Meagon
Once again, the questions about the mysteries of this world continue to pile up. I haven't mentioned much in my previous reviews how much I enjoy the artwork of this series. Hajime Isayama is not only a super talented storyteller, but also a superb artist. You can read the movements and emotions of each character extremely well. Nothing has to really be said between certain characters and yet you can see the level of emotion they feel for each other in just their glances. Truly awesome to experience!
A lot of worry on how it was going to turn out. The surprises towards the end are frustrating, but that's what makes this series so fantastic. Every time you think there's going to be questions answered, five more mysteries pop up to make you go, “WHAT?!?! But WHY?!?!?” I love it!
It's sad how hard both sides fight for survival, and we the readers still don't even understand the WHY of it all. The female titan shows how scared she is and to what lengths her and her kind will go to capture Eren. Some GREAT action scenes in this volume!
One of the best books I have ever read, hands down! I've never re-read another book more. Max Brooks has an uncanny ability to make the zombie apocalypse seem like it's real history and truly scary. He understands that, much of the time, the true horror is the humans around us rather than the monsters themselves. The book takes you all across the globe, with stories told from different perspectives of characters from all walks of life. A blind monk, a young girl who barely could understand what was happening, military men/women, a bodyguard to the rich and famous, a shut-in, K-9 units, the list goes on. The cultural differences that are touched upon are SO sensitive and in-depth, you truly feel like you're reading an actual historical account of something the human race has been through. It's nothing like the over-the-top Brad Pitt focused movie of the same name. I will DEFINITELY be reading it again sometime soon!
Every time I think I couldn't love this series more, Robert Jordan proves me wrong. I really am blown away by the man's talent to transport me so completely into not only another world, but different people's perspectives. I am surprised at how much I care for SO MANY of these characters now, and not just the ‘core group'. Even side characters play larger roles than you might first suspect. It's glorious storytelling.
Loved it! The pace of the last half dozen chapters almost gave me whiplash. The characters are definitely explored more in depth throughout this book, minus maybe Rand, who's more like a supporting character. Egwene, Elayne, and Nynaeve all definitely come more into their own, learning new things about their powers with every obstacle they tackle. Perrin and Mat are shown to quickly be turning from boys to men; though both do have quite a bit more maturing to do. I feel really that Mat shines in this book. It's nice to finally have him doing something other than being coke-addict level paranoid or knocking on death's door.
This series just keeps getting better and better!
I don't know what else I can say in a review without giving away spoilers, or that I haven't already said in previous reviews. If you've made it this far into this huge series, a review from some random stranger isn't going to change your mind about whether to continue or not.
I will say, bordering on a spoiler, that the last chapter is crazy intense...and I don't think I hate Cadsuane nearly as much as I once did. ;-P
Not bad...not great... There were plenty of funny moments, and I enjoyed the adventure, but I didn't feel like I really cared about most of the characters. Although that most likely was the point. It was kind of like reading Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy if Sam Raimi wrote it... With Bruce Campbell in the starring role and all. I enjoyed it enough to read the second one, for sure.
I had to read this book in sixth grade. We were only supposed to read so many chapters and not read ahead so that we could answer test questions and have discussions with the rest of the class.... I sped through this book faster than any other assigned reading in my life.
I was in the backseat of my family's van on our way to visit family in another state. It was a three hour drive and I'd really been plugging away at the novel. I got to the end, and I just started bawling. My parents were kind of freaked. They were just along for a nice long drive, listening to music, my mom pointing out deer now and then; when all of a sudden their daughter starts sobbing uncontrollably behind them.
This story has stayed with me for SO long. The amount of love and hard work the boy puts into his two hound dogs, and it ends up with them BOTH dying?!? I was heartbroken. But it taught me such a valuable lesson. Things/people that we love come into our lives...and then they leave. We only have one chance to love them as fiercely as we possibly can.
Story was all over the place and boring. Only got maybe a quarter of the way through and refused to read any further. Took it to a used book store asap.
You think you know a bit of history, that it's been repeated and rehashed so many times there can't possibly be a way to do it again without being boring.
Then you read this book.
