If you asked me to describe The Mimicking of Known Successes by genre, I’d say it’s a queer science fiction cozy mystery that isn’t quite solarpunk, but I’d almost describe it as solarpunk-adjacent. It’s also a nice, brisk read that doesn’t break 200 pages, so if you’re also looking for a mystery that fits those criteria that you’d like to read when heading out for Thanksgiving (or other upcoming holidays), it’s a good book to pick up.
Continue readingTag Archives: Sword & Laser Book Club
This week I start getting a little caught up with some of the books I’ve read for the Sword & Laser Book Club, with a look at one of the best-selling fantasy novels of 2023 – Fourth Wing.

Book Review: The Library at Mount Char
The Library at Mount Char was October’s pick for the Sword & Laser book club, as a “Sword” pick (meaning fantasy) and something meant to be mildly horror adjacent (as co-host Veronica Belmont doesn’t handle horror well – which is fine). The book itself is some okay splatter horror with a side of urban fantasy, but it didn’t quite land for me.
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Book Review: China Mountain Zhang
Time to catch up with the book reviews for the Sword & Laser Book Club, with my thoughts on China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh.
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Book Review: Fourth Wing
Unfortunately, I’ve fallen a little behind again on the books covered in the Sword & Laser Book Club, from a review standpoint, so it’s time for me to get caught up with some of the past books that I’ve read and finished. The first of these is Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.
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Book (Video) Review: Children of Time
I’m continuing to get caught up with the Sword & Laser podcast books, with Children of Time.
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Book (Video) Review: Under Fortunate Stars
I continue to get caught up with my Sword & Laser picks with Under Fortunate Stars.
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Book (Video) Review: Legends & Lattes
I give my thoughts on a nice cozy little fantasy novel feels like it’s being held back from being as cozy as it wants to be.
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Book Review: Children of Time
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky was this month’s pick for the Sword & Laser Book Club, and it’s a bit of a complicated book. The novel juggles two different kinds of stories, with two different levels of stakes, and which also vaguely intersect until the very end of the story. One of those stories was one which I enjoyed and looked forward to encountering – which was good because it took most of the book. The other kind of just had me on edge and wasn’t exactly a pleasant read.
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Legends & Lattes: Book Review
This month’s pick for the Sword & Laser Book Club, and the winner of their Madness In March Tournament was Legends & Lattes, a book that had been on my recommendations list for quite a bit, so it’s time to take a look at it.
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Under Fortunate Stars: Book Review
A time travel fiction concept that definitely falls under the category of “things I didn’t quite realize was a sub-sub-genre” until recently is the “Don’t Meet Your Heroes” story (with the alternative addendum of “Or do, I’m not your parental figure”). Basically, a story where the main characters travel back in time, either intentionally or unintentionally, and end up meeting someone (whether a singular person or multiple people) who are on the eve of doing some thing instrumental to the timeline, and who one or multiple of the protagonists idolizes, with the grand reveal being that they aren’t quite the kind of person that history has remembered them as being. Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Huchings – March’s Sword & Laser book club pick – is a really great example of this kind of story.
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Nettle & Bone: Book Review
Nettle & Bone was this month’s Sword & Laser Book Club pick, and was a tremendously brisk, and very enjoyable read. It also introduced me to a variety of fantasy fiction I hadn’t encountered before – the “Grimcozy”
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Book Review: Brightness Falls from the Air
Of the past few Sword & Laser picks, Brightness Falls from the Air, by James Tiptree Jr./Alice Sheldon ended up being a bit more of a controversial pick – and I definitely get why, as it gets into some squicky subject matter, and not necessarily in an elegant way.
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The Jasmine Throne: Book Review
With The Jasmine Throne, by Tasha Suri, I’m finally getting back to being caught up with the Sword & Laser Book Club picks – more or less (November’s pick is Six Wakes, which I read a while back, so I’m using this month to catch up on some other books). While I liked the novel, my thoughts on The Jasmine Throne are complicated in ways that somewhat intersect with my views on She Who Became The Sun, and in ways that don’t.
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Machinehood: Book Review
Probably in the first time in a while, I have finished a Sword & Laser Book Pick not only in the month it came out, but I also have a review before the end of the month – such is the case for Machinehood by S.B. Divya – another first novel, and this time in a cyberpunk or cyberpunk adjacent subgenre, and it is an absolutely fantastic book.
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A Master of Djinn: Book Review
After a bit of a break, I’m getting back to the current book pick for the Sword & Laser Book Club – this time getting into the alternate history urban fantasy novel A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark.
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Aurora Rising: Book Review
It is time for another review of a book that I’ve read for the Sword & Laser Book Club Podcast – in this case, Aurora Rising, by Alastair Reynolds (previously released as The Prefect) – currently my first step into his Chasm City/Revelation Space setting.
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Consider Phlebas: Book Review
Consider Phlebas was a Sword & Laser book pick I got a late start on. Now, while this isn’t my first Culture novel (that would be Matter) it was the first Culture novel, so I was interested in reading it and seeing where the series started.
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Book Review: Piranesi
It’s time for a review of another Sword & Laser Book Club pick.
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The Fold: Book (Vlog) Review
I haven’t done a book review in a while, so this week I’m taking a look at February’s Sword & Laser Book Club pick. Also, on top of the earlier review, I do get into some spoilers regarding the plot’s reveals in the second half of the video, if you want something more in-depth.
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