Moon manages to escape and follows Stone, another flying shifter like himself, to his colony, where Moon is promised great things from Stone and where Moon learns where he comes from and what he is. Moon is a Raksura, but he is also a consort, a special standing in the colony that can breed with the queens. Pearl is the queen of the colony and Jade is the younger queen, who also have the ability to keep the rest of the Raksura from shifting forms. Stone was on a mission to find more consorts for their colony from other Raksura colonies, as they are sick and need to grow their numbers before they die off. The only problem is the Fell are infiltrating their ranks and killing off other colonies before Stone can find them.

As Moon tries to help his newly found people, he must also decide his place in the world, choose between trust and survival, and fight the creatures that killed his family. The problem is the Fell have a much more insidious scheme for the Raksura, and it might be up to Moon to stop them.

Themes: One of the themes in The Cloud Roads is finding your place in the world. Moon makes discoveries about his past and his species, and choices are placed before him to help others and be with his people. In the past he hid who he was in order to stay safe and anonymous and survive, but after learning about the Raksura he has the opportunity to know more about himself and his past.

Moon also has the opportunity for love like he has never experienced before. In other colonies he has had relationships, but with Jade he has the chance for a real relationship with one of his own kind, something that will allow him to be more open and free than he has ever had before.

Pros: There is so much action in The Cloud Roads that the chapters just flew by. The main characters have spectacular voices, from the distrustful Moon to the haughty Pearl, and the crotchety Stone to the maturing Jade. And the Fell are so loathsome that you will hate every single one of them. The special abilities and roles of each category of the Raksura and the Fell gave so much personality to so many characters, which helped to differentiate each one from the other.

Cons: There are a lot of characters in this book, and they all have similar names that make it confusing at times. I think some of these characters could have been removed or combined to tighten things up a bit. This is also not a book for children, as there is a lot of gore and other adult content.

Recommendations: I haven’t read something as unique and creative as The Cloud Roads in quite a while. It is a page turner from beginning to end and packs an immense amount of world building into a tight and entertaining book. Though there is enough in The Cloud Roads to be complete by itself, there is also plenty here to make me rush to read the next book in the series. Martha Wells has built a wondrous world here that exceeded my expectations.

Martha Wells’ website
The Cloud Roads on Goodreads
Buy The Cloud Roads on Amazon
Download The Cloud Roads for your Kindle

The hurricane damages the barrier between two worlds, causing rifts that allow greater access into our world to the undead. Someone is using the chaos to kill soldiers and relief workers in voodoo rituals, all in the name of Baron Samedi, the voodoo deity. During this time Gerry goes missing and DJ is assigned a new partner, the enforcer Alex Warin, who turns out to have some secret powers of his own.

Not only must DJ learn the ropes of her new role assigned to her by the Elders, she must discover the whereabouts of Gerry, uncover who is behind the ritual killings, and protect herself from the relentless attacks of the undead. All of this must be done while New Orleans recovers and she unearths family secrets in Gerry’s journals that have been kept from her for her entire life.

Themes:Royal Street is a mystery with twists and turns, making new revelations around each corner. DJ must investigate Gerry’s disappearance, the barrier destroyed by the hurricane, and the mysterious killings of aid workers and soldiers.

Loyalties are put to the test in this story. As details about her past are revealed, DJ will be forced to choose between her allegiances to family and the promises inherent in performing her duty as a wizard.

Though it didn’t really feel like a romance novel, Royal Street is sprinkled with it throughout, as DJ encounters two cousins with different personalities and with vastly different histories. Even with these two men entering her life, she also is an empath with the ability to sense others’ feelings, including Jean Lafitte’s, with whom she has an ongoing embattled relationship.

Pros: The characters in Royal Street are all fun, including the antagonists. I kept wanting to hate someone, but even despite double-crosses from pirates and voodoo demigods, I found them all likeable, which made picking the enemy that much more difficult. Drusilla is a strong but flawed female character who can take a punch, but who also struggles with showing her emotions, especially at the most inopportune times. I loved the use of magic in an almost mundane manner, like it is just the daily grind for wizards.

Cons: For such an independent female protagonist, DJ seems to entertain the affections of men a lot. The payoff in the end of the story suffered from too much foreshadowing. When we finally arrive to the conclusion I felt like I already knew what was going to happen. Without spoiling anything, I was screaming at DJ to just get it over with.

