November 2022
This year is flying by. It feels like it should still be summer. November was a bit odd this year. The weather finally started getting winter cold, the leaves all fell off the trees, my family got Influenza A, and we were able to go visit my New Mexico family for Thanksgiving/Christmas. We saw all of my siblings and their spouses along with all their kids (except the oldest who had to work; further proof that growing up sucks).
The World Cup of soccer is going on now, which means 64 games of the best soccer in the world packed into a month. We have been watching soccer for about two weeks straight. The USA managed to advance to the Round of 16 and will play the Netherlands Saturday, December 3rd! It’s gonna be crazy.
I’m doing a December/Christmas book giveaway. Go to “Final Thoughts” below for the details.
Here are the books I finished in November 2022 and my short reviews of them:
Fiction Books
Sunreach (Skyward 2.1) by Brandon Sanderson
Freya Marten (callsign FM) is the main character of this novella that takes place alongside Starsight. FM and her crew of pilots and friends are fighting for their lives against the Krell and the Superiority. They desperately need to unravel the secrets of hyperdrives so that they can get out of the jail they have been stuck in for three generations. The hyperdrives are colorful slugs that live on their planet. Jorgen is the only cytonic (person with special superpowers) in their group and he is just discovering his powers, so the experimentation is slow and dangerous. FM and Rig work through some awkward moments as they establish a slow-growing romantic relationship in the middle of the chaos. Skyward flight gets sent on a mission to rescue a Superiority outcast named Cuna on Sunreach where they test their new powers and learn how to use their relationships with the magic slugs with much more power and effectivity. This novella was fun; it brings more life and color to some of the supporting characters from the other books and builds on the technology that humans are rediscovering.
This is for readers who need a quick and easy read to go with the other stories in this series.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Suzy Jackson, 5:21)
Hari Seldon predicts the fall of the Galactic Empire in only 300 years using psychohistorical devices. This discovery is enough to get him and all his people banished to Terminus to create the Encyclopedia Galactica, which is supposed to spare the galaxy from a 30,000-year dark age. The Encyclopedists establish a city on Terminus and begin writing their encyclopedia. The population is mainly scientists supporting the writing effort, which also causes the city to excel scientifically beyond the Four Kingdoms surrounding Terminus. In part two, Mayor Salvor Harden saves the little world from being overtaken by the aggressive neighbors in the first Seldon Crisis and establishes his office as the real seat of power on Terminus. A video recording of Seldon confirms that Harden has correctly navigated the first crisis and that the encyclopedia was just a ruse to establish Terminus which will be the foundation for the Second Galactic Empire. In part three, Harden sells Terminus’ technology to three of the four nearby kingdoms in the form of religion. By controlling the technology/religion, Harden gains great leverage in the little area on the edge of the galaxy. In part four, the little corner of the galaxy seeks to push technology to other worlds in the area through Master Traders. Their use of technology/religion isn’t always well received and sometimes they resort to blackmail and bribery to further the technology cause. Part five is the longest and most complex part of the book. Master Trader Hober Mallow gets set up to take a fall as part of a trap set by the leaders of Terminus, but he uses quick thinking and plays the long game to eventually reverse the trap. He becomes the Mayor of Terminus and uses trade and commerce to rule along with the technology Terminus develops. The book ends and sets up the next book to handle the fallout of the trade wars and rule by the wealthy. This book was written in chunks by Asimov back in the 1940s and 50s, so some of the ideas it holds are funny, like a futuristic symbolistic calculator he writes about in the first part. Also, the idea of micro-nuclear powered devices seems to have taken a while to catch on in present-day science. This was a challenging read and I had to relisten to portions to make sure I understood them. Thanks for the recommendation, Joey.
This is for sci-fi fans and political scientists.
