Ryan
I have very mixed feelings about this book, and of the experience of having read it. As a result, I'm not sure I can say that I truly ‘enjoyed' it; it's well-crafted, overall, but at the same time not without its frustrations.
First, the good stuff: there's a hugely epic plot here, ultimately concerned with ensuring the continued survival of the human race; bold, three-dimensional characters who are intriguing, and draw you into their story; plot twists that you truly never see coming, and which are revealed with a subtle mastery that forces you to rethink everything you've read up until that point;and a fascinating, amazingly-thought out world that all of this is set in.
On the other hand, however, the book has its problems, chief of which is its length and pacing. This is a book that is almost one thousand pages long, which by itself I don't have a problem with. Some of my favourite novels and novel series feature lengths like that. While the length isn't a problem, the way the plot develops within that length was a problem for me - I remember at one point thinking to myself “oh, the action is starting to pick up and the plot's finally moving forward”, and then looking at the page number and seeing something in the three hundreds. Then, after another four hundred pages of exciting outer space action, things slow down again for another couple of hundred pages, once again getting exciting for the last hundred pages before finally ending on a cliffhanger. Add to this chapters that were routinely over fifty pages long, and which didn't seem to have any strong internal structure to them, and you're left with a book that I strongly considered giving up on several times during the process of reading it. And yet, at the end, I was left with a strong desire to check out the sequel, which is another thousand page book and will no doubt have many of the same issues.
Rebellious frontier librarians in a post-apocalyptic future. The only problem with this, like with Gailey's other cowpoke fantasy work, is that there isn't more of it. I need at least a half a dozen more stories with these characters as soon as possible.
Wow, I enjoyed this volume a LOT more than the first half of the duology. As the war against the Prime aliens continues, in this volume we learn about the history of the treacherous Starflyer alien, it's relationship to both the Commonwealth and the Primes, and humanity faces its darkest hour.
What's amazing about this book, though, is that Hamilton manages to bring together almost every branch of science fiction literature in existence. Within the scope of the one story there's interstellar war, alien invasion, possession by unseen forces, body modification and implantation, cloning, memory transfer, time travel, wormholes, and consciousness singularity, but all combined in a way that seems naturalistic and understandable. If you're a sci-fi fan there's no doubt something in here for you.
I've never played a tabletop RPG before, so I don't know how it compares to other systems. But it seems pretty great on its own - I'm looking forward to start GMing some sessions with my kids.
I decided to join my library's book club this year, and this was our first read of the year.
It was an alright read - I loved a lot of the characters, especially Arthur. I thought the perspective of this story was pretty interesting as well. The themes and setting of this book are ones that will be familiar to a lot of YA readers - you have a group of misfits in a magical school setting, and this theme of finding yourself and standing up for your beliefs in a vaguely dystopian setting. All that seems kind of familiar. However, what was unique was seeing that from the perspective of Linus, a middle-aged man, rather than from a precocious teen. That changes how we experience the story in a big way, I think.
One thing that I wish the story did better was to give us a more well-rounded world - the world beyond Marsyas felt very underdeveloped and vaguely sketched out. I think it would have made the story stronger to have a greater sense of just how different the world is from our own.
I've always enjoyed the Silver Surfer, and Mike Allred is always fabulous, but what moved this to the top of my list the negative reviews I was reading on comics sites, wherein people complained that it was similar to Doctor Who.
And in some ways it was similar to Doctor Who - there's an enigmatic, powerful alien who has a device that he uses to adventure across space with his young and cool human companion. Slott writes the relationship between the Surfer and Dawn (the aforementioned companion) in a style that's not dissimilar to Stephen Moffat, as well. But, I would argue, that the result feels as much like Lee/Kirby Fantastic Four as it does anything else. The characters are solid, their motivations are relatable, and their adventures are cosmic and supercool.
If you're a fan of wacky, campy sci-fi adventuring, this is something you should definitely be checking out.
This was the most fun I've had reading a superhero comic in years. Kamala is a great, well-rounded character, and Wilson does a phenomenal job of portraying her character, her life, and her heroics.
(Note: read as single issues on Marvel unlimited, rather than as a proper TPB)
This was a really interesting look at some parts of early internet history that I had been unaware of.
This is the first book in a trilogy, and it follows two stories: one of an chimpanzee who can create representational art, and the other a blind teenager who is given an operation that might allow her to see. At the same time, the internet itself has begun to evolve consciousness.
