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August 25
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Mark
gave
 
to:
The Android's Dream (Hardcover)
by John Scalzi
bookshelves:
sf
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in July, 2008
Mark said:
"Farting aliens + a girl with DNA from a sacred sheep = comedy, right? Until halfway through when we suddenly get breaking bones and spurting blood and death. The juxtaposition did not work for me.
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Mark
gave
to:
The Fifth Elephant: A Discworld Novel (Paperback)
by Terry Pratchett
bookshelves:
fantasy
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in June, 2008
Mark said:
"I thought of saying this is a good-but-not-quite-as-good-as-others book in the Discworld series. I thought of saying Pratchett doesn't seem to have a heart for writing a full fledged mystery. I thought of saying that between the dwarf, werewolf, Ma...more
I thought of saying this is a good-but-not-quite-as-good-as-others book in the Discworld series. I thought of saying Pratchett doesn't seem to have a heart for writing a full fledged mystery. I thought of saying that between the dwarf, werewolf, Margolotta-Patrician, Vimes, Cheery, and Carrot-Angua plots and subplots, the story tilted into the too-busy. I thought of saying exploring the Carrot-Angua relationship is dreadfully limited due the character of Carrot being based on never being able to see his internal thoughts. Then I thought I was thinking too much.
Book Good. And Funny....less
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Mark
added Small Gods: A Discworld Novel
to the book list The best of discworld!
add a comment »
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August 24
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Mark
gave
to:
Men at Arms: A Discworld Novel (Paperback)
by Terry Pratchett
bookshelves:
fantasy
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in June, 2008
Mark said:
"It's hard mixing multiple genres together. Sometimes you get a headache inducing dissonance of clashing notes, sometimes a deafening blare of too much noise, occasionally a harmony working together. And sometimes you'll get the trumpets playing pia...more
It's hard mixing multiple genres together. Sometimes you get a headache inducing dissonance of clashing notes, sometimes a deafening blare of too much noise, occasionally a harmony working together. And sometimes you'll get the trumpets playing piano* so that the violins can play forte, which leads to some pretty confused trumpet players. Pratchett's Discworld novels easily blend humor and fantasy together, but the addition of social commentary doesn't always work as well.
In Men at Arms the primary object of social commentary is the gun, or as the novel has it: The Gonne. However since this is on-going fantasy universe, introducing firearms would be too disruptive. Too solve that there is only one gun, but then one gun isn't much of a subject for commentary. Too solve that the gun was given a kind of evil hypnotic power, but then you're begging the question on whether firearms are evil. Ultimately to allow the fantasy world to play true, The Gonne gets crushed into a small and awkward shape that doesn't fit into our real world gun debate very well. (For anyone still following the metaphor, the fantasy world is the violins and The Gonne is the trumpets playing a sour note, a B♭ gun if you will.)
I enjoyed the book a lot, I just don't think it achieves all it intends.
* Musically piano=soft and forte=loud....less
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August 14
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New comment on Megan's review of
Paradise Lost (Penguin Classics)
(see all 11 comments)
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July 20
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Mark
read and liked
Trebro's
review of Ex Machina Vol. 1: The First Hundred Days:
"I really wish I liked Brian K. Vaughan's "edgy" comics work more. I can't get myself to really like Y: The Last Man, and I can't get myself to like this one, either...
Collecting the first five issues of Ex Machina, the basic plot here is...more
I really wish I liked Brian K. Vaughan's "edgy" comics work more. I can't get myself to really like Y: The Last Man, and I can't get myself to like this one, either...
Collecting the first five issues of Ex Machina, the basic plot here is that a superhero who got zapped by the Brooklyn Bridge to be able to talk to machines decides to quit and run for mayor. A hero on September 11th--he managed to prevent one of the planes from flying into the Twin Towers, leading to a gratuitous ending shot to the first issue--our hero, Mitchell Hundred, is elected in a landslide.
