Such a fantastic story.  I read the entire trilogy back-to-back (during May 2016), and thoroughly enjoyed it. There have been times when I've done this with other trilogies or series and sometimes this would produced a story fatigue. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about this is where reading starts to become a chore, and you end up ploughing through just wanting to see how it all wraps up. Or alternatively you need to put it down for a while, which means you may not pick it up for some time. Not with this story. It was compelling and Stephen changed point of view enough to keep it fresh and had you wanting to read more.

In Hyperion  the story follows seven travellers on a pilgrimage to the Valley of the Time Tombs and along the way each tell their story, about why they're on the Planet Hyperion and what they hope to gain at the end of the pilgrimage. What we get is six short stories which vary in genre ranging from horror to military to poetry to  bildungsroman in reverse to detective mystery and finally a spy tale. Each story is well written and compelling, I didn't want to put the book down until the tale was complete.  This was well done and in doing it this way we were able to explore the amazing universe that the author, Dan Simmons , created. I love a story with detailed world building and Hyperion has it in spades.

This article started off as an Up and Coming Reads however I was able to read  Revenger   before that post went live, so here were my initial thoughts before reading: We all love a good swashbuckling adventure filled with pirates and buried treasure... so this type of adventure set in space has placed this book to the top of my To Be Read list. Alastair Reynolds is a good old school, Hard Sci Fi writer and I'm very interested to read his version of a space pirates adventure. It splits the difference between Firefly and Chris Wooding’s Retribution Falls novels, albeit with more of an emphasis on the sci in sci-fi than in either of those tall tales. Niall Alexander Tor.com After Reading...

I really enjoyed reading The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet. It's a beautifully written feel good story about a small crew onboard a ramshakled space ship called the Wayfarer . The crew of the Wayfarer , who build hyperspace tunnels between worlds, aren't on an epic journey to save the galaxy they are on a year long journey to fulfil a very big contract which will set them up for life. As the ship travels from point A to Point B, the place they will create and anchor the hyperspace tunnel, they visit various places of significance for each crew member. From small moons with large insects to bustling multicultural space ports which sell anything your heart desires, including soap. Along the way we get to know the crew of the ship and watch them grow and change over their year long journey. And that's the story if you're looking for a plot driven story this is not the book for you.

I had a fun 3 month journey trying my hand at vlogging and video production again. I enjoyed doing this and am hoping to do more in the future. I think the hardest video for me was The Wheel of Time one trying to answer a question on a series I'd never read as well as trying to do something different instead of standing in front of a book shelf. It's difficult to say which one was my favourite, it would be a draw between the Star Trek Kelvin Timeline as well as the Shakespeare one. As a way of saying thanks for joining me in this journey here is a  fun video. Thanks again for your support, your views and your comments, not just over the last three months but to all my regular readers.  I really appreciate it. If you have any ideas as to content you'd like to me explore I'd be interested in hearing from you. Thanks heaps .

Anomalous Thrust is the 4th book in the Sliding Void series and like most of Stephen Hunt's novels I found it to be an easy and enjoyable read. There wasn't any plot points which distracted me from the narrative, which make it difficult to review.  I read it, and had fun doing so.

Space Scout  by S.A. Pavli A catastrophic failure of the Space Exploration Service Starship Lisa Jane maroons it's Captain Paul Constantine on an uninhabited planet. Resigned to spending the rest of his days as a latter day Robinson Crusoe, the Captain is shocked to find the remains of uninhabited alien exploration base on the planet. This soon becomes a desperate fight for survival for the Captain, but also an exhilarating journey, full of adventure and new discoveries. Quick look: There are three things that prompt me to purchase a book (maybe four). The initial three are Cover, Blurb and Price . Space Scout kept coming up on my Kindle recommendations , and a quick glance at the cover (small and black and white) gave me the initial impression that this book was some titillating space porn, Strike one.  Thinking my new Kindle was similar to the Kobo app and I could mark this title as ' not interested ' so as to remove from the  recommendations ...

The Terminal War: A Space Opera Novel (A Carson Mach Adventure) by A.C. Hadfield A millennium into the future.  In a galaxy far from Earth.  We were not prepared for the Terminal War.  Billions of lives are at risk as enemy forces mass on the frontier of the Commonwealth. If the planet Terminus, the center of all the Commonwealth’s technology, falls, we will lose everything, and there will be no way back.  The Axis Combine’s fleet is overwhelming in number, and their firepower is superior.  Unless one man and his crew can save Terminus, the galaxy will never be the same again. They must find a way to give the Commonwealth an edge or we’ll face complete annihilation.  There is but one hope: Carson Mach and his motley crew of rogues on the starship Intrepid. 

