Based on the majority of 5 star reviews, the problem here is probably me - but I'm 100 pages in and just not feeling it. Didn't realize it was "hard fBased on the majority of 5 star reviews, the problem here is probably me - but I'm 100 pages in and just not feeling it. Didn't realize it was "hard fantasy" - thought it was more sci-fi or Riddley Walker post-apocalyse; but turns out it's Brandon Sanderson "humans with magical skills," (or what I assume is Sanderson, based on what my son tells me).
Anyway - cutting my losses here, rather than force my way through another 370 pages (followed by, like, 1000 more in the sequels). I'm sure it's a good book and I'd eventually get into it - but TMBTLT (too many books, too little time)....more
Loved The Girl With All the Gifts and much enjoyed its sequel, The Boy on the Bridge - but that's about the extent of my connection to Carey (aside frLoved The Girl With All the Gifts and much enjoyed its sequel, The Boy on the Bridge - but that's about the extent of my connection to Carey (aside from his "Unwritten" graphic novel series, which he wrote under a different name). So I came to this series positively predisposed - but from the very first page this just read like a knocked off and dumbed down remake of Russell Hoban's classic Riddley Walker - even down to the bastardeized post-apocalyptic English, ("Parley Men" instead of "Parliament," "Count and Seal" for "Council," etc.).
Anyway - probably a good read if I didn't have such fond memories of Riddley, so afraid this is a perfect example of "too many books, too little time." So instead of sticking with this for another 400 pages (and then an additional 900+ if I went on to the two sequels), I'm ditching this 80 pages in and will instead finally tackle N.K. Jemisin's award-winning "Broken Earth" trilogy, which is just about the same length but sounds like it won't remind me of anything....more
Wow, this was just really enjoyable. This sorta-prequel to Kōtarō's more famous Bullet Train is a two-day story that bounces back and forth between thWow, this was just really enjoyable. This sorta-prequel to Kōtarō's more famous Bullet Train is a two-day story that bounces back and forth between three main characters (non-spoiler: only two of which are the titular assassins), with a tightly-woven, "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" plot where every detail ultimately matters.
In both books, Kōtarō is an interesting writer, combining violence with oddball humor and left-field obsessions ("Thomas the Tank Engine" in Bullet Train; insects here; children's stickers in both). That said, the insect theme here is more relevant (and less annoying) than the train fixation in Train. Early on, one of Kōtarō's characters notes that humans are in many ways more similar to insects than to other mammals, in that we're the only species that live our lives in super-crowded communities stacked on top of each other. And near the end, another specifically compares us to locusts; existing in a benign state until we overpopulate, at which point we metamorphose into a darker, mindless, more violent horde.
Anyway, just great stuff. I definitely want to reread Bullet Train now, to see where there are remnants or echoes of Assassins; and then will ultimately get to the third book in the semi-series, the apparently back-to-insects The Mantis....more
Had to go back and reread Only Killers and Thieves before diving into this; and I'm glad I did, as it would have made NO sense otherwise. And also becHad to go back and reread Only Killers and Thieves before diving into this; and I'm glad I did, as it would have made NO sense otherwise. And also because second time around, that book was just as good - if dark and bleak - as I remembered; an unsettling study of racial injustice and banal immorality in Australia's "Wild North" equivalent of our Old West.
But this sequel…while not bad, was just so unnecessary. The first book included a nine-years-later epilogue that left the McBride brothers' fates nicely unresolved; the second then went back and both filled in the intervening years (in a style that was more "Dallas" soap opera than "Open Range" shoot-'em-up); then jumped ahead of the first book's epilogue to bring everything to a neat - if, again, unnecessary - conclusion.
Howarth remains an extremely solid writer; and so now that he's got this out of his system I hope he moves on to something totally new and different, like his fellow shaven-headed countryman, Max Barry.
2.5 stars rounded up to three, based on the first book, general generosity, and because you can never overuse a Hawken rifle in Western fiction....more
A true page-turner, I finished this in just two sittings, (at a still-brief 224 pages, it was still twice as long as Ames' previous You Were Never ReaA true page-turner, I finished this in just two sittings, (at a still-brief 224 pages, it was still twice as long as Ames' previous You Were Never Really Here, and all the better for the extra length). Good voice, good characters, and a plot that is propulsive enough to carry you right past the book's flaws - of which there are more than a few:
- WAY too much soap opera backstory (abusive dad and camp counsellors, suicidal tendencies, a totally ripped-off Tyrion Lannister "I killed my mom in childbirth" trauma, another character with a totally irrelevant and unnecessary "unadopted orphan" history that is mentioned just once and then forgotten)
- WAY too much use of the word "then," often multiple times in the same paragraph (or the first word in consecutive paragraphs) to the point of being distracting and then actually funny, as in "so this is a first-person narrative being told by a character who intentionally doesn't know how to write"
- That whole breathless "works nights at a local Thai spa that offers its clients a number of special services" line that plays heavily in all of the book's descriptions? Totally irrelevant to the story, and disappears completes after about chapter three
- And so much description about driving around the LA suburbs that it starts to sound like a bad "Californians" skit on SNL
(And, of course, minor points off for our protagonist's name - "Happy Doll"? Is that some sort of inside joke, only known to Ames himself? Otherwise, just as stupid as Jo Nesbø’s "Harry Hole.")
