Review: Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception

Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Artemis Fowl keeps me coming back for more adventures, even when those adventures settle around someone like Mulch Diggums.

I am not, nor have I ever been, a fan of gastro-intestinal humor. Poop is poop and belongs in the sewers, not in a civilized persons joke repertoire.

And yet I still enjoy this series. It is young adult/children and I could see an 8 year old boy giggling his head off when the author describes a character knocking out a whole tribe of trolls with his farts.



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Review: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



In many ways, I felt like I was reading Dickens or Austen, and that was a good thing!

Then the characters intruded and ruined everything. In either Dickens or Austen, you have a protagonist, who have their faults, but who is essentially someone you want to succeed or cheer for or to cheer on.

Strange & Norrell are both pompous asses, complete idiots and yet I wanted to kill them both. There was no one in this story who I wanted to cheer for.

This was post-modern crap under the guise of historical fantasy. If you enjoyed it, then please support Ms. Clarke in her future endeavors, because I'll not be reading any more of her works...



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Review: The Hive

The Hive by Steven Barnes

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



Take [b:Star Wars: The Cestus Deception|35464|The Cestus Deception (Star Wars Clone Wars, #2)|Steven Barnes|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347760493s/35464.jpg|3165217] and boil it down to a short story, and you get this.

Boring and practically plotless. Doesn't give me much hope for any other Star Wars short stories...



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Review: The Last Dragon

The Last Dragon by Jane Yolen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



The story part of this book was enjoyable, but nothing super.

The artwork, however, absolutely blew me away. I read this story twice in a row just looking at the artwork. And I'm not an art guy.



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Review: The Terminator

The Terminator by Randall Frakes

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This was a good novelization. While not a blockbuster of a book or anything, I certainly found that this added some much needed depth to side characters and to the relationship between Kyle and Sara and to the mental change of Sara Connor from helpless waif to warrior princess.

I honestly wasn't expecting to enjoy this, but I did.



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Review: The Elvenbane

The Elvenbane by Andre Norton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A story of elves, dragons, mages and half elves/humans.

I really enjoyed this. While a bit shallow, I never felt like rolling my eyes or putting the book down.

I found it quite interesting to see dragons as tricksters and elves as the bad guys.



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Review: Star Soldier

Star Soldier by Star Soldier

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I'll continue reading the series, but so far it is choppy writing and the main character is a HUGE idiot.



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Review: The Wind in the Willows

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A completely whimsical set of short stories about a mole, a rat, a badger and a toad.

Some stories involve all, some only 1, some a mixture.



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Review: Enchanters' End Game

Enchanters' End Game by David Eddings

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This was a good, if slightly underwhelming, ending to the series. Everything that applied to the earlier books applies to this as well.

Which brings me to my only real nit-pick with this book. It did not stand alone well at all. It really needed the backing of the previous books, and it needed to be read as part of a whole. Instead of 5 books, this series should be taken as a whole, divided into 5 sections for ease of handling. But it is one story that does not divide well.

And since that is the worst I can say about the book, then that is pretty good!



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Review: The Lost Hero

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Starts dealing with the Roman aspects of the gods and opens up whole new realms of possibilities.

Jason isn't the personable, likable, enjoyable character that Percy Jackson was though. And I suspect the whole series is going to be "...not like Percy Jackson was"...



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