Sandro

I must say, this one was far better written than the original books from the trilogy. That made the reading experience much more enjoyable.

On top of that, the characters in this story are also much less irritating/angsty teenagers which I find to be quite difficult to find in a Young Adult book (at least in the ones I've been reading). Well Done Mr. Dashner!

Now, let's talk about the elephant in the room – that “magical adrenaline rush” situation. Seriously, these characters go through the wringer – thrown around, shot at, sleep-deprived, virus-ridden, and beaten up every five minutes. And yet, they bounce back like it's nothing, tackling every problem that comes their way in some mind-bogglingly complex manner, defying all odds.

In short, it is a nice story that gives a somewhat needed background for the events in the main trilogy. For readers that already read the three main books, this one is not hard to recommend. If you're planning to start now with the series, do not start with this one. What is told in it is not earth shattering news, but it can definitely diminish some of the events of the following books.

This is a very well-written book, filled with explicative design patterns related to social interfaces and numerous known examples in the form of website images.

For experienced interface designers or even for some of the most observant web users, the patterns presented in this book may come across as obvious.

However, that's why they are called patterns—they are the most well-known common practices in the field compiled in one book.

I highly recommend this book. Even if people don't read it from start to finish, it still serves as a great reference book to have on your shelves, ready for you to consult a particular design pattern at any time.

By this time, I already consider myself a Neil Gaiman fan and proceeded to get most of his books.

Neverwhere was great. Becoming with Stardust, my favorite Gaiman books.

It is easy to find the Gaiman tropes in this book. Filled with amazing people (or should I say creatures?), great world description (the connection with real places in London is a bonus) and with the usual “pretty average guy, somewhat depressed who surpasses the initial expectations” as the main character.

I enjoyed the ending of the book (a rare thing to happen to me). The easy route was never bring him back to the real world to begin with. Having him back in his previous life and making him realize that what he fought so hard to come back to after all isn't worth it, just added to the credibility of the character. After all, no matter how amazing the adventure was, only a handful of people would be quick to completely dismiss an established and secure life (even if it was a boring one), for an exciting life, but full of dangers and living in the sewers.

Actually, a new thing for me is not enjoying the beginning of a book. It felt rushed, somewhat out of place and the character that lived in that first chapter, in the second chapter already didn't seem the same. For all I know, the story could have started already in London and the result would be the same, if not better.

Finishing thoughts: charming book, the story in itself has been told a thousand times, but it keeps working.

Windhaven is an amazing 35yrs old story/adventure waiting to be discovered.

Divided in 3 parts plus prologue and epilogue, the story advances at a steady pace. The third part being possibly the slower one and my least favorite.

Having to pick one, I would choose the second part as the one I liked most. This section is where all the action occurs and where the most interesting characters are introduced. Where you get the feel of the world and what it means to fly.

One possible criticism for this book may reside in the backstory of how the wings came to be and how it all began. There was so much potential there, but it was all explained in a paragraph or two.

I could not help to recommend this book. So go ahead, One-Wings and conquer your position as Flyers.

Side notes:

I really took the liking for flying. If the urge to fly again becomes too unbearable for me, a previously “stuck to earth”, I'm looking forward to reading Updraft and see what it looks like.

I don't know which author wrote each parts of the book. Yet, characters like “The Crow” assure us that G.R.R. Martin maybe was already tinkering with A Song of Ice and Fire at the time (Or maybe he just likes crows).

“First and foremost, my appreciation for Philip K. Dick's writing style remains unscathed after reading this book.

Upon finishing, I found myself yearning for something more. With such a strong premise, I had hoped for a different outcome. Admittedly, the book may have disappointed me due to my somewhat limited knowledge of the way society reconstructed after WWII and its general sentiments towards Germans and Japanese.

I couldn't shake the feeling that I might be missing some great metaphor or hidden meaning throughout the book. Regardless of admitting that the fault may lie with me, this book was a 2.5 for me.”

