Montgomery Webster
My second Japanese author, though I will not visit Murakami again. The book was strange and slow, like an early David Lynch film. I won't say it was directionless, because it ended reasonably, but it was life-like, which is to say boring and poorly paced. The only value was the ear-fetish: I should start paying more attention to them now.
This was a recommendation by the way...
Though the weakest book in the series, Children still had some extremely strong points. For example, the Choir is explored in depth. Most of the trouble lies with the story structure. While some of the politics is clever and compelling, it does not provide enough depth or urgency to move the story along.
Still looking forward to reading more Vinge though.
Story: 7.5 / 10
Characters: 7
Setting: 9.0
Prose: 7.5
Note that the Author's Preface contains lengthy excerpts from the book. I would suggest skipping it altogether. It's main themes are how publishers describe Kim, namely as American, or Korean, as well as the concept of Han. I read the preface after finishing the book. The Author's Note was far more interesting.
Story: 8 / 10
Characters: 6
Setting: 7
Prose: 8
I'm not really into short stories, so everything really worked in this book except the ending. Not sure if I should give the author another shot with a longer format.
Worth a read, if you're willing to overlook the slow first 50%.
Story: 7.0 / 10
Characters: 4.0
Setting: 4.0
Prose: 4.0
Truly a remarkable book. The real gem is the historical mystery that the first pages set up. Rivals Dune and Star Maker in distance into the future the story travels. Between the serial structure and robot relations, the book most closely resembles one of Asimov's. However, these robots serve not only man...
Overall: Absolutely the worst book I have ever read (1/10). Not really much else to say, since there was not a single redeeming feature.
Story: 4 / 10
Characters: 9
Setting: 6
Prose: 6
Really impressive concept. Sadly, not a very good delivery. The plot doesn't develop until well over halfway through, which leaves the story wandering aimlessly.
Tags: Ancillaries, AI-human interaction, mind control, houses, families, birthright, privilege, class, imperialism
Story: 2 / 10
Characters: 5
Setting: 7
Prose: 7
Hardly scifi at all. Really depends on the reader's interpretation. I would remove it from the SF Masterworks collection.
Essentially a theme-based book exploring self, memory, and perception, but not a lot happens. Would not recommend for anyone.
Really enjoyed the book and recommend it even for people not looking to start their own businesses.
There is a lot of time saving advice, especially the Pareto Principle and Parkinson's Law. I'm curious how my life might change as a result of this read.
Story: 6.5 / 10
Characters: 6
Setting: 6
Prose: 5
Tags: Programming, relationships, marriage, infidelity, mental health, stress, work, downsizing, coding, software
Story: 7 / 10
Characters: 7
Setting: 7
Prose: 8
An absolutely intriguing story about a man trying to fulfill the ridiculous request of a wealthy performer. The book keeps building with a clever story-within-a-story and a spiralling plot structure. The ending doesn't quite satisfy, The Potrait of Mrs. Charbuque is still a worthy read. Nothing in comparison to Well-Built City Trilogy though :)
If you are trying to figure out whether to read this book or not, you should probably read someone else's review. This book was written precisely for me. Not only am I a high-brow, science-fiction futurologist, virtual world, romantic comedy is my favourite subgenre.
Obviously, I loved the book. In fact, I enjoyed it so much and consumed it so rapidly, that I cannot be sure how good it actually is.
The setting is clever and complete.
The conflict is established early and the plot flows well throughout the novel.
The only thing that might put people off is all the 80s references. Sure, it might be fun to see which ones you know, but it can get old. Was not really a problem for me, but wanted you to keep it in mind.
Anyway, this is likely the best non-graphic, virtual world novel written. I have not read Sword Art Online, but it is a light novel (and thus expensive).
Get ready...
This is not the book I was looking for. It is really about Sketching as a process, a methodology I have already been employing. There is nothing about Designing specifically, just getting the right design by sketching. As such, the first half of the book was not useful. In contrast, the second half goes into detail about sketching techniques and when they are relevant. Many of these were new to me and the case studies were certainly interesting. Overall, not recommended for experienced UXers.
Story: 3 / 10
Characters: 6
Setting: 6
Prose: 5
Another directionless piece. Dying Inside isn't simply about a telepath: It is about a telepath that is losing its powers. Some books go too far into an idea. Basically, Dying Inside is the opposite of an origin story. There is very little forward action in the book: Most of it is a retrospective and a lot of irrelevant, contextual information as well. For example, there is one chapter entirely composed of an essay the main character ghostwrites. Certainly, it shows how he makes a living. However, those 10 pages (5% of the book) could have been better spent (or simply removed).
Not recommended (for anybody: Well, telepaths only).
Story: 8 / 10
Characters: 7
Setting: 6
Prose: 6
Another fantastic adventure by Stapledon. Much like Star Maker, the reader is taken on the journey through one life. Sirius explores a host of interesting themes as he tries to find meaning in his unique, canine life: family, love, lust, nature, work, existentialism, friendship
Not very futuristic science fiction, so it did not really appeal to me. Nevertheless, the book was brilliant, as you can expect of OSC. I am still eager to continue The Shadow Series. Hopefully, it will be a bit more political and less realistic military strategy.
What's interesting is that it is very similar to The Eugenics Wars Volume 2, simply significantly better.
Much better than Ender's Game, just like Speaker for the Dead. Really a marvelous book, altogether cleverly heartfelt and miraculous. There is not much more to say, except Orson Scott Card is the finest Science Fiction writer I have encountered.
I am eager to continue the rest of the Shadow Series.