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July 04
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Daniel
gave  to:
Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity (Hardcover)
by
Hugh MacLeod
bookshelves:
nonfiction
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my rating:
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read in July, 2009
Daniel said:
"I was pretty disappointed with this book. MacLeod doesn't actually build an argument in this book, but instead seems to repeat the same points in each chapter. The observations he makes, while contradictory, seem a little obvious to me, but I may not...more
I was pretty disappointed with this book. MacLeod doesn't actually build an argument in this book, but instead seems to repeat the same points in each chapter. The observations he makes, while contradictory, seem a little obvious to me, but I may not be his intended audience, and there is something to be said for reminding people of the obvious truths that the daily grind has made them forget.
Don't get me wrong, MacLeod is not wrong, far from it. It's just the book does not do a very good job of supporting his argument in a compelling way. I hate to say this, but I wish I had taken a look at it in the bookstore before downloading it to my Kindle (the sample chapters for this book in the Kindle store was just the Table of Contents). Had I taken a closer look before hand, I probably wouldn't have spent the $10 on it.(less)
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Daniel
gave  to:
The Android's Dream (Hardcover)
by
John Scalzi (Goodreads author)
bookshelves:
science-fiction
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my rating:
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read in July, 2009
Daniel said:
"I quite enjoyed reading this book, the writing is fast-paced and a lot of fun, with an undercurrent of humor throughout. Scalzi doesn't allow the humor to overwhelm the book however, and keeps the story tightly focused on the political intrigue and t...more
I quite enjoyed reading this book, the writing is fast-paced and a lot of fun, with an undercurrent of humor throughout. Scalzi doesn't allow the humor to overwhelm the book however, and keeps the story tightly focused on the political intrigue and the action.
Perhaps it is only because I started this right after finishing Abercrombie's The First Law trilogy, but I felt Scalzi could have spent more time developing his characters, and providing more description in his scenes. While the story moves quickly and it is a lot of fun watching situations escalate in the novel, there are really only one or two characters that undergo anything resembling a true character arc, and one of those is only a minor character. It seems strange that the primary characters would go through so much and still remain pretty much the same as when they started.
Regardless, this is a fun book and quite enjoyable.(less)
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Daniel
gave  to:
Last Argument Of Kings (The First Law, # 3)
by
Joe Abercrombie
bookshelves:
epic-fantasy,
fantasy
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my rating:
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read in June, 2009
Daniel said:
"An excellent conclusion to the trilogy, that left me yearning for more, which I'm sure will come someday, as this world is too rich to be abandoned at this point.
Some may be a bit put off by how grim the ending appears to be, but I would ...more
An excellent conclusion to the trilogy, that left me yearning for more, which I'm sure will come someday, as this world is too rich to be abandoned at this point.
Some may be a bit put off by how grim the ending appears to be, but I would argue that there was no other way this story could have ended. The characters are what they are, their personalities, histories and impulses were well established in the first two books. While some of the characters are ultimately good people striving to be better, they must also struggle with the influence of powerful companions who have specific, and sometimes contrary goals in mind. In fact, any attempt by Abercrombie to craft a "happily ever after" conclusion to the book would have struck me as an insult to the reader. The story ends perfectly for what it is, and once the story was set in motion, it ended the only way it possibly could have.
The series as a whole was wonderful, with well-drawn characters, lots of well written intrigue, fantastic action, and a wicked sense of humor. I loved it and this has quickly become one of my favorite fantasy series.
I sincerely hope that Abercrombie will provide us with more stories set in this world soon. There is much more to be explored, and I, for one, would love to see a story where a certain wizard gets taken down a few pegs.(less)
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June 25
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Daniel
gave to:
Before They Are Hanged (The First Law, #2)
by
Joe Abercrombie
bookshelves:
epic-fantasy,
fantasy
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my rating:
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read in June, 2009
Daniel said:
"This is an excellent continuation to the series, picking up where book one left off. Abercrombie delves deep into his characters and moves the plot forward, the latter being a welcome addition after the slower moving character work that made up the ...more
This is an excellent continuation to the series, picking up where book one left off. Abercrombie delves deep into his characters and moves the plot forward, the latter being a welcome addition after the slower moving character work that made up the majority of the last volume. I loved the first book, but Before They Are Hanged entranced me and I was unable to put it down. In particular, I loved Logen's tale in this book, and really enjoyed Glotka's adventures in the south. There is still some of the same issue I described from the first book, where a chapter may not start with a clear indication of which character's perspective is informing the narrative, but otherwise this is a fabulous story, and the rest of the writing more than made up for it.
I'll keep this review brief and write something longer when I finish the third and final book in the series.(less)
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June 14
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Daniel
gave  to:
The Blade Itself (The First Law: Book One)
by
Joe Abercrombie
bookshelves:
design,
epic-fantasy,
fantasy
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my rating:
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read in June, 2009
Daniel said:
"An outstanding debut novel and start to a trilogy. Abercrombie does a wonderful job of introducing all of the complex characters and manages to make them all fascinating in their own right, although every reader may favor some more than others. In my...more
An outstanding debut novel and start to a trilogy. Abercrombie does a wonderful job of introducing all of the complex characters and manages to make them all fascinating in their own right, although every reader may favor some more than others. In my case, I am particularly captivated by both Logan, the practical barbarian that is haunted with regret, and Glotka, the crippled torturer and inquisitor.
Abercrombie is also very effective at introducing the reader to his world, without much tedious exposition, which is a welcome change from a lot of other epic-fantasy. He also clearly illustrates what is at stake and carefully sets the events in motion that one assumes will drive the course of the story in the next two books.
