User Profile

Mark Crocker

mcrocker@books.mxhdr.net

Joined 2 years, 5 months ago

Fan of DRM-Free Hard Sci-Fi novels

Also @mcrocker@indieweb.social on Mastodon

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Mark Crocker's books

To Read

Currently Reading

Cory Doctorow: Picks and Shovels (EBook, 2025, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., Tor Books) 3 stars

New York Times bestselling author Cory Doctorow returns to the world of Red Team Blues …

Second favorite Martin Hench Novel

3 stars

Not as action packed as "Red Team Blues" books.mxhdr.net/book/57183 , but definitely better than "The Bezzle" books.mxhdr.net/book/84803 , "Picks and Shovels" rounds out the "Martin Hench" series, nicely wrapping up his back story with plenty of nostalgia and more harrowing examples of financial, and other, malfeasance.

The story does kind of drag on the buildup to the climax, which is kind of the opposite of what I normally expect in a climax, but at least it didn't tire me out with a long litany of indignities like "The Bezzle". Also in standard Cory Doctorow fashion, nothing is ever pat, so don't expect too much of a cheap vicarious righteous indignation high. Cory don't play that game. Realism has a price 😉

avatar for mcrocker Mark Crocker boosted
Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone: This Is How You Lose the Time War (Hardcover, 2019, Simon and Schuster) 5 stars

Two time-traveling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange …

Most imaginative over the top, and wildly fun

5 stars

This is one or the most imaginative stories I've ever read in a genre known for imagination. It's also over the top and a wild ride. There's nothing formulaic here and it will keep you guessing.

As a big fan of hard science fiction, this doesn't explain any of the time travel, or technology, which is somewhat disappointing.

On the other hand it has a very different style and a frantic energy. I'm not a fan of romance, but it has a sincerity that makes me really root for them.