[Mini Review] JD's Take: The Long Earth (Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter)

This is a near-future science fiction yarn, and it has a pretty interesting premise: the people of earth discover a way to step sideways into alternate versions of earth. The book is a combination of a exploration of how earth deals with the new technology (including the economic, security, social, and religious fallout), and an adventure tale following a small cast of characters exploring worlds many steps away from earth.

I found the characters interesting, the story engaging, the scope of the exploration satisfying, and the book a whole... unfinished. It suffers badly from being the first in a series, so it's probably worth waiting for the next book to come out before picking it up.

[Mini Review] JD's Take: The Islanders (Christopher Priest)

I was pretty excited about this book. Firstly, because Christopher Priest (of The Prestige prestige) impressed the hell out of me and secondly because it was described to me as having a "narrator with an agenda". Great! I love unreliable narrators and Priest is just the guy to write one!

The Islanders is set up as a travel guide to a globe-spanning archipelago, with each chapter offering information about an island. As an exercise in world building, it's spectacular. Priest creates a believably weird world and every entry offers something new. Often these "travel guides" are stories about things that happened on the islands, and those stories are quite interesting, and often quite emotional. However, the over-arching plot of the book is... obscure. It never dragged me on to the next chapter, and while there are recurring characters (in form of "famous artist such-and-such visited this island too! And did this thing!) there isn't really an overall story.

In the end, I found it interesting but disappointing. The narrator's "agenda" was either too obvious or too obscure to be interesting (I'm honestly not sure if I caught the "point" of the book or not, from the narrator's point of view) and I was really hoping that this would be more than it was. It drew me along, but in the end I wasn't entirely sure why.

[JD's Take] Unfinished books 2011

Well as the year comes to an end, I thought I'd do some very small reviews of the books that I didn't manage to finish this year. Hopefully there aren't so many that this goes long.

Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton
I got about a third of the way into this before giving up on it. Lisabit liked it a lot, but I just couldn't get into it. While the idea for the world was original and well executed (it's a world where dragons are the primary and dominant species, and the details and implications of that are interestingly explored and well though out) the actual plot and characters just didn't draw me in. It's very much "Pride and Prejudice and Dragons" and the whole drama of manners things just didn't do it for me.

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
I tried. I really, really tried. I read 393 pages of this and I can see why it's such a classic, but... ugh. This shares many of the flaws of Heinlein-esque hard science fiction that drive me so crazy. The engineering, physics, terraforming, and other science are extremely well though out, well presented, and fascinating. I loved those parts! However, so much of this book is taken up with the worst kind of interpersonal melodrama that I just couldn't bring myself to read another page. It's the worst kind of overwrought, badly charecterized, soap-opera style nonsense. There are also pretty serious pacing issues, if I recall, but the "science writer trying to be dramatic" is what killed it for me.


Well, that wasn't so many failures this year! Of course, that's likely because I didn't read so very much this year. I suppose my year-in-review post will tell.

Month of Sequels – a series of Mini-Reviews

Without really meaning to, I have spend a solid month at the end of the year reading the 2^nd or 3^rd book of a lot of different series. I always find writing reviews for the second book in a series challenging for a few reasons: I don’t like to re-hash the details of the world and events of book 1, it’s hard to recap or give a summary while avoiding spoilers, and I often feel like I’m repeating myself in my praise and critiques.

So, instead of writing full reviews for each of these books, I present a pile of mini-reviews!

The House on Durrow Street (Galen Beckett – Sequel to The Magicians & Mrs. Quent)

….wow. How is it even possible that I had forgotten so much from the first book? The Magicians & Mrs. Quent was one of my favorite books of 2009, so you would think I would have retained "minor" details like the fact that Ivy married Mr. Quent, not Mr. Rafferdy (and that the two of them were distinct people). Or maybe the fact that Eldyn existed as a character at all –or illusionists for that matter. Just, you know, trifling details.

In spite of the huge gaps in my memory, I entirely adored The House on Durrow street. Though it didn’t feel like a lot Happened (with a capital H) in the first 2/3 of the book, I was still very engaged and eager to keep reading. I feel confident in writing off this sedate pace with a nod to the Victorian influences in the whole series. Though the book was long, I munched through it very quickly, savoring each page. The characters are still lovable and flawed, and Beckett did a good job both jogging my memory and “re-developing” his characters, rather than relying solely on the character development from the first book to sustain them (*cough* Tchaikovsky *cough*). Durrow Street was an excellent read, and I can’t wait for Beckett to continue exploring his world and characters.

