The Pern books are generally fun little bits of fluff, so I decided to give one of the mother-and-son collaboration books about Pern a try. I was..."disappointed", I guess is the best word.
I know that Anne McCaffrey doesn't so much as have a nodding acquaintance with "Continuity" or "Consistency" in her books (the "Crystal Singer" and brainship books are especially horrible at this - she's got entire plot points being contradicted at times. Other times it's just "timeline" issues or other minor items, but still...) I have, however, come to expect that a story will, if not be internally consistent, at least be an entertaining read with a good storyline and story flow.
This book, however - the first half or so was entertaining. It's set 12 years before a Thread Pass, sometime between Moreta's Ride and "modern-day" Pern. It tells the story of "Kindan", a Harper apprentice, who originally worked in a mine, as a bondmate to a watch-wher. He then moved to the Harper hall, then was taken in a Search for a potential dragonrider, and when he didn't Impress a dragon, he went back to the Harper hall. He has a duel, makes friends, Impresses a fire-lizard, falls in love, and generally lives his life.
About the time of the fire-lizard Impression and the falling in love, however, the story starts to fall apart. Things happen that just don't make sense - or aren't explained well. However, the story still flowed fairly decently, and I was willing to overlook the inconsistencies for the sake of the story.
But the last 1/3 of the book or so is "suddenly, a PLAGUE appears!" This pandemic is very similar to the Influenza Epidemic of 1919 - the healthiest, strongest people (and the very weakest) are the ones who die, while the old, infirm, and very young are the ones who survive. And, naturally, it's deadly, spreads like wildfire, takes out entire holds, doesn't affect dragonriders...sound familiar? It should - it's Moreta's Story all over again with a different plague. It's as though they couldn't allow Kindan to just live his life and tell the story - no, instead they felt compelled to suddenly reprise Moreta's Story (complete with "timing it", although Kindan obviously isn't the one timing it, and the "timers" survive it, rather than getting lost between).
I get it: Plagues and epidemics aren't predictable, they don't happen just once and then no other disease hits like that, but honestly. It read like they suddenly realized "hey, we've got no real conflict now...I know, let's throw in a half-disguised Moreta Story! Yeah, that's it..."
It didn't work. I don't think I'll be reading any more Todd-and-Anne books; this one just wasn't as cohesive as some of her other collaborations, and I don't have the patience for books like that.
2 bones.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Looking for a book to read?
Try some of my favorites for this Holiday season. Remember, books make GREAT gifts too!
If you want to try something good and noir-ish with a bunch of good urban fantasy, go to The Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher. First one is Storm Front and second is Fool Moon. SERIOUSLY excellent books. So far there are 10 in the series and Butcher has said that he's planning on at least 20. Book 11 is due out in April.
Another couple of good series...
House of Night series by PC and Kristin Cast. First one is Marked and second is Betrayed. About a different kind of Vampyre where you are "marked" and your dna changes. Paganism does figure in these books and there's mild sex and language. There are currently 4 out and a 5th is due next year in hardback.
Mercy Thompson books by Patricia Briggs. Mercy is a VW Mechanic in these Urban Fantasy novels. She's also a Walker, a coyote to be exact. There are werewolves and vampires and even fae in these books. First is Moon Called, second is Blood Bound and third is Iron Kissed. Fourth is coming out early next year and it's called Bone Crossed.
There is another series set in the same "world" that deals with the Marrok (you'll learn about him) and his younger son Charles. First story is in the Anthology On the Prowl and the first book is called Cry Wolf. The series is called the Alpha and Omega series.
The Kitty Norville books by Carrie Vaughn. Kitty Norville is a disc jockey who is also a werewolf. First book is Kitty and the Midnight Hour, second is Kitty Goes to Washington. There are 4 currently out and 2 due out in Jan and Feb of next year.
I know I've talked about these before but the Rachel Morgan books by Kim Harrison are so so so excellent. First is Dead Witch Walking and second is The Good, the Bad and the Undead. There are 6 books out currently and book 7 is due early next year. I adore Rachel and hey...it's set in Cincinnati. How much better can that get? *G*
Sisters of the Moon series is by Yasmine Galenorn. They involve 3 sisters who are half human, half fey and are "secret agents" of the Fey crown. Witchling is first, Changeling is second, and Darkling is third. Dragon Wytch is the forth and the fifth book is due out either later this year or early next.
The Werecats books by Rachel Vincent are okay. I've only read the first, Stray, but have the second, Rogue, on my TBR pile. The third is due out early next year.
Many people like the Weather Warden books by Rachael Caine. Sort of an elementals meets the djinn and weather is involved type of book. I've only read the first couple and they were pretty good. I just got tired of waiting for the next and went on to something else and forgot about these. Ill Wind is the first and Heat Stroke is the second. There are 7 books in the series so far and all are out. No word on book 8 that I know of but I haven't really looked. *G*
Rachel Caine also has a Vampire series called the Morganville Vampires. I haven't read these but am told they're more of a YA book than an "adult" novel. Which is okay with me. So's Twilight. *G* First is Glass Houses.
The Vampire Acadamy books by Richelle Mead are great. So far there are 2 books in print and the third is due out this month. Vampire Acadamy is first, Frostbite is second and Shadow Kiss is the third. Totally engrossing. Has vampires and magic and dhampires.
The Noble Dead novels are more along the lines of Epic Fantasy and involve vampires, fey and dhampir. First book is called Dhampir, second is Thief of Lies and third is Sister of the Dead. There are 6 books currently in print in this series and the 7th is due out in Jan of 09.
More Epic Fantasy with Jim Butcher's other series, The Codex Alera. The Furies of Calderon is the first book, and in it we follow Tavi, a furyless boy of 15, as he begins on a journey to help save the world he knows. EXCELLENT books, in fact, I'm reading them right now to get ready for the 5th book's release later this month. Second book is Acadam's Fury and Third is Cursor's Fury. I love these books and wish I'd have bought them in hardback since they're now OOP in hardback and are very very hard to find. Don't let the "epic fantasy" scare you. These are not tedious books. They're fast and rousing and oh so addictive.
And last but very very much NOT least...
The Katie Chandler books by Shanna Swendson are very highly imaginative books where magic is all too real but most people have no clue that the person sitting next to them could be a fairy or a sprite or even that the gargoyle peering down at them is REAL and not just a stone figure. Katie Chandler sees all of this and more when she starts working in New York City...because Katie is a rarity in the world. A person so devoid of magic that she's a true mundane. But her life is FAR from mundane when she takes a job with Magic, Spells and Illusion, Inc. (MSI) as a "verifier", someone who can see through the magic to what really lies beneath. Enchanted Inc is the first book in this wonderful series. There's 4 books out so far and from reading her FAQ section, her current publisher isn't sure there will BE a book 5 unless sales of books 3 and 4 get stronger. The series is excellent and I highly recommend it. And I KNOW you'll want it on your keeper shelf! (there's also the possibility of a movie!)
If you want to try something good and noir-ish with a bunch of good urban fantasy, go to The Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher. First one is Storm Front and second is Fool Moon. SERIOUSLY excellent books. So far there are 10 in the series and Butcher has said that he's planning on at least 20. Book 11 is due out in April.
Another couple of good series...
House of Night series by PC and Kristin Cast. First one is Marked and second is Betrayed. About a different kind of Vampyre where you are "marked" and your dna changes. Paganism does figure in these books and there's mild sex and language. There are currently 4 out and a 5th is due next year in hardback.
Mercy Thompson books by Patricia Briggs. Mercy is a VW Mechanic in these Urban Fantasy novels. She's also a Walker, a coyote to be exact. There are werewolves and vampires and even fae in these books. First is Moon Called, second is Blood Bound and third is Iron Kissed. Fourth is coming out early next year and it's called Bone Crossed.
There is another series set in the same "world" that deals with the Marrok (you'll learn about him) and his younger son Charles. First story is in the Anthology On the Prowl and the first book is called Cry Wolf. The series is called the Alpha and Omega series.
The Kitty Norville books by Carrie Vaughn. Kitty Norville is a disc jockey who is also a werewolf. First book is Kitty and the Midnight Hour, second is Kitty Goes to Washington. There are 4 currently out and 2 due out in Jan and Feb of next year.
I know I've talked about these before but the Rachel Morgan books by Kim Harrison are so so so excellent. First is Dead Witch Walking and second is The Good, the Bad and the Undead. There are 6 books out currently and book 7 is due early next year. I adore Rachel and hey...it's set in Cincinnati. How much better can that get? *G*
Sisters of the Moon series is by Yasmine Galenorn. They involve 3 sisters who are half human, half fey and are "secret agents" of the Fey crown. Witchling is first, Changeling is second, and Darkling is third. Dragon Wytch is the forth and the fifth book is due out either later this year or early next.
The Werecats books by Rachel Vincent are okay. I've only read the first, Stray, but have the second, Rogue, on my TBR pile. The third is due out early next year.
