Sandro

3.5

What I liked:

- The simple language used to explain normally complex matters.

- The good humor, examples, and metaphors the writer employs to explain things; they really work.

Now the drawbacks:

- I find the information in the book to be a little too simplistic and common sense. Even for people with only an interest in the area of web usability, they may find that they already know, or at least have thought in a very similar way when they browse daily.

- I understand that this isn't a scientific book, and the author does refer to Nielsen a couple of times, but all in all, the knowledge in this book comes directly from the writer's mind, with very few scientific sources to confirm what is being said.

- Even though the second edition is from 2005, almost eight years have passed, and most of the webpage elements he focuses on in the book aren't really that commonly used anymore. Still, this isn't the author's fault. Books age, and so does the content they contain.

After creating a first impression that resembles a labyrinth Kurald Galain invoked by Anomander Rake, we can somehow transcend the aura of respect imposed by the book and by then, it becomes inevitable to get entangled in this world created by [a:Steven Erikson 31232 Steven Erikson https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1219169436p2/31232.jpg].I say this because in fact my entry process in this book was difficult, and that feeling lasted for at least the first 100 pages. I found myself reaching for the front and back covers and see if the new characters that were being presented were among the illustrated portraits that this edition has. From the beginning to the end of my reading, there were also many visits to the glossaries.This is essentially due to three situations:1. Although the narrative focuses only on some characters such as Paran, Lorn, Crokus, Baruk, Quick Ben or Kruppe, there are many different characters that the book recurrently refers to. Making it often difficult to understand what their role and importance are in the general plan of the events of this book and the nine other volumes of the saga.Other than the characters in the “earth realm”, we also need to add Gods and Ascendants, who in most situations have a proper name but also have a denomination within the House they represent. We have for example Cotillion which is also known and often called “The Rope” or “Lord of Assassins”.If we consider the various Houses and the hierarchy of the members that each one has, the more than 10 different Magic Labyrinths and the many races that exist in this World, the creativity of [a:Steven Erikson 31232 Steven Erikson https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1219169436p2/31232.jpg] is really praise-worthy, and I thank god for the good idea that someone had when they decided to include the glossaries I referred to above.2. With so much variety, sometimes we have sentences that in my point of view become confusing by consecutively using so many terms characteristic of this world.3. Throughout the book, we have characters coming out of the real plane and transitioning into dreams, magic labyrinths or alternative realities, and it is common for transitions between these various locations to not even have as their origin the real plan.Sometimes these changes are not perceptible with a first reading and require that you turn back to try to perceive when exactly the jump from one plane to the other happens.I should point out that these points should in no way be a genuine obstacle to reading this book. With a little patience to go back a few lines when necessary and with a marker for quick access to the glossaries, you easily overcome these “hurdles” and as soon as you can get “in the flow” of reading, the pages begin to fly by.— Going back to the characters and trying not to get too much into spoiler territory, some characters die. Others disappear and leave the doubt if they disappeared forever or only until a convenient time in upcoming books.This leads me to talk about how death is treated in this story, and this kind of treatment leaves me somewhat divided.On the one hand, even characters who are considered to be important to perish in an anti-climatic way and thus seeming to reduce their role and power just after being deified by the author's descriptions. On the other hand, this detachment for the characters manages to bring to the narrative a very practical and realistic vision. There are so many events to occur and with so many characters involved, that at the end of the day, no matter how powerful or important, your death becomes just one more among many and the world goes on indifferently with more wars, revolutions and intrigues. However, in my view, this does not excuse the resolution that the conflict with the Tyrant Jaghut has. After having the story revolve around him and the fact that he was practically (and literally) the sleeping terror of this book, his defeat turned out to be too quick. I must admit that I waited with some anticipation for what he could do if he acquired his power altogether.The conclusion given to Raest may be a sign that this World will achieve the prowess of the next books to have characters even more powerful than an ancestral race or many Gods and this promise, fills me with expectation.It is also with renewed curiosity that I hope for a more effective presence of the Empress Laseen in the upcoming books. The mind behind the Malazan Empire and the events reported in this saga, has no more than two brief appearances throughout the book, and everything you know about her personality comes essentially from the references made by the other characters.—Taking into account what has been written in this review so far, the four-star rating I gave the book may be called into question. However, regardless of the complexity of the book and the grandiosity of the world created by [a:Steven Erikson 31232 Steven Erikson https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1219169436p2/31232.jpg] sometimes catching me off guard and making me go back a paragraph or two in order to really understand what happened, I found myself quite enjoying this narrative.The characters have a balanced moral balance. There are no characters that are innately good or bad. Their actions derive largely from their goals and beliefs. In all of them, there is at least one argument in their line of thinking with which I can easily identify myself. This makes the characters realistic and, above all, human.This balance in the representation of the characters is also conveyed in the different relationships reported in the story. There are different kinds of romance, friendship, respect, fellowship. All of them are described without exaggeration and without haste, culminating in interactions that we could easily witness in real life.It should also be noted the author never goes out of his way to give the reader a hand. There are no complete explanations of why and how many things happen, but it is refreshing to read a book that does not feel the need to.I strongly recommend this book to lovers of epic fantasy, lovers of well-built worlds and characters.In a saga with ten books, and taking into account the events in this Gardens of the Moon it is difficult not to look at this volume as “just” a prologue which spurs the reader for how much is yet to come.I read somewhere here in Goodreads a book review in which the person claimed that after reading the ten books of the saga, never again could look at fantasy books in the same way, that no other book has managed to offer the complexity and richness of the Malazan Book of the Fallen Saga.If such a thing happens to me, it will be a bad habit that I'll gladly welcome.

