Montgomery Webster
I sort of swear off contemporary books (less than 20 years old) as a child. Many were autobiographical fiction and had little structure, assuming their own factual importance. I read this because I did not have any time to find a book for my 3 month trip to Europe and my mom had this lying around. However, since I was trying to find broaden my literary genres and venture into romance, this science fiction blend seemed like a proper compromise.
I loved it. There certainly are a few minor structural problems due to the time changes, but it altogether brilliant and original. Too bad more people do not appreciate it.
Good prose, but uninteresting. Maybe this is a piece that cannot be read outside its own time. The “scandal” around which the book is based is largely uneventful and possibly unbelievable. Was probably my first seafaring book though...
Story: 9 / 10
Characters: 9
Setting: 9
Prose: 8
This was the 1st anime TV series I ever watched. That show started me on my journey in pursuit of the best stories in the world 20 years ago. Now I'm a ghostwriter...
Not too sure why this was science fiction, all the characters name were weighted with history. Was interesting and certainly well written, however there were a lot of characters to attempt to keep track of. I definitely feel a bit lost, especially with how the story began. Will forget the book tomorrow anyway...
Directionless. Probably the best part of this book is the title. It incorrectly insinuates some SciFi plot. Instead, the contemporary story revolves around a close-to-retirement, failed consultant. His one final chance is to use a network connection to secure a Middle East business contract. However, his presentation is low priority and he must wait an unknown amount of days or weeks for his opportunity. The book is filled with the irrelevant events until his meeting. By far the worst book my club has selected :(
Themes:
Going to the tent everyday
Tumor
Suicide neighbor
Insomnia
Colleagues
Ex wife
Father
Yousef
Doctor
King
These young adult books don't really have much that isn't covered in the film. I just read it to see if I should continue the series. Although the majority of the book is quite strong, the ending is daft. There really isn't a middle to speak of.
If you don't have anything else to read, I guess you can give it a try. However, there is too much better stuff out there to bother with this one.
I'll definitely watch the movies though :P
Story: 7 / 10
Characters: 8
Setting: 9
Prose: 7
Sadly not the “best fantasy book ever”, as I was told. However, certainly a contender for my Top 5. Although I did love the book, there are a few overwhelming issues with the plot that limited my enjoyment.
1. The story has no central character. The saga centres on the Stark family as a whole, thus denying the reader a central conflict to maintain interest. Since most of the characters are children, they are simply victims of pomp and circumstance. A third of the way into the book, it looked as though Lord Stark was the main player. However, the conflict he was following immediately changes form. Ultimately, there isn't a single story being told; the story is multifaceted, but at the expense of its clarity.
2. Two characters besides the Starks are followed: Tyrion and Daenerys. Why are they there? One of them is especially problematic for the reader.
Certainly not going to continue with the literary series. Nevertheless, now that I've invested so much time in the book, I can endure the lacklustre first episode and watch the TV series.
Story: 2 / 10
Characters: 6
Setting: 6
Prose: 4
Another miserable contemporary novel. I had the idea to read a book with my girlfriend. Sadly, she chose this one. I stopped reading it at about page 200 to let her catch up. However, after a month she said I had to carry on and return the book to the library. In the end, I've had to suffer through this book alone.
As for the book itself, I have little to say. Adventure stories often lack direction. As a result, they don't always work for every reader. In this book, I dismissed the story as ridiculous when the suitcase contents are revealed (page 20?). The adventure became progressively more unbelievable after that. The writing style appropriately complemented the events, but did not appeal to me much either.
Cannot imagine the movie being much better...NOT RECOMMENDED!
Story: 6.5 / 10
Characters: 7
Setting: 8.5
Prose: 6.5
I learned a substantial amount about Islamic culture from this book. Compare this to a piece of literary fiction, which will predominantly focus on cultural exploration without a plot and you'll understand why Alif the Unseen is so unique.
Nevertheless, I had generally mixed feelings about the book. Very slow start, picking up only when the urban fantasy elements were introduced. Note also that this is a different type of fantasy novel, opposed to traditional Tolkien worlds, making it more interesting than most other books in this same genre. Not recommending it, but not warning others away from it either.
Story: 8 / 10
Characters: 7
Setting: 9
Prose: 8
Note that this book is part of a series and does not have an ending.
Story: 5 / 10
Characters: 7
Setting: 8
Prose: 6
Did not look forward to this book. Thought it would be too similar to time travel books, which don't really work at all. However, it turns out that space distinctions are quite different. While The Long Earth could certainly have introduced the concept in a different way, the setting does work quite well.
This is also the first book by two authors I've had to read. They also pulled that off quite well. The story is a bit direction-less at times, but it is really the result of the adventure plot. This also turns out to be the largest failing of the book. Definitely not continuing the series, but not warning people away from reading either.
Story: 7.5 / 10
Characters: 8
Setting: 9
Prose: 7
Tags: Space travel, time, manipulation, outcasts, indentured
2nd L. Ron Hubbarb book and both were amazing. Definitely planning on reading more.
Not recommended (4/10)
The pulpy style and esoteric Analytical Philosophy (of language) leaves little for the reader to digest. Only the gene-splicing was fun.
Story: 6 / 10
Characters: 7.5
Setting: 7
Prose: 7.5
Another lost child random adventure.
Despite the lackluster story, the book does a good job of introducing programming concepts, far better than any of its competitors
Story: 7.5 / 10
Characters: 9.0
Setting: 7.0
Prose: 9.0
Tags: Mental health, obligations, depression, suicide, influence
6/10
I have very conflicted feelings about the book and did not overly like it, but it was certainly well done. Part of these problems stem from the first gothic scene. I must have misread the setting and could not understand why the main character was so scared. After that, I could not really believe her tale and thought she was prone to overreacting. Later, the setting is further explored and I finally realised how horrible that experience would have been.
Despite this oversight, the ending is weak. Still, the prose is reasonable and storytelling strong. Will revisit James again, but not rushing off to read to him again.
Story: 3 / 10
Characters: 8
Setting: 7
Prose: 4
Still loving this vampiric, romance trilogy. Certainly not as good as the original, but still has some semblance of a story. Hopefully the final book is better than the second.
Overall: 5/10, Not worth the read.
2312 has a lot of really strong points. The diegesis (world) is extremely interesting, basically creating a very realistic look at colonizing our solar system and even its asteroids. All the politics and social challenges facing the solar system are clever and insightful, especially the socio-economic differences between the colonies and Earth. Lastly, intrapersonal identity is also explored, from gender to body modification and technological integration. However, all these brilliant components do not make engaging content.
The main problem with the book is its story and structure, making it mostly worthless. In fact, I would encourage the author to rewrite the entire thing. The story is a really boring account of a terrorist attack. 20% of the book is spent with two characters walking through a tunnel. The minor story arc about an Earthing the main character saves does not end up having enough relevance to justify its inclusion. The common scifi device of explaining facts about the world through quoted books from the period is used, but is also done so poorly that it makes all those pages worthless. In the end, a lot of good material is wasted and bad content is stuffed into a never-ending book.
Another bad book club selection.
As usual, the problem is the story. There is little direction and host of irrelevant characters. In one word: POINTLESS.
Would not recommend.
I have never had such mixed feelings about a book before. Rendezvous with Rama was a poetically simple, adventure story and offers little else. I experienced the probable uncertainly that our future ancestors will likely face. However, the neutral and honest story is not sufficiently interesting and only contained a few small conflicts.
I may not read another Clarke novel.
Story: 5 / 10
Characters: 7
Setting: 8
Prose: 7
Strong concept, but too many irrelevant story threads results in a largely unintelligible book.