not actually reviewing a book here just yet, although I'm currently re-reading Changes by Butcher (review coming when I finish the re-read). I decided, an hour or so ago to re-read this book, and already I've laughed out loud three times at the wording Butcher uses. Harry is -FUNNY-!
examples, just in the first few chapters:
"and the gunshots weren't good because a pair of bullets came through the wall not six feet away, and one of them tugged hard at the hem of my jeans over my left ankle. "Ack!" I said. Fearless master of the witty dialogue, that's me."
"By contrast, I crashed into a garbage can. It was, of course, full."
"You aren't the boss of me."... "The hell I'm not," I told her. "Do it or I dock you a year's pay." "you know you don't may me anything, right?" "Curses," I said. "Foiled again."
it's so great!
The thing I like most about Harry though, is his loyalty. It could seem fairly arbitrary to some, he thumbs his nose at enough laws and rules and authority in general most of the time. If someone threatens one of "his" people though, or things that he holds dear, then watch out. Nothing will stand in his way. I think later on in the book is a line that sums this up pretty well, I'll have to write it down when I get to it and put it in here.
I just love the idea that he'll do whatever is necessary to stand for what he believes in, or to protect those that he cares about.
now that I think about it in those terms, he sounds quite similar to another one of my favorite characters, Repairman Jack. hmmmmm. insight into my psyche, perhaps?
regardless, Dresden rocks my socks off. If you're looking for a really wonderful paranormal fantasy series, I strongly suggest that you pick up Storm Front:
Seriously one of the best series I've ever read.
*EDIT* Found the quote I mentioned above. "I will make Maggie safe. If the world burns because of that, then so be it. Me and the kid will roast some marshmallows."
That's exactly what I love about him. "To hell with the consequences, as long as I make someone I care about safe"
Friday, January 14, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The Lost Gate, by Card 4++++
The book:
The rating: as high as it goes. 4+.
Alright, I'll admit, I'm biased. Card ranks right up there with Wilson, for me as all-time-favorite-authors. While Wilson's draw for me is his ability to weave storylines together in amazing ways, Card's draw is his character development and his .... for lack of a better term, his storytelling ability. There is a synergy between me and the characters that Card develops (or perhaps the way that he tells their stories) that I can't really describe. I'm able to immerse myself in his stories to a level that I haven't found with any other author on a consistent basis.
So, I basically love this author. A while back, I read his short story, Stonefather, in the anthology Wizards:
(side note, Stonefather has since been published as a stand alone)
Stonefather blew me away. I seem to remember reading in Card's comments on the story in the anthology comments that said something along the lines of "I've always wanted this story to become a novel, but it wouldn't grow into one. I'm working on it though!" and thinking to myself "woah. that would be an awesome series"
well... enter the new Mither Mages series. The magic system is incredibly detailed and well thought out. The storytelling is, as always from Card, wonderful. The characters are compelling, the humor in the dialogue made me laugh out loud more than once. To be honest, I've noticed Card using a lot more flippant dialogue in his recent books, and I really like it. The characters are witty and quick with a comeback, both things that I am not. Probably why I like it so much :-D
But anyway... Have you ever picked up a book and literally found yourself unable to put it down? Found yourself looking at the clock, knowing that you should go to sleep, and yet continuing to read? Powering through it like it's a drug that you just can't get enough of, finishing the book in a rush of "WOAHHHHH" at the last page?
This was one of those books for me. I call them bookgasms, and this one was a great one!
The rating: as high as it goes. 4+.
Alright, I'll admit, I'm biased. Card ranks right up there with Wilson, for me as all-time-favorite-authors. While Wilson's draw for me is his ability to weave storylines together in amazing ways, Card's draw is his character development and his .... for lack of a better term, his storytelling ability. There is a synergy between me and the characters that Card develops (or perhaps the way that he tells their stories) that I can't really describe. I'm able to immerse myself in his stories to a level that I haven't found with any other author on a consistent basis.
