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Good:
The plot twist around Ryland's amnesia is great!
"Space amoeba" story done right.
Relationship between Ryland and Rocky is endearing.
Audiobook elevates the whole experience.

Bad:
Protagonist with amnesia trope has been done before.
Rocky has interesting alien physiology & boring human psychology.
* Earthbound story-line and characters seem childish & oversimplified compared to science in space sequences.

It's uniquely beautiful.

Good:
I liked the mash-up of styles & the film making theme nicely ties them together.
Different story-lines are all interesting, I enjoyed how they each centered on a mystery.
The vision of Solar System / alternate history is stunning.

Bad:
The callowhale exposition at the end was superfluous & took the magic away.
* It went a little bit over my novelty budget (your millage may vary).

A return to form for the series!

Good:
We meet Sabetha! She's well developed character in addition to being Locke's obsession.
Locke's love blunders are masterfully depicted & invoke nice, fluffy schadenfreude feeling.
Two story-lines (historic & contemporary) are both enjoyable & intertwine nicely.

Bad:
Locke's origin story feels tacked-on as a hook for a sequel that is yet to materialize 8 years later.

A murder (mystery) bot story!

Good:
Return to short form.
It was nice to see Senior Indah start off skeptical and gradually warm up to Murderbot.
Murder mystery format is a good fit for Murderbot's narrative style.
Preservation was a nice change of setting from previous stories.

Bad:
Confusing chronologically (it's set before Network Effect).
I'm more interested in Murderbot's adventures with ART.

This is shaping up to be my favorite #SciFi series.

Good:
1st contact story that feels truly alien & consequential.
Figuring out how to talk to aliens hearkens back to classic sci-fi stories.
Political intrigue from the 1st book continues.
All characters are relatable & their motivations clear.
8 Antidote is a great POV character.

Bad:
Darj Tarats' outburst in the end is kind of inconsequential.

A feel good sci-fi story tailor made for 2020.

Good:
It's nice to be back in the wayfarers universe.
[a:Becky Chambers|8389735|Becky Chambers|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1562580587p2/8389735.jpg] is still delightfully creative.
Captain Pei is an interesting character with real progressions thorough the story.

Bad:
Other characters feel flat and stagnant.
* A bit too positive / optimistic for my taste. Like a job candidate listing "caring too much" as their greatest weakness.

Worthy conclusion to the Revenger trilogy.

Good:
has better story structure & pacing than the 2nd book
larger questions of the series get satisfying answers
atmosphere & world-building are top notch
it's nice to see both Ness sisters as point of view characters
space combat sequences feel original & interesting

Bad:
antagonist is flat and uninteresting
* I miss bauble cracking sequences from previous books

Reminds me of Machineries of Empire series by [a:Yoon Ha Lee|3001246|Yoon Ha Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1603220064p2/3001246.jpg].

Good:
Harrow as self inflicted unreliable narrator trick was enjoyable; writing style fits perfectly with mystery plot
lore about the Emperor & his Lyctors fits well with established universe & was satisfying to uncover

Bad:
I miss Gideon's point of view
characterization at times feels self-indulgent, characters are caricatures of what fans expect them to be

The most beautiful niche.

Good:
Letters & their poetic style are the most beautiful thing I've read in a while
High concept sfi-fi vignettes are interesting and imaginative
Red's & Blue's worlds feel distinct, not just from each other but in sfi-fi generally

Bad:
If you prefer ab ovo storytelling, in depth world building or dislike epistolary novels in general this might not be for you

It reminded me of [a:Alastair Reynolds|51204|Alastair Reynolds|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1521740247p2/51204.jpg]' Revelation space series.

Good:
World building is extremely good. It's refreshing to see Banks build entire Galaxy anew, outside the confines of his Culture series.
Dweller society in particular is captivating.
Ending is satisfying.

Bad:
Scenes of Archimandrite Luseferous torturing people lack weight to them.
* Subplot with Taince taking revenge against Sal is underdeveloped.

Worthwhile read for [a:Scalzi, John|7325548|Scalzi, John|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] fans, quality work for a self-published debut novel.

Good:
Humor is on point
Strong opening with the reveal of the aliens & main protagonist's reaction
Good balance of goofiness, pop culture references & high Sci-Fi concepts

Bad:
Plot gets overcomplicated by the end
* Characters feel more like caricatures than human beings with believable emotional reactions, leading to confusing motives

I wish there was more of the pirate stuff.

Good:
Jean Tannen is the most lovable character ever
Second part of the book, when the pirate adventure kicks off, is just great

Bad:
Archon is a weak & unconvincing antagonist
Getting poisoned as an excuse for becoming pirates feels contrived
Casino job lacks ties to the pirate plot & under delivers in the end
False betrayal foreshadowing is cheep & unnecessary

Classic cyberpunk; jacking in, breaking ICE, walking around virtual BBS; it's all here.

Good:
Engaging depiction of LGBT subculture in relation to broader hacker community feels relevant in context of today's abusive tech culture
Goes beyond conflict between cops/corps & hackers to explore impact of legislature & how internet could/should be regulated

Bad:
Takes a bit to get going
Writing a bit dry at times

Can't help comparing this to [b:The Andromeda Strain|7670|The Andromeda Strain (Andromeda, #1)|Michael Crichton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1587497243l/7670.SY75.jpg|997271], so here goes...

Better:
Feels more cinematic & technobabble delivery is smoother
Cast of characters is more diverse
I like the psychological approach to the first contact

Worse:
Characters behave unprofessionally to the point of becoming unbelievable
There's a focus on characters' behavior, but Crichton falls short in this
Diverse characters end up very stereotypical

A must read for protocol geeks!

Good:
It reads more like a science thought experiment than a novel
Simultaneously fulfills the fantasy of meticulous disaster planning & everything falling apart
Makes scientific theories & data gripping

Bad:
Ending doesn't live up to the foreshadowing that lead up to it
300 pages of info dump is not for everyone
All the planning, preparation & procedures feel naive in 2020