It took me awhile to warm to this. Caitlin, the visually-impaired teenager, seemed in some ways to be a stereotypical Sawyer protagonist: incredibly bright and witty, with some sort of medical condition, who is a bit of an outsider in their community but at the same time is okay with that. Also, the “internet gains consciousness” plot seems a little hokey at first glance.
Then I got to the scene where Caitlin's able to see for the first time, and damnit, he sucked me in. Sawyer's ability to craft an emotionally-charged phrase and have it draw you in is just amazing. I've seen him do it before - most of his recent novels have a point like that in them - and every time he does it you still never really see it coming.
This isn't Sawyer's best work - if you're new to him, I would recommend anything from the period between Calculating God and Mindscan as a better starting point - but if you like his work, this is a good read. I'm interested to see where the rest of the story goes.
This was a fun little romp! Ikea as doorway to the multiverse is a solid idea to build a story from, and Cipri build off of that with a tale of broken relationships, missed opportunities, and doses of swashbuckling.
A Turn of Light, which this is a sequel to, was fascinating for how it inverted a lot of classical fantasy tropes. This book inverts the inversion, somewhat, but in a way that maintains a compelling and interesting story. I enjoyed the first book enough that the thought of sequels made me nervous, but Czernada continues to craft a story and universe that is just fascinating.
More thoughts about this book at https://northerntomorrows.wordpress.com/2015/09/28/a-play-of-shadow/
It's the end of the world as we know it. Only we don't know it. The Gales, a Calgary-based coven, do know that the end is nigh, and they might do something about it if Charlie, a wild and young member of the family, can convince them that that's be something worth doing.
Reading this book was an experience of clear, unadulterated joy. The plot was filled with dynamic, powerful characters who played off each other in interesting ways. The “main” storyline - of a giant asteroid hurtling toward Earth - grounded the conflicts the characters had with each other in a way that heightened the stakes for all involved. At times it was a little difficult to keep track of who was who in the family, and what their pecking order was, but if you've ever spent time in a large family, that feeling will be absolutely familiar.
Huff's writing throughout the story is impeccable, as well - the Gales' conversations and full of banter and quips, and her liberal use of pop culture references give the conversations a sense of immediate familiarity and intimacy. It never feels forced - given how Charlie's magic works, if anything it feels necessary - and it no doubt will make the story a favourite among genre fans.
A final point worth mentioning to readers is that this book is the last part of a trilogy featuring the women of the Gale family. It can still be enjoyed as a stand-alone story, but there are a lot of references to the events of the first two books, and a lot of the emotional groundwork for the interpersonal drama was established in those as well. Readers newer to Huff's series may want to dive into those stories (Enchantment Emporium and The Wild Ways) before tackling this one.
Overall, The Future Falls is a fun look at an interesting set of characters set against the end of the world. That might seem like an odd backdrop for a story that feels light-hearted throughout, but Huff tells it well enough that it never feels odd.
(For more reviews like this, visit http://northerntomorrows.wordpress.com)
Excellent addition to the Planetary series, one that forces you to go back to the previous volumes and reanalyze everything that's happened so far. Aside from that, it's Planetary, which means taking old concepts are giving them new life - Sherlock Holmes! Dracula! lose African upotias! This series remains Ellis at his best, though, proof that there's an idealist under the surface of even the harshest cynic.
I've always thought of Stephen King as a master craftsman of writing, and the opening line of the Gunslinger is a good example of that. “The man in black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed.” In that one line, we're introduced to our protagonist, antagonist, and setting, in a way that still allows action to be conveyed rather than being just exposition.
On the whole, though, I think the book suffers from feeling like an extended prologue, rather than the story proper, and from being split into three disjointed novellas. There are stories that can be told that way, but I don't think The Dark Tower is one of them.
Classic Gibson. Immersive, concept-driven science fiction that looks at today's technology and pushes it just a little bit into the future. Well, that plus time travel, but not the usual type of time travel. Add on top of that some great, interesting characters, and you're left with a great read. It starts fairly slow, but if you stick with it, you'll end up loving it.
More thoughts on this book at https://northerntomorrows.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/the-peripheral-by-william-gibson/
The best way to imagine the books in this series is to think of them as big, wide-screen, summer action blockbusters. About a steampunk version of the Avengers (the Emma Peel Avengers, mind you, not the repulsor rays and star-painted shield ones), and directed by Sam Raimi. Some people will look at that description and ask why, others will look at it and ask why not. If anything, this one was even more fun than its predecessor, as it could avoid all the niceties and introductions and get right into the two-fistedness.
Come to think of it, Ted Raimi would make an excellent Books.