Salute the Dark (Adrien Tchaikovsky – Shadows of the Apt book 4)

Better than books 2 and 3, not as good as book 1. I’m glad Tchaikovsky wrapped up the major plot arcs, but frankly kind of pissed at the seeds he planed that make me want to keep reading. Since the second book this series has consistently been good enough to keep me begrudgingly reading, but with many protests. I don’t have too much to say, save that the book made me cry (well done!) but didn’t resolve many of the issues I had with the previous books. It will be a toss-up whether I continue with the next story arc.

The Alchemist in the Shadows (Pierre Pevel – Sequel to The Cardinals Blades)

The mere fact that I paid out the ass to buy the UK edition of this book and have it shipped overseas should speak loudly for my opinion of the series as a whole. I will be entirely distraught if the remaining books are not translated. Pevel’s work is candy, pure and simple, but candy with extremely lovable characters who are both wonderful and conflicted. The fast paced plot and entertaining sword-play doesn’t hurt, either. My one complaint: I can’t believe that ass ended book 2 on such a cliff hanger. Bastard.

Antiphon (Ken Scholes – Book 3 of the Song of Isaak)

Once again I had forgotten quite a bit about what happened in book 2 of this series, though much of it came back to over the course of Antiphon. Honestly… I’m not quite sure what Scholes going for in this book, as far as which emotions he was trying to evoke from his reader. For me, I spent most of the book growing more and more frustrated because of all of the dark secrets and unknowns. Once the revelations started, they came waterfalling down, but for 6/7ths of the book I was gnashing my teeth due to all the deliberate opaqueness and mystery. I was also a little discomfited by the sudden change in the world, which went from hard fantasy with steampunk overtones to kinda-sorta-sci-fi pretty quickly. By the end of the book, even though a lot of things were revealed, I just felt confused and frustrated. I’ll pick up book 4 because I want to know what happens, but I’d kindly thank Scholes quit leaning on the suspense device and actually tell a story.

Judas Unchained (Peter F. Hamilton – Sequel to Pandora’s Star)

Once again, I had forgotten a lot of what happened in Pandora’s Star since I read it a full year ago, but Judas Unchained reminded me of the past events without being invasive about it. The story and characters were excellent, and the plot kept me riveted. I have virtually none of the complaints about the second book that I had about the first book, and I’ll certainly be looking into some of Hamilton’s other series when I need a scifi fix. My one caveat is that Judas Unchained was really, really long and a little dense – I offset this by reading Antiphon in the middle of it and giving my brain some breathing room.

Dreadnought (Cherie Priest – indirect sequel to Boneshaker)

If Boneshaker was “take it or leave it – edging towards take it” then Dreadnought was “take it or leave it – edging towards “leave it.” Where Boneshaker kept me engaged with interesting steampunk themes and dark interpersonal relationships, Dreadnought lost me with a zombie invasion and a lone, distant heroine. The writing was good, the main character sympathetic (if not isolated), and the story moved at a good clip (though lacking the ebb and flow of a dynamic novel – it was full tilt ahead all the time, much like the train that the protagonist was stuck on). I think most people who enjoyed Boneshaker would enjoy Dreadnought…. Unless you’re like me, and SO OVER the whole zombie thing.

The Desert Spear (Peter V. Brett – sequel to The Warded Man)

The Desert Spear took a ballsy step, spending the first 120-odd pages focusing on perhaps the most hated character from the first book. At first I was irked, but Brett did such a good job with the story that my annoyance quickly melted away. I reveled in the new aspects of the world and culture he got into, and became surprisingly attached to the new character, in spite of his vicious nature. Rarely do authors pull off such a delicate balance of personal conflict. I was once again irate at the end of the book – but the good kind of outraged, where you find yourself going “Aaaaaugh, I can’t believe he DID THAT!” Desert Spear absolutely lived up to the promise of The Warded Man, and I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for the next installment. Peter V. Brett has vaulted onto my list of favorite authors this year.

