Dina
This started out as 4 star book but ended up with only 3 stars. Maybe 3.5 if I still think about it in a month.
Here is my review.
I'm one of the few people who weren't drawn in by the cover. But some dear internet friends kept pushing the book until I gave in.
This was a wonderful story with so many layers. I loved every aspect of it, the characters, the world-building, the plot. McIntosh has some damn insight into the human mind and how we work (or don't work) when we're in love.
Can't wait to read his other books.
Very underwhelming. I think I'll just have to accept the love/hate relationship I have with this book.
I wrote a full review here. Maybe I've just read too much Neil to properly enjoy this...
For a detailed review, go visit SFF Book Review.
I saw the movie before reading the book and I'm probably the only person alive that does not love the movie to pieces.
But the book stole my heart. It delivers everything the overwhelming blurb promises. Love, adventure, intrigue, torture, riddles, hilarious annotations. I can't recommend it warmy enough and it's an especially fun summer read. Goldman really brings the story to life with his composition and the frame story (which is completely different from the movie). This book is on NPR's Top 100 best science fiction and fantasy books list for a reason.
I was surprised at how Spiegelman managed to give a new layer to a time in history that has countless books written about it and movies made and that many people think they know everything about. Vladek Spiegelman was a surprisingly unlikable narrator and the characters, be they Jewish mice, Nazi cats, Polish pigs or American dogs were frighteningly human.
Full review here: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/art-spiegelman-the-complete-maus/
My full review can be found at SFF Book Review.
I had a lot of trouble finding into this book. My suspicion is that it is much more accessible for people with any knowledge of ancient Chinese mythology. Since my knowledge was limited to a movie adaptation of “Journey to the West” I am sure I missed at least half the tongue-in-cheek references to other tales and legends.
But even without knowing anything about Chinese mythology, this can be enjoyed purely for the fun. Master Li, a wise man with a slight flaw in his character, and Number Ten Ox, travel around China, meet a delightful group of people, solve mysteries, break curses, and get almost killed more than once. Despite the slimness of this novel, there were edge-of-your-seat momentso f action, little moments of depth and many, many quotable bits.
Once I knew what kind of story I had stumbled into, I could thorougly enjoy it. I laughed, I was shocked, and I tried guessing along with Master Li. A highly recommended, wonderfully fresh fantasy novel (despite its publication in 1985) that should be enjoyed by any fantasy fan who likes fun.
8/10 - Excellent
Full review at SFF Book Review
I liked Flora Segunda but I loved Flora's Dare.
Our heroine has grown a full year and with her, so it seems, have her problems. Flora still wants to become a ranger but she's dealing with more urgent issues. The city of Califa is in danger of being turned into a heap of rubble, Udo is going bat-shit crazy, Flora's sister Idden got herself into a great deal of trouble, and Flora's now sober dad makes life in general a living hell. What is one girl supposed to do? Well, Flora follows Nini Mo's advice and somehow makes it through.
If you liked the first Flora adventure, you will love this one. Everything that wasn't quite perfect about Flora Segunda has become a lot better in Flora's Dare. And I have very high hopes for the third part, Flora's Fury.
While I loved the novella by itself, I think that the medium really did something a little extra for the story. George R.R. Martin is one of my favorite writers, not just for his Song of Ice and Fire but because he has a way of using words and making me care, making me feel emotional about the characters. Dunk and Egg are equally as likable and touching as many of his other characters. But I also love the simple tale of a tall boy wanting to become a knight - simply because he is living and breathing all the values knights should have...
A lovely story, a wonderful adventure into Westeros 100 years before A Game of Thrones, and one of my favorite graphic novels ever. For a full review (with some pictures), head over to the SFF Book Review
A cute little story that left me a bit underwhelmed.
Told in the form of Jade's diary, what I missed the most in this story was a sense of place and time. The language is really rather pretty but if the blurb and the titles of each diary entry hadn't said so, I would have had no idea that this was set in the 1920s.
What I did like was Jade's view of the world and relationships. She is a practical woman who doesn't fuss around with romance much. Telling you more would be spoiling, so I'll keep it at that.
I enjoyed this well enough, I liked Jade and the way she told her story. In the end, things fell into place a bit too neatly and there wasn't enough build-up for the romance, at least for my taste (then again, I either go for the doorstopper-kind of romance stories or for bickering couples, so I'm hard to please).
