David Woodger

OH MY GOD THIS BOOK WAS INTENSE! Yes, I loved this book. If you're in a reading slump, read this. But beware, this is only for those who enjoy a good horror tale. So, in chapter one, I took it as a good sign that I laughed aloud at least once. By the end of chapter two I was digging the main character, Patricia, a housewife in a small town in South Carolina. The story is set in the early 90s, which means no cell phones. The story moves along so fast and the tension can be such that you need to book the book down every now and then just to think to yourself, Oh God, No, this is bad! What are you doing, Patricia?! And it can suddenly get both super scary and super gruesome. Bloody finish too. Excellent vampire story.

Kell Kressia was a reluctant and largely accidental hero ten years ago when he alone, survived an encounter in the far north against the dreaded Ice Lich. A famous telling of how he slew the Ice Lich, distorts the truth, and he'd like all of that to be behind him. But now there's new trouble afoot, and the king sends him north once more. The story moves pretty quickly and there's a few surprises in store. It got more interesting as it went along, although the story struck me as a little simplistic, though I did see that it was setting up some plot points for the second book. Either way, I now would like to read the second book in this duology when it becomes available.

Got this for my daughter (age 6) and she loves it. The pictures are gorgeous and full of detail.

I read this in 2000. I remember enjoying the story... great concept. Then I saw the movie and that sucked (and not in a good way.) – Hang on... I dug up my review from my archives:

Stephen King credits Matheson as being the writer who most influenced his own writings and Arnold Schwarzenegger is (or was) interested in making a movie out of this story (starring himself). So, I wanted to check out what they were so jazzed about. Matheson is perhaps better known as the author of What Dreams May Come, which was turned into a mediocre movie starring Robin Williams as a man who journeys to the afterlife in search of his wife. I Am Legend is about Robert Neville, who, though he's the last man on Earth, isn't necessarily alone. Every other man, woman, and child on the planet has either succumbed to a mysterious plague or has been turned into a vampire. By day Neville travels around the area driving stakes into the hearts of the sleeping vampires. By night he barricades himself in his protected house, surrounded by garlands of garlic. Bummer, huh? This brief novel was written in 1954 and takes place in the future of 1976. It's entertaining enough and has a couple of good plot twists, nothing great though. But I think the story would translate well — in an updated fashion — to a modern horror movie.

Read in 10th grade for school. Thought it was cool then, still think so now.

This tale continues with only four of the characters from Book 1 (Kalam, Fiddler, Crokus, and Apsalar) and a host of new characters on another continent. The four from Book 1 travel to the Seven Cities area of the vast continent west from Genabackis. The seer Sha'ik launches a war against the Malazans. The Empress Laseen picks the Wickan leader of the Crow Clan, Coltaine to safeguard the Malazan refugees. Coltaine begins a long, hazardous march to the city of Aren. There are several bloody battles, many perilous travels through strange “warrens”, and some new interesting characters, notably the Imperial Historian, Duiker (attached to Coltaine's march) and the youngest daughter of House Paran, Felisin. Her journey takes some strange turns. It's epic, strange, dark, and weird. It's also big meaty fantasy with an eye-popping conclusion. I enjoyed it but next up is some lighter fare.

This was some weird stuff. Purportedly all true, I have my doubts about some of it. But it was all fascinating.

I think The Guardian said it best: “It's Lovecraft meets the Brontës in Latin America, and after a slow-burn start Mexican Gothic gets seriously weird.” It's set in 1950s Mexico and our young heroine, Noemí, is visiting strange relatives after receiving a disquieting letter from her beloved cousin, Catalina. The remote house she visits and the family that lives there is odd to say the least. The story wastes no time getting started, but it is a slow-burn – until two-thirds in when it's Oh My GOD! I read the last hundred pages in a rush. It's a cool, weird, thrilling tale, a modern update on gothic horror.

Seemed so promising, seedy Victorian London setting, strange things in jars, an unconventional sleuth who sees and talks to a ghost who accompanies her, a strange child abducted. But it's all mood for too long. Not much has really happened by page 145 and I got bored. Boredom is the kiss of death.

