Alexander Pyles's Blog, page 20
October 8, 2017
Barsk
It isn’t too often that one finds a novel that has such a genuinely unique world built around it, but Barsk: The Elephant’s Graveyard by Lawrence M. Schoen is one such work.
Barsk to some readers familiar with uplifted or anthropomorphized animals may not be struck by any unique cords by reading the inside flap, but the effortless way that Schoen is able to enter into the POVs of the characters is what really separates this narrative from the rest.
We follow Jorl, a “fant”(elephant) historia...
October 5, 2017
Review: Star Wars Golden Books?!
First a note from Pyles of Books:
Sorry, I haven’t posted any reviews in a while, but life has been crazy. I have managed to read some books in the meantime, which means I will be posting rapidly(hopefully) over the next couple weeks.
***
Here is something a little fun to tide some of you over in the meantime.
4 words: Star Wars Golden Books.
I knew tangentially that they existed and never opened them up. It wasn’t until I was rocking my daughter to sleep that I found them on my library’s e-b...
Star Wars Golden Books?!
First a note from Pyles of Books:
Sorry, I haven’t posted any reviews in a while, but life has been crazy. I have managed to read some books in the meantime, which means I will be posting rapidly(hopefully) over the next couple weeks.
***
Here is something a little fun to tide some of you over in the meantime.
4 words: Star Wars Golden Books.
I knew tangentially that they existed and never opened them up. It wasn’t until I was rocking my daughter to sleep that I found them on my library’s e-b...
July 26, 2017
Arkwright
There are few books in science fiction that could be considered a love letter to it, but Arkwright by Allen Steele hits the nail on the head.
The book surrounds Nathan Arkwright, a seminal sci fi writer, and his legacy of wishing to send humanity into the stars to colonize them. Driven by the belief that humanity will eventually wear out their welcome on Earth and need to look elsewhere for a home, Nathan sets up a foundation to ensure that his dream will become a reality. It is up to his chi...
July 6, 2017
Review: The Fifth Season
Subversion is the first word that comes to mind when thinking of N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season. The subversion of themes, the subversion of genre, and the subversion of even narrative. Everything Jemisin chooses to do with what one would consider a traditional fantasy, she turns it on its’ head. It won the Hugo for best novel in 2016, for good reason.
The Stillness is fraught by global catastrophes that occur every couple hundred years, sometimes more sometimes less. The very land is more o...
The Fifth Season
Subversion is the first word that comes to mind when thinking of N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season. The subversion of themes, the subversion of genre, and the subversion of even narrative. Everything Jemisin chooses to do with what one would consider a traditional fantasy, she turns it on its’ head. It won the Hugo for best novel in 2016, for good reason.
The Stillness is fraught by global catastrophes that occur every couple hundred years, sometimes more sometimes less. The very land is more o...
June 26, 2017
Review: The Guru
The Guru is a read that takes you by surprise. A work of contemporary fiction and debut novel by Sean Hicks, we follow David Ratcliff as he wallows in his quite mediocre life. It is only by a perfect storm of events does his luck change for the better and he finds his fate intertwined with the nationally acclaimed self-help guru, Christopher Maxwell. The question remains for David is: Does he truly want to change his luck for the better and willing to give up everything to join the booming,...
The Guru
The Guru is a read that takes you by surprise. A work of contemporary fiction and debut novel by Sean Hicks, we follow David Ratcliff as he wallows in his quite mediocre life. It is only by a perfect storm of events does his luck change for the better and he finds his fate intertwined with the nationally acclaimed self-help guru, Christopher Maxwell. The question remains for David is: Does he truly want to change his luck for the better and willing to give up everything to join the booming,...
June 21, 2017
Review: Grond: The Raven High
Grond: The Raven High by Yuri Hamaganov is a fun YA science fiction read! All the hallmarks of Ender’s Game and even carrying threads of those foundational science fiction authors like, Asimov and Heinlein. The reader follows one of the seven Changed, bioengineered post-humans, who have been commissioned as a last hope for humanity to help cure a failing Earth. We follow Olga Voronov as she masters her skills and overcomes various tasks and tests set before her. And these are not enough, beca...
Grond: The Raven High
Grond: The Raven High by Yuri Hamaganov is a fun YA science fiction read! All the hallmarks of Ender’s Game and even carrying threads of those foundational science fiction authors like, Asimov and Heinlein. The reader follows one of the seven Changed, bioengineered post-humans, who have been commissioned as a last hope for humanity to help cure a failing Earth. We follow Olga Voronov as she masters her skills and overcomes various tasks and tests set before her. And these are not enough, beca...