Recommendations: Royal Street is a lighthearted magical journey with characters that are fun to sit back and watch interact with each other. With an untapped setting people can relate to with recent events, this is an entertaining debut novel from Suzanne Johnson. I will definitely give the sequel a go, with the hopes that DJ will be strong on her own and not feel the need to be in a relationship, and with a greater payoff when we reach the end. And hopefully Louis Armstrong will be there too. Now I’m going to listen to some jazz.

Suzanne Johnson’s website
Royal Street on Goodreads
Buy Royal Street on Amazon
Download ebook of Royal Street for your Kindle

The new deputy sheriff, Boyd Davies, is willing to help her, but he has some secrets of his own that he learns only Hallie might understand. With only ten days of leave to figure out how Dell and these other women have died, Hallie is rushing to find answers, but with everyone in the small town supporting Martin Weber’s innovative new energy company, the truth is being hidden from view.

Before she knows it, Hallie is getting threatened, beaten up, fires are breaking out, and strange weather patterns are becoming more frequent. Hallie will need all the help she can get from her friends, Boyd, and the ghosts constantly following her in order to fight an enemy wielding a power she can’t hope to defeat.

Themes: Seeing ghosts the way Hallie does could be seen as a metaphor for experiencing death in real life. When Hallie interacts with Dell and the other ghosts, it speaks volumes about the way we manifest our feelings when someone close to us dies. We try to understand why things happen and like to believe the lost opportunities for unspoken things can be redeemed. We all cope with death in different ways, and Wide Open gives us glimpses into the ways different people do so.

Wide Open is also a story about coming home. When we are gone from a place where we grew up, people change, places change, and new people are thrown into the picture. Relationships with friends can sometimes pick up where they left off, but sometimes we are changed in ways while we are apart that can’t be undone and those relationships now contain a dissonance that was not there before.

Pros: The characters in Wide Open are spectacular. They speak realistically and interact with each other in a truly human way. The magic is interesting and powerful and perfectly vague, which means it is just enough explanation to be cool without attempting to over-explain things that wouldn’t have made any sense anyway. Every contact with the ghosts makes you feel like they are right there with you, wandering aimlessly and running cold chills up your arms, at least until they demand your attention with something they want to tell you.

Cons: Hallie curses more than any character I can think of. I don’t know if it was to make her seem like a stronger female character, but it only made me want to wash her mouth out with soap. You don’t have to swear in order to sound tough, and it kept me from fully enjoying the story. Also, it seemed to take too long to arrive at the climax. The last fifty pages or so contained so much preparation for battle that it didn’t seem like a realistic amount before the real action kicked in.

Recommendations: I went into reading Wide Open not knowing much about it and with few expectations, but I was greatly rewarded from the second I first cracked it open. If you are willing to look past how much the protagonist curses, Wide Open is a fun read that is a fresh take on urban fantasy with a little bit of romance and a lot of mystery, magic, and action. The freezing cold that comes with the ghosts surrounding Hallie will chill you with every contact. This is a solid first novel from Deborah Coats, whose future is wide with promise.

Deborah Coates’ website
Wide Open on Goodreads
Buy Wide Open on Amazon
Download ebook of Wide Open for your Kindle

The Rossettis are not the only ones threatened by Polidori. Adelaide McKee is a reformed prostitute who had a tryst with the veterinarian John Crawford seven years earlier, producing a child who had been previously presumed dead. When she discovers that the girl is alive and in danger of being claimed by Polidori, she strikes out with Crawford to find the Rossetti family for their help to save her daughter and to stop Polidori.

Racing across Victorian London streets, riding on carriages, and climbing through dark and mysterious sewers, they all discover there are strange supernatural unseen things in their midst, and the very foundation of London is at risk. With the help of Edward Trelawney, friend of Shelley and Byron, they must track down vampires, speak with ghosts, and discover the way to stop the destruction of their loved ones and of London before it is too late. Some are willing to give up the muse in exchange for stopping Polidori, but there are others who are willing to embrace him and all that entails.

Themes: One of the great themes in Hide Me Among the Graves is sacrifice. Several of the characters are faced with sacrificing their poetry, painting, and other writings in exchange for stopping Polidori. Not every character is willing to do so, and the cost of themselves and of others. It is interesting that the sacrifice can be seen as going either way, as a sacrifice of soul and life in exchange for the muse and eternity, or vice versa.

