http://www.goodreads.com/review/list_rss/81560 en-US Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:18:12 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 2386911 Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:18:12 -0700
author: Carol Berg
name: Denise
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2005
rating: 2
read at: 06/07
date added: 06/25/07
shelves: fantasy
review:
A disappointing end to a good series; it was the first one in the series where I could see the ending coming like a Mack truck.
]]> 2386909 Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:16:57 -0700
author: Carol Berg
name: Denise
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 06/07
date added: 06/25/07
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 2386888 Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:16:29 -0700
author: Carol Berg
name: Denise
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 06/07
date added: 06/25/07
shelves: fantasy
review:

]]> 2386820 Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:15:03 -0700
author: Simon Lovell
name: Denise
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 06/07
date added: 06/25/07
shelves: anecdotes
review:
A very fascinating book -- mostly about how not to get taken for a ride in various situations, how to spot cheats, and how to protect yourself from con artists, not quite what the title suggests; it's not a how-to manual. The organization is pretty good and the stories are fun and funny, but typos (and typos that occasionally change the meaning of a sentence!), heavy-fisted humor, and the semi-frequent descent into utter incomprehensibility make it impossible for me to rate it higher. Still, it's worth it just for the sections on ways to cheat at cards.
]]> 2048290 Sun, 17 Jun 2007 04:37:14 -0700

]]>
author: Tanya Huff
name: Denise
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 06/07
date added: 06/17/07
shelves: fantasy
review:
These books are made all the more awesome for knowing what I know about television production and the Vancouver TV scene in particular. (Add in the level about the show being made of the series this is a spinoff from, and you have true meta hilarity.)



]]> 2035774 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 15:38:31 -0700 immersive that to stop mid-way leaves me feeling like I've been hit with a bucket of cold water. And when I'm done, I always have to close the cover and sit for a while, quietly reflecting and trying to absorb and engage with the story. They make you think, and more than that, they make you feel.

This one is much better than the first in Imriel's trilogy (which was good, almost great even, but not the same level of incandescent that the first trilogy always had). Carey has found Imri's voice, and it's a good one: clear and distinct, and watching him mature through this book is a delight. The dilemmas that drive the book are natural and real in the context of the world Carey's created, though it might feel artifical to someone who isn't familiar with the imperatives and values of her society.

This isn't quite a five-star book, but it's better than what I'd consider four-star, and since we can't give half stars, I'm rounding up! Still, if you're interested -- and I really think that any fantasy fan should read this series if you haven't already -- start with the first book of the first trilogy, Kushiel's Dart, and go from there. (I will warn you that the first bits of Dart are slow-going; in the grandest High Political Fantasy tradition, she jumps right in and starts throwing political machination around within the first few pages, and it will take you a while to sort out who's who and what factions exist. Stick with it. It's worth it. Oh, is it ever worth it.)

Carey's one of those authors that I wish I could read again for the first time, immersing myself in her world and her characters and all of her societal structures and discovering them slowly again. This is a series for people who love political high fantasy with deep roots and immersive worlds. Seriously, if you haven't read them yet, do.]]>
author: Jacqueline Carey
name: Denise
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 06/07
date added: 06/16/07
shelves: fantasy
review:
Amazingly lush, lyrical, and beautifully drawn, like all of the books in this world; I always have to read them in one sitting, because they're so full-body immersive that to stop mid-way leaves me feeling like I've been hit with a bucket of cold water. And when I'm done, I always have to close the cover and sit for a while, quietly reflecting and trying to absorb and engage with the story. They make you think, and more than that, they make you feel.

This one is much better than the first in Imriel's trilogy (which was good, almost great even, but not the same level of incandescent that the first trilogy always had). Carey has found Imri's voice, and it's a good one: clear and distinct, and watching him mature through this book is a delight. The dilemmas that drive the book are natural and real in the context of the world Carey's created, though it might feel artifical to someone who isn't familiar with the imperatives and values of her society.

