Joshua Palmatier's Blog, page 17
January 9, 2015
New Book Discussion
I've just posted the last book discussion for the December DAW releases at the unofficial blog (
dawbooks
). We're looking at an omnibus of P.R. Frost's last two Tess Noncoire books, Faery Moon and Forest Moon Rising. Swing on by and check it out!
dawbooks
). We're looking at an omnibus of P.R. Frost's last two Tess Noncoire books, Faery Moon and Forest Moon Rising. Swing on by and check it out!
January 7, 2015
Latest Book Discussion
Swing on over to the DAW Books unofficial blog (
dawbooks
) and check out the latest book discussion. We're looking at Gini Koch's latest Alien series novel, Universal Alien. Check it out!
dawbooks
) and check out the latest book discussion. We're looking at Gini Koch's latest Alien series novel, Universal Alien. Check it out!January 6, 2015
New DAW Books!
I've posted the new releases for January 2015 from DAW Books, Inc.! Swing on over to the unofficial DAW Books blog (
dawbooks
) and check them out! There's new Jim C. Hines and Ben Aaronovitch, plus the paperback release of C.S. Friedman's latest and an omnibus from Irene Radford.
dawbooks
) and check them out! There's new Jim C. Hines and Ben Aaronovitch, plus the paperback release of C.S. Friedman's latest and an omnibus from Irene Radford.December 30, 2014
Next Book Discussion
I've just posted the next book discussion at the unofficial DAW Books blog (
dawbooks
)! We're looking at the latest Valdemar anthology edited by Mercedes Lackey, No True Way. Swing on by and check it out!
dawbooks
)! We're looking at the latest Valdemar anthology edited by Mercedes Lackey, No True Way. Swing on by and check it out!December 28, 2014
Latest Book Discussion
We're looking at Abracadaver by Laura Resnick, the seventh in the Esther Diamond series, over at the unofficial DAW Books blog (
dawbooks
)! Swing on by and check it out! And if you haven't started this series, get to it in the New Year!
dawbooks
)! Swing on by and check it out! And if you haven't started this series, get to it in the New Year!December 19, 2014
Book Review: "11/22/63" by Stephen King
Not that Stephen King needs the reviews, but . . .
The premise: Jake Epping finds a time bubble that takes him back to 1958. While there, he discovers that he can change his own past by altering the course of the history while he's in the past, even if the timeline doesn't want to be changed. With the best of intentions in mind, Jake travels back to 1958 with the intention of living there and stopping the JFK assassination . . . but he'll discover that time is obdurate and is willing to throw every obstacle it can in front of him.
I enjoyed this book. I thought the time bubble that takes Jake back to the past was an interesting set-up in terms of how it worked (that every time it's used, whatever you changed the last time you used it is reset, etc.) and what its limits were. I liked Jake and the conflict that gets established--between finishing what he went into the past to do (stop the JFK assassination) and his own personal interests after he's lived in the past long enough to have set himself up with his own life there. That conflict creates some great personal tension for him. As usual, King is great at bringing out the lives of the people in that era, both the good and the bad, so that you feel as if you've lived in that town with these people your entire life. That personal touch with the characters is definitely King's strength, in any of his novels.
I also thought the twist in the resolution of the book was great, the inner turmoil and the difficult to accept realization that Jake must come to. You can feel his anguish at the end, even though you know what he has to do. A great ending.
My only issue with the book was that, after Jake jumps to the past with the goal of stopping the assassination, there's a lull in the pace and action of the book. It takes quite a while for Jake to establish himself in the past and get to the point where his life there, and the conflicts it brings about, become interesting again. That lull is a little rough to get through. It's worth it--as all Stephen King fans know from some of his past books--but it's still tough. If that section had moved along faster, it would have been a better book.
But it's still one of King's better books and definitely worth a read.
The premise: Jake Epping finds a time bubble that takes him back to 1958. While there, he discovers that he can change his own past by altering the course of the history while he's in the past, even if the timeline doesn't want to be changed. With the best of intentions in mind, Jake travels back to 1958 with the intention of living there and stopping the JFK assassination . . . but he'll discover that time is obdurate and is willing to throw every obstacle it can in front of him.