A bit more drama or action or just problems for our heroine to overcome would have made this more interesting. But there is no doubt that Zen Cho can write, and I'll be glad to try something else she's written.
A small, impressive book that shows us a world which could be a utopia. Like Jonas, the protagonist, we learn at what cost this society has been created. Lois Lowry teaches the importance of free choice, of memories, and of being allowed to have feelings - all without preaching. I personally wasn't a huge fan of the ending but I think this book is a good choice for all those who are currently suffering from the YA dystopia craze.
Readers are not treated as morons, the language is concise and the story written so well that people of all ages can enjoy it.
For a full review go to SFF Book Review
I was teary-eyed during the entirety of this read. Cannot make words to write review yet. Must compose self. But my gods, this was beautiful!
This review can also be found at SFF Book Review
Being my first Ishiguro novel, I knew nothing going into this. People had warned me of its slow pace, its quite prose, but I honestly didn't expect a book barely 300 pages thick to take me this long to read. Still, I can't say I didn't enjoy it. I might even be tempted to pick up other books by this author.
In 1956, Stevens, a long-serving butler at Darlington Hall, decides to take a motoring trip through the West Country. The six-day excursion becomes a journey into the past of Stevens and England, a past that takes in fascism, two world wars and an unrealised love between the butler and his housekeeper. Ishiguro's dazzling novel is a sad and humorous love story, a meditation on the condition of modern man, and an elegy for England at a time of acute change.
Fans of a good period drama will surely love this. If you're at all interested in the downstairs part of Downton Abbey, this is a book that, in exquisite prose, gives you an insight into a servant's life that you simply can't get from TV. This is a very slow-paced, quite book, that comes alive not through action or even “things happening” but has a flow to it that I find hard to describe. I had a hard time getting into the story at first but once I relaxed into the style, it was a revel from then onwards.
Stevens is a fascinating protagonist. Every aspect of his private life is secondary to his being a great butler. His own family, the chance for love, his health, and his opinions – nothing matters if they obstruct, in any way, his master's comfort. He goes into some detail describing what makes a butler great and it is in his memories and musings that we see not only how deep his devotion is but we find out why he chose to live a life of truly passionate service. Stevens believes that, in being a great butler and providing an important gentlemen with as many comforts as he can, he helps a little bit in shaping the course of the world. Realising how small the part he plays is only makes him prouder to be part of it at all.
There are a few side characters here, and they all feel very fleshed-out and real. But the focus lies clearly on Stevens – and I wouldn't have had it any other way. While reading, my inner psychoanalyst was rejoicing at such an interesting subject. Reading about and understanding Stevens' subtlety was a pleasure that I didn't expect. His peculiar relationship with the housekeeper, Miss Kenton, is described in even quieter tones but gives more room for thought.
“Perhaps it is indeed time I begin to look at this whole matter of bantering more enthusiastically. After all, when one thinks about it, it is not such a fooish thing to indulge in – particularly if it is the case that in bantering lies the key to human warmth.”
In short, this is the story of a man who has devoted his life to his vocation and, looking back at it, ponders about the remains of the day – and whether it was all worth it.
THE GOOD: Beautiful language, an insight into an old school butler's life, and one of the most intriguing protagonists I've ever read about.
THE BAD: Takes a long time to get going and stays very subdued. Nothing for impatient readers or fans of lots of action.
THE VERDICT: A touching and magnificently written work of literature that will stay with me for quite some time.
RATING: 8,5/10 Quite excellent
If someone had told me to expect a middle-grade novel I would have started enjoying this sooner. Very simplistic, yet charming in a way.
Very disappointing.
Weird plot jumps, another change in artist (although I do like the art and coloring, it's really annoying to have the characters look different with every collection), and none of the humor and charm from the first volume.
The story itself felt as contrived and forced as it was boring. If the next collection is this bad, that's it for me and the Rat Queens. I'll always have Sass & Sorcery, I guess...
Full review at sff book review
This was surprisingly terrifying.
The vampires didn't scare me as much as Robert Neville's utter loneliness did. Being the last man in the world who's not infected by the vampire virus? The idea chilled me to the bone. As short as the story was, I was stuck in that world for the duration of it. Highly recommended!