Stan Morris's Blog

I see it's been a while since I posted something here. I have read some books. I've been reading the series A Song of Fire and Ice. It takes forever to get anywhere. A Game of Thrones was okay. Clash of Kings was a little better, and Storm of Swords was better yet. A Feast For Crows is not too good so far.
The big news I want to share is that I finally finished editing Surviving the Fog-Kathy's Recollections and it is now live at Amazon. I started writing this in April 2012, and I finished in February 2013. The editing process took about 90 days. So it's up.

Today I finished reading one the most remarkable books I've ever read. It's a children's book. Supposedly. It is filled with magical imagination, a world rich in invention and characters. It's about a girl who travels to Un Lun Dun and does some remarkable things. Ah, but which girl am I talking about? Heh. It's not a book about cliches, except that it is, only they are turned upside down. You might say it's the uncliche book.
Some people will not read this book because it was aimed at children. Or was it? It's filled with adult themes cleverly disguised as silly characters.
Some people will not read this book because it is a fantasy. Those who compartmentalize their reading and always speak in terms of "genres" might not read this book. When I was young, I might have felt sorry for them. Not anymore. 5 stars.

Greetings from the worlds worst blogger. I see I have not posted anything since October. In my defense, I have been busy writing, and have finally finished my latest book, Surviving the fog-Kathy's Recollections. But enough of me. Ha!
Notorious Nineteen is a fun read. Sometimes this series can have a stale book. This wasn't one of them. Plum has a good time with Ranger and Joe and Lula. A lot of Grandma in this book. Lot's of fun moments and a decent enough plot, although it was clear before the end who dun it. I finished it in a day and a half. 5 stars

Jodi Thomas is capable of writing a very good, very heart warming story. Just Down the Road is not one of those. It is filled with cliches, half baked scenes, and poor writing. I'm trying finish this one, but even if I do, I'll be breathing a sigh of relief.

4 stars. The book starts out a little weak but quickly gets better and by the end I found it difficult to put down. Stephanie Harrington is growing up and discovering that the facts of life are all about her. New characters,very engaging ones, are introduced and we learn more about Sphinx and more about the treecats. A good read, but one that appears to be written mostly by Lindskold rather than by Weber.

This is the third in a series of books that are a part of the Ring of Fire series which was started by Eric Flint in his 1632 book.

The first book in this group of three (so far) was written by Flint and Andrew Dennis and were pretty good. .

This book was written by Flint and Charles E. Gannon. The first couple of pages are a little annoying as people hold a discussion during an emergency, but after that the book easily holds its own. It is about a rescue, a disaster, overconfidence, and a search for the moral line between what is right and doing one's duty. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I've recently read two PA books and this survival book by Hugh Howey. I did not finish the two PA books (although one was well written) but Half Way Home is a real gem. The writing is very good, the logic of the book holds up all the way to the end, and the characters are appealing. It's liberal in its cultural leanings, but the author never harangues us (he steps on the soap box at times but very briefly and hastily steps down.) Old readers will recognized references to scifi stories or television series, but it's never a ripoff, instead it's a new take on a previous idea. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It takes place on another planet, and that's all I'm going to give you. Enjoy.

I'll give this one three stars, four for the first half of the book and two for the last half. It starts out well and then gets ho-hum.

A stunning work, not so much the plot, although that works just fine, but the prose. Be warned, you will find yourself reading sentences several times until you get the cadence correct. They are extremely long and full of nuance. This is an end of the world story, but there is so much more to this book that it is almost impossible to describe. Another warning. From seemingly prudish, it suddenly veers into extremely coarse language with sexual situations described not graphically but in some detail. Each and every word in this tome (616 pages) appears to be necessary and in its rightful place. The prologue alone will stun you and will leave you feeling as if you live in a world suddenly much dangerous than it was mere minutes before.

This was a solid four star book. There is nothing fancy in this book; just good quality reading material. The setting is limited in scope but it is interesting and leaves the reader wanting to hear more. The characters are simple without being cardboards. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I will likely buy another in the series.