Alex Norton
Was on a number of “best of 2019” lists and I can see why. Well contructed 3 Point of View tale that finally blends . No huge sting in the tail but very readable
Picked it up poping it was Hillary Mantel like in nuance, background research, and political context, but got a YA readability that I found grating. I can see why this book has fans,but it just did not click with me
I liked it and maybe I owed it greater concentration to attach the narrative strings together. However I was not enchanted by the tale the same way as a Gaiman tale evolves.
This time I came prepared... Unlike my approach to [b:The Blade Itself 944073 The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1) Joe Abercrombie https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1284167912l/944073.SX50_SY75.jpg 929009] i knew better than to expect a closing narrative arc for this first book of the trilogy. This is just book 1 of a longer story, so sit back and enjoy the wonderfully ambiguous characters (the baddies are somewhat moral, the goodies have plenty of skeletons...) and the frazzled timeline as Abercrombie draws still from Medieval, Restoration and Georgian Industrial Revolution. If the First Law trilogy found your favour then you will love this sequel.
Rather than start Shetland and Vera series (I will eventually) I decided to come closer to Home and North Devon. A fine book, with obvious craft. Maybe driven through on automatic rather than manual gear shift as the pacing is consistent never really picking up but not allowing itself a slow down either.
Quite a delight. Always been a secret corvid admirer, and that mixed with a bloodhound and human's total demise (go Team Thanos) makes for a funny and thoughtful novel. Plot is loose and sometimes a bit confusing, but the writing is primarily fun with its wider message in tow rather than front and center. I did enjoy the side chapters from the Poodle, Genghis Cat, and others.
I love McKinty's Sean Duffy Novels, and this one deserves 4 stars based on originality of premise and execution of this kind of book (airport thriller?). It is pure calories and the sugar rush is great but I am going to line up [b:Gun Street Girl 22551891 Gun Street Girl (Detective Sean Duffy, #4) Adrian McKinty https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421011905l/22551891.SX50.jpg 40265576] for my dose of protein.
I was really looking forward to this. So much so I re-read [b:Reamde 10552338 Reamde Neal Stephenson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1305993115i/10552338.SY75.jpg 15458989] (and enjoyed it almost more than the first read) I had also seen enough to know not to expect a true sequel and it truly wasn't. Like [b:Seveneves 22816087 Seveneves Neal Stephenson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1449142000i/22816087.SY75.jpg 42299347] it is a book of three parts and i loved parts 1 and 2 with the discussion of the concepts, ethics, practical implications of a “digital afterlife.” Other books I have read recently like [b:Head On 35018901 Head On (Lock In, #2) John Scalzi https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1497994548i/35018901.SY75.jpg 45415409], or [b:We Are Legion 32109569 We Are Legion (Bobiverse, #1) Dennis E. Taylor https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1474344826i/32109569.SY75.jpg 52752877], take the concept post facto, and run with it, but Stephenson, to his credit, sweats the details. I would have loved to be thrown a bone to know what Marlon was up to of if Yuxia and Seamus were still together, but that's OK. However when Enoch Root pops up I got excited. He was the perfect timeless character to enter this time shifting world, and as we were progressing through part 2 I thought Neal was going to join this world with [b:Snow Crash 40651883 Snow Crash Neal Stephenson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530057753i/40651883.SX50.jpg 493634] world of the Metaverse. I would have sqeeeed with delight. But No. The third part was a rather mundane “Fantasy Quest” that fell flat. Now Stephenson knows how to write a certain kind of Fantasy - [b:Anathem 2845024 Anathem Neal Stephenson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1488349209i/2845024.SX50.jpg 6163095] is such a rich tapestry, but the “merry band on a quest” seemed thin, especially as we did not really have the time (except for Prim) to get to know the band. Maybe my main frustration is the fact that of all the books that are dying for a sequel (Seveneves and Anathem first among others) Reamde was not the one.
Although set on a different planetary system this is firmly in the fantasy camp. And, for a first novel, it is accomplished and asks you to make an effort. Keep the Dramatis personae nearby as you can get quite lost otherwise. She has kept close to her chest quite a few details to the main characters that hopefully will be revealed in future books
A creme brûlée of a bromance novel. Rich, satisfying with a hard crust to crack with nods to history, to science, to travel, to fantastical creatures (talking dogs and ducks) . Not an easy read and i know that 50% of it went straight over my head (will need to read the companion reader) but he does know how to write some lovely sentences so I can forgive cetain “er where are we going with this' sections.
