BookBunnies

Midnight reviews Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov

Late last year the mysterious and reclusive black bunny of the family, Midnight, decided to join in the book fun and reviewed Foundation by Isaac Asimov, the first book in Asimov’s Foundation trilogy. Today he is talking to Sprinkles about the second book in the series, Foundation and Empire, originally published in 1952.

Sprinkles: It is nice to have you back here for another book review, Midnight!

Midnight: It’s good to be invited back. A being such as myself needs to be invited across a threshold before entering. (Bares teeth.)

Sprinkles: No need to try to be menacing Midnight; we appreciate you without the fear factor.

Midnight: Hmm. Underestimate me at your peril.

Sprinkles: Okay, whatever. So last time you and I talked about Asimov’s Foundation. And today we are talking about the second book in the series: Foundation and Empire.

Midnight: Foundation and Empire is really two long stories put together in one volume.

Sprinkles: Like the first book, which was five stories put together, right?

Midnight: If you want to put words in my mouth, then I suppose so.

Sprinkles: Okay, then you can use your own words. Go ahead.

Midnight: As I was saying, there are two stories. The first story is called “The General”. It is about Bel Riose, an ambitious general of the Galactic Empire who wants to fight for the glory of the Empire. He wants to attack the Foundation, which is by now a serious galactic power itself.

Sprinkles: But Hari Seldon comes through for the Foundation once more, right?

Midnight: Yes. However, by this point in galactic history, Hari Seldon is long dead. But as this rabbit can tell you, the long dead may still pose a great danger to the unwary. (Bares teeth.)

Sprinkles: Midnight! Stop scaring our readers. Some of them are young.

Midnight: Some people say I overcompensate for my modest size. Anyway, I thought you did not want to provide too many spoilers in these reviews, so I was trying to be entertaining.

Sprinkles: Yes, you are right, maybe we should not go too deep into the plot. But I think it is an important setup for the second story …

Midnight: Yes, in some ways. The second story is called “The Mule” and it is about a new challenge for the Foundation that Seldon could not have predicted. Things get out of hand, and a small group of people from the Foundation heads out to look for the mythical Second Foundation in order to reclaim Seldon’s legacy.

Sprinkles: Yes, I think this is a good summary of the plot.

Midnight: Glad you approve.

Midnight is reading Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov. — Midnight is reading *Foundation and Empire* by Isaac Asimov.

Sprinkles: Anyways, maybe that is enough about the plot.

Midnight: Now what do we talk about?

Sprinkles: What else do you want to say about the book?

Midnight: Not much. I think I am not an Asimov fan. This book was better than the first book though. The characters were a bit more developed. The jumps in time were less drastic. The first book skipped around five different times or something. Here we have only the two, separated by about a century. So that allowed him to focus on the characters in each story a bit more.

Sprinkles: I did like the characters in this book a lot more actually. I also really liked the idea of the visi-sonor, the musical instrument the clown Magnifico played in the second part. It could combine sound and images and affect people’s emotions. It fit the storyline really well, too.

Midnight: True. Also, there is a twist at the end of “The Mule” which I had not expected, so that was successful.

Sprinkles: I did not catch it either. And I agree. It was good.

Midnight: I guess you will want to talk with me about the third book next.

Sprinkles: That would be great!

Midnight: I am not committing to it. I may take a break from Asimov for a while. No one commands Midnight.

Sprinkles: Sure, we can take a break from Asimov, I suppose. I would love to get back to it eventually, but maybe you will enjoy talking about some Tolkien next.

Midnight: That sounds great! I really enjoy watching science fiction, but somehow reading it is not my beverage of choice.

Sprinkles: Yes, you are more into fantasy. So maybe that is what we can talk about the next time you visit.

Midnight: No promises.

Sprinkles: Okay, Midnight. This is a good place as any to wrap up this review. So what will you say as your last words?

Midnight: Farewell, dear reader. Until such a time as the Black Bunny sees fit to reappear.

Midnight enjoyed reading Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov. He might even come back some day out of the shadow realm where he normally resides to pontificate about the next book in the series. — Midnight enjoyed reading *Foundation and Empire* by Isaac Asimov. He might even come back some day out of the shadow realm where he normally resides to pontificate about the next book in the series.

Caramel reviews Redshirts by John Scalzi

Today Caramel reviews Redshirts, a book by John Scalzi first published in 2012. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: Today we are talking about a space story, right?