Just like the Hobbit, it seems this book was targeted at children when it was released. By today's standards, both books fit better with an older audience.

It is indeed a magical story and even with a unicorn as a character, it is never too girly or becomes a “My Little Pony” older brother.

For a small book, it somehow manages to give some depth to characters. No one is all bad or all good. Even the most evil creature has ulterior motives. For example, the Unicorn is so proud that is infuriating, becoming a character that makes it difficult for himself for me to like him. Nonetheless, in the last part of the history, it finally shows a glimpse of let's say “humanity”, that shines a completely different light over it.

It's easy to sympathize with Schmendrick burden and goal, even if the path to obtain it isn't always the most righteous.

Molly Grue, I believe, is the character that most people will feel drawn to. She begins strong and on the defensive, later becoming a charming, intelligent, thoughtful and powerful motivator in what was Schmendrick's development. Some may argue that she started somewhat as a warrior to later become someone very skittish and relying a lot on Schmendrick. The gender roles in this story are defined to what maybe were the standards at the time. Every woman is a damsel in distress, and only the men are able to be the heroes. I don't really care about these “issues” in books, and I don't think that was any ill thought on Beagle's head when he wrote the story. It was, and in someways still is, a very captivating trope in fantasy books. It just needs to be done with respect, which I think is the case with The Last Unicorn.

I liked the book and can say that now I understand the praise it receives. It is full of clever conversations and deep meanings. I didn't resist highlighting some of them. Most of the time it portrays with great fidelity human feelings, be it love, fear, boredom, greed and sorrow.

I could not help but recommend that people read this book. After all, old-school fantasy still is the most magical, grand and dreamy.

I have to say that I was really happy that the unicorn didn't remain as Lady Amalthea and married Prince Lir. Stories that ignore the most logical path for the sake of a happy ending, are not to my taste

I tried to endure and like it, I just couldn't. It's one of those books with a cool premise but a bad delivery.

It's cheesy, very cheesy. Worst of all, it feels really forced. The dialogues, the supposed geek elements and the feminism/gamer gate issues.

I've made up my mind on not finishing this one.

A good book, but if you've already read some other material about general usability, this book won't offer much more. The most important takeaway from this book is that you should always aim for a simple and efficient interface, reducing clutter and elements that may overload the short-term memory of the user.

Read as a Sword&Laser Monthly book pick.

A few quick spoiler notes:

- Jeevan get's somehow forgotten and becames less important in comparison with the other main characters. - For all the talk and fear instilled, the prophet's death was somehow anti-climatic.- I get the end of the book, leaving all things open and a possible new start of civilization (electricity grid) yet I would like to see some more development after the symphony had left the airport.

Nonetheless, besides some great chapters and thoughts about life and being human, the book does great in creating a believable post-apocalyptic world and the people living in it.

