fantasybooknerd
When I read the first book, I gave it six stars. For me, the whole series is six stars. I really liked this set of books and I will be reading them again.
I wanted to write something witty and insightful about the Impossible Times series, but I am not going to bother. What I am going to say is that these three books have worked themselves into my favourite books of all time list.
The Impossible Times Trilogy is fast becoming my favorite books written by Mark Lawrence.
This is the second in the trilogy and in this instalment of the story, the character of Nick is developed further. Some of the other characters in the first book do not feature as much, such as Mia and John, but this does not impact on the story.
Mr Lawrence' writing is as excellent as ever. Whilst there is the timey wimey stuff in it, it does not take centre stage in the books. This is left to the characters. We get to learn how much of a maths genius Nick is and the story moves along with his move to Cambridge. Mia becomes the DM (and is pretty good at it too, does she want to come and DM for me, please!), and there are new characters introduced that all have an impact on Nick and take the story in a new direction.
I think that one of the best things in this is how sensitively the author deals with disability. In numerous cases the disability is obvious, but it does not define the characters and is accepted. Simon, for instance, shows all the signs of being Autistic, but this is never mentioned and it is just there and everybody adapts. NIck's leaukemia is a barrier that he has to overcome, but never once does it define Nick's character. He doesn't fall into despair and lie there moping about (he does on some occasions, but hey wouldn't you).
The setting of 1986 works well and I think that this is something that I connected with completely and the depiction of Cambridge highlights class differences that are still there.
I think the books remind me of a lot of things that have really struck a chord. There seems to be some Sue Townsend in there along with Stephen King (and I mean this in the best sense in that SK does some brilliant depictions of childhood) and I think that this is just as good.
Can't wait for the next book.
I wanted to like this, I really did. However, I didn't.
Sorry Tom.
I mean, what is there not to like - the devil, The Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith. Well, it turns out there's everything not to like and that is a real shame.
I love Doctor Who and Fourth was and still ismy favorite, but this turgid adventure really didn't float my boat at all. Thank goodness it was never made into a film.
The characters were two dimensional, poor old Harry couldn't even get that far, he was written like a brainless imitation of Just William and all Sarah Jane Smith did was look cross and say “OOOh, Doctor” in a petulant voice.
It started off promising enough, but the second half generally runs out of steam and if I hear the phrase ‘Dear old Thing' again then I might physically be sick. And then it turns into, well I don't know what, it was like some mad crazy Carry on Film.
And how Harry survives the monsters by continuous sernedipity is plain preposterous. In the end I was hoping that the sword of never would come and remove my ears. It was only the fact that I had paid good money that I listened to it.
However, one plus point in this is that we heard Liz Sladen's voice coming through the book, especially at the end.
So, this is one of those books that did something quite rare - it surprised me.
I did not know much about this book. I had obviously seen countless reviews as I follow Mark Lawrence on this site and thought I must get around to reading that.
I totally agree with Robin Hobbs, this is a six star book. I loved it. I think especially because I was sixteen in 1986, I was a goth, not the updated type, but the proper 80's Sisters of Mercy type and I was right into fantasy stuff (and in later years, played D & D). So, Mark, you got me covered. And on top of that it has my son's name in it. He only appears for a minute (and just for clarity, The author does not know my son and any representation to people living or dead is purely coincidence, which this is).
You can tell it is a good book, when you find yourself with a spare five minutes, the book suddenly (as if by magic) appears in your hands, demanding you to find out what happens next. Except that the five minutes turns into an hour, tea is burning and you are quite blissfuly unaware that you have reached the end of the book in two days.
I loved this book and if the rest of it is like this, then I think that this will be the best trilogy I have read all year.
One small niggle and this is the smallest hill that I am willing to die on is that I am sure that in 1986 it would have been Beadle's about - not Candid Camera. Teeny weeny hill!
Oh and the bit about the nurses is hilarious. On two counts really, I was in and out of hospital when I was a kid and I am a nurse now, so that bit about nurses is definately true. I could go on and on, so I have to stop now.
I originally started to listening to this on Audiobook, and quite frankly, found the narration awful to say the least. I don't know if anyone has heard the audible massacre of the book, but if they have and they liked it, I am sorry to have put forth such a polarising viewpoint. But I am sticking with it and not changing my mind.
