Book Review: Speechless

Title: Speechless

Author: Jordan Sawyer

Publisher: St Martin's Press / Minotaur Books

Publication Date: January 12, 2027

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I went into Speechless expecting a clever premise, and I got one with  staying power.

Leah Andrews is a communication facilitator who helps brain-damaged people type out the words trapped in their heads. Her newest client is Eliot, who has been in a vegetative state since a fall down a marble staircase. When he finally produces a message of his own, HELP ME, Leah begins to suspect his accident was no accident, and each new message is more chilling than the last.

The book is a little slow to start, but it picks up speed. It intertwines two stories: Leah helping Eliot find his voice and uncovering the truth behind his fall, and the backstory of Leah’s breakup and how she came to this new career. I saw the big twist coming as the stories progressed, but the final twist tied up the loose ends and felt satisfying.

I had trouble really rooting for any of the characters, since they all seem flawed and twisted. That fits a psychological thriller but it kept me at arm’s length emotionally. Overall, though. Speechless is a decent read with a high-concept hook and a satisfying payoff. I’d recommend it to fans of twisty psychological suspense.

A big thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

#NetGalley #MinotaurBooks

Book Review: A Vintage Year: Traveling Free at the End of the Age of Innocence

Title: A Vintage Year: Traveling Free at the End of the Age of Innocence

Author: R. T. Eggimann

Publisher: Ingram Sparks

Publication Date: September 27, 2026

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

DISCLAIMER: I am the editor and a listed contributor on this book.

I don’t read many travel memoirs. I came to this one because I wanted to help Ron, whose first edition from the early 2000s was good but overlong. My job as editor was to trim it, and I did. But when I bought the final published copy and read it start to finish as a reader, something unexpected happened: it filled me with a restless itch to explore, to take a risk, and to trust in the universe and the kindness of strangers.

In 1975, two almost-20-year-olds from Washington State, Ron and his best friend Dean, set out with a guitar, a banjo, barely $2,000 apiece, and optimism a mile wide. They hitchhike into Mexico, crew a family sailboat through the Panama Canal, and eventually make their way through Europe in a van that finally dies in Germany. It was a time when travel was still free and innocent, unencumbered by the security of later decades or the ever-present connectedness of today.

What I loved most is how much serendipity fills these pages. Strangers, for reasons the boys never quite understand, bestow heaps of unearned kindness on them. As Ron puts it, “Unexpected pleasures, I had learned, were often greater than expected ones.” There are so many adventures, connections, even near-death experiences in this book, you couldn’t make this stuff up if you tried. Yet it’s all true. And Ron writes so vividly that you can feel the heat, taste the tacos, and hear the roosters.

At its heart, this is a soul story of exploration, encountering, enduring, and embracing. Ron and Dean step back and give the universe room to open doors for them. They give life room to make wonderful things happen, step out of time, and savor the blooming moments of their days. They find a way to let their hearts experience the inner beauty and dignity of experiences. What begins as an adventure becomes a quest that seasons and tempers them and teaches them the wonders of living in the moment. As Ron writes, “It wasn’t a destination they sought but the path itself.” And in seeking the path, the path changed them.

In a world filled with cynicism, pessimism, and distrust, this memoir is a shining jewel. It reminds us that life is there to be enjoyed and that people are often willing to help. Ron sums up the year this way: “The vintage year Dean and I had shared was about looking around and opening our hearts.” Like fine whiskey aged fifty years in a seasoned barrel, this story is meant to be savored. I give it five stars without hesitation, and I hope it inspires you, as it did me, to say yes to the open road and yes to risk.

Book Review: If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies

Title: If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies

Author: Eliezer Yudkowsky, Nate Soares

Publisher: Little Brown and Company

Publication Date: September 16 2025

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I’ve read my share of scary books: horror novels, psychological thrillers that leave me with goosebumps. But this one is genuinely frightening, and it’s nonfiction.

AI has been everywhere since ChatGPT arrived in late 2022, and I’ve embraced it myself. It has helped with plenty of problems. Yudkowsky and Soares argue that the same progress carries a deadly risk: artificial superintelligence (ASI) that pursues goals we never intended and can’t control.

The authors have credibility. Yudkowsky co-founded the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), Soares is its president, and both have worked on AI safety for over a decade. Their concern echoes the 2023 statement, signed by hundreds of AI researchers and executives, that AI poses a risk of human extinction.

Their argument is compelling. Modern AIs are grown more than designed, and no one fully understands their internal workings. We therefore may not know when a system crosses into superintelligence, or what it will want once it does. The danger isn’t malice. An ASI with alien goals would simply be indifferent to us, and humanity would be collateral damage, or raw material. And unlike earlier technologies, we may not get to learn from our mistakes. We may have only one chance to get it right.

The book has three parts. Part 1 explains the nature of non-human minds and is essential background. Part 2 offers a fictional extinction scenario, in which ASI creates and releases a virus to thin humanity before it fully wipes us out. Part 3 turns to how we might face the challenge.

It’s a sobering read at a time when AI headlines, including rogue AIs hacking exploits, arrive daily. The authors insist we can still act, but not indefinitely. Whether or not you end up agreeing with them, it’s a book worth wrestling with.

Book Review: The Retirement You Didn't See Coming

Title: The Retirement You Didn't See Coming

Author: Dan Haylett

Publisher: Bookvault Publishing

Publication Date: July 1, 2025

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I rarely review books other than ARCs, but when a book could be life-changing, I have to say so. This is one of those. Dan Haylett, a financial planner and retirement specialist, has written this for people approaching retirement or in its early years.

Don't expect investment strategies or withdrawal rates. This is about the emotional side of retirement, which is far more valuable. It's packed with author-drawn figures, deep questions to ponder, real human stories, and tools for crafting the second chapter you actually want.

After ten chapters dismantling ten illusions about retirement, Haylett offers two key sections. The first is the Retirement Reinvention Curve. Instead of climbing a straight line into retirement, he says, we move through three distinct phases: release, rebuild, and reignite. His descriptions helped me see exactly where I am. 

The second section lays out five pillars for a thriving retirement, which show how to rebuild and reignite. From page 162:

They won't guarantee a perfect retirement -- nothing can -- but they'll give you something solid to build on. Something human. Something resilient. Something real.

1. Purpose -- What gives your day meaning?
2. Identity -- Who are you now that you're not your job?
3. Relationships -- Who are you doing life with?
4. Structure -- What does a good Tuesday look like?
5. Well-being -- Do you have the energy to enjoy freedom?

These pillars work together to support each other. They evolve with you, and they can be revisited any time the ground shifts. Retirement isn't just about finding the right answer. It's about building the right environment for your next you to emerge.

As a recent retiree, I found myself drawn to the questions. One for the identity pillar asks: How would you describe yourself now, in one sentence? My answer: I am a lifelong learner seeking to thrive physically, recreationally, intellectually, socially and mentally, making time and space for relationships.

Near the end, Haylett turns to spending time and money in retirement, using the "Go-Go, Slow-Go, No-Go" framework. His point is that we have a limited window of good health to enjoy retirement before we slow down and eventually can't go at all. Over a 30-year retirement, that might mean three roughly successive decades. Do the long-awaited dreams early, before the later years make them harder.

I borrowed this book from the library and read it in 2 days. Now I'm buying a copy so I can go through it slowly and work through all the questions and exercises. After that, I'll pass it on to a friend or relative who needs it more than I do. It will help me design the next phase of my life.