I specially like the childlessness of many conversations. By today's standards, they may even be seen as irritating. But one must bear in mind what these men and women went through and the fact they are dealing with the same people everyday. There are only so many different conversations that people can have. Maybe they've reached a point where everything that could be said was already spoken but they force themselves to talk, to maintain a sense that they're still human.

Enjoyed it. Recommend it. Can see why it won or is nominated for so many awards.

Having seen the movie, I can say that this book is a good and faithful companion to the story. Is sweet, short and thoughtful story, that incites people to follow their dreams however strange or difficult they may be.

The way the speaking/thought bubbles we're distributed made the storytelling confusing in some pages. None the less, the character and environment art we're very good.

This is one of that rare cases where I recommend to see the movie. Before or after reading the book it doesn't matter. It will improve the way you feel about this story.

Maybe I was simply not feeling it, but the story had one stupid reaction from Zooey after another.

From deciding to just go to poor zones instead of agreeing to go to the Livingston tower, to the constant whining about her dad having everything and his poor taste.

Also come on... 4 very intelligent people, and none figured out that Molech would take her elsewhere the moment she set foot in the building?After the first kidnapping, not one of the brilliant minds could have figured out that Zooey's mother was her weak point and protect her?

The constant reminder of Arthur's terrible taste in decor and all the things he decided to have exposed in his house got old quick.

While I'm not one to jump on the feminist critique bandwagon, the book does lean heavily into sexual content and objectification of women. It's possible this fits the overall vibe of the book, but the exaggeration of these elements, including hints of potential rape used as mere page-turners at the end of chapters, feels unnecessary.

Here and there, the book presents the readers with some clever social critique but it quickly fades away amidst all the exaggeration of the story. I compare the humor in this book to the one from comedians who make jokes about farts. It's fun the first time, not for the 19872367 time.

The end of the conflict also seemed anti-climatic and convenient, considering all the building-up until that moment and the overall tendency to multiply everything by a thousand.

Considering the reviews for the book are generally good, maybe I'm not the target reader for it, but I also can't recommend it to others.

Enjoyed the premise of the story. The ending not so much.

However I do recommend it as it reads quickly and presents an interesting atmosphere/situation.

(short review for a short story =) )

This story just like Scott Pilgrim has quirky characters and a sense of light-heartness and sincerity. These come mostly in the form of dialogues and how Brian Lee O'Malley draws his characters. Many times the scenes look only like a colored draft. Yet, this doesn't stop the characters' expressions and reactions to instantly put a smile on my face.

The story itself is darker than Scott Pilgrim. Featuring the usual dilemmas of time traveling and messing with choices and timelines.

Nonetheless, just like Scott Pilgrim, I felt that the end of the story fell short and somewhat rushed. We got some sort of “epilogue” and “what happened after”, the problem however, was how fast the story's conflict resolved itself.

It's a pretty book and I'm happy to have it displayed in my bookshelf. I don't deny that I may come to it from time to time, only if just to remember to:

“Have the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference”.

I find myself torn about this book. On one hand, it can be truly motivational and resonates with me on a personal level in many aspects.

However, viewing it from a purely utilitarian, non-fiction perspective, it falls a bit short. It reads more like a collection of blog posts on a personal website or Medium rather than a cohesive book. Perhaps this is a reflection of the increasing quality of tech and design writers on the web, which I hope is the case.

I've noticed an overreliance on quotes and callbacks to stories from famous individuals, filling the chapters without the author providing much of his own opinion or additional insights. While some might see this as a clever approach, for me, it reinforces what I can't shake off about this book—it comes off as somewhat lazy. There's nothing particularly groundbreaking or extraordinary here. However, the writer keeps to his roots and beliefs. After all, he did write the book “Steal like an Artist”...

Disappointing ending. Lots of things left unexplained. I was expecting a “clone” Miina dead many years ago or something like that.

The way to compensate for this ending, in my point of view, is if the author decides to write a sequel, answering the many questions that he left in the air.

I saw the movie some years ago and liked its story and its ending. So, it was natural that I felt some anticipation before reading this book.