It's an entertaining book, despite my personal gripes with young adult stories, such as insta-love and occasional angst.

At times, the effects and the lengths the players go to just to stay in the game can be a bit exaggerated. I can't really imagine people doing such things in real life, but then again, stuff like GamerGate exists, so what do I know?

However, due to this ‘exaggeration,' the book sometimes seems like anti-gaming propaganda, even though the writer demonstrates knowledge in the area and appears to be a gamer herself.

The resolution of the mystery didn't blow my mind away, but it was properly wrapped up and explained well enough.

While reading it, the book had the ability to make me want to play Skyrim, Diablo, Fallout, Pillars of Eternity, and so on. This, in my opinion, shows that the way the writer narrated Sarius and the gang's in-game adventures was well-executed and resonated with my interest in games.

Hence, my final rating for this one is 4.0.

Your review is well-structured, but here are a few tweaks for clarity:

The Maze Runner story has a lazy and predictable ending: "Let everyone die, and only leave the ones who can't be infected by the disease in this world." By coincidence, this renders the entire story and everything that happened completely useless. Now that this is out of the way, let's talk about the other problems.Repetitiveness:The issue with repetitive expressions continues in this book. Thomas is such an angsty character... Also, how many explosions of energy or adrenaline can a human body have in such small periods of time, especially having been beaten up like these teenagers' bodies were?Memory Loss:So Thomas, for no logical reason at all, decides he doesn't want to have his memory back... Isn't it great that the writer has since released books that deal with Thomas's past?Teresa, where are thou?She went from a major character in the first book to a target of all the angst in the second, to a completely ignored character in this last book. Even her death was like what, one or two paragraphs? A little anti-climactic. Dying for saving Thomas, yeah, predictable.Seeing it the other way around, it was a good if unimaginative way of resolving the catfight between Teresa and Brenda?The return:The return to the labyrinth and revisiting its perils was an attempt to instill nostalgic feelings in the readers. This came to me as an ineffective way of trying to cater to long-time fans and squeezing the last drop of juice from an already dry fruit.Thomas, The Chosen One:After reading the three books, it catches me by surprise that Thomas is the chosen one. He ain't that smart, and he really isn't good at reading people's intentions. Something that came as odd to me was that he never fully forgave Teresa for her "betrayal" that saved him in the second book.Brenda, on the other hand, also lied to him, kept many secrets, had personality issues (from completely throwing herself into his arms after just knowing him, to being a doctor (?) for CRUEL, to finally being a relatively normal girl) and, for working hand-in-hand since the beginning with Paige.Even at the end of the book and after she almost spills the beans, he couldn't figure it out.For the record, I found the Brenda character much better than Teresa; I just think it's odd the loss of importance in the story and the different treatment. After all, Thomas has known Teresa for many years. With Brenda, it was a matter of weeks. Well, it must be the hormones changing his love interest all of a sudden and stuff...

Final Thoughts:

On a fundamental level, it's a fast-paced and quick read book and trilogy with some nice moments here and there. If you read it carefully and try to think a little more about what you've just read, the story really lays out its many flaws and a so-so writing style.

(The fitting rating would be 2.5)

Just to be sure... What is Gally's role in this last book? Another blast from the past, I'm guessing...

So this is the first short story I read from Philip K. Dick. Having watched the movie a long time ago and don't remember much of it, I came to this book with pretty much a clean slate regarding what to expect. From what I've already read from the author, this one is clearly the most accessible until now. To my knowledge, I would point it as a good entry point to the people out there interested in starting with Philip K. Dick's work.

Without spoiling the thing, it is fast-paced, the story doesn't drag, and I find the final explanation for the story quite logical and without any evident plot-holes.

The story could easily survive a longer format. Perhaps prolonging more the mystery about who framed the chief. And/Or investing a little more in all the character's background and on how the pre-cogs came to be.

Since it is so short, I can't find any reason for the sci-fi readers out there to don't read this book.