However, in light of this I ended up getting the print version and carried on where I so vehemently left the audio book. Thank god I did!
Now, I have read a lot of reviews that state that a lot of people tend to start with Sanderson's Mistborn Trilogy or Stormlight Archive and read this retrospectively. Which is what I did. In terms of a debut, it's good. It does not fall into typical fantasy tropes in some ways, but it does in others.
The begining of the book really does give a sense of unease when it describes the main characters change in circumstance and you think it cannot keep up this pace. And it does not. I think that when it does get to the middle of the book, it does drop off a bit.
The characters are good and you do tend to believe in them, particularly Sarene. Hrathen starts off as a two dimensional character but really does get fleshed out in the book
At times, I think the structure of the book does tend to hamper the story a bit. It changes viewpoints between the three main characters and at times I found this impeded the main story. However, I did enjoy the book. Just a few niggles.
This is a strange little book. The story revolves around a young girl, Alice Rowland who lives in Edwardian London with her mother and monstrous father, the vet of the story.
I had never heard of Barbara Comyns previously and heard somebody discussing this book on a BBC radio programme.
If you like Shirley Jackson, then you will get on with this book. It reminds me of The Sundial in a way.
This was written in the fifties and some of the language does show. However, if you want a short dose of strangeness read this.
Well, this is a terrific trilogy of books. V. E . Schwab, where have you been all my life.
The book begins immediately from the end of the second book and then gallops along at breakneck pace.
You do think that this pace cannot be maintained and it does slow down.
One of the things that is really good about Schwabs writing is that her world building skills are really impressive. Rather than bogging down the reader with complicated prose that describes the world, Schwab moves her characters through the world as part of the story.
She also has a brilliant skill of expanding the characters and she does with the minor characters as well as the major characters like Holland and Alucard.
The relationship between Rhy and Alucard is explored further, and one of the best things about this is that it is completely natural and there is no fuss about it.
Definitely, one of my favourite fantasy series.
I have got to say that this is fast becoming one of my favourite fantasy series.
AGOS (as nobody is calling it) takes place about four months after the first book and updates us with the current goings on in Red London. The characters of Kell and Lila are developed as is the rest of the world and it's inhabitants, particularly Rhy and the rest of the royal family.
The second story in the trilogy is more of a character driven story than A Darker Shade of Magic, and it is testament to Schwab's writing that whilst there are not spectacular action set pieces all through the book, she manages to keep the reader engaged with the development of her characters.
The only thing that irked me was the introduction of Dracula (Captain Alucard!) even to the point of having him as the dragon. Everytime I read it I kept thinking of Dracula 1972 AD. Although, I did like his character
I have got to say that I liked the character development and the world building that is done in this story. Again hats off to Ms Schwab because rather than hitting you over the head with a mallet to expand on the mythos of her world, she uses the age old trick of show don' t tell and subsequently the world of Red London is enriched by this approach.
Cannot wait to read the next one!
V. E. Schwab, where have you been all my life. Why did nobody tell me that you wrote such good books and that when I started reading one, I wouldn't be able to put it down.
I am not going to write about plot, characterisation or world building etc coz you can read all about that stuff yer Sen, there's loads of that stuff. What you really want to know if you are reading this book is ‘is it any good. Well the answer is in the stars. I don:t usually give that amount as I can usually find some flaws, but this is perfecto.
This is an excellent Batman story.
The story centres around what would happen if The Joker managed to get cured and how it would affect those around him.
It's very clever places and explores the deadly relationship between Batman and The Joker and gives it a new perspective. In addition to this there are some very prescient social comments.
All in all, I really enjoyed this one and is probably one of the best Batman stories in recent years.
This is quite simply one of the best radio 4 dramas. The stories are based on William Palmer (otherwise known as Pilgrim) a man who is cursed by the king of the grey folk to eternal life for denying that the grey folk in 1185.
The stories are based on English Folklore. I love these plays, they are imaginative and get their hooks into you. It is a shame that this had to finish and the only way that I can get my fix is to listen to them again and again (I think I am on the fourth or fifth listening). If you do get chance to listen to this, I strongly recommend that you give it a whirl.
