Thursday, February 28, 2013

Review: Villette


Villette
Villette by Charlotte Brontë

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



A remarkable book that is marked by the following:
1) conversations that switch between french and english, in the same paragraph. Not cool.

2) a heroine who tells her story by her interactions with others instead of being interesting herself.

3) an annoying hate/love relationship with a cruel, capricious little french man.

4) an ending that doesn't tell what actually happened. Bronte was a real witch in this regards

So if you can put up with all that, and have a melancholic turn of mind, you'll probably love this.

I read it back in '01, when I was in a melancholic turn of mind and I loved it then.
Now I'm happy and I didn't particularly like this. Go figure.



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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Review: Bard's Oath


Bard's Oath
Bard's Oath by Joanne Bertin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



A bard has some hangups and ends up wreaking havoc and in the process does lots of bad things.

If you liked the first 2 books, you'll like this one.

But seeing as how the author didn't write ANYTHING to her fans in the forward, not even a "thanks for hanging in there", well, bully to her. So I am done.



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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Review: Vegas Vendetta


Vegas Vendetta
Vegas Vendetta by Don Pendleton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Even by Bolan standards, this was quick and dirty. A 24hr hit on Las Vegas before helicoptering off to a new war front.

Talifero's once again are in on the action, but barely. Really kind of sad, they could be some serious hindrance to Bolan...



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Sunday, February 24, 2013

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Review: The Lost King


The Lost King
The Lost King by Margaret Weis

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This was almost a 2Star, but the final battle saved it from that ignominious fate. However, even though it ends on a somewhat cliff-hanger'y ending, I won't be reading any more.

French Revolution aftermath in space. I mean, the President of the New Galactic Alliance is called Robes. Pathetic royalty wiped out. A lone surviving heir. Blah, blah, blah.

A lot of this was slogging through. And good night, why does EVERYBODY have to act like a frakking girl? Oh well. Good to know that Weis is off my list of authors I want to read more of. At least by herself. Death Gate Cycle with Hickman is still ok :)



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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Review: Little Myth Marker


Little Myth Marker
Little Myth Marker by Robert Lynn Asprin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Sometimes you just need a dumb, simple, funny and amusing book to read.
This falls in that category extremely well.

Skeeve takes on a poker champion, a character assassin and is all set to start Myth Inc.

Pretty good for one book :)



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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Review: Servant of the Dragon


Servant of the Dragon
Servant of the Dragon by David Drake

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



One HUGE adventure after another. Nobody can lose and you know that, but you don't mind. You are along for the ride of magic, mayhem, blood and guts.

The only thing that bothered me is how much of a non-character Liane has become. She is simply an accessory to Garric.

Other than that, this was a kickass fantasy adventure story.



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Sunday, February 17, 2013

Review: Chicago Wipe-Out


Chicago Wipe-Out
Chicago Wipe-Out by Don Pendleton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Mack moves to Chicago, only to find out that the city itself is corrupt and the Mafia didn't make it that way.
So he sets up 2 mafioso gangs and the cops to duke it out. And kills LOTS of people. All in a snowstorm. With a ferrari and some kind of van.

And there is a 6ft tall smoking hot blonde. Whooo.



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Saturday, February 16, 2013

Review: The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom


The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom
The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A fairytale turned topsy-turvey and a lot of fun.

This was a well written tale, well edited and ending satisfactorily yet leaving that fairytale world open for more stories.

I certainly hope to revisit this world in other tales...



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Friday, February 15, 2013

Review: Nightmare in New York


Nightmare in New York
Nightmare in New York by Don Pendleton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Bolan gets back to the states and immediately hits hard and fast in New York city.
I think he needs a vacation...



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Thursday, February 14, 2013

Review: Noble House


Noble House
Noble House by James Clavell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I am finished!
So many threads that had nothing to do with the Struans, merely impinged upon them.

Politics, business, personal life, blah blah blah.

I did enjoy reading this, but it was so "much", so big that I felt swamped. I couldn't recommend this unless the person liked the previous books tremendously.

