Sravika's Books - Reviews and Other Trivia

 The Mote in God's Eye  (Moties #1)  By Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven  Published Year: 1974 Page Count: 535 pages  Medium Used: Kindle Scribe  Genre : Science Fiction, Aliens, First Contact, Speculative Fiction,Political Intrigues, 2025-read.  Rating : 5/5 😀😀😀😀😀 This is my first book with Larry Niven and I will definitely explore more of his brilliant concoctions in future. 🤞✌ Brilliant. I am speechless. The plot and narrative are simply superb. I wonder why the average rating on goodreads is not higher for this one. I got so invested in the story that I felt my fight or flight adrenaline spike in response to some events in the plot. I didn't want the aliens to visit human civilization because they could render the whole settlement useless. Yes, the first contact alien race is super intelligent and super good at using tools but they are madly involved in endless cycles of self destruction and repopulation. First, an alien artifact enters h...

 Isles Of The Emberdark  By Brandon Sanderson  (Novel set in the Cosmere Universe)  Published Year: 2025 Page Count: 495 pages  Medium Used: Kindle PW  Genre : Science Fiction, Fantasy, Multiple Realms, Strange Creatures, 2025-read.  Rating : 5/5  Went blind into this.. without knowing it is an amalgamation of science fiction, interstellar politics, fantasy, dragons, giant snakes and all the kthet wonderful things. Very happy with this read!  This is an easy 5 pointer. This story is a man's crusade to save his primitive/non technological  planet/home world from being enslaved by advanced and selfish men/creatures from the outside. There are many islands in his world but the island,Patji, which he comes from is special. It breeds birds that make bonds with humans and bestows special powers to them. It has a pool which acts as a portal between the physical realm and the spiritual plane also called ShadesMar. Naturally there are alien power...

 The Mammoth book of Extreme Science Fiction  By Mike Ashley  Published Year: 2006 Page Count: 670 pages  Medium Used: Kindle PW  Genre : Science Fiction, Aliens, First Contact, Space Travel, Time Travel, Anthology, Short Stories, 2025-read.  Rating : 3.75/5 😀😀😀😀 This is a collection of short stories describing scenarios that represent extremes of imagined science fiction. I would say many - or rather, most - of them felt really extreme. I mean, too extreme to ever happen or we knowing them to happen. Some of them went right over my head - got too technical -  that I settled for understanding the overall gist of the story. Some of them made me tear up and feel sentimental because of the kindness and compassion they invoked. All of these will make for really good potential tv series or movie script materials. That said, I feel since this is 2025 and the book was composed in 2006 with the best stories generated till that point, these are a bit stale....

 The Chola Tigers : Avengers of Somnath  (The Indic Chronicles #2) By Amish Tripathi  Published Year: 2025 Page Count: 460 pages  Medium Used: Kindle Scribe  Genre : Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Mythology, Lord Shiva, Muhmad of Ghazni, Action, Adventure, Gore & Macabre, Good prose, Ancient India, 2025-read.  Rating : 5/5  Superb!! Amish has outdone himself with this flawlessly rendered love song to lord Shiva. With every page, he has offered his devotion and love to Lord Shiva. Although this story deals with foreigners desecrating the idol of Lord Shiva at Somnath, Gujarat .. it felt like that was only an act performed in isolation and it has brought together brave people from different cultures, faiths and religious inclinations together.. each praying and showing their deep respect and devotion to Shiva. A must read to every Indian who is proud of their heritage and who would be better off learning their past .. like the sage Shanakaracharya says...

 Down Among Sticks and Bones  (Wayward Children #2) By Seanan McGuire  Published Year: 2017 Page Count: 189 pages  Medium Used: Kindle Scribe  Genre : Coming of Age, LGBTQ+, Vampires, Fantasy, Magic, Multiverse, Parallel Worlds, 2025-read.  Rating : 5/5 😀 Mind blowing. One of the very indulging and engrossing series ever! I couldn't put the book down, I had to finish it! Two twin sisters, brought up with little love from their parents and for each other, travel to a parallel world (called the Moors) studded with humans cohabiting vampires, werewolves and drowned Gods/monsters, through a door in their closet. They are twins but they couldn't be more different. While one wants to be decorated with rich gossamer clothes, the other wants to be toughened with hard work and tomboy looks. They are brought up by their parents in a certain way and they throw away the cautions and rules to the wind when they go into this new world. They choose opposite paths and spe...

  The Voyage Home   ( Women of Troy #3) By Pat Barker   Published Year: 2024  Page Count: 320 pages  Medium Used: Kindle Scribe   Genre : Historical Fiction , Mythology , 2025-read, Ancient Greece , Women Empowered, Murder, Vengeance.  Rating : 4.8/5 The main story - Agamemnon comes home,flaunting his ego, after ten years of war at Troy, destroying Troy and taking his share of war spoils. Before setting out for Troy, he callously murders his daughter Ipigenia, offering her as a sacrifice for the Gods, for fair weather. His wife hasn't forgotten this, despite the time that has passed. Agamemon's father, Atreus, has murdered and offered his brother's children as edible meat to his brother, to show off his power. Someone doesn't forget this either. Cassandra, his new concubine, doesn't forget the blood that flowed in Troy and all the children that are slaughtered by Agamemnon or under his direction. Its all about and about all these children and doing th...