[Mini Review] JD's Take: Territory (Emma Bull)

Territory really impressed me. It's a retelling of the Wyatt Earp/Doc Holiday/OK Corral story from the point of view of a young widow working in Tombstone as a typesetter for the local newspaper. It's filled with interesting historical flavor and the characters are nuanced and morally gray and interesting almost to a person. As the story unfolds, we slowly realize that there are magical forces at work in Tombstone influencing events in unpredictable ways. The slow plot pacing and character development work extremely well here, allowing us to assimilate the fantasy elements of the story into the familiar framework of a tale we know the broad outline of already without ever feeling jarring or forced. The introduction of those elements also warns us early that this story isn't going to play out the way we might expect either...

My only real complaint is that the book just... ends. There's no climax, no denouement, it just stops in mid-narrative. Clearly intended to be the first book in a series, I'd recommend waiting to read this until the sequel is available, lest you finish feeling unsatisfied.

[Mini Review] JD's Take: The Way of Kings (Brandon Sanderson)

The Way of Kings is the first entry in what is going to be one of those series that takes up an entire shelf in my library. Projected to be 11 books long (and this first one weighs in at 1008 pages), I've made the regrettable decision to begin reading as soon as the first book was published. Those of us who read fantasy and science fiction have a name for people who start reading long, epic series at the onset: suckers. We've been burned, you see, by the Robert Jordans and the GRRMs of the world. With luck my blind, idiot faith that Sanderson's machine-like ability to churn out words at the feverish pace to which I've grown accustomed won't burn him out in the next 12 years or so will be justified. Alright so yeah, I'm a sucker.

Sucker or not, I'm glad I decided to read this now. This book was amazing. It completely engrossed me while I read it, and I've found myself thinking about it long past the end. The world he builds is fascinating and alien and wonderful. There's so much going on that I have no doubt at all that he'll be developing not just plot threads, but world details for years to come. Roughly, it's a world populated by humans, various near-human races, crustaceans wildlife, weird flora, magic, techno-magic, creepy spirit jellyfish things that are attracted to emotions and natural events, scholars, warriors, wanderers, strange societies, echoes of history long forgotten (and barely past), and enough plot-hints that don't get developed to keep your mind churning for the year(s) it'll take the next book to come out. Oh, and the world is constantly battered by vicious storms that sweep across the landscape in semi-regular, semi-predictable cycles. And gravity magic. And vast armies, and social injustice, and morally gray decisions, and miracles, and prophecy, and....

...and it's a very full book, is what I'm saying. I loved it. I eagerly await the next book. Now if Sanderson just keeps up his writing pace and doesn't go insane in the next decade, I'll be all set.

[Mini Review] [Lisa's Take] Canticle - Ken Scholes

I have a problem with Ken Scholes. His books read too fast. Seriously, I suck them down like candy – ok, that’s a bad analogy since I don’t really like candy. I suck them down like coffee with Baily’s that has cooled to chugging temperature. I read both Lamentation and Canticle so quickly that I kind of almost don’t remember them. The story was great, the characters were great, the prose was great… but the pace was so fast and the text so consumable that reading and finishing it was like a dream – fleeting and already fading.

I honestly don’t have a whole lot more to say about Canticle other than “I enjoyed it,” but there are a couple of things Scholes did well that deserve highlighting. Thing One: characters that were complex but still believable. Sometimes when you have characters that are both good and bad, it’s contrived. Not so with Canticle – I always believed the turns and changes of heart that the characters had. Thing Two: Subtle character development. Scholes did a masterful job maturing and changing his characters from the start of Lamentation to the end of Canticle, and he did so subtly enough that you barely realized it had happened until you stopped and compared. Thing Three: introducing potential future plot developments without being glaringly obvious or saying “ha, ha, I know something you don’t know!”

Ok, stopping with the numbered Things before this mini-review becomes a Dr. Seuss book. Lamentation was good. Canticle was better. I’m very much looking forward to book three, and I’ll do my best to slow down and savor it.

[Mini Review] JD's Take: World War Z (Max Brooks)

Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it, and that goes double for us now, as the long rebuilding process continues and the horrors of the war begin to fade into memory. Before long, there will be few alive who remember the heroism, the bravery, the depravity, and the fear of that time. You owe it to yourself, to your family, to those you lost and those you love and those who will come later to read this book. It will be hard to revisit those years, hard to listen to enablers and profiteers justify themselves, hard to listen to survivors forced to remember what they did to stay alive.

