Tim (hudbannon) - Lincoln, NE (368 books)

Tim wants to read

Three Weeks in December
by Audrey Schulman

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Tim rated a book 3 of 5 stars

Mojo Hand: The Life and Music of Lightnin' Hopkins
by Timothy J O'Brien

read in May, 2013

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With the publication of "Mojo Hand: The Life and Music of Lightnin' Hopkins," we have two biographies of the great bluesman published in three years. After this and 2010's "Lightnin' Hopkins: His Life and Blues," by Alan Govenar (four stars), we stil...more

Tim rated a book 3 of 5 stars

Reggae & Caribbean Music by Dave Thompson

Reggae & Caribbean Music: Third Ear - The Essential Listening Companion
by Dave Thompson

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I've found this to be quite a valuable tome as an aid in seeking out great reggae albums and for its incisive information and album ratings. Still, it can be quite difficult to find your way around. Breaking down Caribbean music (not just reggae) int...more

Tim rated a book 3 of 5 stars

The Last Temptation of Christ
by Nikos Kazantzakis

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Lost in translation? Something about the writing just didn't pull me in; I found the book very awkward reading and strangely uninvolving for such a fine idea. See the Scorsese movie (great) instead.

Tim rated a book 4 of 5 stars

At the Earth's Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs

At the Earth's Core (Pellucidar, #1)
by Edgar Rice Burroughs

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As absurd (even by ERB standards) as it is to have a world inside our own, and with its own sun, no less, this is among my favorite Burroughs series, and "At the Earth's Core" starts it off right. I always thought, basic concept aside, that the first...more

Tim rated a book 4 of 5 stars

"The Voodoo Master" & "The Red Blot" by Walter B. Gibson

"The Voodoo Master" & "The Red Blot" (The Shadow Volume 3)
by Walter B. Gibson

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The third volume of Nostalgia Ventures' reprint series includes two very strong Shadow tales. "The Voodoo Master" is considered the classic here, but I found "The Red Blot" just as enjoyable. Top-notch hero pulp from the 1930s.

Tim rated a book 4 of 5 stars

The Alchemy of Stone
by Ekaterina Sedia

read in April, 2013

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Nonhuman protagonists provide the main perspectives in "The Alchemy of Stone," a steampunky novel from the mellifluously named Ekaterina Sedia. The main character is an intelligent automaton, a clockwork woman who has been emancipated from her creato...more Nonhuman protagonists provide the main perspectives in "The Alchemy of Stone," a steampunky novel from the mellifluously named Ekaterina Sedia. The main character is an intelligent automaton, a clockwork woman who has been emancipated from her creator, but freed in name only. Sedia's handling of Mattie's efforts to aid the gargoyles — who provide the novel's only first-person (group) narratives — in halting their slow and stony slide to extinction is given a tremendous boost by the brilliant way the author gets inside the head of a character without a brain. Really, it's Mattie and the novel's sharp conclusion that lift this odd — but not off-puttingly bizarre — tale to four stars in the final reckoning.

The world of "The Alchemy of Stone," (in addition to the intelligent gargoyles who largely perch atop buildings, eventually becoming stone themselves), features a coal-fired, smoke-choked atmosphere; automatons (most not intelligent like Mattie); wheeled mechanical caterpillars and carriages drawn by live lizards; muskets; and a society in which conflicting forces of Mechanics and Alchemists vie for ascendance, orphans and peasants are used for dangerous work, and miners chafe at their lot in life. There also is a blind Soul-Smoker who inhales the souls of others and thus serves as a repository of their voices.

Where Sedia succeeds so well is in building the character of Mattie and making the odd environment feel completely natural.

Sedia is less successful in presenting the political climate, in which the miners are in revolt, and, adding the push-pull of power between the Alchemists and the Mechanics, this stew leads to upheaval, violence and terrorism. I didn't always get a good sense of what the motivations were of these groups.

Mattie's creator is a Mechanic who seemingly has set her free but in fact retains a great deal of control. He has the only key to her wind-up mechanism and has implanted certain compulsions in her makeup that make her beholden to him.

Mattie's attempts to take sides in the conflict and to help the gargoyles free themselves from their bond of stone, form the heart of this fine novel. Sedia's writing has an uncluttered grace that makes the novel fascinating and far more moving than you'd think with a clockwork lead character.(less)

Tim rated a book 2 of 5 stars

Faith
by Jennifer Haigh (Goodreads Author)

read in January, 2013

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It's a sound decision to approach from the outside looking in a story of a priest accused of molestation. It's such a private crime (or accusation) and galvanizes the public so much, there's a great sense of the unknown. Just what happened? Jennifer...more

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Tim wants to read Three Weeks in December by Audrey Schulman	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 04, 2013 05:44pm
Tim rated a book 3 of 5 stars Mojo Hand: The Life and Music of Lightnin' Hopkins by Timothy J O'Brien read in May, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
With the publication of "Mojo Hand: The Life and Music of Lightnin' Hopkins," we have two biographies of the great bluesman published in three years. After this and 2010's "Lightnin' Hopkins: His Life and Blues," by Alan Govenar (four stars), we stil...more
May 02, 2013 05:08pm · see review
Tim rated a book 3 of 5 stars Reggae & Caribbean Music: Third Ear - The Essential Listening Companion by Dave Thompson	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I've found this to be quite a valuable tome as an aid in seeking out great reggae albums and for its incisive information and album ratings. Still, it can be quite difficult to find your way around. Breaking down Caribbean music (not just reggae) int...more
Apr 27, 2013 07:23pm · see review
Tim rated a book 3 of 5 stars The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Lost in translation? Something about the writing just didn't pull me in; I found the book very awkward reading and strangely uninvolving for such a fine idea. See the Scorsese movie (great) instead.
Apr 27, 2013 06:42pm · see review
Tim rated a book 4 of 5 stars At the Earth's Core (Pellucidar, #1) by Edgar Rice Burroughs	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
As absurd (even by ERB standards) as it is to have a world inside our own, and with its own sun, no less, this is among my favorite Burroughs series, and "At the Earth's Core" starts it off right. I always thought, basic concept aside, that the first...more
Apr 27, 2013 06:25pm · see review
Tim rated a book 4 of 5 stars "The Voodoo Master" & "The Red Blot" (The Shadow Volume 3) by Walter B. Gibson	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The third volume of Nostalgia Ventures' reprint series includes two very strong Shadow tales. "The Voodoo Master" is considered the classic here, but I found "The Red Blot" just as enjoyable. Top-notch hero pulp from the 1930s.
Apr 27, 2013 06:19pm · see review
Tim rated a book 4 of 5 stars The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia read in April, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nonhuman protagonists provide the main perspectives in "The Alchemy of Stone," a steampunky novel from the mellifluously named Ekaterina Sedia. The main character is an intelligent automaton, a clockwork woman who has been emancipated from her creato...more
Apr 25, 2013 09:46pm · see review
Tim rated a book 2 of 5 stars Faith by Jennifer Haigh (Goodreads Author) read in January, 2013	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
It's a sound decision to approach from the outside looking in a story of a priest accused of molestation. It's such a private crime (or accusation) and galvanizes the public so much, there's a great sense of the unknown. Just what happened? Jennifer...more
Apr 19, 2013 06:19pm · see review

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