Arielle

This book is surprisingly awesome. The concept - Vlad Tepes/Dracula marries Queen Victoria, vampires become a part of Victorian-era society, oh and Jack the Ripper is killing vampire prostitutes - seemed like it had a lot of potential but would probably end up awful, as things like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies do. Instead, it was handled really skillfully; the vampires are not romanticized but are as varied in temperament and morals as humans, the adversaries are intimidating, the characters layered, and coolest of all (imo), there are constant tiny references to period literature, the original novel Dracula, and historical events of the time, which are so much fun to spot. In general, recommended, especially for fans of the era.

Sometimes, seemingly flat characters are brought to life when the author gives them some flavor or subverts the trope. I read nearly a quarter of the book and I'm pretty sure an teenage Molly Ringwald fan could write a Breakfast Club murder mystery AU with more passion. Didn't finish because I didn't care.

The first time I read this, I picked up the Andy Orchard translation, and later read a few of the other, older translations. It was a good idea for me; often I have difficulty reading epic poetry and understanding what exactly is going on, and I'd heard that this version dropped a lot of the grandiose language, making it a lot clearer. Despite the inaccuracies pointed out by other reviewers, I was pleased I read it first. That said, definitely go and read at least one other translation to compare and contrast. The interpretations change slightly with every edition, and some of them (especially the older ones) are much more poetic than this one.

Five stars are for the Poetic Edda in general; for the Orchard edition, I'd give it three and a half or four.

First off, this is a phenomenally beautiful book. The writing is lyrical, and the pages of description are a treat to read. The sci-fi worldbuilding's also interesting, and I like the way he incorporates modern-day Turkish culture and Turkish myth into this Istanbul of the future. However, it's also an extremely confusing book; there's six or so independent plots going on, and when read all at once they seem pretty chaotic. They do coalesce, eventually, and the ending is satisfying, but it was hard to keep going while not being sure what was going on throughout most of the book.

There is literally nothing appealing about this book. The characters are flat, immature, and melodramatic; the prose is choppy and badly edited; and the sex is mechanical and full of porn star dialogue. More than that, Christian and Ana's dynamic squicked me out beyond recognition. This is not because I'm disgusted by TPE or opposed to BDSM in general - I've read books with a similar theme that were wonderful - but because of Ana's almost absurd naivete, Christian's frankly abusive behavior, and how both of these things were presented as totally okay! And totally loving! Despite how he stalked her, browbeat her, and ignored her attempts at honest conversation in favor of manipulating her to suit his wishes. Creepy as hell.

Tina Fey is basically my mother except famous and Greek instead of not-famous and German, and reading this made me all nostalgic for home and making fun of people with her. (Because it's not like I live twenty minutes away or anything.) Witty and at times surprisingly introspective, and a good look into the behind-the-scenes life of the comedy circuit.

I sound like a review off a book jacket. Nice.

This is a collection of essays ranging from the personal to the academic, and as such it's a mixed bag; there were some that I returned to over and over, and others I ended up skimming. In general, an interesting anthology, but not super fantastic - the four-star rating is for those essays I couldn't stop reading.

I went into this book blind, and had to look up spoilers because the content was so heavy. Not in the sense of gore or spookiness, but the depiction of grief and depression, ending in EXTRA SPOILER!! suicide by explosives END SPOILER was just too much for me. 

This was my favorite book in the series when I was younger, but not so much now. Yes, it is partly due to the controversial romance. But it's not exactly the age gap I object to—this is a fantasy novel, I don't expect our morals to map 100% onto the fictional world of Tortall—but how it's handled. Pierce makes a point of presenting the moral dilemma in Daine and Numair's relationship when Numair says the age gap, the power differential, and the fact that he's known her since she was 13(!) makes him uncomfortable....but instead of addressing that at all, the issue is waved away by Daine deciding that's she's totally mature enough for a relationship with her mentor, actually. Which honestly just makes her seem more childish! There also isn't a transition between Daine-the-kid and Daine-the-lover, either for the characters or in the narrative, so that whole storyline comes across as tone-deaf and inadvertently creepy. Just not great writing IMO.

Damn, this is amazing. The art is superb, and so is the story; I was kind of afraid that the writers would make her to be a female version of Batman, but no; Kate Kane's definitely a character of her own, and the villain, Alice, is equally as intriguing. I do wish we'd seen more of Renee/the Question, but hey, can't please everybody! All in all, really well done.

This book is weird. That's the only way I can really describe it; it's weird like House of Leaves, except minus the crazy formatting and also hilarious. It's the sort of thing that you'll either REALLY REALLY love, or completely detest, and it's almost entirely subjective (case in point: BFF and I have same taste in books, usually; I loved it, she hated it).