(Rated PG-13, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Scott Brick, 8:41)
ReDawn (Skyward 2.2) by Brandon Sanderson
Alanik is the alien who crashed on Detritus in Starsight. She is the main character in this novella set after Sunreach. Her race, the UrDail, is divided into two factions. One wants to join the Superiority even if it means sacrificing their cytonics like Alanik. The other faction, which is losing power and support wants to remain free and fight the Superiority’s oppression. Alanik teams up with FM, Jorgen, and the rest of Skyward flight to fight the Superiority, and to unite the UrDail on their home planet called ReDawn. As they fight, they explore the unique powers of each type of cytonic slug, they also unlock more powers of the ancient human tech surrounding Detritus. The Superiority uses stolen hologram tech to place fakes in the humans’ military leadership and also in ReDawn’s political leadership. Alanik manages to save her friends and family and build an alliance with the humans as they drive the Superiority forces away from ReDawn. Like Sunreach, this quick read was a fun way to learn more about the series’s characters, and their stories. This book also takes a fun shot at bi-partisan politics.
This is for unifiers, fighters, and leaders trying to do the right thing even when it’s not popular.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Suzy Jackson, 6:57)
Evershore (Skyward 3.1) by Brandon Sanderson
Winzik and the Superiority show their true colors and guile by setting a duplicitous trap. They capture and murder several human leaders from Detritus including Jorgen’s parents. Admiral Cobb barely escapes the trap, but he and Gran Gran are lost. As Jorgen expands his cytonic powers, he discovers a message being broadcast by the Kitsen, a race of small fox/gerbil aliens, saying they have the missing humans. Jorgen and Alanik take Skyward flight to Evershore, the home of the Kitsen, to recover Cobb and Gran Gran, and in the process, they draw the Superiority in force to Evershore. Jorgen reels as the mantle of leadership is thrust on his shoulders by the absence of Cobb, and the cowardice of the other vice-admirals. He struggles mightily to make the best decisions in impossible situations as he forges an alliance with the Kitsen and defends their planet against the Superiority. I enjoyed the leadership aspects of this book as well as the comic relief provided by some of the extreme Kitsen personalities. I’m a little ashamed that I read this book out of order, but I think it will shake out all right. I think I was supposed to read it after Cytonic.
This is for people who hate talking about emotions and need a good leadership update.
(Rated PG, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Suzy Jackson, 6:54)
This is one of my favorite stories and I got to share it with Jet. We have an illustrated hardback copy and we used the audiobook from the library too while we were on the road or needed something to distract us at the house. Tolkien describes the characters and plot lines well, so I didn’t have to explain much to Jet after each chapter. The hobbit, Bilbo Baggins gets invited to go on an epic adventure with Gandalf, the wizard, and thirteen dwarves. They travel from his home to the Lonely Mountain to reclaim the dwarves’ ancient halls and treasure from the great dragon Smaug. Along the way, the fellowship suffers many hardships like hunger, cold, kidnapping by trolls and goblins, giant spiders, near drownings, and many other uncomfortable things. They make some friends and enemies along the way, and when they finally reach the mountain, they still have the dragon to deal with. Bilbo’s confidence and skills grow through each hardship he overcomes, and by the end of the journey, he is a very different little hobbit. It is so fun to watch Jet absorb each twist and turn of the story with his curious mind and sharp ears.
This book is for everyone. It’s amazing.