I don't know if I'll end up reading [b:Whirlwind|42932|Whirlwind|James Clavell|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1259118177s/42932.jpg|848085] or not.



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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Review: Zero Point


Zero Point
Zero Point by Neal Asher

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I really wish I had read the Owner short stories before reading the first book, would have upped my enjoyment of things.

And since I've read them, I enjoyed this book a bit more. Seeing the Proctors come into being [even though it really felt very deus ex machina as to HOW they came into being], Saul's plan to go somewhere else, the supersciences, the battles, the crazy earth lady. It all came together in one big ultra violent, messy shoot-em up masher.

Enjoyable.



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Monday, February 11, 2013

Review: Earth


Earth
Earth by David Brin

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I read this back in highschool, and so along with the other 2 Brin books, [b:Earthclan|101887|Earthclan|David Brin|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1171482058s/101887.jpg|98228], I decided to re-read them all.

Sadly, this was so filled with Brin's earth philosophy that the story was barely there.

It was pretty cool overall, gravity lasers, etc.

But Dear Lord, the proselytizing that went on.

I am glad I've re-read these 3 books, but I won't be reading them again, or any other of Brin's books.



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Sunday, February 10, 2013

Review: Alien 3


Alien 3
Alien 3 by Alan Dean Foster

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



Several years ago I bought a truckload of books from some guy on Craigslist. A ton of hardcovers and a bunch of paperbacks.

I put the majority of them up on Paperbackswap.com and got rid of them, but I still have about 2-3 shelves of books I haven't been able to get rid off. In the wintertime I can't take my ereader to work [as I work outside and sub-freezing weather doesn't agree with the ereader], so I fall back on paperbooks.

I've seen Aliens, so wanted to see what happened after and I needed a book to read at lunch.

Bleh. Stilted and boring....



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Friday, February 08, 2013

Review: Death Comes As the End


Death Comes As the End
Death Comes As the End by Agatha Christie

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I just kept waiting for everyone to put on top hats, and start speaking in an english accent.

The overall setting just didn't work for me...



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Thursday, February 07, 2013

Review: Assault on Soho


Assault on Soho
Assault on Soho by Don Pendleton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Weakest storyline so far.

More was made of the kinky sex shop than the gun battles. Lame-o...



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Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Review: The White Mountains


The White Mountains
The White Mountains by John Christopher

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This story has been read by me since middleschool, so I've got very fond memories of it, and so I judge it ever so lightly.

It is for kids and young adults. Readable by adults, but not to be enjoyed as much.

If The War of the Worlds had not gone our way, this story is what would have come of it...



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Monday, February 04, 2013

Review: The Monk


The Monk
The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



A monk gives in to his baser nature and in the end receives his just due.

And we get so many sidestories about minor characters that it really should have been entitled "A look at fallen humanity in its many forms".



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Saturday, February 02, 2013

Review: Blood and Bone


Blood and Bone
Blood and Bone by Ian C. Esslemont

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Another continent, another bit of the Crimson Guard, another shard of the Crippled God.

and lots and lots of grossness. From bodily functions to rotting viscera to wholesale gruesomely detailed slaughter.

And the soldier who thinks. Eegads, I am tired of soldiers who think...



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Friday, February 01, 2013

Review: Across Five Aprils


Across Five Aprils
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Absolutely blew me away.
The American Civil War from the eyes of a boy who experiences it from his family's farm. Brothers go to either side, etc, etc.

Hunt did a fantastic job of showing a young boy growing into manhood while experiencing one of our countries worst times. It was sad, it was inspiring, it was fantastic.

I know I read this back in either elementary or middleschool, but I am glad I read it as an adult. So many things, on an emotional level, that I never would have picked up on earlier in life. The pain of a family torn apart. The joy of hero worship. The awkwardness of a child becoming an adult and disagreeing with the parents. The realization that peace is not a simple process. That mankind has both heroes and venal minded villains.



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