T. A. Bruno

The start of a new chapter

Revisado: 03-12-25

Iron Gold picks up roughly 10 years after Morning Star. Everyone has shifted into new roles except Darrow and his army. It's a great story about how he is a weapon for the Republic that has overstayed its welcome. Darrow is torn down from his lofty post, becoming sort of an outlaw to the Republic he fought so hard to create.

This is also the first time a Red Rising novel has been split into 4 separate POV's, all written in first person. Lyra, Ephraim, Lysander, and Darrow each share equal time in the spotlight, and it is very cool hearing about Darrow and Sevro from these other perspectives. Seeing the aftermath of the Rising is also very interesting, and there's new trouble to worry about on the horizon.

The only reason I docked this 2 stars was because it's very much a setup novel. I understand it's required if we want to start a new series of books to continue this story, so I'm not angry about it, but the book spends most of its run time setting up things to come. A necessary evil, and one that still remains interesting, if only less so when compared to the excellent trilogy before it. I'm very anxious to see where this goes from here.

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A good mystery-thriller set on a dead world!

Revisado: 10-09-24

This was a cool book with many nice twists and turns and some creative universe-building. I will admit that the world of Sixth Cradle is very threadbare, previously destroyed by the Shroud, and it's no more than a wasteland for our characters to get to know each other. But the lore shines in the society humanity exists within, run by various family dynasties competing with each other on everything except the need and hunt for Relkatite (I listened to the audiobook, so I apologize if I misspelled anything).

The characters are all loveable, and I will admit this book is heavily a romance when you break it down, but in a way, I enjoyed it. The only reason I dock a star is because there were some weird logic jumps that didn't make any sense to me. Small things, though, like when Nira and Tarq see "an animal" in the woods, they decide not to tell anyone at camp because they will "riot" was a weird stretch. I'm sure you want your perimeter guard to be aware of threats. Stuff like that, but it doesn't happen too much, but just enough to notice.

Overall, I recommend this book. I love me some shifting trust issues on an abandoned and dead world filled with mysteries and threats. I wonder how the rest of this trilogy pans out and I intend to get to more of it sometime in the future.

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I bloody dang loved it!

Revisado: 02-07-24

AMAZING.
I walked into Red Rising after hearing many of my friends praise it and hype it up, and I can safely say it lives up to the hype. I listened to this on audiobook, and the narrator did a great job breathing life into every character, especially our main, Darrow. I mostly walked in blind, led only forward by the hype I heard before it, and I think that benefitted me. I will say even if it seems like it'll be easy to guess how this book plays out in the beginning, I was 100% wrong about where it goes. I won't say more than that, because I felt like the turns were so cool to experience. I intend to jump right into the next book immediatly, and I don't usually cruise through a series so quickly, but this one is too Gorey Damn good. Highly recommended!

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Nothing like anything else I've read this year!

Revisado: 09-29-23

Wistful Ascending by JCM Berne might be one of the more surprising books I’ve enjoyed reading this year. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Wayne Farrell, who did an excellent job bringing every character to life and teasing out a bit more likeability in each of them.

First, I want to mention the tone and delivery. I think it’s worth noting that the story is delivered via character interactions over various lunches and dinners between Rohan and the friends he meets along the way. If readers were expecting high-octane action the entire time, they might miss it here. However, we get very thoughtful conversations between action that help the characters develop more naturally as the story progresses. It’s also delivered in a way that I somewhat consider “episodic,” where Rohan doesn’t have an overarching problem to solve, but a few problems to solve while dealing with his daily life. I’ll admit, once or twice, I found it a little interrupting to cut away from a scene to a lunch when I was expecting more to happen. Still, the overall story and characters make it work. I only mention this because it’s nice to know it beforehand to set the mood for maximum enjoyment.

The space station Wistful is a wonderful place to hang out. JCM Berne has made an area I felt like I was living in with Rohan, a lot of it due to the slice-of-life moments with Rohan making the whole place feel more natural. I loved hearing about the il’Drach and Rohan’s powers and how he struggles to redefine himself from his past as a super-powered soldier. A true monster lurks behind his gentle, charming exterior, and the fight to remain true to himself is genuine and well-written.

When the action hits, it SLAMS. The juxtaposition between Rohan during lunch and Rohan destroying warships is intense and amazing. It didn’t feel like I was just reading about “superhero but in space.” It felt unique and exciting. (I’ve worked on a few superhero films in my day, and this felt very fresh to me! Bravo!)

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Wistful Ascending! It was nothing like anything else I had read this year.

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Can I join the Crew??

Revisado: 08-24-23

Sadir S. Samir has crafted a thoroughly entertaining fantasy adventure that won't disappoint! The Crew quickly won me over with its fun characters, exciting world, and a dynamic plot that constantly brings in new cool ideas. Narrated excellently by Tim Paige. I loved meeting every character who joined the Crew on their way to slay the Bone Lord of Akrab. Varcade’s short attention span kept every engagement with him energetic and fun, which pairs excellently with his fighting style as a superpowered Educator from a distant land. The Demon characters were also a highlight. Their technology and culture were interesting to explore, and seeing their dynamic with the “Onions” of Akrab was well crafted. This was my first novel by Sadir S. Samir, but it won’t be my last! I am excited to see where the God Dust Saga goes next.