This book had been sitting on my shelves and that turned out to be a good thing because I needed another book to read aloud to my daughter. This story about a young homeless girl named Momo who arrives at the edge of the (nameless) city and makes her home in the ruins of an old amphitheatre. She soon becomes very popular with many of the children of the city and some of the adults because in her presence people think clearly and she really listens to people. But then the men in gray arrive. They are insidiously stealing time from people with their nefarious Time-Saving Bank. Momo, however, is impervious to their charms, but as the situation worsens, she has to do something about it. This book is very much about the value of your time and what you do with it. (Hint: don't get carried away by ambition and haste.) This book is also sort of an odd tale that slowly gets under your skin. We enjoyed it.

Kinduva cheesy looking cover on this one, eh? But mind the old maxim!* This was a good read! And at 901 pages, one would sure hope so. Kushiel's Dart is an epic fantasy story set in an alternate medieval Europe in which “Terre D'Ange” is substituted for France, “Alba” for England, “Skaldia” for Scandinavia/Russia, etc. Out heroine is Phèdre nó Delaunay, sold to a respectable brothel at the age of four and tutored in the arts of the courtesan. But Phèdre is no ordinary girl, she is marked by a scarlet mote in her left eye, a.k.a. Kushiel's Dart (a reference from the story's religious background mythology.) What Kushiel's Dart signifies is that Phèdre is an anguisette. Whuh? ...

an anguissette is one of Kushiel's chosen mortals, picked to “balance the scales” against those who impart suffering without compassion. Anguisettes feel pain and pleasure as one. Additionally, the wounds of those who bear Kushiel's Dart never fail to heal clean. Those who have been chosen by Kushiel have a scarlet mote in their left eye, referred to poetically as Kushiel's Dart. (see http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Anguissette)

rotten

whistle

whoa

Kushiel's Chosen

I found this one browsing in a Swedish SF bookstore. Usually Swedish book prices are a bit too steep for me, but this was marked down to about ten bucks so I snapped it up. This story began with a seriously good hook, essentially an encounter with an alien race goes spectacularly badly. We quickly move on to a crew of four aboard a massive warship of the new Providence class. It's a ship that is controlled by AI and the crew feel largely irrelevant. You get to know these four pretty well and the story zips along so fast. I gobbled this one up. The Daily Mail likened it to “Starship Troopers with added brain” and that's pretty spot on. This is my second book I've read by this author and won't be my last.

I took a slight detour from the fantasy neighborhood into the world of military sf* with this story. At the age of 75, John Perry visits his wife's grave and then enlists in the Colonial Defense Forces. The CDF only takes recruits who have reached the age of 75 – they only want people with a lifetime of experiences to draw on. Then these recruits are whisked off Earth to one of the many CDF spaceships and given new genetically-enhanced bodies. Soon after that they are off killing aliens and protecting human colonists on other worlds. Moves quick enough and kept me interested, but not so interested that I'm rushing out to get the sequel. I think it's time for some non-fiction next.
* Those in the know refer to science fiction as “sf”, never “sci-fi.”

These Killing Eve novels are super-fast reads. They're like going through candy. The author has a way of propelling the story along without any boring parts. Just zips along. And this book concludes the crazy character arcs of both Eve Polastri (the MI-6 agent) and Villanelle (the psychopath assassin). Each book moves the story along in ways you wouldn't expect. It's all kinda nuts, really. And exciting. I've only seen the first two episodes of the TV show, that's what got me into this trilogy. I've read the whole thing this year. Maybe at some point I'll finish watching the show.

The premise sounded promising and I gave this one a pretty good go, getting over 200 pages into it. But by that point I was completely bored. I didn't experience any real suspense. And when I got to the scene with all the rats, I thought things were looking up. But the denouement of that scene was anti-climactic and that sort of clinched my decision to abandon this book about 1/3 read. I realize this is a YA book, although it wasn't classified as such where I bought it. Even so, I'm no stranger to reading YA as an adult. But this obviously didn't grab me.

This is the first book in a new trilogy and the title character is a young woman named Miranda Popescu, a girl in her teens living in western Massachusetts. But all that's about to change as she soon learns that she's a princess from an alternate world where Roumania is one of Europe's power players in the 19th century. She and two of her friends find themselves back in this world and somewhat changed in the process. There's political intrigue and interesting characters doing weird things. There's conjurers, spirit animals, simulacrums masquerading as real people, and other oddness. It all makes for a curiously bizarre yet sometimes confusing tale. But ultimately you start piecing together the confusing elements and it's an enjoyable book. Looking forward to continuing this trilogy. (Also, I've read this author before and he's got a unique imagination.)

First read in 10th grade, then again about 20 years later. Not sure what all the fuss is about.