Almost a series of short stories, this account can be frustrating at time when it leaves you desperately wanting to follow a story further. The storytelling varies from amazing to decent, but on the whole the stories are gripping and engrossing. This is not the cold accounting of facts of the official reports. No survival rate comparisons or infection maps. This is the war in the words of the people who lived it and it is essential for us to remember the human cost (and the human causes) of the war that nearly destroyed us all.

[Mini-review] Lisa’s Take: Dead Until Dawn (Charlene Harris)

Excuse me for a moment while I ruin this blog’s credibility:

*apply face to keyboard repeatedly* @(*&!HASHDJH!U!@*#$&!)($(#*!!HFKJH#*YR&@!*&@*#($^(*^!@$#. *repeat at least 4 times*

Good gods. How is it even possible that books this abjectly horrible exist? And are read by wide audiences? And have a zillion sequels and have been turned into TV shows? Seriously? I bitch about Laurell K. Hamilton’s work having turned to tripe in recent years, but compared to Dead Until Dawn the Anita Blake books are up on a shining pedestal of literary achievement. If books could make one’s eyes bleed with badness, this book would have made me weep bloody tears. I can’t even begin to express how awful it was.

The protagonist made me want to kill. The fact that the sentences were so choppy made my internal monologue shudder. The juvenile character relationships made my hands quite literally curl into fists. This may be the first time that I’ve ever actually rolled my eyes at a book. Needless to say, that is the last time I take a book recommendation in the form of “Oh, they’re actually not bad – they were made into a TV show, after all.” That’s also the last time I consider reading Twilight just so I can disprove all the people who say it’s good; after the pain of Dead Until Dawn, which has a similar audience and level of acclaim, I can’t bear the thought of subjecting myself to more.

Ok. I think I’m done. Consider this the end of my most unfair, unbalanced, viscerally-inspired review ever.

[Mini-review] Lisa’s Take: Zoe’s Tale (John Scalzi)

This is the first book by John Scalzi that I’ve ever picked up, and I grabbed it based solely upon the fact that it was in the running with Little Brother and The Graveyard Book for several YA-related fantasy awards. Surely such good company would imply a good yarn?

Absolutely, in this case. I read Zoe’s Tale in one day, practically in one sitting. It was certainly YA, but not overly so. The characters were fun and colorful, the history behind the book was rich, and the plot rushed along very satisfyingly. Most impressively: I didn’t realize that Zoe’s Tale was a re-telling of The Last Colony from a different perspective until the author told me so in the afterword. How freaking impressive is that?

I’ll keep this short since this is a mini-review: Zoe’s Tale is quite good, and it turned me on to Scalzi’s other work, which I proceeded to eat through in a matter of days. I’d suggest reading Zoe’s Tale last, rather than first, but his books are all stand on their own so it won’t hurt one way or the other. Great characterization (Zoe might be a little socially advanced for a 16-year-old, but it works), fun story, all around good times. Hooray!

[Mini-Review] Lisa's take - Fevre Dream (George R. R. Martin)

Vampires on Steamboats during the heyday of the Steamboat Era! Hoorah!

That preeeetty much sums up Martin's Fevre Dream. The one notable exception to that theme is that the Vampires in this story aren't of the typical variety - they've a bit of a similar feel to Brust's Agyar. Alternative and interesting, though still with some ties to canon.

Anyway, the story is so-so, the characters are... pretty good, and the narrative style is nice enough. I think if you wanted to write an english paper, you could fabricate some metaphors or deeper meanings to the story. Sadly, all of the mediocrity means that the book was a bit of a chore to finish. I wouldn't really recommend it, even to hardcore fans of Martin's work. Stick to the Fire and Ice stuff.

[Mini-Review] Lisas’s Take - Age of Fire Book 1: Dragon Champion (E. E. Knight)

I’ve been struggling with this review for a while – I keep trying to be nice about Dragon Champion (“Oh, maybe it would be good if it were supposed to be YA…”) but I’m giving up. A quick summary: Dragon Champion is about a dragon named Auron, and we follow him from hatching through early adulthood. There are some wolves, some hunters, some elves, some dwarves, magicians, and a big doomy war.