Hide Me Among the Graves is also a redemption story, with Adelaide McKee making up for her past sins by her relentless pursuit of Polidori and her daughter, Johanna, and with Christina attempting to redeem her mistake of releasing Polidori to begin with. Crawford seeks redemption for his mistakes by following wherever McKee leads him. We even find Trelawney faced with opportunities for redemption after an entirely unrepentant lifetime.

The love story between Crawford and McKee comes into full view when they discover their daughter from their tryst years before is still alive. The steps they take to save her lead them to face their feelings for each other years after their one night stand.

Pros: Hide Me Among the Graves has exquisite characters full of depth and faults, with opportunities for failure and for redemption. The setting plays such a huge part in the story and is so well established that, even though I have never been to London, I felt like I was riding in the cabs and crawling underground right along with the characters. The supernatural elements are so full of intrigue that I felt transported to another world within a world, and was especially fearful for the characters when Polidori and the other vampires revealed themselves.

Cons: The story is thick with information and characters. I was a little confused at the beginning, not knowing anything about the book, as to what was happening and who these people are. Some assumptions are made that you will simply buy into some supernatural or magical elements without explaining why or how they work before you even know what kind of a book this is. As it progresses, however, and you learn more, they begin to make sense at least in the context of this story.

Recommendations: Using real historical figures and giving them unique personalities, this is historical fantasy at its best. Reading Hide Me Among the Graves made me feel the same way I felt after reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell for the first time. Powers places you right amongst the characters and makes you feel and fear as they do, especially when facing the supernatural and as they make new discoveries of the unknown. Pushing past Bram Stoker’s Dracula, this is my new favorite vampire novel.

Tim Powers’ website
Hide Me Among the Graves on Goodreads
Buy Hide Me Among the Graves on Amazon
Download ebook of Hide Me Among the Graves for your Kindle

Here’s all you have to do: Simply leave a comment on this post to enter the giveaway.

You can also copy and tweet the following message on Twitter for a second entry:

THE EXPATS Giveaway from Tim’s Book Reviews @timlewis: http://wp.me/p1TbyB-dc Read his review while you’re there! #giveaway

That’s all you have to do to enter. Multiple comments on this post will not increase your chances of winning. Twitter post will only give you an additional entry, so you must leave a comment on this post to win. I will pick (1) one person at random to win (1) one advance reader’s copy of the book using a random number generator.

You don’t have to follow the blog or follow me on Twitter, but it would sure be nice if you did. Don’t forget to leave a comment or your Twitter entry won’t count. Good luck!

And the winner is…

After putting all the entries into a spreadsheet and using a random number generator, the winner of The Expats giveaway is:

Logan the Great

Thanks to everyone for entering. Keep your eyes peeled for more giveaways. In the meantime, you can subscribe to this blog or follow me on Twitter for reviews and updates.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Odds of winning depend upon the number of eligible entries received. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, who are 18 or older. To enter, leave a comment on this post beginning at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST) April 5, 2012. Sweepstakes ends at 11:59 p.m. PST April 13, 2012. Void outside of the 50 US and DC and where prohibited by law.

With so many expats in Luxembourg, Kate soon begins to suspect that her new friends may not be who they claim to be. She also learns that the FBI, in connection with Interpol, might be investigating her husband for criminal activity, and she must use her skills as a CIA operative to learn what exactly his activity is. In the process, she begins to uncover secrets about her friends that lead her to suspect them of not being who they claim to be, and about Dexter, whose job to protect banks from hackers might be a cover to do more sinister things.

Kate may be rusty when it comes to being a spy, but her instincts might not be. Everyone around Kate is surrounded by secrets and lies, including herself, and she soon learns that she can’t trust anybody, perhaps even her own husband. As plots are unraveled, Kate finds herself questioning everything and everyone, and her past secrets coming back to haunt her.

Themes: The Expats is a political thriller that is more personal than international. Though it takes place between citizens of one country living in another, it is really more about the individuals than the countries they live in. While politics do play a part in them, the politics of interpersonal relationships is a more prevalent theme.

Trust becomes a huge issue for every character in The Expats. While Kate trusts her husband, she still suspects there are many things he is not telling her. Mistrust gets in the way of Kate meeting new people, trusting friends, and sometimes withholding information from her old bosses in the CIA and from Dexter. We learn very quickly that Kate’s mistrust might be considered paranoia, but her instincts are usually pretty good when it comes to reading people.

