Jeff Chappell (jeff_chappell) - Cincinnati, OH (40 books)

Jeff Chappell gave

to:

Mao: The Unknown Story
by Jung Chang

recommended for: anyone

read in March, 2007

My rating:

I'm going to have to come back to this; it's an exhaustive read. I will say this: I would have given it five stars but for the fact that the writing itself is extremely textbookish. At times, reading it was a chore that ranks up there with getting th...more

Jeff Chappell made a comment on his review of Mao: The Unknown Story

"Ninja wrote: "omg I have been trying to get through Atlas Shrugged from months and now you tell me John Galt actually makes and appearance and talks f...more"

Jeff Chappell marked as to-read:

The Weird Sisters
by Eleanor Brown (Goodreads Author)

My rating:

Jeff Chappell marked as to-read:

The Master Thinkers
by André Glucksmann

My rating:

Jeff Chappell marked as to-read:

La plus belle histoire de la liberté
by André Glucksmann

My rating:

Jeff Chappell gave

to:

The Hobbit
by J.R.R. Tolkien

read in December, 2010

My rating:

Jeff Chappell gave

to:

The Lord of the Rings
by J.R.R. Tolkien

read in January, 2011

My rating:

Jeff Chappell gave

to:

Zero History (Bigend, #3)
by William Gibson

read in September, 2010

My rating:

A longer review later; I have a lot of catching up to do here.

In short, in many ways classic Gibson. But, in some ways, it was a little too ... I don't know, neat and tidy, and happy-ending ... ish. Gibson's novels tend to end somewhat ambiguously...moreA longer review later; I have a lot of catching up to do here.

In short, in many ways classic Gibson. But, in some ways, it was a little too ... I don't know, neat and tidy, and happy-ending ... ish. Gibson's novels tend to end somewhat ambiguously, some more than others. And just because a book has a neat and tidy ending doesn't necessarily make it bad.

But it felt at times a little forced here; I can't provide specific examples -- I'm just going off my impressions. But still a great read (I'd give it 3.5 stars, if they had such gradations here), and it was nice revisiting many characters from the first two books of the Bigend trilogy. If you are a Gibson fan and liked his last two novels set in the present-day, you'll like this one.

If you are new to Gibson and aren't looking specifically for his science fiction, I would suggest starting with either of the other two novels in this trilogy (all of which can stand alone); Pattern Recognition or Spook Country.

One more note: I noticed one reviewer of this book who complained that Gibson is no longer writing science fiction. Um, no, he's not. As he has stated more than once, in a post 9-11 world, the present is weird enough -- no need to go to the future to find it. All three book in the Bigend trilogy have been set in the present day, and the technology involved actually exists today.

And speaking of someone who has been reading Gibson since Burning Chrome first came out in paperback -- that was a long time ago, Children -- I think on the whole, even though I only gave this book 3 (3.5) stars, I think Gibson has continued to grow and improve as a writer. Bear in mind that he was a good -- and perhaps great -- writer to begin with. Of course his stories and novels have always been character driven, but in the cyberspace works, at times it was as if the technology itself were a character; in his last three novels, while technology is certainly important to the plot, the technology doesn't really drive the story at all; they are purely character driven.(less)

Jeff Chappell is currently reading:

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
by Stieg Larsson

My rating:

Jeff Chappell is currently reading:

Cleopatra
by Stacy Schiff

My rating:

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Jeff Chappell gave to: Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang recommended for: anyone read in March, 2007	My rating:
I'm going to have to come back to this; it's an exhaustive read. I will say this: I would have given it five stars but for the fact that the writing itself is extremely textbookish. At times, reading it was a chore that ranks up there with getting th...more
May 03, 2011 10:39pm · see review
Jeff Chappell made a comment on his review of Mao: The Unknown Story "Ninja wrote: "omg I have been trying to get through Atlas Shrugged from months and now you tell me John Galt actually makes and appearance and talks f...more"
May 03, 2011 10:37pm · see review
Jeff Chappell marked as to-read: The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown (Goodreads Author)	My rating:
Jan 17, 2011 01:45am
Jeff Chappell marked as to-read: The Master Thinkers by André Glucksmann	My rating:
Jan 10, 2011 03:43am
Jeff Chappell marked as to-read: La plus belle histoire de la liberté by André Glucksmann	My rating:
Jan 10, 2011 03:33am
Jeff Chappell gave to: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien read in December, 2010	My rating:
Jan 09, 2011 04:41am
Jeff Chappell gave to: The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien read in January, 2011	My rating:
Jan 09, 2011 04:37am
Jeff Chappell gave to: Zero History (Bigend, #3) by William Gibson read in September, 2010	My rating:
A longer review later; I have a lot of catching up to do here. In short, in many ways classic Gibson. But, in some ways, it was a little too ... I don't know, neat and tidy, and happy-ending ... ish. Gibson's novels tend to end somewhat ambiguously...more
Jan 09, 2011 04:35am · see review
Jeff Chappell is currently reading: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson	My rating:
Jan 09, 2011 04:17am
Jeff Chappell is currently reading: Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff	My rating:
Jan 09, 2011 04:16am

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