Montgomery Webster
I am not really into short stories and this one did not proved any better. Still Pohl's idea that people travelling together in close proximity will grow to murderous rage is interesting and probably true.
Story: 5.0 / 10
Characters: 7.0
Setting: 7.0
Prose: 7.0
Tags: War, sacrifice, family, drafts, customization, behavior, government
Story: 1 / 10
Characters: 2
Setting: 3
Prose: 2
Literally, the worst book I've ever read [ Sin noticias de Gurb was the previous worst ]. A feminist science fiction book sounded interesting, mostly because the genre is dominated by male leads. However, The Female Man doesn't have a story at all. A lot of books will have no direction, but the story continues on nevertheless. However, Russ simply introduces a few characters and places without creating any events. The characters do not do anything. Compound that with a lot of jumping around and a critically-reflective narrator and the worst book ever written results.
Do not read unless paid...
Story: 6 / 10
Characters: 7
Setting: 10
Prose: 7
A brilliant setting that doesn't quite compensate for the mediocre story. In the end, the story is a simple murder mystery. However, the unusual spacial duality of the cities is so captivating that you can almost forget that this plot has been told too many times before.
Story: 5 / 10
Characters: 6
Setting: 7.5
Prose: 4
Themes: Software, hacking, government, spying
Story: 7 / 10
Characters: 8
Setting: 10
Prose: 8
An absolutely fantastic adventure during the last few years of Earth's life. Thus, probably the book that looks furthest into the future of all science-fiction (on par with Stapledon's Star Maker). The world at that time is a veritable paradise and technology enables the few people left to live as gods. While not as hilarious as The Hitchhiker's Guide, the story is hilarious.
Highly recommended, even the time travel sections (for their genre innovations).
Story: 7.0 / 10
Characters: 7.5
Setting: 8.5
Prose: 7.5
This book does not have an ending.
Story: 8 / 10
Characters: 8
Setting: 7
Prose: 7
A truly remarkable book. The gods are brilliant creations and the humans aren't bad either. Really captures the fight for academic and scientific contribution. The only real way to improve the book is to lengthen the ending.
An absolutely fantastic children's book. The dystopia is introduced as matter-of-fact, without judgment, and the adventure begins when the main character gets his first job. Though he is singled out as special, he is not “the only one”, which occurs so often in Fantasy and Children's books to make it worthless.
The only detractor from the book is that events happen a bit too fast. While a lot of time is given to setup the context and experiences, decisions are made and acted on straightaway. This shallowness is likely because the book is written for children.
Nevertheless, could not recommend the book more.
Roadside MBA: Back Road Lessons for Entrepreneurs, Executives and Small Business Owners
The one chapter I read was enjoyable and educational. I'm certain its practical approach to business and supplemental travel adventure will have general appeal.
Nevertheless, I decided that reading a less intense version of a summary of a professional course (MBA) will probably skip a lot that a 30 day MBA book will cover.
Even though it's quite highly rated on Goodreads, the Roadside MBA was the only MBA book not checked out at the library.
I'm going to wait for the next one.
Definitely an interesting take on the genre though it did not really work for me in any way. Even the prose was a bit too obscure, which is the one attribute that authors usually get right. Nevertheless, it was still a decent read.
The movie was significantly better...
Story: 6.5 / 10
Characters: 6
Setting: 8
Prose: 6
Neither good, nor bad. Not a strong story, relying mostly on the setting to hold the reader's interest.
Story: 6.0 / 10
Characters: 7
Setting: 7
Prose: 5
A fairly good book with a terribly weak start.
Tags: Colonization, war, prison, poetry, experimentation, race, language, identity
Story: 6 / 10
Characters: 7
Setting: 8
Prose: 6
Definitely one of the youngest target audience books I've had to read. Nevertheless, the steampunk setting was brilliant. Generally loved the book and the traction city concept. However, the story was a bit too simple. Obviously, this is a result of the 11+ age target. I will not continue with the series.
Story: 8 / 10
Characters: 10
Setting: 8
Prose: 9
WARNING: This book has no ending. Would have really appreciated knowing that before starting.
A disappointment, though recommended by quite a few people. The author employs a journal technique where nearly all the characters take part. It doesn't really work and I feel that some important facts were left out early on. Anyway, the real problem with reviewing the book is that what may have appeared intriguing or novel at the time the book was released is now, in fact, part of modern folklore and assumed.
Story: 2 / 10
Characters: 3
Setting: 6.5
Prose: 8
As with Well's “A Modern Utopia”, the book is not so much a story as a pleasant way to introduce an ideal society. Not entirely what I was looking for. Might I suggest Huxley's “Island” as a more relevant alternative?
Story: 2 / 10
Characters: 6
Setting: 9
Prose: 7
Another awful book. Not a single thing happened. Just a lot of waiting for characters to appear and other random events in 3-5 different story lines.
There were a few good points though:
1. Most alternate history books about WWII seems to forget Japan
2. The Japanese influence on their “territories” in the US is brilliant
3. The simplified prose used by Japanese characters is extremely clever
4. The ramifications of Nazi victory in WWII is profound and terrifying, from the technological innovations to culture cleansing
5. This book was my first exposure to the I Ching (Book of Changes). Including that philosophy definitely made for some fun
Not sure if I should even return to Philip K. Dick after that. He seems to be an “idea man”, not a storyteller. Recall having lacklustre feelings about “Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep”, though I did give it 3 / 5 stars. Would welcome your thoughts on the subject...
Truly an epic and suspenseful novel. Though it starts as a crime story in a unique surrounding (silo), the plot quickly becomes something else entirely. The direction changes so many times that it is really hard to classify the scifi subgenre. Besides that, the drama is captivating. You're told early on that something is going to happen, but not what. I found that extremely compelling.
Definitely continuing with this series shortly...