I ultimately discovered that The Expats is a redemption story. With her past secrets always in the back of her mind, Kate is worried that they could be brought back at any time, and those secrets might come with dire consequences. Will Kate be given opportunities to make right her past and present choices?

Pros: The pace of The Expats made it difficult to put down, with secrets being doled out bit by bit until I couldn’t stand to wait for the next revelation. This is a story full of vivid language and colorful metaphors. Kate was believable as a spy, and the characters worked in creating a kernel of doubt about their trustworthiness. Without giving anything away, the ending seemed to be a vapid cop-out at first, until I really thought about the point of the story as a whole. Since this is a story about Kate and no one else, in this context, it was the perfect ending for this story.

Cons: There is an abundance of sentence fragments and incomplete or run-on sentences in The Expats. It sometimes works for making the narrative punchy and straightforward, but many times it has the opposite effect, making it choppy and difficult to understand. I also don’t know much about being a spy, but it seemed like a seasoned CIA agent, though out of practice she might be, would make wiser decisions than Kate made in certain situations.

Recommendations: The Expats is a nonstop ride of distrust with suspicion being placed on everyone. What Chris Pavone has done is create a spy thriller that is accessible enough that just about anyone can get into, but that diehard fans of the genre will probably enjoy even more. If you’re looking to get sucked into a mystery with the truth just out of reach, look no further.

Chris Pavone’s website
The Expats on Goodreads
Buy The Expats on Amazon
Download ebook of The Expats for your Kindle

On the Red Planet, or Barsoom as the locals call it, he encounters a savage green alien race and quickly becomes respected among them. Though he resembles the red men, he has incredible physical abilities that set him apart from all others on the planet. Because of a lower gravity and his muscles attuned to the pull of the Earth, he can leap great distances and has much greater strength than those around him. With these abilities he gains respect, but when he meets Dejah Thoris, princess of the red men of Helium, he immediately falls in love.

For the love of the princess, John Carter is willing to traverse a savage land, face strange creatures, and throw himself into battle against men, both red and green, in order to save her. It takes traveling to a planet millions of miles away for John Carter to find friendship and love, but it very well may cost him his life.

Themes: A Princess of Mars really is a love story. After spending most of his life without love, or any real close relationships at all, John Carter finds his love on another planet. It is for this love that he is willing to do anything and give everything, including his life.

Appearances are not what they seem on Barsoom. One cannot judge someone for being green or red, male or female, or even between creatures of varying size and ferocity. We discover that those coming from different tribes, or even within the same tribe, must be judged as individuals and not by the reputation or past of the entire group or race.

A Princess of Mars is also an adventure about sacrifice and loyalty. John Carter fights for himself and for his goal of protecting the princess and fighting for her love, but he also fights for friendship and the common good of all creatures on the planet. He must discern his allegiances within and between battling factions and the different races on Barsoom.

Pros: There is much swashbuckling adventure and excitement in A Princess of Mars. We also find chivalry that is difficult to find in today’s fiction. A Princess of Mars has an optimistic view of the world and sees the goodness in people. Burroughs’ writing is full of action and the pacing is great, even when it glosses over details at times. With a cliffhanger ending, it still felt complete and just the right length.

Cons: There are a few instances where things just so happen to move the plot along in favor of John Carter. Call it deus ex machina or coincidence, but at these points it seemed almost lazy on the part of Burroughs, though it did help the quickened pacing when used. It may be the time when A Princess of Mars was written, but it is thoroughly sexist. Even the savage green Martian women are considered fairer and weaker. For example, where perhaps a few of the green men could probably have dispatched an entire pack of wild dogs, a dozen females armed with daggers fare much worse.

Recommendations: With its quaint look at interplanetary travel and alien worlds, the ideas in A Princess of Mars are still grandiose and forward-thinking. Burroughs was well ahead of his time when he wrote the Barsoom series, perhaps if not in scientific terms, then in human nature and fantastical storytelling in general. His inspiration for other stories in the genre to follow make A Princess of Mars a groundbreaking work of fantasy and science fiction. This is a must read for fans of the genre.

Disney’s Edgar Rice Burroughs website
A Princess of Mars on Goodreads
Buy A Princess of Mars (Penguin Classics) on Amazon
Buy John Carter of Mars: The Collection (first 5 books in the series)
Download ebook of A Princess of Mars for your Kindle (free!)
Download ebook of A Princess of Mars in multiple formats from Project Gutenberg (free!)

