Brett Michael Orr's Blog, page 3
August 25, 2016
Review – Poison City
Poison Cityhas a very prominent hook – essentially, it asks the question,What would Harry Potter look like several years (and drinks) down the road?Readingthis grittySouth African fantasy though, it offers far more than a potential Potter fan-fic. Instead,Poison Cityoffers up a twisted, gripping ride that feels aNeill Blomkamp-directed version ofMen-in-Black. Thanks to Hachette Australia and [...]
August 3, 2016
Review – Maladapted
Like a science experiment,Maladaptedby Richard Kurti feels like a strange creation made from various parts, familiar in some places but alien in others. The result is a somewhat confused YA sci-fi that doesn’t quite reach its own potential. Thanks to Allen and Unwin Australia for this review copy! Maladaptedtakes place in Foundation City, a futuristic, [...]
July 29, 2016
Review – Desolation
Bring a strong stomach to Derek Landy’s latest demonic fantasy,Desolation,sequel to the surprisingly goodDemon Roadfrom last year. Blood drenches the pages (figuratively) from the very beginning, and the action doesn’t relent for the next five hundred pages – but there’s a rather human story being told beneath that devilish skin. Thanks to Harper Collins Australia [...]
July 18, 2016
Review – Six of Crows
What do you get if you combine the clever heists ofOcean’s Elevenwith the multi-POV and superpowers ofZeroes?It’d look something like Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows,a new series set in her existing Grisha universe – just make sure you’ve readShadow and Bonefirst. I regret reading Six of CrowsbeforeShadow and Bone.As an introduction to Bardugo’sGrisha-verse, Crows offers [...]
June 11, 2016
Review – A Gathering of Shadows
There is no worse literary disease than the cursedmiddle-book syndrome,and unfortunatelyA Gathering of Shadows,sequel toA Darker Shade of Magic,is a terminal patient. The second book in theShades of Magictrilogy is five-hundred-pages of slow exposition that funnels the reader into the third book – an entertaining distraction, but nothing particularly memorable. In December, I read and [...]
May 27, 2016
Movie Review – Alice Through the Looking Glass
Tim Burton must have very strange dreams. Or, perhaps, he sleeps rather soundly at night, because all his crazy visions are put into film projects like the sequel to Alice in Wonderland. The newest edition to the film franchise is a departure from Lewis Carroll’s books in all but name, and yet somehow, Burton (with [...]
May 21, 2016
Movie Review – Captain America: Civil War
This is aspoiler-freereview. 2016 is the year for superhero showdown movies. Earlier this year, I reviewedBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,and now I’ve seen Marvel’s own superpowered clash in the form of the third Captain America film,Civil War.What ensues is a slightly long, but overall very enjoyable Marvel adventure – but one that ultimately continues [...]
May 19, 2016
Movie Review – Allegiant
It’s no secret that the third film in the Divergent series has been unfavourably received by fans and box offices around the world. Die-hard book-lovers criticized it for (excuse the pun) diverging from the novels – but comparisons to the source material aside, there’s a half-decent YA flick underneath the flashy sci-fi skin. I’ll preface [...]
May 13, 2016
Review: Long Dark Dusk
This review contains spoilers forWay Down Dark. I’m going to be honest. I absolutely raved about Way Down Darklast year, but the first novel in James Smythe’sAustraliatrilogy was so perfectly executed that, coming intoLong Dark Dusk,I wasafraid the sequel would suffer from theGlass Sword-effect and fall short of my expectations. It turns out, I had [...]
May 11, 2016
Should You Write A Negative Review?
Fellow book reviewers, let’s take a moment to talk about a somewhat controversial subject –negative reviews.We all love reading an*amazing* book and fangirling about it across the internet; but when we read a bad book, we don’t tend to spread our opinions as much. Today I’m talking about Writing a Negative Review. I consider myself [...]
