871 replies to this topic

[Lanfear]

Firefight - Brandon Sanderson

 

5/5

 

Very good. Better than the first. So many twists I never saw coming. And it ended like I wanted it to.

[You]

Blood Song by Anthony Ryan

4.8/5

I don't even know what to say right now. Almost wish I didn't finish it.

Edited by You, 01 March 2015 - 11:06 AM.

[Kusunoki]

The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller.

5/5 the heartbreak is real and the prose is absolutely stunning.

[Nepenthe]

Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan

 

6/10

I forgot how annoying Rand gets. He gets really really annoying. So honestly I skipped through his chapters a lot of the time. Elayne is also really annoying (harassing poor Mat), though she's almost pleasant in comparison to Rand. Honestly, the best part of the book is the Aiel. And the prospect of Egwene kicking ass in the near future...though I forgot how young a lot of the main characters are. The last time I read this book, I was in middle school, probably 13 years old. And now I'm older than Elayne and Egwene and Mat and Perrin and Rand. It's weird. :/

[Kusunoki]

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

 

5/5

I love this portrayal of Thomas Cromwell. Much better than all the other cliched versions which paint him as a dastardly villain with no properly explained motive. This Cromwell is so very human, with people he loves and wants to protect.

[Socrates]

Gunslinger

Stephen King

 

 

 

4.5/5

[Antisolar]

1Q84 - Haruki Murakami
 
I decided to try this one after Kafka On The Shore, Colorless Tsukuru, and Sputnik Sweetheart.
While the above stories left unanswered questions, in 1Q84's case, it's to the point one feels like there will be 4th book (there are 3 books). It completely feels like an axed comic. However, it is not a bad thing and doesn't leave us disappointed or cheated. It feels like the rest would be unnecessary.
I don't know about reading Murakami, because I only used audio book so far(I think the french readers were great), but I do think his books won't stain your library.
 
As for the content itself, it didn't take long for me to get annoyed with the male lead's parrot ability, and the repetitive mention of his balls getting a massage by his girlfriend(I am dead serious).
That's the only two negative points in my opinion, and regarding the first one, hearing it rather than reading it might be the reason I was affected.
 
As for the other three works I mentioned above, I didn't felt annoyed, with the exception in Kafka On The Shore of a highly disturbing scene, even if it is not certain which facts/realities are where, involving animal cruelty.
I felt like there was no point in going into the many details and that the story would've been just as good without.

Edited by Antisolar, 22 June 2015 - 12:51 PM.

[shelly]

The Legend of the Sun Knight,  

all of it, last chapter, epilogue, all done.

 

TT - TT

 

 

[Kusunoki]

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

4.8/5 The sequel to Wolf Hall. Love the thrill of witnessing vengeance achieved with Machiavellian coolheadedness.

[Mystika101]

Firestorm by Shannon Meyer > quite a fun book

 

Nice to see people reading so many of the books I like. Anyone else looking forward to the sequel to the Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss?

[Zero King]

Emma's Rug by Allen Say

4/5

It was such a cute book, it is something I will read to my children someday.

[blue.monday]

Songs of Fire and Ice - A Feast for Crows (book 4 of the series aka Game of Shite)

Good writing, politics, backstabbing errr intrigues, s*x, lot's of povs, realistic writing etc., easily 8,5+/10

[ThatYellowFever]

Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan

 

6/10

I forgot how annoying Rand gets. He gets really really annoying. So honestly I skipped through his chapters a lot of the time. Elayne is also really annoying (harassing poor Mat), though she's almost pleasant in comparison to Rand. Honestly, the best part of the book is the Aiel. And the prospect of Egwene kicking ass in the near future...though I forgot how young a lot of the main characters are. The last time I read this book, I was in middle school, probably 13 years old. And now I'm older than Elayne and Egwene and Mat and Perrin and Rand. It's weird. :/

 

The weird thing about the character ages in those books is that there isn't a clear or stated progression of time, It's just vaguely hinted at when one of the characters reminisces about something that happened x amount of time before. That said I actually quite liked Rand throughout the series, I couldn't understand Egwene or Gawain

 

The last book I finished would be Edward Said's Orientalism

[pizhhh]

Star Wars: Lost Stars

I never really got into the old Expanded Universe (Legends), but since Disney has wiped it all clean to start over, and after watching Force Awakens, I figured it might be a good time to try again.

Starting with Lost Stars was a good decision. The book was just great. Don't let the Young Adult label fool you. While it's basically a star-crossed lovers kind of tale in the Star Wars universe, it's one that's done extremely well. The romance between the two main characters (from whom we alternate viewponts) don't feel forced, and not at all cheesy. They are likable and you find yourself rooting for them to get together.

I liked how it humanized the Empire by showing how people, good people, would still be working for such an evil government, and it greys out the black-and-white moralities of the films. I also liked how major events during the original trilogy bear real weight upon the lives of the characters and the various cameos of established characters feel organic. Though I have this issue of feeling the main characters lives are too intertwined with the events from the films and that there's too much contrived coincidences for things to happen like they did, but there is also the subtext of The Force bringing together their destinies.

I now unconsciously put this as benchmark upon which all Star Wars EU will be measured. I'm heading to Aftermath next, but most say it's inferior.

