Brian Herstig profile

Place of birth: Columbus, Ohio

Brian Herstig's 15 reviews

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

I was first introduced to Connie Willis by a friend of mine (now herself a doctor of physics), who told me her favourite science fiction writers were those who could change their style and tone rather than always write in a similar way.She illustrated this by reading me two of Connie Willis’ short stories. The first; Schwarzschild R...

7.6/10

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Victory of Eagles by Naomi Novik (Temeraire series)

The following is a review of both Victory of Eagles and Tongue of Serpents (books 5 and 6 in the Temeraire series).Several years ago I began Naomi Novik's Temeraire series and enjoyed it quite a bit. I set it aside for one reason or another and recently came back to it. A 9 book series (book 8 comes out this August) covering the explo...

8.3/10

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The Shadowed Sun by NK Jemisin (Dreamblood duology)

What are you willing to destroy and who are you willing to kill in order to achieve a "lasting peace"? Can people who abhor violence use it to achieve a greater good? If a society claims women are godly and reveres them as such yet robs them of their choices, is that hypocrisy? How much do we pay for the sins of our parents?Toug...

9.2/10

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Red Country by Joe Abercrombie

“You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.”– Obi Wan Kanobi, Star WarsThere is a growing focus on gritty, dirty, realistic tales. Les Miserables was an almost too realistic view of revolutionary France, with all of the dirt, grime, sores, blood, and sweat associated with a poor underclass soci...

8.7/10

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Wards of Faerie by Terry Brooks (The Dark Legacy of Shannara)

35 years after launching the high fantasy genre into the mainstream (before his 1977 The Sword of Shannara no fantasy book had made it onto the NYT mass paperback best seller list – it stayed on it for 5 months and a host of others followed) Brooks releases his 20th Shannara book. There is something new and something old to be had.T...

8.7/10

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Railsea by China Mieville

When Moby Dick met Dune.Imagine a captain of a ship with a lifelong obsession to hunt down and kill a creature that stole a part of them. And imagine that the creature is a giant worm that swims through the sand. The world is one that contains an endless expanse of train tracks that are the only way to travel... In between, in the great e...

9.2/10

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The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers

A Look at the Innoncence and Hope of Youth vs. the Perspective and Wisdom of AdultsThere is a lot of young adult (YA) dystopian literature out there right now – The Hunger Games comes to mind and a whole slew of like books are being turned into movies right now – some of which I can recommend (The Incarceron duology) and some ...

9.0/10

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Brotherband: The Outcasts by John Flanagan

Flanagan has himself a nice thing going. What started years ago as a series of short stories to encourage his son to read has turned into a now 13 book series that has sold over 2 million copies. It takes place in a European medieval like world with knights, rangers, raiding pirates, and spies. The original series, The Ranger’s Apprentice,...

8.5/10

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The Mongoliad by Various authors (The Foreworld Saga)

I am a huge Neal Stephenson fan – Snow Crash, Diamond Age, Cryptonomicon, The Baroque Cycle, Anathem – even Raemde. So I, peripherally, followed an experiment by him and Greg Bear (someone I’ve never read, but have a few books on my list) and 5 other writers, as well as a dozen other artists, technology, and fight choreography ...

8.2/10

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The Killing Moon by NK Jemisin (Dreamblood duology)

In the ancient city-state of Gujaareh, peace is the only law. Upon its rooftops and amongst the shadows of its cobbled streets wait the Gatherers - the keepers of this peace. Priests of the dream-goddess, their duty is to harvest the magic of the sleeping mind and use it to heal, soothe… and kill those judged corrupt. But when a conspirac...

9.3/10

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A Crown Imperilled by Raymond E Feist (The Chaoswar Saga)

Now THIS is more like it.28 books into a 29 book series and the old mojo is back. If you’ve been reading the stories of the sons (usually) of Midkemia as long as I have (going back to the original Magician in early to mid 1980′s) you know exactly what the “Magician” series has meant and what it has gone through. Wh...

8.6/10

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Keys to the Kingdom by Joe Hill (Locke & Key)

Locke & Key continues to be a compelling series that questions what memory and emotion mean. The fourth story arc, Keys to the Kingdom, is solid, but not overwhelming and feels like the middle volume in a trilogy a little – going somewhere but not quite yet. Until the last story, that is, which expertly and incredibly sets up the final...

8.5/10

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Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire (The Wicked Years)

Oz is over. And what a strange trip it has been. In the end, extremely rewarding and well worth the ride.Gregory Maguire first visited Oz in 1995's “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West“. He explored and expanded on it in 2 subsequent sequels – 2005's “Son of A Witch” and 2008...

9.0/10

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Locke & Key Volume 3: Crown of Shadows by Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodriguez (Locke & Key)

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8.9/10

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The Broken Kingdoms by NK Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy)

In March, 2010 new author N.K. Jemisin released the first book in her Inheritance Trilogy - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. The book was fantastic, as evidenced by her Hugo and Nebula nominations for it, as well as it being listed on both the Amazon and Publisher's Weekly Science Fiction/Fantasy Top 10 of 2010. If the second had not come out ...

9.7/10

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