Like the book before, the story becomes more interesting in the second half/last chapters of the book.

There is some forced escalation of trust issues between certain characters (Thomas and Teresa) that never felt too serious. It was easy to predict how things would go in the end.

One thing that annoyed me was the repetition. There are too many sentences conveying feelings that were already expressed numerous times (I lost count of the times that Thomas said he felt guilty for Teresa about being with Brenda).

It is an alright book, probably better than the first, with more visual and visceral scenes that better depict the world, I think, the writer is trying to expose.

The former had the labyrinth enigma/puzzle as its main focus, while this one focuses more on the relationship between the characters and trust feelings.

Let's see how the third one goes and wraps it up.

Even if the author claims that the tips and tricks he shares in the book are really neat and that most people don't know them, I wouldn't really go that far. I was already familiar with 95% of the things he mentions in this book. Most, if not all of them, could be easily found on Apple-dedicated websites or in magazines. Nonetheless, it's nice to have some of them compiled in one place.

It's evident for the reader that Cline grew up surrounded by media and art that left a positive mark on him. Ready Player One is an homage to some of the great games, music, movies, and series made in the 70s/80s and a dream about a game that would allow us to be wherever we want and free us from the limited reality in which we live.

Cline raises some subtly interesting points in his dystopian world about the way we're currently ‘paving' our future and depicts the passionate ‘obsession' that us geeks have when we love and care about something.

I must say this book may not be for everyone. Some may feel the geeky references that drive the story forward a little bit too much.

However, if there's somewhere inside you a person that fondly remembers their child/adolescent years listening to music in their room, knowing all the secret ‘cheats' for a specific game, watching a favorite movie/series over and over again, Ready Player One may be a good book for you, and certainly, the time you take to read it will be time well spent.

So go ahead and read it. Even if it's just to pique your curiosity to listen to some band, see some movie/series, or play some retro game that, for some reason, you've never gotten into before.

A very nice book. The way it is written makes it easy to read and understand. The frequent relations between romantic seduction and interface/design seduction are often quite ingenious.

I particularly enjoyed the last chapter of the book, which gives a larger focus to questions surrounding the area of gamification. It is a really direct book most of the time, where the author shows that he knows what is really important and what questions he is trying to somewhat answer with his book.

Along with all the information present, I was also able to annotate some interesting future readings. Some of them are directly suggested as recommended reading, while others show up as means to justify the writer's arguments.

I recommend reading this book to people interested in the questions that make people ‘tick' through design choices.

Be aware that this isn't a book dedicated to design patterns or usability matters. They are omnipresent throughout the reading but aren't the main focus.

Picked as the book of the month from Sword&Laser book club. There's not really much to say about this book. It was a quick read, fast-paced, and overall fun.

It's old-school Sci-fi, with a man with a destiny bigger than him, a damsel somewhat in distress/that wants to be saved (even if she doesn't know that), and a villain(?) that everyone is happy to hate and fear.

Like it was stated in the podcast for the book club, it is a great book to read on an afternoon at the beach.

Didn't enjoy this one so much as the first. Taking more than 6 months to finish it is a clear sign of that.

While the first book was religious but tolerable, the second one focus much more on this side of things, rendering all the other themes to the background (even the interesting political situation of Rakhat).

The other issue are the characters, so many on that ship, and you really can't tell them apart. Maybe the issue is that they aren't at all likeable... Hell, I don't even remember their names anymore. There was John, Carlo, the giant guy with a heart of gold, the one with indigenous background...

I won't drag. This one really didn't fit with me. The only part that was enjoyable was before Emilio went against his will to Rakhat again. That was where? At 20% of the book maybe?

Conclusion: Too much religion, too many characters (both human and alien), passable ending.

Just a heads up: The book differs significantly from the TV show. So, do yourself a favor; don't start reading this book expecting it to mirror the TV show, and then come here and give it a bad rating because it deviated from your expectations.