Many people like the Weather Warden books by Rachael Caine. Sort of an elementals meets the djinn and weather is involved type of book. I've only read the first couple and they were pretty good. I just got tired of waiting for the next and went on to something else and forgot about these. Ill Wind is the first and Heat Stroke is the second. There are 7 books in the series so far and all are out. No word on book 8 that I know of but I haven't really looked. *G*
Rachel Caine also has a Vampire series called the Morganville Vampires. I haven't read these but am told they're more of a YA book than an "adult" novel. Which is okay with me. So's Twilight. *G* First is Glass Houses.
The Vampire Acadamy books by Richelle Mead are great. So far there are 2 books in print and the third is due out this month. Vampire Acadamy is first, Frostbite is second and Shadow Kiss is the third. Totally engrossing. Has vampires and magic and dhampires.
The Noble Dead novels are more along the lines of Epic Fantasy and involve vampires, fey and dhampir. First book is called Dhampir, second is Thief of Lies and third is Sister of the Dead. There are 6 books currently in print in this series and the 7th is due out in Jan of 09.
More Epic Fantasy with Jim Butcher's other series, The Codex Alera. The Furies of Calderon is the first book, and in it we follow Tavi, a furyless boy of 15, as he begins on a journey to help save the world he knows. EXCELLENT books, in fact, I'm reading them right now to get ready for the 5th book's release later this month. Second book is Acadam's Fury and Third is Cursor's Fury. I love these books and wish I'd have bought them in hardback since they're now OOP in hardback and are very very hard to find. Don't let the "epic fantasy" scare you. These are not tedious books. They're fast and rousing and oh so addictive.
And last but very very much NOT least...
The Katie Chandler books by Shanna Swendson are very highly imaginative books where magic is all too real but most people have no clue that the person sitting next to them could be a fairy or a sprite or even that the gargoyle peering down at them is REAL and not just a stone figure. Katie Chandler sees all of this and more when she starts working in New York City...because Katie is a rarity in the world. A person so devoid of magic that she's a true mundane. But her life is FAR from mundane when she takes a job with Magic, Spells and Illusion, Inc. (MSI) as a "verifier", someone who can see through the magic to what really lies beneath. Enchanted Inc is the first book in this wonderful series. There's 4 books out so far and from reading her FAQ section, her current publisher isn't sure there will BE a book 5 unless sales of books 3 and 4 get stronger. The series is excellent and I highly recommend it. And I KNOW you'll want it on your keeper shelf! (there's also the possibility of a movie!)
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Stray by Rachel Vincent
Yep, another "paranormal" book review.
Stray, by newcomer Rachel Vincent, is the story of Faythe Sanders, a college student and werecat.
I bought this because of the cat theme (I love cats) and because a favorite writer, Kim Harrison, recommended it. I'm not sorry, it was a good story overall but...as Publisher's Weekly put it:
"Vincent's debut, an urban werecat fantasy, is a good story that suffers from about 200 pages of bloat"
and
"Unfortunately, they [Marc and Faythe the lead characters] both have frustrating character tics that are only exacerbated by the novel's length: Faythe is more often too-stubborn-to-live than kick-ass, and all the tears Marc wells up over Faythe don't forgive his insufferable jealousy."
I would recommend catching a copy of this at the library so you can decide for yourself if you want to go further with the series (next up is Rogue and then Pride coming in '09) although Ms. Vincent DOES create a unique and very very interesting world.
I'm looking forward to seeing what Rogue has to offer, but I'm hoping that Marc gets over his "bad" self and Faythe remembers that she does, indeed, have a brain.
3 out of 5 berries because the ending was pretty fast paced and kept me reading far into the night.
Stray, by newcomer Rachel Vincent, is the story of Faythe Sanders, a college student and werecat.
I bought this because of the cat theme (I love cats) and because a favorite writer, Kim Harrison, recommended it. I'm not sorry, it was a good story overall but...as Publisher's Weekly put it:
"Vincent's debut, an urban werecat fantasy, is a good story that suffers from about 200 pages of bloat"
and
"Unfortunately, they [Marc and Faythe the lead characters] both have frustrating character tics that are only exacerbated by the novel's length: Faythe is more often too-stubborn-to-live than kick-ass, and all the tears Marc wells up over Faythe don't forgive his insufferable jealousy."
I would recommend catching a copy of this at the library so you can decide for yourself if you want to go further with the series (next up is Rogue and then Pride coming in '09) although Ms. Vincent DOES create a unique and very very interesting world.
I'm looking forward to seeing what Rogue has to offer, but I'm hoping that Marc gets over his "bad" self and Faythe remembers that she does, indeed, have a brain.
3 out of 5 berries because the ending was pretty fast paced and kept me reading far into the night.
Evernight by Claudia Gray
While browsing Amazon.com, looking for something to wash the *blech* out of my brain from reading half of Breaking Dawn (Twilight series), I came across a listing for Evernight.
Billed as a "must read for fans of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight" this is indeed a book about vampire romance. But as you begin the story, you have to wonder...just who is the vampire here?
Bianca is a new gal at Evernight Academy. Her parents took jobs as teachers so that Bianca could "learn more about life than [her] small town friends could show her." All the kids at Evernight seem to be either the "snobby rich" or the "look down upon ya" losers. With Bianca in the middle of both cliques. Having parents at the school...and cool teachers that they are...makes the rich kids grudgingly accept her while the "losers" look at her with unease. Is she just like the "richies" or is she like them?
And then there's Lucas. Also new at Evernight, Lucas is the first person in his family to attend since the family was "blackballed" in the 1700s. Universally disliked by the rich kids and semi feared by the "losers", Lucas becomes enamored by Bianca, who (of course) returns the interest.
What follows is a Romeo and Juliet type "love affair" with waring ancient supernatural societies stepping in for the Capulets and Montegues. The "twist" in the story comes about half way and, if you don't spot it loooong before that, you're just not paying attention.
It was a fast and, for the most part, a fun read. I was a little bored by the first half of the book but pushed on and was rewarded by some good chuckles and a great belly laugh. The ending was pretty typical but, for a first time writer, Ms. Gray has done a good job. I'm looking forward to reading more about Bianca and Lucas.
All in all, I'll give this a 3.5 out of 5 berries. Good enough to read again, but not enough to buy it new for the shelf.
Billed as a "must read for fans of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight" this is indeed a book about vampire romance. But as you begin the story, you have to wonder...just who is the vampire here?
Bianca is a new gal at Evernight Academy. Her parents took jobs as teachers so that Bianca could "learn more about life than [her] small town friends could show her." All the kids at Evernight seem to be either the "snobby rich" or the "look down upon ya" losers. With Bianca in the middle of both cliques. Having parents at the school...and cool teachers that they are...makes the rich kids grudgingly accept her while the "losers" look at her with unease. Is she just like the "richies" or is she like them?
And then there's Lucas. Also new at Evernight, Lucas is the first person in his family to attend since the family was "blackballed" in the 1700s. Universally disliked by the rich kids and semi feared by the "losers", Lucas becomes enamored by Bianca, who (of course) returns the interest.
What follows is a Romeo and Juliet type "love affair" with waring ancient supernatural societies stepping in for the Capulets and Montegues. The "twist" in the story comes about half way and, if you don't spot it loooong before that, you're just not paying attention.
It was a fast and, for the most part, a fun read. I was a little bored by the first half of the book but pushed on and was rewarded by some good chuckles and a great belly laugh. The ending was pretty typical but, for a first time writer, Ms. Gray has done a good job. I'm looking forward to reading more about Bianca and Lucas.
All in all, I'll give this a 3.5 out of 5 berries. Good enough to read again, but not enough to buy it new for the shelf.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Barrack Obama is Your New Bicycle.
I read the book Barack OBama is your new bi.cycle by Mathew Honan. It is subtitled 366 ways he really cares. It was started by the author's desire to make his wife laugh. While she was campaigning for Senator Obama, he set up the website, barckobamaisyournewbicycle.com. From there, came the book. I t is a humorous look at how Barrack Obama cares for you and why he is a good candidate. I will give you a few examples from the book but hopefully not too many so I don't go beyond fair use.
Barack Obama gave you a puppy.
Barack Obama mapped out a new dungeon and rolled up a totally bad ass paladin for your first game of D&D.
Barack Obama called your mom on mother's day just to say hi.
It was trite and yet very funny. It was an incredibly fast read and worth the time to read it.
3 out 0f 5 Pith Helmets.
Barack Obama gave you a puppy.
Barack Obama mapped out a new dungeon and rolled up a totally bad ass paladin for your first game of D&D.
Barack Obama called your mom on mother's day just to say hi.
It was trite and yet very funny. It was an incredibly fast read and worth the time to read it.