Caramel: Yes, today we are talking about Redshirts, which is a story that is in a Star Trek-like universe. The book never comes out and says Star Trek of course, but you know it.

S: True. Even the title is a throwback to Star Trek. Redshirts are the ensigns and other members of the crew who wear red uniforms, and if you watch enough Star Trek episodes, at some point it becomes clear that whenever a team goes down to a planet with some of the main characters and a few crew members wearing red, the dangers in the planet would kill off at least one of those redshirts.

C: Yes. The book is really about that. The main character is this guy named Andrew Dahl and he is himself a redshirt. He joins the Universal Union, which is like the Federation in Star Trek, and is serving on the flagship. He realizes at some point that his friends keep dying. But none of the main crew dies. So the redshirts start getting suspicious.

S: I think that is a really smart plotline.

C: Yes, I think so too. But it gets even better. They realize that they do not really have memories beyond the ship they are on and so on, and they eventually discover that there is a real weird reason for everything.

S: Yep!

C: But I am not telling. I think it would be a big spoiler.

Caramel is reading Redshirts by John Scalzi. — Caramel is reading *Redshirts* by John Scalzi.

S: Yes, you do have a point there. Okay, so let us stop talking about the plot then and begin to talk about other things about the book. Actually I read Redshirts first and could not stop myself from laughing all the time. I thought you would enjoy it, too. Was I right?

C: Yeah, it was pretty good. I laughed a lot, too.

S: I also found the plot twists pretty neat.

C: Yeah, me too. But again, no spoilers! And I kind of guessed some of them.

S: Good for you! I did not. But you and Marshmallow are getting pretty good at guessing narrative arcs.

C: Well, we do read a lot of books.

S: That’s true.

C: Yeah, so the book starts out with a guy on an away mission, for lack of a better term, and he is eaten by land worms, I have no idea what those could possibly be. But they sound just about right for the kind of weird monsters that appeared in the original Star Trek series. And so we immediately get some action and some weirdness, and it is all fun from that point on.

S: I mean, I guess a lot of redshirts did die, I think, and death is not really funny, if you think about it, but in the storyline they were all quite absurd, and you could not help but laugh.

C: Yeah, the setups of the away missions were all weirdly amusing, but the actual plot of the book was awesome. Kind of mind-boggling and mind-twisting, but also funny. And awesome!

S: I am so glad you enjoyed it. But I am wondering. Do you think someone would still enjoy this book if they did not watch any Star Trek?

C: Yes, yes, the plot can still stand alone, but knowing Star Trek sort of just makes it better.

S: I think I agree. For a Star Trek fan like me, there were a lot of inside jokes, but if you are not a Trekkie like me,,I think it is still a great read. Lots of fun and also some things to think about after you are done.

C: Yep.

S: Okay Caramel. I think this might be a good time to wrap up this review.

C: Sure. Let’s do that.

S: What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel enjoyed reading Redshirts by John Scalzi and recommends it to all bunnies looking for some funny space stories. — Caramel enjoyed reading *Redshirts* by John Scalzi and recommends it to all bunnies looking for some funny space stories.

Marshmallow reviews The Toll by Neal Shusterman

Marshmallow has already read and reviewed Scythe and Thunderhead, the first two books in Neal Shusterman’s Arc of a Scythe series. Today she reviews the third book, The Toll, first published in 2019.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you liked the previous books in the Arc of a Scythe series, then this is the book for you! But if you haven’t read those yet, then Scythe and Thunderhead are the books for you!

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Ever since every human was marked as unsavory, the Thunderhead went silent. The Thunderhead is the benevolent, all-knowing AI consciousness that runs the world, serving as a parent to those without, a therapist to those in need, a friend to those lonely … the list goes on. Without the Thunderhead, humanity feels a bit lost. Of course, all the physical things (revival centers, publicars, etc.) directed by the Thunderhead continue to run smoothly, perfectly. But the question of why the Thunderhead went silent seems answered by the recent sinking of Endura, which was essentially the man-made island serving as the capital of the global Scythedom. Rowan Damisch (dubbed Scythe Lucifer), who ended several corrupt scythes to serve vigilante justice, is blamed and the general consensus is that the Thunderhead marked all of humanity as ‘unsavory’ (which means the Thunderhead no longer speaks to them) to collectively punish them for Rowan’s crimes.

