GUD's bookshelves

read (49)
currently-reading (1)
to-read (31)
works_by_gud_authors (67)
reviewed_by_gud (49)

forthcoming_reviews (37)
gud_issue2_authors (36)
reviews_by_kaolin (31)
reviews_by_debbie (27)
gud_issue0_authors (22)

gud_issue1_authors (15)
reviews_by_sue (14)
awaiting_review (5)
reviews_by_julia (5)
gud_magazines (4)

reviews_by_jessie (3)
reviews_by_sal (2)
reviews_by_monissa (2)
reviews_by_jill (2)

cloud shelves | see all bookshelves »

GUD is currently reading

	07/11 GUD is currently reading: Delusionism (Paperback) by Anthony Marais (Goodreads author!) bookshelves: currently-reading, forthcoming_reviews, reviews_by_kaolin	my rating:
	add a comment

GUD's recent updates (rss)

July 22

New comment on GUD's review of Eternal Vigilance

GUD wrote: "Raffle extended to 4th August :). C'mon, folks, support a GoodReads author!

"

(see all 3 comments)

GUD gave

to:
The Fireborn Chronicles (Paperback)
by Mary Andrews
bookshelves: reviewed_by_gud, reviews_by_kaolin

my rating:

read in July, 2008

GUD said: "The Fireborn Chronicles is a psionic/space-faring epic. The focus of the chronicles is Rael--an adoptee/refugee from The Hive with implants that allow him to access any data terminal with a thought. He's groomed by his foster-mother for Dark Ops go...more The Fireborn Chronicles is a psionic/space-faring epic. The focus of the chronicles is Rael--an adoptee/refugee from The Hive with implants that allow him to access any data terminal with a thought. He's groomed by his foster-mother for Dark Ops government work, given his own ship and told to assemble a team of his choosing.

The first several sections of the book are essentially short stories jumping from place to place as we're introduced to the team that he assembles. The plot picks up when the team is together-at-last and has to track down what happened to a high-ranking ambassador. In the end, the fate of the known universe hangs in the balance.

Mary Andrews sets a grand stage with many inventive ideas--but as a whole this novel does not tell the story it sets out to as well as I would have liked. It was an easy read, slipping into cliche only now and then, though each section repeated details as if I'd not been privy to them before, jerking me out of the narrative repeatedly. And while a very complex universe is hinted at, its rendering was sparse and, I felt, the hinting overreached its presentation:

PSI of a certain sort are universally recognized, but are only allowed to live in one section of one planet; aliens of all sorts exist somewhere (accomodations have been made for them on a pleasure planet; and we meet one non-humanoid in the form of a station master), but for brief mention they have nothing to do with this story that "will change the universe".

I know the story is not meant to be taken too seriously, but still I wanted things to hang together a bit more. We jump from character introduction to character introduction as a team is gathered (losing one along the way, not to be mentioned again until half-way through the book, and then only off-handedly explained), with large gaps in character development.

And while the plot kept me increasingly curious, what wrapped it up was, for me, ultimately unsatisfying--a deus ex machina that is relatively unexplained and unexplored. The book largely read as a few snippets plus a larger novella whose main purpose was jumping off into another, as of yet untold, story.

All that said, I'm sure there's many a reader that will enjoy this book. It's a "psionic sci fi" romp with tinges of Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat and tinges of Babylon 5, where everything works out in the end....less "

1 comments

GUD joined the The Purple State Conspiracy group.

New comment on GUD's review of The Fireborn Chronicles

GUD wrote: "TO ENTER TO WIN OUR COPY, TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE PSIONICIST (ESPer, empath, what-have-you) in c...more "

reply to this comment

July 21

GUD marked as to-read:
Tomato Girl (Hardcover)
by Jayne Pupek (Goodreads author!)
bookshelves: forthcoming_reviews, reviews_by_julia, to-read

my rating:

add a comment

GUD marked as to-read:
Through a Glass, Darkly (Paperback)
by Bill Hussey
bookshelves: forthcoming_reviews, reviews_by_debbie, to-read

my rating:

add a comment

July 18

GUD gave

to:
GUD: Greatest Uncommon Denominator (magazine) Issue 3
by Debbie Moorhouse, Beverley A. Jackson, Darja Malcolm-Clarke
bookshelves: gud_magazines

my rating:

recommended for: anyone

GUD said: "

Issue 3 is an amazing creation, crammed full of stories and art, with poems, Flash fiction and an entertaining report to leaven the mix. Whether we're battling a mechanical daemon in "A Song, a Prayer, an Empty Space" or experiencing jea...more

Issue 3 is an amazing creation, crammed full of stories and art, with poems, Flash fiction and an entertaining report to leaven the mix. Whether we're battling a mechanical daemon in "A Song, a Prayer, an Empty Space" or experiencing jealousy towards unusual rivals in "Soon You Will Be Gone and Possibly Eaten", we're following the theme of Mechanical Flight into strange and unexpected places (and at times flying further afield).