3 out 0f 5 Pith Helmets.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Young Man Luther by Erik Erikson
Young Man Luther by Erik Erikson is a book with an interesting premise but littl else. The premise was do to a psychoanalysis of Martin Luther. The big and central problem is that his analysis was with a person who was absent. Luther was so absent that he had been dead for centuries and no one around to even a first hand account of things. Besides this, there was a cultural biased that was not deal with in the book. Erikson was writting this while living in the 1950's America while looking at Martin Luther who was living in the 1500's Germany. This, at least for me, left the book's theories foundationless. I give this one 1 out of 5 Pith helmits and this solely for how much Erikson's biased amused me.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Skulduggery Pleasant, by Derek Landy
This book was actually featured in the Unshelved Book Club Sunday Strip for June 22. When I saw it on the "recommended" table at the library, I remembered the strip and picked the book up. Was I ever glad I did!
The age rating says "ages 10 and up". It really is, too - it's got enough action and wisecracking to make it appeal to kids, teens, and adults, without being overly graphic or resorting to "adult" material.
SYNOPSIS: Stephanie is a normal 12-year-old girl with a rather not-normal uncle. The book starts with his funeral, and the reading of his will - in which he leaves the majority of his vast estate to Stephanie! Also present is an unusual character named "Skullduggery Pleasant", apparently a friend of Stephanie's uncle.
He rapidly becomes a friend of sorts to Stephanie, as well. She stays the night at her uncle's (now her) house, and gets attacked by a man asking for a "key". Skullduggery comes to the rescue and is revealed to be a walking, talking, magic-using skeleton! The rest of the book deals with Stephanie's introduction to the world of magic and sorcery, and of course, the battles against the Bad Guys.
The Bad Guys are after the Scepter of the Ancients, an amazingly powerful (and indestructible) weapon made by (duh) the Ancients. With the Scepter, they plan to take over the world, call up an ancient race of gods, and get the gods to rid the world of humanity. I never quite did figure out how they thought they would be exempt from this purging-of-humanity, but apparently being a Bad Guy necessarily means that you have major holes in your logic. :D
Skullduggery has an impossibly large ego, a healthy sense of self-worth, and is incredibly sarcastic. His interactions with Stephanie, no slouch in those areas herself, are really funny. If you're a devotee of the Dresden Files novels by Jim Butcher, you'll understand when I say that Skullduggery is rather a combination of Harry and Bob when it comes to wisecracking and sarcastic comments.
Overall, it's a fun read, and, dare I say, a "Pleasant" book. Check out the website at http://www.skullduggerypleasant.com/us
4.5 out of 5 bones.
The age rating says "ages 10 and up". It really is, too - it's got enough action and wisecracking to make it appeal to kids, teens, and adults, without being overly graphic or resorting to "adult" material.
SYNOPSIS: Stephanie is a normal 12-year-old girl with a rather not-normal uncle. The book starts with his funeral, and the reading of his will - in which he leaves the majority of his vast estate to Stephanie! Also present is an unusual character named "Skullduggery Pleasant", apparently a friend of Stephanie's uncle.
He rapidly becomes a friend of sorts to Stephanie, as well. She stays the night at her uncle's (now her) house, and gets attacked by a man asking for a "key". Skullduggery comes to the rescue and is revealed to be a walking, talking, magic-using skeleton! The rest of the book deals with Stephanie's introduction to the world of magic and sorcery, and of course, the battles against the Bad Guys.
The Bad Guys are after the Scepter of the Ancients, an amazingly powerful (and indestructible) weapon made by (duh) the Ancients. With the Scepter, they plan to take over the world, call up an ancient race of gods, and get the gods to rid the world of humanity. I never quite did figure out how they thought they would be exempt from this purging-of-humanity, but apparently being a Bad Guy necessarily means that you have major holes in your logic. :D
Skullduggery has an impossibly large ego, a healthy sense of self-worth, and is incredibly sarcastic. His interactions with Stephanie, no slouch in those areas herself, are really funny. If you're a devotee of the Dresden Files novels by Jim Butcher, you'll understand when I say that Skullduggery is rather a combination of Harry and Bob when it comes to wisecracking and sarcastic comments.
Overall, it's a fun read, and, dare I say, a "Pleasant" book. Check out the website at http://www.skullduggerypleasant.com/us
4.5 out of 5 bones.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Egyptian Book fo the Dead.
The Edition of the Egyptian Book of the Dead I will be reviewing has been translated by Raymond O. Faulkner and has an introduction by James P. Allen. It was copyrighted in 2003 and published by Barnes and Noble. This edition is a beautiful and well done coffee table edition full of pictures of both original texts but also artifacts from the era. Both text and pictures shed light on the ancient Egyptian culture and religion. It was an enjoyable read and a book i would leave out for people to look through. Due to its vignette nature. This book is best read in short snippets.
5 out of 5 pith helmets
5 out of 5 pith helmets
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
The Black Mountain, a Nero Wolfe novel
By Rex Stout.
Synopsis: Marko Vukcic, Nero Wolfe's oldest friend, is murdered in New York. Wolfe actually leaves not only his brownstone, but the country to go to Montenegro (at the time it was Yugoslavia) and find the murderer.
Review: I normally thoroughly approve of an author trying something new with their characters, and taking them in a new direction. And, while this was definitely in Wolfe's character, I just didn't enjoy this book very much at all. Yes, the mystery was there, but it was more of a MacGuffin than the point of the book. The point seemed to be "get Wolfe completely out of his element. A lot." The mystery was dealt with only tangentially, and the "adventure" of Wolfe and Archie in Montenegro dominated the book. It was "solved" as an afterthought, and required no mental effort whatsoever on Wolfe's part. As a Wolfe novel, it was disappointing. There was none of the usual banter, none of the "Archie hassles Wolfe", and in general, none of their usual behaviours. Since I read, and re-read the books for the people, rather than the MacGuffin / mystery, I wasn't impressed with this one.
It really didn't read like a Wolfe novel at all, but rather like another "adventure" novel in a different series Stout may have been working on - with Wolfe and Archie shoehorned in at the last minute.
1.5 out of 5 bones.
Synopsis: Marko Vukcic, Nero Wolfe's oldest friend, is murdered in New York. Wolfe actually leaves not only his brownstone, but the country to go to Montenegro (at the time it was Yugoslavia) and find the murderer.
Review: I normally thoroughly approve of an author trying something new with their characters, and taking them in a new direction. And, while this was definitely in Wolfe's character, I just didn't enjoy this book very much at all. Yes, the mystery was there, but it was more of a MacGuffin than the point of the book. The point seemed to be "get Wolfe completely out of his element. A lot." The mystery was dealt with only tangentially, and the "adventure" of Wolfe and Archie in Montenegro dominated the book. It was "solved" as an afterthought, and required no mental effort whatsoever on Wolfe's part. As a Wolfe novel, it was disappointing. There was none of the usual banter, none of the "Archie hassles Wolfe", and in general, none of their usual behaviours. Since I read, and re-read the books for the people, rather than the MacGuffin / mystery, I wasn't impressed with this one.
It really didn't read like a Wolfe novel at all, but rather like another "adventure" novel in a different series Stout may have been working on - with Wolfe and Archie shoehorned in at the last minute.
1.5 out of 5 bones.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Blood Noir by Laurell K Hamilton
Oh gee. Where do I begin with this travesty of a "book"?
I made it to about page 20 (chapter 7 or so) of Blood Noir. Then something shiny caught my eye and I just couldn't be fussed to pick up BN again to read another 20 chapters (6 pages or so.) Heck, I couldn't even be fussed to pick it up and fling it across the room to bang into the wall.
Yes, I'm being sarcastic (sort of) about the chapter length but really, I'm begining to hate the 2 paragraph chapters. It's irritating beyond belief, especially since the first 5 chapters were about Nathan, Jason and Anita having sex. But it's not about sex. No no really! At least, that's what Anita would have us believe.
Thank goodness in the 20 eye blindingly horrid pages I managed to wade through, Anita never once "screamed [her] pleasure into [his] mouth" as she was pretty much guaranteed to do at least twice for each sexual encounter she's had in the last 3 books.
Ms. Hamilton, I like Anita. I like that she's kick ass and super supernatural. I enjoy the PLOTS of the earlier books. I like the necromancy, the vampire stuff, the Were stuff. Even when it's eyerollingly absurd. It's still fun. This...this...VOMIT that you've spewed onto precious tree pulp is just...well...gorge rising.
Go back to what worked, Ms. Hamilton. Please. Either that or dump Anita for awhile and go on with the other ideas you've had.
0 out of 5 berries for this one. Unless you like badly written graphic sex scenes with no eroticism whatsoever, give this one a miss. Even if you normally check 'em out of the library. Wasn't worth the 20 cents I had in late fees.
I made it to about page 20 (chapter 7 or so) of Blood Noir. Then something shiny caught my eye and I just couldn't be fussed to pick up BN again to read another 20 chapters (6 pages or so.) Heck, I couldn't even be fussed to pick it up and fling it across the room to bang into the wall.
