lunabee34

The Liberation by Ian Tregillis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book is the best of the series. So many times, an otherwise excellent series ends on a faltering note; endings are really, really hard, and making the final installment worthy of what comes before is a difficult task. Tregillis hits it out of the park.

Many, many aspects of the situation are left unresolved. Years, decades, maybe even centuries of work are left to be done to figure out how the three empires will coexist, share or withhold resources and territory, and police themselves.

But the character arcs are resolved quite satisfactorily. I do not want to spoil even a mote of this wonderful conclusion, so I will just urge you all to read it. If you like artificial intelligence, steampunk, female characters (strong, flawed, stubborn, sometimes bordering on evil), tight plotting, and beautiful language, then this is the series for you!



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The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook: Revolutionary Techniques. Groundbreaking Recipes by America's Test Kitchen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is an excellent cookbook--meticulously researched with a great introductory chapter that explains what gluten is and how it functions in the foods we eat as well as going through all the different types of gf flours and grains. There are even some product reviews like in the magazine (best already-made sandwich bread, etc.).

I like that this isn't just about desserts. Baked goods get more than half the cookbook and rightly so, but there's all sorts of savory dishes and salads with grains that look amazing.

This would be an excellent addition to the kitchen shelf for anyone who's eating gf.



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The Mechanical by Ian Tregillis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really liked The Mechanical and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. In this book, the Dutch rule the world because they have mastered alchemy and used it to create a host of automatons to act as soldiers, servants, and weapons. The Dutch don't believe (or at least have a vested interest in maintaining) that the automatons are sentient beings that can achieve free will. The Dutch are pitted against the French who (among other differences) do believe that the automatons are enslaved and are sentient beings. The Mechanical follows the interlocking lives of one automaton, the top French spy, and a captured French spy. My favorite character is the automaton Jax. I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens to him next. I'm rooting for him to be truly free.



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