This was a wonderful little novel. All the haters reviewing Jacob T. Marley claiming it's merely a poor fanfic effort or a lame derivative of A ChristThis was a wonderful little novel. All the haters reviewing Jacob T. Marley claiming it's merely a poor fanfic effort or a lame derivative of A Christmas Carol can kiss my fully Christmas-spirited ass.
In true form to pair with A Christmas Carol, Jacob Thelonius Marley's life story gives us the background and perspective to understand why Marley was present for and invested in Scrooge's spirit visits that one fateful Christmas Eve of lore. This is a wonderfully no-nonsense, yet heart-filled, story of love, compassion and redemption, which will proudly stand on my bookshelf next to Dickens's A Christmas Carol....more
I wish I could say some really great things about The Chemist, after eagerly waiting five months to borrow it on OverdriveEhh, it was okay. Just okay.
I wish I could say some really great things about The Chemist, after eagerly waiting five months to borrow it on Overdrive. What can I say? Even with no real expectations, it turned out to be a big fat let down.
Hoping to be a feminist's Jason Bourne-styled story, The Chemist was unbearably predictable, and mostly not all that interesting. Especially boring was the budding romance between Alex and (Mr. Incorrigibly Clueless) Daniel. The book could lose about 150 pages of the two of them making googly eyes at each other, and the brother getting annoyed by it, and we'd see a definite improvement.
Another improvement would be to create just one respectable male character, just one who isn't a wuss or an a**hole. I need one solid character to hang onto in a novel, and in here, I got none....more
Leap is the second installment in Michael C. Grumley's Breakthrough series, and it is just as action-packed and fun as book one, Breakthrough. There'sLeap is the second installment in Michael C. Grumley's Breakthrough series, and it is just as action-packed and fun as book one, Breakthrough. There's nothing abstruse or complicated about these novels; rather they are straightforward and exciting, offering characters to love and situations to transport and engross. They are precisely the "summer read" type of escape I look for when I pick up an adventure sci-fi novel....more
Cold Planet: A Gateway Universe Story brings a strong female officer to the military sci-fi genre and lets her kick some serious ass. Lt. Emily MartinCold Planet: A Gateway Universe Story brings a strong female officer to the military sci-fi genre and lets her kick some serious ass. Lt. Emily Martin has a mountainous chip on her shoulder, but we get to watch her try to learn and grow into a respectable commander as this "how the heck are they going to survive this?" story unfolds. Martin's ship is destroyed, her unit is dwindling and angry aliens are hiding around every corner. It's an adventure that may not be entirely realistic, but it's exciting to read.
My only wish is that more editing had been done before the audiobook was produced. Glaring grammatical errors like "while her and Sharra went..." were unnecessarily distracting. As well, there were some odd mispronunciations in the audio -- frigate, chassis, intestine -- for common words, but these were infrequent and not off-putting. Overall the audio version was solid and enjoyable.
I received a copy of the Audible version of this book from the narrator in exchange for an honest review....more
The best character in this book is THE JUNGLE. It's deadly, it's creepy-crawly, it's dark and dank -- it will haunt you. Read at your own peril, if yoThe best character in this book is THE JUNGLE. It's deadly, it's creepy-crawly, it's dark and dank -- it will haunt you. Read at your own peril, if you dare. This is true horror....more
Overall I spent most of the novel wondering when it was going to get really interesting, and feeling like I was missing something because I wasn't seeOverall I spent most of the novel wondering when it was going to get really interesting, and feeling like I was missing something because I wasn't seeing the intrigue. Don't get me wrong, The Good Girl was interesting, but it wasn't compelling.
Thankfully, at the very end, just under the wire, it all came together. It was only then that I thought, "Okay, now that's pretty cool." I'm glad I waited....more
Trafficking is a simply constructed novel, reading more like a documentary or an episode of Forensic Files than an action thriller. The point of view Trafficking is a simply constructed novel, reading more like a documentary or an episode of Forensic Files than an action thriller. The point of view is that of a distant observer, who occasionally knows a character's thoughts and motivations, which is off-putting at first, but settles in as the story progresses.