(Rated PG, Score 10/10, illustrated hardback, audiobook read by Rob Inglis, 11:05)
Cytonic (Skyward 3) by Brandon Sanderson
Spensa tumbles into the Nowhere at the beginning of the book with M-Bot who is stuck in a drone body, and Doomslug as they run from the Superiority soldiers who were chasing them in Starsight (Book 2). Right after arriving in the Nowhere, she finds another cytonic, named Chet, who becomes her guide as they walk the Path of Elders, which is a series of portals between the real world (somewhere) and the Nowhere. These portals contain stored memories of ancient cytonic activities that Spensa and Chet unlock and watch. But the Delvers can sense the cytonics and they hate them. The Delvers try with increasing force and prejudice to destroy Spensa and Chet as they uncover the secrets of the Nowhere. In the Nowhere, people lose their memories and forget themselves very quickly if they are isolated, so Spensa and Chet join up with a faction of pirates called the Broadsiders. Spensa becomes the pirate champion by defeating the previous champion in a starfighter dual. In the Nowhere they fight with destructors set to stun. This keeps the ships from getting blown up and the pirates from dying. As Spensa and Chet progress along the Path of Elders, they learn how the Nowhere works, how it is arranged, (the map in the book is super helpful for visual learners like me), and what the Delvers are. Spensa helps the pirates take over the Superiority mining operation by force, which should go a long way toward helping the humans in the war in the Somewhere. Eventually, Spensa heads toward the home of the Delvers for a showdown. Can she figure out how to overcome their fear and hate? The end of the book leaves plenty of room for another book in the series, though I am not sure if there is one being developed. I think there is a prequel to the series that is scheduled to come out in print early in 2023. So for now, I’ve reached the end of this series. It is a fun collection, and I intend to share it all with Jet because he loves these types of stories. Thanks for recommending this series, Lucas.
This is for adventurers, time travelers, and sci-fi fans.
(Rated PG, Score 8/10, ebook, 375p.)
Non-Fiction Books
None Braver: U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen in the War on Terrorism by Michael Hirsh
After listening to this book, I have a much better understanding of why people are afraid of helicopters. Most of the stories in this book involve helicopter rescues, helicopter crashes, and general helicopter consternation. Of course, that’s not the point of the book, but it was remarkable to me. The book is about the heroes (PJs) that the US Air Force trains for rescue missions in the most extreme situations and conditions imaginable. They are trained to operate anywhere in the world from mountains to deserts, to sea, to war. They study cutting-edge battlefield medicine techniques so that they can stabilize and extract injured soldiers. When the call comes in about injuries on the battlefield (or anywhere else in the world, I think), they are dispatched with their gear to save lives. Carrying gear for survival, combat, communications, and medicine, their kits can weigh over 100 lbs. To be a PJ, you have to be extremely calm under stress. PJs can adjust and adapt to complete the mission no matter what obstacles get thrown at them. The book also covers some of the fallout that happens when rescues are not successful by telling a true story of a PJ who dies during a rescue mission. The PJs don’t get a lot of press. They don’t like the spotlight. They want to do their job, save lives, and disappear into the shadows. I have a better appreciation for their skill, training, and mission after listening to this book. Thanks for the recommendation Aleksandr.
This is for readers of history, military, rescue, and real-life adventures.
(Rated R, Score 9/10, audiobook read by Corey Snow, 12:08)
Preview/Currently Reading-
The Innocence of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton
The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis
Being the Bad Guys by Stephen McAlpine
I track my books in a database called Goodreads. You might find it helpful in managing your reading lists.
Final Thoughts-
We did our family Yankee Swap and I came away with a remote-controlled drone. It’s harder to fly than I expected. It tried to blow up my van and the kids’ Christmas tree already. We are going to have to find a safe place to practice with it.
I got to read a lot of Sci-fi this month, and a lot of Brandon Sanderson. I’ll try to mix it up in December. I wanted to read 100 books this year, but I think I’m going to be short after reading some longer books earlier in the year. I would need to read twenty-two books in December to make it. Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with all the stories I’ve been able to enjoy. I’ll be working on my top books of the year list in December so stay tuned.
Book giveaway- I’ll record entries for each of the following by text, email, or comment:
- Your prediction for the World Cup winner.
- Your favorite sports book or movie.
- Your favorite gift idea for Christmas this year.
- Your favorite Christmas book.
I’ll have my professional helpers draw a winner or two on December 15th and send them the book of their choice just in time for Christmas.
Thanks for adventuring with me.
Joshua
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