That said, I think it could use a sterner editor's touch. But if you like body horror, time travel, humor, and just plain weirdness, give it a try.

This was just a really fun read. Don't be fooled by the cover - it's actually an excellent fantasy novel, with original worldbuilding and likable characters. It was also an extremely fast read, and in the end it isn't as gripping as some other fantasy books I've read, but I heartily enjoyed it and I'll pick up the next two in the trilogy as soon as I can.

The Devil, as in Lucifer, is given the opportunity for redemption by living one sin-free month as a human. Of course, he decides to take the offer and absolutely wallow in sin, as devils are wont to do, but in the end there's a tweest! I put off reading this for ages because I was sure it would be incredibly predictable, and then when I finally sat down to start it, I couldn't really stop. It's a stream-of-consciousness sort of book, with massive digressions and a lot of jumping around, but despite my general hatred for that style, I loved it. The writing is so sensual; it's really engaging, and even though the narrator is kind of despicable you also end up loving him (and, in the end, pitying him a little). It's seriously good, but probably very hit-or-miss. To give you an idea, the first sentence is: “I, Lucifer, Fallen Angel, Prince of Darkness, Bringer of Light, Lord of Hell, Father of Lies, Old Serpent, Seducer, Accuser, Tormenter, Blasphemer, and without doubt Best Fuck in the Seen and Unseen Universe (ask Eve, that minx have decided - ooh la la! - to tell all.” If that interests you, you'll probably love the book; if you hate it, don't even try.

This is the run that got me back into comics (and into Marvel, as well). It's just about perfect.

Stunning. Absolutely stunning. And heartbreaking, and a very true, visceral portrait of the Vietnam War as written by a man who lived through it. Probably in my top ten.

Set in the same universe as Boneshaker, but this time focusing on a Confederate nurse trying to make her way to Seattle to see her dying father; she encounters spies, robots, and yes, zombies. I really like the little bits of altered history in this one; we see the changes between worlds a lot more than in Boneshaker.

Set in a ghost town Seattle during a steampunk version of the Civil War, plus zombies! Kickass main character, believable quest, guns with names like Dr. Minnericht's Doozy Dazer - what wouldn't you like about that?

More Johannes, except this time with more Cthulu. Yay!

I finished it. So I guess there's that. But what a trite, boring little book. Local man decides to get a wife, much in the same way one decides to get a new car, and bloodshed follows. If any of the characters had depth, or if the female lead had a complex motivation, maybe it would be tolerable. As it is, it's just a snoozefest.

I found it poorly written and lacking in horror.

Is there anything I can say that hasn't already been said about this book? It's hilarious, eye-opening, and a little alarming - remind me never to huff ether. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person over 16 who hadn't read it, but hey, I finally did and it was awesome.

This is incredibly dense prose. That's something I have to throw out there, because it made me feel excruciatingly stupid for the first fifty pages or so. However, it's totally worth it. This is the first in the Lymond Chronicles, said to be some of the best historical fiction ever, and I did like it a lot! The titular character is seriously awesome, dangerous, brilliant, and oddly patriotic, and the political plotlines were twisty and interesting. I think the problem is that I know absolutely nothing about Scotland in the 1500s (my reaction around the twentieth page: “Oh, there was a war in Scotland?” Yes, Ariel, my brilliant one, there was.) I got to the end based on the sheer strength of Lymond's character and those around him, but I think I'm going to brush up on my history before I tackle the next in the series.

I will fangirl these books until the end of time, especially because it's Diane Duane, but you know what? I think these books are good enough to be appreciated by non-Trek fans as well. The worldbuilding is fantastic - she even comes up with a functional language! - and the characters are excellent, strong yet flawed and believable too. I still haven't read the fifth and last book, but I look forward to it if it's as good as these four.

I liked this. I don't have much to say about it, other than that; it was a quick, fun read, a nice take-off on the wizarding school experience that became so popular after Harry Potter exploded (though Diana Wynne Jones did it first!). The setting was great - I especially enjoyed the construction of magic, and how it was much more difficult than “waving a wand around” (very sly, Mr. Grossman) - and the characters were quirky and fun, if a bit awkward teenager-cum-early twenties nihilist. So yeah; pretty fun, I'd recommend it if you were looking for something light to read, but nothing to chew on or really love.

Part of the Kate Martinelli series; Detective Martinelli investigates a crime related to one that occurred in a possibly-legitimate Holmes pastiche written sixty years before. I kind of love this series and the main character, so I'm biased, but it's definitely a good read.