You’ll see familiar stories such as Hey, Diddle Diddle, Little Boy Blue, and Jack and Jill, along with not so familiar (at least to me) such as The Donkey and For Want of a Nail, but each one puts a fresh spin on a classic story in only a few frames.

Themes: Many classic nursery rhymes have themes of doing right and fearing punishment for wrongdoing, political satire, and propaganda. While this is true for some, most are rhymes either spoken or set to music simply to help children go to sleep. Rhymes and music can also help children with reasoning and learning ability, helping to improve math and reading skills.

Pros: At first I thought this would just be another book of nursery rhymes, but as I flipped through the pages I realized the work and artistry that went into each story. Some of the stories, such as Hector Protector, took four lines of source material and elaborated it into an even more interesting story than I would have ever thought. Many of the rhymes are reinvented, such as the clones of One, Two, Buckle My Shoe or the rock band babysitting of There Was An Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe. Others, such as The Itsy Bitsy Spider, were straightforward illustrations of the nursery rhyme we already know. Quite a few of the stories were funny, and every page is pretty.

Cons: A few of the stories have language that will be difficult to understand for young readers, and in some cases, as with The Owl and the Pussycat, the changes in language over time can be confusing or vulgar by today’s standings without the appropriate explanation. In at least one story, Jack Be Nimble, there is a word that I wouldn’t want my child saying (stupid).

Recommendations: I found Nursery Rhyme Comics to be a visually stunning collection of humorous and inspiring interpretations of classic rhymes for people of all ages. I think I enjoyed it even more than my son. A few of the stories might be a little more mature than intended, using language that is either inappropriate or antiquated, but discerning parents can easily skip over them or help younger readers understand them better. I am glad this book is in our home to be read as my children grow, but also so I can enjoy these stories with them. I love this collection. Do yourself and your family a favor and get a copy to read to your kids before bed.

Nursery Rhyme Comics on Goodreads
Buy Nursery Rhyme Comics from Amazon

Their friend, Jack, is also accepted into the school, so having a roommate who knows her ruse is less of a challenge. The real challenges come when the duke’s ward, Cecily, becomes enamored with Violet, who goes by her brother’s name. Ernest also develops feelings for Violet, but for the real Violet, not her alter ego. She discovers her feelings for the duke may be reciprocal, but to let him know without it destroying her chances for her lifelong dream of becoming a great scientist makes things difficult.

But love and science are not the only things Violet will encounter at Illyria. It is a place full of surprises around every corner, with invisible cats, killer automota, and a mysterious train in the basement. Blackmail and threats come from students and teachers alike. With the end of the year faire to work towards, she must hold up her disguise and her feelings at the same time.

Themes: All Men of Genius is as much a romance novel as it is a fantasy or science fiction novel. There are at least seven love triangles, romantic misunderstandings, or sexual trysts that I can think of, but could be as many as ten to twelve between all the different characters. One of the main plot points is the romantic feelings between Ernest and Violet, both as herself and as her alter ego. We see romance between her brother Ashton and Antony, one of their servants, between Cecily and Violet (as Ashton), Toby and Miriam.

This is definitely a book speaking out on social constraints based on money, social class, gender, sexuality, race, and more. Violet is trying to attend a school for only men, Ashton is a gay male not so covertly expressing his love for another, Miriam is a Jewess standing up for her life while living as a governess for Cecily, while really only upper class people are allowed to attend Illyria.

This is also a book about deception and truth. Violet’s deception about her true identity may end up hurting not only her reputation, but her family’s as well, along with the possibility of hurting Ernest and Cecily along the way. It is the true Violet who the duke falls in love with. Unfortunately, the repercussions of deceit are not necessarily explored completely, as the only deceit that ends in tragedy is that of Volio, our villain. Everyone else seems to turn out happy, but isn’t that how most comedies end? Many who read this will simply give the response, “What is truth?”

Pros: All Men of Genius has everything you could want in a steampunk novel. Not only does it have gears and springs of brass, but it also has something that I haven’t seen much of in other steampunk, and that is an inclusion of other sciences: astronomy, biology, and chemistry, and not just the mechanical sciences. It is funny with compelling characters, each one with great potential and most of them fulfilling that, with a few exceptions. The hat tips to Shakespeare and Wilde inject the story with life, without which it might have fallen totally flat.

