5th February, 2010
Emergence
Remiss again in documenting what I’ve read. I blame 3 months of no sun. Stupid El Niño. >.>
Beyond the Shadows by Brent Weeks.
Ok, we’ve already established that it’s been a while since I’ve last posted so my memory is a little hazy on these two books. But, to be honest, the faded memories perhaps speak volumes about how I felt about this series. Was it awesome and something that I will read again? Nah. Was it a horrible waste of time? Nope. It was just kind of there. A middling action/adventure tale that filled the hours of many a long winter’s nights.
2.9/5 gogs.
Canticle by Ken Scholes.
The second entry in the Psalms of Isaak series and somewhat (relatively) brief (epic fantasy under 400 pages – and currently still stupidly unavailable for purchase from Amazon), it was still a decent read. The main plot is still being built up, but I like the attention to detail that he is giving his characters and their environment. As I noted earlier, I think there is a lot of potential here, but it hasn’t reached out and fully grabbed me yet.
3.5/5 gogs.
Line War by Neal Asher.
In this fifth Ian Cormac novel, Asher really opens up the mystery of Jain and its relationship to the Polity. I found it dragged a small amount towards the middle, but an excellent ending made up for that misstep. If you’ve read the first four novels in this series, you’ll definitely want to check this one out. Too bad it’s also currently stupidly unavailable for purchase from Amazon. Perhaps it’s time to find another bookseller, eh?
4.2/5 gogs.
Posted at 5:26 am | Comment (0)
22nd December, 2009
Snow
Lamentation by Ken Scholes
The first book from newcomer Ken Scholes has been talked up in the press since its release and I can confirm that it pretty much lives up to the reviews. I felt a little short-changed due to brevity of the book (around 350 pages) but it served its purpose to lay the groundwork for a 5-book series. Interesting characters and some intriguing mysteries are found within this well-described world. I’m not ready to bet the farm on this one yet but it has potential to turn into something great.
3.8/5 gogs
Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
I was thoroughly unimpressed with Butcher’s Dresden Files series but a fellow reader suggested I give his Alera series a try. I was pleasantly surprised to find a decent story this time around although it did suffer from some predictability. I’ll probably give the rest of this series a shot in the future.
3/5 gogs.
Posted at 5:05 am | Comments (3)
27th November, 2009
The Road
The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
A post-apocalyptic world where there is nothing left but a handful of humans, struggling to survive on a dead planet. No sun, no plants or animals and the world is rapidly cooling – not that it matters since there is no food or drinkable water outside of what can be scrounged from increasingly rare caches. Cannibalism is rampant and every encounter with another human involves a life-or-death choice. The story details the travel of a father and his son through the blasted land in their attempt to find something, anything.
No, this is not a happy novel nor is it a wordy one. I breezed through it in a couple of days which is a testament not only to its minimalistic prose, but also to Cormac’s skill as a writer. The book takes a good look at the love between a parent and a child and lot of reviews suggest also that the book is about hope. I agree with these interpretations for the most part, however, I wonder if there is a little more to it. To me, it feels like an exploration of the meaning and purpose of life; why some people continue to move on despite knowing that the end is coming and why others don’t.
My feeling is that, depending on the stage of life you’re in, you’ll take different things from this story. Being a father myself, some of the interactions between the man and his son really hit home and made me think about the relationship I have with my own daughter. Recommended.
4/5 gogs.
As an aside, I’ve seen some of the stills from the movie adaptation and I have say that I’m pretty unimpressed. Maybe it’s because I keep seeing Strider from LotR and Omar from The Wire when I see pictures of the Man and the Thief or maybe it’s because the landscapes don’t look how I pictured them (where is all the ash and mud that is so prevalent in the book?), but I doubt I’ll bother with the movie. (Although if anyone who has read the book has seen it and liked it, let me know).
Posted at 5:21 am | Comment (1)
25th November, 2009
Uphill, both ways.
If you lick your index finger and hold it up to the winds of pop culture at the moment, you’re going to find a strong current of vampire blowing your way.
This is awesome. Although you damn kids may not get why it’s so awesome. Damn kids these days. Oh, and get off my lawn.
Posted at 5:25 pm | Comment (1)
13th November, 2009
So Here’s the Deal
Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
Huh, so it turns out that Blood of Elves, which I’ve been hearing Good Things about on the internets, is actually the second book in Sapkowski’s Witcher series, not the first. Which explains why I felt like it picked up in the middle of a story and ended in the middle of one as well. Heh, heh. Right. Normally, I would have gone and read the first one before discussing the second, if some dipshit hadn’t have stolen the first one from the library last year. Seriously. I mean, what kind of a douchebag steals from a library? Go stick up Barnes and Noble, ffs, not a damn public library. Dick.
Despite not knowing how the story got to where it was or where it’s going, it was still a pretty good read. I’m giving it a 3, which may change once I actually track down a copy of the first book.
3/5 gogs.
Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks
What’s up with the dorky book covers in fantasy land these days? First, Abercrombie’s Best Served Cold and now this series. (Astute readers will point out that Week’s trilogy was published before BSC, but I didn’t read them in that order so my way is the right way, chronology be damned).