Unfortunately, this is not the real reason. Rowan sank with Endura, along with Citra Terranova–who you may know better as Scythe Anastasia. The Thunderhead was mourning their loss, too, along with all others lost in Endura. Rowan and Citra were actually trying to stop the destruction caused by Scythe Goddard, but instead Goddard seizes power afterwards and appoints himself the Overblade of North Merica. Goddard also begins changing the way the entire Scythedom works, eliminating the gleaning quotas so that scythes can glean as much or as little as they want to; he encourages other regional Scythedoms to do the same and soon the world is divided between scythes who align themselves with Goddard and those who are brave enough to resist his growing influence.

The Tonists, the main (perhaps only) religious cult that remains in a time of immortality, are another group against Goddard’s reign and scythes in general. Their religion always foretold of the Great Resonance, and the Thunderhead did release a technical wail (it made all alarms, beeps, and other sounds in the world go off for a brief couple of seconds) before it went silent. This reinvigorates their faith and legitimizes them slightly, especially now that they have the Toll.

Grayson Tolliver was raised by the Thunderhead and, in the last book, he saved Scythe Anastasia and her mentor Scythe Curie. The Thunderhead’s coding forbids it from interfering with scythe business, and the murder attempt targeting Scythe Anastasia and Curie’s lives fit that category; thus the Thunderhead wasn’t allowed to intervene to save them, but it could tell Grayson and it could predict that he would likely try to save them himself. Due to this interference, the Thunderhead was forced to mark Grayson ‘unsavory’ for a while, but after the Great Resonance (and everyone else being marked ‘unsavory’) he is clean and the only human on the planet who is able to talk to the Thunderhead. Living amongst the Tonists, he becomes their leader and the third part of their holy trinity—the Toll (the other two are the Thunder and the Tone).

While this is all happening, Scythe Faraday (Scythe Anastasia and Lucifer’s mentor) begins searching for the mythical fail-safe left by the founding Scythes in case the scythedom ever went in the wrong direction. This is because, unfortunately, the scythedom has gone astray and it seems like there aren’t enough people left to stand in Goddard’s way. Little does he know though that secrets lost to the sea and to space are not so lost after all.

Marshmallow is reading The Toll by Neal Shusterman. — Marshmallow is reading *The Toll* by Neal Shusterman.

Marshmallow’s Review: I really enjoyed The Toll! I was extremely excited to read another book in this series and this book did not disappoint. I had loved the first two books and felt that ending the series in a satisfying way would be a very difficult challenge. However, Shusterman did a very good job and I think he made the best decisions possible. The ways the characters developed were nuanced, and I think he avoided certain stereotypical, simplistic arcs. The breakdown of one of the strongest characters was heartbreaking to read about, yet it was much more realistic than the unrealistic continual suppression of his emotional struggles.

The way the characters in this series grapple with mortality and the idea of gleaning (the ceremonial taking of lives executed by scythes) makes these books all very advanced and philosophical. They point towards what might lie ahead for humanity and how humanity both strives for and self-sabotages its improvement. I also find Shusterman’s imaginary world a bit comforting. While there is undoubtedly trouble in The Toll, there is also significant advancement for humans. Seeing and reading about a world where humans are still struggling to advance yet have already come so far is very inspiring and thought-provoking.

Despite the stark differences between our world and the world of The Toll, the characters are all incredibly well-written and I thought the relationship between (SPOILER) Citra and Rowan was very cute. Shusterman’s execution of their romance was very mature, I thought, because it seems that they do have some sort of physical interactions but we luckily don’t have to read about them. This omission actually helps strengthen the emotional legitimacy of their connection as that is what the author chose to highlight, rather than raw attraction.

I also thought the plot was amazing! The Toll was, like the previous books, a story that was so enveloping and compelling that I did not feel the need to slow down and try to predict what would happen next. I would just have to keep reading. I loved the final scene and I am very excited to read the additional books that Shusterman has written about this same story universe and is writing currently.

I would highly recommend reading all three of the books in the Arc of a Scythe series because they really do make you think about how differences between our world and the world of the series reflect on humanity as a whole and how mortality truly affects us. They are also just very entertaining. I am very excited for any new books set in the world of this series; I hope you read about it too!

Marshmallow’s Rating: 110%.

Marshmallow rates The Toll by Neal Shusterman 110%. — Marshmallow rates *The Toll* by Neal Shusterman 110%.

Caramel reviews Talons of Power: The Graphic Novel (Book Nine of Wings of Fire) by Tui Sutherland and Mike Holmes

Caramel reviews the graphic novel version of Talons of Power, the ninth book of the Wings of Fire series, by Tui Sutherland and Mike Holmes.

