Libromancer's Apprentice

Peace Talks (Dresden Files #16)  / Jim Butcher Previously Reviewed Cold Days (Dresden Files #14) Dresden Files: War Cry (Graphic Novel) Dresden Files : Down Town (Graphic Novel) Brief Cases (Short Story Collection) OK. It's been six years  since Skin Game came out.  A lot has happened since then, both to me as a reader and to Butcher as an author.  And there's been one heck of a lot of anticipation and expectation for this book, which presents a challenge.  So this is going to be a first pass review, I intend to read and review it again closer to it's release date, hopefully in final print and not e-galley format. When the Supernatural nations of the world meet up to negotiate an end to ongoing hostilities, Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard, joins the White Council’s security team to make sure the talks stay civil. But can he succeed, when dark political manipulations threaten the very existence of Chicago–and all he holds dear? I ...

Stars Uncharted (Series) Stars Uncharted / S.K. Dunstall Stars Beyond / S. K. Dunstall I first became aware of this series thanks to kudos from Charles Stross who provided a cover blurb.  "An absorbing Space Opera in the tradition of The Expanse and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet ."  S. K.  Dunstall, two sisters writing under a single name, provide the reader with several engaging writing and and compelling hooks right off the start.  The initial threads seem far flung, but they are skillfully braided together. Space Opera can be many things, but one thing I need from it is an expansive story and adventure, and Stars Uncharted delivers.  Some elements are recognizable genre standards, such as a notorious ship, a rag tag and fiercely loyal crew, characters with dangerous secrets, and plot that spans across the known (and unknown) universe of the setting.  Others are fresh takes on science fiction elements, such as the nature and exe...