Crooked Little Vein, by Warren Ellis

ISBN: 978-0060723934

Apparently this is warped book week. This book is quite short, but any longer would be too much. In the vein of Incompetence, everything that can happen to him does. Everything that can go wrong, does. He gets his testicules injected with saline, half his leads die, his gf (of sorts) cheats on him... But it is a great book. It's funny, a decent look at today's society and what is wrong (or is it?) with it.

4/5

Bad Monkeys, by Matt Ruff

ISBN: 978-0061240416

This book is crazy. I like books with twists, but this is a bloody tornado! :) A girl kills someone, then is caught and interviewed by a doctor at the psych-prison. According to her, she is part of an organization called the Bad Monkeys who kills evil people with a thing called the NC (Natural Causes) gun.

And then it gets weird.

3/5

Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel, by Scott Adams

ISBN: 978-0060521493

Like all Scott Adams books, it does get a little weak at the end, but it was a laugh and his knowledge of human nature is spooky.

3/5

Making Money, by Terry Pratchett

ISBN: 978-0385611015

I was so anxious for this book I literally screamed when I saw it on the basement table in receiving. I got a few strange looks. This book is very funny, very twistey, but it feels more like a direct (as in moment after) sequel to Going Postal. I don't know if that is fundamentally bad, but it made my reading extremely quick since I was totally in the story already, having read Going Postal about 6 times already. I will have to review my score once I can read it at my leisure in paperback (which is always more enjoyable and comfortable than trying to be extra careful with a hardcover book you borrowed from the bookstore you work at - which they expect to sell again afterwards (the book, not the store)).

3/5

Plague Zone: A serial novel, by David Wellington

LINK: http://www.brokentype.com/pz/

I read this in two days. David Wellington writes serial novels, putting a short chapter online every monday, wednesday and friday for the duration of the novel, which are typically 60 chapters long. Now THAT is determination.

This was a nice take on the zombie genre, different than his "monster" series. The main story is about a guy who decides to go and kill the specific zombie that killed his wife (which was lovingly broadcast again and again as the official footage on tv. Brr).

4/5

Monster Planet, by David Wellington

ISBN: 978-1560258674

The final book of the trilogy brings all the characters together, which is excellent. It actually makes all the characters figure all the right things out, and makes me super happy. I found out that the whole series is available online, at http://www.brokentype.com/monster/ . If you don't mind reading things online, get in there right now. Now.

5/5

The Science of Discworld III: Darwin's Watch, by Terry Pratchett, Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart

ISBN: 978-0091898243

The first book explained physics of the planets. The second explained how culture evolved, and this one discusses time travel and evolution. The basic premise is that the Discworld wizards have created Roundworld, and they try and figure out how things work inside and how to fix it. In this one they try to make sure Darwin writes the right book in order to make technology evolve (sic) properly. A chapter of science is followed by a chapter of story and humour, which keeps the pace interesting. I like reading books about science ( I loved the Science of Star Trek when I was a kid ).

4/5

Extras, by Scott Westerfield

ISBN: 978-1416951179

Eeek! Totally unanticipated, this is the fourth book in the Uglies "trilogy", and takes place three years after the end of Specials (as far as I can figure). It is based in a Japanese city where fame is the most important thing around. How much fame you have dictates how many credits you have. It was still a bit slow, and this guy totally likes falling from great heights too much, but still a nice addition to the series.

4/5