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Complex and Cool

Revisado: 06-14-23

Downbelow Station was an interesting ride. I never quite knew where it was going to go, and the surprises were consistent enough throughout. C.J. Cherryh created a believable setting in Pell Station and Downbelow, and crafted a surrounding conflict that spans a lot of space, Sol System, and the Beyond, yet funnels into Pell and the space station orbiting it so well. I listened to the audiobook for this one, with narration by Brian Troxell, who brings it to life with brutal, short sentences. The writing style is surgical, straight to the point, with zero fluff. This book did require a lot of concentration due to the sheer amount of characters, their relationships, their roles in society, and whose side they are on, but I was able to follow along.

The natives of Downbelow, the Hisa (sometimes referred to as Downers), are interesting and well-included. I liked the innocence they brought to the book, because it gets incredibly dark in some areas. This was written in 1981, and as a guy who has had to witness horrific massacres on the news and terrorist events, some people might find some of the events in this book a little traumatic. It was haunting and horrifying, the casual issue of commands to end lives. I feel like readers of the Expanse series will enjoy this book, it was written well before those books, but it has a lot of the same great stuff that makes the Expanse good in it too.

The only downside I have that all of the Constantine characters, the main family the book follows, feel pretty much the same except for the scenario they are given to solve. I would have liked to see more variation among them, but they were all pretty much the dutiful member of the power-family looking to regain power after abruptly losing it.

Overall, really cool book.

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An excellent follow up to Bloodlines!

Revisado: 04-26-23

I long awaited the audiobook release to Peter Hartog's Bloodlines, and boy did it not disappoint! Todd Menasses once again nails the narration, adding an extra layer to love to each performance in the story. I really loved the mystery in this one, I won't say too much to avoid spoilers (reviewing mysteries is tricky!) But I liked that this one went deeper into Tom "Doc" Holliday. The case he must solve is personal, darker, and in some parts very real to today's reality in some ways. The side characters remain excellent, if lessened in their page-time, they still appear enough to love them fully and add to the story. Peter is an excellent writer, capable of crafting these deep intricate thrillers with interesting characters set in a world that is similar to ours but wracked with the supernatural. Great stuff, and I look forward to whatever Peter writes next!

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I loved this book!

Revisado: 02-23-23

The Legend of Black Jack is about a young boy who is transported to a world of fantastical creatures, heroic knights, magic, and evils he must conquer. There is real danger for Jack Swift in this book, and A. R. Witham isn’t afraid to sometimes steer into some pretty horrific monsters. I loved so many elements in this book. It plays out a little episodic in ways, as Jack meets new friends along his journey, we get time with each of them as he learns more about himself. None of the Chicago references were lost on me, a Chicago-born kid of the ’90s. Toward the end, the ideas start revealing how interesting and unique they are in ways I won’t spoil here, but I constantly said, “oh man, that is so cool.” I listened to the audiobook, and Witham’s narration is very passionate and delivered excellently. He does a great job giving every character a unique voice, which comes off in a way only an enthusiastic writer can deliver. You can tell this story means a lot to Witham, and it aids the experience immensely. I highly recommend the Legend of Black Jack for anyone looking for a young adult/Middle-grade novel that harkens back to the glory days of the ‘80s and ‘90s storytelling. You know—the kind we fondly remember yet still have nightmares about. Excellent work!

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A powerful blend of multiple genres!

Revisado: 12-02-21

Peter Hartog has brought a powerful monster to life with Bloodlines. It’s a novel of many infused genres that work together so well, it almost creates its own in the process. You will get a handful of cyberpunk, a dash of horror, a sprinkle of fantasy and sci-fi, and a mug full of pulp. I loved it.

Hartog has made incredibly fun and exciting characters to follow along with through Empire City. Tom “Doc” Holliday is a coffee-drinking detective who’s at the tail end of an exhausting career, infused with a mystical thing he calls “the Insight,” which he only has a tiny bit of control and understanding of. Besim is a Vellan, part of a group of people that had come to this world through a dimensional portal. She’s a brilliant and fierce character to contend with, and I found her enthralling. Deacon became one of my favorites. Something about the Ex-Guardian from a confederate place called Birmingham wielding a truncheon that could ignite in holy fire if his cause was righteous just made him a great character to see on the page. You could tell he left his past in a complicated way, not entirely throwing it out but not fully embracing it either. Leyla was also a standout. She’s a hacker, but there’s more to her than meets the eye. She also brings a little levity to some of the more serious scenes. Todd Menesses does a perfect job bringing these characters to life through his performance and narration.

I had seen in an interview from Peter where he said that some of these characters are based on characters his friends had played during a session of a tabletop RPG. You can tell Peter cares about them all, they are a great group!

Overall, I loved this book. I can’t say enough good things. I look forward to its sequel!

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Really great classic scifi

Revisado: 09-22-21

I enjoyed this a lot. It got a little hard to follow when Lewis mixed in a lot of alien words, but eventually it cleared up and had a really interesting message. I just had a good time listening to this.

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