I enjoyed this book. I thought the time bubble that takes Jake back to the past was an interesting set-up in terms of how it worked (that every time it's used, whatever you changed the last time you used it is reset, etc.) and what its limits were. I liked Jake and the conflict that gets established--between finishing what he went into the past to do (stop the JFK assassination) and his own personal interests after he's lived in the past long enough to have set himself up with his own life there. That conflict creates some great personal tension for him. As usual, King is great at bringing out the lives of the people in that era, both the good and the bad, so that you feel as if you've lived in that town with these people your entire life. That personal touch with the characters is definitely King's strength, in any of his novels.
I also thought the twist in the resolution of the book was great, the inner turmoil and the difficult to accept realization that Jake must come to. You can feel his anguish at the end, even though you know what he has to do. A great ending.
My only issue with the book was that, after Jake jumps to the past with the goal of stopping the assassination, there's a lull in the pace and action of the book. It takes quite a while for Jake to establish himself in the past and get to the point where his life there, and the conflicts it brings about, become interesting again. That lull is a little rough to get through. It's worth it--as all Stephen King fans know from some of his past books--but it's still tough. If that section had moved along faster, it would have been a better book.
But it's still one of King's better books and definitely worth a read.
December 18, 2014
Book Review: "The Winter Long" by Seanan McGuire
This is the eighth book in the October Daye urban fantasy series from Seanan McGuire. And the series comes full circle at this point, with a return to some of the questions raised in the very first book Rosemary and Rue.
The premise of the book is that Simon has returned, the man who turned Toby into a fish and left her to die. She lived for fourteen years as a fish before escaping, missing out on her own daughter's life as a consequence. Her story picks up with Rosemary and Rue after her return, and she thought she knew exactly what had happened those many years ago. But now Simon's back, and he has information that will set Toby's world into total chaos . . . and make her face a horrible truth about her imprisonment as a fish and what transpired in Rosemary and Rue.
First off, this novel was good. As I've said before, this series just gets better with each book, so while I thought the first two or three in the series were rough, Seanan McGuire's writing and in particular the plotting and characterizations smoothed out tremendously in the later books. This was in no exception, with a straightforward plot that still manages to take what Toby thought she knew and twist it into a totally different perspective. There were always a few unanswered questions in that first book, even though it felt like it came to a solid conclusion, but we find out (for the most part) what really happened back then and more about the circumstances that surrounded Toby's unfortunate transformation into a fish. So an excellent addition to this series and I fully expect more goodness to come.
I had two issues with this book, the first with the book itself and the second that's totally my fault. First, the book. There are some great turns and twists in this book and for the most part they all make sense once Toby is exposed to what really happened years and even decades ago. She learns more about her mother, about Simon, and about the death of Evening Winterrose that she investigated herself. However, I felt the resolution of the book happened a little too fast and was perhaps a little too . . . easy, I guess. We get the final big revelation, Toby stresses about how to deal with it (and as a reader I agreed it was a huge problem), and then things happen rather fast and its all resolved and all of the stress about it suddenly doesn't feel vindicated. Basically, I think it SHOULD have been harder to resolve. I was convinced it would be harder, and yet it wasn't. This is why I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5.
The other issue is totally my fault: I had expectations going into the book. I'd been told that this book completely changed the series and shifted it into a new direction. That the story completely changes. So I went into the book thinking there would be a significant world shift by the end, that something would happen and the Fae world as it has been established would have to undergo a dramatic shift into something new, perhaps even something more interesting. And this didn't happen. Yes, there was a significant shift in Toby's worldview, in her understanding of past events, but with the resolution of the book being as pat as it was, I don't see that the Fae and their world needs to shift much at all. Toby handled it. Everything can go back to, essentially, what it was. I'm not saying that it will, but it can. (I was thinking something huge would happen, like maybe the roads to the original Fae worlds would somehow be opened, which would significantly change how the Fae lived and dealt with our world.)