It says it's a novel, but the depth of research that clearly went into it could have supported a non-fiction work just as easily. It's not an alternate history, it stays true to the story, sometimes pointing out glaring facts I was absolutely not privy to until reading this.
Five stars! Loved it.
Not nearly as great as his follow up, “World War Z” one of my favorite books ever, but definitely worth a read if you're a zombie nerd like me. It's like sitting around with fellow horror nerds and hashing out every little detail of how to deal with the undead. With as much work as Brooks put into researching the “what if's?” of zombie lore, there's really no excuse anymore for Hollywood to not get a bit more imaginative and also less silly, about how their human protagonists handle the undead.
I'm looking at you, Walking Dead.
I'll admit, this was quite amusing to read while in quarantine... especially the part of the book where Brooks says: “How could those in power, especially in such a modern, enlightened age as ours, ignore the spread of a deadly disease until it reached plague proportions?”
How indeed, Mr. Brooks...how indeed...
I absolutely cannot fathom how this won any awards. It is a plodding, torturous retelling of a wonderful Folktale, and it made my husband question my sanity for continuing. We are told Rose is a born explorer, but we spend more than half of the story with her sitting and weaving on a loom and washing a man's shirt. Unless told, I would never have guessed she was supposed to be an adventurous spirit at all.
The POV switches between characters in an incoherent way that leads oneself to believe the author originally planned the story to be told in third person but someone told her YA readers prefer first person, or she needed a way to talk about how wonderful and amazing and perfect Rose is without our beloved heroine sounding full of herself. At no time can Rose seem like a real human being with character flaws. She's great at everything she puts her mind to, and everyone that meets her instantly likes her and wants to help her. Minus the Troll Queen, she comes up against exactly one other person unwilling to bow to her Mary-Sueness, and nothing comes of that short-lived rebellion other than she loses out on some money.
White Bear, the “love interest” for lack of a better term, is bland, uninteresting, and has no character traits other than apparently being a 150-year-old child stalker and an attractive blonde when not in bear form. Rose spends almost eleven months with him and by page 367; after he's already been returned to human form, swept away by the Troll Queen, and Rose has started traveling to who knows where to find him; she finally realizes she knows nothing about him.
She still continues on and manages to easily infiltrate the Troll Queen's Ice Palace as the perfect servant, because interesting conflict would be far too much trouble to put into this story, and even trolls think she's the best of the humans. With very little effort and once again by using her domestic skills rather than anything approaching “adventurous”, she breaks the spell on White Bear. The Troll Queen herself accidentally destroys her entire palace and the trolls when smiting Rose's little troll friend/accomplice.
At this point, still knowing nothing about White Bear, Rose has decided she is in love with him, but doesn't say anything until he leaves again to find himself. She tracks him down, again, and within the last 10 pages, she professes her love, he remembers his real name, they live happily ever after with four children, the end.
There is absolutely no reason for them to be in love. She knows literally nothing about him. She spent all her time talking AT him and he gave nothing of himself. He does turn into a human every night and sneak into her bed while it's too dark for her to see who's there. She does nothing about this, continuing to allow it, no questions asked, even makes a shirt for her creepy nightly visitor, until (conveniently) she's allowed a visit home. Her mom gives her a candle that won't go out from enchantments and she finally looks to see who the hell is there. Of course that's exactly the wrong thing to do and she and White Bear are swiftly punished. Her fault of course.
Moral of the story:
Never look to see who the unknown creeper sliding under your covers in the middle of the night really is.
Or
Knowing someone's hair color and that they can play the flute is grounds for unconditional love.
Read the folktale, watch Beauty and the Beast, ANYTHING is better than this.
I remember this story a bit from my childhood, but rereading it was quite entertaining. I'm surprised at how much happens in such a short story. It's truly a wonderful book to read to children in order to teach a few deep moral lessons and show examples of compassion and friendship.
