Ricky Pine's Blog, page 107

Review: Point of Impact

Point of Impact by Stephen Hunter
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

So I picked up this book because it's the basis of the movie (and, now, USA TV series) Shooter. Very loosely so, considering both book and movie take place in the 21st century while the book was written in 1993 and has a Vietnam vet as its main character.

Turns out the movie and TV series (neither of which is anything special, really, but neither of which is outright bad) are loosely adapted from the book for a reason. Point of Impact...

Review: Rise of the Elgen

Rise of the Elgen by Richard Paul Evans
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Michael Vey returns and continues on the adventure begun in The Prisoner of Cell 25 - specifically, the hunt for his missing mother. This hunt, for which he'll need all the Electroclan's help, takes them out of the US and down to the mountains and jungles of Peru, where the Elgen have themselves another diabolical little prison-slash-science lab, not unlike the School from Maximum Ride or the Evolutionaries from Generation Icar...

Review: 2113 : Stories Inspired by the Music of Rush

2113 : Stories Inspired by the Music of Rush by Kevin J. Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rush is a great, great band, with a story in every song. And this collection of short stories is only a hint of the inspiration they give.

For a band that made its name with such fantasy and/or sci-fi concepts as 2112 and Clockwork Angels (hint, hint: Kevin J. Anderson suggests that both take place in the same universe), it's no surprise that most of the stories inspired by their songs take fantasy and/...

Review: A Million Worlds with You

A Million Worlds with You by Claudia Gray
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Claudia Gray's Firebird Trilogy has proven pretty polarizing in the two years since it started getting published, with opinions ranging from "OMG SO AWESOME!" (basically Brett Michael Orr's reaction, because it was one of the primary inspirations for The Bureau of Time) to "OMG TOO MUCH ROMANCE NOT ENOUGH SCI-FI UGH!!" (a few of my friends' reactions) to "OMG GROSS WHY IS NOBODY TALKING ABOUT THAT RAPE?" (the Avid Reader's re...

Review: Frozen Tides

Frozen Tides by Morgan Rhodes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The fourth Falling Kingdoms book gives us some much-needed expansion of the world map, literally. Seeing how enormous the Kraeshian Empire is compared to Mytica, it becomes clear that they really are a legitimate threat, especially with King Gaius totally under Amara's spell. (Not that that's really a bad thing given how awful Gaius is, but if our heroes suffer for it, there'll be hell to pay.)

While this book suffers from a seriously slo...

Review: On the Edge of Gone

On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dammit, Corinne Duyvis, why must you abuse my feels so?



While I enjoyed Otherbound, for me, Duyvis' second novel is her real star-maker. This mostly owes to her depiction of the autistic MC, Denise. Though I've heard of a fair few books, particularly in YA, with autistic MC's, this, I believe, is the first one I've read. Which for me, being on the spectrum myself with hyperlexia, is a shame. I may not have the exact same condition...

The Red Rain Grand Finale: Sound & Color!

Sam Ayers strikes again, my friends.
For the final time, I'm presenting an expansion of the Red Rain series with one more novel, for which Sam has designed her most eye-popping cover art yet. This seventh Red Rain novel is an epic, apocalyptic finale, the culmination of not only Alex Snow's story, but also those of Gabe Snow, Fionna Lee, and Gideon Cabrera. These four will be the primary First-Person Smartass POV characters in the final Red Rain novel: Sound & Color.

Behold,...

Review: Liar

Liar by Justine Larbalestier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the years since Justine Larbalestier published this book, it's become the subject of some controversy, much of which owes to Larbalestier being a white woman writing a black main character who is a compulsive liar. A black girl who may or may not be genderfluid, or even a trans boy - hell, it's hard not to read Micah as such, because of her history of having at least once attempted to pass as a boy, and taking birth-control pills to pr...

Review: Gathering Darkness

Gathering Darkness by Morgan Rhodes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So that's the third book of Falling Kingdoms done, and with no end in sight...

On the one hand, I'm happy to report that while I still have no idea why Magnus is so very much beloved by the fans, I'm more invested in his character now because he's started growing beyond my first impression - simply being "that prince who's in love with his adopted sister and it makes it impossible for me to ship them." As always, I'm also super into...

Review: Otherbound

Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You can't exist on Book Twitter without hearing the name of Corinne Duyvis, so sooner or later I had to check out her books at the library. As I understand it, Otherbound was her debut, so of course I had to read that one first.

Although the book starts out by plunging the reader straight into the land of confusion, Duyvis doesn't waste time failing to properly explain and build her world - or, more accurately, worlds. The book is split be...