Ernest Khoo
Action packed world that introduces a lot of interesting ideas about how a software can manipulate and change the world. In terms of jaw-dropping moments, this one tops the first volume, but somehow lacks the same freshness.
An unusual zombie novel. Very much a story about the media and the US political process.
An honest and thought-provoking work of videogame criticism. The chapter on the author playing GTA4 and getting addicted to coke at the same time is a pretty interesting read. It helps that I've played all the titles (except for Far Cry 2) discussed here. If you're a gamer, you should seriously read this for some intellectual discussion of your favourite pastime.
Covers intellectual property piracy from the early days of print to current technology. Can be rather dry reading but fascinating to find out the long history of piracy.
Tied up all the plot points, but reads less like a thriller or detective story. Thought that it could be long-winded at times but the story is interesting enough for me to stay on till the end.
Things never get better in this series. Just when you think it is calm, something hits the fan. The introduction of the ‘herd' is terrifying and is one hell of a cliffhanger.
When I found out that this book pits British warlocks against Nazi superhumans in a WW2 tale, I had expected a more action-packed war story. But this was quite unexpected. The story was absorbing and did not cast anyone in a heroic light. What was most compelling to me was the idea that the sacrifice the warlocks had to give to achieve their aims. And for the superhumans on the German side, they're not folks that you really want to be, even with their superpowers. The story ends on a cliffhanger and I am certainly eager to find out what happens in the next installment.
A fascinating tale in a fascinating world. Mieville spends time describing the city such that at times, it's good enough to be a tourist guide to the geography of the setting he created. The story is also wildly imaginative. It's an adventure, a tragedy, and many other things. Brilliant.
Great art. Crisp, taut dialogue makes this noir-style Daredevil story a real good read.
A book that's more about scenarios than about characters. Using the theme of technology gone rogue, this is a gripping read. Just when you think that the story has gone over-the-top, the next chapter tops itself. Great reading for geeks and gamers alike.
A lot going on here, from the death of Cap to Bucky taking on the role. There's even a sequence where 2 Captain Americas are fighting.
Another confusing epic scale book. Gets better towards the end but somehow it's too late for me to care.
Fun book to read if you're interested in soccer. Even if you're skeptical about the way economics is used here, there are still plenty of trivia here for the soccer fan. Most fascinating is the analysis of penalty kicks as game theory during the Man U vs Chelsea Champions League final. Made me went back to closely watch it again on YouTube.
Expected this book to be a study of role-playing subcultures, but it turned out to be more about a person's journey to reconcile his D&D-playing past and being an adult. I liked the way the book explored various subcultures of fantasy role-play, from LARPers to WoW players. Also interesting was his visit to Middle Earth aka NZ. As a memoir, this book works.
Picked this up because I loved Nick Hornby's screenplay version which was made into a movie. Ended up that the movie only made up one chapter of the book. In any case, I enjoyed the story of Lynn Barber's experience as a teen, her work at Penthouse magazine and then at various newspapers. Her account of her husband's death came as a surprise in the book as I wasn't exactly expecting that. Still, it was a touching postscript.
Deliciously violent and brutally honest. While it is about the zombie apocalypse, there's also a tale of survival, sacrifice and the best and worst of what situations can lead a human being to do.
When reading this book, I get the same feeling while reading China Mieville's Perdido Street Station, i.e. a feeling of being immersed in a wonderful new world which is so unlike most you read in fantasy novels. That is, of course, a damn good thing. There're also similarities between Jaqueline Carey's Kushiel series to this, in terms of the intrigue and interplay of power and politics. Looking forward to Book 2 in the series.
I Kill Giants is an impressive graphic novel. A bittersweet tale of a teenage girl, who's also a D&D geek, dealing with the impending lost of a parent succumbing to cancer. While there's a mix of fantasy and reality in the tale, the story is still grounded in the realities of life, and how one deals with life and lost. Done in black and white, the art is dynamic and simply quite fantastic. A must read.
3D-printing, Disney rides, corporations threatening to sue over IP are all things you read in Boing Boing. These are explored in the novel. While I like the exploration of these in novel form, the story took me a while to get into. However, I like that the story followed the characters throughout their lifetime.
From the reviews, it seems like this book has pretty much mixed reviews. To me, the introduction to the book got it right. This book will break your heart. This is a horrifying story about a killer who murdered a little girl, and the cop who became a killer to do good. It is tragic story and one that's worth reading.
The subject matter is certainly dark and evocative. It is hard to imagine the pains, both physical and mental, that the author went through living in a dysfunctional family.
