Jeff
This book starts off well and then goes down in flames pretty quickly. It's like that car accident you can't turn away from. The ending is one of the worst I have ever seen. I've read in interviews with the author that he likes ambiguity, but this is ridiculous. There is no pay off for the reader who has invested their time in this story.
A Focused Slice Biography
The attraction for me of this book is that it covers only the first four months of Harry S. Truman's presidency, a presidency he ascended to as Vice-president due to the death of FDR.
I've never studied history as much as I probably should have. Even so, I was aware of Hitler's suicide, Mussolini's death, the Potsdam meeting, the chartering of the UN, the liberation of Dachau, the end of WWII, the atom bomb being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the surrender of Japan.
What I was NOT aware or cognizant of was that all these events occurred during Truman's first four months of his presidency! An unbelievable number of earth-shattering and world-changing events all during four months of one man's service as president of the U.S.
Certainly Truman's birth, early life, and life before and after his presidency is covered in passing, but it is those first four months this book deals with in detail, relying upon official transcripts, notes from diaries, eyewitness testimony and official records to lay out Truman's first 120 days in office and all the challenges he faced.
And that is the attraction of this book. It is not a lifelong look at a man's life as most biographies are. It is rather a focused observation of a relatively short span of time that is filled with events that touched lives around the world under the administration of one man; Harry S. Truman.
A couple of months ago I was reading about a new book coming out titled “The Oracle Year” by Charles Soule (the “e” is silent) and what caught my attention in the review was that the writer was also a writer for comic books such as “Daredevil”, “She-Hulk” and others. I haven't really read any new comics in the past decade, at least, so I haven't read any of his comic book work but I usually enjoy novels written by comic book writers. I love Neil Gaiman, and have been impressed by Peter David, Steve Englehart and others, so I made a mental note to look into “The Oracle Year” when it was published.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when I was looking over the list of authors coming to Book People bookstore here in Austin to do readings and signings, and there was the note that Charles Soule would be there on Wednesday evening, April 25th to read and sign his new book, which had recently hit the shelves. I knew I would be there as well.
There were only about 12-14 people present, so after Mr. Soule read the second chapter of his book (I had already read up through Chapter 7 while waiting for the event to begin), it was good to hear that the way I “heard” the characters speaking and interacting in my head was exactly how the author read them, with the same inflections and tones. Afterward we asked questions and then the book signing began.
“The Oracle Year” centers around Will Dando (The Oracle) who awakens one morning from a dream with 108 specific predictions in his head of things that will happen in the future. To protect his anonymity, he sets up a super-secure website with the help of The Florida Ladies (don't ask, just read the book) and he and his investment banker friend Hamza selectively release a few of the predictions, netting them billions of dollars from corporations looking for any advantage in their business forecast models.
But Will is not about the money at all. He's about social good and looking out for the other guy. He meets a beautiful reporter at an event that he knows will cause some people to die, hoping that his call to the police and perhaps even his anonymous presence will change the prediction, but it doesn't. In fact, Will soon discovers, with religious leaders calling him the AntiChrist and his own government leaving no stone unturned in trying to discover his identity, that the predictions work together for some reason. A reason that seems to be a nefarious one. The book leads us around the world with action, thrills, and a satisfying ending to such a complicated tale.
The characters work well, which I would expect because comic book characterization is important and Charles Soule's many admirers attest to his ability to create believable characters. The story and plot hold up well and, frankly, longer than i expected. It was a page-turner of a pleasant read and I have no doubt that Charles Soule's next novel will be even better.
I recommend “The Oracle Year” for a good read.
What?
That was one weird way to end the story. I mean, did I miss something or what? Help me, Obi Wan.
Great story! Glad to see a bit of resolution to the Black Council plot line. Sorry that a couple of other story lines seemed to end, and not in a good way.
This is a short book (only 170 pages) that lives up to its title. Short, workable points to help you get to less in major parts of your life. This is a book I'll be revisiting several times over the next year.
I'm warming up to Discworld with this second book, however still going to take a break from the series for a few weeks before I try the next book.
For about 25 years I've had several friends of mine tell me how much they love the Discworld series and how I must read the books. I am now the “weirdo” among them (and perhaps to you, as well) who did not find the first book in the series to be so great that I must coax all my friends to read it.
I've read other books by Pratchett, but this one threw me off, in it's content (an unbelievably huge cast of characters for a 214 page story) and style of writing (more of a collection of scenes barely connected, for the most part). I'm still going to read the next book in the series to try and give it a fair chance, but if my interest isn't increased by the end of that book, I'll probably give up. I truly hope they get better.
Very entertaining
Great story, characters, and dialog! Corey pulls you into the world he created and makes you feel at home while you explore.