A solid story told basically and without gimmick feels like it's missing something, but is it really? Perhaps as a compulsive reader of crime and thriller fiction, I've been spoiled by all the intricate twists, flashback/flashforward jumps, and out-of-the-blue revelations utilized by modern authors. Despite the lack of luster or common contrivances, Trafficking was still a compelling read, and I found myself going back to it eagerly, wanting to hear what happened next to Athena and Dan/Powell. As well, now that I know this is a series, I do want to get my hands on the next in the series.
It is my hope a different narrator is used for subsequent audiobooks in the series. Chris Hymans read blandly, and much too deliberately, which slowed the pace of the book to a nearly excruciating crawl. Speeding up the playback helped a bit, but without any inflection in his reading, the narrator detracted from, more than he added to, the presentation.
I received an Audible copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review....more
I love Jenny's ebullient and triumphant approach toward writing, speaking, relating and living. It's so refreshing to be allowed a peek into the mind I love Jenny's ebullient and triumphant approach toward writing, speaking, relating and living. It's so refreshing to be allowed a peek into the mind of someone who is so comfortable being wacky....more
If gore is your thing, this novel will certainly hit the mark. You get murder, cannibalism, incest, and some pretty freaky fetishes. The victims were If gore is your thing, this novel will certainly hit the mark. You get murder, cannibalism, incest, and some pretty freaky fetishes. The victims were sympathetic, and the bad guys were appropriately repulsive as individuals, and insane in their actions. The novel is classified as horror, but it's important to distinguish that Exodus is not so much scary as simply gross and gory. Cringe-worthy, even.
The choice of time, place and plot by Kimberly A. Bettes was what brought me to this novel. Something as dry and desperate as a desert (and deserted) town on the way from the Dust Bowl to the promised land of California storms was genius. The writing was decent, but somewhat repetitive and not as creative as it could have been. The same word or phrase could be repeated two or three times in the same paragraph, and characterizations weren't as much enhanced as restated.
The Audible narration did little to strengthen the story. The reading was slow and deliberate with no affect or emotion at all. I would have appreciated differentiation between voices, as I often couldn't figure out which character was supposed to be speaking. As well there were frequent unexpected pauses, almost as if the narrator hesitated while moving to the next line or turning a page. The audio version seemed to have been "produced" without any editing, which it certainly could have used.
As a final warning: If you're not a vegetarian, you may find yourself reconsidering meat consumption after reading/listening to Exodus. You'll always wonder, and fear, just where that meat you're being served came from....more
Thrilling action, expertly developed characters, a strong (seriously BADASS) protagonist, and flawless writing came together to make Livia Lone withouThrilling action, expertly developed characters, a strong (seriously BADASS) protagonist, and flawless writing came together to make Livia Lone without a doubt THE BEST NOVEL I've read this year.
I especially appreciate how the story was thoroughly and satisfactorily wrapped up, yet openings were left for new interest in a next installment in the series. I'll now be searching for anything and everything by Barry Eisler that I can get my hands on....more
The first half of this book was fascinating, filling in some gaps in my knowledge and enlightening me with plenty of "I didn't know that's where it caThe first half of this book was fascinating, filling in some gaps in my knowledge and enlightening me with plenty of "I didn't know that's where it came from!" insight into different sayings. "Cake walk" was a little horrifying, while "flick" (flicker) was a fun reference to see.
But somehow around the 1960s the book sort of lost steam. The explanations seemed to assume a bit more cultural knowledge, and were not nearly as revealing or deep. Just because I may have lived through some of these decades doesn't mean I was aware of how things were happening. "Enquiring minds want to know!"
