Review: Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos by Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger

Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos by Lisa Kaltenegger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided both an audio and print ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

Cassandra Campbell is a fabulous narrator, and is one of my favorites.  This is my first experience with her narrating a non-fiction audiobook.  I'm used to her voicing several different characters within a sci-fi or fantasy book, however she takes great care in ensuring the scientific words are pronounced clearly and correctly and if there is a non-English name or phrase it is also pronounced correctly.  

This was a great non-fiction book for anyone interested in science of discovering new planets and the investigation of space.  The author does a great job of mixing science, personal, experience, and pop culture in to the book without getting overly scientific.  She uses real world examples from her own teaching experience and research and references movies and books that readers may be familiar to explain her points about how scientists go about trying to determine if there might be life on other planets.  I felt like it was written as if she was having a conversation with you about her favorite topic which made if very approachable and easy to consume.  I've read other books on the topic and it can get very technical and overwhelming very quickly depending on how the science is presented.  You can tell the author loves her work and tries to make it fun and wants everyone to see the majesty in the cosmos as she does.  

I appreciated that the author took the time to write about her life and accomplishments.  She notes that it was not always easy being a woman in STEM, but because she had supportive parents and mentors she has had an impressive career.  This book would be the perfect gift for an aspiring young lady taking an interest in a STEM career.  

I would have appreciated pictures of some of the things Dr. Kaltenegger was referencing at times or links to Hubble images, as I was following along in the ebook.  The cover is fantastic, and I hope the final version that comes out in a few weeks does have images, but the ARC does not.  

Overall this is a great, easy to digest look at scientific approach to looking for habitable planets and potential life in the universe.  

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Review: A View from the Stars by Cixin Liu

A View from the Stars by Cixin Liu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided and audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.  I did enjoy the narrator, he did a good job with the voice acting for the fictional works.

If you are a fan of the author's work, this is a nice compilation of fiction and non-fiction short stories and essays that he has written over his career from various publications.    I would not recommend this as a starting point for the author's work if you are a new reader.  This complication includes a mix of short stories tied to novels he has written, complete standalone short stories, and essays and interviews composed for magazines and other outlets.  I have previously only read the Remembrance of Earth's Past series (Three Body Problem) and was able to follow along with his writing style, which I do enjoy.   

The author has very particular opinions on sci-fi and expresses them in his essays.  You also have to keep in mind that many of the works are translated, and there is often something lost in the translation of a work because the translator will put their own "spin" on things.  If this is where you start with the author's writing, I can see a new reader to his work being turned off by this  compilation of interviews, essays, and short fiction.  This is a more thought provoking insight into his life and works and how he sees science and science fiction based on his experiences.

Overall, I very much enjoyed the fictional short stories, but the addition of the non-fiction essays felt a bit disjointed.  I feel like it should have been all essays or all short stories, I thought it was all short fiction but I misread the synopsis.  There was no flow between the fiction and the non-fiction, at least in the audio version.  Perhaps in the print book, where you can pick the book up and put it down between stories and articles it makes more sense to compile the book in this way.   

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Review: To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided a copy of the audiobook via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  This will be released on Tuesday, September 15, 2020.

This is fantastic, I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could! Why not 5 stars you ask? My only real issue is the length of the story. When the description says that this is an epic space opera, it means EPIC. This is vast and covers alot of ground, well space. The print book will be almost 900 pages and the audiobook was 32 and a half hours long. That is a huge commitment for an audiobook (I normally opt for the print version of such long tomes), however I found myself opting to listen to the audiobook instead of reading traditionally over and over because I was so invested in the storyline. The characters and plot suck you in and keep you invested. I do feel like there were a few parts that could have been condense or were a bit repetitive, but they were also necessary to transition the story or move a plot point forward. We almost get two endings in this book. I thought the book had ended and we'd get an epilogue, but it kept going with the promise of more potential books in this world, which I would happily devour.

I highly recommend the appendix as it has tons of reference material to the science used in the creation of the book as well as a glossary that explains some of the characters, concepts, and terms used. While this adds quite a bit of length to the audio, I appreciated that this was included as often these parts are left out of audio versions. I learned so much from this section and it will be invaluable to readers, and would have been a great reference while listening. I also loved the author's note and the interview at the end between the author and the narrator. It was a treat to get some insight into the creation of this book as well as the recording of the audiobook. It helps the reader to understand where the book started why it ended where it did. We also get a bit of a teaser that there may be more coming in this universe. Jennifer Hale is a fantastic narrator, it is hard to believe this is her debut as an audiobook narrator. I hope she continues narrating books! There are quite a few characters in this book and she did an amazing job giving life to all of them. I plan on purchasing a copy when this is available as the author mentions some amazing artwork in the print copy.

