This is, by far, the best of the trilogy. It definitely has good pace and mystery. Clearly, it's my favorite of the three and I would say absolutely worth reading the first two for!
Cook makes a good fantasy world, without getting too outlandish. I would recommend this to everyone who likes fantasy style.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Friday, February 12, 2016
Misery - Stephen King
I suspect only Stephen King could write 338 pages about a guy stuck in a room and make it fascinating. At first it struck me as slightly similar to Gerald's Game, but it was only a passing, superficial similarity that quickly dissolved as the story developed. In Gerald's Game, Jessie is fighting herself (mostly) where as in Misery, Paul has a 100% legit wacko to deal with. Personally, I'd say Misery is the better of the two for that reason. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes an intense book.
This book also has two GREAT quotes I'd like to share with you:
"He didn’t need a psychiatrist to point out that writing had its auto-erotic side – you beat a typewriter instead of your meat, but both acts depended largely on quick wits, fast hands, and a heartfelt commitment to the art of the far-fetched."
This book also has two GREAT quotes I'd like to share with you:
"He didn’t need a psychiatrist to point out that writing had its auto-erotic side – you beat a typewriter instead of your meat, but both acts depended largely on quick wits, fast hands, and a heartfelt commitment to the art of the far-fetched."
"The reason authors almost always put a dedication on a
book, Annie, is because their selfishness even horrifies themselves in the end."
Thursday, December 31, 2015
The Koala of Death - Betty Webb (Gunn Zoo Mystery, Bk 2)
31 December 2015
I got this book for my mother as a Christmas gift last year. She read it and enjoyed it, so when I went home to visit for Christmas, I read it too.
It is an interesting idea to have the main characters be zoo staff. It gives a glimpse into a career that few people think about, but that's about the end of the parts I thought were outstanding and worth mentioning. The story itself was mediocre. The characters were colorful, but the flow was lacking. Overall, I would say this book simply wasn't intense enough for my preference. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, other than maybe my mother, who has already read it.
It is an interesting idea to have the main characters be zoo staff. It gives a glimpse into a career that few people think about, but that's about the end of the parts I thought were outstanding and worth mentioning. The story itself was mediocre. The characters were colorful, but the flow was lacking. Overall, I would say this book simply wasn't intense enough for my preference. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, other than maybe my mother, who has already read it.
Sunday, December 20, 2015
The Wind Through the Keyhole - Stephen King (Dark Tower Series, Bk 4.5)
1 December 2015
A story in a story in a story, seriously King, what are you doing? I suspected this was what he would do, but still..... Roland n' crew are still on the way to the dark tower. They get him to tell a story about his younger self, in which his younger self tells a story to another boy. It's like Inception, you just keep going deeper and when you emerge from one, you must stop and consider how many more you must surface from.
Despite this, I actually really enjoy both stories in this book, but I would have been perfectly content if they had been separate instead of embedded inside each other.
A story in a story in a story, seriously King, what are you doing? I suspected this was what he would do, but still..... Roland n' crew are still on the way to the dark tower. They get him to tell a story about his younger self, in which his younger self tells a story to another boy. It's like Inception, you just keep going deeper and when you emerge from one, you must stop and consider how many more you must surface from.
Despite this, I actually really enjoy both stories in this book, but I would have been perfectly content if they had been separate instead of embedded inside each other.
Friday, October 16, 2015
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War - Max Brooks
13 October 2015
This book is better than any other zombie story because it gives you the bigger picture while still being able to enjoy highly personal stories. In other zombie stories, we follow one or a small group of people around a single area. There may be news or radio broadcasts mentioned or in the background, but never so many fascinating stories and takes on the problem. I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys the zombie thing.
This book is better than any other zombie story because it gives you the bigger picture while still being able to enjoy highly personal stories. In other zombie stories, we follow one or a small group of people around a single area. There may be news or radio broadcasts mentioned or in the background, but never so many fascinating stories and takes on the problem. I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys the zombie thing.