This book was mediocre at best, dragging at worst (which says a lot, seeing as how it was maybe 300 pages long). There were a couple of engaging characters and ideas, especially near the start of the book, but through the middle and end it was hackneyed and unoriginal. I didn’t really care about the plot or the characters by the end (mostly because the only two interesting characters had gone their separate ways). I just wanted to finish the damn thing, because there was no excuse not to when it was so short.

The bottom line: I won’t be buying the sequels, and I suggest you don’t waste your time with this one unless you’re between the ages of 10 and 14.

[Mini Review] Lisa’s Take – The Tide Lords Book 1: The Immortal Prince (Jennifer Fallon)

I’m sticking to a mini-review on this book, because I’ve been putting off reviewing it for lack of verbose content. I don’t feel like writing a plot description – every time I try the summary falls flat and just doesn’t do the book justice. So, a mini-review!

Jennifer Fallon is rapidly rising on my list of authors I like – I have a feeling that by the end of this quartet she’ll break through from “good authors” to “favorite authors” on my mental tally. She just does characters and intrigue so damn well – what other author can claim that they have given me an aversion to a particular beverage based solely upon one of their characters’ use of it?

Woo, tangent! Stick to the mini-review. At first I was afraid that The Immortal Prince would be too predictable (I called one of her “big reveals” quite early) but she got me pretty good with another one of her reveals – any time an author causes me to emit an utterance loud enough to attract JD from two rooms over, it’s pretty impressive. The characters were excellent and well developed (as always) and I can sense the potential for angst building towards a head later in the quartet. Did I mention that Jennifer Fallon is starting to rival Robin Hobb for angst levels? Impressive, I know.

Right. Thumbs up. Read this book, it is tasty goodness.

[Mini Review] Lisa’s Take - Wild Sheep Chase (Haruki Murakami)

(What's up with this review?)

This book was a great break from my usual fantasy-only regimen, and I’m quite glad it was forced upon me. The plot was surreal and intriguing, with enough fantasy elements to keep me hooked, but still plenty of deep implications and a literature-bint. Ironically, Murakami is known for trying to sound American when he writes (in his native Japanese), but the translation sounds very japanese to me in it’s phrasing. Maybe I’m crazy.

I’d definitely like to hit up some more Murakami in the future, especially when I’m looking for something a little more deep.

The Bottom Line: Thumbs Up

[Mini Review] Lisa’s Take - The Gentleman Bastard Series (Scott Lynch)

(What's up with this review?)

Lies of Locke Lamora

JD has already reviewed this, so I’ll keep it short: This was the BEST book I read in 2006. Easily. Hands down. I cannot be more thrilled that Scott Lynch has a lot more planned.

Red Seas Under Red Skies

A solid continuation from Lies. I had a few more gripes this time (mostly because I was able to get over my awe and look at the book critically). For instance – The Bastards go galavanting off in the middle of one heist to take care of another (they’re compelled, to be fair) and then when they come back to the first heist, the end-game is very rushed. I’m pretty sure Lynch just hit his page-limit and had to cut back *shrug* Still, it’s freaking phenomenal. Consume it like the amazing, gritty candy it is.

The bottom line: it don't get more thumbs-up than this.

[Mini Review] Lisa’s Take - Un Lun Dun (China Mieville)

(What's up with this review?)

Hmm. I’ve restarted this review about 4 times. Nothing I say about it comes out quite right. Un Lun Dun was a good enough book I guess, but it was still YA fiction, which almost always lacks a punch for me. I was trying to review it without the YA slant… but it just wasn’t working.

Anyway, like all of Mieville’s work, this has some really neat ideas. Very creative. But… it’s still YA. I didn’t really care about the characters, and there was very little emotional tie-in. Who knows, maybe if I were 13 I would have thought differently *shrug*

The bottom line: skip it and read The Scar instead.

[Mini Review] Lisa’s Take - The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters (Gordon Dahlquist)

(What's up with this review?)

This book was a very pleasant surprise, and yet another novel that deserves a full review. Ah well, maybe if that slacker JD ever reads it he can give it the review it deserves.

