#bookstodon

The start of the book was slow reading for me but it picked up quickly. An interesting story of a valet robot that goes on a hero's journey and makes a friend along the way. #Bookstodon

The phrase "the encrypted carbons of past geological eras" is such a lovely way to refer to past carbon sources (coal? oil? ???) that have been sequestered and hidden away for long periods. #Bookstodon

Immediately I'm grabbed by Chesbro's excellent description of Mongo's potential client Mike Foster. The authorial intent is to quickly establish that Mongo is a very observant person which servers him well as a detective. A layer back it indicates that Chesbro himself was a very observant person. I'm already sold that this re-read is going to be worth the time. But I'm likely going to spread the books out some to avoid rushing. (And I have a long TBR of living, working authors to read as well that I didn't want to ignore.) #Bookstodon

I'm re-reading George C. Chesbro's books about Mongo the Magnificent several decades after originally reading them. From what I recall and given Mr. Chesbro's profession as a counselor for troubled teens I'm expecting pretty much everything in the stories to hold up very well despite the passage of time.

If you are interested in learning more about Mr. Chesbro's life I highly recommend reading Prism: A Memoir as Fiction. As the title implies, it is a fictionalized memoir. I didn't know how true to his life it is, but it is definitely informative and moving. He doesn't shy from covering his failures as a parent, spouse and counselor,. After reading it I consider him a good, but flawed person (like the rest of us) who did see his flaws and at least attempt to improve (also hopefully like the rest of us). #Bookstodon

5 out of 5 stars Kudos to Mr. Scalzi on an excellent addition to the Old Man's War series. The main characters Gretchen and Ran (minor characters from The Last Colony) are very compelling and the story is engaging with many unexpected twists. #Bookstodon

5 out of 5 stars An interesting story with good character development. A twist that I didn't expect but it fit well in the story. #Bookstodon

5 out of 5 stars Again the flock find themselves solving a murder mystery (or even two) in France. This time they are experienced but will that be enough in the end? A thoroughly good read with great characters and unexpected twists and turns. #Bookstodon