Here's the (self-referential) Pre-launch Buzz Contest: blog about the launch contest with a link back to this post--then leave a comment at this post with a link to your blog post. You'll be entered to win A FULL SET OF GUD, HARDCOPY (Issues 0-3). If we don't receive at least 100 entries, we reserve the right not to award this prize, so BE SURE TO TELL YOUR FRIENDS! You've got seven days to help spread the word (give or take -- through the end of Friday, Pacific Standard Time)

BONUS: First ten entries win a PDF of Issue 3! And we'll spread a few more goodies around if response warrants it. :)

BONUS 2: Everyone creating an account gets a freebie from Issue 3 just for signing up (it'll be in your account, waiting). Everyone who already had an account? You've got a new freebie waiting for you, too.

SO SPREAD THE WORD! :D

...less "

add a comment

July 14

New comment on GUD's review of Last Dragon

GUD wrote: "You're the Last Person on Earth, but you're allowed to share your solitude with one creature from my...more "

(see all 2 comments)

GUD gave

to:
Last Dragon (Paperback)
by J.M. McDermott
bookshelves: reviewed_by_gud, reviews_by_debbie

my rating:

GUD said: ""Last Dragon", published as the first of the Wizard of the Coast Discoveries, is like no Fantasy novel I've ever read. It's non-linear, told as a series of letters? reminiscences? campfire tales? that flit about events and times yet slowly ...more "Last Dragon", published as the first of the Wizard of the Coast Discoveries, is like no Fantasy novel I've ever read. It's non-linear, told as a series of letters? reminiscences? campfire tales? that flit about events and times yet slowly and inexorably bring the reader to the book's conclusion.

To sum up the principal narrative, primary narrator Zahn is on the verge of qualifying as a Rider, a warrior who fights on bison-back, when news comes that her putative grandfather has murdered her mother and all her illegitimate siblings, plus the village shaman. Now Zahn cannot be a Rider; she must follow the shaman's path, instead. But first, she and her uncle Seth must hunt down her grandfather, and exact retribution. She and Seth travel to distant Proliux, where they are separated. Only when Zahn falls in with heretic paladin Adel does she make progress towards her goal. But mercenary forces threaten Zahn's homeland, and perhaps only she and Adel can save it.

Yet when we first meet Zahn, she is an old woman, looking back on her life and grieving for her lost lover, Esumi, and her murdered child. History, it seems, has repeated itself.

It's a sad tale, littered with betrayals, and at the same time uncompromising. No convenient explanations are offered for what sometimes seems inexplicable--what was Adel's motive, after all? Perhaps Zahn and her quest take the place of the lost dragon to whom Adel previously gave her allegiance, but if that's so, the novel isn't going to give up the information easily. This is a book that demands to be read, pondered, and re-read, if it's to be understood by the reader.

One barrier, for me, to engaging with the narrative was that when it changes time and/or place, it makes no overt attempt to clue the reader in. Given the book's told in a lot of short snippets, some only a couple of pages long, some less than a page, this means the reader is constantly jarred by the need to work out where they are and what's going on. This choppiness leads to disengagement, and also means that important information at the beginnings of scenes is lost in the struggle. Further, when the book changes narrators, it doesn't change voice. Towards the middle, it's hard to know if it's Zahn talking to us, or Fest, a mercenary who joins her crew. The overall effect is a bit like trying to understand a radio play when someone--without any warning--keeps switching the channels.

This book will reward the reader who seeks not immersion in the fictive dream, but the challenge of putting together a disjointed narrative into a text that has meaning for them....less "

see all 2 comments

see all 49 of GUD's books »

GUD's writing

El Alebrije (extract) (Science Fiction & Fantasy)

1 chapters — updated 01/02/2008 04:06PM

description: El Alebrije teaser from GUD Issue 2

Electroencephalography (extract) (Science Fiction & Fantasy)

1 chapters — updated 01/02/2008 04:04PM

description: GUD Issue 1 comes to life with Darby Larson's "Electroencephalography" where an experiment in robot-building goes terribly awry.

