glecharles's reviews
75 reviews

Neo Babylon Nights: AN ANTHOLOGY IN THE WORLD OF NEO BABYLON by O.C. Presley, Caide Jordan, Ian Boley, James Palmer, Clifton Lambert, W.F. Cain, CZ Wright, Thea Dane, Russell Zimmerman, Holly Lynn-Greely Bryant

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adventurous hopeful medium-paced

3.5

Tom Clancy's The Division: Remission by Jean-David Morvan

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

3.0

Tom Clancy's the Division: Extremis Malis by Christofer Emgard

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The Intelligence Illusion by Baldur Bjarnason

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challenging informative inspiring fast-paced

4.5

"We should be using these innovations to do better, not to do bad things faster."

When it comes to the current hype surrounding AGI and LLMs, whether you're a true skeptic (like me) or a true believer, The Intelligence Illusion is a splash of lemon juice in the greasy pool of incredulous media coverage. Accessible for anyone who's spent more than 15 minutes with a clueless executive or myopic developer (or, frankly, engaged with any of the technological "disruptions" of the past two decades), Bjarnason rigorously unpacks the many risks involved with the most popular use cases being promoted by unscrupulous executives. He brings plenty of receipts to support his observations, too, while also spotlighting areas where this technology might have legitimate potential for good. Highly recommended!

PS: The images throughout do an amazing job of subtly reinforcing the book's title and premise and would be worthy of a print edition.
Delver by C. Spike Trotman, MK Reed, Clive Hawken

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Unfuck Your Business: Using Math and Brain Science to Run a Successful Business by Joe Biel, Faith G. Harper

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informative fast-paced

3.5

Biel's pragmatic approach to business is very much in line with my own, so this was an insightful read for me. Harper's contributions were limited but added useful context at times, too.
Shadowrun Legends: Choose Your Enemies Carefully: Secrets of Power, Volume. 2 by Robert N. Charrette

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I'm completely in the tank for Shadowrun and will continue to read anything in the setting, but this was a bit of a mess. Poorly edited and full of typos, a confusing plot with intertwined storylines that never quite come together, and very little character progression. It's the middle of a trilogy, which probably explains all of that, so I'm going to read the next one, but I'm a little less excited about it now.
Witch Hat Atelier, Volume 5 by Kamome Shirahama

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adventurous hopeful reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
A breezy, boilerplate noir that's just too predictable to finish. Sell the damn car, Bug! ☹️
Nat Turner by Kyle Baker

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challenging dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

4.0

As intense as I remember when I first read it years ago, it's arguably more relevant today in light of "CRT" misinformation and book challenges.
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