It was the first Neil Gaiman book that I've read, and I can say that I will try to read other books from him (American Gods/Neverwhere/Sandman I'm looking at you!). However, right now, I'm not sure if I appreciate his writing pace. It's too quick. Only in a paragraph, months can pass, and I'm left wondering about the details of what happened during that time.

For the story itself, sometimes it felt short or rushed, but the moral of it, and some of its characters are charismatic.

I recommend it. Maybe it can be a good point of entry for people thinking about starting to read Neil Gaiman's bibliography like myself.

“Too much ‘young-adult' for my taste; most of the time, it felt even child-like given the simplicity of the writing and story.

The setting and nostalgia trip are right up Ernest Cline's alley, but this time, he may have overdone it without tangible results at the ending.

Also, the inclusion of angsty teenagers and insta-love (I rest my case here).

In conclusion about the book:

- It's a so-so book, perhaps hyped by the success of Ready Player One.
- My recommendation: Go read Ready Player One (again if that's the case) instead of Armada.
- Consider subscribing and listening to the ‘Raid the Arcade' playlist on Spotify (or create your own based on the cassette tape image at the end of the book).”

Not as good as “Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour bookstore,” but quite fun nonetheless. The core ideas are there but aren't as developed as in the “main” book.

It is a quick read that somewhat lays the groundwork for the story and characters we come to know in the later book.

If you've heard about “Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour bookstore” and haven't read it yet, I believe that reading this one first will enhance the experience and set the scene for the main book. Since it is around 70 pages, it's a fast-paced read, and you have literally nothing to lose.

I hope that Sloan, in the future, may write more stories in this setting. However, if I'm being sincere, I would prefer something more developed like “24-hour bookstore” than a “short story” like this one.

For a moment there, this book fooled me. The premise was captivating and I can hardly resist a story which uses video games and their industry as a background.

The writing is often confusing and convoluted especially in some of the transitions. The only time where the text flowed was when the author went on a description rampage. About that...

This is where we can notice the author background working in the video game industry. He really knows how to describe all the scenarios and character equipment. However, they do not appear to contribute much to the overall history of the book. I've often thought of them as notes in a game development document or as side notes in a theater piece where you need to address all the items in the scenario. I love world setting and descriptions but these just felt boring and unnecessary.

Of course, only the writer can know what he was trying to pass along with his story, but I honestly feel that the story conclusion and moral as it is could be easily accomplishable with less 100-150 pages than what the book has.

For example the complete section about Solar Empires is so unnecessary. Did he really need to explain what happened in-ALL-THE-GAMES... Basically, these games were used only as a plot device to, in the end, come back to the Endorian continent again.

In these almost 400 pages, I couldn't find real character development, the introverted genius died as an introverted genius. The charismatic/successful character remained as so. The smart/misunderstood one didn't even made an effort. Finally, the ordinary/”imaginative” one that seems to have a dinner for two with an imaginary character in a restaurant (just, how did this happen? Nobody at the restaurant thought it was weird?), just kept being so.

I kept reading in expectation for a good ending and sadly, in this chapter the book also falls short. It just goes the philosophical route in a paragraph or two offering a cliché and very very anticlimactic ending.

For example, what happened after the game was released? We know that WAFFLE became shareware and Black Arts was shut down, but for a book that gave almost as much focus to Mournblade as it gave to the game release pipeline, it's odd that we don't get any real metrics in the game release.

I guess that what I really take from the book were the parts of the story that reflected more in the day to day job of a video game company and the hacker/do it yourself culture that spawns from the characters since they were kids.

People looking for a Ready Player One experience, won't find it in this book. It riffs many times on nostalgia, but the story and the writing are hardly on par from what we've seen from Ernest Cline.

I felt that the beginning of the book was a little childish with too many ‘slang' references. Apart from that, the story keeps growing in quality, and the last 5 chapters of the book really increased my curiosity for what's to come in the other books.

The 3-star rating probably is a sign that maybe I'm no longer really fit to read many Young-Adult books. I kept thinking that if some things were thought and written with a more mature audience in mind, this book would be better. (This is also the reason for my praise to be more focused on the end of the book, where the plot is better crafted, and violence escalates.)

Easy to read, imaginative, with potential: Recommended.

I want to begin this review by saying that I really lost count of the times the author used the word ‘jerked' in this book.

