add Temple of Ice to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Temple of Ice:

**********************

The Woman in the Veil by Laura Joh Rowland – Review

Tags

3.5 stars, Book Review, historical, Laura Joh Rowland, London, mystery, photographer, romance, Victorian England

About The Woman in the Veil by Laura Joh Rowland

Sarah Bain and her friends Lord Hugh Staunton and Mick O’Reilly are crime scene photographers for the Daily World newspaper. After solving a sensational murder, they’re under pressure to deliver another big story. On a foggy summer night, they’re called to the bank of the river Thames. The murder victim is an unidentified woman whose face has been slashed. But as Sarah takes photographs, she discovers that the woman is still alive.

The case of “Sleeping Beauty” becomes a public sensation, and three parties quickly come forward to identify her: a rich, sinister artist who claims she’s his wife; a mother and her two daughters who co-own a nursing home and claim she’s their stepdaughter/sister; and a precocious little girl who claims Sleeping Beauty is her mother. Which party is Sleeping Beauty’s rightful kin? Is someone among them her would-be killer?

Then Sleeping Beauty awakens–with a severe case of amnesia. She’s forgotten her name and everything else about herself. But she recognizes one of the people who’ve claimed her. Sarah is delighted to reunite a family and send Sleeping Beauty home–until one of the claimants is murdered. Suddenly, Sarah, her motley crew of friends, and her fiancé Detective Sergeant Barrett are on the wrong side of the law. Now they must identify the killer before they find themselves headed for the gallows.

**********************

Review of The Woman in the Veil

The Woman in the Veil is an interesting tale of a newspaper photographer and her team that investigate the almost murder of an amnesiac.  Named “Sleeping Beauty” by the press, she cannot remember how she came to be at the crime scene.

Sarah Bain takes an immediate personal interest in the woman and vows to help her.  Sarah’s fiancé, Detective Barrett, is the official assigned to the case despite his work overload.  Barret’s boss, Reid, is the slave driver who does not like Barrett or Sarah or her friends Hugh and Mick.

Sarah and Barrett will be at odds during the case.  As the case develops (a murder occurs) the conflict both increases and brings them together.  These two do not seem to be a couple that belong together.  Going their own ways in the investigation, they don’t talk to each other.

In the meantime, Reid, the bastard, messes with the case.  The may be a bit of a spoiler, but his personality is clearly defined up front, so I think it is okay to say, since I’m not mentioning how he messes with the case.

While the mystery was interesting and engaged me, I had a few problems with the telling of it.  First, I felt the main character’s investigative skills are seriously lacking.  There was not enough follow up or checking of stories.  Facts seemed to come out long after they should have been discovered.  Sarah and Barrett immediately made decisions based on unsubstantiated testimony.  This is not me thinking this after I finished the book.  This is me shouting at the protagonists as the story developed.

Also, there were quite a few too vague references to the past.  I have not read books 1-3, so I needed details, especially concerning the 1888 Ripper case and Reid.

3.5 stars which will be rounded to 4 stars for review sites.  The Woman in the Veil is a great mystery, and I think these characters have potential, but the solving of the mystery lacked credibility for me.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

**********************

Links

Add The Woman in the Veil to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase The Woman in the Veil:

 

**********************