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JustinSteiner

JustinSteiner

Joined April 2016

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JustinSteiner
The Blinds | Adam Sternbergh
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Is Caesura a refuge, a prison, an experiment, or something more? If memories are erased, are they gone forever? Can you truly change your nature? This are some of the questions dealt with in this page-turner. It's dark and violent, but finds beauty as well. I became a Sternbergh fan with Shovel Ready and this novel is proof that I will remain one.

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JustinSteiner
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The humanity in these 10 stories is endless, as well as the beauty of the writing. It's rare that I finish a story collection and can immediately recall every one in detail, as is the case here. This is my first time reading Roorbach and I am happy there is more out there.

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JustinSteiner
Meddling Kids | Edgar Cantero
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If you see the title of this book and think Scooby Doo, you are 100% on the right track. The Blyton Summer Detective Club solved their last case as "meddling kids" in 1977, but 13 years later they are drawn back to Blyton Hills by unfinished business. None of them is in a good place (jail, asylum, bartender, dead). The book is smart and fun, with lots of meta touches. It's also horrific, with lots of Lovecraftian creatures. I really enjoyed it!

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JustinSteiner
Spoonbenders: A novel | Daryl Gregory
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The story of the Amazing Telemachus Family features psychic powers, con men, the mob, family drama, new love, and so much more. It is funny and full of heart. I loved it.

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JustinSteiner
The Nix | Nathan Hill
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I almost gave up on this book at one point, but I'm very glad I didn't. This is a 600+ page novel and the story takes on so much more weight and depth the further you read. I enjoyed the 1968 sections more than the 2011 ones and yet the interplay between the two is what really makes it shine. Plus, it has Walter Cronkite thinking about seagulls and if that doesn't appeal, whatever could?

Suet624 The sections on Cronkite were great. I'm quite sure everything mentioned about him actually happened. 8y
5 likes1 comment
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JustinSteiner
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I love TV and I really liked this book. Sepinwall and Zoller Seitz attempt to rank the 100 greatest shows in TV history, but the fun is in the essays that accompany the entries...whether you agree or disagree (and I did both). It's a book to dip in and out of - it took me almost 2 months to read it. Plus, Chuck Season 2 gets its own entry!

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JustinSteiner
Red Right Hand | Chris Holm
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This is the sequel to The Killing Kind, in which we met a hitman who kills hitmen. Michael Hendricks now has a new mission after the events in the previous book. That mission gets him tangled up in a terrorist attack in San Francisco and brings him into contact with new people and dangerous situations. The book is action-packed and compulsively readable.

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JustinSteiner
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Totally forgot to take a pic of this after I finished, but it was already overdue at the library. This was a fantastic novel and should be read by everyone. Then, if you haven't read any other Whitehead, go back and do so. I've been a fan ever since The Intuitionist and haven't been disappointed yet.

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JustinSteiner
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"Truth was a changing display in a shop window, manipulated by hands when you weren't looking, alluring and ever out of reach." - Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad, pg. 116

Wow. - me, 9/8/16

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JustinSteiner
Invasive: A Novel | Chuck Wendig
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This page-turner is set in the same world as Wendig's Zeroes, though it's quite different in tone. See, there are deadly ants swarming and eating people and it's up to futurist, survivalist, and FBI consultant Hannah Stander to figure out what's going on. Creepy and compelling!

TeeCee In the freezer to escape the ants??? I just finished this one, too, and am a little jumpy about insects ... 8y
JustinSteiner Thought it would be a fun way to nod to the story. 8y
2 likes2 comments
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JustinSteiner
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The 5th book of Gladstone's The Craft Sequence just came out, along with news of more to come, so I decided it was time to dip back into the series. This is the third book by publishing date and fifth by the timeline. More importantly, it's another winner. This one is about belief, loyalty, and change; it also has women as the main characters. Looking forward to more!

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JustinSteiner
Revolver | Duane Swierczynski
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This story of cop killings, family secrets, and the history of Philadelphia takes place in three different time periods and focuses on three different members of the Walczak family. The structure helps Swierczynski build tension and pushes the reader to keep turning pages. He sticks the landing too. This is my second of his books, having read Canary last year. I will be reading more.

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JustinSteiner
Dark Matter | Blake Crouch
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This got off to a slow start for me, because I've read a lot of SF and the premise was nothing I haven't seen before. However, I reached a point where two things took over - the specifics of the plot and the passion of the main character - and then I was all in. Another three day read!

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JustinSteiner
Underground Airlines | Ben Winters
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Don't sleep on the other novel this year to use Underground in the title and deal with slavery. This one is set in an alternative world where slavery was never abolished in the U.S. Victor is a former slave who now works as a slave catcher and takes on a case that shows the dark realities of that world and by extension, our own. Winters follows his Last Policeman trilogy with another great book!

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JustinSteiner
Stiletto: A Novel | Daniel O'Malley
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4th of July reading in a hammock on a lake. Doesn't get much better!

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JustinSteiner
Infomocracy | Malka Ann Older
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Great SF novel with that reminded me of Gibson, especially with that opening sentence and scene. The world election is coming and the Supermajority may be up in the air, which means conspiracies are afoot. Mishima and Ken try to unravel them. Thrilling and thought-provoking!

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JustinSteiner
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"Getting overtly wrapped up in an album is basically a socially acceptable version of having an imaginary friend." - I've had many imaginary friends over the years then!

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JustinSteiner
Bloodline (Star Wars) | Claudia Gray
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This book focuses on Leia in the years between Episode VI and Episode VII. Gray does right by Leia and by the Star Wars universe, giving us a character study, a look at galactic politics, new characters and some great action pieces while also giving us details about those gap years.

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