Anne came into my life at a much needed time. The same day I purchased the book, I was let go from my job of nine years. As devastating as it was to be terminated and be thrown into the uncertain world of unemployment, my life didn't seem nearly as bad as what poor Anne had been through. Her optimism and deep inner strength helped me find my own and she was a much needed companion in one of the bleakest times of my life. The story is magnificently written, and the old ways of speech were a delight to stretch my mind around. In a world full of lol's and ikr's; it was a breath of fresh air to read full, descriptive sentences. I will be tracking down the rest of this series for sure!
I think... if I were more clever and better at espionage, I would have enjoyed it much more. The writing was wonderful to devour, le Carre was a magnificent talent.
A “careful what you wish for” horror story that mixed in Irish folklore and even Lamaism for a truly unique ride.
How powerful is the human mind? The heart? What are we willing to give up to have what we believe we want?
This book is a wonderful adventure story for every child, of any age. It will inspire the young, and give the old something to smile and shake their heads over with nostalgia.
Loved this classic! I never read the unedited version when I was younger. It was a Great Illustrated Classics version that watered down the whole story and, obviously, removed whole chunks deemed “inappropriate”. Honestly, my memory of this story is stronger because of Disney's Tom and Huck film more than anything. I've always loved the story about the two boys constantly trying to seek out fun and freedom. Huck is my spirit animal, for sure. Only I'd have to have a room to store books in...so I suppose I am much more materialistic than he is.
The pure innocence, in the face of some of the most dangerous moments, made for a wonderful tale. I'm reminded of the quirky adventures and misunderstandings that my friends and I got up to in my youth. Luckily none ever as dangerous as getting lost in one of the largest cave systems in existence with a dangerous robber.
I can't understand the banning of books. The xenophobic language and tendencies of some of the characters is definitely something that in today's society we don't smile upon, but that's the whole point. Censoring thought is one of the most dangerous and evil things we can decide to do. History will repeat itself if we are ever allowed to forget.
This disjointed mess of a story was not funny OR sexy as the advanced praise on the back cover would have you believe. The portrayal of men and relationships in general is dark and made bile rise in my throat most of the time. Jane is a stupid little girl trapped in a twenty-thirty something body with the lifestyle of a granny. How she lets literally everyone walk all over her for her entire life with absolutely no character arc is mind-boggling. The chapters don't connect, the timeline is out of wack and it goes from using “I” to “You” in between one of the chapters, then right back to “I” again for the rest of the book. I say chapters when really each one is more of a vignette. I've read vignette style fiction before and loved it, so it's not the style that threw me, but Bank's approach to it. The title/cover art catfished me; the only hunting and fishing addressed in the book is in the very last vignette and it's talking about fishing and hunting for someone in the dating world. A depressing read that I will happily take to the used bookstore to make room for a worthwhile book.
Three stars for now, but it really only gains that high of a rating because of its significance to literature and horror. Over time I'm sure my opinion of it will sink lower. Some other people have reviewed this book much more eloquently. I feel too brain numb from it to write a detailed review.
I never say this, but: Just watch the movie, friends.
Hated everything about the characters. Wonderful writing, but couldn't stand another selfish second.
One of those books I read over and over again! When we were assigned it in school, I read ahead because I couldn't stop myself. An amazing look at what makes us human and what truly makes us ‘civilized'. EVERYONE should read this, no matter what gender/culture. It makes one wonder what they would be like if they were thrown into a similar situation. You look into yourself, and sometimes it's terrifying what you see.
Heartbreaking. An emotional story of what it truly means to be a parent, sacrifice. The writing style was not my favorite, which is the only reason it doesn't get five stars. I'm seriously shocked I breezed through it so quickly. Certainly a book I couldn't manage to put down very often. The thought that stayed with me through most of it was, would they have been any better off if the mother was still alive? Their scramble for resources seems like it would only be worse if she were there, but at the same time, the emotional support she could have offered both of them, having a second responsible adult around to keep lookout, etc... those seem like perks. I don't understand the willingness of people to give up. I wonder if she was suffering from postpartum and if she were only able to get the help that she needed, if she would have stayed. It's hard to say. I'm against suicide, but in the end, I believe we are the masters of our own destiny, and only we can decide what is right for us as individuals. You have to decide if your actions make you the good guy or not.