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August 29
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Josh
is currently reading:
Bios (Paperback)
by Robert Charles Wilson
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
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Josh
gave
to:
Hunter's Run (Hardcover)
by George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois, Daniel Abraham
bookshelves:
sci-fi
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my rating:
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recommended for: fans of sci-fi
read in August, 2008
Josh said:
"This is another book that I bought based solely on who wrote it. I love Martin and Abraham is also a great writer, though I had never heard of Dozois prior to this. I didn't know what I would think, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. Hunter's Run has ac...more
This is another book that I bought based solely on who wrote it. I love Martin and Abraham is also a great writer, though I had never heard of Dozois prior to this. I didn't know what I would think, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. Hunter's Run has action, drama, humor and bizarre aliens; just about all you could ask for in a great sci-fi book. Is it a masterpiece? I still can't quite decide...
My favorite part of this book is what most reviewers seem to dislike the most: the main character. Ramon Espejo is a pretty despicable human being. He's a murderer and a criminal, but I'll be damned if he doesn't provide an entertaining point of view. Maybe I've gotten to the point where I've read too much typical fiction with do-gooder protagonists that an a**hole is just what I needed. And even if he is an a**hole, he is funny and has some great dialogue, especially with his travelling companion/captor (who for the sake of not spoiling, I will not reveal here.) And as the story progresses, even though he is still sort of despicable, he does have an epiphany of sorts that changes him as a person. On the basis of how he thought and how he acted, his decisions were believable and I thought his progression as a character was really well done.
The actual story, which I can't speak much on because I'd give it away, is also well done. It is a nice tight plot that flows well from start to finish. There is some good action and some crazy situations, but given the circumstances, there is nothing unbelievable. By the end of Hunter's Run, I was left a little disappointed that it had ended but in no way dissatisfied with the ending. There are no loose ends and it is its own complete story.
This really teeters on the edge between a 4 star and a 5 star book. I'd have to say I'll give it 4.5 stars and curse goodreads for not having a more intricate rating system. Pretty much the only reason I gave it 4 and not 5 is that considering the prose of Martin and Abraham, the writing could have been better. Don't get me wrong, the writing isn't bad, it's just not on par with Song of Ice and Fire or Abraham's very eloquent style in the Long Price Quartet. Toward the beginning of the story, the writing seemed a little lazy and hurried, like there were more details that could have been included. But as the story progressed and the main character began to develop, the writing almost seemed to get better, so perhaps all of this was intended. The same can almost be said about the story itself. It's rare that the reader actually wants more time to be spent in the development of the characters and setting before the story really gets started, but I felt at the beginning it moved a little too quickly. Once the story gets moving however, I forgot all about that. I think the only other thing that keeps it out of 5 star territory is that it's not quite as grand nor the scope quite as great as some of the books that I consider 5 star.
I'd really be interested to know how three authors actually piece together a book like this, what the writing process is. (Okay, so let's take a drunken a-hole down on his luck, a backwater prospecting planet, and some really bizarre aliens... go!) In any case, the outcome is great. Despite my somewhat indecisive misgivings, I'd recommend this book to any sci-fi fan....less
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August 22
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Josh
gave
to:
Axis (Hardcover)
by Robert Charles Wilson
bookshelves:
sci-fi
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my rating:
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read in April, 2008
Josh said:
"Axis is entertaining and expands on Spin's novel idea, but seems incomplete. By the time it really starts to pickup and get interesting, it ends rather abrubtly. It doesn't exactly leave at a cliffhanger but it doesn't exactly answer all of my questi...more
Axis is entertaining and expands on Spin's novel idea, but seems incomplete. By the time it really starts to pickup and get interesting, it ends rather abrubtly. It doesn't exactly leave at a cliffhanger but it doesn't exactly answer all of my questions either. Good thing wikipedia shows a sequel in the works, Vortex, so I know we'll still have more to look forward to.
As always, Wilson writes good characters. The main character, Lise, actually seemed a tad underdeveloped, but her companion Turk was definitely interesting. One of my favorite aspects of Wilson's writing is that he always takes the time to focus on the characters and how they mould to the events that take place around them. His books always read like character dramas where the theme happens to be sci-fi. In my opinion, that is a trait of a good writer. Care about your characters first and make your reader care about them and the events and plot that surrounds them will seem more believable and engrossing. The characters here didn't quite have the depth that they did in Spin, but that could be becaue the book is shorter than Spin and focuses on more characters. Still, that's a definite strong point here.