But again - all that aside, I really enjoyed this one, and greatly look forward to reading the sequel - although will probably save that for a later date....more
Okay, I know I swore in my review of the previous book in Laumer's "Imperium," Assignment in Nowhere, that there was "NO WAY I'm going anywhere near tOkay, I know I swore in my review of the previous book in Laumer's "Imperium," Assignment in Nowhere, that there was "NO WAY I'm going anywhere near the 4th and final book in the series" (largely based on my growing disappointment with the series overall as well as the hellacious cover). But after my previous book - The Black Bats: CIA Spy Flights over China from Taiwan 1951-1969 - proved to be a bit challenging and textbooky (albeit fascinating), I decided I needed to follow that with something fluffy and dumb; and so when I saw this staring out at me recently at McKay's Used Books…well, 99 cents later there I was, and here we are.
Sadly, "fluffy and dumb" doesn't begin to describe this stinker. I wish I could say it was so bad that it was good in some sort of goofy or kitschy way, but in truth it was really so bad that it was just really bad. Plot makes no sense, characters make no sense, English- and Swedish-speaking rat/aliens make no sense…
The first three books of the "Imperium" were written in 1961, '65 and '68, before Laumer suffered a massive stroke in 1971. He eventually returned to writing, but as Wikipedia diplomatically puts it, "the quality of his work suffered, and his career declined." For whatever reason, Laumer returned to the Imperium in 1990 - a 22 year gap - for one of his final books; but, well…the world could have easily survived without this one.
That said, Laumer's concept of the multiverse "blight" is still pretty solid (see my review of Assigment for a quick summary of how that works), and so it would be nice to see a different author pick this up and run with it. But please - no more rat-people!...more
I read the first book in this series - The Alloy of Law - nearly a decade ago on my son's recommendation, which is obviously WAY too long a gap becausI read the first book in this series - The Alloy of Law - nearly a decade ago on my son's recommendation, which is obviously WAY too long a gap because I remember almost nothing from that story or Sanderson's unique "Mistborn" worldbuilding. However, I do remember that book working well as a stand-along story that didn't require a lot of background, whereas this one most definitely does not. So while I can understand this being a 4-5 star read for long-time fans, I was just lacking any sense of the mythology, history, magic, religions, etc., that would have made this work for me.
On top of which, I also remember the first book basically being a fantasy Western, which made for a nice genre mash-up. However, this one was more of a political thriller set in "the big city" of an early 20th Century equivalent, so largely came off as a "The Alienist" (TV series only, as I never read the book) knockoff - right down to the two male and one female detective/psychologist/dilettante leads - with the occasional superpower thrown in, which here was largely limited to soaring over the rooftops, Batman-style.
Anyway, am generously rounding this up to 3-stars, mainly because the fault here was probably as much mine as Sanderson's....more
By no means my worst book of 2024 so far, but certainly the most disappointing, in light of how much I enjoyed Kingfisher's previous What Moves the DeBy no means my worst book of 2024 so far, but certainly the most disappointing, in light of how much I enjoyed Kingfisher's previous What Moves the Dead. Or at least, how much I think I enjoyed it, because in light of this totally "meh" experience I'm now questioning my memory.
Slow beginning, no mystery whatsoever and even less tension, since everything was telegraphed chapters in advance…this one screams "contractual obligation." Surprisingly, at least at the moment this book has an even higher GR score than the infinitely better What Moves the Dead, but I have to put that down to the number of reviews (only 1000+ for Feasts vs over 10K for Moves), and so I'm sure that as more people ultimately read and rate this book, the score will drop. Or better yet, you "more people" out there - just DON'T read it, and find something better; it won't be difficult.
About the only two things that this book had going for it is that (1) it's short, and (2) I got it from the library, so at least didn't waste any money on it....more
Not bad but totally unnecessary prequel to The Coldest City - typically convoluted Cold War spy story in the vein of early (and dumbed down) le Carré,Not bad but totally unnecessary prequel to The Coldest City - typically convoluted Cold War spy story in the vein of early (and dumbed down) le Carré, and not really helped by the overly-busy illustrations.