Yes, I'm being sarcastic (sort of) about the chapter length but really, I'm begining to hate the 2 paragraph chapters. It's irritating beyond belief, especially since the first 5 chapters were about Nathan, Jason and Anita having sex. But it's not about sex. No no really! At least, that's what Anita would have us believe.
Thank goodness in the 20 eye blindingly horrid pages I managed to wade through, Anita never once "screamed [her] pleasure into [his] mouth" as she was pretty much guaranteed to do at least twice for each sexual encounter she's had in the last 3 books.
Ms. Hamilton, I like Anita. I like that she's kick ass and super supernatural. I enjoy the PLOTS of the earlier books. I like the necromancy, the vampire stuff, the Were stuff. Even when it's eyerollingly absurd. It's still fun. This...this...VOMIT that you've spewed onto precious tree pulp is just...well...gorge rising.
Go back to what worked, Ms. Hamilton. Please. Either that or dump Anita for awhile and go on with the other ideas you've had.
0 out of 5 berries for this one. Unless you like badly written graphic sex scenes with no eroticism whatsoever, give this one a miss. Even if you normally check 'em out of the library. Wasn't worth the 20 cents I had in late fees.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Laurell K. Hamilton's books
This isn't a book review, per se, but it is a commentary or "review" about an author, so I'm putting it here anyhow.
I was listening to a bunch of Fear The Boot podcasts over the weekend (and if you're a Role Playing Gamer, you really need to check them out. GREAT programs. Skip 'casts 1 & 2, at least, though - they're not at all typical of their style and format. Listen to some later ones, then later on go do 1 & 2) and they mentioned something about Card Games (like Magic the Gathering) that struck a chord with me.
Their biggest complaint about Magic was that it built interest by "building up" rather than "building out". Explanation: every new expansion pack got BIGGER! BETTER! COOLER! MORE POWERFUL! instead of building interest in the game by developing a richer, more complex game or world.
And this brings me to LKH's books.
I think, after reading many not-so-positive reviews of Laurell K. Hamilton's latest books, and especially the Anita series, that this is the problem people are seeing with her material, as well.
Anita's getting more and more powerful, but unfortunately not really more mature. LKH is "building up". It's almost as though she's saying "what can I add to Anita to make people come back and check it out again?" instead of saying "how can I make Anita and her world richer and more interesting? How can I get people to care about Anita and her friends even more, so they feel they must come back?"
I don't really care about Anita-the-Superfreak anymore. Ho hum, she's got another Were animal. Whoopee. Y'know who I care about now? Nathaniel. Why? Because he's not a Super. He doesn't have superpowers, he's not a SuperPowerful Necromancer Vampire Human Servant Triumvirate Maker With A Vampire Servant To Call His Own and The One Who Will Go Up Against Belle Morte And Win And Probably Also Put The Mother Of All Vamps To Sleep Again - Maybe Permanently. Nope, he's just Nathaniel, who's doing the best he can with what he's got. A "normal" Were (as normal as anyone gets in these stories), doing normal Were things, and being the very best Nathaniel he can be.
I don't care about Anita anymore. Why bother? She'll get out of whatever situation she's in because she'll Develop Another Superpower or her current ones will get her out of it somehow. Again. Yawn.
LKH, please, we - your fans; remember us? - are begging you to please please please "build out". Make Anita more interesting, more vulnerable, more human, rather than just a SuperFreak with Really Powerful Enemies.
I was listening to a bunch of Fear The Boot podcasts over the weekend (and if you're a Role Playing Gamer, you really need to check them out. GREAT programs. Skip 'casts 1 & 2, at least, though - they're not at all typical of their style and format. Listen to some later ones, then later on go do 1 & 2) and they mentioned something about Card Games (like Magic the Gathering) that struck a chord with me.
Their biggest complaint about Magic was that it built interest by "building up" rather than "building out". Explanation: every new expansion pack got BIGGER! BETTER! COOLER! MORE POWERFUL! instead of building interest in the game by developing a richer, more complex game or world.
And this brings me to LKH's books.
I think, after reading many not-so-positive reviews of Laurell K. Hamilton's latest books, and especially the Anita series, that this is the problem people are seeing with her material, as well.
Anita's getting more and more powerful, but unfortunately not really more mature. LKH is "building up". It's almost as though she's saying "what can I add to Anita to make people come back and check it out again?" instead of saying "how can I make Anita and her world richer and more interesting? How can I get people to care about Anita and her friends even more, so they feel they must come back?"
I don't really care about Anita-the-Superfreak anymore. Ho hum, she's got another Were animal. Whoopee. Y'know who I care about now? Nathaniel. Why? Because he's not a Super. He doesn't have superpowers, he's not a SuperPowerful Necromancer Vampire Human Servant Triumvirate Maker With A Vampire Servant To Call His Own and The One Who Will Go Up Against Belle Morte And Win And Probably Also Put The Mother Of All Vamps To Sleep Again - Maybe Permanently. Nope, he's just Nathaniel, who's doing the best he can with what he's got. A "normal" Were (as normal as anyone gets in these stories), doing normal Were things, and being the very best Nathaniel he can be.
I don't care about Anita anymore. Why bother? She'll get out of whatever situation she's in because she'll Develop Another Superpower or her current ones will get her out of it somehow. Again. Yawn.
LKH, please, we - your fans; remember us? - are begging you to please please please "build out". Make Anita more interesting, more vulnerable, more human, rather than just a SuperFreak with Really Powerful Enemies.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Jennifer Scales and the Silver Elm
This is the third book in the "Jennifer Scales" series by MaryJanice Davidson. On the whole, it's not bad - it's an interesting story, well-written, and it's engaging. Plus, since it's written for a Young Adult audience, it's short. For all the shortness, however, it does resolve its crisis; there isn't anything left hanging as a "tune in next time", which made me happy.
*SPOILERS for the series. Possibly. Just FYI.*
Jennifer is back in form as a were-dragon. Her adventures take her to a lot of weird places, including a parallel time-line and a place known only to, and sacred to, the dragons.
They also take her into a realm of not only self-sufficiency, but (almost paradoxically) the realization that she isn't the only one affected by her decisions, she doesn't always know what's right, and maybe she should just shut up and pay attention once in a while to people that very likely do know more than she does, and very probably do have good, valid reasons for what they do. I'm not going to give away more than that; you'll have to read it.
Overall, I really enjoyed it. There were a couple things I wasn't thrilled with, though. The first was the opening scene. The "telling the end of the story first then doing a flashback to the rest of the story" schtick is getting old. Everyone is doing it these days, and I'm getting really tired of it. It was totally unnecessary, and I thought it was rather jarring. It didn't serve to get me interested in the story, it just annoyed me. Maybe it'll go over better with the YA readers.
Parts of the story seemed to be rather disconnected, jumping around from scene to scene with little to no real "segue" - or kludged in at the last second, almost like the authors said, "oh crud, we forgot that we had to resolve that...uh....cram it in there."
Other than those two things, though, I thought it was a good book. And really, the overall story arc and writing almost made up for those.
4 out of 5.
Other than that, though, I did enjoy it.
*SPOILERS for the series. Possibly. Just FYI.*
Jennifer is back in form as a were-dragon. Her adventures take her to a lot of weird places, including a parallel time-line and a place known only to, and sacred to, the dragons.
They also take her into a realm of not only self-sufficiency, but (almost paradoxically) the realization that she isn't the only one affected by her decisions, she doesn't always know what's right, and maybe she should just shut up and pay attention once in a while to people that very likely do know more than she does, and very probably do have good, valid reasons for what they do. I'm not going to give away more than that; you'll have to read it.
Overall, I really enjoyed it. There were a couple things I wasn't thrilled with, though. The first was the opening scene. The "telling the end of the story first then doing a flashback to the rest of the story" schtick is getting old. Everyone is doing it these days, and I'm getting really tired of it. It was totally unnecessary, and I thought it was rather jarring. It didn't serve to get me interested in the story, it just annoyed me. Maybe it'll go over better with the YA readers.
Parts of the story seemed to be rather disconnected, jumping around from scene to scene with little to no real "segue" - or kludged in at the last second, almost like the authors said, "oh crud, we forgot that we had to resolve that...uh....cram it in there."
Other than those two things, though, I thought it was a good book. And really, the overall story arc and writing almost made up for those.
4 out of 5.
Other than that, though, I did enjoy it.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison
I just finished this last night and I'm still blinking my eyes over it.
Let me say off the bat, it's a GOOD book. It isn't one that you just can't put down, but it's a very good book.
Actually, that I COULD put it down made it a better book for me. I was able to digest some of the action and dialog that was going on throughout the book.
The plot was engaging and you learn quite a bit about Rachel, her Mom and even her brother in the course of the story. Ivy and Rachel start coming to terms with their relationship and even Ceri has a surprise in store for you. Rachel makes a new friend as well but...alas...we don't get to know much about them in this book.