I do wonder, however, whether we may have been better off waiting until this story was complete, with Axis and the next installment simply as one book, even it it were a lenghty read. I don't want to get into any spoilers, but the events that happened at the end of this book didn't quite seem... monumental enough to warrant writing an entire book about it. Wilson definitely shows us a new and bizarre aspect of the hypotheticals, but not much has really changed by knowing this. At least not yet. it felt like a pit-stop on the way to an even greater revelation that we've yet to know about. I'm sure that'll be revealed in Vortex, but who knows when that'll be out?
Also, seeing as how the book takes place entirely on Equatoria (the newly colonized world given to humans by the Hypotheticals), we don't really learn that much about the planet. It almost seems... boring really. A group of the characters lived in the desert on this planet, but the environment isn't described for any of the other characters with the exception of the major city, Port Magellan. Are there large plains areas or large forests or rivers or anything like that? Because of this, I pictured the entire planet to look like a large, mostly-empty desert. I'd also love to hear if there was any wildlife native to the planet that they'd discovered or if wildlife from Earth had been brought there and how they'd adapted. These little things aren't necessary to the story, but would help to make this new world believable and interesting.
Also, concepts of the story that seem important and pretty interesting are barely touched on at all. Like the arches. Not only is there an arch leading folk from Earth into Equatoria, but there's another arch on Equatoria that leads to yet another world and one from that world to another and so on. It's explained briefly that there are expeditions into the other world but it's just a barren rock. So there's not much there, but after several decades wouldn't they have found something? Doesn't anyone wonder why this barren planet was linked to theirs? These are things that I'd like to hear more about.
Another thing that bothered me was a character from Spin that makes an appearance. I won't say who, but this almost seemed cheap, like an added attempt to keep us interested in the story. The character makes a cameo at first and I liked that; just a nice reference to Spin to remind us that we're reading about the same world. But then the character becomes a major player and I didn't feel that the character was very distinguishable from many of the others in the book and I wasn't entirely convinced. Just one more thing that could've been expanded on to make the book fell more complete.
I did enjoy this book, for all I complained about it. The ashfall scenes were creepy and Wilson instills a sense of realism, even with something so strange as ash and decaying machinery dumping from the sky. He does a great job of making you feel like you are there. The ending of the book isn't bad. It's definitely interesting, but still I left wanting so much more. Granted, Spin is a hard act to follow and is also one of my favorite books of any genre, so maybe that's why I'm being so picky here. I'll still be buying Vortex as soon as it's out. ...less
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August 13
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Josh
gave
to:
Watchmen (Paperback)
by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons
bookshelves:
graphic-novel,
sci-fi
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in August, 2008
Josh said:
"I, like many others, purchased this book after seeing the preview for the movie. I had heard about this but never gave it much thought. Unlike Sin City and V for Vendetta, I decided that this time I will actually read the material before I watch the ...more
I, like many others, purchased this book after seeing the preview for the movie. I had heard about this but never gave it much thought. Unlike Sin City and V for Vendetta, I decided that this time I will actually read the material before I watch the movie. Well, I have to day it's not at all what I expected and now I'm not so sure I want to watch the movie at all.
For anyone who's going to use this review as their basis for deciding wheather or not they are going to read Watchmen, let me start by telling you that this is a thinking piece, not an action piece. It does have some action, but it's pretty sparse (though it is entertaining when it comes about.) Watchmen is more of a character drama, and considering the graphic medium, the characters are fairly complex and interesting. Each one has their own unique story and reasoning behind becoming a "costumed adventurer," aptly named due to the fact with the exception of Dr. Manhattan, that they don't have any true super powers. I am very impressed that Moore never included any character "thought text" to tell you what they were thinking. He manages to do it all with dialogue, faacial expressions and situations.
I was drawn in from the very beginning. The book wastes no time as it starts with the murder of a long time costumed hero and an ensuing investigation his former colleagues. We are introduced to these retired heroes one at a time with plenty of snippets of back story to explain how it all came about and why in this alternate reality, costumed heroes are a part of everyday life.
The further I got into Watchmen, the stranger it became and as it ended, I realized it wasn't at all what I thought it would be. It's almost a study of human character and I'm sure that someone more intelligent than I would be able to pick it apart and analyze it to death, drawing parallels to real life situations. I really did enjoy it and I'd recommend it highly, but not to everyone. There are plenty of readers who don't want to read a book for story and characters alone and those readers may not find what the are looking for here.