Regardless, what we have here is an easy-to-read book, despite it’s length, that is a bit grim at times but none the less tells a decent tale. Nothing spectacular here, but nothing worthy of scorn, either. Fans of darker, action-oriented stories should find this worthwhile.
3/5 gogs.
Bauchelain and Korbal Broach by Steven Erikson
A collection of three short stories focusing on Bauchelain and Korbal Broach of Malazan fame which I believe were published individually sometime earlier in Erikson’s career. Publisher’s Weekly calls it “edgy and violent” but I don’t see it that way. Dark, sure, a little, but edgy and violent? Nah. There was actually quite a bit of humor blended into these tales which I quickly devoured in a few days’ time. Fun stuff.
3.5/5 gogs
Posted at 5:29 am | Comment (1)
30th October, 2009
Bad Medicine
The folks at This American Life have put together a two-part overview of the current state of the U.S. healthcare system that will both enlighten and maddeningly frustrate you. They discuss the history of healthcare, some of the issues that plague the system and how things got to where they are, and present a pretty solid case as to why reform is desperately needed. As always, they manage to tell it in terms that are easily understood by us common folk. If you haven’t already donated to your local NPR station this year, this is one of the reasons you should. Really well done.
Posted at 5:03 am | Comment (0)
28th October, 2009
We’re all gonna die.
The good folks at CERN have begun testing the newly-repaired Large Hadron Collider again. Heedlessly disregarding warnings from the future. We are so screwed.
Posted at 5:21 am | Comments (2)
15th October, 2009
Rise and Fall
One good, one bad today.
The Other Lands by David Anthony Durham
The second book in Durham’s Acacia-focused series picks up several years after the first ended. While not quite as good as Acacia, it was still a solid read. My biggest complaint is that, while it continued the existing story, not all that much happened. A lot of time was spent filling in historical events as well as setting a somewhat complex stage, but there really wasn’t all that much progression overall. That being said, I am still looking forward to the next installment even if it may take another couple of years before we see it.
3.9/5 gogs.
The Burning Skies by David J. Williams
I really need to stop believing Amazon’s ratings system. Yes, I know I panned Williams’ first book The Mirrored Heavens, but the ratings on Amazon indicated that the second book was better so I gave it a chance… only to find more of the same crap. Honestly, this book was even worse in my opinion. Williams’ constant reliance on incredibly short (as in 1-2 paragraphs) “chapters” that jump from character to character and location to location in an attempt to make some sort of real-time picture of events is an absolute disaster. With writing like this, there is no time at all for scene creation, character development or any sort of worthwhile dialogue. Don’t even bother with this.
1/5 gogs.
Posted at 5:18 am | Comment (0)
11th September, 2009
Gazpacho
Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie.
I freely admit that I was anxiously awaiting the release of Joe Abercrombie’s fourth book. I mean, after noting how BOWEL-LOOSENINGLY EPIC the First Law trilogy was, how could you not get all hot and bothered while waiting for his next book?
Sadly, I’m hear today to say that Best Served Cold really wasn’t all that. Maybe I wanted to place it on too high of a pedestal, but I found the book overly bleak and dripping with bitter cynicism. Gone was most of the clever wit and dark humor that Abercrombie successfully used to temper his last three works. Instead, we are presented with a very grim, dark tale full of puffed-out cheeks and stoved-in steel (believe me, with the number of times he repeated these phrases, I felt like I was reading a Robert Jordan novel). Still, the book wasn’t completely horrible. There were a few bright spots and it did add a little to the tale of the Illuminati who seem to be running the world. It also featured an ending which, while not the best, was quite fitting for the story it completed.
3/5 gogs.
Posted at 5:46 am | Comments (2)
10th September, 2009
You Lie!
So, last night’s address on healthcare reform by the President seemed like a reasonable first step in what will most likely be a long battle to reign in the skyrocketing costs of healthcare in this country. Of course, there are some who are still irrationally opposed to such measures, such as crackpot South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson who interrupted Obama’s speech to accuse him of lying (with the delicious irony of course being that it was Wilson who was lying, not Obama). Politics as usual, I suppose.
Posted at 5:23 am | Comments (2)
1st September, 2009
Comin’ to the rescue!
Anthony Bourdain on children’s TV shows:
All parents must, sooner or later, come to terms with DORA THE EXPLORER and her alleged “cousin”, DIEGO. I’ve always found their relationship suspicious at best. And who is this kid, Diego, anyway? Where are his parents? How does he get to run around unsupervised in the jungle? And isn’t he too young to have a driver’s license?
If there’s one thing that Dora has taught me, it’s that you can remember anything if you repeat it three times outloud. Now, let’s march in place. March in place. March in place! >.>
Posted at 5:13 am | Comment (0)
28th August, 2009
Four score and seven years
Seems like it’s been that long since I’ve last posted a review; the reasons behind which shall be made clear soon.