This was equally fascinating as its predecessor, but at the same time it was a very distinct work from Farthing. While the latter was more of a country-house mystery, this one is a political thriller, and given the inherently political nature of the setting, that allows Walton to explore a bit more of the reality of her alternate history.
As in the first novel, we're looking at an alternate England that has secured Peace In Our Time by signing an armistice with Nazi Germany in 1940. The result is not only the nightmare of a Nazi-controlled Europe; we also see the corrosive effect that reality has on democracy in England, and even in familiar bonds and the general morality of the characters we see. The “Nazis are horrible and bad for everyone” theme would maybe seem more cliched in the hands of a less-skilled author, but Walton's rich characterization and foreboding plot add a lot of richness and depth to the story.
Perhaps most importantly, though: the plot revolved around a partially gender-swapped version of Hamlet (Hamlet and Ophelia are crossed, with the other roles still being played by their traditional genders). I need this in my life, because it sounds like it would be excellent.
This is suffered a bit from what many Image books do - DeConnick has grand, epic ambitions for this book (in the proper Homeric sense of the word, I expect), and that requires a fair amount of setup, which is what we get here. As with many Image books, I expect that the action will really kick up with the next volume.
As set up goes, though, this is pretty fantastic. DeConnick draws from a lot of old mythology - Hades and Persephone, and Coyote, and other tales, and wraps them in a beautifully depicted weird west tale. It's sexy, it's dangerous - Pretty Deadly was the perfect title for this work.
This was a fairly fun read, with the caveat that Hiassen novels tend to be something of the same read- crooked Florida politicians with cockamamie schemes, idiot comic relief crooks, the young women both groups have done wrong, and working-class men willing to fight the good fight. It's a fun mix, though, as always, and perfectly enjoyable if you pace them out, like pina coladas drunk on a beach on a hot, humid day.
I can see why people liked this, and why it won the Hugo - it's a deep, intellectually-driven sci-fi novel that explores some interesting philosophical space. However, at the same time I wasn't able to feel an emotional connection to any of the characters, or anything that happens to them.
A retelling of Back to the Future done in “Shakespearean style” - a dialogue-heavy script with little stage direction and a lot of iambic pentameter. You'd have to be a fairly big fan of both the Bard and the 1984 film to be interested in this. Luckily I am a fan of both, so this was a pretty enjoyable read.
At times the expository material seems heavy - there are a lot of cases of characters describing what they're doing, which is necessary for the way this was written but would seem odd if it were actually staged. There are enough Easter eggs throughout to keep the reading light and entertaining (I especially enjoyed how they handled the Huey Lewis cameo).
This was a fun novella that helped flesh out the culture of Innistrad really well, as well as introducing some interesting new characters in Tacenda and Davriel. Hopefully they weren't created just for this story, and will continue as part of the larger Innistrad mythology.
I can't imagine anyone being really interested in this is they aren't already invested in the lore of Magic: the Gathering, but if you are it's a great read.
Margaret Atwood makes a much-anticipated return to the world she created in A Handmaid's Tale with this. Not so much a sequel in any direct sense, but a larger examination into the dystopia she created, the story follows the lives of an Aunt, a schoolgirl, and an outsider and we learn more about the society of Gilead that gets created.
The Aunt Lydia storyline was amazingly well-done, and provided a lot of insight into what a system like Gilead's would do even to those in privileged positions. She doesn't quite become a sympathetic character, but serves as an interesting reminder that the bastards will grind you down if you let them.
Agnes' story was really interesting as well. Seeing the perspective of someone raised in Gilead, and who accepts the basic tenets of that society without question, is horrifying in ways that even the original novel failed to achieve.
The only part of the book that I didn't particularly care for was the epilogue - it felt tacked on, and lacked a lot of the understatement and subtlety that Atwood featured in her storytelling to that point.
It's Starlin doing Adam and Thanos. If you're the kind of person who likes that (and I definitely am), it's an interesting iteration of their relationship, but it has little to offer for those that aren't converts to the Universal Church of Truth.
Ishmael Wang gets another promotion in this book, as you might have guessed from the title, and starts to think about life after his tour of duty on the Lois McKendrick.
If you've listened to the first two boks in the series, you more or less know what to expect here, although things to get taken to the “next level” to an extent; the ship is put in some very real danger this time around, some of the interpersonal issues raised in the earlier books come to a head, and we're left with a strong feeling of the end of a phase in Ish's life, rather than just it being another part of his journey.
I've come to realize that, more than pretty much any one else working in the medium, Lowell is clearly thinking about the ‘podiobook' as a separate medium of storytelling and is writing for that, rather than writing a novel and then recording an audio version of it.