Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Review: Star Wars: The Old Republic: Annihilation
Star Wars: The Old Republic: Annihilation by Drew Karpyshyn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was on par with Fatal Alliance in terms of overall enjoyment.
I was disappointed with how the Jedi leader, the Army commander and the main character all interacted. Trained professionals, all 3, but they acted like me when my blood sugar is dangerously low, ie, EXTREMELY STUPID. It just didn't fit.
I liked the whole super-bad-ship takedown part though.
View all my reviews
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Review: The Portrait of a Lady
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Take a Jane Austen story in its infancy, spirit it away to the wrong side of the tracks, feed it crack and at 13, whore it out.
And that is what I felt this story was like.
James writing was so dense, so opaque, so much meaning hidden between the lines that I simply gave up trying to appreciate it and just slogged on through to get the bones of the story.
And I'm still not sure exactly what happened, or why.
I think the basic gist is
And other stuff dealing with family, fidelity and control.
The writing itself. Like I said, I gave up trying to pierce the veil James put up between me and the story, but I still appreciated the writing. It was well thought out. It was complex, complicated and correct. While I don't particularly like being left in the dark, at least James didn't try to sink down to the "common denominator" way of writing. His writing made me strive after something.
And we all occasionally need books like that.
View all my reviews
Friday, April 26, 2013
Review: Heirs of the Blade
Heirs of the Blade by Adrian Tchaikovsky
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have enjoyed this series, Shadows of the Apt, since the beginning. A couple of the books were kind of meh, but overall, I have had nothing but solid enjoyment from Tchaikovsky.
This book follows Che, Tynisa and the Wasp Empress [Seda?] on their journeys.
A good story of fighting, self-discovery and magic. A great story of societal changes, turning back the clock while marching forward in time.
I have the first 5 books in the PYR imprint. Then they dropped him for one reason or another. Haven't gotten the courage up to buy the other books in a different paper format. I will eventually though, this series is worth it.
View all my reviews
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Review: Eyes Wide Open
Eyes Wide Open by Ted Dekker
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Once again, for the final time for me, Dekker disappoints. We get some weakwilled teens who must decide what is real.
From a theological perspective, Dekker vanilla'fies his theology so much [so as not to be preachy and turn off non-christians would be my guess] that I'm not sure if he's talking about Christianity or some sort of Zen-Buddhism/New Age/Love Yourself thing.
So while I've enjoyed Dekker's past books, his recent books just don't do it for me.
View all my reviews
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Review: The Blight of Muirwood
The Blight of Muirwood by Jeff Wheeler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A good second book in this trilogy.
It is becoming obvious that this world is an After Judgment, Different World than ours. And this world is due for it's Noah's Flood.
Plotwise, there is some succession "stuff" going on with another Wretched being the heir. And that messes around with Lia's emotions as Colver is involved.
This was much more romance'y than the first book. We find out a LOT more about how the medium works and lots of spiritual background. Pretty cool stuff.
Then comes the end and
I am impressed with Mr. Wheeler's writing.
View all my reviews
Monday, April 22, 2013
Review: Time Bomb and Zahndry Others
Time Bomb and Zahndry Others by Timothy Zahn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I remember tearing through Zahn's short story collections back in the 90's. I was an impressionable teen coming of age who loved star wars, scifi and videogames [X-Com: Terror from the Deep was the epitome of awesomeness].
Zahn's writing was clean, tight, introducing new ideas to me and great for discussions. I had another friend who also loved Zahn and we'd spend hours discussing the stories, the ramifications, etc, etc.
So I am thankful to Mr. Zahn for showing me good technical writing. [unlike some of the drek produced by "indies" today].
That all being said, the stories have paled with time. The ideas written about have been bandied about by many others since this was originally published.
Still recommended for ANY fan of Zahn's or those who enjoy S/F short story collections.
View all my reviews
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Review: The Story of the Stone
The Story of the Stone by Barry Hughart
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
As wonderful as the first book was, this was a bit of a let down. I certainly enjoyed the read, it just didn't pack quite the same punch as [b:Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was|15177|Bridge of Birds A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was|Barry Hughart|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327940289s/15177.jpg|958087].
Li and Ox have to deal with a long dead sadist prince. In the process they find some "kind of lost" souls, go through the 10 layers of chinese hell, do their typical wenching and eating thing, and finish things up nice and neat.
View all my reviews
Monday, April 15, 2013
Review: Destination Unknown
Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was more of a spy-thriller than a mystery. Enjoyable though.
View all my reviews
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Review: Doom of the Darksword
Doom of the Darksword by Margaret Weis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
So you all thought Edward, from that wretched Twilight, was the original "Dark and Moody"?
Joram, and the little innocent girly, are the gag-worthy successor of Romeo and Juliet, and the precursors of Edward and Bella.
The story overall screams "Generic Fantasy". So you'll enjoy it but not be blown away. Kind of like a hamburger at McDonalds. It is "food". Good thing this is only a trilogy.
View all my reviews
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Review: The Outcasts
The Outcasts by John Flanagan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this, just not quite as much as [b:The Ruins of Gorlan|60400|The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1)|John Flanagan|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1293952830s/60400.jpg|810498].
But I suspect that is mostly because I've had 10 books of Mr. Flanagan and have become accustomed to him.
A good story of an underdog, who when he totally fails at the end, takes a huge step towards maturity by setting out on a journey to make it right.
View all my reviews
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)