Rebecca's Thoughts

#5 – This is How They Tell Me the World Ends – Nicole Perlroth

Ukraine).For decades, under cover of classification levels and non-disclosure agreements, the United States government became the world’s dominant hoarder of zero days. U.S. government agents paid top dollar-first thousands, and later millions of dollars- to hackers willing to sell their lock-picking code and their silence.Then the United States lost control of its hoard and the market.

Now those zero days are in the hands of hostile nations and mercenaries who do not care if your vote goes missing, your clean water is contaminated, or our nuclear plants me

Nicole Perlroth’s insight into politics, technology, and international relations is fascinating. I think that she does a great job of explaining the current cyber situation and her incite into various people, countries, and governments makes the book interesting and unique. I thought it was a great book, one of the better ones this month, but I also don’t have a lot to say about it. If you find the topic interesting, I think this is an accessible book and is a great introduction to cyber terrorism and cyber crime on a government scale!

#4 – Off Key – CJ Martin

changes when he meets the one girl that can strip down all of his barriers and leave him bare.
Brynn Richer doesn’t have her life figured out, but then again, how many twenty-three-year-olds do? All she wants is to dance, a decision her mother is adamantly against. Despite the cards being stacked against her, she moves to New York City to pursue her passion. One crazy decision causes her path to intersect with the sexy, troubled lead singer of Wreckless Abandon. She knows this man will break her, knows she should steer clear of him, but she’s powerless to resist him.
What happens when lines between friendship and love are blurred? What happens when rules are broken, and they are forced to choose? Can they work through their struggles to find their happily ever after or are some things too damaged, too broken to be fixed?

This book is a re-read and I have nothing to say about it besides acknowledging the fact that this book is a melodramatic roller-coaster and is something that I can’t get enough of.

#3 – The Poppy War – R.F. Kuang

and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.

But surprises aren’t always good.

Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.

For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .

Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.

The Poppy War is definitely a book that lives up to the hype around it! I think the story is engaging and fascinating. The setting of the book is also refreshing despite being an objectively overdone fantasies school setting. I think the second half of the book is where it fully embraces the the grimdark tag that is often associated with the series. The second half is violent, dark, and isn’t afraid to showcase the terrors of war and its effect on people and a society.

I think Rin is a fine main character, I think that she is often immature and can be a bit annoying at times but I think that is used to further the book and ultimately her interactions are valid and not out of place in the context of the book. I think that her growth throughout the book is also interesting and its cool to see her growth and her “hardcoreness” because at times she is hardcore and isn’t afraid to do what it takes to get things done.

The magic system in this book is fascinating and the incorporation of oppidum is cool and terrifying all at the same time. I think that the military focus of the second half of the book so so interesting and it is fascinating to see what the characters to next. I love myself a good military focus novel and I think that this book takes that trope and runs with it. It does an amazing job weaving magic school with military tactical plots and I think this is an amazing book especially considering this was a debut book for R.F. Kuang. I’m excited to see where this series goes in the future and the places that the author is willing to take it!

#2 – Good Luck Have Fun – Roland Li

billions. Esports events have sold out Los Angeles’s Staples Center, Seoul’s World Cup Stadium, and Seattle’s KeyArena. Hundreds of people have dedicated their lives to gaming, sacrificing their education, relationships, and even their bodies to compete, committing themselves with the same fervor of any professional athlete. In Good Luck Have Fun , author Roland Li talks to some of the biggest names in the business and explores the players, companies, and games that have made it to the new major leagues.

Follow Alexander Garfield as he builds Evil Geniuses, a modest gaming group, in his college dorm into a global, multimillion-dollar eSports empire. Learn how Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill made League of Legends the world’s most successful eSports league and most popular PC game, on track to make over $1 billion a year. See how Twitch pivoted from a video streaming novelty into a $1 billion startup on the back of professional gamers. And dive into eSports’ dark drug abuse, labor troubles, and for each success story, hundreds of people who failed to make it big. These are the stories of the rise of an industry and culture that challenge what we know about sports, games, and competition.

I think this book is a great introduction to the word of esports and videogames in general. It manages to tackle a somewhat intimidating issue and does it in a way that doesn’t feel condescending or in a ‘gatekeepy’ way. Li is happy to tell you about esports and they way he does it is refreshing and actually helpful and engaging.

Something that seems to be a main complaint for this book is the lack of structure, but I think that the structure of the book matched the story that it is trying to tell. It weaves themes and critiques into the story and manages to do it in a way that feels natural. The book is to the point and doesn’t really care about the fluff that often hampers other books about esports. It is also a book that can introduce new people to the sport but also work as a tool for more knowledgeable people to look back on.

At the end of the day this is a non-fiction book so it does have some of that general blandness that is often associated with non-fiction. But I do think that this is an overall great book and is up-there when I comes to my favorite non-fiction books. If you can get over the general non-fiction, history telling vibe of the book I think it is a great read (and an even better audiobook listen!).

#1 – The Will of the Many – James Islington

them that once I graduate, I will gladly join the rest of civilized society in allowing my strength, my drive and my focus – what they call Will – to be leeched away and added to the power of those above me, as millions already do. As all must eventually do.
I tell them that I belong, and they believe me.
But the truth is that I have been sent to the Academy to find answers. To solve a murder. To search for an ancient weapon. To uncover secrets that may tear the Republic apart.
And that I will never, ever cede my Will to the empire that executed my family.
To survive, though, I will still have to rise through the Academy’s ranks. I will have to smile, and make friends, and pretend to be one of them and win. Because if I cannot, then those who want to control me, who know my real name, will no longer have any use for me.
And if the Hierarchy finds out who I truly am, they will kill me.

This book was so good. The vibe, the setting, the characters were all phenomenal. This books hit a lot of the same feelings and filled the gap that The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss left. I also think this series is also reminiscent of the Poppy War series (also on this list) and I’m not sure if that’s because I read them back-to-back, but I think many of the same themes of belonging and expectations are shared among the two series. I think that this book is my ideal type of fantasy book both in the way it tells the story (first person with a single perspective) but also in its contents. I love a good magical school book and I’m willing to read pretty much anything when it comes to that sub-genre. This book blew away my expectations and will likely be one of my favourite books of the year.

This book had me to the end and still managed to knock the ending out of the park. This whole book was engaging and the plot felt worthy of its 640 page length. At no point did anything drag or feel like it should have been cut. Despite being action and drama packed I still think the book did a good job laying out the world and setting things up for the next two books in the trilogy.

I think the characters are the right mix of angst and confidence. It takes a lot to make an underdog character feel confident and competent without over doing it. Additionally, I think all of the characters in this book are great and well fleshed out. I look forward to seeing what they do after the event of this book.

I am a little weary however, I didn’t particularly like Islington’s previous series, and really didn’t like the ending. This book does feel different than the previous series, but I am still cautiously optimistic in the success of the Hierarchy series.