Kyle

This book was fine, maybe even pretty good. I may be being a bit hard due to its place on the New York Times bestseller list. But it has so many small issues that I feel like I kinda have to knock it a bit. It doesn't feel like DeMille is really ready to take on the topic of Cuban-American Relations, with both sides basically having simplistic stereotypes for they're characters. I never really bought any of the character motivations. Sara jumps back and forth from being a serious member of the mission to letting her passion endanger the mission to an extreme level. Mac develops a strong soldiers code out of nowhere. The only character that is consistent is Jack. The whole book feels like it takes twice as long as it needs to to say anything. And (I recognize this is a real nitpick) DeMille uses “Mac and I” and “Me and Mac” in the same paragraph. I wouldn't normally give a shit if you used “me in Mac”, but to do it two different ways in the same paragraph is just annoying.

I love the way Chambers builds complex communities and cultures out of simple biological and environmental restrictions. The way she describes the exodus culture makes me believe this is where we'll be in a few thousand years.

All set up, but no pay off. Lovecraft describes a fantastic scenario where scientists discover an ancient and advanced civilization in Antarctica, but nothing ever got me invested in the actions of the characters, so it never gave me chills when they were in danger.

I've always wanted to read norse mythology, but always found it to dry to actually get through. Niel Gaiman manages to bring it to life to a degree that others haven't been able to do. It's still not the most exciting books, but its a fun read.

Interesting plot centered around good characters, but it just sorta peters out and the end rather than coming to any kind of conclusion. But then there's the big bugbear; I can accept a little historical inaccuracy, but this went a little to far. I had difficulty focusing on the narrative because I kept wondering, “Did North Carolina actually try and ban all slaves? I'm pretty sure not.”

None of the characters have any redeeming qualities. I hate them all and they all deserve a lot worse than they got. The writings mediocre and the plot is basically nonexistent. Rekulak tries to kindle the nostalgia of adolescence in the 80's, but the kindle turns into an all consuming fire that destroys any other values of the book. Hard pass.

Thanks to this book I know how to become invisible after I forget to return it to the library!

Holy shit this one got to me. There are very few books that can bring you to tears, but this is one of them. It does the telling-two-stories-in-alternating-chapters thing, which has become annoyingly popular. As usual, one of the stories is much stronger than the other, but both stories and enough to stand up on there own. Like A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Chambers focuses on writing characters rather than story. The plot is paper thin, but you keep turning the page regardless because you want to know what happens to these characters.

I feel like Stephenson sat down a wrote a book just for me. A metaphysics gives this book it backbone, but is followed up by a mix of a punchy adventure serial, orbital physics, and complex politics. Strong characters take this book from good to great. The language can be a bit dense at the beginning, but push through (and use the glossary at the back) and it will be well worth your while.

All our Wrong Todays is an excellent start for Mastai's future; It has wonderful characters, an interesting plot, and some very unique time travel mechanics. He needs to work on his writing style, especially his chapter organization. Two or three page chapters lead to a very choppy reading experience, like riding with someone who is learning how to drive, constantly slamming the gas or the breaks. Nevertheless, I would highly recommend Mastai's debut novel, and look forward to what he writes next.

Also, this review has been lowered one star because of the books intentionally frayed edges. Fuck those.

This book is completely utter nonsense and I love it.

I feel like the interview framing device is more detrimental than helpful to the narrative, especially since the interviewer is by far the most interesting character. Still, a decent plot keeps it from getting bogged down in interviews.

I really like the conflict between the old and new beliefs, but can someone explain to me how the Russian name thing works? That always screws with my reading of Russian novels.

Randall Monroe's wonderful comic style shines through this book, even with the fun challenges he has set for himself. This book is both funny and informative (I learned my new favorite trivia fact from this book) and when I have a coffee table, I will be purchasing it for myself.

Willis does a fantastic job of bringing a handful of fantastic characters through an interesting time travel narrative. If I had to complain, I would say that the split narrative doesn't work as well as it should, as I was far more interested in the present timeline than the past.

A drug filled mess of crisscrossing timelines and paranoia (which is perfectly legitimate when they're actually out to get you) all held together by a fantastic cast of engaging characters. Only fell short of 5 stars because a) it can be really confusing and b) the ending is somewhat disappointing.

ehhhhhhh, it's fine. I might read the other one at some point.

This is a really good setup to a very interesting series, but I'm not sure I'll be continuing it. The subject of political intrigue on the backdrop of a developing lunar society is masterfully done, and the writing is good enough to carry it, but the author tries to involve too many complex characters too early in his story. All but two of the main characters are arrogant assholes, which makes sense given the subject matter of high society. They all have redeeming qualities, but it leads to an oppressive feeling from the book. On top of that, most of the book is introductions for these characters. The last third of the book really describes what they do, and it ends with a clear sense that more moves coming. These things lead me to believe that McDonald has a fantastic story planned out, but this story didn't engage me enough to convince me to seek out the next one. If I'm really bored, I'll grab it at the library, if it's in.

Interesting story with a facinating cross-section of WWII history and art history. More a biography of his family that of him or his father. A little bit dull at times, but still very gripping.

The journalist voice that Inskeep uses is very different that the usual historical voice used in these types of books. I found that it created a much more engaging narrative than other historical texts I have read. It's still a little dry in places, but the story of these two men circling each other drew me in much more than I expected.

An interesting story in a good world. The plots a little too focused on romance, and the third act twist is a little wierd, but those are small niggles. The big one is this: this book does not end, it just stops.

Good world, and pretty good, if predictable, but got bogged down at the end by needless romantic drama.

This book is less about the plot and more about the engaging characters and the fantastically detailed world. Chambers has dived into the idea of intercultural (and interspecies) relations in an inventive and fascinating way.

Some cool ideas, but the story spread itself too thin over too many different characters.

In my review of the last book in this series, I said that Phillip Reeve was running out of ideas. With this book, he proved be wrong. A Darkling Plain is the excellent conclusion to the Hungry City Chronicles, bringing each of the many characters story arcs to a satisfying conclusion.