The Mirrored Heavens by David J. Williams
Oh look, a sci-fi action/adventure book. Starts off with an entertaining action sequence that spans the globe and then some only to fall off a cliff shortly after. Truth be told, I really wasn’t expecting much from this book after having read about it. Sadly, the book failed to even live up to those tepid reviews. Flat characters and lack of a decent plot line quickly dragged this tome into the mire and all the guns and explosions in the world couldn’t save it. Felt like watching a crummy summer action flick.
2.5/5 gogs
Oh damn, a Steven Erikson triple play – and the reason that I’ve been remiss in posting during the summer reading season. Some 3,000 pages later and I’m ready to take a break from the Malazans (good thing book 9 isn’t scheduled to be released until early next year. hah!).
Yay, some of the original cast are back and so is the gritty, witty writing style that first drew me into this series. The book drags in a few places, but serves to start putting the pieces together for (what I hope is) a grand finale.
4/5 gogs.
Back to the Letherii continent that we first encountered in Midnight Tides as Erikson begins putting these pieces into place as well. Better than the aforementioned Tides but still not his best effort and, damn, it’s getting difficult to keep all the characters straight. Good ending, though.
3.2/5 gogs.
Well, the long-hinted at clashes between forces have begun, probably just a precursor to what lies around the corner in books 9 and 10. Unfortunately, I wasn’t all that impressed with this book. I’m not sure if he’s getting burned out or what (or maybe I am after glutting myself on this series these last five months), but it seems like he has lost some of his edge and his writing is suffering. I’m hoping he can turn things around in the last two books.
3/5 gogs.
Posted at 5:22 am | Comment (1)
14th August, 2009
I want to bang on the drum all day
Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work by Matthew Crawford.
First off, you can tell this book was written by a Ph.D. holder as it has a subtitle. Thusly, one should expect philosophical discussion with some obscure (to most people) references to other philosophers (who may themselves be as obscure as the reference) and this book delivers. Snarkiness aside, Crawford does flesh things out a bit with interesting, well-told anecdotes, reminding me somewhat of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (and maybe this isn’t just coincidence as the author quoted from Zen in the book). You can tell he is passionate about what he does and takes care to perform at his best. Yet I can’t help but feel as I walk away from this book that it just another doctoral thesis gussied up with just enough “common-man” material to qualify it for the pop-philosophy section at Barnes and Noble.
The book presented arguments that I wasn’t expecting after having read the title. His central argument was more ‘people are losing skills, are losing the ability to think because of technology and convenience’ instead of ‘people choose to go back to manual labor/skills because of the soulful value that such work gives’. (I was hoping to see an in-depth examination with this idea in mind).
I did run across one discussion that I wanted to talk about, however. He argues, briefly, against the Marxian view that work ceases to have value when it is taken away. Instead he suggests that it ceases to have value the farther away it goes from the worker. “…when the worker’s (or fixer’s) activity is immediately situated within a community of use, it can be enlivened by this kind of direct perception”
I’d take this argument a bit further by saying that it ceases to have value when it is not appreciated. He uses the example of a woodworker being happy seeing his hundred chairs in use around the community – after all, these items have been taken away from the worker. Yet what if those chairs were abused or derided by those who owned them? Suppose one worked for a large corporation, a simple cog in the great machine, churning out work that will be incorporated yet unacknowledged into something more grand. Is there any satisfaction in this? Even in an instance as small as doing a job that one’s co-workers do not appreciate; the work may have value simply as a matter of self-pride, but that value is greatly diminished when others take it for granted or even worse, demand something else instead. In my mind, doing a job well is the best reward there is if you and others appreciate it for what it is. It may not be worth much in terms of dollars, but the craftsmanship and care put into makes it as valuable as gold.
Sadly (to me at least), in the end, this book seemed to be mostly divided between lashing out at his father and railing against the dumbing down of society by conveniences. In other words, it was a decent book but really not what I had hoped.
3/5 gogs.
Posted at 5:22 am | Comments (2)
17th July, 2009
Anything good on TV?
Sadly, nothing SUPER EXCELLENT to report today. Maybe next time.
In the Stormy Red Sky by David Drake
Drake goes back to the well one too many times (again) with yet another installment in the Leary/Mundy saga. A real yawner with a tired plot: government intrigue leads to a climactic battle against insurmountable odds, yet the dynamic duo of Leary and Mundy pull out yet another victory. Haven’t we heard this story before? Skip it.
2/5 gogs.
Midnight Tides by Steven Erikson
My insatiable desire to absorb all things Malazan drives me ever onward. So far, this was the weakest book in the series. No Bridgeburners. No Malazans at all. Book five instead brings forth a slew of new characters set in a new region. At first glance, the novel seems more suited as a standalone than as part of Erikson’s epic. I actually found myself drifting off numerous times and having to re-read sections in order to stay with the story. A bit of a yawner, but required reading if you want to understand what happens in the next book.
3/5 gogs.
Posted at 5:55 am | Comments (7)
17th July, 2009
Upgrade
Installed the latest version of WordPress. As usual, please let me know if you find any broken stuff. ^^
Posted at 5:51 am | Comment (0)