This isn't quite a five-star book, but it's better than what I'd consider four-star, and since we can't give half stars, I'm rounding up! Still, if you're interested -- and I really think that any fantasy fan should read this series if you haven't already -- start with the first book of the first trilogy, Kushiel's Dart, and go from there. (I will warn you that the first bits of Dart are slow-going; in the grandest High Political Fantasy tradition, she jumps right in and starts throwing political machination around within the first few pages, and it will take you a while to sort out who's who and what factions exist. Stick with it. It's worth it. Oh, is it ever worth it.)

Carey's one of those authors that I wish I could read again for the first time, immersing myself in her world and her characters and all of her societal structures and discovering them slowly again. This is a series for people who love political high fantasy with deep roots and immersive worlds. Seriously, if you haven't read them yet, do.
]]> 2022026 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 02:18:41 -0700
author: Anne McCaffrey
name: Denise
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at: 06/07
date added: 06/16/07
shelves: sf
review:
This didn't hold up to a reread as much as I'd hoped -- when I was younger I adored it, and now I can see the flaws. But still, entertaining.
]]> 2021733 Sat, 16 Jun 2007 01:21:05 -0700 quite hit what he swings at, but still eminently readable. Interestingly enough, I read this series backwards by accident; it works in both directions.]]>
author: Jack McDevitt
name: Denise
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at: 06/07
date added: 06/16/07
shelves: sf
review:
A complex book -- more complex than it appears on the surface -- and McDevitt doesn't quite hit what he swings at, but still eminently readable. Interestingly enough, I read this series backwards by accident; it works in both directions.
]]> 1769277 Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:16:38 -0700
author: Michael Konik
name: Denise
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at: 06/07
date added: 06/07/07
shelves: anecdotes
review:
Picked up in the Vegas airport, fittingly enough. This is a collection of anecdotes about gamblers and gambling -- more about gamblers, really, and some of the funny and sometimes heartbreaking things they get up to. The writing style's very clear and breezy, and the stories are entertaining.
]]> 1769255 Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:15:07 -0700 is an introductory text and therefore less in-depth than I thought it would be when I picked it up -- but if you're looking for an intro to sociolinguistics, this is a good one. ]]>
author: Peter Trudgill
name: Denise
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 05/07
date added: 06/07/07
shelves: lingustics
review:
Excellent introduction to the topic. I didn't learn a lot new, because it is an introductory text and therefore less in-depth than I thought it would be when I picked it up -- but if you're looking for an intro to sociolinguistics, this is a good one.
]]> 1769219 Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:13:06 -0700
author: Vince Flynn
name: Denise
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 06/07
date added: 06/07/07
shelves: adventure
review:
I hate it when I run out of books while traveling and have to rely on airport bookstores, because it always forces me to pick up stuff I wouldn't usually give the time of day, but this was surprisingly good for being a jingoist patriotic adventure novel. The usual problems -- clunky language, overabundance of telling instead of showing, contrived plot that you see a mile away -- but it managed to be entertaining despite that.
]]> 1769194 Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:11:14 -0700
author: Carol Berg
name: Denise
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 06/07
date added: 06/07/07
shelves: fantasy
review:
I accidentally picked up book 2 of the trilogy before book 1 -- it was a used-bookstore find -- but it stands perfectly well on its own after a rough first chapter figuring out wtf is going on, and I love Carol Berg's writing and worldbuilding.
]]> 1769180 Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:10:13 -0700
author: Katherine Kurtz
name: Denise
average rating: 3.72
book published: 1983
rating: 4
read at: 05/07
date added: 06/07/07
shelves: fantasy
review:
A favorite for rereading!
]]> 1769144 Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:09:05 -0700
author: Connie Willis
name: Denise
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 06/07
date added: 06/07/07
shelves: sf
review:
This book never fails to leave me disturbed and vaguely disquieted, in a way that I can't pin down the reason for, but I love it anyway.
]]> 1769131 Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:08:22 -0700
author: Anne McCaffrey
name: Denise
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1978
rating: 3
read at: 05/07
date added: 06/07/07
shelves: sf
review:

