"The first story was disappointing to me. Love Bisson though. It'll get better."
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bookshelves: currently-reading
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"Phrases like "A fellow has to be a little broader about the forehead than I am to handle a jolt like this." that make the book."
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bookshelves: currently-reading
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bookshelves: fantasy-humor, science-fiction
Another awesome one from Pinkwater. I laughed, I howled I experienced every emotion. Would read again. ]]>
Chris
added a quote:
"The imagination needs moodling,--long, inefficient happy idling, dawdling and puttering. " — Brenda Ueland
"The imagination needs moodling,--long, inefficient happy idling, dawdling and puttering. " — Brenda Ueland
bookshelves: to-read
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bookshelves: fantasy-humor
There's a sad thing that happens to books like this--they get labeled as being like Pratchett, or Douglas Adams. Then fans of those books show up and read them, and get mad b/c "This guy's no Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett!"
It's kind of unfair to describe a book by comparing it to another writer for this reason, but marketing departments need to sell books and those writers sell, so why not make the comparison?
This was not the funniest book I've read, but it did make me laugh in parts.
The true strengths of the book are as follows:
Some of the main "world-building" concepts in the book are fascinating-- The gadgetry, the way people are addicted to said gadgetry, homes being stolen. Tim Scott is clearly a writer who looks at things sideways, and so comes up with great ideas about our world and where it's heading.
Scott handles action extremely well, and builds anticipation in the reader to keep the him or her turning the page.
Scott's use of profanity, when he uses it, is amusing.
There is also a bit of an undercurrent of social commentary that I enjoyed.
The weak points:
There are mental asides on the part of the narrator that are bit too lengthy. It's easy to turn up your reading speed and skim these parts though.
The ending breaks a fairly iron-clad rule in modern fiction, though the idea of the ending turned the cliche' on its ear and ties in with the over-arcing storyline, Scott did not pull it off quite as elegantly as I believe he could have to make it really work.
The Jake subplot, though tied up at the end, was kind of cut short and not completely satisfactory, given its great build-up inside the plot.
The author breaks another rule most readers like in their fiction. If your story has a point, let us draw that conclusion on our own rather than spelling it out for us. Most readers stopped needing "And the moral of the story is..." after finishing Aesop in elementary school. It makes the reader feel smart to figure this out on their own, and if they don't get it, then they start talking to other people who've read the book, or re-read it to try to find the point. To spell it out, is to take that away--it's kind of like sitting down to watch The Usual Suspects and having someone in the audience shout out, "There is no Kaiser Sose! Kevin Spacey's character is making it all up!" (Sorry if I ruined that one for anyone).
It seems like an editor, or perhaps an agent might could've helped the author address these issues before the book saw print, but it is a first novel, and I think there's enough promise here for me to find a copy of Mr. Scott's next book, Love in the Time of Fridges.
All in all, the fast paced action. The interspersed smiles and chuckles and the well-thought out social commentary make me say give this book a shot. ]]>
bookshelves: to-read
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Chris
took the never-ending book quiz.
| questions answered: | 108 |
| correct: | 78 (72.2%) |
| skipped: | 43 |
| best streak: | 6 |
| questions added: | 0 |