Aaron
I know that Ender's Game is supposed to be one of the pinnacle science fiction titles out there, but I wasn't drawn into this book like others. Perhaps it was build up too much by friends. I found a lot of the story to be drab and I lost interest during all scenes except during the battles. While this book features mostly children, I could not envision them as kids. They spoke and acted much older than kids who were 6 and 7. It did pick up in the final chapters, but I don't think I'll be continuing this series.
The Clockwork Giant is an interesting tale of a steam punk Victorian city consumed by engineering, divided classes, and a girl trying to navigate it all. Petra is an interesting character with a mysterious background that draws you in pretty quick. Brooke Johnson's visuals and world building are fantastic and I could easily picture the city as a real place.
While I found the plot a little thin for a novel-length work, I do keep in mind that this book is aimed at younger readers and that's where it's ideal audience can be found. Each character felt real and they were interesting enough to care about. I would've liked to see more of the mysterious guild or an exploration of the engineers, but this is a love story more than a technical story.
The Clockwork Giant may not be for everyone, but it's an original idea with good characters and a lot of promise. I can see younger readers loving this, while it's entertaining enough for adults.
Disappointed in this story. Yes it's a Doctor Who book, but it didn't care about any of the characters and the story was a bit drab.
I felt this book was up and down. It had some real strong parts to it with a few of the short stories, but then others were boring. I also was not a fan of the open-ended way this book ended. Perhaps there's resolution in the other books in this series, but I felt Dan Simmons didn't give us the payoff he built up.
In the end, I would've given Hyperion 4-stars, but a few lows take one away. Overall this was a good book and I may read book two in the future.
I figured I'd give the Jack Reacher series a try with Killing Floor and I'm glad I got to see Lee Child's work. The book isn't anything amazing by far but it's a well-built story that works.
There are times where the story seemed sluggish and areas where improbable things happened too much but Child ran to the other end of the spectrum with page-turning scenes that made the book very enjoyable.
Most of the ‘gotcha' parts of the plot are easily seen ahead of time but Child doesn't pull any funny-business and keeps it simple. There's no twist out of nowhere that caused me to put the book down.
My main issue with Child's writing is his lack of full sentences. At least 30% of the book has fragmented sentences that are too casual and distracting from the flow. I also felt there was very little given into the history of Jack Reacher.
Overall, the book is a good read if you're looking for something slightly serious and if you're willing to slosh through the slower portions. Overall, not too bad.
Slow, drawn out, and overall it's boring. Aside from a few good scenes, this book has no business existing. I've never been so happier to have finished a book just so I can be done with it.
The Eight is an alternate-history book with a puzzle as the main focus, just like Da Vinci Code or other books of the genre. While there are portions of the story that flourish and keep you turning the page, there are twice as many parts that made me groan or just not care.
Katherine Neville LOVES to name-drop famous historical people. It got to a point where I actually yelled ‘oh come on!' when Napoleon was introduced. This was not the first nor the last of famous people in history that the characters encounter. It took away from the story.
Unfortunately this book also falls into the same trap as all the other puzzle-based books: the end sucks. There is a ton of build-up and no payoff. The Eight is no different and collapses under the weight of its own legend. I give Neville credit for keeping me engaged in the book enough to finish it but I highly doubt I'll pick up the sequel The Fire.
Slow at first but gains steam in the second half. I didn’t like the MC Lo and felt her to just be a not nice person. Her attitude about how she treats people just never changes even when her circumstances do. The plot was enough to keep me wanting to know more and that’s what got me through. A fast, summer read that was overall not too bad.
Super Mario is a fast-paced history lesson on the world of Nintendo and how they entered the video game market at a time when it was company-suicide. The origins of the famed plumber begin with a failed game that needed a quick conversion to a radical new game: Donkey Kong. Mario was born and the rest is history.
Ryan does a good job taking us through the different Mario games and video game eras of the 80's and 90's while keeping the content light and interesting. While I would've wanted more about how Nintendo dealt with becoming a behemoth with the NES, the focus never strays far from Mario himself. A solid book for anyone who even has a passing-interest in video games.
I know that Ender's Game is supposed to be one of the pinnacle science fiction titles out there, but I wasn't drawn into this book like others. Perhaps it was build up too much by friends. I found a lot of the story to be drab and I lost interest during all scenes except during the battles. While this book features mostly children, I could not envision them as kids. They spoke and acted much older than kids who were 6 and 7. It did pick up in the final chapters, but I don't think I'll be continuing this series.
The Clockwork Giant is an interesting tale of a steam punk Victorian city consumed by engineering, divided classes, and a girl trying to navigate it all. Petra is an interesting character with a mysterious background that draws you in pretty quick. Brooke Johnson's visuals and world building are fantastic and I could easily picture the city as a real place.
While I found the plot a little thin for a novel-length work, I do keep in mind that this book is aimed at younger readers and that's where it's ideal audience can be found. Each character felt real and they were interesting enough to care about. I would've liked to see more of the mysterious guild or an exploration of the engineers, but this is a love story more than a technical story.
The Clockwork Giant may not be for everyone, but it's an original idea with good characters and a lot of promise. I can see younger readers loving this, while it's entertaining enough for adults.
Unfunny, boring, and just downright weird. If Warren Ellis was looking for a comedy angle with oddball humor, he greatly missed the mark. I only finished it because it was only 5-hours on audio.
This was a solid follow-up to Off To Be The Wizard. A fun semi-mystery read with most of the fun of the first book. I look forward to more installments from this clever universe.
I rarely give out five stars, but Stephen King has outdone everything I've read this year. 11/22/63 is a fantastic time travel novel that brings an entirely new dimension to the genre. It's an everyman tale where there's no scientists or impossible technology. Just a simple man trying to make a difference. I do think the end dragged on just a little, but 11/22/63 ended in a great place not to lower its rating. Overall, a fantastic book and one I may revisit in the future.
Tried six times to get into it and it never did it for me. A bit too much random rambling and not enough trying to hook me as a reader in the opening. Was time to move on.
Awful book. Three lines were funny out of the whole thing. The rest was a slog, impossible to read enjoyably when text of emojis are constantly-mid sentence, and just awful. The fact that someone in the publishing world thought this thing was worthy of their time is a blight on society. If you read this book, that is 2-hours of your life you will never get back. Ever.
Enthralling from the opening scene all the way to the end. One of my top reads of 2014.
This was a fun read and really drew me in. Intentional or not, I loved the obvious nods to the 90's TV show Sliders. One of the best books I've read this year.
A few good scenes mixed with a plot that is unsatisfying and filled with intentionally-withheld information time and time again. It's a trick that gets old real quick.
The book could be almost 100 pages shorter but continues into unnecessary territory to tell more of a story than is needed, as if it had to be drawn out to pass some checkpoint.
A heartfelt final chapter ends in the most unsatisfying way.
This was a fun puzzle mystery but set in a modern age that was quite fun. I enjoyed Clay's voice as he narrated and the subtle tech jokes and slights that geeky people would get. It almost started to lose me in the second half but the pace kept me interested. Ultimately this was a fun read and quite enjoyable.
Had such high hopes for this and Gaiman really disappointed. Never clicked for me. The longer it went on, the less interested I became.
I felt this book was up and down. It had some real strong parts to it with a few of the short stories, but then others were boring. I also was not a fan of the open-ended way this book ended. Perhaps there's resolution in the other books in this series, but I felt Dan Simmons didn't give us the payoff he built up.
In the end, I would've given Hyperion 4-stars, but a few lows take one away. Overall this was a good book and I may read book two in the future.