]]> 1769109 Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:07:39 -0700
author: Peter O'Donnell
name: Denise
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 05/07
date added: 06/07/07
shelves: adventure
review:

]]> 1769092 Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:07:07 -0700
author: Peter O'Donnell
name: Denise
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 05/07
date added: 06/07/07
shelves: adventure
review:

]]> 1769046 Thu, 07 Jun 2007 20:05:25 -0700
author: Peter O'Donnell
name: Denise
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 05/07
date added: 06/07/07
shelves: adventure
review:
I'm catching up, so short review: plotty, action-packed, well-paced, exciting, I loved it, yay.
]]> 1238528 Tue, 15 May 2007 20:36:55 -0700
author: Peter O'Donnell
name: Denise
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 05/07
date added: 05/15/07
shelves: adventure
review:
Still loving these -- this one had some "wtf?" type moments, where suddenly it seemed like the author was abandoning some of his realism and picking up some more supernatural/speculative elements, but watching Modesty get into (and out of) trouble remains highly entertaining.
]]> 1238641 Tue, 15 May 2007 20:22:41 -0700
author: Peter O'Donnell
name: Denise
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 05/07
date added: 05/15/07
shelves: adventure
review:
A more traditional adventure; this time Modesty and Willie have to save Sir Gerald from the evildoers who have captured him. I really liked this one for how quietly feminist it was; the men in Modesty's life never think less of her because she's female, but this is a really great reversal of the usual action/adventure stereotype of (male) hero having to save (female) love interest. (Not that Sir Gerald is her love interest, but still.) Very nicely low-key send-up of the traditional tropes.
]]> 1238573 Tue, 15 May 2007 20:14:32 -0700
author: Peter O'Donnell
name: Denise
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 05/07
date added: 05/15/07
shelves: adventure
review:
Continuing on the supernatural/speculative vein from the previous one in the series, but this one's a little more "logical" about it. also, the best fight scene yet in the series. Modesty remains kickass; I'd like to see her and Dirk Pitt in a cage match. (She'd kick his ass.)
]]> 1191247 Sun, 13 May 2007 15:38:18 -0700
It's an adventure, not a mystery -- we know whodunit well before the characters did -- but there are still things to surprise the reader, and I was just as surprised at the twist as Modesty and Willie were. Also, the villains in this one were incredibly over-the-top, but entertaining. ]]>
author: Peter O'Donnell
name: Denise
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 05/07
date added: 05/13/07
shelves: adventure
review:
Ninth in the Modesty Blaise series, and the one I accidentally read first! Modesty rescues a man from the ocean while she's sailing, and he turns out to be Luke Fletcher, a genius artist who was reported dead several weeks earlier. Modesty and Willie get caught up in trying to figure out who dumped Fletcher into the ocean, why people are trying to kill him, and what they can do to protect him.

It's an adventure, not a mystery -- we know whodunit well before the characters did -- but there are still things to surprise the reader, and I was just as surprised at the twist as Modesty and Willie were. Also, the villains in this one were incredibly over-the-top, but entertaining.
]]> 1190954 Sun, 13 May 2007 15:34:07 -0700
This one is the second book in the series (the care package I got of the series didn't include the first), but I accidentally read out-of-order by following the inner bookplates, which in these editions aren't entirely accurate about sequence. Doesn't matter; they can be read in pretty much any order and enjoyed. If you like action-adventure, I'd totally give these a try. (They're products of their times, though; for all that they're fairly progressive in that they feature a female protagonist, one must look past some things that would be tremendously un-PC today.)

