Reviews and Comments

Story collection of consequences for actions with some magic mixed in.

An interesting set of locked door mysteries from the Golden Age of detective fiction (roughly the 1920s and 1930s). Fourteen interesting and ingenious tales with unexpected twists and turns along the way. I particularly enjoyed the Ellery Queen's The House of Haunts and C. Daly King’s The Episode of the Nail and the Requiem.

Warning that some of the stories do have dated attitudes, especially towards women (thus dropping the rating to four stars). #Bookstodon

Interesting collection of mystery stories within a mystery story.

Kit Baldwin is a self-admitted mess inside her own head so the tale she shares might seem to be a bit of a messy read too but it is worth your time. From the outset Kit demonstrates that she's a true hero by doing the right thing to help others despite being "just a regular non-Empowered person" while some Empowered folks do nothing because her city is behind on their payments for protection. From that opening begins an adventure of discovery and growth for Kit that isn't an easy path but I'm glad to have taken it with her.

Melody and the Musician's Song reminds us that each day has its own specialness. If we try to spread that over many days then the bit of specialness likely will be gone.

Very interesting philosophical analysis of the evidence for how animals understand death and how we can assess their understanding. At times a bit repetitive though.

5 out of if 5 stars An achingly sharp short story proposing an alternate history for authorizing the use of weapons of mass destruction. The moral question proposed is a well written variant of the "trolley problem" from ethics and philosophy.

5 out of 5 stars Kit Baldwin is a self-admitted mess inside her own head so the tale she shares might seem to be a bit of a messy read too but it is worth your time. From the outset Kit demonstrates that she's a true hero by doing the right thing to help others despite being "just a regular non-Empowered person" while some Empowered folks do nothing because her city is behind on their payments for protection. From that opening begins an adventure of discovery and growth for Kit that isn't an easy path but I'm glad to have taken it with her.

Page 148 "In contrast to our own case, for dolphins breathing is not a reflex, but each inhalation is instead the result of a voluntary decision, which is why they have at their disposal a fairly easy means to end their own lives."

Some internet research confirms that dolphins and whales are both voluntary breathers.