Binary Storm | Christopher Hinz

*Image and book provided via NetGalley for an honest review.

Summary:

100 years prior to the events in this book, Nick submitted himself for cryogenic freezing in the hopes of at least helping science learn from its mistakes if not actually being woken up in a more hopeful future. It turns out, the future isn't as bright as he'd hoped. There are constant bio-terrorist attacks wiping out hundreds of thousands if not millions of lives. There are also creatures called Binaries, entities that exist in two bodies and have superhuman speed, strength and intelligence. They consider themselves above the human race and are working towards destroying or enslaving the lesser creatures.

Review:

I was nervous about picking up this book as it is the prequel to an entire series. I was assured, however, that the book stands on it own and does not require you to have read any of the other books. For the most part, this is true.

Hinz does an incredible job of building the world and quickly establishing its problems through action rather than exposition. Yes, some of the disasters were news reports, but Annabel directly interacted with Doomers and Nick had to be saved from gangs in the sec region. The character development was also evidenced through actions and conversations, though could, at times, seem to jump with the time skips in the chapters. This is, genuinely, a good book that appeals to my love of sci-fi, intelligent characters and puns. Hinz was even able to give me a couple moments of genuine I-did-not-see-that-coming moments, that were not caused by plot holes but, rather, good writing. 

The one downside to this book is that I haven't read the rest of the series. There were several moments in this book where I thought "if I'd read the series, this [moment/name] would be more profound." There were a number of names, especially towards the end, that I felt would have impacted me more if I'd read even one of Hinz' previous books. Instead, I ended up finishing the book feeling like I was missing out on something. 

If you're a fan of the series, this is a great book for you. If you're interested in the series, I recommend you start with one of the original books. This was a good read, with a good story, but it's best if you know the series' history.3.5 hoots!

                Hoot!Hoot!

                Hoot! Hoo

The Custodian of Marvels | Rod Duncan

*Image and book provided via NetGalley.

Summary:

Elizabeth Barnabus has been on the run since she was 14. The Duke of Northamptom says she belongs to him as an indentured servant after he paid off her father's debts, which were incurred by the Duke himself, though this was never proven. In an attempt to find more evidence for her case against the Duke and resolve her money problems, Elizabeth rejoins friends from her circus days in their attempts to steal from The Patent Court, the most heavily guarded government building in the world.

Review:

Once again, I find myself reading a book from the middle of a series. Once again, Angry Robot Books has provided a series that can be started from any point. Though this book was not what I expected when I first started reading, I had no problems getting into this world and rather enjoyed my stay there. 

We only get to really know a few of the cast of characters, but the ensemble still works. Considering it's all told from Elizabeth's perspective, it's not surprising we only learn so much about each character. I also appreciated that this book was from the first-person perspective. At the start of each chapter, there are quotes from The Bullet-Catcher's Handbook that tell about how to perform illusions and cons. As a result, I was left feeling like I was missing a piece of the puzzle, which kept me on the edge of my seat, which made this read so much more enjoyable. I can honestly say, this is one of those very rare books where I can predict almost nothing.

This is a very interesting world, an engaging story, and a pleasant read. I happily give 4.5 Hoots!

                Hoot!Hoot!

                Hoot! Hoot!

                     Hoo

1000 Piece Ravensburger Dragon Puzzle

Well, I promised I'd review jigsaw puzzles as well on this blog, it's about high time I delivered. I've loved jigsaw puzzles since I was a kid. I was the only child that grandma would ever let touch her 1500 piece puzzles.* I've always believed that you can tell a lot about a person by how they solve a puzzle. Let's see what we can find out about me. Please note, this is not a new puzzle. I've put it together once before.

It should be noted that I begrudgingly wear reading glasses. I am naturally far sighted so I need to wear these when I cannot hold a computer or book at arm's length. I also wear them for puzzles though because of things like this: 

So close!

So, back to puzzles showing you things about people, let's look at the types of approaches there are to puzzles. The vast majority of people, myself included, like to start on the outside and work our way in. Others prefer to group the pieces first by color, shape, or something else. Others prefer to just grab a bunch of pieces of and work with what they get. I like to set up my borders, get some parameters and structure in place, then go for more substantive** aspects of the puzzles.

Setting up the borders.

After the edge pieces are all in place, some people will go after the big sections of the puzzle. In this case, they'd focus on the dragon, get the big stuff out of the way and then work on the details. I'm too much of a procrastinator for that so for the next several hours of puzzling, I worked on the sea, the clouds, the sky, the rocks, everything BUT the outlines of the dragon.

This was taken right before I was done for the night.

Progress on the beautiful sunrise/sunset.

 Finally, it became time to work on the dragon! I found this part of the puzzle to go quickest because of all the details in the dragon. So while working from the outside in may have been slow going at first, it is fast running from here in.

Dragon's outline.

Finally I have removed all the pieces from the box. But what's this? I am missing one piece and have an extra of another!

Missing Piece

Extra Piece

I've completed this puzzle before so the missing piece is on me, but the extra piece? The one that caused hours of contemplation and cursing the first time I assembled the puzzle? That's on Ravensburger. I just hope there isn't another puzzle out there that is missing this piece!

Finally, I am done with this puzzle for the second time:

I have to admit, I do enjoy this puzzle. It's nowhere near the brain-wracking mess that is the Krypt Puzzle, and I'm grateful for that. I am very happy with this gift from my husband, Fluxxdog. I find that it is a beautiful picture, well structured and, aside from an extra piece, very straightforward. I give it 4 hoots!

Hoot!Hoot!

Hoot!Hoot!

*It greatly surprised her that I was so good with puzzles because my mother was always the type to pound pieces together if they didn't fit like she thought they should.

**I actually wrote this word before I was certain of what it meant. I'm pretty sure I'm using it right. Hit me with a comment if I haven't.