If you are a fan of Paolini's previous work in the Eragon series, as I am, you won't be disappointed. This has his wonderful writing style and great world building. I loved all of the characters. He dreamt up this amazing sentient alien race and they all look a bit different though they feature qualities of earth's sea life and have a unique way of communicating. He describes them in such detail that you can really begin to envision what they look like. The same goes for the spacecraft, the other characters, and the action scenes. The action scenes can get a little violent and gruesome, so reader be warned. He doesn't hold back when it comes to the fighting, some of the scenes are like a horror novel. Because the book is lengthy we get tons of character development and backstory on all of the side characters, which is something often overlooked in books. I loved that the author took the time to give each of the characters personality, a backstory, and they all played a role in Kira's journey. We get to watch Kira evolved from a human, to a human invaded by this xeno organism, to something else entirely.

I really appreciate that Paolini tried to keep to actual science (he mentions this in his afterward). He had a vision for what he wanted the space travel to look like without breaking all of the rules of science to make it work. While he takes his liberties with the science to make it fit his vision, it isn't all a figment of his imagination. You can tell that he really put time, research, and effort into the creation of his sci fi universe from the tech the humans use to assist in their day to day tasks and military efforts, the space travel, the religions, and the creatures. It makes for a really enjoyable journey.

If you are a fan of space operas, sci-fi, or Paolini's previous books, I 100% recommend this! I'm so honored to have gotten a chance to read this early. This will take you on quite the journey of unbelievable science, action, creatures, and emotions. I just finished it and I want to reread it because I miss the characters already.

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Review: The Friar's Lantern Greg Hickey

The Friar's Lantern by Greg Hickey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This is a choose-your-own-adventure type of book. This is pretty heavy on the math, science, and legal terminology. As the main character is taking part of a scientific study and sitting as a juror on a murder case, I did find that parts of the story were a bit repetitive especially since it was so heavy on the science and legal aspects. The author did do a good job making sure those parts were accurate and I do appreciate and author that takes the time to do their homework.

As for the choose your own adventure part, I felt that while the writing of the book was good, the chapters were a bit too long for my taste before you got to the point where you made a choice if you even got to choose something at the end of a chapter. Having flipped back and forth between the two choices, several times they ended up with the same outcome regardless of what you chose. That gave me the impression that no matter what I chose, I was going to end up where the author wanted me to go, which is fitting because that is what the book is about. I feel shorter chapters would have allowed for more unique outcomes, which is my preference in these types of books. I like having more choices, but I understand that writing a novel is cumbersome enough and creating a book with multiple outcomes is even more difficult. The author did a good job with this and should be commended for taking on this format. I eventually just read through to one final outcome and I'm happy with the experience. I bookmarked the pages that had choices so I can go back and try again some other time because I did like the plot and I'd like to investigate the other possible outcomes.

Onto the plot, our main character (I don't think the author ever tells us his name and I couldn't find it when I went looking) is taking part in a study involving an MRI and the ability of a model to predict human decision making. The study indicates that after being presented with some information the subject with make a choice between Box A, Box B, or take both boxes. In those boxes is either a million dollars, a thousand dollars, or nothing depending on the choice you make and what the model predicts. Our MC has an MRI and is asked to come back in a week and make his choice. During that week, he must sit as a juror on a murder case and decide if a man is guilty of manslaughter, second degree murder, or both. During his week between his MRI and decision about which box to take and during the trial, he has to think hard about the human decision process, statistics, and moral conviction. The reader is presented with choices at various points in the story to guide the MCs actions when he has to make a decision.

Overall, I thought this was well researched and well written. I do enjoy this format of book, and I look forward to exploring the other outcomes. The choice points where in logical places, and this book gives you something to think about as you are reading and when you are done.

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Review: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I learned so much from this book. While medical ethics have improved since the days when Henrietta Lack's cells were taken without her knowledge, I don't think most people know what their rights are with regards to their cells and tissue. I certainly didn't until Skloot laid them out. I also had no idea what Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cells have done for medicine.

While this is a compilation of the science behind the cells and what they've done for modern medicine, Skloot also tells the story of Henrietta and her family. She presents Henrietta to us as a person, which is how it should be. The doctors who used HeLa cells didn't see her as a person, they just saw cells and cultures, they forgot that she was an actual person with a family. Unfortunately, given the time that Henrietta lived in the color of her skin meant that she didn't get adequate medical care and when she did go to the hospital doctors took advantage of the opportunity to study her cells. My heart broke so many times for the wrongs done to Henrietta and her cells. Learning the hardships her children faced after her death was so sad. The Lacks children weren't the only people impacted by medical ethics injustices, and I was angered to learn how some of our modern "cures" have come about.

I wish the Lacks family could have gotten some sort of reparations for all of their suffering, but I understand how the legality of their situation doesn't allow for that. I guess I'm thankful for what HeLa has done for medicine, but I sure do wish the Henrietta and her family had received better treatment both personally and medically. This was a great telling of the Lacks family history, the evolution of HeLa, and medicine in general. I really enjoyed this.

On a side note, Cassandra Campbell and Bahni Turpin did an amazing job with the narration of the audio book.

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