Sometimes the book gets a little too technical. However, I see this as a quality since it provides two things:

- Pushes the book more into the Hard Sci-Fi genre;
- I got to learn some pretty interesting things about physics (explained in an accessible way) while reading a literary book;

Bearing this in mind, my biggest problem with this book was its third part Two scenes dragged a little bit too much: The description of Simcoe's vision for the second FlashForward and Theo's pursuit inside CERN. Also, I kind of wished that it would be impossible to have a second FlashForward. Nonetheless, I've appreciated that the writer didn't use the same formula as before. Making some humans immortal and taking them almost to the end of time was another way to add even more philosophical questions to the book, focusing once more on how relative time is for the human race. Recalling two characters from the past that didn't seem all that important at the time was also a nice gesture.

All in all, I do recommend this book. Certainly, it is not for everyone, and people with no interest in science whatsoever may not see the its appeal.

Really liked this book. Well thought out, well explained and with lots of summarised information.

Based on the books i've read until now about the relation between the areas of perception/psychology and design, this one is clearly a winner.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a strange book indeed, but in a good way. The humor and strangeness of it were addictive. I always find it quite interesting that sci-fi books written somewhat in the middle of the XX century have some kind of greater meaning that allows it to fit almost perfectly in present days.

The writing style was very interesting and direct. The characters are unusual, but it is easy to feel empathy towards them (reader's private joke).

Well, I can't really give a greater review or say anything that hasn't already been said about this book.

I've become a fan of Philip K. Dick. Minority Report, Man in the High Castle, here I come.

First off, some of the reviews about this book clearly show some prejudice against it.

- Some address that the writer didn't need to talk about other adventurers besides McCandless. The book is called “Into the Wild” not “McCandless Adventures”. Narrating other histories allows the reader to broaden their horizons about every kind of people that exist, and perhaps to better understand McCandless reasoning. The other reports show that McCandless wasn't alone nor was the first one to want to experience nature in such raw manner and using contradicting thoughts/arguments as his motivation.

- Also, just because the main character has his own ways of doing things, (be they right or wrong), doesn't mean he is a bad character or that his story doesn't deserve to be shared. This is based on real people and events. I don't go read Mein Kampf and expect to really like and identify with Adolf Hitler.

But enough about the ranting. I actually think the movie portrayed Alex in a fairer light than the book. In the movie, what we get is a young man that is against a materialistic and hypocrite society. In the book we have that, but we also have a person that blindly follows life mottos that he takes from the words of deceased writers that at their core were hypocrites since not even themselves were able to practice the spartan and idealist words they preached.

What I take from Alex is the following:

So he hurt his parents, who've always given him everything for something he believed in. He was also an egotistical person and someone who just could not forgive his father. However, taking into account his ingenuity, stubbornness and strange character, McCandless was able to touch many people everywhere he passed. This is more than the majority of us we'll be able to do.

The better thing to do is just let people live their life and let them believe in what they want. If they go around and help others, are educated and make others happy, so be it. He hurt his parents because he died. Somewhere along the line, we'll also hurt someone when we die.

From the book:

When life presents you with an obstacle that doesn't allow you to cross to the other side of the margin, don't give up. Don't turn around and hope the obstacle disappears. Just try to find another way around.

Into the Wild is an interesting read. The book is somewhat short, so people should be able to read it in one sitting. Many people will not identify with the character and will be infuriated by his arguments/motivations, some will like him and will want to go in a similar adventure but knowing that they'll have to consider better preparation and equipment.

Just for this lesson, and even if only as a cautionary tale, the book is worth reading.

While acknowledging that certain aspects of this book may not have aged well (as anticipated), it begins on a strong and engaging note. However, as the narrative progresses into later chapters, there seems to be an excessive focus on irony through enumeration and small experiences, which, in my opinion, lacks significant utility.

Moreover, during the time of writing, the incorporation of pragmatism and the use of nature's forms as a reference in the design world were not groundbreaking concepts. Nevertheless, these perspectives remain compelling to read and can serve as a positive influence on the minds of young designers.