The parts I had problems with were the reintroduction of Marshall, a bunch of the Demon stuff and the ending revelation that Rachel has. For me, it sort of smacks of Anita Blake...starts out as a normal everyday whatever and over the course of the books becomes SUPER ANITA! *G* I do have to say, it makes SENSE, but...I can't help wishing that it hadn't come about...yet.
But I do like Rachel much more and the way Ms. Harrison is bringing the changes about is MUCH better than Ms. Hamilton's never ending sexcapades.
All in all, I'm giving this book a 3.75 out of 5 berries. It is a 4 in most places but the problems I had with it made me want to give a 3.5. So I'm compromising. *G*
Let me say off the bat, it's a GOOD book. It isn't one that you just can't put down, but it's a very good book.
Actually, that I COULD put it down made it a better book for me. I was able to digest some of the action and dialog that was going on throughout the book.
The plot was engaging and you learn quite a bit about Rachel, her Mom and even her brother in the course of the story. Ivy and Rachel start coming to terms with their relationship and even Ceri has a surprise in store for you. Rachel makes a new friend as well but...alas...we don't get to know much about them in this book.
The parts I had problems with were the reintroduction of Marshall, a bunch of the Demon stuff and the ending revelation that Rachel has. For me, it sort of smacks of Anita Blake...starts out as a normal everyday whatever and over the course of the books becomes SUPER ANITA! *G* I do have to say, it makes SENSE, but...I can't help wishing that it hadn't come about...yet.
But I do like Rachel much more and the way Ms. Harrison is bringing the changes about is MUCH better than Ms. Hamilton's never ending sexcapades.
All in all, I'm giving this book a 3.75 out of 5 berries. It is a 4 in most places but the problems I had with it made me want to give a 3.5. So I'm compromising. *G*
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman by Pamela Aiden
This is actually a trilogy consisting of An Assembly Such as This Duty and Desire and These Three Remain
If anyone was ever wondering just what was going on in Mr. Darcy's head during Pride and Prejudice, Pamela Aiden gives us a wonderful look inside that august man's head.
Starting off the night of the Assembly where Mr. Darcy and the Bingleys and Hursts descend on Meryton society, Ms Aiden takes us through the journey of Darcy's growing love for Elizabeth and the warring emotions of duty and desire that follow until his final realization of his love and the resulting rejection and rebuilding of his character.
Achingly lovely at times as well as frustratingly beautiful (you want to kick Darcy sometimes but you can't because the book is just so well crafted. *G*) this trilogy is a wonderful testament to the enduring Jane Austen. Ms. Aiden does a spectacular job of making the characters real as well as invoking the spirit of Ms. Austen so that you feel you actually ARE reading a true account of what Darcy was thinking in Jane's head as she was writing.
5 of 5 berries. I can't wait to have my very own copies of these.
If anyone was ever wondering just what was going on in Mr. Darcy's head during Pride and Prejudice, Pamela Aiden gives us a wonderful look inside that august man's head.
Starting off the night of the Assembly where Mr. Darcy and the Bingleys and Hursts descend on Meryton society, Ms Aiden takes us through the journey of Darcy's growing love for Elizabeth and the warring emotions of duty and desire that follow until his final realization of his love and the resulting rejection and rebuilding of his character.
Achingly lovely at times as well as frustratingly beautiful (you want to kick Darcy sometimes but you can't because the book is just so well crafted. *G*) this trilogy is a wonderful testament to the enduring Jane Austen. Ms. Aiden does a spectacular job of making the characters real as well as invoking the spirit of Ms. Austen so that you feel you actually ARE reading a true account of what Darcy was thinking in Jane's head as she was writing.
5 of 5 berries. I can't wait to have my very own copies of these.
Strangers in Death by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts)
Eve Dallas is back. Literally. In the last few "In Death" novels, it felt like Roarke was shouldering more of the burden of cop work than actually being Roarke.
But no more.
Ms Roberts is back in good form with Strangers in Death. No longer is Roarke in every little detail of the investigation. No longer do you have the strange (heh) asides into the killer's "mind". No longer do you have the disjointedness of the last few novels. (All of which were good...but...)
Eve is called in on the homicide of a prominent figure in society. The murder has been set up to look like a sex interlude gone wrong. Eve doesn't buy it as several things don't jell up for her.
Early on in the book, you find out that Eve has a bead on just who the killer is. The rest of the book is spent watching as Eve and Peabody (gotta love Peabody!) find the evidence that will bring the killer to justice.
Plenty of dark moments. Plenty of steaming hot moments. And even plenty of fun laugh out loud moments.
Yes, Eve is back. And she proves once again just who is the "top bitch cop" in mystery fiction these days.
4.5 out of 5 berries.
But no more.
Ms Roberts is back in good form with Strangers in Death. No longer is Roarke in every little detail of the investigation. No longer do you have the strange (heh) asides into the killer's "mind". No longer do you have the disjointedness of the last few novels. (All of which were good...but...)
Eve is called in on the homicide of a prominent figure in society. The murder has been set up to look like a sex interlude gone wrong. Eve doesn't buy it as several things don't jell up for her.
Early on in the book, you find out that Eve has a bead on just who the killer is. The rest of the book is spent watching as Eve and Peabody (gotta love Peabody!) find the evidence that will bring the killer to justice.
Plenty of dark moments. Plenty of steaming hot moments. And even plenty of fun laugh out loud moments.
Yes, Eve is back. And she proves once again just who is the "top bitch cop" in mystery fiction these days.
4.5 out of 5 berries.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Marked: House of Night #1 by P C Cast and Kristen Cast
Lovely haunting novel by the author of Divine by Mistake and her daughter, Kristen.
Marked starts out with Zoey Redbird being marked by a Vampyre "tracker" while she's standing at her locker with her best friend. Immediately, the mark appears and Zoey is already condemned to being a freak by those who were, seconds ago, the closest friends she had.
Being marked means that Zoey will have to go to the House of Night, a vampyre school where fledglings are taught vampyre history (and sociology) and also where the young fledglings either take to the change or die.
You see, in Marked, when you are chosen by the Goddess Nyx (Goddess of the night) to become a vampyre, your DNA begins to change. If you aren't in the company of elder Vampyers, you will sicken and die. And even in the presence of those Adult vampyers, some still sicken and die.
Zoey fears the change at first and runs to her Cherokee Grandmother's Lavender farm where she, Zoey, comes face to face with the Goddess Nyx and receives more than just the outline of the crescent, she receives a full mark. Unheard of in a new fledgling and a sign that her powers are strong, Zoey becomes a curiosity for the new students which makes her apart from the crowd while bringing her close to those who will help her most in her journey.
The story really moves quickly and, at times, feels a bit rushed. You want the story to linger because the world that the Misses Cast have created feels familiar, comforting even while it feels alien.
All in all, a great start to what I hope will be a VERY long series. I really enjoyed this one.
Giving it 4.5 out of 5 berries.
Marked starts out with Zoey Redbird being marked by a Vampyre "tracker" while she's standing at her locker with her best friend. Immediately, the mark appears and Zoey is already condemned to being a freak by those who were, seconds ago, the closest friends she had.
Being marked means that Zoey will have to go to the House of Night, a vampyre school where fledglings are taught vampyre history (and sociology) and also where the young fledglings either take to the change or die.
You see, in Marked, when you are chosen by the Goddess Nyx (Goddess of the night) to become a vampyre, your DNA begins to change. If you aren't in the company of elder Vampyers, you will sicken and die. And even in the presence of those Adult vampyers, some still sicken and die.
Zoey fears the change at first and runs to her Cherokee Grandmother's Lavender farm where she, Zoey, comes face to face with the Goddess Nyx and receives more than just the outline of the crescent, she receives a full mark. Unheard of in a new fledgling and a sign that her powers are strong, Zoey becomes a curiosity for the new students which makes her apart from the crowd while bringing her close to those who will help her most in her journey.
The story really moves quickly and, at times, feels a bit rushed. You want the story to linger because the world that the Misses Cast have created feels familiar, comforting even while it feels alien.
All in all, a great start to what I hope will be a VERY long series. I really enjoyed this one.
Giving it 4.5 out of 5 berries.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
The Tao Te Ching
This is a review of The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu and translated by John H. McDonald. The unique thing about this read was that it was on my Palm Zire 31 PDA. I read it using palm reader. It was reading it as a doc file. I was able to download it for free from memoware.com. You can check the website out here.
It was an interesting read. I have read this classic piece of literature and enjoyed this translation. The experience of reading on a pda was novel. There were some distinct advantages and disadvantages. One of the big advantages is that you can carry quite a large library with you at all times. It is even easier than carrying even one book. Palm reader was easy to use and took littler to get use to. Some of down sides were small print and getting use to an e-version versus using a book. Another advantage is that since the pad screen is back lit, you can read this in low light.