So, I basically love this author. A while back, I read his short story, Stonefather, in the anthology Wizards:
(side note, Stonefather has since been published as a stand alone)
Stonefather blew me away. I seem to remember reading in Card's comments on the story in the anthology comments that said something along the lines of "I've always wanted this story to become a novel, but it wouldn't grow into one. I'm working on it though!" and thinking to myself "woah. that would be an awesome series"
well... enter the new Mither Mages series. The magic system is incredibly detailed and well thought out. The storytelling is, as always from Card, wonderful. The characters are compelling, the humor in the dialogue made me laugh out loud more than once. To be honest, I've noticed Card using a lot more flippant dialogue in his recent books, and I really like it. The characters are witty and quick with a comeback, both things that I am not. Probably why I like it so much :-D
But anyway... Have you ever picked up a book and literally found yourself unable to put it down? Found yourself looking at the clock, knowing that you should go to sleep, and yet continuing to read? Powering through it like it's a drug that you just can't get enough of, finishing the book in a rush of "WOAHHHHH" at the last page?
This was one of those books for me. I call them bookgasms, and this one was a great one!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Blood and Memory by McIntosh; 4
The book:
sequel to Myrren's Gift. I'm not sure if the bits that I found irritating in the 1st book of the series diminished in this book, or if I just got used to them, but I enjoyed this book. I'm giving it a solid 3 rating. Lots more intrique, and a fairly decent plot. A few "WTF" moments where plot twists come out of left field and don't really make much sense, but they aren't so awful that they ruined the story for me. I'm looking forward to finding the 3rd book in this series.
sequel to Myrren's Gift. I'm not sure if the bits that I found irritating in the 1st book of the series diminished in this book, or if I just got used to them, but I enjoyed this book. I'm giving it a solid 3 rating. Lots more intrique, and a fairly decent plot. A few "WTF" moments where plot twists come out of left field and don't really make much sense, but they aren't so awful that they ruined the story for me. I'm looking forward to finding the 3rd book in this series.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Myrren's Gift, by McIntosh - 3-
The book:
Giving this book a 3- in my rating system. I like the characters, I like the intrigue, I like the twist of what the Gift actually is. It isn't the best written story I've ever read, the narritave jumps from character POV within the same paragraph in places, and that disorients me. I love seeing different POV's, but prefer them to be consistent within a scene at least.
Gave it a 3, because I'm reading the 2nd book in the series now... a minus because it could be better, and I wouldn't cry if I couldn't find a copy of the 3rd book.
not half bad, all told.
Giving this book a 3- in my rating system. I like the characters, I like the intrigue, I like the twist of what the Gift actually is. It isn't the best written story I've ever read, the narritave jumps from character POV within the same paragraph in places, and that disorients me. I love seeing different POV's, but prefer them to be consistent within a scene at least.
Gave it a 3, because I'm reading the 2nd book in the series now... a minus because it could be better, and I wouldn't cry if I couldn't find a copy of the 3rd book.
not half bad, all told.
The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson - 4+
The book:
buy it. seriously, if you like high fantasy at all, buy this book. (or at least pick it up at the library)
This is, quite honestly, the most original piece of high fantasy that I have ever read. High fantasy, as in 'horses and swords and magic, with no modern technology to speak of'. Original, because almost everything about this story is new, even as it works within a fairly standard and formulaic genre. The plants act like no plants I've ever read about. I've never before read a story in which almost all of the animals on a given planet seem to have evolved from crabs, and yet humans exist too. The magic system is intriguing and new, which is admittedly not something foreign to Sanderson's other works, but we're talking about another level of writing completely here.
The comparison makes me want to gag, but I honestly have to compare this to
Ok. yes, I know that Sanderson is filling in for the deceased Jordan, but that isn't why I'm drawing the comparison line between the series. The Eye of the World was a fast-paced adventure, full of new creatures, characters the reader could empathize with, and an entirely new magic system. The series followed different key characters in different plot lines that eventually merged and or diverted from each other. It was new, and it was exciting, and it was brilliant.
I can say all of those same things about The Way of Kings. It is refreshingly new and different, and I find myself wishing that I had found the series a few years from now. That way, I wouldn't have to wait for the next book, it would have already been published :-)
The only complaint I have about the book, and it is a small one, is that the prologue didn't work for me on the first reading. Since the world Sanderson has created is so entirely new, I didn't have a frame of reference to put the prologue onto. Names, places, peoples, none of them ment anything to me, and so many of the intriciacies that exist were lost on me at the first read. After reading the entire book, I went back and re-read the prologue, and it works so much better for me now. I can fully appreciate the richness and depth of the detail that Sanderson is employing now, and I look forward to re-reading the whole book to see what other interconnections I missed the first time through.