Cons: There is entirely too much sex in this book. Ranging from innuendos to bedroom behavior, it goes to the point of ridiculous at times. For such a witty book, throwing in things such as mechanical vibrators is beneath it. It seems like every character’s sexual proclivities are laid out and curiosities are simply commonplace traits for all characters, including Ashton and Antony rolling in the hay, Toby and Miriam’s secret romance, Ernest’s questioning of his sexuality, and Professor Valentine’s love for senior women.

One of the greatest fears for Violet is getting caught travesti, or dressing as a man. This is also one of the biggest problems I had with the book, since Ashton is an invert (gay), but the fear of being caught as a homosexual is inconsistent with this fear of being caught cross-dressing. Violet is afraid she will be caught, embarrassed, put in prison, or even put to death, but Ashton getting caught as an invert is only given a passing glance with little fear of retribution.

My other complaint is that the end felt rushed, as if Rosen was running out of time and space and had to wrap all the character arcs by giving an explanation of everything at the end and he only had a few pages to do so. After the action climax we needed a little more treatment of the characters other than Violet and Ernest to take a breath and soak in what just happened. Even the romantic climax between the duke and Violet seemed bland because it felt rushed and too easy.

Recommendations: All Men of Genius is a witty and socially defiant romp through love and science. It helped to redefine my expectations of not just steampunk, but in most other fiction. While the deviant behaviors of the characters may put people off from reading it, Rosen gives a strong argument for for the importance of being earnest, something which I will heed and respond to with a quote from another famous book: “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

Lev AC Rosen’s website
All Men of Genius on Goodreads
Buy All Men of Genius on Amazon
Buy ebook of All Men of Genius for your Kindle

In searching for the materials to repair the return mechanism, Dennis comes across the Coylians, people who speak English, but whose culture is quite different from Earth. Their society is based upon “The Practice Effect,” where nothing is made from scratch. Everything is “practiced” until it gets better and better through use. Sticks are practiced into tools and rough cloth becomes fine silk. The L’Toff are the “makers” who create the basic structures from which objects are practiced from.

Dennis gets pulled into the politics of the world and finds himself pitted against Baron Kremer, who is putting himself into a political position to rule the world, and has plans for the making “wizard” Dennis. Instead, Dennis must use his knowledge of science from his own world and combine it with “The Practice Effect” to stop Kremer, repair the zievatron, and return home. Luckily, he has the help of the pixolet, an ever-improving exploration robot, the L’Toff Princess Linnora, and a thief named Arth.

Themes: Dennis is called a wizard simply because the thought of making something from scratch is absurd to the Coylians, since you can practice something into perfection from a primitive rudimentary start. Because of his gift to make things, however clumsy they may be, he quickly becomes a leader against Kremer, with his leadership skills combining with his abilities as a scientist. The man with these skills that Kremer wants to take advantage of ends up becoming the adversary he must face.

In The Practice Effect, we discover that not only are we looking at traveling through worlds laterally, but also through time. The progression of science can bring worlds together, but it can also cause harm and degradation if unrestrained. Balance can be achieved through using knowledge and tools responsibly.

There is some romance in The Practice Effect, but it isn’t really explored incredibly deeply. There is a love triangle between the trio of scientists of Gabriella, Dennis, and Brady, with attentions going in different directions. With the addition of Linnora (slight spoiler) things might just work out for everyone.

Pros: While the dialogue isn’t the greatest, I found the most fun characters to be those who don’t speak: both the robot and the pixolet. These were far more interesting than most of the other characters, though Arth’s accent was fun to read. I thought the premise, once you buy into it, becomes an interesting twist on what we know about the physics of our world. Dennis’ exploration robot even improves as the story progresses and becomes an important character as well.

Cons: If you can’t buy into basic laws of physics being turned on their heads, then you might not enjoy The Practice Effect. The characters are fairly bland, and the premise might fall apart under close scrutiny of certain readers. Because of this, I found it to be more of a mix of both science fiction and fantasy.

Recommendations: If you can overlook what we know about physics, the story holds together quite well by the time you reach the end. The final explanation about why things work the way they do makes everything much more plausible. While the dialogue isn’t spectacular, the story is well told with a different concept I haven’t seen before. The Practice Effect is a recommended quick, quirky, and fun read.

David Brin’s website
The Practice Effect on Goodreads
Buy The Practice Effect on Amazon
Buy ebook of The Practice Effect for your Kindle