Tom Merritt
This science fiction book, which is not really a science fiction book, tells a story, which is not really a story that is part tone poem, part pulp novel, part experimental romance, and parts of many other things. In fact it's not really a book is it? Just pieces of one. And yet, I love it right in the face.
Incredible. It was described to me by a co-worker, Laurence Campling, as something to read when you're ready to grow up from Harry Potter. He was underselling it.
His Dark Materials is an incredible exercise in physics, fantasy, philosophy, and above all, storytelling.
The alternate worlds are breathtaking in their specificity as if Mr. Pullman has been there. The thoughts and motivations of the characters are deep and real. The situations and decisions faced are never easy and never simple. There are no “happy endings” but not all endings are bad either, rather they are the real mix of good, sad and real that we experience in our lives, however still writ large enough and fantastical enough to be much more interesting to read than our own mundane daily diaries might be.
I highly recommend this series as a thought-provoking challenging and entertaining way to wile away the hours.
This is Heinlein at his best and worst. Alongside brilliant concepts executed with an unerring acknowledgment of the physical realities involved, you get tedious political expositions and casual sexism. In other words, you get Robert Heinlein.
But I found the book well worth it. My only real criticisms were the occasional indulgences in more obvious symbolism. Some of the prof's speeches were unbearable, especially the one where he combined snatches of Churchill, Jefferson and others in what was a clumsy bit of rhetoric, to me. The snide self-righteousness was outweighed a bit by the cleverness of some plans Prof made, but as often as not it came off like attacking a straw man. Would the FN reps have been that one dimensional? Would the Authority have been that obvious in their actions and reactions?
Perhaps.
So why did I enjoy the book so much? The characters of Manny and Mike. Both well-developed. Both more realistic and more self-aware than pretty much anyone else. Both believable in their accomplishments and their foibles.
I also appreciate some of the good future predicting Heinlein does. Some of it is obviously wrong, such as the continuance of SovUnion. Or the fact that Mike has to take up so much processing power to create video. But most of the wrong bits are forgivable. A slow degradation of imagined sovereignty into a loos federation of world government seems as plasuible as not. And the idea of a harsh mining/agricolony on the Moon populated by criminals and their descendants seems perfectly likely.
As for the sexism Heinleign , as usual, makes great overtures toward treating women as more than equals, while still crediting them with allthe stereotypical weaknesses of the Victorian age. It only showed me that Heinleign really wanted to treat women as equals but had little understanding of them.
Still, if you can bracket off some lame political rhetoric and the sad state of gender affairs, you get some real gems within. It's a world richly painted that you can live in and a fight worth witnessing. The revolution is painted as a real hypocritical and far from noble enterprise carried out against the exigencies and realities of the time, with all believing the ends justify the means. That's true of any revolution and Heinlein seems to lay that bare.
This book consolidates a lot of things I've tight about eating and then adds a bunch of stuff I didn't know on top of it. Darya's ability to combine science and common sense are extraordinarily rare, especially in the realm of nutrition books. My only regret is that there isn't a clearer plan to get started, but then again, one of her points is that everybody's different, so one plan wouldn't work for everyone anyway. If you want to be healthier, you owe it to yourself to add this book to your arsenal of knowledge.
Incredible. I believe Ms. Rowling outdid herself. Exciting from the start. Very few draggy bits you know you need but have to slog through. Excellent call-backs to all 6 previous books to really reward you for paying attention. And a story that jerks you beats you throws you down and picks you back up again. In other words fantastic.
Book 7 makes it worth reading all the other books even more. Even the parts I didn't like about the other books all make sense in light of book 7.
I especially commend Ms. Rowling on not avoiding hard choices, even though she is essentially writing a fairy tale. This is no sugar and spice children's story. It's hard-hitting and gritty, or at least as much as children's story can and should be.
Well done.
It only took a little more than 9 months to read. And I teared up in the end. Good book.
Stellar. It starts at breakkneck speed and pulled me in right away. I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic, but this is also a rich version. Howey did a great job of revealing mysteries without revealing them all and keeping me interested in what was going to happen next. I liked that he didn't just keep teasing me. This isn't a suspense novel, it's roller coaster and anything can happen.
A fun read. Brin never fails me. A little frantic for some I expect, but I like the feel and breadth of the story. My only complaint is the dolphins seem to get left hanging.
This book was so much more than I was expecting. I wanted a clever insight into what the Star Trek universe would be like from the perspective of the red shirts. I got that. Maybe Ina sort of ‘Galaxy Quest' way but I got it. What I didn't expect was to get science fiction's ‘Stranger Than Fiction' complete with an internal reference to ‘Stranger Than Fiction'. That was awesome. I'm a sucker for breaking the walls, 4th, 5th, 12th, whatever. And wha t I really didn't expect and especially loved we're three codes that built up an emotional summary of what's really important in life and brought few joyful tears. Well done Mr. Scalzi.
Nobody should ever be compared to Douglas Adams. It's unfair. Not to eulogise the dead but Adams is literally incomparable. That's why I respect the bravery of Eoin Colfer. Now there's an idea. Rob Reid matches and often surpasses the wit and glorious absurdity of Eoin Colfer. Year Zero not only paints a beautiful tale of the absurdity of our laws but packs the story full of excellent geeky nuggets both musical and Monty Python. Plus there's some damn fine science fiction concepts packed in like the ideas of wrinkles and The Townshend Line. Absolutely a pleasure to read.