I thought the majority of the Stories merited 5 stars (The Merchant, The Truth of Fact and Omphalos above others) A bit less enamored with The Lifecycle of Software Objects, but the body of short stories are great food for thought
Short, Sweet, fuzzy but not vacuous. Perfect short read for a wet and cold weekend. Make a nice change from my usual dystopian SCIFI choices...
The ugliness of the Slave Trade in the US is very adequately discussed. The same for the UK is less well so. It did not occur on British soil, hence the less we say about it the better. But the English were just as complicit in the horrors, and just because it happened “in the colonies” is no reason for it being glossed over. This is a book of Historical Fiction, but like all good historical fiction that i love it helps educate and inform me of things I did not know, and will spur me to learn more.
An excellent second dose in the trilogy. Worth the five stars just for the whirling point of views in the final battle scene but JA continues in refining his writing style. He is rapidly becoming my go-to “comfort food” of fantasy where you get excellent dialog, moral turpitude, complex but unfussed characters. Can't wait for the third one.
Perfect companion Novella to Bone Clocks. I think I am ready for Cloud Atlas in the near future?
This book deserved a greater effort than I gave it. Once started I just knew that if I did not (A bit like Tracker, I guess) soldier through it and not deviate to the end, I would not make it. I absolutely loved [b:A Brief History of Seven Killings 20893314 A Brief History of Seven Killings Marlon James https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1399045083l/20893314.SY75.jpg 40236328] and although not a avowed fantasy fan I do enjoy dipping into the genre so I was surprised when I found that this book was not gathering any traction for me. I was ready for the grime, the violence, the depressing cheapness for life. Brief History had me ready for that. However the plot never hooked me in and although appreciative of James' prose and turn of phrase I was pretty glad when I got to the end. I'll probably pass on the next one.
I am of an age where The Troubles were a childhood background, where growing up agnostic a religious conflict appeared strange on not really comprehensible. When, later in life, i fell in love with [a:Adrian McKinty 12433 Adrian McKinty https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1584967497p2/12433.jpg] Sean Duffy series of novels set during troubles I immediately bookmarked this book to read when he recommended it.In today's polarized world I am in awe of how NI managed to actually step back from appalling levels of violence to actually give peace a chance. Adams does not come out of this book well but i cannot be impressed with how he managed to thread the needle to bring the Good Friday Agreement as an acceptable option to Northern Irish Republicans 20 years ago and that it still holds, albeit with many ongoing issues.This book is not about the GFA but is a history of the IRA but it is so well written (and from what I understand, researched) it gives the reader the basis to understand the magnitude of strife and thus the achievement of peace.
gets the fourth one for a successful final twist although I half guessed it because of the lack of time context in Theo's recalling of his history with his wife. It is a short read and pace keeps moving and should please psychological thriller fans.
If you like the first one this one is just as good. Horowitz is masterful in blending “real life” with fiction, continues in painting the Nawthorne character. This is a series I will happily keep dipping in to.
Dark, thoughtful, snapshot of Britain's relationship to slavery wrapped in an “onion” mystery of what really happened leading up to the double murder.
Tamsyn Muir has a bright future ahead of her. Her writing is both approachable but also complex in ideas and plot. Maybe sometimes too complex. Too much time had passed for my old and forgetful brain to remember Book 1 so I had to re-read portions of Gideon and rely on fandom wikis to fully understand what was going on. So if you like your fantasy to be grungy rather elegiac she joins Joe Abercrombie as being my favorites, but you might want to wait until book 3 to power through them one after the other.
Two stars definition of “it was ok” sums it up nicely. Some funny parts, story moves along sufficiently not to give up, howerver i will probably pass on the rest of the series.
Ide has a great ability for pace. You may consider this as page turner than you return often to find out what happens next. But he has also developed good characters and an overall “hard-boiled” feeling set firmly in this 21st century that makes it superior kind of crime thriller rather than a “whodunnit” (you know who the baddies are pretty much from day 1.
I really enjoyed this series, and I hope it will spawn spin offs (or a Douglas Adams' like “five book” trilogy.) Full of thoughtful ideas and snappy dialog I can safely say that Kiva Lagos is now one of my top five fictional characters of all time.