The reading material itself was enjoyable. It has wisdom in it that is still relevant today. It's proverb format made it ideal for a PDA read. I often read small sections of it during downtime during the day. Over all a neat experience.
4 out of 5 pith helmets for the reading experience.
5 out of 5 for convience of format.
It was an interesting read. I have read this classic piece of literature and enjoyed this translation. The experience of reading on a pda was novel. There were some distinct advantages and disadvantages. One of the big advantages is that you can carry quite a large library with you at all times. It is even easier than carrying even one book. Palm reader was easy to use and took littler to get use to. Some of down sides were small print and getting use to an e-version versus using a book. Another advantage is that since the pad screen is back lit, you can read this in low light.
The reading material itself was enjoyable. It has wisdom in it that is still relevant today. It's proverb format made it ideal for a PDA read. I often read small sections of it during downtime during the day. Over all a neat experience.
4 out of 5 pith helmets for the reading experience.
5 out of 5 for convience of format.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Summer Knight-Audio Book
Summer Knight is the fourth book in the Dresden files series by Jim Butcher. The version I just finished was the mp3 on cd by Buzzy Multi-Media and read by James Marster.
The story picks up where book three left off and leaves Harry Dresden to deal with the fall out from the last book. The White Council and the Red Court of the vampires are about to go to war and everyone blames Harry. Harry also finds himself trying to solve the murder of the summer knight, one of the fairy court. Jim Butcher uses this book well to add even more detail of the universe he has created. The first three was to focus more on Harry and his magic, and now it is his universe at large that is being explored.
James Marster's reading of this story is more enjoyable than his earlier readings. All of his readings are excellent but it is evident that he is polishing his craft with each project. His performance with this story does not leave your ears tired.
Best line in the story was: In the Name of the Pizza Lord!
Biggest complaint: not enough of Bob the skull. There is never enough of Bob the skull. Probably just my bias so keep that in mind.
4.5 for the writing and the reading of this story.
The story picks up where book three left off and leaves Harry Dresden to deal with the fall out from the last book. The White Council and the Red Court of the vampires are about to go to war and everyone blames Harry. Harry also finds himself trying to solve the murder of the summer knight, one of the fairy court. Jim Butcher uses this book well to add even more detail of the universe he has created. The first three was to focus more on Harry and his magic, and now it is his universe at large that is being explored.
James Marster's reading of this story is more enjoyable than his earlier readings. All of his readings are excellent but it is evident that he is polishing his craft with each project. His performance with this story does not leave your ears tired.
Best line in the story was: In the Name of the Pizza Lord!
Biggest complaint: not enough of Bob the skull. There is never enough of Bob the skull. Probably just my bias so keep that in mind.
4.5 for the writing and the reading of this story.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Ender's Game
Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card, is a very well-written book. It's a good science-fiction novel, and a fun ride. Card is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors: he crafts well-constructed characters, puts them into a consistent world, and makes them come to life. Even in a setting that I normally wouldn't be captured by, I was totally lost in the story and really enjoyed seeing how it all came together.
Ender's Game is about a boy named Ender who has anything but a normal childhood. He's born on Earth in an era of strict population control: every family is allowed two children, tops. Except in certain circumstances, such as Ender's. Ender, you see, is really Andrew Wiggin, and he's a "Third". Thirdborn in his family, completely out of place and knowing it.
He is also, apparently, an off-the-charts genius and master strategist, even at age 6.
At age 6, the government comes for him and takes him to Battle School, where he learns how to first be a soldier, then a platoon leader, then a commander, and on up the chain of command. Ultimately he becomes the strategist and commander for the entire army as they go up against "the buggers" - an alien race that would annihilate the Earth (and had tried twice already).
Ender winds up commanding the fleet to destroy the Buggers at their homeworld, and there is Much Rejoicing. I have no real problem giving away the ending, because the book really isn't about the ending - it's about Ender and his journey to the ending of the story.
The thing I had the biggest problem with was Ender's age. At age 6 he is taken to Battle School and trains to become a soldier. By the time he's commanding the entire space Fleet he's the ripe old age of eleven. Come on. Nobody in that army has any genius? Nobody has any strategic capabilities? Nobody can command? With all the adults that were perfectly capable of outwitting, outsmarting, and manipulating Ender throughout the entire book, I would think that they'd also be able to aim their strategizing, their smarts, their wits, and their manipulations toward the Fleet.
Watching the story unfold the way it did was a bit...unbelievable. The adults were necessarily both incredibly stupid (because an entire world of them couldn't produce one capable military commander, so they had to resort to an eleven-year-old) and incredibly intelligent and crafty at the same time (because they also had to be able to manipulate said eleven-year-old into doing what they wanted). I just couldn't quite believe that.
However, in the end, of course, everyone gets what they want. Except, of course, for the buggers.
The book has a couple chapters of post-bugger narration, as well. Amusingly, it reads almost as though Card thought at the last minute that he should put some sort of "Postlude" in the book, and hastily wrote something. After a book that carefully, meticulously narrates every highlight, every important event in Ender's life for 5 years, suddenly we get the next fifty years or so in a chapter. Sort of a fleshed-out version of "and they lived happily ever after."
Card does something very few authors can easily get away with. He breaks the "fourth wall" of storytelling, but it's in a very subtle manner. References to Ender's age are dropped in very frequently. I believe it was done deliberately, to keep the reader from getting comfortable with "Ender-the-soldier" as just "Ender the soldier". As long as it's just "Ender-the-soldier", we can pretend that Ender's already Of Age; that he's really 18, or 20, or 50. And it's not like it's a huge pretense. It's an assumption that we naturally make: that 6-year-olds aren't soldiers, they're not master strategists - they're children. Card keeps mentioning Ender's age, not because the story or the characters require it (and they don't), but because I think he wants to keep the reader a little bit on edge; a little bit uncomfortable. Once you're off-balance a little bit, it's easier to slip in more unbelievability (such as the entire "adults are incredibly stupid and incredibly clever at the same time" mentioned above). I don't believe that's the only reason he did it, though. Card just seems to enjoy looking at things in a slightly different manner, and at a slightly different angle, and he wants the reader to do so as well. He's an excellent writer who succeeds very well at keeping the reader off-balance, and at forcing our perspective to a different angle.
Well done. 4 out of 5 bones.
Ender's Game is about a boy named Ender who has anything but a normal childhood. He's born on Earth in an era of strict population control: every family is allowed two children, tops. Except in certain circumstances, such as Ender's. Ender, you see, is really Andrew Wiggin, and he's a "Third". Thirdborn in his family, completely out of place and knowing it.
He is also, apparently, an off-the-charts genius and master strategist, even at age 6.
At age 6, the government comes for him and takes him to Battle School, where he learns how to first be a soldier, then a platoon leader, then a commander, and on up the chain of command. Ultimately he becomes the strategist and commander for the entire army as they go up against "the buggers" - an alien race that would annihilate the Earth (and had tried twice already).
Ender winds up commanding the fleet to destroy the Buggers at their homeworld, and there is Much Rejoicing. I have no real problem giving away the ending, because the book really isn't about the ending - it's about Ender and his journey to the ending of the story.
The thing I had the biggest problem with was Ender's age. At age 6 he is taken to Battle School and trains to become a soldier. By the time he's commanding the entire space Fleet he's the ripe old age of eleven. Come on. Nobody in that army has any genius? Nobody has any strategic capabilities? Nobody can command? With all the adults that were perfectly capable of outwitting, outsmarting, and manipulating Ender throughout the entire book, I would think that they'd also be able to aim their strategizing, their smarts, their wits, and their manipulations toward the Fleet.
Watching the story unfold the way it did was a bit...unbelievable. The adults were necessarily both incredibly stupid (because an entire world of them couldn't produce one capable military commander, so they had to resort to an eleven-year-old) and incredibly intelligent and crafty at the same time (because they also had to be able to manipulate said eleven-year-old into doing what they wanted). I just couldn't quite believe that.
However, in the end, of course, everyone gets what they want. Except, of course, for the buggers.
The book has a couple chapters of post-bugger narration, as well. Amusingly, it reads almost as though Card thought at the last minute that he should put some sort of "Postlude" in the book, and hastily wrote something. After a book that carefully, meticulously narrates every highlight, every important event in Ender's life for 5 years, suddenly we get the next fifty years or so in a chapter. Sort of a fleshed-out version of "and they lived happily ever after."
Card does something very few authors can easily get away with. He breaks the "fourth wall" of storytelling, but it's in a very subtle manner. References to Ender's age are dropped in very frequently. I believe it was done deliberately, to keep the reader from getting comfortable with "Ender-the-soldier" as just "Ender the soldier". As long as it's just "Ender-the-soldier", we can pretend that Ender's already Of Age; that he's really 18, or 20, or 50. And it's not like it's a huge pretense. It's an assumption that we naturally make: that 6-year-olds aren't soldiers, they're not master strategists - they're children. Card keeps mentioning Ender's age, not because the story or the characters require it (and they don't), but because I think he wants to keep the reader a little bit on edge; a little bit uncomfortable. Once you're off-balance a little bit, it's easier to slip in more unbelievability (such as the entire "adults are incredibly stupid and incredibly clever at the same time" mentioned above). I don't believe that's the only reason he did it, though. Card just seems to enjoy looking at things in a slightly different manner, and at a slightly different angle, and he wants the reader to do so as well. He's an excellent writer who succeeds very well at keeping the reader off-balance, and at forcing our perspective to a different angle.