Flashing back between his time as a hero and his first week in office (get it? First HUNDRED Days. Ha, ha, ha.), we learn that Hundred is not allowed to talk about how he got his powers (which I hope will change and is not just Vaughan being lazy) and that not everyone is happy with his change from vigilante to politico.
The trouble with this book is that it's trying to be political and does it ham-handedly. Oh My God, a Superhero Prevented Some of Nine Eleven! (Kudos to Marvel for NOT doing that, by the way.) Whatever will he do? Run for office, apparently for altruistic reasons. Puke and gag. Now he has to deal with short-staffed departments, a controversial art exhibit, and a killer bent on keeping the city covered in snow. Maybe it's a supervillain! Maybe it's Terrorists! Maybe our Hero might have to face whoever is doing it?
Nope, too much to ask.
I'm just not interested in what's going on here. It's not that the characters are bad, it's just they aren't...interesting. If this is Peter Parker Goes to Washington, it doesn't work.
Trebby's Take: Maybe this picks up, and I will read Volume 2 (hell, I'll prolly read Vol. 3, because I churn graphic novels faster than Clinton did press secretaries) to find out, but I certainly wouldn't recommend this to anyone, not with so much good stuff out there....less
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July 19
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Mark
gave
to:
Feet of Clay: A Discworld Novel (Paperback)
by Terry Pratchett
bookshelves:
fantasy,
humor
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in June, 2008
Mark said:
"This is one of my favorite Discworld books. The plot is "who's trying to murder Lord Vetinari", but the theme is social castes and slavery. At the top are the aristocracy trying to restore their days of absolute power. At the bottom are ...more
This is one of my favorite Discworld books. The plot is "who's trying to murder Lord Vetinari", but the theme is social castes and slavery. At the top are the aristocracy trying to restore their days of absolute power. At the bottom are the golems, working the longest hours in the dirtiest job for no pay. In the middle is Sam Vimes and the Watch trying to find justice for all.
"The common people? They're nothing special. They're no different than the rich and powerful other than they've got no money or power. But the law should be there to balance things up a bit."...less
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Mark
gave
to:
Reaper Man: A Discworld Novel (Mass Market Paperback)
by Terry Pratchett
bookshelves:
fantasy,
humor
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in June, 2008
Mark said:
"Discworld's DEATH is forced into retirement for acting eccentric which causes demonic shopping carts to attack the wizard's university which is defending by the Bogey Man, a wolf girl, a zombie wizard, and...wait, stop there. Frankly the plot is rat...more
Discworld's DEATH is forced into retirement for acting eccentric which causes demonic shopping carts to attack the wizard's university which is defending by the Bogey Man, a wolf girl, a zombie wizard, and...wait, stop there. Frankly the plot is rather a mess.
The good parts are a couple of characters experiencing life from a new perspective. One is the retired Death trying to fit in as a human. Another is Windle Poons, a 130 year old wizard (now a zombie) who in all his years never really spent time outside the wizard university. ...less
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Mark
gave
to:
Moving Pictures: A Discworld Novel (Paperback)
by Terry Pratchett
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in June, 2008
Mark said:
"The movie industry invades the fantasy world Discworld. The stereotypicaly superficialness of Hollywood seems to have infected this book. The protagonist is bland. The most memorable parts are Gaspode the intelligent dog playing second fiddle to t...more
The movie industry invades the fantasy world Discworld. The stereotypicaly superficialness of Hollywood seems to have infected this book. The protagonist is bland. The most memorable parts are Gaspode the intelligent dog playing second fiddle to the charismatic but dumb Laddie (Lassie), and the troll characters' interactions (especially Detritus' attempts to woo Ruby)....less
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Mark
gave
to:
Carpe Jugulum: A Discworld Novel (Hardcover)
by Terry Pratchett
bookshelves:
fantasy,
humor
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in June, 2008
Mark said:
"The sixth of the Discworld witches novels. I enjoyed this one but it is basically a retread of Lords and Ladies with the villains being vampires instead of elves. The vampires are a bit funn
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