This brings me back to the movie. I can't really see this story working as a blockbuster Hollywood film. If they keep the movie very close to the source material -which I hope they will- it's going to be a lot different than people expect. If they try to appeal to a wider audience and throw in some extra action, they're going to detract from the story and the people who appreciate the book may be dissapointed. But, so far from what I'm seeing in the preview, it looks like it's going to keep pretty true to the book. And Dr. Manhattan looks awesome.
But this review is about the book, not the movie. I really liked it. It may be the best comic book/graphic novel I've ever read. But, I haven't read any comics since I was a kid and even then not so much. I don't quite think I'd call Watchmen a masterpiece or compare it to some of the best regular novels I've read, but I liked it. It's earned a permanent place on my shelf and I look forward to rereading it in the future to see what further tidbits I can get out of it. ...less
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June 25
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Josh
marked as to-read:
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (Hardcover)
by Max Brooks
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Josh
gave
to:
The Ghost Brigades (Mass Market Paperback)
by John Scalzi
bookshelves:
favorite-books,
sci-fi
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in June, 2008
Josh said:
"I enjoyed Old Man's War a lot. While it had a lot of familiar sci-fi elements, Scalzi's writing style is unique and refreshing; full of clever humor, great characters and intense action. In The Ghost Brigades, Scalzi simply takes all of these element...more
I enjoyed Old Man's War a lot. While it had a lot of familiar sci-fi elements, Scalzi's writing style is unique and refreshing; full of clever humor, great characters and intense action. In The Ghost Brigades, Scalzi simply takes all of these elements and enhances on them. I think I liked this book even better.
The Ghost Brigades is a much different book than Old Man's War. It seems to me that with this book, Scalzi drifts a bit from Heinlein territory and truly breaks into his own. Old Man's War didn't really have a solitary focus, other than the life of it's main character John Perry. It was all over the place from one alien battle to another. The Ghost Brigades has a more singular plot, which is to prevent the destruction of humanity from 3 alien races that have allied against mankind. At the heart of this is a civilian scientiest turned traitor who has sold mankind's best secrects to this new alliance.
Enter Jared Dirac: a clone of this scientest with the man's memories and conciousness implanted directly on top of his brain. The purpose of his creation is to find out exactly why Boutin betrayed the human race and see if there is a way to stop this war. The copy seemed not to work at all and Jared becomes his own man, joining the special forces as they try and prevent this war the hard way.
Jared is a very interesting character and nearly the complete opposite of John Perry from the first book. Rather than an aged and experienced man who's grown tired of his boring life on Earth and joins the army, we have a newborn man who's knowlege is programmed straight into him, forced into the special forces and forced to experience life's harsh realities very quickly. We see him slowly turn from a naive and noble child into a man that begins to resemble the one he was cloned from.
Of the characters in Jared's platoon, only 2 others really get any in depth development. One is Sarah Pauling whom Jared bonds with quickly, who have some sort of relationship between them that is about as mature as you can expect from people who are less than a year old. The other is a fairly major player from Old Man's War, Jane Sagan. If you've read that, you're already emotionally invested in her. We do have other interesting characters outside of his platoon, namley Cainen (sp), a Rheah who was captured in the beginning and has in depth knowlege of the triple alliance against the Colonial Defense Force. He is given a disease and then kept alive by a daily antidote that will only be given if he cooperates. Despite this, he actually comes to care about Jared and his human captors. I found him to be probably the most interesting character of this story.
And let's not forget the action. There's not as much space combat as there was in Old Man's War, but the ground missions are incredibly intense, and much more interesting than those in OMW, as the goals are much more specific and the stakes larger.
This is a great book and Scalzi has a fan for life. I'll be reading Android's Dream and await Last Colony to come out on paperback next month....less
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June 21
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New comment on Josh's review of
The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower, Book 7)
(see all 4 comments)
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August 20
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Josh
gave
to:
Memoirs of a Geisha (Hardcover)
by Arthur Golden
bookshelves:
fiction
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in August, 2008
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June 06
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Josh
gave
to:
Tuf Voyaging (Paperback)
by George R.R. Martin
bookshelves:
sci-fi
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my rating:
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Josh
gave
to:
A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, Vol. 4)
by George R.R. Martin
bookshelves:
fantasy
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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