Sundown (extract) (Science Fiction & Fantasy)

1 chapters — updated 01/02/2008 04:04PM

description: GUD Issue 0 leads with Debbie Moorhouse's Sundown, a near-future science fiction reflection on death and life.

GUD's groups (recent posts)

Philip K Dick — 163 members — last activity 22 hours, 51 min ago
Welcome to the Philip K. Dick discussion group, a lively place where you can kick off your kittens and indulge in a little furry waxing, lyrical.

Armchair Sailors — 55 members — last activity 1 day ago, 04:17AM
A group to discuss historical fiction involving sailing ships--think Patrick O'Brian or C.S Forester--and the Golden Age of Sail.

Ahoy!

Photo: B...more

The Purple State Conspiracy — 165 members — last activity 3 days ago, 09:13AM
In our tumultuous times everyone has a theory as to why bad things happen to so many good people. Most of these conspiracies are wildly ridiculous and...more

Evil Editor's Book Chat — 5 members — last activity 18 days ago, 03:24PM
A group to encourage participation in Evil Editor's Book Chats over at http://evileditor.blogspot.com... :).

GUD's friend comments

showing 1-7 of 7. (add a comment | view all)

from The Kingdom Hall..No More

04/25/2008 07:23AM

Thank you GUD for the add !

I hope to discuss my upcoming book with you sometime later this year.

Thanks,

Daniel

flag abuse

from Mike

03/12/2008 05:00AM

GUD
thanks for joining PKD - hopefully, your input will help make it a super-sweet place to hang out.

:)

flag abuse

from Jeremy

01/23/2008 08:38PM

I want to apologize for the all the recommendations from me today. I wanted to share the Stoker Award news, and I only pressed the send button once--I'm not sure what happened to create so many messages. Some weird glitch.

Argh...this is terrible...

Again, I'm very sorry.

-Jeremy

flag abuse

from Jeremy

01/01/2008 01:15PM

Here’s wishing you a nifty New Year filled with noiseless noses, neato nicknames, noble Nebraskans, gnarly narcoleptic nebulas, and novel novels about nut-eating narwhals and novercaphobic gnats.

-Jeremy :)

P.S.—I’m currently offering autographed/personally-inscribed copies of my novel, Vacation, with free shipping for those in the US. If there’s anything you could do to help me spread the word about this, I’d really appreciate it. Feel free to click here for details:
http://hauntedhousedressing.co...

flag abuse

from Jeremy

12/25/2007 12:49AM

Here’s wishing you a yippee-filled Yuletime overflowing with yard-long yams, yapping yoyo-yanking yetis, yak-milk yeast-cakes, and yellow yarn-yielding year-end yard-gnomes.

-Jeremy :)

flag abuse

from Jeremy

12/15/2007 12:04PM

Thanks for the friendship!

If you don't mind sharing--I'm curious, what's your favorite novel of all time (if you have one)?

Also, I was wondering if you'd do me the honor of reading about my debut novel, Vacation. Your support would mean a lot to me. If you'd like to do me this honor, feel free to click here:
http://www.hauntedhousedressin...

Here’s wishing you a fantastic day filled with fabulous fates, fanciful festivities, and frolicking phantom footstools.

-Jeremy :)

flag abuse

from Patrick

11/07/2007 09:58AM

Hello Friends at GUD. Kaolin, how have you been? Thanks for adding me as a friend. ~patrick

flag abuse

	Michael 32 books 232 friends
	Beverly 499 books 137 friends
	The Kingdom Hall..No More 6 books 672 friends
	N.M. 18 books 1172 friends
	Laura Hogan 875 books 105 friends
	Thea 344 books 97 friends
	Danielle 51 books 42 friends
	Jayne 1324 books 444 friends
	Erik 211 books 16 friends
	Rusty 1592 books 418 friends
	Rochelle 2 books 101 friends
	Michael 54 books 1496 friends
	Donald 315 books 16 friends
	Paul Grimsley 576 books 22 friends
	Stephen 3280 books 10 friends

GUD's profile

GUD's bookshelves

GUD is currently reading

GUD's recent updates (rss)

GUD's writing

GUD's groups (recent posts)

GUD's friend comments

GUD's friends (142)