I didn't know this book beforehand. I went for it because it was selected as the read of the Month for January by the Sword&Laser Bookclub. Finished a bit too late but voila, better late than never.

Science-Fiction, religious questioning, aliens, likable characters (Anne and Sophia), good use of past/present chapters.

I would like to see more focus on the time that has passed on earth in the almost 50 years between travels (time-relativity). However, the author did an intelligent workaround when John asked Sandoz if he didn't care at all about all the things that had changed when he was away, and he answered that after what he had seen and passed, nothing could surprise him anymore.

The religious theme dominates the book, but I don't find it really intrusive or that it is trying to convert the reader to a religion. Nonetheless, if potential readers have very strong feelings about their religious beliefs, this book may not be suitable for them.

Now I will just have to pick up the second and final book to know, in the end, where Sandoz will stand about his doubts about God.

Here's a link related to what starts it all in the book: http://www.space.com/26000-alien-life-prediction-congress-hearing.html”

Sandkings is my first ever book by [a:George R.R. Martin 346732 George R.R. Martin https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1351944410p2/346732.jpg]. Not a Song of Ice and Fire book, not a Wild Cards book, not even something like [b:Windhaven 67957 Windhaven George R.R. Martin https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388467654s/67957.jpg 2960816].Bearing this in mind, I can't compare the writing style when he wrote Sandkings with the one used on more recent books. What I can say is that I see a lot of ideas and details employed in this short story that no doubt can be easily identified as a “George idea”.For once, there's lots of gratuitous violence, a despicable character and yes, deaths, lots of them (i'm not even counting the poor Sandking's losses).I enjoy the writing style. Even though the world and characters are well described, the sentences are well defined, short and direct.While reading the first pages I couldn't shake the feeling that I was reading a book from someone that only then was writing it's first story and thus too focused in playing by the rules of what should be a good writing. The thing is, it works.The writing being so simple and structured, the story becomes the main focus offering a pleasant and effortless reading.This is a short book, so, as always when I write a review for one. I have no second thoughts when I recommend people to read it. Being short and addictive, there isn't a reason to not do so. (Plus the ending is really satisfying, even if it was predictable.)My first foray into [a:George R.R. Martin 346732 George R.R. Martin https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1351944410p2/346732.jpg]'s imagination was great. Left me curious about his other books. Maybe [b:Windhaven 67957 Windhaven George R.R. Martin https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388467654s/67957.jpg 2960816] will be the next.

Well written and with some good insights about the planning and process from start to finish of an UX Project.

It's easy to understand why it is one of the most recommended books in the area.

“I'm a little disappointed with this book because I've read another book by the same author, titled ‘100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about People' (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10778139-100-things-every-designer-needs-to-know-about-people). The latter was written in 2011, while this one was in 2009.

I started this one because the author refers to it several times in the other book, so I thought this one was better and more expansive in information. I was wrong.

This may seem unfair, but now that I've read both, it seems that the one from 2011 is just a better version of this one since there is a lot of repeated text. It's like a second edition but with another name.

- So, if you've already read ‘100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about People,' don't waste time reading this one.
- If you are in doubt about which one to buy, don't buy this one.
- If you've read this one but haven't read ‘100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know about People,' go ahead and read it because it's better, but be prepared to skip pages of repeated text. Only buy it if you find it at a discounted price.”

It's rare for me to give a full rating to anything, but I really loved this book. The whole metaphor is amazing. What is also amazing is that a book with 69 years still feels so current, so contemporary.

All the way through the book, with every action of the animals, I was left thinking about their counterpart in actual society and was often left with a sad smile when it was evident that our society behaves the same way.

I thoroughly recommend this book.

Really enjoyed this first volume. The way robots are depicted makes the reader think of them more like humans and less like robots increasing the effect provoked by their deaths.

The artwork is greats (as it was to be expected) and the story so far is intriguing.