Now that I've put that out of my mind, the book felt monotonous. I do have the notion that the repetitive pattern of descriptions of what the character did could be a way of emphasizing and transmitting to the reader the feeling that the man is living a pretty boring life.

However, there were too many drinking glasses broken... or too many descriptions of the drinks he had. Some things were left out, like how the sickness of his daughter progressed (and there are only some descriptions here and there about his wife...).

The book also had little action, besides one or another walk out of the house that the character had.

One point I would like to address is the dog. At least in this part of the story, the main character felt very human and its situation very real. I really pitied and rooted for him.

In the end, the book forced me to think about how stubborn the main character is. Come on... Get out of there already! Oh.. Now you're having regrets... (Yes, I know that this made him very human and this is a positive point of the book. I can see myself having many of the attitudes the man had if I were in his situation).

All in all, I recommend this book. Probably, it is best to read it in one go.

I liked this book. Liked how it started, liked some of its characters, liked its premise. The writing style is fluid and easy to read. The division of the chapters based on timeframe is equally well done.

The problem with this book (aside from some plot holes) is that I can't help but feel that all that happens is too convenient. It's the same feeling I have when I watch the new Sherlock Holmes series.

It doesn't matter how questionable the actions of Sherlock are, or if he dies, gets shot, disappears, acts like an a-hole... In the end, it doesn't matter because we know that all of it had a real purpose and that he won't really die because, let's get real, he's the main character. Because of this, I'm not surprised anymore. ‘Oh... He's been shot? I'm sure he will come back, an he did it on purpose to know a little more about the case.'

I feel the same way about Victor Vale. His actions are very questionable, and his plan? Come on... it had one in a million chances to work out... but guess what? It did in a very convenient way. Everything happened the way he hoped for. And even though I was on Victor's side, all this convenience made me along the way root for something to go wrong with his plan... for it to at least face some bump in the road.

I enjoyed this book, but in the end, it's easy to see that the author picked Victor's side and that he didn't have the anti-hero personality that Eli had. So it made it quite easy to root for Victor, with him being the ‘good guy.'

Aside from some plot holes and being somewhat predictable in some situations, I recommend this book.

Good book with lots of interesting facts. I especially like the ‘Takeaways' box at the end of each one of the 100 Things. In these boxes, the author gives advice on how to use what she said on that topic but relates it to the web design area (which is great, so you don't have that feeling: ‘yeah... this is great and all, but how does it relate to me doing websites and making people like them?').

All in all, I recommend reading it, even if you only end up using the knowledge you gathered from it to impress at dinner conversations with random interesting facts.

This book features a designer as the principal character, technology, a love for books, typography, secret societies, and some good cryptography principles.

Yes, it sounds like my kind of book, alright. I highly recommend it.

The only real reason for me not to give it 5 stars was the ending. The book always seemed to maintain a good pace, but the ending, even if sufficiently explanatory, felt a little rushed compared to the pace of the rest of the book.

Don't let it keep you from reading, though.

From now on, I will be aware of Mr. Robin Sloan's new books.

‘There is no immortality that is not built on friendship and work done with care. All the secrets in the world worth knowing are hiding in plain sight.'

I'm continuing my quest to read the ‘NPR - Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books,' and my next pick was War of the Worlds.

Despite its brevity, I must admit it took me longer than expected to finish, as it unfortunately became quickly ‘boring.' I believe much of the book's success stems from Wells' vision and courage in 1898 when he wrote a book of this nature. However, I can't say it has aged well.

While I haven't read other books by Wells, I can't help but feel that his writing is somewhat ‘basic.' There were numerous repetitions, like the absurd use of the pronoun ‘I' and expressions like ‘to and fro.'

It's not all bad, though. The story is infused with philosophical meanings and morals. At times, the book can be quite beautiful, offering moments for deep reflection. Also, being told in the first person, much of the book feels like we are sitting by a bonfire, listening to Wells tell a ‘scary' story.

However, there are some notable omissions, such as what happened to his cousin and how he was able to find the narrator's wife, but the narrator clearly wanted a happy ending, so there's that.

I feel conflicted about recommending this book. On one hand, it's a classic that must be respected for its achievements and the story it tells. On the other, the writing style and the narrator's way of over describing certain details can easily become old and boring.