I love it when an indie author finds a way to take a well-worn genre and breathe some life into it. Ray Jay Perreault takes a classic 1960s-70s scifi I love it when an indie author finds a way to take a well-worn genre and breathe some life into it. Ray Jay Perreault takes a classic 1960s-70s scifi theme and brings it into the 21st century. Reminiscent of Ursula K. Le Guin and Robert A. Heinlein, this novel delves bravely into the cultural motivations and sociological possibilities of an entirely alien culture. Is it exciting? I can't claim that it is. But is it interesting? Certainly.
I enjoyed meeting and getting to understand the Raog people, just as I enjoyed learning about Valentine Michael Smith, when I met him in Stranger in a Strange Land. The bonus with Gemini was the notable lack of 20th century misogyny typical of those classic getting-into-the-heads-of-aliens novels, which was a delight to encounter.
I "read" the Audible version, and I'm sorry to admit I found the narration terrible. The narrator, Ed Waldorph, simply read, slowly and painstakingly, which drained any possible energy from the story. As well, the version I heard had some intermittent background noises that were distracting. Given the chance, I would have preferred to actually read, as the complexities of the characters and world-building were lost in an almost disinterested style of reading.
Four stars for the story, one star for the narration --> three stars overall....more
2.5 stars rounded up to 3, because maybe I just didn't get it the way I was supposed to?
Anyhoo...
I remember when I first saw Stargate, and marveled at2.5 stars rounded up to 3, because maybe I just didn't get it the way I was supposed to?
Anyhoo...
I remember when I first saw Stargate, and marveled at how conveniently wormholes were used to explain religion, mysticism and other oddities in human history. When an author can take an overused theme, and give it a fresh explanation that enriches the myth, it's priceless. That kind of enhancement is exactly what Brian Keene weaves into the world of The Rising.
We have a mixed bag of Thetan-style body occupiers, a la Scientology, mixed with evil Christian demons, jumbled up to give rise to zombies. We get the explanation for why zombies only maim then move on (hint: they need our bodies). We also get a lot of references to Stephen King's works, through direct quotes ("Danny's not here, Mrs. Torrance") and characters with nods to popular ones in his novels, like John of Many Colors for The Stand's Trashcan Man. It's a whole lot of pop horror culture woven into one ultra-campy zombie novel.
And then all those cool ideas fizzle into half-developed characters, "off" dialogue and weird gore.
There was a sharp emphasis on how badly people behave during the apocalypse, mostly that men will immediately turn the clocks back a few hundred years and start gleefully raping and pillaging, and we lose focus on the zombies themselves. I get that this is supposed to be bloody and gory, but could the evil and bloody destruction have been at the hands of the bad guys (the zombies) and not mostly perpetrated by the humans trying to survive?
And while I'm complaining, what was with all the religious stuff? Seriously, all the Bible verses and prayers were too much. The Martin/preacher character and the constant discussion of God, Jesus, faith, and actual prayer recitations were tedious. I wish this book had been identified as Christian fiction, because I would have known it was not for me.
Even though I have the Author's Preferred Edition in audio, which I hear is considerably cleaned up from the original publication, the writing could still use a great deal of editing and polish. It reads like a raw and unfinished self-published novel. There exist a multitude of forced, awkward or incorrect phrases, more than I could keep up with while listening: "murmur of consent", when it should have been assent "delay that order", when it should have been belay We also endure a lot of one-liners that are way too cheesy, especially when coming from the zombies. Certainly nothing quotable or meaningful can be found in there, just a bunch of awkwardly campy dialogue.
As for the audio, the narrator, Joe Hempel, had a few mispronunciations, but overall did a more than admirable job of differentiating the characters' voices. I was thankful for this, because the characters were not developed well enough for me to tell the difference between them without his addition of inflections and accents.
Frustratingly, the story ends very abruptly, literally on the threshold of resolving the single driving plot point of the novel. This is a huge pet peeve of mine, the manipulation of the reader to buy the next book in the series, so I guess I'll never find out....more
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