Review: Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 6

Gunslinger Girl Omnibus 6 by Yu Aida

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



For a "final" volume, this was sad. By sad, I mean pathetic, even by anime/manga standards.

I knew that most of the girls would have to die, to make the story end. But we never find out what happens to the 2nd gen cyborgs.

I would have felt better about the series if Aida had shown the Welfare Agency being wiped out at their headquarters, instead of just preparing for it. It left things extremely unsettled.

This really felt like a pen-ultimate volume. But as is the case with many manga, the author doesn't know how to end it, and so they don't. When I first got into anime, I thought they ended most anime the way they do because of some sort of cool "eastern philosophy" thingy. Now I realize they are just lazy and can't be bothered to wrap things up.

And most of the time, that doesn't bother me. But for this manga, it really did. I think some of that was because I wanted the sacrifices the girls had made throughout the series to be given the honor and respect they deserved. Instead, they are discarded like ragdolls...



View all my reviews

Review: Mother of Demons

Mother of Demons by Eric Flint

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This started out great. From the alien viewpoint. Reminded me a lot of Zahn's Conqueror Trilogy.

Then it seemed to turn into either historical info dumps, or else evolutionist biology. Either way, boring.

The mother of demons is the historian of the human group. Who is tormented by guilt that she must show the younglings the secrets of warfare in order for them to survive.

So, while it was enjoyable, nothing in it made me want to read more of Mr. Flint's writing.



View all my reviews

Review: The Accidental Sorcerer

The Accidental Sorcerer by K.E. Mills

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Why [a:Karen Miller|87306|Karen Miller|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1263471699p2/87306.jpg] feels the need to write as another author, I don't understand. But that is truly neither here nor there.

Loved this book. A fast paced fantasy thriller about a lowgrade magician who magically gets bumped up and who has to deal with some serious problems.

Lots of magical'iness, a little angst, a little romance, lots of action and bam, you have this book. Almost more of a prequel, as I believe the series is called "Rogue Agent" and that aspect doesn't come into play until the very end of the book.

I just hope the series can stay powered up...



View all my reviews

Review: A Memory of Light

A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt like I was deluged by a tidal wave.

Then came the ending. It kind of made me feel "vanilla".

Sanderson did an excellent job of wrapping this up. I was in awe.

I look forward to re-reading the whole series in 5-8 years.

Edit:

I realized this morning that my words were on the light side. Considering that I've been reading WoT since '95 or '96, and have experienced the travail of my soul [When I heard that Jordan had died, I practically swore vengeance upon his barely cold corpse "how could he do this to me!?"] and then was raised to the clouds when I heard Sanderson [probably my favorite fantasy author now] was going to complete the series.

I have run the whole gamut of emotions with this series. Excitement, boredom [tugging of hair anyone?], rage and despair, hope and finally, satisfaction.

How does one encapsulate 17'ish years in a couple of paragraphs? I've gone from a highschool teenager to a married 30something security guard. So I don't write a review worthy of the NY Times, I write this little ditty to remind me that all things can be gotten through, that they end and that they can be good and bad.

This series will be something that sticks with me for the rest of my life. Nice to have something like that.



View all my reviews

Review: A Memory of Light

A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt like I was deluged by a tidal wave.

Then came the ending. It kind of made me feel "vanilla".

Sanderson did an excellent job of wrapping this up. I was in awe.

I look forward to re-reading the whole series in 5-8 years.



View all my reviews

Review: The Moving Finger

The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This was supposed to be a Miss Marple Mystery. Instead I read a murder/romance book in which Miss M appears VERY briefly.
If this had been a 3hr miniseries, she would have had about 5-10min of facetime.

Other than that, it was a typical Christie mystery, which I do enjoy.



View all my reviews

Review: Lady Chatterley's Lover

Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



A sad story about an empty woman trying to fill the void within. She hates men, wants to be free of all restraints, despises her husband, needs the attention of a man and in the end, hopes that being with the aforementioned man will fulfill her.

A scathing book about materialism and how humanity attempts to fill the God-shaped hole within each of us. And yet at the end, the author tries to give the reader false hope by insinuating that Lady Chatterly would find meaning, in the near future.

Tenuous, vague and empty hope.

I am happy to have read this, to expand my classic repertoire, but this was a horrible book and one I never plan on re-reading.



View all my reviews

Review: The Silver Chair

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A good "quest" story.

I do have to admit that I came close to tears when Eustace and Jill silently requested to stay in Aslan's Country, but He had to tell them it wasn't their time yet. A moment of poignant longing for the Best of All to be right then.



View all my reviews

Review: Stardoc II: Beyond Varallan

Stardoc II: Beyond Varallan by S.L. Viehl

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



I was hoping that Viehl would move beyond the rape in a tasteful way.

But about 40 pages in, Cherijo tries to jump Reever's bones, and thinks of their "previous time" [ie, the rape scene in book one] as something sexually stimulating.

What kind of sick author is Viehl? The victim of rape is saying it was good for her too? In most cases of rape, the victim reacts 1 of 3 ways:

1)They blame themselves and turn inward.
2)They say it doesn't matter and then become sexual predators, of a sort, themselves
3)They can't accept what happened, and so think of it as a good experience, ie, deny reality.

Cherijo exhibits classic symptoms of a psychologically broken woman.

And I'm supposed to enjoy reading about this? This is sick, sick, sick. Shame on Viehl.



View all my reviews

Review: Pathfinder

Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



When your world gets filled with whiny, angsty, self-doubting, touchy-feely "men", then read this for a young man, more of a boy, who is one of those characters of self-reliance, assured and doubt-less.

It is really refreshing to read about characters like this once in a while. Provides a nice granite bedrock for the changable waves of most fiction.

Lots of timetravel blabber, medieval era society, and hints of what humanity might become.

I skipped paragraphs at a time when time 'movement' was discussed and I don't feel any less for it. But for those who like the convoluted, they might just eat it up.

And I really like how the first couple of paragraphs of each chapter deal with the very beginning of mankind traveling to this planet.



View all my reviews