“In other words, crew deaths are a feature, not a bug…”

Ensign Andrew Dahl has been assigned to the xenobiology lab aboard the flagship, Intrepid.  Even though Away Missions are not necessarily part of his job description, there is always the opportunity for him to serve on one along with the famous Captain Abernathy and Commander Q’eeng.  But Dahl begins to notice something strange aboard the Intrepid: crew members scurrying out of the senior officer’s path, he is often left alone in the lab when Q’eeng arrives “unannounced” everyone having left for “coffee” or to “check inventory”.  There’s also the magic box that does impossible things and away missions that really serve no purpose but always end with the senseless death of a crew member.


After enjoying Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi I was excited to read his latest, Redshirts; especially when I learned what it would be about.  If you are familiar with Redshirts in the Star Trek universe, you know they don’t always fare well on away missions.  I was curious where he would go with this and I was looking forward to the great dialogue I liked so much in Fuzzy Nation.


In Redshirts, I got the dialogue and while I think I understand what Scalzi was going for, I felt a little let down.  I was hoping for something a little more sinister behind the demise of the poor redshirts.  What I got was a silly premise straight out of a bad sci-fi show, with bad science and someone saying something very dramatic .  The characters didn’t feel fully fleshed out; a little too one dimensional where any of them could have come and gone without much notice.  This is what I think Scalzi wanted to present but it wasn’t what I was looking for.


I was able to take something away from this as a wannabe writer so it’s not like this book is a waste of time.  There are some funny moments that make you laugh out loud.  There are also some sentimental moments contained in the three codas at the end.  So even though I was disappointed it was still a good read and there are lots more Scalzi books out there I'm sure I'll really enjoy.

New On The Shelf: The Limited Edition

Well, I’ve been very good lately and I haven’t bought too many books since my last New On The Shelf.  During one of my daughter’s softball practices, my husband and I wandered over to a shopping center for some caffeine.  Of course, it was just an excuse to check out the used bookstore, My Favorite Books, which I hadn’t been in yet!  And it was worth it!  I found two Discworld books, The Light Fantastic and Going Postal by Terry Pratchett, as well as Zoe’s War by John Scalzi.  An interesting tidbit I learned at the bookstore: There are certain author’s books who don’t stay long on the shelves and Pratchett is one of them, so I was really happy that I found these two before someone else got to them.

 After watching The Legend of Korra, I had done some research prior to my write up for it to make sure I had certain facts right.  I learned of the graphic novel Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise Part 1 that bridges the two series together.  Naturally I had to get a copy for myself so Venessa and I headed over to Barnes and Noble.  I didn’t tell my husband what I planned on getting, I wasn't even sure they would have a copy, so when we returned he looked at me funny and said, “I thought you were getting something for yourself?”  I did!  It was in the Graphic Novel section, which is right next to the Sci Fi/Fantasy section!  Not the kids section!  I can’t help it if it’s something we can both enjoy! (Geez, don't get so defensive, Sarah!)

 This Kid needs her fingernails trimmed!

After enjoying The Dead Man: Face Of Evil, and having received it for free, I went to the Kindle store to see what else I could get for free that looked interesting.  I got Wolverine’s Daughter by Doranna Durgin and The Illustrated Book Of Wrath Volume 1 by Robin Coe.

Then the Sony Reader Store had a 35% off code to redeem with select titles.  One of those was The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and I couldn’t resist.  This will be a good one to read with Venessa (I say that a lot, don’t I?).  I read it a few years ago when it was just that one and The Sea Of Monsters and really liked it.  I ended up donating my physical copy and I've regretted it so I had to jump on this deal.

I also checked out Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman for an upcoming group read that is part of the Once Upon A Time Challenge.  Anyone is welcome to join.  And hopefully soon I’ll be receiving The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin.  I ran across it at B&N a few months ago and it’s been haunting me so I finally gave in and requested it from the library.  But man, am I itching to buy my own copy even if I haven’t read it yet! 

Out of all of these, I’ve already read the Avatar graphic novel and I read it a second time aloud to Venessa.  I’ll post a Storytime With Venessa to discuss what we thought of it soon.  I also started on The Illustrated Book Of Wrath but I don’t know… It has some lovely illustrations but Famine rambles a lot in the beginning and it’s real tiresome.  I don’t know if I can continue through much more of it to see if he stops.


So, that’s what’s been added to my collection.  Lots of good stuff I can’t wait to get to!

These Fuzzy Wuzzies are no bears and these Fuzzy Wuzzies have lots of hair!

Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi is about a stereotypical large corporation that exploits planets for its natural resources. Jack Holloway, a disbarred lawyer, now a contractor for the ZaraCorp, is mining a claim on the planet Zara XXIII. He’s been in some trouble not just as a lawyer, but as a contractor as well, accused of letting his dog set off explosives. But his luck is about to change when he discovers a sunstone seam (the diamonds of the future, that the ZaraCorp has a monopoly on already). In a paperwork snafu, he’s entitled to a share that will make him very wealthy. But his discovery of a sentient race on Zara XXIII puts that in jeopardy.

Think of this as a Law & Order/Erin Brockovich of the future. There are a lot of courtroom antics which I found surprising for a Sci-Fi book. But it was still engaging and I found I couldn’t put this book down.

Jack Holloway is an interesting character. He is selfish and rude but there is an honorable streak in him. Being a lawyer in the past, he can manipulate the system to get what he wants. It’s often hurt people in the past but he’s learned his lesson and you can’t help but root for him when he stands up for himself and the fuzzys.

You will also fall in love with the fuzzys, the sentient creatures discovered on Zara XXIII. My favorite parts of the book was their interaction with Jack and his dog; the way they just made themselves at home, making sandwiches, taking over Jack’s bed.

The dialogue in this book is great too. It flows easily, sounds natural, it’s interesting and funny. It felt like it could easily transfer to screen. Another big plus are the names. You can actually pronounce them out loud and not feel silly!

The courtroom scenes had me biting my nails wondering what Jack was up to and what would happen to the fuzzys. Overall the book was paced nicely. It didn’t have a lot of action but the character interactions, plot and dialogue made this a real page turner.