Borrowed this from my library online to read and liked it enough that I'll buy it to have in my library. Interesting stuff, even if you have no interest in being invisible.
What an immensely enjoyable and satisfying collection of words. Gaiman has taken the stories of Norse mythology and imbued them with his inimitable style.
Thoroughly enjoyed the story of Phil Collins' life thus far. While extremely talented in the musical arts he was less so in the area of romantic relationships, something he admits with regret and honesty. That's something a lot of us can probably identify with. He takes you through all the highs and the lows of his life and the near-death experience that would seem to have given him a new lease on life at the age of 65.
Something I did that made this a unique reading was that I did not confine myself to reading. It occurred to me that I had most of his songs in my iTunes library or could listen to them on YouTube, so whenever he mentioned a song title I would stop and pull it up to listen and enjoy. It made the reading take a bit longer, but it was fun to do and added to the story, for me.
Read this during my flight from Orlando to Austin today. A lot of basics that I already knew, which made for a good refresher, and some new tips and advice that I found to be helpful.
Very enjoyable read of Springsteen's autobiography, reading about his life, loves, music, and family. Be prepared; like his musical lyrics, his words of prose are full of metaphors, analogies, and mental pictures that will transport you where he wants to take you. If you have any interest in “The Boss” you'll enjoy this book.
This series continues to be one of the best examples of writing that employs the synergy of realistic character development with extensive, well thought out plotting to create stories that completely envelop the reader in their words.
In this book, there is sadness for the loss of some beloved characters, but there is also happiness and satisfaction for the reunion of those who have been scattered. And, as is the case with life and all good writing, changes.
So, this story is an interesting time jump which puts a different spin on some things and people. I think you'll see some of your favorite characters in a different, perhaps not flattering, light. Still, the quality of storytelling and character development is as high as it has ever been for this series.
I was saddened by a death, but also pleased that it was not who I expected. Though I still feel that the one I expected may still come to pass.
It Just Keeps Getting Better
This series never seems to have a low point. Now we see the end of a planet, a solar system, a civilization and a way of life. But we also see the birth of a hopefully new path forward.
I always feel a bit astounded by the authors' ability to tap into real, raw, human emotion and thought processes, as well as their ability to make me feel uplifted by human actions and behavior.
To paraphrase; we all have to live together, so we need to be gentle.
This writer has an amazing way with words! Even though I was disappointed in the rather ambiguous ending, I would recommend it to everyone for the sheer experience of Wroblewski's writing.
I read this book because a friend of mine whose opinion I respect recommended it.
I'm glad I did.
But I will say that throughout most of this story I kept thinking, “Something's not right, something's not fitting.” as I projected out what I thought would be the outcome. The end was a great twist/not a twist resolution that was in front of you all the time, but you (OK, I) just didn't see because I had already placed certain people/things into a predetermined box of roles and occurrences. I like it when a writer and story make you see some preconceived biases that color your thinking and make you realize that you need to look at things from a wider variety of perspectives.
Very helpful as I have difficulty with plots, creating them and using them to effectively tell the story I want to tell.
I'm not one who usually likes using forms or templates in my creative work, but I found the plot planner extremely helpful and the scene tracker, in a lesser fashion, to be something I could make use of in certain situations.
I recommend this book to those who need assistance in creating and planning the plot(s) within their work.
I finished this book on the bus ride to class this morning.
This is an excellent look at the life of the late Leonard Nimoy, with one caveat that I'll get into later.
Most people know Leonard Nimoy as the actor who portrayed Mr. Spock on Star Trek; The Original Series, early Star Trek movies and episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This book covers that portion of his life, especially the three years of the original TV series, in good detail as related by someone who was right there next to him.
But Nimoy was so much more than that fictional character that captured the hearts and minds of millions. He was an actor who portrayed a multitude of different characters on TV and the stage; a director who helmed successful movies; a photographer who created incredible photos and a philanthropist. He was also an alcoholic, and then a recovering alcoholic, and was obviously a man who was driven to accomplish as much as he could in his lifetime.
Now for that one caveat. I like William Shatner, the author of this book, I really do. But I resent his constant need to compare himself and Nimoy. All the way from their childhoods, through their careers and their final years together. I bought this book to read about Nimoy, not to have Shatner horn in on every part of Nimoy's life, tooting his own horn either directly, or through self-deprecating humor that still puts the spotlight on Shatner. Rumors through the years of his massive ego and self-centered behavior seem to be true, if this book is any indication.
But if you can get past that, this is a nice stroll through the life, loves, career, and passing of Leonard Nimoy.
Enjoyed tremendously this recently written look back at one of Spock's early adventures aboard the Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike. Cox is an excellent writer with a thorough knowledge of Star Trek history, allowing him to weave another wonderful story into the rich Trek tapestry.