Loved it. I'll admit it took me awhile to get familiar with the world. Moreso than usual with fantasy novels, which always take some getting used to. And it took awhile to make clear that this was not a spires and wizards tale a la T.H. White. In fact that's one of the things that endeared me to it in the end. Without going dark, it played as a believable telling of ruffians in an ancient world of magic. I love Joe Abercrombie and Patrick Rothfuss, and because of them I don't need another dark gritty world. Lynch has made a world that's realistic and I suppose gritty enough, without relying on that all the time. The fight between Locke and the bad guy at the end (avoiding spoilers) is damned dark, sure, but that's not the continuous tone. I like the hinted at past of the elders and their glass. I like the fact that there's gods-d,Ned magic that isn't scinc, yet there's alchemy that is, with a bit of magic thrown in. And I love the pantheon of the thirteen née twelve new thirteen. Crooked Warden, but I ended up loving this book. When Locke is crying “I just have to hold you until Jean gets here” near the end I had gods-damned tears in my eyes, I did. And the cons within cons never end. I liked Sawyer in “Lost” too. We named our dog after him. And Locke is in the same vein. Well done Mr. Lynch. On to the Red Seas for me.
I'll admit I was unsure ant this one at first. I was very excited to head out with Holden and crew again but it to so,e effort to want to get to know Anna and Bull. But the end it was definitely worth it. As a fanboy I'd always want more of the Rocinante crew, but that work to get to know these characters definitely pays off with an emotional end.
I have had so much fun discovering this series, I'm only upset that I now have to wait for Abaddon's Gate. The crew of the Rocinante really gels into a likable unit in this book and the new characters of Chrisjen and Bobbie do not disappoint. My only regret and also relief is that nobody you love dies. An excellent follow-up to Leviathan Wakes.
I wanted to love this book, as Robinson is a genius, and at times I found it brilliant. The characters are interesting and unfold in a truly intriguing manner. The historical sweep of the universe is really shown off in this book too and a love the bits of future science explaining terraforming and the like. I could have done without the lists personally although I see their poetic function. They just weren't my thing personally. But overall the story just never grabbed me. I wanted it to and I want to say it did because intellectually I admire this story greatly. But for some unfathomably reason likely due to a defect in my own situation or makeup I never found myself wanting to keep reading. I didn't dread it, mind you, I just didn't get that pull of excitement I get from other books. That said if you want good scifi with compelling characters this is an excellent place to find them.
My appreciation of this story grew in the reading. At the beginning I marveled at the lovely marriage of a typical fantasy magic story with an underpinning that was not medieval Europe and savored it like a good cardamom tea. But it grew so far beyond just that underpinning. This book is not a gimmick. It's a well-told tale that inverts the journey! You are led to believe a band in the making will set out on the road from Dhamsawat to find a hidden mystery only to have theta,e turned inside out. It's a brilliant master stroke that keeps the reader guessing. Along the way you realize you are also reading a zombie story and some of the classic tropes are woven seamlessly into this other world of dust, Khalid's, caftans and ghuls. It's a delicious blend.
Oh my. Where do I start? Do you like superheroes? How an noir ace detectives? Or perhaps steam punk? Alternate realities? Robots? If you're not absolutely salivating with geeky lust, then move along. There may be nothing to see here. But to those cleaning the drool off their tablets and laptops, stop now. Go to book store website. Buy Empire State. It's absolutely awesome. I want more Skyguard. I want more Detective Rad. I want more drinks at Jerry's. I want more robots. Well done Mr. Christopher. Island and applaud. Slow clap.
My only critique of this book is that I feel like it stops right when it's getting very good. A common critique for a good book in a series I suppose. But I felt much of Dany's storyline felt like prelude and only got meaty in her last chapter. Jon Snow's bits were more satisfying, but my what a cliffhanger! And Tyrion while extremely entertaining seems to float upon the top of the plot without yet getting to his purpose. I could have done with a few more chatters on Ty and Dany, but then again I wouldn't have wanted to wait a few more years to get them!
I love this book most out of the peripheral Dark Tower books. Of course I've been a fan of Peter Straub since High School, and I can see his touches here, but it's an excellent journey from simple mystery into Dark Tower madness, that works even if you haven't read the Talisman.
I'll be honest I didn't think I was going to like this book much when I first started reading it. The descriptions of Devin and his singing group left me uninspired. I felt like I was looking at yet another fantasy world of magic and towers and bards and despots without much new.
Then the hunting lodge. And it all turned.
The themes of identity and country and suppression played on many things I've studied or thought about and I loved the depth in which Kay treated them within his otherwise familiar fantasy world. Yes, his prose can tend towards the flowery, but I have no issue with that. To my ear it's good flowery prose. If your tastes don't run that way, it may bug you, but it's not overdone in my opinion.
And the characters are bright and believable and rich. Score one for the Sword side of genre fiction.
The only thing I don't understand is why the Milkweed Triptych doesn't get more attention. No Wikipedia entry. No wild fan sites. This is an outstanding series and I wait with excitement to read the conclusion and have that usual feeling of dread at its concluding and leaving me with no more. Good thing Tregillis is signed to do a new book after the last Milkweed one. Even if it's not in the same universe, I know I'll snap it up.
The more I read of Lev Grossman's Magicians the more I like them. I'm dying to see where Quentin goes next. I was a huge fan of CS Lewis growing up, and Grossman's weaving of Lewis allusion, geeky references to code, hackers, comics, and fantasy lore really entertains me. I also love his ability to create a traditional fantasy world that has characters that act real and curse and wonder the same things I would wonder about how things would really go down if I were to end up in Narnia... or in this case Fillory.