Montgomery Webster
Another fantastic book by Vinge. The main arc dragged on a bit, but the new species and cultures were superb: specifically, Arachna and The Emergent. Thankfully, nothing in the first book is required reading. Looking to finish the series soon.
An amazing work exploring the experience of being an astronaut or explorer. I really thought this would make my top 10 science fiction book list, except every other chapter is not very interesting and the ending is a bit of a let down. Still an important read.
Story: 4.0 / 10
Characters: 8
Setting: 7.5
Prose: 9
Tags: Academia, espionage, revenge, justice, Nazis
Expected more from a Nebula and Hugo award winner. However, annual awards do HAVE to be given out every year, so who knows what to expect.
Haldeman's style is fine, not proper prose, but just nice enough. The story was the problem: It never went anywhere. It is also a lot like Starship Troopers, like that combined with space travel time and aging in OS Card's Ender series. The Forever War differs from Heinlein's version in that the war keeps continuing. That might have some meaning, but it is not a pleasant read.
Story: 7.5 / 10
Characters: 7.0
Setting: 7.0
Prose: 7.0
Overall, this is quite a good novel, especially for a debut. There are two weaknesses that might put off readers. The book starts with an arbitrary event that triggers a flashback that lasts for the entirety of the novel. Most stories make this same mistake. Humans have been using stories to communicate information since the early days of language. Readers know they are going to be told a story when they pick up a book. These “introductions” are entirely superfluous.
More importantly, the author chose to use a very unusual narrative device. In fact, the only other author I can recall writing in this way was Tolstoy in War & Peace. Throughout Tolstoy's novel, the narrator will say “... and it is this [battle] that ultimately results in France's [weakening power]”. Compare that statement with “With France's most recent mistake, their prospects were not promising”. Note however, that by the time Tolstoy wrote this work, most people would be very much aware of the results of the war. Pointing out some educational information in a largely inconsistent voice might be acceptable. It didn't work for me, but the proposition sounds reasonable.
In The Sweetheart, no one knows what is going to happen; the story is fictitious. This style is problematic because it technically spoils some of the suspense. At a conceptual level, this type of omniscient narrator is very much consistent with flashback plot structures. Nevertheless, neither work in my not-so-humble opinion.
Now I'm worried that I might some similar mistake in my upcoming first novel. The book is still well worth reading despite these high-level faults. Hopefully mine will be too.
Tags: Women, wrestling, sports, athletes, goals, purpose, direction, career
Story: 9 / 10
Characters: 7
Setting: 8
Prose: 7
Pleasantly surprised by this “time-travel” book. The genre is not so pathetic when the time-travelling is justified. In fact, The 1st 15 lives of Harry August is more like a vampire epic, than another time-travel book. However, what really sets this one apart is that it actually has a compelling conflict. I definitely recommend this one, despite being a hater of all time continuum books.
Story: 5 / 10
Characters: 7
Setting: 8
Prose: 6
A disappointment after The Silo trilogy. The concept is interesting, but the story simply isn't compelling and the pacing is weak. Wool readers will quickly figure out how Howey invented this setting.
Certainly will not forget sand diving though.
Story: 5.0 / 10
Characters: 8
Setting: 7
Prose: 7
Drawing: 8
Tags: Gaming, MMO, work, leisure, advice, judgement
Thoroughly enjoyed this book and believe it to have helped my game. Definitely trust Jowdy's free-arm swing theory and hopefully already take that approach.
Story: 2 / 10
Characters: 6
Setting: 9
Prose: 9
An interesting read, but without any semblance of a story. In fact, it is as if Auster has only bothered to write down his idea for a compelling setting. Not recommended.
Story: 6.5 / 10
Characters: 10
Setting: 7
Prose: 7
Absolutely loved the movie, but sadly am quite uncertain about the novel. Starts off quite slow and very gradually improves until one of the best endings I can remember. Cannot wholeheartedly recommend the book, especially not for those unlikely to struggle through the first 40%.
Well written, but inconsistently paced. Sadly, there isn't an ending in sight, but an infinite series of books (FML).
Finally got around to reading the light novel my favourite TV show is based on. If you have already seen the show, this first book does not hold any more secrets. Still, it is a brilliant young adult read. Definitely looking forward to continuing the series.
Prose and plot were nice.
Overall, the story was unsatisfactory and poorly paced: a third of the book was spent on a boring journey that did not particularly increase any relationships.
Not recommended.
Story: 9 / 10
Characters: 10
Setting: 10
Prose: 8
Absolutely one of the best books I've ever read and certainly the best Romance book I've come across.
Definitely one of the best books I've ever read, but likely the saddest. I cried most of my way through it. While crying might be alright in movies, it is simply counter-productive for reading.
Since I read mostly science fiction, this “social science” fiction was quite a bit more difficult. I seldom connect with a character so close as I did to Charly. Obviously, his intelligence is quite different, though I too was concerned with my memory for a while. However, all the themes of loneliness and lovelessness that he experienced are very real for me and have always been. If his fate was so bad, I doubt there is any hope for me either.
The best thing about the book, and what the authors describe as their motivation for writing altogether, are that they relate both sides of all stages of their relationship, from their initial encounter and subsequent “dorting” (romance) to post-marriage dating.