After waiting for it for over three years, Caramel was able to read and review book sixteen of Tui Sutherland’s Wings of Fire series last week. This made him realize that he had not yet reviewed the graphic novel adaptation of book nine, Talons of Power, which had come out in December 2025. He now talks to Sprinkles about this book below.

Caramel reviews Talons of Power: The Graphic Novel (Book Nine of Wings of Fire), written by Tui Sutherland and illustrated by Mike Holmes. — Caramel reviews *Talons of Power: The Graphic Novel* (Book Nine of Wings of Fire), written by Tui Sutherland and illustrated by Mike Holmes.

Sprinkles: Today we are talking about the graphic novel version of Book Nine of the Wings of Fire series. Right, Caramel?

Caramel: Yes, technically we could have talked about this before the sixteenth book, but we forgot to review, but I’m happy I got my paws on this book.

S: Yes, this came out at the end of 2025, and you read it all the way back then, but then we had a couple other books you were planning to review, and then we took January off, and then we basically forgot.

C: Yeah, we should have reviewed it earlier, but at least we remembered.

S: You had read and reviewed the original version of the ninth book before. And you loved that book.

C: Yeah, and I love this one too, it’s awesome.

S: So if I recall correctly this one has Turtle as the main character.

C: Yeah, Turtle is a self-proclaimed coward, but he’s also among the strongest characters in Wings of Fire, because he’s an animus, just like his sister, Anemone. That means he has magic.

S: Ooh, cool! I think you had mentioned that in your review of the original book. You also had used “treacherous”, “revelation”, and “reluctant hero” to describe the book and its themes.

C: Yeah, so he sort of has to save the day from Darkstalker, but he’s a scaredy cat so he sort of doesn’t want to.

S: So there is a lot of his internal struggle in the original book, I think. How does all that internal struggle work out in the graphic novel format?

C: Well. It works out well.

S: So you enjoyed reading this book, then.

C: Yeah, it was very fun to read, and like the other graphic novels, the art was very cool and colorful.

S: It is after all the same art team, led by Mike Holmes who drew them and Maarta Laiho who worked on the colors. I am glad you liked the art.

C: Well, that explains why it was so good.

S: Yes. And looking through the book I am quite impressed by how the faces of the dragons are so expressive, I mean dragons are lizard-like creatures, it is hard to create expressions for them without making them look too human- or bunny-like. The artist does a great job with that.

C: Yeah, the art is very expressive.

Caramel is reading Talons of Power: The Graphic Novel (Book Nine of Wings of Fire), written by Tui Sutherland and illustrated by Mike Holmes. — Caramel is reading *Talons of Power: The Graphic Novel* (Book Nine of Wings of Fire), written by Tui Sutherland and illustrated by Mike Holmes.

S: Did reading this graphic novel make you want to go back to the original book and read that one again?

C: Yeah, so I did, though I probably would have done that anyways.

S: That’s true. I know how you like to go back and reread your favorites over and over again. That is something I never do with my books, but I know both you and Marshmallow love doing it.

C: Yeah, you’re weird for not rereading. I know Midnight also likes to reread.

S: Yeah, I mean I can see the appeal of reading a good book, you know it is good, and sometimes it is like you are reconnecting with old friends, and sometimes you probably catch things you might have missed in your first reading, and so on. Do you think you like rereading because of any of these reasons?

C: No, I just like rereading my favorite books.

S: And I like discovering new books, and there are so many books out there! I know I won’t be able to read all the books I want to read in one lifetime, so I often do not want to reread. I guess we are kind of different that way.

C: True, I guess we like different things about books, but let’s get back to this book.

S: Good idea Caramel. Thanks for redirecting us and getting us to focus. So what do you wish to add about the book?

C: It contains all the important things from the original book. You always want to know if the graphic novel version of a book is missing anything. So no, the graphic novel version has pretty much everything one needs to move to the next book.

S: That is neat. And good to know. So this might be a good time to wrap up this review.

C: Sure. Sounds good.

S: What would you like to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading Talons of Power: The Graphic Novel (Book Nine of Wings of Fire), written by Tui Sutherland and illustrated by Mike Holmes and is excited to have many more Wings of Fire books to read these days. — Caramel loved reading *Talons of Power: The Graphic Novel* (Book Nine of Wings of Fire), written by Tui Sutherland and illustrated by Mike Holmes and is excited to have many more Wings of Fire books to read these days.