This one's about an attempted coup in Kuwait, in which Modesty and her faithful sidekick Willie get caught up, at the request of Tarrant. It's fast-paced and very readable, and I enjoyed it very much. ]]>
author: Peter O'Donnell
name: Denise
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 05/07
date added: 05/13/07
shelves: adventure
review:
I got pointed at the Modesty Blaise series by a friend who knows my love of the genre that used to be called "men's adventure novels" and is now called "techno-thrillers". Well, these aren't "techno" per se -- this one was first published in 1966 -- but they're good solid adventure novels, and Modesty (the main character) has catapulted past Dirk Pitt as my favorite action-adventure hero ever. (Jack Ryan wasn't even in the running.) Basic premise: Modesty Blaise, a former criminal mastermind, has retired from running The Network and now lives in England as one of the idle rich. Except she's bored. Very bored. She and her right-hand-man Willie Garvin occasionally take jobs at the request of Sir Gerald Tarrant, member of the British secret service, who passes things on to Modesty if he can't do them officially and above-board.

This one is the second book in the series (the care package I got of the series didn't include the first), but I accidentally read out-of-order by following the inner bookplates, which in these editions aren't entirely accurate about sequence. Doesn't matter; they can be read in pretty much any order and enjoyed. If you like action-adventure, I'd totally give these a try. (They're products of their times, though; for all that they're fairly progressive in that they feature a female protagonist, one must look past some things that would be tremendously un-PC today.)

This one's about an attempted coup in Kuwait, in which Modesty and her faithful sidekick Willie get caught up, at the request of Tarrant. It's fast-paced and very readable, and I enjoyed it very much.
]]> 1138016 Sat, 12 May 2007 05:08:39 -0700 happened until the last 20 pages or so. Also, all of his protagonists are identical. (Except where they're not and the difference is intended to be a source of Angst.)

Anyway, this was Yet Another Bova Book: readable, entertaining enough, but more heavy-handed than usual, and I felt clubbed over the head with his Message too often to really lose myself in the book. Not great, but not awful either.]]>
author: Ben Bova
name: Denise
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 05/07
date added: 05/12/07
shelves: sf
review:
I have this love/hate relationship with Bova's writing. On the one hand, he's got great ideas. On the other hand, I always look back after I finish one of his books and realize that nothing really happened until the last 20 pages or so. Also, all of his protagonists are identical. (Except where they're not and the difference is intended to be a source of Angst.)

Anyway, this was Yet Another Bova Book: readable, entertaining enough, but more heavy-handed than usual, and I felt clubbed over the head with his Message too often to really lose myself in the book. Not great, but not awful either.
]]> 1138008 Sat, 12 May 2007 04:59:18 -0700
There's the gem of a good story here, underneath all the military abbreviations, rapid and nonsensical shifts of PoV, and unclear-antecedent descriptors instead of names. Unfortunately, the gem of a good story is about five thousand words, and the novel itself is 460 pages. ]]>
author: John Ringo
name: Denise
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2000
rating: 2
read at: 05/07
date added: 05/12/07
shelves: sf
review:
I kept reading this and hoping it would get better. It did, but it didn't get better until far after the point where I usually would give up on a book; only the fact that I was stuck in an airport with a delayed plane and no other reading material kept me going on it.

