|
June 09
|
|
Caer
gave
 
to:
Black Beauty (Mass Market Paperback)
by Anna Sewell
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
|
|
June 06
|
|
Caer
gave
to:
Howl's Moving Castle (Mass Market Paperback)
by Diana Wynne Jones
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
|
|
June 21
|
|
Caer
gave
to:
Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette (Hardcover)
by Sena Jeter Naslund
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
|
|
June 12
|
|
Caer
gave
to:
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch (Paperback)
by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
read in June, 2008
|
|
May 11
|
|
Caer
gave
to:
Prospero's Children (Paperback)
by Jan Siegel
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
Caer said:
"I think my rating deserves some explanation. This is really one of the better books I've read in the adolescent fantasy genre, and at its beginning I found it both extremely imaginative and beautifully written. Seigel's takes on the some of the trad...more
I think my rating deserves some explanation. This is really one of the better books I've read in the adolescent fantasy genre, and at its beginning I found it both extremely imaginative and beautifully written. Seigel's takes on the some of the traditional fantasy creatures are lovely- I absolutely adored her characterization of the mermaid! She was obviously drawing on their darker, earlier origins while creating them, which is commendable, and gives the world a Brothers Grimm/folklore-ish atmosphere.
However, as the story progresses it falls into a very typical fantasy plotline, with no real twists or surprises, although it does contain a rather forced romance. The vivid reimaginings that mark the first few chapters are much lacking, if not entirely gone, by the ending, which I found somewhat disappointing as it it seemed like an obvious cliffhanger for the sequels. Having said that, though, I would definitely recommend this book to any fantasy fan who wants a relatively light read, simply because those first chapters really are wonderful! ...less
"
|
|
Caer
read and liked
Dan's
review of The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, Book 2):
"The second entry in a trilogy is often, in my opinion, the best. The author doesn't have to introduce the universe or the characters, as they did in the first installment, but they don't need to worry about wrapping up all the plot points either. Ins...more
The second entry in a trilogy is often, in my opinion, the best. The author doesn't have to introduce the universe or the characters, as they did in the first installment, but they don't need to worry about wrapping up all the plot points either. Instead, the focus can be on 'the good stuff': elaborating on the story, teasing us more, giving action, chopping off Luke's hand and so on. Instead of the good stuff, in The Subtle Knife I feel as though we've had a bait and switch pulled on us.
In The Golden Compass, we were treated to a rich alternate universe that had elements that were similar to our own, like some of the geopolitical structure, and elements that were entirely fantastical, like armored polar bears and witches. The Subtle Knife, however decides that most of this is insignificant and takes place almost entirely in different universes. It seems like Philip Pullman wanted to reel us in with fantasy before he could preach at us.
Some of these elements are expanded upon in The Amber Spyglass, which I'm currently reading, so forgive me if they don't all apply. I had heard before I started the series that they were 'about killing God.' This seemed highly unlikely, and was probably a knee-jerk reaction from people who heard it from other people who read a synopsis of the book, etc. But... no. Some of the main characters have decided to wage war on 'The Authority.'
Herein lies my main concern with the series as a whole: it's not (excuse the pun) subtle. I'm an agnostic, so these complaints don't come from someone insulted by the material, they come from someone unhappy by their handling. I love plots that put a spin on traditional religion (Waiting for the Galactic Bus, for example), but it seems like Pullman came up with a story involving a culture's religion and then decided to make it fit with the Judeo-Christian framework no matter how hard he had to push.
The concept of Dust is interesting. Adapting it to fit with concepts of physics in our world works because it uses something we only know a little about. Once you try to toss in angels and consciousness and so on (which is insulting in a children's book, as he's claiming that children are entirely self involved until puberty), though, it seems contrived and silly.
I may have been more willing to swallow his philosophy, such as it is, if there hadn't been a complete lack of the elements I liked in The Golden Compass: there were no Gyptians, there were no panserbjörne... they seem to make a reappearance in the final book of the series, but why spend so much time on their culture in the first book if you aren't going to include them in the second? (I know that the panserbjörne's culture is basically that of any warrior society, but they're still armored polar bears and the ten year old in me think that's awesome)
It's not so much that the book is bad, per se, though I do think it becomes too dark for the age group I initially thought it was written for. I just don't think Pullman is writing for the same reason I want to read: he wants to write religious commentary while I want to read fantasy....less
"
|
|
Caer
gave
to:
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Vol. 1)
by George R.R. Martin
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
|
|
Caer
gave
to:
Ender's Game (Ender's Game series, Book 1)
by Orson Scott Card
|
my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
|
| |
|