This book is definitely one that will end up on my 'frequently read' list, and I highly suggest that you pick it up!
buy it. seriously, if you like high fantasy at all, buy this book. (or at least pick it up at the library)
This is, quite honestly, the most original piece of high fantasy that I have ever read. High fantasy, as in 'horses and swords and magic, with no modern technology to speak of'. Original, because almost everything about this story is new, even as it works within a fairly standard and formulaic genre. The plants act like no plants I've ever read about. I've never before read a story in which almost all of the animals on a given planet seem to have evolved from crabs, and yet humans exist too. The magic system is intriguing and new, which is admittedly not something foreign to Sanderson's other works, but we're talking about another level of writing completely here.
The comparison makes me want to gag, but I honestly have to compare this to
Ok. yes, I know that Sanderson is filling in for the deceased Jordan, but that isn't why I'm drawing the comparison line between the series. The Eye of the World was a fast-paced adventure, full of new creatures, characters the reader could empathize with, and an entirely new magic system. The series followed different key characters in different plot lines that eventually merged and or diverted from each other. It was new, and it was exciting, and it was brilliant.
I can say all of those same things about The Way of Kings. It is refreshingly new and different, and I find myself wishing that I had found the series a few years from now. That way, I wouldn't have to wait for the next book, it would have already been published :-)
The only complaint I have about the book, and it is a small one, is that the prologue didn't work for me on the first reading. Since the world Sanderson has created is so entirely new, I didn't have a frame of reference to put the prologue onto. Names, places, peoples, none of them ment anything to me, and so many of the intriciacies that exist were lost on me at the first read. After reading the entire book, I went back and re-read the prologue, and it works so much better for me now. I can fully appreciate the richness and depth of the detail that Sanderson is employing now, and I look forward to re-reading the whole book to see what other interconnections I missed the first time through.
This book is definitely one that will end up on my 'frequently read' list, and I highly suggest that you pick it up!
Blood Trinity, by Kenyon and Love - 1.5
alright. here's the book:
and here's my rating: 1.5.
I normally enjoy Kenyon's stuff. She's one of my favorite authors. Somehow, though, I can't get into this story. I read a few chapters, and it is just not doing it for me.
alright, alright, if I didn't finish the book, the rating should be a 1, right? I'm giving it a 1.5, because chances are that I'll be really bored someday, with nothing to read, and will end up picking it up and slogging through it. Because Kenyon is usually a good author, as is Love. Therefore, based on my opinion of the authors themselves, I gave the book half-finished credit.
I think my issue with the story is that I have no mythology framework to build on. If I'm going to be reading about demons and gods and so on, I need to know how that magic/belief system works. I'm perfectly alright with coming to understand a new mythology/magic system as the story unfolds, but the necessary details for this story weren't coming. The plot was developing and progressing, and I still had no framework for the magic to be built on. I'm not explaining myself very well here, the words aren't coming out correctly... but basically the magic/powers of the characters in this book weren't being explained well enough for me. It irritated the snot out of me, and I gave up.
perhaps, if/when I end up re-attempting this book in the future, things will make more sense as I get further into it, and I'll have to make another post about it then. For now though, I wouldn't suggest this one.
and here's my rating: 1.5.
I normally enjoy Kenyon's stuff. She's one of my favorite authors. Somehow, though, I can't get into this story. I read a few chapters, and it is just not doing it for me.
alright, alright, if I didn't finish the book, the rating should be a 1, right? I'm giving it a 1.5, because chances are that I'll be really bored someday, with nothing to read, and will end up picking it up and slogging through it. Because Kenyon is usually a good author, as is Love. Therefore, based on my opinion of the authors themselves, I gave the book half-finished credit.
I think my issue with the story is that I have no mythology framework to build on. If I'm going to be reading about demons and gods and so on, I need to know how that magic/belief system works. I'm perfectly alright with coming to understand a new mythology/magic system as the story unfolds, but the necessary details for this story weren't coming. The plot was developing and progressing, and I still had no framework for the magic to be built on. I'm not explaining myself very well here, the words aren't coming out correctly... but basically the magic/powers of the characters in this book weren't being explained well enough for me. It irritated the snot out of me, and I gave up.
perhaps, if/when I end up re-attempting this book in the future, things will make more sense as I get further into it, and I'll have to make another post about it then. For now though, I wouldn't suggest this one.
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