Dina
4.5 stars
This is the best thing Okorafor has written since Who Fears Death. I utterly, utterly adored this!
Absolutely LOVED this! Can't wait for the sequels and anything else Katherine Arden decides to write.
Terrible! Simply terrible. Full review at: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/aimee-carter-the-goddess-test/
As usual, a full review can be found at SFF Book Review.
You will easily understand that it was the cover that first got me interested in this book. I mean, look at it. The gorgeous cover art by Todd Lockwood doesn't stop there, though. We are treated to illustrations by him throughout the book that made the reading experience even better.
But let's be good book reviewers here and talk about the actual writing. I loved Marie Brennan's style. Lady Trent, now old, writes down her memoirs and relates how she became the famous dragon scientist she is today. We first get to know here when, in an attempt to find out why all birds have a wishbone, she takes apart a dead pigeon she found with a pocket knife. Who could not like a seven-year-old girl like that instantly?
As she grows up, we follow her through society and its implications (finding a husband, mostly) and then on a journey to the Vystrani mountains to research dragons. What she disocvers there has more to do with the humans populating the region and less with dragons. This was also the one little point that bothered me. I adore reading about scientists, their method to learn how the world works, the crazy expeditions to dangerous places and all of that. In this charming and whimsical tale, we get very little of that. It didn't ruin the book for me but if we spend so much time talking about people and their relationships as well as politics between certain countries, I could have used more world building to illustrate these relations.
I recommend this book to people who like reading about (pseudo-)Victorian times and dragons, of course.
Rating: 7/10
Still my favorite book of the year. I wonder if something will come along and sweep me off my feet the way Uprooted did. So far, its number 1 spot on my 2015 list is pretty secure.
My full review can be found behind this link
The story itself was strangely told, with many bits missing or at least appearing to be missing. There is no beginning, for starters, there are comparatively long scenes of Sarah wandering the corridors of the house, whereas the fighting scenes were cut out. It felt that scenes didn't flow into each other but were put together without trying to tell a coherent story.
So, story-wise the pacing was completely off and the thrill was taken out by the way-too-quick an unoriginal resolution.
But Abigail Larson's art is soooo stunning, I would have bought this even without a story. Her drawings of the things that go bump in the night are beautiful, her rendition of the well-dressed man just perfect. And I loved Thomas to bits.
So I'd give the story 2 stars (barely) and the art a clear 5 stars. I may leaf through this again on Halloween, if only to stare at the lovely pictures.
Not as good as Divergent, but still fun and with great character development. Full review here: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/veronica-roth-insurgent/
Charming, fun, great characters and evil fairies. What more do you want?
Here's my full review.
For a more detailed review, check out SFF Book Review
Partly, I understand the hype. Rothfuss has an incredible way with words and makes even boring passages fun to read. This is definitely a page turner.
However, I am not blinded by good writing. There is almost no plot once Kvothe actually reaches the University and it reads as if the author didn't know how to give the story a climax. Which is why a strange and simply stupid plot point is magicked up at the end, just so Kvothe can be a “hero”. His own stupidity brought him into the mess and none of it is in relation to the story arc (of which I'm sure there must be one, hiding somewhere). Don't stone me for saying this. I do love his writing and will pick up more of his books (once they come out), but I just think this could have used a lot of fleshing out and editing to make it the great book it is sold as.
Full review at SFF Book Revew.
This was a blast! I'm always a little worried about the middle part of trilogies but Patrick Ness pulled it off beautifully. If you liked The Knife of Never Letting Go, you will like this as well.
It starts out much more quitely than book one but once the new situation is introduced, Todd and Viola barely get a moment of peace.
I was most fascinated by the psychological games, the manipulation, and the amazing (although often scary) characters. Can't wait to finish the trilogy.
Woohoo! Now that's what I was hoping for when I started reading the Dark Tower series. Book one was a bit of a drag for me (though probably undesevedly) so I was happy to find that this is where it really starts being awesome.
Full review here: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/stephen-king-the-drawing-of-the-three/
3.5 stars
Felt very much like a middle book of a trilogy, but I enjoyed the character growth anyway. In fact, I don't know how Abercrombie does it but I'm perfectly happy following his characters as they walk around, even if I don't understand the big picture. He must be doing something right...
Review hiding under the link.
I didn't expect to like this.
The book has its problems (especially with female characters) but overall, I enjoyed the story. If an author manages to make me care about characters I really, really, really dislike, he did something right. And I can't wait to find out what happens in the next volume.
Full review at SFF Book Review.
I'm surprised that with a title like this (and following Cherie Priest's succes with her “Boneshaker”) this book doesn't get more attention. It is a wonderfully fun story about the little Missouri town of Arcane where Natalie is trying very hard to learn how to ride the Chesterlane bicycle her father built for her.
When a medicine show arrives in town, she starts noticing strange things - not just about the mysterious, red-haired Dr. Limberleg, but about the inhabitants of her very own home town. Soon she discovers that things are more than they seem and that only she can prevent a terrible, terrible thing from happening.
Kate Milford does a fantastic job of grabbing your interest and holding it until the very end. This book is so full of atmosphere and stories-within-stories, filled with magic and mystery, that I think is perfect for children and young adults. As an adult, I enjoyed myself immensely, despite being able to guess some of the twists and revelations. But with such great pacing and those beautiful illustrations, I believe this is one of the better children's books out there at the moment. Recommended!
7,5/10
4.5 stars
This was enjoyable and I have no idea how to describe why. What an amazing book by an amazing writer!
Full review, as always, over at the SFF Book Review.
This was fun. In fact, I couldn't say it better than Annalee Newitz did over at io9 - this is a Hollywood blockbuster in book format. It was just as much fun, there was action, there is quippy banter between space ship crew members, an ex-cop who is going a little insane (and who was my favorite character overall) and of course a big conspiracy to unravel.
If you don't mind reading 500 pages really fast, if you like space opera and... well, fun, then pick this up. It's a good read.
7/10
Chuck is awesome. Full review at http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/04/08/chuck-palahniuk-damned/
It took me long enough but this book is AMAZING. Stephen King made me cry like a baby and scared the living daylights out of me, all on the same page. The movie may be good, but this book is a journey all of its own. 1500 whopping pages of psychological drama, action, childhood memories and one of the scariest villains ever.
Full review at: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/stephen-king-it/