For some reason, Johnston (or his publisher) changed illustrators from the first book, and (at least IMHO) not for the better. City was sketchier but actual illustrations:
[image] …while Winter was obviously high-contrast lifts or tracings from actually photographs (a trick I often used in college):
Didn't enjoy this as much as Horowitz's earlier Sherlock book, The House of Silk. The story itself was okay if fairly predictable; and with his secondDidn't enjoy this as much as Horowitz's earlier Sherlock book, The House of Silk. The story itself was okay if fairly predictable; and with his second "big surprise" ending in a row, Horowitz is in danger of becoming a literary M. Night Shyamalan....more
Had never heard of Kingfisher before, but based on other reviews of other of her books, she's apparently brilliant - and she certainly was here. GreatHad never heard of Kingfisher before, but based on other reviews of other of her books, she's apparently brilliant - and she certainly was here. Great voice and style, nice spooky tone, and well-defined characters in just a short time.
I'm sure I've read Poe in the past, at least some of his short stories (did he write anything else??) - can remember details of "Telltale Heart," "Pit and the Pendulum" and "Amontillado" - but after reading this I realized that I knew nothing about the House of Usher, which probably made this even more of a pleasant surprise, (although I will definitely get the original from the library so I can compare Kingfisher's telling to the original).
Nice way to start the new year, with a 5 star read and a new author to explore!...more
Nice to see Gurney return to the main storyline from his first two books here, after the swing-and-a-miss that was Dinotopia: First Flight. That said,Nice to see Gurney return to the main storyline from his first two books here, after the swing-and-a-miss that was Dinotopia: First Flight. That said, there is even less plot here than in any of the previous books, which is saying a lot - the title here alone serves as an accurate summary of the entire book, in that Arthur Denison and his protoceratops pal Bix literally (and exclusively) take a one-way journey from Waterfall City to Chandara, with absolutely NO real adventures or excitement along the way.
That said, Gurney uses this book as a nice way to catch up with the current science, introducing feathered dinosaurs to his previously all-reptilian world, (and I still find it unbelievable to think that the whole idea of "dinosaurs had feathers" is less than 25 years old - i.e., since his previous books came out). And he gets to expand on his original world-building in new and interesting ways - Chandara is a very Asian/Middle Eastern-themed "empire." His artwork also remain as impressive as ever, and in his more architectural paintings almost approaches a Simon Stålenhag feel, (whose Tales from the Loop books also put "look" way ahead of "story"):
[image]
At other times, though, he moves away from his earlier near-photorealistic style in two distinct directions - on the one side, going with a more painterly "brush-strokey" look; while on the other going towards an almost "Norman Rockwell meets Dr. Seuss" exaggerated caricature vibe:
[image]
Also…while I know it's silly to try to bring "logic" into a story based on talking dinosaurs, but…if Chandara is so hard to reach, why didn't they just fly? Also - why on Earth would Denison trust Lee Crabb again, after he literally tried to kill him in the previous story?
Gaping plot holes aside, though - this is well worth a quick read, and then a longer relook for the artwork alone. Especially since it doesn't look like Gurney has any plans to return again to his lost world; this last book is already 15 years old, and I don't see any indication online that he's thinking of doing more....more
While the first book contained four stories, and the second reduced that down to two, this final (I'm ...aaannd nope; Ellis did NOT stick the landing.
While the first book contained four stories, and the second reduced that down to two, this final (I'm assuming third, as it came out three years ago and there's no indication online that Ellis has any more volumes in mind) book consists of just one story, an end-of-the-line series of murders in the remote Russian countryside. So an okay trip into Martin Cruz Smith territory, but it did NOTHING to continue much less explain the tale of the trees; I'm only listing on my "science fiction" shelf because that's where the first two went.
Still, graphically this is a beautiful book, with illustrator Howard taking more liberties with overall page layout and leveraging his overall muted color palette to maximum effect. So I'll give this book and the overall series a nice average 3 stars - some really nice ideas and work here, but also some major opportunities totally overlooked....more
...interesting continuation of the first book, with that volume's four stories here being reduced to just two - one a Gotham City-style tale of politi...interesting continuation of the first book, with that volume's four stories here being reduced to just two - one a Gotham City-style tale of political corruption, and the other a more tree-related (but ultimately unresolved) story where the sole survivor of the first volume goes to investigate the alien trees in the Orkney islands. Still too early to tell if this will ultimately be frustrating or brilliant......more
Fascinating concept - enormous alien tower-like structures land across the planet, but then for the next decade totally ignore humanity. However, fromFascinating concept - enormous alien tower-like structures land across the planet, but then for the next decade totally ignore humanity. However, from that basic beginning, the book then focuses on four individual stories in China, Italy, Somalia and the Arctic, only the latter of which directly revolves around the "trees."
