Monday, December 10, 2012

Review: The Pale Horse


The Pale Horse
The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Whenever the occult is part of a novel, I never like its inclusion.
I wasn't sure where Christie was going with this, so I was uncomfortable right up to the last chapter.
Still enjoyed the mystery...



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Sunday, December 09, 2012

Review: Daughter of the Sword


Daughter of the Sword
Daughter of the Sword by Steve Bein

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I thoroughly enjoyed this "Special Swords" book.
The 4 storylines, [1 current, 3 historical for each of the swords], eh, I wouldn't have minded if the story had been all in the 21st century, but the history gave us the background and depth needed to make the current storyline have some "oomph".

Samurai, swords, cops and killers. If the author writes more, I'll be reading...



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Saturday, December 08, 2012

Review: Slag Attack


Slag Attack
Slag Attack by Andersen Prunty

My rating: 1 of 5 stars



This was disgusting material to read. I am not a fan of dystopian stories as it is, but this went beyond dystopia and into drug induced incoherence.

Death, debauchery,, betrayal and no hope.

Not my thing at all...



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Review: Orphanage


Orphanage
Orphanage by Robert Buettner

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



Part of being a good author is having a good story to tell. That, Buettner got right.
Another part of being a good author is having the grammatical and literary skills to tell your story, not only accurately, but engagingly. And Buettner failed at this.

Basically this is a coming of age story for a boy who has lost it all and spirals downward self-destructively, only to come back up and turn into a man through the military. Aliens on Ganymede and meteors all play their part as well.

The core of this book is good. But the outerlayer is just horrific. Get an editor for goodness sake, not your brother's nephew's grandmother's cousin's kid.
I would like to read more in this series, but I am not willing to subject myself to sub-par writing...



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Friday, December 07, 2012

Review: Myth-Ing Persons


Myth-Ing Persons
Myth-Ing Persons by Robert Lynn Asprin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Skeeve has to rescue Aahz, outwit a world of vampires and lose a hot chick to a some annoying con artist.
All in one book.
Fluff-a-roo...



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Thursday, December 06, 2012

Review: The Spirit Well


The Spirit Well
The Spirit Well by Stephen R. Lawhead

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



The story plodded along. I was also concerned by the theology expressed by some of the characters, as I wasn't able to tell if it was just the characters talking or Lawhead being extremely ecumenical...



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Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Review: The Bane of the Black Sword


The Bane of the Black Sword
The Bane of the Black Sword by Michael Moorcock

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



So close to contentment, and then it is ripped away.

I think this typifies the Elric experience. Pure melancholy undiluted by even a shard of true happiness...



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Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Review: Santiago


Santiago
Santiago by Mike Resnick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



What a great book!
A cast of characters who take their names from a balladeer, all focused on taking out the King of the Outlaws.
Who it turns out is pretty much in the same role as the captain in Resnick's Starship series.

Bounty hunters, journalists, thieves, tramps, swindlers and killers.

A tapestry of humanity, woven together for a fun read. Not a classic by any means, but a great read and re-read.



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Monday, December 03, 2012

Review: Graceling


Graceling
Graceling by Kristin Cashore

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I enjoyed this story very much. The idea of "Graces", an ability that allows the user to become the best at something, ie, fighting ability, seeing, hearing, green thumb, etc.

This revolves around Katsa,a young royal Graced with the ability to survive. Her ability is misused by the King until she breaks the ties and goes on her own. After that, nefarious schemes are revealed about another king and a young princess and Katsa must kill the one and save the other.

The upsides:
A lot of cool action, fighting, locales all over the various kingdoms, meeting various members of the "Council" [an underground movement to limit the damage done by uncontrolled kings] and seeing the beginnings of a united government because of the council.

The downsides:
Katsa's view that marriage was a bad thing. Commitment and self-sacrifice for another, in a marriage relationship, was put lower than eating pig swill. Then the author elevates "being lovers with the ability to walk away with no strings attached" as somehow being good. I wouldn't let kids read this, not until they had a good foundational understanding of what Love truly is, not just the fuzzy, wuzzy feelings.

Overall, a good story. There were times that I rolled my eyes at Katsa's actions, but seeing as how this was written by a woman, about a woman for young women, the eyerolling was just a natural manly reaction on my part.




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Sunday, December 02, 2012

Review: Hit or Myth


Hit or Myth
Hit or Myth by Robert Lynn Asprin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Mister Skeeve! I laughed so hard.

Mob, Fairy Godfather and Deevils, oh my. My favorite Myth book so far...



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