Gosh, it' s a slog isn't it. Crisis is a landmark of event comics but I have got to say that this is definitely a bit of a chore.
I have been off comics for quite a while and thought I would read some old stuff as well as new stuff, so have been revisiting things that I remember in the past.
I have got to say that I can't recall the crisis stuff that much and looking back over it, it still seems a bit vague.
And I think I might like to leave it that way to be honest. I think that sometimes when you go back and look at things it is best sometimes to leave them in a rose tinted past that was better than what you actually remembered.
The idea for the story is good, the artwork is excellent, but the rest of it.
I think the main character, Captain Exposition takes centre stage in this comic. There is so much dialogue, thought bubbles and God knows what else, I sometimes lose track.
I mean I cannot remember some of the dialogue in comics being so bad. This at times makes me think it should have been written in the fifties, not the eighties.
I mean I remember reading comics at this time and they were ace. Stuff like cerebus the aardvark, Alan moore, Frank Millar.
This does not come into the same league.
In short, get the Wikipedia revision notes. It will be easier.
The comics obsession continues. This is one of those Batman stories that is regarded as a benchmark, and I can see why. I read this ages ago but had forgot the details. Jim Lee's art is excellent and Jeph Loeb's story is one that twists and turns to the final reveal.
If you are new to comics and want to start somewhere, this is a good place to begin.
What can you say about this book. For a start, I think that this is the first book in ages that I have given a five star review to, and this book deserves it so much. I saw the praise that the book was receiving from critics and other authors and thought I would give it a try. Unfortunately, I could not put it down.
The prose of the book is gorgeous, Bancroft's imagination is outstanding and the development of the characters is excellent. In fact, I am quickly running out of superlatives to describe this book.
For those that haven't read this and fancy reading this, the story concerns itself with the hero of the title, Thomas Senlin, a fish out of water schoolteacher who takes his young bride to the famed Tower of Babel. The story moves extremely fast from their arrival at the Tower's market and the loss of Thomas's new bride whilst on their honeymoon.
What follows are Thomas's adventures and misadventures in order to attempt to locate his missing bride.
This is wonderfully written book, reminding me at times of Johnathon Swift, but primarily GK Chesterton, particularly the dreamlike absurdness of the Man who was Thursday. However, the story can turn on a sixpence to violent undertones.
I really recommend this book, and am moving on to the second one. I hope that it is as good as this!
The Gutter Prayer
This is a new one on me. I have seen The Gutter Prayer labelled as ‘grimdark meets epic fantasy', but I think that this detracts from the uniqueness of this book.
For me it' s a kind of like Gibsonian in it's outlook and the sprawling metropolis of Guendor, mixed with Neil Gaiman, chuck in a bit of steampunk, add a pinch of Mervyn Peake for spice, blend thoroughly for five minutes and hey presto, you have The Gutter Prayer.
If anyone is coming to this blind like I did, then be prepared for a shock. This is not like any Fantasy book I have read before.
Yes, there are recognisable tropes from the genre, the returning evil that wants to dominate the world, the hero who gains a new power and has to deal with controlling this power and hopefully defeating said bad dude before the whole place goes to shit.
However, in this case, the whole place has gone to shit, what with warring gods who destroy anything in their path, alchemists who transform everything into candle monsters, gullheads or some other insane Frankenstein creation.
This is an interesting book, I have to say. There are some niggles with it. It took me a while to get my head around the use of present tense and, I am not sure if this is anything to do with me reading the electronic version, but there were some jarring editorial slips in Chapter Twelve that made me go,eh?
The writing is very fast paced and instead of patiently holding your hand through the fantasy world building, Hanrahan chucks you in head first and it is a case of sink or swim baby.
The world is vastly different from other fantasy ideas. Gone is the merry clip clopping of horses and welcome to an otherworldly Victorian London.
As I said, I kind of found it very Gibsonian in it's outlook. The city and the writing style reminds me of this very much, and whilst the characters are likeable, at the same time they aren't, which gives them a three dimensional quality rather than your run of the mill fantasy heroes. I loved the character of Aleena, primarily because she reminded me of Neil Gaiman's ‘Angela', which made me adore her.
The main characters were also well rounded, with each of the three characters moving the story along to get where we are going.
Can't wait for the next one.