Dina
Right after reading this, I would only have given it three, maybe even two-and-a-half stars. But if you let it sit a bit, the book actually grows better in your memory. Amazing story with fantastic ideas and compelling characters. I just didn't like the style much.
More detailed review here: SFF Book Review
What a joyride. I haven't laughed this much since Douglas Adams and Jasper Fforde. Rob Reid really hit a nerve with this one, poking fun at copyright law, coming up with creative and hilarious alien culture and just sweeping us away in a laugh-out-loud story filled with footnotes, one-liners, and a Rickroll (I'm not forgiving him that).
Read my full review on SFF Book Review
As posted on SFF Book Reviews
I devoured the first Flavia de Luce mystery while on holiday. I thought it would be perfect for a lazy afternoon at the beach and some light reading. While it wasn't a perfect book, I found myself missing that charming young protagonist with a passion for poisons and a knack for mystery-solving. It is not so much the plot of these stories as the voice in which it is told that captivated me and that I can't seem to get enough of.When a traveling puppet show sets up on the village green in Bishop's Lacey, death stalks the little stage. Flavia goes behind the scenes to learn the craft (so to speak) in order to catch an ingenious killer. Flavia thinks that her days of crime-solving in the bucolic English hamlet of Bishop's Lacy are over—and then Rupert Porson has an unfortunate rendezvous with electricity. The beloved puppeteer has had his own strings sizzled, but who'd do such a thing and why? For Flavia, the questions are intriguing enough to make her put aside her chemistry experiments and schemes of vengeance against her insufferable big sisters. Astride Gladys, her trusty bicycle, Flavia sets out from the de Luces' crumbling family mansion in search of Bishop's Lacey's deadliest secrets.
Our clever little sleuth of a heroine is back. And it doesn't take too long for somebody else to drop dead in her surroundings. There is puppetry, there are murdered children, there are (of course) poisons, and yes, the titular weed is the one you're thinking of. While I enjoyed the theme of this volume more than the first novel, it is not the plot that drew me in – and I suspect, this will continue as the series goes on. Flavia is solving the case of a puppeteer dropping dead during a show with a whole range of suspects, not a lot of motive, and the past catching up with the present...
Alan Bradley has given Flavia de Luce the most charming voice I could imagine. Much like the Alexia Tarabotti novels, this series lives from its wit and its remarkably clever heroine as much as from what is simply good writing. Flavia, as much as I liked her already, has grown ever so much more dear to me. Who wouldn't want to be friends (or a mother to) that kind of eleven-year-old? Her passion for chemistry is still as powerful, even though it isn't vital to the plot. It does give her personality more depth though and teaches me quite a few little tidbits about the subject. Hurrah for educating your readers, Mr Bradley!
As Flavia leads us past that fateful puppet show, meets new characters and shows us more of Bishop's Lacey, we both read an entirely new and separate story – good for standalone-lovers – but we also get a glimpse of novelty. Flavia's home life, her family and the nearby village all grow a little in depth. Which is exactly what I was hoping for, as we didn't see a whole lot of it in the first book. If the series continues in the same vein, with standalone crime stories and an overarching continuation of Flavia's life in general, I will go so far as to call myself a fan.
My suspicions as to who the murderer(s) was showed once more that I'm not well-read when it comes to the crime genre. Who is really pulling the strings in this game of memory and secrets came as a surprise to me, even though I had all the necessary clues. More experienced readers of the genre may not be fooled as easily but personally, I enjoyed this little adventure very, very much.
THE GOOD: A charming heroine with a quick mind and great storytelling abilities.
THE BAD: There is still room for improvement. I would like (even) more family life, more de Luce craziness and more quaint villagers.
THE VERDICT: Another light and fun mystery story with an endearing leading lady and a clever murderer.
RATING: 7/10 Very good.
My full review can be found at SFF Book Review.
It's been two years since the events of Furies of Calderon and Tavi is now training to be a Cursor and stuying at the Academy. He makes some new friends but he is also being bullied because he still doesn't have a trace of furycrafting. But when the realm faces several new threats, Tavi's everyday life becomes secondary to doing what he can to save Alera from a civil war - or utter destruction.
What Jim Butcher does very well - and continues to do well - are action scenes. Personally, I prefer the “smaller” fight scenes to his big, sweeping military action but they are all told in a thrilling way that will keep you at the edge of your seat.
What was missing in the first book becomes a little clearer here. We learn more about the Marat - a fascinating culture, if you as me - and a few new species. The vord are simply terrifying and whenever our heroes face them, I found myself chewing my fingernails (shame on me).
If you liked the first book, you will like this one as well. I'm still curious about how exactly furycrafting works, what rules there are to it, as well as the politicial situation in Alera. We only get glimpses of that so far but I have high hopes for the third novel in the series to answer my questions.
Recommended.
Another nice Dark Horse comic book. Full review at: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/steve-niles-and-greg-ruth-freaks-of-the-heartland/
1.5 Stars
It's a shame that this book started so well but only went downhill from there. Consistantly and strongly downhill...
If this weren't s review copy, I would have DNFd this book before the 50% mark. It's been a few weeks since I read this now and it was so utterly forgettable that I've changed my previous (very generous) 2 star rating to just one star. You can add half a star in your mind for the stunning cover.
Full review on my blog.
4.5 stars
This started out as a bit of a wobbly read for me, but once I knew what tale I was in, I could really fall into it and enjoy it. There's so much cool stuff to discover, not least the connection to Slatter's brilliant (!) mosaic novels/short story collections. Which reminds me, I've been wanting to re-read those...
An unexpected gem. I felt for Charlie as he grew more and more intelligent and acquired more and more knowledge but remained an emotional teenager. I think this book should be read by everyone, simply because you can't help but make up your own mind about a topic that usually everyone agrees on: Knowledge is power.
For a full review click here: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/daniel-keyes-flowers-for-algernon/