In any case, even with those issues, it was still a great read. If you haven't tried the series, I'd recommend it. A little rough at the beginning, but it settles down and there are some great books and stories being told here. Just don't go into the books expecting TOO much, like me. *grin*
The premise of the book is that Simon has returned, the man who turned Toby into a fish and left her to die. She lived for fourteen years as a fish before escaping, missing out on her own daughter's life as a consequence. Her story picks up with Rosemary and Rue after her return, and she thought she knew exactly what had happened those many years ago. But now Simon's back, and he has information that will set Toby's world into total chaos . . . and make her face a horrible truth about her imprisonment as a fish and what transpired in Rosemary and Rue.
First off, this novel was good. As I've said before, this series just gets better with each book, so while I thought the first two or three in the series were rough, Seanan McGuire's writing and in particular the plotting and characterizations smoothed out tremendously in the later books. This was in no exception, with a straightforward plot that still manages to take what Toby thought she knew and twist it into a totally different perspective. There were always a few unanswered questions in that first book, even though it felt like it came to a solid conclusion, but we find out (for the most part) what really happened back then and more about the circumstances that surrounded Toby's unfortunate transformation into a fish. So an excellent addition to this series and I fully expect more goodness to come.
I had two issues with this book, the first with the book itself and the second that's totally my fault. First, the book. There are some great turns and twists in this book and for the most part they all make sense once Toby is exposed to what really happened years and even decades ago. She learns more about her mother, about Simon, and about the death of Evening Winterrose that she investigated herself. However, I felt the resolution of the book happened a little too fast and was perhaps a little too . . . easy, I guess. We get the final big revelation, Toby stresses about how to deal with it (and as a reader I agreed it was a huge problem), and then things happen rather fast and its all resolved and all of the stress about it suddenly doesn't feel vindicated. Basically, I think it SHOULD have been harder to resolve. I was convinced it would be harder, and yet it wasn't. This is why I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5.
The other issue is totally my fault: I had expectations going into the book. I'd been told that this book completely changed the series and shifted it into a new direction. That the story completely changes. So I went into the book thinking there would be a significant world shift by the end, that something would happen and the Fae world as it has been established would have to undergo a dramatic shift into something new, perhaps even something more interesting. And this didn't happen. Yes, there was a significant shift in Toby's worldview, in her understanding of past events, but with the resolution of the book being as pat as it was, I don't see that the Fae and their world needs to shift much at all. Toby handled it. Everything can go back to, essentially, what it was. I'm not saying that it will, but it can. (I was thinking something huge would happen, like maybe the roads to the original Fae worlds would somehow be opened, which would significantly change how the Fae lived and dealt with our world.)
In any case, even with those issues, it was still a great read. If you haven't tried the series, I'd recommend it. A little rough at the beginning, but it settles down and there are some great books and stories being told here. Just don't go into the books expecting TOO much, like me. *grin*
Last November Book Discussion
I've posted the last book discussion for the November releases from DAW Books (
dawbooks
) over at the unofficial blog! We're looking at Masks, the debut novel from E.C. Blake and the first of the Masks of Agryma series. Swing on by and check it out!
dawbooks
) over at the unofficial blog! We're looking at Masks, the debut novel from E.C. Blake and the first of the Masks of Agryma series. Swing on by and check it out!December 17, 2014
New Book Discussion!
I've just posted the latest book discussion at the unofficial DAW Books blog (
dawbooks
)! We're looking at Julie E. Czerneda's second Night's Edge novel, A Play of Shadow. Swing on by the blog and check it out!
dawbooks
)! We're looking at Julie E. Czerneda's second Night's Edge novel, A Play of Shadow. Swing on by the blog and check it out!December 11, 2014
New Author Inteview
I've just posted an interview with Jacey Bedford, author of the new sci-fi novel Empire of Dust, the first in the Psi-Tech series and her debut novel. Swing on by the DAW Books unofficial blog (
dawbooks
) and check it out! Then go order Empire of Dust!
dawbooks
) and check it out! Then go order Empire of Dust!