I actually read this 4 years ago and am re-reading it now because it's just so cool. Here's what I wrote about it back then:

French graphic artist Joann Sfar is best known stateside for his Little Vampire books (Little Vampire Goes to School and Little Vampire Does Kung Fu!) which are aimed at children but find a wider audience. But this book is for adults and concerns Ferdinand, a vampire with women troubles. He's been sulking over a break-up with his girlfriend Lani (a mandragora, a.k.a. a plant-girl) who he caught sleeping with his best friend. Sfar's artwork is squiggly and intricate, but sometimes simple. The plots meander but are diverting and filled with strange characters like tree men, a werewolf, an invisible man, a golem, et cetera. It's often funny and always inventive. I really enjoyed these four interrelated tales. Sfar has a huge following in Europe and is the author of many comic books. I'm sure I'll be getting into some more of his work.

I have mixed feelings about this one, but on the whole, I enjoyed it. There are several character viewpoints that take their turns. There's Lin, the daughter of the emperor. There's Jovis, a smuggler. There's Phalue, the adult daughter of an island governor and her lover Ranami. And then there's the mysterious Sand. Of them all, I found Lin and Jovis's stories the most interesting. Didn't care much about Phalue and Ranami. And Sand doesn't make many appearances. The more the magic is explained, the more you find it repugnant – which was interesting! There are a few mysteries within the story, and a few surprises. But when all is said and done, it's obvious it's the first book in a series. I think the most telling thing for me, is how long it took me to finish it. Don't know if I'll get to book two.

I had to read this way back in 10th grade. I remember it mostly because of one day when we had a substitute teacher for English. We had to take turns talking about the events of the book. But then, when the entire class realized the substitute teacher hadn't read the book, we began making up plot points and additional characters. It was hard not to laugh.

But the actual book? I don't remember liking it. Lots of mooning about Heathcliff as I recall.

This is where I gave up on the Harry Potter craze. Not for me. Too cutesy. Meh.

Was okay in 1984, but hey, that was some time ago. I don't really remember that much.

This is a strange tale from one of my favorite authors. But it's a bit of a diversion from his previous books. Here he takes on a detective story but adds his own unique wrinkle to the story which is the setting. The title refers to the cities of Beszel and Ul Qoma which occupy the same geographical location. They are sort of interwoven together and the citizens of one city must ignore or unsee the citizens, buildings, et cetera of the other city. Detective Tyador Borlù of Beszel's Extreme Crime Squad begins what looks like a routine murder investigation. But his investigation leads him to follow up leads in Ul Qoma. It's such an odd concept. But it's fairly interesting. However, the story moves a bit slowly. Not a page-turner. I have (fittingly) mixed feelings about this one.

I bought this one a couple years ago when it first came out and figured it would be a good one to read since I'm currently in Sweden and Norse mythology takes a big role in this story. I have a passing familiarity with Norse mythology (which I enjoy more than Greek) since I've read D'Aulaire's Book of Norse Gods and Giants several times to my kids and I've also started a grown-up book about Norse mythology. So I actually recognized some of the lesser known Norse gods' names. (Beyond Thor, Odin, and Loki, can you name some?) Anyway, this story uses a murdered woman who becomes a Valkyrie as its protagonist as she joins forces with some of the gods to prevent Ragnarok (a Norse end-of-the-world scenario featuring deaths of gods, natural disasters, and rebirth). But I didn't get a good sense of the main character (christened Mist) and couldn't figure out which gods were on which side of the fighting. I was also frequently lost as to many of the characters motives and didn't really understand what was happening. Perhaps you can tell where this review is heading? Either I'm not that smart, wasn't paying close enough attention, or things were clear as mud. But at only 292 pages, I finished it anyway.

Wow. This was very cool. Geek cool. There are two definitions of “daemon” that apply here: 1) a person who is part mortal and part god and 2) a process lurking in the background, usually unnoticed, until something triggers it into action. For example, the sendmail daemon awakes whenever someone sends mail. This is the story about a computer game company CEO whose death triggers a daemon with extremely deadly results. Detective Pete Sebeck investigates a strange death which sets the story in motion. From there it barrels along at speed. The technology in the book exists today but the way it's used here is scary. Makes for a very exciting and captivating book. It also takes several plot twists you won't see coming. I raced through this story. My only complaint is that there are some loose threads not wrapped up at the end. For those, presumably, we need to read the sequel, Freedom™. Also, be prepared for a high body count.