Glass Books is kind of a Victorian, steam-punk, fantasy hybrid. You know – canes with swords inside, masquerades, dirigibles, huge machines with lots of gears, monocles, &c. It’s also POV driven – you get chapters each from the perspective of one of the 3 main characters.

The book is really quite entertaining and excellent. I wasn’t expecting to like it – I nearly stopped after the first chapter – but in the second chapter things really pick up. I’d suggest if you get off on the wrong foot to make sure you read each of the first 3 chapters so you can be introduced to each of the main characters. It’s highly worth the read!

The bottom line: Thumbs up! Read it!

[Mini Review] Lisa’s Take – Briar Rose (Jane Yolen)

(What's up with this review?)

A bunch of sci-fi fantasy writers got together a few years ago and released a series of novellas that were classic fairy tales crossed with some sort of other story. I had no idea that’s what was going on when I picked up Briar Rose – I honestly just grabbed it because it was short and because I loved Jane Yolen when I was a tween. Turns out Steve Brust also did one of these, as did a number of other authors I’ve read. I kind of wish they’d release them in compiled volumes – I’d definitely pick them all up.

Anyway, I’m divided about Briar Rose overall. I noticed this problem when I reviewed The Kite Runner. I get kind of stand-offish about books that deal with real-life content that the reader is required to feel emotional about. Briar Rose is about a Holocaust victim – of course it’s going to be painful and touching. You can’t do anything about it, and if you review it callously, you’re going to get your stuffing ripped out.

So I’ll divide it up.

• The parts of the book that dealt with the Holocaust were very well handled and very touching. I would have had a favorable impression of the book if the section that was a character re-telling his Holocaust experience was the entire story.

• The parts of the book that dealt with the telling of the fairy tale are… interesting. At least somewhat engaging.

• The parts of the book that dealt with the main character searching for the history were entirely useless. I didn’t give a damn about her, and I didn’t really care if she succeeded. Her love interest was bland and predictable, and all the secondary characters were either flat or obnoxious.

The Bottom Line: ….I really don’t know. The book got a lot of critical acclaim, so maybe it’s just me. Still, I’d say skip it unless you’re looking to depress yourself, or just want to debate with me about it.

[Mini Review] Lisa’s Take – Neuromancer (William Gibson)

(What's up with this review?)

So when I said that George Alec Effinger had ruined me on Cyberpunk, I was pretty much referring to Neuromancer. I know, I know, Gibson did it first and he deserves kudos for defining the genre. But… after reading Effinger and his fantastic characterizations that meshed so well with his incredible world… I just couldn’t get into Neuromancer. This was before I imposed my 100-page rule on books (give it 100 pages before you give up on it) so I put down Neuromancer after a few chapters and have had zero initiative to pick it back up. Really, if my 100-page-rule had been in place, I would have already been through half the book, so I could have finished it easily and reviewed it. Alas! ...or not.

The Bottom Line: If you want good Cyberpunk, read George Alec Effinger. If you want to reconnect with the roots of cyberpunk or you’re brand new to the genre, read Neuromancer. Otherwise, skip it. Thumbs down.

[Mini Review] Lisa’s Take – When Gravity Fails/Fire in the Sun (George Alec Effinger)

(What's up with this review?)

George Alec Effinger has ruined me on cyberpunk. Holy hell, he’s SO DAMN GOOD. Seriously. I just want to cram all of his words into my brain all at once… it’s a trial to space them out.

So. These books are CyberPunk, near-future, with an Arabic twist. They have extremely interesting and plausible technology (people chip-in “moddies” to give themselves extra information, or whole new personalities). It’s pretty cool. But perhaps the most impressive part is that while the technology is definitely highlighted, the characters are still the major focus. Effinger creates some really impressive, emotionally involving characters… all very realistic and sympathetic and flawed. I kind of get a twinge in my chest thinking about them. Everything about these books is just smooth and incredible and engaging.

My one caution with these books is that they can be extremely brutal, much like some of China Mieville’s work. Particularly in the second book there’s a scene where Our Hero takes a fairly vicious beating, and I actually had to put the book down for a while and calm down. It wasn’t just gore or vivid descriptions – the books are just that evocative; you really get that involved in the characters. For better or for worse.

The Bottom Line: It sucks UNIMAGINABLY that Effinger died, because I have never read better cyberpunk. You absolutely must read these books.