8.7/10

[OMGWTFBBQPONIES]

Amber and Iron by Margaret Weis (2nd volume of The Dark Disciple series)

Spoiler

some stuff worse when compared to the first volume, but still good; them extra-clever gods who often behaved like spoiled children were bad (and the move from "emotionless gods having to use mortals out of necessity" to "everyone falls in love in Mina"); also, I got a feeling that the author put too much important narration in mouths and minds of characters, thus creating random bursts of wisdom/intelligence

~3.75-4/5

Edited by OMGWTFBBQPONIES, 31 December 2015 - 08:47 PM.

[Kusunoki]

The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff

3/5 I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I admire Greta (the wife) a great deal, but the author has somehow reduced Einar/Lily into a dimwitted person, which is very much NOT appreciated.

 

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

4/5 Very gripping. I love the way it's written as records of surveillance on different key characters. It's a bit strange that the first chapter kinda gives away the ending, but given the way it's written, I suppose it makes sense.

[ClearMadness]

Shadows Of Self by Brandon Sanderson.

4.5/5 - I liked it but it wasn't his best work. Not enough gets accomplished. 

[anzu2snow]

Sanctuary by Faye Kellerman. It's the 7th book in the Decker/Lazarus detective series. There's usually a Jewish theme throughout. It's not a 'religious' series, but Rina Lazarus and the community around her are orthodox Jews. Peter Decker found out his biological parents were Jewish, he was adopted (not really a spoiler) into a southern Baptist family at an early age, and has been slowly 'reclaiming' his Judaism. He met Rina during the first case, and fell in love with her. She helps out a lot with his cases. Especially if they involve the orthodox community. (Which they usually do.) I don't have all the books in the series. In fact, I had to skip over 2 between the last one I read, and this one. But, they're easy to really dive into no matter where you're at in the series. Each one really flows, too. There's a certain 'attitude' in it. The mystery aspect really keeps you guessing. Most of them have had a lot of twists and turns. I liked this one more than Day of Atonement. (The last one I read before this one.) It's about a wealthy Jewish family of 4, and the father was into the diamond business. The entire family disappears one day. At the same time, another family, that also has a father who's into the diamond business, disappears. (Rina knew the mother.) For a while, they weren't sure if they were related. I'd probably give it around an 8 out of 10.

[Bokuboy]

Lee Child's 19th book in the Jack Reacher series, Personal.

 

It's about an ex-military cop (MP Major) who travels the country for fun, because he'd never seen it (growing up at various military bases around the world in his youth) and his myriad adventures that he literally stumbles into.

[Nepenthe]

I've been reading a looot lately...

 

Starting with the most notable:

The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch: 9/10

I listened to the first half of this book, while on a long road trip. I had a reaaaal problem with the pacing then, but that has mostly to do with how much faster I can read something versus listen to it. Was much more enjoyable reading it. The setting is a city grody enough that it reminds me of a non-farcical/satirical Ankh-Morpork. The book as a whole has embraced a lot of classic fantasy tropes but has used them in a way that's anything but stale. It's actually rather fast-paced, and is full of exciting, sometimes heartbreaking twists. Well put-together, expertly written. Smartass bantering is 10/10.

 

The first three books of Tamora Pierce's Protector of the Small Quartet: 8.5/10

These were actually rereads. I read them back when they came out, I think, which was about when I was in middle school. So back then I didn't have the breadth to really appreciate how good Tamora Pierce's writing is. Even though the series is about a girl who starts out at 10 years old, it was still a good read. I love her approach to a female hero, though knowing her stances it doesn't surprise me at all. There's no reliance on sexual assault to provide a backstory, or conflict, etc. She's not inherently special, like being some kind of 'chosen one,' and this is actually discussed at various points in the series. Her accomplishments as a woman (trying to become the first lady knight in centuries, in this case) can't be written off. She got them out of pure hard work and tenaciousness. The books don't fall into the annoying trope of adults being stubbornly misguided, and all the youths correct in their ideals. The way people in the series work to effect change is a refreshingly realistic representation. There are lots of injustices in the world, and try as you might to get them to change, it's not going to happen overnight. And when it does occur, it's in small steps. Every time I thought I was going to be put off by youthful naivete, the author addressed it. It was great.

 

Burned by Magic and Bound by Magic, by Jasmine Walt: 6/10

The series has real potential. Jasmine Walt is compared to Ilona Andrews and Patricia Briggs in the books' reviews, which is a fair enough comparison. But, Andrews' Kate Daniels novels and Briggs' Mercy Thompson series are huge, well-established, and very well done (and are urban fantasy, not paranormal romance, thank you very much). It's almost unfair to compare someone's debut novel to them. What Jasmine Walt's series is missing to me is depth, and polish. The characters sometimes come off more as caricatures. It's all very well to have a sassy and hot-headed lead, except sometimes her stubbornness just became childish. The prose is lacking that little bit of extra something that makes it shine. Not quite enough description for me, especially since it's set in a world I'm totally unfamiliar with. Probably my biggest issue is with the plotting and pacing. The books only feel like they have half of a story arc to me. Sure, there's some resolution of conflict at the end, but it feels secondary. Like they should go from there and take care of the real Big Bad. I guess what I'm missing is suspense.

 

I've also read something like 8 of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files novels in the past month or so, but those were a bit longer ago. And honestly, since I read them one right after another, they sort of blend together... They were all varying shades of fantabulous, of course.

 

(The mediocre YA stuff I read in my boredom isn't worth typing out a review)