SK
This book is not without flaws. But its strengths outweigh its flaws by so much that I have to give it 5 stars. It's basic format is to state a problem that many people have in business, sales, discipline, motivation, etc. Then it will give you a very simple, common sense action plan for how to attack this problem. Each of the attack plans is concise and motivating. The fact that they seem like pure common sense on the surface doesn't detract from the fact that very few people I know actually do these things on a daily basis.
My problem with the book comes from the authors tendency to state opinions as though they are facts. He very often refers to studies done by this organization or that organization that shows x% of manager said this about what they are looking for in an employee or some other such statistic. But I didn't find a single actual citation for any of these studies. For all I know they are completely made up for the purpose of illustrating the author's point.
As a skeptic by nature, you would think that this massive oversight would ruin the book for me. And somehow it didn't. This is still by far the most effective book I've read on self motivation and self discipline.
Felt a bit long and plodding. Some cool character developments that felt like they should have happened hundreds and hundreds of pages earlier. Overall it was enjoyable but nowhere near as good as the first book in the series. The end is great and sets up some potentially awesome story arcs for the next book or two. The duel in the middle of book was fun (but the rules seemed really contrived). Chop out 200 pages of blah and I would have given this book 5 stars
This book was definitely interesting. I liked the overall concept and the it was written well. The alien race was well thought out and unique in an interesting way. Unfortunately it feels like the story never quite reaches its potential and occasionally tries too hard to feel epic and grandiose.
Entertaining but not much more.
Fast paced, military sci-fi. The action flows well and is enjoyable. The science and strategy seem to be a bit below the standards set by John Ringo, David Weber and Jack Campbell. The side characters are a bit shallow and I often forgot which character had which back story shortly after they were introduced.
Overall I'd judge it as a fun read, but not for readers who prefer well developed characters.
Several of the stories deserve 5 stars, but some were unbearable. Going to give it 3 stars overall.
Forever Bound by Joe Haldeman
The Triumph by Robin Hobb
And Ministers of Grace by Tad Williams
Out of the Dark by David Weber
Defenders of the Frontier by Robert Silverberg
The Mystery Knight by George RR Martin
The Pit by James Rollins
20 stories in total. The 7 listed above are good to excellent and worth reading. The Triumph by Robin Hobb is my personal favorite from the collection.
One of the very few 5 star reviews I give. The single best autobiography I have ever read. It's really just a collection of autobiographical anecdotes but manages to be very funny, informative and inspiring all at once.
Anyone who loves science, skepticism or witty humor will absolutely love this book.
I very much wanted to give this novel 3.5 stars but goodreads doesn't allow it. A very enjoyable story where we get introduced to two very interesting characters. The writing is superb as it always is with Orson Scott Card (and Johnston in this case). However, this novel doesn't quite end. It's very clear that its just a set up for the next several novels in the series.
The main characters are mostly memorable. Victor is very likable and believable. Lem Jukes' insecurities and struggle to get out from under his father's shadow is very entertaining. We are also introduced to Mazer Rackham, but he doesn't get much ‘screen time' (he gets much more in book two).
Overall it was extremely enjoyable prequel to Ender's Game but doesn't get quite as personal as Ender's Game or nearly as philosophical as Speaker for the Dead.
One of the very few 1 star reviews I've given (most 1 star books I am able to avoid before I open them).
I really, really wanted to like this book but I gave up about 2/3 of the way in. The story is just absurdly boring and I didn't care about the characters at all. The main character is incredibly spineless, though I do assume (hope) that by the end of the book he rectifies this. But I just couldn't get that far.
I first read this 15 years ago and loved it. This time I listened to the audiobook and loved it again. The narration by Rosamund Park is quite possibly the best audiobook narration I've ever listened to. She's just on another level. I'm hoping to finish WoT at some point. Only got to book 5 or 6 my first time around. If she narrates more of them, I'll keep listening.
This one might deserve 1.5 stars, but barely.
Piers Anthony's novels tend to be fun even if they are very often simplistic. But this book is the same damn story again. Dragon's Gold captivated me as a child. I loved it. By the time I got to this, the 3rd novel in the series, I was incredibly bored. Even as a 12 year old I was able to see that he was just putting a new skin on the same story just to sell a few more books.
If you want to read good Piers Anthony, read Dragon's Gold, The first 3 Xanth novels and the first Apprentice Adept novel. Then skip everything else he ever wrote.
It took me a while to get into this book. I've always disliked books where the heros get magically transported to another world. I do understand why authors choose to go this route. It allows the heros to be in the same place as the reader, learning about the world with us as we progress through the story. But it still always annoys me. And a bit more than normal in this book. The main characters are brand new to the world but always seem to know things. Just because they are magic and special for some vague reason.
Despite this, I started to really enjoy this novel. It's just so beautifully written. There is a particularly emotional scene that really made me say, “Wow.” But then the author just takes back the thing that happened! Ugh. It really ruined the power of the scene.
I found the book enjoyable overall. But it never lives up to its potential.
Just love this book. He has a way of writing characters that really resonates with me. The book was actually far less science focused than I remember. Far more character driven. I'm going to make it a point to re-read book 2 and then read book 3 for the first time.
I wasn't expecting much. I always assumed Harry Potter would be too childish. I was pleasantly surprised to read a light hearted but fast paced and enjoyable fantasy.
I've only read Diamond Dogs so far. It's basically the saw movies but science fiction style. Overall I liked it fine. But nothing great. I haven't read Turquoise Days yet, but its totally unrelated afaik.
Really loved this book. Much more than I expected to. I finally understand why its such a classic.
Gave up very early. It seems that Card's co-author had a much bigger role than Card himself in the writing of this book. The characters are incredibly shallow and boring (which is basically never the case with a Card novel). The plot seemed to have some promise but I was just so annoyed with the characterization that I couldn't continue.