Review: The Trade of Queens

The Trade of Queens by Charles Stross
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So finally done - it was a pretty decent series. Got a bit depressing and hard to get through / follow towards the end, and I missed the simplicity of the earlier ones - as you add more people, more characters, more worlds, and more problems, it just gets harder and harder, more and more sluggish - but ACRONYMS aside, it still stayed pretty good all the way till the end.
It was a tragic ending - one group instigates a war, the other group responds with madness, and the simple general population of the world - who never asked for the war, the world-walkers, the games they played - pays the price in a nuclear winter while the guilty parties escape scot-free.

It's left the door open for sequels, but I'm not sure where it can go from here without a whole new series. The best part of the whole concept - applying economics, engineering and political science to magic - was the single most unique, impressive, and stand-out part of this series.

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Review: The Revolution Business

The Revolution Business by Charles Stross
My rating: 0 of 5 stars



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Review: The Merchants' War

The Merchants' War by Charles Stross
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: The Clan Corporate

The Clan Corporate by Charles Stross
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Slowing down. Interesting cliffhanger end. Realism continues as ever. Refreshing breath of fresh air storywise, though a bit stodgy in character and dialogue.

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Review: The Hidden Family

The Hidden Family by Charles Stross
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Charles Stross is a pretty good fantasy writer, it turns out - but an even better steampunk one. The worldwalking plot device is an awesome mechanic for crossover novels - he did the modern day corporate crime and drug trade, he did the medieval royal court intrigue and swords, serfs and secrets... and now he's got a hardcore bona fide alt history steampunk world complete with consumptive revolutionaries, airships, bobbies and literally steam-powered cars.
Can it get more awesome?
Yes it can, with the death of a major character! Discovery of a shocking long-forgotten secret! A twist in the tale and a sudden reappearance of a previously long-lost other character! Patents! Business! Robber barons! Real barons! Courtroom drama!
It's a very unclassifiable but extremely enjoyable story, the way it's turning out.

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Review: The Family Trade

The Family Trade by Charles Stross
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After a long time - maybe the first time - there's a book with a protagonist who gets shown magic and then proceeds to test it starting with a control, observations, recordings, and a map. Then finds out how it works. Then figures out how people make money off it, in the most logical way. Then uses her real-world education and knowledge to figure out how to make even more money off it... it was hilariously awesome. And sharp, snappy, and edge-of-the-seat gripping.
Would I read the next one? I already did!

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Review: The Skull Throne

The Skull Throne by Peter V. Brett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pretty decent - I think the Demon Cycle is beginning to suffer from the classic problem of overpowered protagonists - In the fist few books they barely survive, then get better, then thrive... and now the night holds no more terrors, and their worst enemies are each other - but this is a Demon Cycle book, not a human history - so you have to keep coming up with stronger and stronger foes to keep it interesting.
The ending was pretty good, though. Jayan and Asome have an interesting Rabban / Feyd-Rautha dynamic going on and develops pretty well - the last book and hal of this one went slow but it seems to be building up towards something pretty interesting.

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Review: The Skull Throne

The Skull Throne by Peter V. Brett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pretty decent - I think the Demon Cycle is beginning to suffer from the classic problem of overpowered protagonists - In the fist few books they barely survive, then get better, then thrive... and now the night holds no more terrors, and their worst enemies are each other - but this is a Demon Cycle book, not a human history - so you have to keep coming up with stronger and stronger foes to keep it interesting.
The ending was pretty good, though. Jayan and Asome have an interesting Rabban / Feyd-Rautha dynamic going on and develops pretty well - the last book and hal of this one went slow but it seems to be building up towards something pretty interesting.

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