Michael
I just re-read this Wild Cards I. I actually listened to the audio book, which includes the extra stories added to computational 1. I enjoyed the hell out of the audio book.
I have been following Chuck Wendig for a few years now, and I have come to enjoy his writing style immensely. The story of Blackbirds is dark, following the story of a troubled young woman who can see when you die, and can't do anything to change it. The writing is fluid, the characters are interesting, and the plot is riveting.
My only critique is that the main character sounds much like Chuck, or at least sounds like the voice he presents during interviews and on his blog. This is not a bad thing, per say; but, it distracted me from remembering that the character was in fact a troubled woman, and not the middle aged self proclaimed pen monkey that entertains almost daily.
I listened to the audiobook, and the second books was much better than the first. Weeks goes into much greater detail about the characters and the world, and it shows some really strong world building chops. Diving right into the third book.
An excellent addition to the Dresden line. Butcher is the master of the long character development arc. I look eagerly for the next volume.
This was a very interesting novel.
I enjoyed the world, and how the character used real history and presented the historical figures as real characters. I felt the plot of the book dragged a bit, with us waiting for the story while the author/main character showed us Colonial Boston. I will follow the series, but I'm not rushing to read next novel.
Set before the events of Episode one, Darth Plagueis takes the reader through the behind the scenes setup that foreshadows the prequel movies. In it we see Plagueis, Palpatine's master, rise to power, the training of Palpatine, and ultimately the rise of Palpatine to the position of power and influence that we see in Episode 1.
Darth Plagueis did two things that I didn't thing the EU could do, and it does them well.
First, while it does not redeem all of aspects of the prequel movies, it does tie many of the desperate elements together. Through the eyes of Plagueis and Palpatine we see the events unfold and answer many of the unasked/unanswered questions from the movies themselves and the EU as a whole. How was Palpatine trained, Who was Darth Maul, How was the Old Republic engineered fall, How does the Rule of Two affect the Sith through the thousand years from Bane to Palpatine? These and many more are revealed and explained within this novel.
Second, and most starlings, the novel uses the dreaded plot device (midichlorians) in a way that doesn't make me hate it. [This will likely be a hot topic for diehard fans, but my recommendation is that they read the book before unleashing hate for the topic.] In the novel, Plagueis is Sith Sorcerer working on methods of extending his own life indefinitely through the force. Through well written experimentation and revelation the reader is given a much more palatable explanation for the relationship between midichlorians and the Force, and possible alternate causes for Anakin's “miraculous” conception through the Force.
For all these reasons and more I recommend Darth Plagueis
**As a side note I got my copy of Darth Plagueis through a GoodReads contest for preview/review copies. So thanks to GoodReads for facilitating my enjoyment of this novel.
Being introduced to Longmire from the TV show. I found the first novel to be similar to what I expected. I had hoped for a little more investigation or procedural police.
I love Allomancy! The different uses and mystery behind the superhuman abilities of allomancy makes this fantasy world come alive for me. Combine this love with a love of westerns and you have ‘The Alloy of Law'.
This book was a joy to read.
I can't tell if this was supposed to be the end of the series or not. While the story was typical and enjoyable for Green, the ending did not feel like “the end”. It felt like it was building for another three part series in which another apocalypse is averted by John Taylor.
Drew Karpyshyn writes some of the best Star Wars novels I have read. His depiction of the Old Republic era continues to be a delight to read.
This novel does a great job of filling in some story background for the unanswered questions from KotOR and KotOR II and how those stories transition in the recent The Old Republic MMO. A wonderful read for Star Wars fans.
Very Enjoyable and feels well researched (though I admit, my personal knowledge of the Kenedy assassination and Texas in the early 60's is very limited).
I found the first book in the series to be a little unfulfilling, however the sequel did a great deal to expand the world and develop the main character. I enjoyed it a great deal and found it more enjoyable. Looking forward to the third installment.
I really enjoy Chuck's writing style. This collection of short stories is a great showcase of the different (crazy) ideas that runs through this mans mind. I have followed his blog, TerribleMinds, for over a year now, and I was very excited to see how his twisted and humorous writing style would turn to fiction. I was surprised (pleasantly so) that the tone of his fiction is more down to earth, this in no way detracts from the style; nor from the unusual and out of this world nature (some times literally) of the stories.