The Lost Voyager: A Space Opera Novel (A Carson Mach Adventure) by A.C. Hadfield Description : The Voyager, a mining ship, goes missing… Its precious cargo could change the galaxy… Unless one man and his crew can find the lost Voyager. Carson Mach, a freelance rogue captain, and his crew are faced with a seemingly routine mission to find and rescue the Voyager, a missing mining ship in a remote system. Only he and his employers know what the lost ship carries in its cargo hold and the devastating consequences if it falls into the wrong hands. On arrival to the Noven system, the destination of the Voyager, Mach and his crew have three planets to explore, with no clues as to where the ship and its artifact might be. Their first stop reveals a terrifying new enemy has joined the search, raising the stakes considerably. If the new threat finds the cargo, it will place the entire galaxy in a perilous position from which it won’t recover. Mach and his crew must overcome impossible od...

Subtitle: Practicing the Presence and Absence of God. I found this book to be quite engaging.  My first adjective for this book was ' stimulating ', but from other reviews I've read that seems to be a polite way of saying I didn't agree with parts of the book.  While I did question some parts of it the author, Woodley, always seemed to back up his statements with Scripture.

One reviewer said this book was Pride and Prejudice with Dragons.  I would offer that this is 'ChickLit' with dragons. The dragons even sparkle in the sun, if that's what you like. To be honest I was disappointed with this book.   Disappointed that it was the last in the series, that is. It finished where I expected it to, so the story of what happens next will hopefully be explored in another series. ( Update 17th July 2016:  Wow, I was really wrong with this. The series extended for two more books.... which I faithfully read). 

With a set of directions we can easily get lost if we make the wrong turn but with a ‘ helicopter’ view we can re-set our course if we get lost and reach our destination with ease. I really found this book quite repetitious, however in Chapter 6 Tripp and Lane explain why the first half of the book (and the last half of the book) seems to be banging away at the same points. Tripp and Lane begin this book by defining the problem--which is that in many areas of our lives we do not believe the gospel. Then, before getting into any practical tips, they seek to lay a solid theological foundation. Before showing us how to change they paint a picture of where God is taking us and point us to the Saviour that is taking us there.

"In all the course of my life I never slept worse my dear wife and I than I did last night - what with the hard ground, spiders, ants and every vermin that you can think of crawling over me.  I was glad when morning came" The above is a quote from the book 1788.  It in turn is a quote from the pages of Lieutenant Ralph Clark's journal in Feburary 1788.  This was written over 200  years ago and yet how apt is it now? For all intents and purposes it could be a page out of one of my camping journals as I was able to relate to this man's discomfort.  In some ways Australia hasn't changed a bit.   Every time I go out into the bush I have 'every vermin that you can think of crawling over me' and this happens in my house sometimes as well.

It's nice to return to the 'Realm of the Elderlings' and continue the story of the dragon’s restoration into that world. I enjoyed this story and am looking forward to book two. This book seems to take a similar route as the Soldier Son Trilogy and 'The Dragon Keeper' being book one sets up the main characters, their backgrounds and motivations and then ends as the 'Quest to find the Elderling city of Kelsingra' begins. There are some compelling characters and a few nasty ones as well. A theme which runs through this book seems to be how the various female characters deal with and try to overcome the male bullies who have through various means manipulated their lives. Not too gritty but sometimes a little disturbing. Update: 17th July 2016 I've since read all four books in the Rain Wilds series, and enjoyed them all.  While interesting to see the Elderlings and Dragons restored to this world I didn't enjoy the characte...

A Classic '60s pulp fiction novel which looks at the theme of  ‘What constitutes a sapient creature’? The last half of this book goes into a detailed discussion between the characters, in and out of the courtroom, about this subject and then the repercussions it will have on the company owned planet of Zarathustra. Greed is the secondary theme as we follow the machinations of the company trying to keep its grip on the lucrative sunstone market. I particularly liked the technology of the book, it was vague enough in some areas to pass as a modern book and then quirky in the spots where it was a bit more detailed, like using audio tape to store information. I guess some of the tech in today’s modern sci-fi books will seem obsolete in 20 years time as well. This book can be read at two levels. When I read it twenty years ago it was an exciting story, after finishing it again at this later stage in my life the philosophical discussions where more interesting than the act...

I enjoyed this book, granted it's not as good as Revelation Space . I few things I disliked was that it seemed to drag a little at the end after leaving Earth2 , and then the story was wrapped up a little to quickly for my liking, but it was pleasing to see Reynolds move into another ' universe '. I enjoyed some of the original elements which generated the plot. It is refreshing to read some speculative fiction in which the story line doesn't follow the same old patterns. Liked what you read? Why not... Then head over to my Facebook page  The BistroMath to join the conversation. You can also follow me on Twitter or YouTube. To do so click on the images below.