There's the gem of a good story here, underneath all the military abbreviations, rapid and nonsensical shifts of PoV, and unclear-antecedent descriptors instead of names. Unfortunately, the gem of a good story is about five thousand words, and the novel itself is 460 pages.
]]> 1156303 Thu, 10 May 2007 22:41:10 -0700
author: C.S. Friedman
name: Denise
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 05/07
date added: 05/10/07
shelves: fantasy
review:
Brought this along with me to reread; its length and complexity makes it good Airplane Fare. This one keeps its draw on the re-read. Friedman can build a complex and compelling world, and incredibly deep and non-stock characters; as fantasy series go, this is a highly original one. And Tarrant is one of the most lovely characters ever created. Worth reading, but start with the first book in the trilogy, as it contains important background information.
]]> 1138012 Thu, 10 May 2007 22:37:34 -0700
author: John Scalzi
name: Denise
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 05/07
date added: 05/10/07
shelves: sf
review:
It certainly suffers from Second Book Syndrome -- the reader's left wondering if Scalzi had intended this sequel from the beginning -- with less depth, less transparency to the moralizing, and a more straightfoward plot; I spotted the ending from page 80 or so. Still, Scalzi's prose remains effervescent, and his worldbuilding is fascinating. Not as good as the first one, but still well above 95% of what's out there.
]]> 1138020 Thu, 10 May 2007 20:08:27 -0700
The cover quote on this one compares Scalzi to Heinlein, which is both accurate and inaccurate: this is the book Starship Troopers would have been if it had been written fifty years later, with the intervening fifty years' worth of political and social developments. It's an incredibly mature story for a first novel, and I'm damn impressed: thematically, there's a level of complexity and depth there that tells me I'm going to have to reread to tease some additional layers out of it.

He had me from the first paragraph (I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. I visited my wife's grave. Then I joined the army.) The art of the opening has been diminshed in sf these days; too many authors hit you with all the front-loaded exposition right damn there, but Scalzi takes us through a leisurely few pages of getting to know his protagonist, his life, his ideals, etc, before dropping him in a world that's utterly alien. It works to great effect, because it's the same journey the protag's going through: he's becoming something else, something other, and the transformation is all the more powerful for seeing it through his eyes and experiencing it with him.

I'm not much for first-person narrative, as a rule, but this one really worked for me. The prose is simple and clean, but layered with depth and meaning; in a lot of ways, it reads as very transparent, where the words themselves don't get in the way of the concepts they're conveying. I can definitely see why Scalzi won the '06 Campbell, and I'm looking forward to devouring everything he's written since. (He is also, which makes me highly kindly disposed to him, a Pixel-Stained Technopeasant. Bonus props to you, sir.) ]]>
author: John Scalzi
name: Denise
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 05/07
date added: 05/10/07
shelves: sf
review:
I picked this one up intending to read a few chapters before bed tonight, and now it's two in the morning and I've finished it, which should tell you something about it. I'm valiantly resisting starting the sequel, which I also bought tonight.

The cover quote on this one compares Scalzi to Heinlein, which is both accurate and inaccurate: this is the book Starship Troopers would have been if it had been written fifty years later, with the intervening fifty years' worth of political and social developments. It's an incredibly mature story for a first novel, and I'm damn impressed: thematically, there's a level of complexity and depth there that tells me I'm going to have to reread to tease some additional layers out of it.

He had me from the first paragraph (I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. I visited my wife's grave. Then I joined the army.) The art of the opening has been diminshed in sf these days; too many authors hit you with all the front-loaded exposition right damn there, but Scalzi takes us through a leisurely few pages of getting to know his protagonist, his life, his ideals, etc, before dropping him in a world that's utterly alien. It works to great effect, because it's the same journey the protag's going through: he's becoming something else, something other, and the transformation is all the more powerful for seeing it through his eyes and experiencing it with him.

I'm not much for first-person narrative, as a rule, but this one really worked for me. The prose is simple and clean, but layered with depth and meaning; in a lot of ways, it reads as very transparent, where the words themselves don't get in the way of the concepts they're conveying. I can definitely see why Scalzi won the '06 Campbell, and I'm looking forward to devouring everything he's written since. (He is also, which makes me highly kindly disposed to him, a Pixel-Stained Technopeasant. Bonus props to you, sir.)
]]> 1137899 Wed, 09 May 2007 23:40:51 -0700
author: Donald E. Westlake
name: Denise
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 05/07
date added: 05/09/07
shelves: mystery
review:
Westlake's always entertaining, and this is a good fast read. Eleventh of the Dortmunder novels, but it's pretty standalone; the older Dortmunder novels are hard to find these days. All you need to know is that John Dortmunder is the most unlucky criminal ever.
]]>