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.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
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.
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