SFBA Book Club

Divya Manian reviewed A House Needs to Breathe... or Does It? by Allison A. Bailes III

Allison A. Bailes III: A House Needs to Breathe... or Does It? (2022, Bright Communications LLC)

If you own your house, read this book before you do any HVAC work

5 stars

You must read this book if you own your home before beginning HVAC work. Sadly I made the mistake of doing my HVAC work BEFORE I read this book but luckily I was not too far off the mark. Most HVAC professionals sadly do not actually know the "whys" of what they are doing and simply offer cookie cutter solutions that do not fit what your house needs – especially an existing home.

Things to remember - If you want to do anything, ensure you also insulate your home! Ensure there are no leaks in or out of the home. Otherwise, all of the other work will have to use more energy due to leaks of air. - A ductless mini split is highly recommended to condition air around your homes - A ventilated dehumidifier is highly recommended to bring in fresh air & dehumidify it - Ensure you always …

You must read this book if you own your home before beginning HVAC work. Sadly I made the mistake of doing my HVAC work BEFORE I read this book but luckily I was not too far off the mark. Most HVAC professionals sadly do not actually know the "whys" of what they are doing and simply offer cookie cutter solutions that do not fit what your house needs – especially an existing home.

Things to remember - If you want to do anything, ensure you also insulate your home! Ensure there are no leaks in or out of the home. Otherwise, all of the other work will have to use more energy due to leaks of air. - A ductless mini split is highly recommended to condition air around your homes - A ventilated dehumidifier is highly recommended to bring in fresh air & dehumidify it - Ensure you always run the ventilator in the bathroom / kitchen when you are using them - Water moisture is the #1 villain and try to not have temperature differences in surfaces that will cause moisture to develop - A manifold is a way to send hot water through a smaller plastic pipe such that less water looses heat as it stays in the piping - Try to prevent thermal bridges to ensure home is fully insulated

Dah DJM reviewed The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi (Old Man's War, #2)

John Scalzi: The Ghost Brigades (EBook, 2007, Tor)

The Ghost Brigades are the Special Forces of the Colonial Defense Forces, elite troops created …

Where's John Perry?

3 stars

Found as EN "boxed set" and read the trilogy (with Old Man's War & The Last Colony) in less than a week (nights mainly). Less entertaining than #1 IMHO, but "needed" to jump into #3

Stephen reviewed Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton

No cover — Peter F. Hamilton: Salvation Lost (2019, Pan Macmillan)

Enjoyable, although the sex is weird

4 stars

Book 1 I was surprised but pleased the sex had toned down a bit. It's back again, although I'd concede it's I guess-sort-of-plot-relevant. I read this while unable to sleep so I struggled a lot with the far-future sci-fi gobbledegook. Reading it during the day might have been easier! Much like the Void books, once the sci-fi gets this far ahead it feels a bit comic fantasy.

Still enjoyable, still keen to read the last one.

Stephen reviewed Pandora's star by Peter F. Hamilton

Peter F. Hamilton: Pandora's star (2004, Del Rey/Ballantine Books)

Critics have compared the engrossing space operas of Peter F. Hamilton to the classic sagas …

Horny sci-fi opera

4 stars

After a break of reading PFH, I've started reading some of his books again. I still absolutely love Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. I really liked his previous long space opera (Night's Dawn) but this universe feels a bit more fleshed out. Cars and trains (oh, the trains) have models and people clearly have preferences. There's discussions about sports and brands and TV and paying attention to some of it now rewards later on, but not in a major way.

The action is good, the science is fun, but unlike his next trilogy in this universe, it doesn't feel cartoonish. The Void Trilogy to me feels like a lot of technobabble and deus ex machina. Book 1 here starts well.

But it's difficult to ignore the sex. Everyone is constantly horny and having sex with at least one other person. In fact it is stated in the book that after …

After a break of reading PFH, I've started reading some of his books again. I still absolutely love Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. I really liked his previous long space opera (Night's Dawn) but this universe feels a bit more fleshed out. Cars and trains (oh, the trains) have models and people clearly have preferences. There's discussions about sports and brands and TV and paying attention to some of it now rewards later on, but not in a major way.

The action is good, the science is fun, but unlike his next trilogy in this universe, it doesn't feel cartoonish. The Void Trilogy to me feels like a lot of technobabble and deus ex machina. Book 1 here starts well.

But it's difficult to ignore the sex. Everyone is constantly horny and having sex with at least one other person. In fact it is stated in the book that after a human goes through medical rejuvenation, there are whole planets for no-strings sex. Unlike previous books, PFH has calmed down a bit and we don't get a shopping list of positions every single time.