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Thomas Paine: Enlightenment, Revolution, and the Birth of Modern Nations - Craig Nelson
8 October 2015
As I have come to notice, many of the people who are now famous as artists, great thinkers and patriots, in their own lifetime, were treated like crap. I believe the case of Thomas Paine may be the best example of this. (I'm excluding Aaron Burr because his story is simply too crazy.) Thomas Paine is often single-handedly cited as the reason the American Revolution was able to gain the necessary momentum needed from the common people. He convinced the nation to sacrifice its short-term happiness for long-term gain. His pamphlets are required reading for high school students. Yet, during his own life, he struggled endlessly with debt.
The early part of his financial woes was his own fault. He was, as seems to be very common, a horrible businessman. But after his famous publications, he thought he deserved some compensation, and I must agree. Another fascinating thing was that during this time, there was no such thing as copyright laws in the US. It was something the English were big on, and consequently, the Americans abhorred the idea. Writers hoped for a good deal from publishers, but most money was kept by the publisher and once a manuscript was in the publisher's hands, they could do with it whatever they pleased while the author had no power. This seems extreme to me and I do approve of keeping artistic power in the hands of the creator. I believe artists should be compensated for their work. I do not believe that their venue, platform, or distributors should get most of the money (I'm specifically thinking of record labels needing to die).
On to more crazy things, Mr. Paine was in France during the insanity that was the French Revolution. Shortly after the French royal family tried to run away but was caught and returned to the palace in Paris, there was a mass gathering outside the building. Thomas Paine was watching the spectacle when a layman from the crowd noticed he didn't have his tricolour cockade, the symbol of the revolution. The French mob then tried to lynch Thomas Paine from a street lamp until someone who recognized him yelled out who he was, and that he was, by proxy, the father of the French Revolution. The French had lost their minds so much that they nearly killed the man famous for the best writings to support their cause.
As I have come to notice, many of the people who are now famous as artists, great thinkers and patriots, in their own lifetime, were treated like crap. I believe the case of Thomas Paine may be the best example of this. (I'm excluding Aaron Burr because his story is simply too crazy.) Thomas Paine is often single-handedly cited as the reason the American Revolution was able to gain the necessary momentum needed from the common people. He convinced the nation to sacrifice its short-term happiness for long-term gain. His pamphlets are required reading for high school students. Yet, during his own life, he struggled endlessly with debt.
The early part of his financial woes was his own fault. He was, as seems to be very common, a horrible businessman. But after his famous publications, he thought he deserved some compensation, and I must agree. Another fascinating thing was that during this time, there was no such thing as copyright laws in the US. It was something the English were big on, and consequently, the Americans abhorred the idea. Writers hoped for a good deal from publishers, but most money was kept by the publisher and once a manuscript was in the publisher's hands, they could do with it whatever they pleased while the author had no power. This seems extreme to me and I do approve of keeping artistic power in the hands of the creator. I believe artists should be compensated for their work. I do not believe that their venue, platform, or distributors should get most of the money (I'm specifically thinking of record labels needing to die).
On to more crazy things, Mr. Paine was in France during the insanity that was the French Revolution. Shortly after the French royal family tried to run away but was caught and returned to the palace in Paris, there was a mass gathering outside the building. Thomas Paine was watching the spectacle when a layman from the crowd noticed he didn't have his tricolour cockade, the symbol of the revolution. The French mob then tried to lynch Thomas Paine from a street lamp until someone who recognized him yelled out who he was, and that he was, by proxy, the father of the French Revolution. The French had lost their minds so much that they nearly killed the man famous for the best writings to support their cause.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Dead Beat - Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files, Bk 7)
30 September 2015
I started this blog with a Dresden novel and this is the first chance I've gotten to read another. Not because they are hard to come by or anything actually restricting my enjoyment of them, but rather because I am limiting myself on how fast I read them. Reading these books makes me happy in a way few other things can.
I don't have any super detailed critiques for this specific book. It is in line with the others of this series so, of course, I loved it. The only detailed thing I'd like to say is: Zombie T-Rex named Sue. You're welcome.
I started this blog with a Dresden novel and this is the first chance I've gotten to read another. Not because they are hard to come by or anything actually restricting my enjoyment of them, but rather because I am limiting myself on how fast I read them. Reading these books makes me happy in a way few other things can.
I don't have any super detailed critiques for this specific book. It is in line with the others of this series so, of course, I loved it. The only detailed thing I'd like to say is: Zombie T-Rex named Sue. You're welcome.
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