So…interesting book and a strong enough beginning that I am moving right on to #2 (of 3) - although too soon to tell if this will be really awesome or a huge disappointment; so for now, a mid-grade 3....more
Definitely flawed, with too much repetitive dialogue and WAY too much Thomas the Tank Engine, and the last 40 pages are particularly dumb. But still, Definitely flawed, with too much repetitive dialogue and WAY too much Thomas the Tank Engine, and the last 40 pages are particularly dumb. But still, good solid stupid fun, summed up best by the Washington Post as "Tarantino meets the Coen Brothers."
I think it helped that I had seen the movie first, so could put faces to characters, who here are largely indistinguishable (at least physically) Japanese gangsters, (although one does wear glasses). Will definitely watch again as soon as it hits Netflix next week, as I think there are some major plot differences - especially with the ending.
3+ for the book itself, but rounding up considerably for its success as source material for the much better movie, (despite the iffy critical reviews)....more
Had been looking forward to this concluding book in the trilogy, but as it had been about eight months since reading the first two books, I reread theHad been looking forward to this concluding book in the trilogy, but as it had been about eight months since reading the first two books, I reread them both this week so I wouldn't be confused by this new one.
Well.…of course I was still, confused, but rereading the other books definitely helped.
As with the previous books, major points to Thompson just for grabbing and then holding my attention, because you NEVER know where any of these stories are going. This time around, he piles on even more surprises than usual, using several different interweaving story lines; and so despite this again being a relatively short novella, it is neither a quick nor easy read. Still, it does wrap everything up fairly well. Also, there's more more of a "Jason Bourne/Treadstone" spin to the story, as opposed to the more "horror" angle of the first two - an interesting turn of events.
Anyway, worthy conclusion, and I'll watch to see what Thompson does next, (I've already read and enjoyed his full-length Far from the Light of Heaven).
PERSONAL NOTE: While I enjoy novellas, these suckers are getting just WAY too expensive; to buy all three of these book - just 350 pages total - would cost $45 at full price. But then that's what libraries are for, I guess…...more
Fascinating follow-up and direct sequel to Stålenhag's first book, Tales from the Loop. This one has a bit more of an actual plot than Loop, but is stFascinating follow-up and direct sequel to Stålenhag's first book, Tales from the Loop. This one has a bit more of an actual plot than Loop, but is still more focused on mood and world-building than strict storytelling, ( tålenhag doesn’t truly go there until his next book, the jaw-dropping The Electric State).
Stålenhag does a great job of creating a world that is like ours yet totally different. While I continue to insist that Electric is most definitely not set in the same universe as the first two books (despite being listed that way on Goodreads), they are all set in the same late-20th century time period, and all contain subtle references to our own reality - Burger King, Safeway and other recognizable logos buried in some of Electric's backgrounds; and the barely-recognizable "Jurassic Park" blanket in which this feral robot has wrapped himself on the cover here in Flood.
Fascinating picture book and the first to feature Stålenhag's unique vision, this is more a series of captioned snapshots of an alternative, technologFascinating picture book and the first to feature Stålenhag's unique vision, this is more a series of captioned snapshots of an alternative, technologically-advanced "recent past" Earth, rather than an actual story with a plot.* As such, this is really a 3-3.5 star experience, but I'm rounding up based on the groundwork here leading to what would follow in Stålenhag's subsequent books.
The story - such as it is - is told through an unnamed narrator (an alt-world Stålenhag himself?) as a "look back" at the world of the Loop, an enormous Swedish particle accelerator that apparently had the side-effect of messing certain "cosmic energies" that among other things…brought back dinosaurs? Not really explained - but then not much really is, other than some of the cooler technological discoveries, including the "Magnetrine Effect" in 1943 that resulted in way-cool hoverships, and a 1960s "robotic nervous system" that allowed for various Star Wars-type walkers that were ideal for off-road purposes such as "forestry, mining, warfare, planetary exploration."
Stålenhag's subsequent book, Things from the Flood, is a direct sequel to Tales; but while the book after that, the stellar The Electric State, is listed as the third book in this series, I don't see any real connection - although maybe that will show up when I actually get to Things. (Tales and Things cost over $20 each, so I'm finding it cheaper to read them over coffee at Barnes & Nobles - since unlike Electric State, both of these look to be one-and-done's.)
* I would imagine that the Amazon series based on at least this first book has more of a storyline, and I look forward to watching it sometime if it comes out on DVD or I finally bite the bullet and subscribe to Prime....more
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