Alex Norton
what Banks wrote in 1999 about AI is astonishingly close to what we are discussing now with the emergence of consumer AI...
A strong debut from a favorite radio writer of mine (“Old Harrys Game” are fantastic) Characters are well fleshed out and dissapointment is in not finding out more about them as book ends (Louise, did she really change?, Albie, Dougie). The writing is assured, witty but the book is not a bundle of laughs. Will certainly support a second Unbound for him in the future
Confused by this one. Loved the writing, strong prose, interesting extremely flawed main character. Enjoyed the setting both temporal and location (Ulster, and AIDS/OJ USA). Felt a little bit too much “Deus Ex Machina” plot twists and lost opportunities with some characters (understandable in a First Person novel). I was even settling in and being OK by the fizzle out ending. I will definitely give the author another go.
Just the perfect Audiobook to accompany us on a long drive. Quality debut writing with wit good characters a sufficiently original tale even though it involved so many fantasy cliches. Very well narrated if you are listening to the audiobook version. Definitly will look out for #2...
Ah, I'm just a fan-boy. I think no-one comes close to Abercrombie at writing characters that slowly reveal themselves to their essence (Gorst...) Nor are able to describe a fighting scene where banality and fate take over heroics
This book was a slow burn pleasure. Treat yourself to the audio version as “The Voice” is wonderfully done by joe Barrett (and chosen by Irving).
I remember reading this growing up so after re-reading [b:If on a Winter's Night a Traveler 374233 If on a Winter's Night a Traveler Italo Calvino https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1528312857l/374233.SY75.jpg 1116802] I felt like more Calvino. He is a Master of the whimsical and Il Barone Rampante is a prefect fairy tale that I would recommend to anyone who wants some escapism for a few hours
These are very easy on the brain fun books, almost novellas. Totally plot driven, the characterization is right on the surface and there are plenty of good characters (some, I swear, shared with American Gods if I am not mistaken - Russian witches?) Plus one star just for the Oberon character alone.
Good overview of how, in a period of “end of times” Science pulled away from Natural Philosophy and never looked back. It actually made me appreciate Stephenson's Baroque Cycle more, as it reintroduced so many old friends.
Very much Glaswegian hard procedural with a myriad of names but it kept my interested all the way to the end with some good twists.
Trilogies tend to ask you to be patient in the second book were you are not given much of a conclusion as a set up for the third book. Abercrombie obviously has no problems dispensing with a palate satisfying ending to the first book and it simply runs out of text as the band of merry folks get on their way south. Had the writing not been so accomplished I would be a hell of a lot more annoyed. The problem is now when will I get around to the second one...
I'm not even much of a Rolling Stones Fan, yet this was a consistently interesting read (or listen in my case as I went for the audio book) his recollection of facts sometimes stretches credulity but the anecdotes are thick, the periods fascinating. Go in with low expectations and be positively surised.
After the Lewis trilogy that mixed atmospheric background with a strong plot, this was all “thriller” and all cards on the table exposure and lacked the Nuances i felt made the Lewis books so good.
For a crime thriller this was more of a savor slowly than a page turner, but her talent for detail, and for atmosphere, is unmatched. The twist at the end is hardly a surprise but i loved the ride, and even sitting in California i felt right on the Dales. Now can watch the TV adaptation on Prime....
Well that was a surprise. Almost all trilogies have “middling” second books whose job is to fill in some gaps and lay the grounds for the third one, and you forgive its lack of plot. However I so much more enjoyed this to the first book. It might not be empirically true but I got the feeling that the number of characters settled down and Abercrombie did I fine job in fleshing all of them out and the three distinct threads(North, East and South) were clear and easy to follow (a map would help but there are some fan ones online. Immediately jumped into the third one.
Having just finished Dan Jones's Essex Dogs you sense the contrast between a historian writing a Historical Novel and a writer doing the same. Unless you are Hillary Mantel the latter always seems more successful. I have to trust that Cornwall has done his homework and it certainly appears to be so. But it is in the characterization that he is so good. The period is a very confusing one and he does a very good job in bringing it to life.
Another re-read after many years and although excellent I now feel it inferior to Player of Games. I felt I learnt a lot more about the Culture through the latter however this is a fine introduction
Catching up on Iain Pears' novellas and the Argyll series contains a little bit of all I want: Art History, forgery, whodunnit and a big dollop of Rome in the 90s, all written to Pears' high standards and readable on a rainy weekend
This one was a surprise: started off in a fairly pedestrian manner and ooooo so Japanese rigid structural framework both for the story and for the characters that seem so shallow. after the murder and the coverup the book kicks into another gear with the arrival of Yukawa the physicist and layers start peeling off Ishigami. Things get even more interesting with the arrival of the hopeful Kudo and even more of the characters are revealed. As it all falls apart the book hits a brilliant twist in the end. It started as a 3 star moves into 4star and ends on a higher note.
If you do not like Japanese movies don't bother. this book mimics the outward lack of personality in the characters, framed in stilted polite conversation and averted gazes, but the book's brilliance is how those shreds of conversation, those involuntary eye movements can betray such passion to sacrifice so much for so little in return.
I realized this was a series I should have continued sooner. Went back, re,read the first and really enjoyed the style and wit, and the whole background of mixing Urban COntemporary with Fantasy Lore. Making a mental note to power though series I like rather thnan letting too much time between books.
Went into this with lowish expectations, but wanted a short book to tide me over till I embark on Stephenson's latest tome. In reality it fully deserves it's four stars - i really enjoyed it. It has the same atmosphere of American Gods - the juxtaposition of mythical figures in a stark contemporary world but even though it does not have the refinement and lyricism of Gaiman, it makes up for it with humour and great one liners. I think i have time to read book # 2...
Entertaining easy fantasy, with interesting twist on history, some good characters and fast moving plot.
A quick read in between deciding what I wanted to read next. Had I not read almost everything else NS had written I probably have rated it higher. Lots of little Stephenson things I love, attention to certain details, subject matter research. Definitely more plot driven - think Reamde rather than Anathem than concept driven
For some reason I was expecting a lighter book of a group of f-ups who blunder their way to relevance. Instead I found out that Herron wrote a serious book (with moments of wit and humour) that actually falls squarely into the more serious Spy novel genre. I really enjoyed it.
What was an obvious big tome was quite rightly divided into two. The first book had very different POV chapters. The second volume is a more conventinal structural narrative. If you read and enjoyed the first the second book will not dissapoint. Definitely in the top echelons of SciFi writing and age has not hurt it at all