I do have one complaint, and that is that occasionally Abercrombie starts a chapter without clearly telling you which character's point of view the narrative is being told through, which can be a bit confusing. Usually, you can tell just from the voice of text, which is quite an accomplishment on the author's part, but occasionally I would encounter a chapter and it would take me half a page to orient myself, which is the only reason I'm knocking off one star.
I can easily seeing this book joining the likes of Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles as one of my favorite epic fantasy series produced recently, and I can't wait to start on the next book in The First Law series.(less)
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Daniel
gave to:
His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, #1)
by
Naomi Novik
bookshelves:
fantasy
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my rating:
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read in June, 2009
Daniel said:
"An enjoyable book, with a unique take on dragons as intelligent beasts who bond with their handlers to serve as beasts of war. It may sound familiar, but details and method of execution in the story make it something quite new in my experience of rea...more
An enjoyable book, with a unique take on dragons as intelligent beasts who bond with their handlers to serve as beasts of war. It may sound familiar, but details and method of execution in the story make it something quite new in my experience of reading fantasy. The twist of setting the story within an ongoing war between forces of Britain and the French army as led by Napoleon is a lot of fun.
This is a fun read, and focused very tightly on the development of the relationship between the protagonist and the dragon whom he has harnessed. As such it is a splendid character piece, but there was a part of me that hungered for a more complex plot for these two to navigate. That being said, judging by the sample of the second book of the series that was included at the end of this volume, that wish may be fulfilled later in the series.(less)
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June 06
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Daniel
gave to:
Daemon (Kindle Edition)
by
Daniel Suarez
bookshelves:
general-fiction,
science-fiction,
tech,
thriller
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my rating:
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read in June, 2009
Daniel said:
"I really enjoyed this book. At the very beginning of the book, I felt like some of the characterization was a little forced, or possibly just done in too calculating a method. However, that's only within the first few chapters, and after that the ind...more
I really enjoyed this book. At the very beginning of the book, I felt like some of the characterization was a little forced, or possibly just done in too calculating a method. However, that's only within the first few chapters, and after that the individual voices of the characters were clear enough that I forgave the earlier issues.
The plot is tense and moves forward at a quick pace, as any great thriller should. The ideas behind this story are both fascinating and terrifying, the latter because the technology described in the book currently exists. In fact, the technology is so current, I almost hesitate the place the label science fiction on it.
My only real issue with the book is the abruptness of the ending, which does not resolve nearly enough of the sub-plots. Apparently, there is a sequel being released next year, titled Freedom TM, which explains why so many parts of the story are left unresolved. I've read that this book was originally at least twice as long, but he was asked to split it into two books for publishing, which makes sense, and is the only reason that I'm taking off one star.
This is an excellent read, and helps to shed light on just how vulnerable we have made our society by using homogeneous and centralized networks.(less)
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June 05
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Daniel
gave to:
Saturn's Children (Hardcover)
by
Charles Stross
bookshelves:
science-fiction
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my rating:
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read in May, 2009
Daniel said:
"Charles Stross' work can be really hit or miss for me. This book was enjoyable, but seemed almost rushed. I don't mean rushed in terms of pacing, but almost like there was a lot going on in his head that never actually made it to the page, which ma...more
Charles Stross' work can be really hit or miss for me. This book was enjoyable, but seemed almost rushed. I don't mean rushed in terms of pacing, but almost like there was a lot going on in his head that never actually made it to the page, which made it a far less thoughtful book than it could have been.
There are some interesting ideas in here, particularly the musing on how a society of robots designed to serve humanity cope with the fact that humans are extinct, and thus their primary purpose in life is obsolete. There's a lot of heady thought wrapped up in that idea, including questions of free will. There is also a lot to think about in terms of identity as each robot is based off of a template persona's memories and can trade their own memories with others of the same template. These difficult issues are discussed, but Stross seems worried that too much exploration of these existential problems would get in the way of the story, which results in some of these questions being simply glossed over, making them feel too much like simple plot devices rather than the central issues that they are.
One thing I will note here is that many of the robots (even the non-humanoid ones) have a particular fascination with sex. It's significant that Stross points out that as humanity attempts to make robots in our own image, it is only natural that they would end up sharing our preoccupation with sex as well.
To sum up: interesting ideas and an entertaining read, but not nearly as complex as it could have been. I had fun reading this, but on the whole I ended up feeling disappointed.(less)
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May 09
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Daniel
gave to:
War for the Oaks (Mass Market Paperback)
by
Emma Bull (Goodreads author)
bookshelves:
fantasy,
urban-fantasy
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my rating:
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read in May, 2009
Daniel said:
"I discovered this book after attending Odyssey Con where Emma Bull was one of the Guests of Honor. It's an enjoyable book, and holds the position of being one of the first books of what we now refer to urban fantasy genre. It's a fun book, dealing ...more
I discovered this book after attending Odyssey Con where Emma Bull was one of the Guests of Honor. It's an enjoyable book, and holds the position of being one of the first books of what we now refer to urban fantasy genre. It's a fun book, dealing with a young mortal musician who gets caught up in a war between the Seelie and Unseelie courts of Faerie.
It's a quick and fun read, and the characters are enjoyable, although in some cases perhaps too broadly drawn, and in some ways I felt like it should have been more epic somehow. There's an almost absurd speed to the ability of the mortal characters to accept what is occurring, which bothered me. That's also true of some of the dialogue, which seemed rushed to me in a few places early in the book. As if the current of the story was too strong for Bull to slow down enough to capture the full conversation.
Still, I enjoyed the book and it made for a quick read, which was perfect since I was in the mood for a little bit of fun.(less)
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