Well done. 4 out of 5 bones.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs
3rd in the Mercedes “Mercy” Thompson books, Iron Kissed takes you on another wild ride with everyone’s favorite Walker.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Regie Gets a New Friend
This book was both written and illustrated by Anthony J. Emberton and published by Nation Wide Publishing, Inc. . It was interesting to see how Tony used the interaction of two dogs he knew and turned it into a story that children would enjoy. With both word and drawn line, he was able to get the dogs personalities and interactions down. Very well done. Keep the creative juices flowing Tony.
5 out of 5 Pith Helmets.
5 out of 5 Pith Helmets
Captain's Fury
SPOILERS AHOY, so if you haven't read the book yet, and you'd like to remain spoiler-free, just kinda wait on this till you're done. This is book 4 of the "Codex Alera" series by Jim Butcher. The entire series thus far:
Furies of Calderon
Academ's Fury
Cursor's Fury
Captain's Fury
REVIEW:
Now this is how to write an ongoing series! Each book has a setup, a crisis, and a resolution. ALL of these contribute to the ongoing story, without either hijacking it or being hijacked by it. We don't have to wait till the next book or two or three to see how Tavi's going to handle the Canim - we see it here, in this book. Lots of development of the ongoing plot, as well: Tavi discovers who he really is, who his parents are, and decides to own his heritage. Isana and Rari finally declare their love openly...and Bernard and Amalda do too. Lots of surprise twists in this book as well! Who ever heard of a Marat having furies? Interestingly, Kitai has them - and nobody can quite believe it (well, except her. The Marat pretty much accept everything, don't they?)
SYNOPSIS: Tavi gets involved in politics in this one - and not just "politics", but POLITICS. He fends off political attacks as well as assassination attempts, while trying to be the Captain of the Legionnaires he's been entrusted with. The Knights Pisces and the Battlecrows get some good workouts as they work to save lives with the rest of Tavi's Troops.
Isana is told by Rari that Tavi needs to know the truth. She tries to tell him, she really does, but ultimately she can't. She doesn't want him to hate and mistrust her. Rari eventually realizes that she didn't tell Tavi his heritage, so he does. Tavi is understandably upset that Isana's been lying to him (and suppressing his talents!) for his entire life, but eventually comes to accept her reasons.
He's still having problems with his talents' manifestation, though. He still can't call any Furies, although he can call the abilities of furycraft - enhanced strength, healing, precision, etc. However, until he can manifest Furies, he won't be accepted.
The conflict with the Canim comes to a head, and Tavi once again sees what needs to be done, and goes and does it. He smuggles Varg out of his incarceration, and gets him back to the Canim main force. The deal: if he returns Varg to the Canim, they'll build boats and go back home to fight the Vord. (One of the best lines of the book occurs during this operation. They're on board a ship for a couple weeks. Varg expresses his relief to finally be off the ship, saying, "it smells like wet human." *snicker*)
During the jail-break, Isana notices Kitai using Fury-power, and realizes that Kitai's "bonding" with Tavi has resulted in Kitai's ability to "share" his abilities. Kitai is the first, and only, Marat to ever have furycraft.
Unfortunately, one of the Lords of Alera has other ideas, and launches an attack that the Canim interpret as a betrayal. Now Tavi has to deliver the traitor to them, and anyone else that was involved. Tavi does so in inimitable style: he openly declares his heritage, challenges the traitor-Lord to the juris macta, and (of course) succeeds against the Champion that was sent to defeat him. Not with Furies, but with his brains.
His brains come to his aid shortly thereafter, as well, as he confronts Gaius Sextus after all is said and done. He suggests that a mass amnesty be declared for anyone that helped rid the country of the Canim, and that his name be slid in with the rest of the group, rather than a single amnesty being declared simply for him. He also suggests he go to the Canim homeland and help them defeat the Vord, to give himself time to further practice his furycraft and to give people a chance to "forget" him as he was and for Sextus to rally support for him in absentia. Sextus agrees this is a good idea and thus the stage is set for the next book.
COMMENTS: Excellent book. This is definitely a series that I want to own rather than just borrow from the library. That way, not only am I personally supporting the author and his work, but I can read them again and again, whenever I want to. (I recommend buying the hardcover, though - that way they'll last through more readings. I can see the paperbacks needing to be replaced within a couple years.) I want to read the next one, and the next, and so on - not because the book ends with a "tune in next time for the next exciting chapter in this plot!" but because Butcher writes in such a way as to make me care about what happens next. Each of the books is a single story in itself, and can easily stand alone. However, the elements of a Story Arc are definitely there, and I want to see how it ends! Not only that, but I want to see how the "stuff I've already guessed" gets handled by the characters.
VERY well done.
5 bones for this one! CRUNCH!
Furies of Calderon
Academ's Fury
Cursor's Fury
Captain's Fury
REVIEW:
Now this is how to write an ongoing series! Each book has a setup, a crisis, and a resolution. ALL of these contribute to the ongoing story, without either hijacking it or being hijacked by it. We don't have to wait till the next book or two or three to see how Tavi's going to handle the Canim - we see it here, in this book. Lots of development of the ongoing plot, as well: Tavi discovers who he really is, who his parents are, and decides to own his heritage. Isana and Rari finally declare their love openly...and Bernard and Amalda do too. Lots of surprise twists in this book as well! Who ever heard of a Marat having furies? Interestingly, Kitai has them - and nobody can quite believe it (well, except her. The Marat pretty much accept everything, don't they?)
SYNOPSIS: Tavi gets involved in politics in this one - and not just "politics", but POLITICS. He fends off political attacks as well as assassination attempts, while trying to be the Captain of the Legionnaires he's been entrusted with. The Knights Pisces and the Battlecrows get some good workouts as they work to save lives with the rest of Tavi's Troops.
Isana is told by Rari that Tavi needs to know the truth. She tries to tell him, she really does, but ultimately she can't. She doesn't want him to hate and mistrust her. Rari eventually realizes that she didn't tell Tavi his heritage, so he does. Tavi is understandably upset that Isana's been lying to him (and suppressing his talents!) for his entire life, but eventually comes to accept her reasons.
He's still having problems with his talents' manifestation, though. He still can't call any Furies, although he can call the abilities of furycraft - enhanced strength, healing, precision, etc. However, until he can manifest Furies, he won't be accepted.
The conflict with the Canim comes to a head, and Tavi once again sees what needs to be done, and goes and does it. He smuggles Varg out of his incarceration, and gets him back to the Canim main force. The deal: if he returns Varg to the Canim, they'll build boats and go back home to fight the Vord. (One of the best lines of the book occurs during this operation. They're on board a ship for a couple weeks. Varg expresses his relief to finally be off the ship, saying, "it smells like wet human." *snicker*)
During the jail-break, Isana notices Kitai using Fury-power, and realizes that Kitai's "bonding" with Tavi has resulted in Kitai's ability to "share" his abilities. Kitai is the first, and only, Marat to ever have furycraft.
Unfortunately, one of the Lords of Alera has other ideas, and launches an attack that the Canim interpret as a betrayal. Now Tavi has to deliver the traitor to them, and anyone else that was involved. Tavi does so in inimitable style: he openly declares his heritage, challenges the traitor-Lord to the juris macta, and (of course) succeeds against the Champion that was sent to defeat him. Not with Furies, but with his brains.
His brains come to his aid shortly thereafter, as well, as he confronts Gaius Sextus after all is said and done. He suggests that a mass amnesty be declared for anyone that helped rid the country of the Canim, and that his name be slid in with the rest of the group, rather than a single amnesty being declared simply for him. He also suggests he go to the Canim homeland and help them defeat the Vord, to give himself time to further practice his furycraft and to give people a chance to "forget" him as he was and for Sextus to rally support for him in absentia. Sextus agrees this is a good idea and thus the stage is set for the next book.
COMMENTS: Excellent book. This is definitely a series that I want to own rather than just borrow from the library. That way, not only am I personally supporting the author and his work, but I can read them again and again, whenever I want to. (I recommend buying the hardcover, though - that way they'll last through more readings. I can see the paperbacks needing to be replaced within a couple years.) I want to read the next one, and the next, and so on - not because the book ends with a "tune in next time for the next exciting chapter in this plot!" but because Butcher writes in such a way as to make me care about what happens next. Each of the books is a single story in itself, and can easily stand alone. However, the elements of a Story Arc are definitely there, and I want to see how it ends! Not only that, but I want to see how the "stuff I've already guessed" gets handled by the characters.
