Ontolog's Book Blog
In the morning, I write.
Sometimes about books. Sometimes about life.
Whatever shows up along the journey of trying to understand the world and my place in it.
Where my mind has been
I rarely arrive fully formed. I emerge … if given time. Subtitle: Life as a time witch.
At a weekend workshop, I am confronted by my own discomfort. Dancing with others (gasp) — cracked something open. Sometimes, the only path to insight is to stop thinking and dance.
Books that kept me company, made me laugh, or otherwise insisted.
by G.R. Macallister
The second book in the Five Queendoms series
The Drought of Girls has ended, but the rift it broke open between the Queendoms is not so easily healed. Queen Heliane of Paxim vows to make her son Paulus the nation’s first ruling King. Scorpican troops amass on the border of Arca. And Arca's young, unready queen finds her court a nest of vipers. As iron and magic clash on the battlefield and powerful women scheme behind the scenes, can anyone stop the chaos from ripping the Queendoms apart?
by Ali Hazelwood
Soft porn but engaging
Yes, it's Human-Were hybrid soft porn. Yes, Serena Paris is stuck in the "he's dangerous, he's Alpha, but I love him so it's okay" trope. Still, I ate it up.
by G.R. Macallister
The second book of The Five Queendoms series.
Five hundred years of peace between queendoms shatters when girls inexplicably stop being born. A cascade of political and personal consequences expands across all five queendoms. A warrior queen must rise from childbirth bed to fight for her life. A healer in hiding is desperate to protect the secret of her daughter’s explosive power. A queen's desperation to retain control leads her to risk using the darkest magic. And the generation of lastborn girls must bear the hopes and traditions of their nations if the queendoms are to survive.
by G.R. Macallister
The final book in The Five Queendoms series
The Drought of Girls has ended and a fragile peace has begun to settle across the Five Queendoms. But trouble brews beneath the smooth façade. The first gate between the Underlands, where Eresh rules over the shades of the dead, has already been opened. And the scheming shade of a dead sorcerer has evil plans.
As living women across the Queendoms take desperate action to stay alive, and dead women plot to regain what they’ve lost, five queens gather in the Holy City of Sestia for the most important ritual of their lives.
by John Scalzi
A tasty treat
The moon has turned into cheese. Now humanity has to deal with it. For some it’s an opportunity. For others, it’s a moment to question their faith: In God, in science, in cheese, in everything.
by John Scalzi
Sneaks-up-on-you snark
The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and begin humanity's first interstellar friendship. There's just one problem: They're hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal. Enter Thomas Stein, who knows something about closing deals. He's one of Hollywood's hottest young agents.
Hippos are only aggressive because they don’t have library cards.