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May 26
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Seamus Bradley
gave  to:
Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae (Paperback)
by
Steven Pressfield (Goodreads author)
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my rating:
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Seamus Bradley
gave  to:
To Kill a Mockingbird (Paperback)
by
Harper Lee
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my rating:
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Seamus Bradley
gave  to:
The Historian (Paperback)
by
Elizabeth Kostova
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my rating:
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Seamus Bradley
gave  to:
A Tale of Two Cities (Paperback)
by
Charles Dickens
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my rating:
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Seamus Bradley
gave to:
Death and the Penguin (Paperback)
by
Andrei Kurkov
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my rating:
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Seamus said:
"This is as black a comedy as I have ever read. In the bleak world of a post-soviet city, the main character writes obituaries for a newspaper and looks after his pet penguin. He becomes tangentially involved in a shady dangerous underworld. Despite t...more
This is as black a comedy as I have ever read. In the bleak world of a post-soviet city, the main character writes obituaries for a newspaper and looks after his pet penguin. He becomes tangentially involved in a shady dangerous underworld. Despite the dark subject matter this book is very funny. There are some genuinely touching moments, the author cleverly evokes the mute affection of the penguin for his owner.
While the detached style of writing adds to the bleak atmosphere and adds to the humour in places, it sucked all the warmth out of those human encounters about which we were supposed to care. The protagonist's relationship with the little girl and the nanny never felt plausible or warm.
The end of the book is also rather abrupt. As is the case for this review.(less)
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Seamus Bradley
gave to:
A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)
by
George R.R. Martin
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my rating:
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Seamus Bradley
gave to:
A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)
by
George R.R. Martin
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my rating:
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Seamus Bradley
gave to:
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)
by
George R.R. Martin
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my rating:
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Seamus Bradley
gave to:
Altered Carbon (Takeshi Kovacs, #1)
by
Richard K. Morgan
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my rating:
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read in January, 2009
Seamus said:
"I bought a couple of these "Gollancz SF" collection because I'm a sucker for a series and these had interesting covers. It was because Revelation Space was one of this series that it caught my eye. But none of the others I've read from the ...more
I bought a couple of these "Gollancz SF" collection because I'm a sucker for a series and these had interesting covers. It was because Revelation Space was one of this series that it caught my eye. But none of the others I've read from the series has lived up to Reynold's masterpiece.
This book is OK. The "sleeving" idea - that people's minds can be backed up and their bodies rehoused - is clever and its implications for society and people's ideas about mortality are well thought-through. However not enough is made of this intriguing premise, for my liking. The story itself is average mystery-thriller. It's nicely paced with an exciting climax. But I never really engaged much with the characters or the story. There is potential in the "sleeving" idea and the world Morgan has created, but it feels a bit wasted on this SF-noir effort.(less)
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Seamus Bradley
gave to:
The System of the World (Paperback)
by
Neal Stephenson
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my rating:
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