VERY well done.
5 bones for this one! CRUNCH!
Friday, January 4, 2008
Acorna's Children Trilogy
The Acorna's Children Trilogy is made up of "First Warning", "Second Wave" and "Third Watch" and, as you'd expect, involves the offspring of Acorna, the linyaari heroine of the "Acorna" series.
A few notes before I get into the synopsis. First, if you've never read the "Acorna" series, you likely won't understand these books. It assumes you've read the Acorna books and are already knowledgeable of the "culture". Second, I'm reviewing all three of these books at once because they're essentially one gigantic book, broken into thirds.
SYNOPSIS: An extremely rapid-moving plague breaks out, killing in a seemingly indiscriminate manner. Later it is discovered that the plague attacks those of childbearing age, and only those people. Khorii, Acorna's daughter, is able to see the "plague dots" - apparently the virus itself. The Linyarii are able to heal people and decontaminate the plague-affected areas, but in overworking themselves, Acorna and Aari (Khorii's parents) become infected with a mutated version of the plague that cannot be cured by the Linyarii. They are carriers of the mutant strain, and do not get sick, but they are in isolation for everyone else's sake.
Khorii looks for a way to cure them, and for the source of the plague, hoping the originators can eradicate it.
Meanwhile, her twin sister, kidnapped from the womb of Acorna, by Greymalkin, at the end of the Acorna series, has been raised these past 6 years by the "Friends" in an attempt (by them) to understand how they merged their race with the Ancestors (unicorns) to make the Linyaari. Her sister escapes from the Friends by stealing a crono, and meets up with Acorna, Aari and eventually Khorii, and together the twins (with Greymalkin's assistance) work together to solve the mystery of the plague.
The plague mutates again...they think...except that it's not a mutation. It's the next generation of development.
Through their time-travels, they discover that the "plague" is really a life-form that mutated when it was attacked by the Khleevi, and is now being spread throughout the galaxy by the last few "Friends". All the threads are tied up at the end, the plague is stopped, and Greymalkin falls in love with one of the Others / Ancestors in his time and goes back to be with her, neatly explaining (by inference) how the Linyaari people were started.
REVIEW: Uh-huh. I do not, as a rule, like books that have no resolution. I was unimpressed with "First Warning" when it came out, because it didn't resolve anything. "Here's all the problems, now wait a year or two for the next installment. Then another year or two for the conclusion...or maybe just another installment. You'll see when it comes out." My opinion: if I like the book / author / series enough to keep reading, I'm going to do so. You don't have to play little Hardy-boys-style cliffhanger games to get me to read the books. If they're not good enough to each stand on their own, then nothing you do is going to induce me to finish the series. In fact, that game has turned me off some perfectly good series before, including this one. The only reason I picked them up was because the library had all three books available.
I was disappointed, frankly. I usually expect better from Ms. McCaffrey. I really enjoyed the "Acorna" series, and was hoping for more. Unfortunately, these read rather like she was "pushing" the appeal and trying to get more mileage out of the series, rather than writing them because she had more story to tell. The ending was weak, the resolution was very deus-ex-machina, and felt rushed, as though she realized she needed an ending and wanted to tie everything up, so she just threw a solution at it and hoped it'd work.
As far as the Linyaari Origin Story...complete disappointment. These "Friends" wanted to figure out how they "combined" with the Ancestors to make the Linyaari and not once did they try it the time-tested old-fashioned way? Come on. I don't believe that for a second. Greymalkin was the only one to try it? Puh-leez.
It started out as a good story, but I think she pushed the franchise too far, and tried to get too many elements into the story. It was an entertaining ride, but a disappointing finish.
2.5 of 5.
A few notes before I get into the synopsis. First, if you've never read the "Acorna" series, you likely won't understand these books. It assumes you've read the Acorna books and are already knowledgeable of the "culture". Second, I'm reviewing all three of these books at once because they're essentially one gigantic book, broken into thirds.
SYNOPSIS: An extremely rapid-moving plague breaks out, killing in a seemingly indiscriminate manner. Later it is discovered that the plague attacks those of childbearing age, and only those people. Khorii, Acorna's daughter, is able to see the "plague dots" - apparently the virus itself. The Linyarii are able to heal people and decontaminate the plague-affected areas, but in overworking themselves, Acorna and Aari (Khorii's parents) become infected with a mutated version of the plague that cannot be cured by the Linyarii. They are carriers of the mutant strain, and do not get sick, but they are in isolation for everyone else's sake.
Khorii looks for a way to cure them, and for the source of the plague, hoping the originators can eradicate it.
Meanwhile, her twin sister, kidnapped from the womb of Acorna, by Greymalkin, at the end of the Acorna series, has been raised these past 6 years by the "Friends" in an attempt (by them) to understand how they merged their race with the Ancestors (unicorns) to make the Linyaari. Her sister escapes from the Friends by stealing a crono, and meets up with Acorna, Aari and eventually Khorii, and together the twins (with Greymalkin's assistance) work together to solve the mystery of the plague.
The plague mutates again...they think...except that it's not a mutation. It's the next generation of development.
Through their time-travels, they discover that the "plague" is really a life-form that mutated when it was attacked by the Khleevi, and is now being spread throughout the galaxy by the last few "Friends". All the threads are tied up at the end, the plague is stopped, and Greymalkin falls in love with one of the Others / Ancestors in his time and goes back to be with her, neatly explaining (by inference) how the Linyaari people were started.
REVIEW: Uh-huh. I do not, as a rule, like books that have no resolution. I was unimpressed with "First Warning" when it came out, because it didn't resolve anything. "Here's all the problems, now wait a year or two for the next installment. Then another year or two for the conclusion...or maybe just another installment. You'll see when it comes out." My opinion: if I like the book / author / series enough to keep reading, I'm going to do so. You don't have to play little Hardy-boys-style cliffhanger games to get me to read the books. If they're not good enough to each stand on their own, then nothing you do is going to induce me to finish the series. In fact, that game has turned me off some perfectly good series before, including this one. The only reason I picked them up was because the library had all three books available.
I was disappointed, frankly. I usually expect better from Ms. McCaffrey. I really enjoyed the "Acorna" series, and was hoping for more. Unfortunately, these read rather like she was "pushing" the appeal and trying to get more mileage out of the series, rather than writing them because she had more story to tell. The ending was weak, the resolution was very deus-ex-machina, and felt rushed, as though she realized she needed an ending and wanted to tie everything up, so she just threw a solution at it and hoped it'd work.
As far as the Linyaari Origin Story...complete disappointment. These "Friends" wanted to figure out how they "combined" with the Ancestors to make the Linyaari and not once did they try it the time-tested old-fashioned way? Come on. I don't believe that for a second. Greymalkin was the only one to try it? Puh-leez.
It started out as a good story, but I think she pushed the franchise too far, and tried to get too many elements into the story. It was an entertaining ride, but a disappointing finish.
2.5 of 5.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Nancy Clue / Hardly Boys / Cherry Aimless books
There are 3 books in this "series": The Case of the Not-So-Nice Nurse, the Case of the Good-for-Nothing Girlfriend, and the Ghost in the Closet. They're obviously a parody / pastiche of the Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and Cherry Ames series of books. As such, they're incredibly campy, overdone, and, quite frankly, rather annoying. Nancy, Cherry, Frank and Joe are impossibly naive and really quite stupid. Just like the originals, you may say. Well, yes, except that these are patently written for a more adult audience.
All the characters in these books are either homosexual, want to be homosexual, or are heterosexual solely for the purpose of generating the main characters. All of them. They exist in a bizarre world where it's perfectly normal to be homosexual, and where everyone is homosexual, only it's also not OK or normal and it's not talked about or admitted. Two of the main characters get married, for example, except one is pretending to be a man and everyone knows it. They're apparently legally married...or...not...I'm not really sure, actually.
In any case, even though I read all three of them, they didn't really work for me. The mysteries were OK, but were pretty much Hardy Boys level. The mixture of adult themes, adult behavior, and 8-year-old dialogue, "campiness" and writing were jarring, and got really annoying very fast. I didn't care for them.
2 out of 5.
All the characters in these books are either homosexual, want to be homosexual, or are heterosexual solely for the purpose of generating the main characters. All of them. They exist in a bizarre world where it's perfectly normal to be homosexual, and where everyone is homosexual, only it's also not OK or normal and it's not talked about or admitted. Two of the main characters get married, for example, except one is pretending to be a man and everyone knows it. They're apparently legally married...or...not...I'm not really sure, actually.
In any case, even though I read all three of them, they didn't really work for me. The mysteries were OK, but were pretty much Hardy Boys level. The mixture of adult themes, adult behavior, and 8-year-old dialogue, "campiness" and writing were jarring, and got really annoying very fast. I didn't care for them.
2 out of 5.
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