Ricky Pine's Blog, page 112

Review: Turn Coat

Turn Coat by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don't think any of the other Dresden Files books plunge the reader into the action nearly as fast as this one does - literally on the first page when that one assbuttish Warden, Morgan, shows up on Harry's doorstep, wounded and on the lam.

That's when you know it's serious trouble Harry's in for on this misadventure, because if Morgan, that holier-than-thou type who's supposed to be beyond reproach, is in trouble...that bodes so badly it's n...

Review: The Rose & the Dagger

The Rose & the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another duology done.

The story begun in The Wrath and the Dawn wraps up neatly in The Rose and the Dagger, which, despite a fairly slow start, picks up the pace in the second half as it completes Ahdieh's lush, multilayered retelling of the Arabian Nights story. As in the first book, characters are this story's strong point, with everyone - especially the points of the love triangle, one of the best ones in YA if I do say so myse...

Review: Once Broken Faith

Once Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The lady named for the tenth month appears in her tenth full-length novel...sorry, but I had to go there. Seanan McGuire gives us another addictive October Daye story, this time with more than a few parallels to the real-world political issue of gun control, and also with - at last - a world map of the West Coast Faerie kingdoms. (I'm not surprised to see no less than three covering California.) And along the way, we get more of To...

Review: Small Favor

Small Favor by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Let's face it - when a Faerie queen, especially when said queen is Mab, no favor is a small one. Ol' Harry Dresden's pretty deep in debt to this supernatural royalty, and it shows in this book with the ironic name even by Dresden Files standards. Rereading this one, I forgot just how long Michael's involvement runs in the series - he's a favorite character of mine mostly because his deep faith always serves as a perfect foil to Harry's chee...

Fantastic Beasts: Expanding The Wizarding World

***THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW.***

I'm too much of a fan to not check out whatever J.K. Rowling gives us - she's by far the number-one inspiration behind my writing. The world of Harry Potter has touched my entire generation and then some, and as Rowling proves in the long-awaited Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them movie prequel, it's not a world you'll soon want to leave the moment you've set foot in it. For proof, look no further than the crowd that gathered when I saw the m...

Review: Gemina

Gemina by Amie Kaufman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

MY OFFICIAL GEMINA PLAYLIST:

"Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm."
-Depeche Mode, "Enjoy The Silence"

"Look at me with daggers
It won't do you any good
All the looks that you've used on me
Don't work now that you've fallen
Fallen, fallen..."
-Fleetwood Mac, "Freedom"

"I'm not giving in to security under pressure
I'm not missing out on the promise of adventure
I'm not giving up on implausible dreams
Experience to extremes
Experience to extremes....

Review: The Death Cure

The Death Cure by James Dashner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

And so I complete my reread of the Maze Runner trilogy with The Death Cure, and now I can recognize how elements of this book slipped into the Scorch Trials movie in 2015. Launchers, breakouts from a WICKED facility, Janson the Rat Man being, well, Janson the Rat Man...that sort of thing.

I'm really dying to see how Wes Ball adapts this book for the upcoming 2018 movie - can't wait to see that one! Although there's one character death i...

Review: Executive Power

Executive Power by Vince Flynn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This (chronologically) sixth Mitch Rapp thriller is a quick and easy read, but it doesn't really amount to much compared to the two prequel novels, or to its immediate predecessor, which are the series' high points so far for me. This one, on the other hand, has a bit of a "more of the same" vibe like one of the weaker Brad Thor or Lee Child books - and in the wake of our recent travesty of a presidential election, reading this book, th...

Review: The Scorch Trials

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I haven't read this book in five years, but when I saw the movie in theaters last year, I remember thinking it was the weakest of the trilogy. Rereading it now, I think I was right - and that while this book was the weakest, the movie adaptation is so much stronger because it took the creative risk of changing the story so much. Not to mention adapting in elements of The Death Cure as well. But compared to the movie, the book feels...

Review: Frost Like Night

Frost Like Night by Sara Raasch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Help me make the most of freedom and of pleasure
Nothing ever lasts forever
Everybody wants to rule the world...
-Tears for Fears

Recently, I read The Midnight Star and, while I loved the book, I was a little bit disappointed in that it wasn't quite the epic finale I was expecting. Frost Like Night, however, is every bit as epic in scale and story as The Midnight Star should have been, and has earned itself a well-placed spot in my Top 5...