Ricky Pine's Blog, page 113

Review: The Winner's Curse

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

So I've seen a few people loving this series - which I remembered best for the controversy it attracted when the publishers wanted to give the books these Throne of Glass-knockoff covers.

I think I'll still remember it best for that after my ill-fated attempt at getting into it.

I know The Winner's Curse came out before Sabaa Tahir's An Ember In The Ashes, but Tahir's book remains the definitive work of YA sandalpunk for me. Automat...

Review: Woman of God

Woman of God by James Patterson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Call me crazy, but I was under the impression that this book would be connected to Patterson's earlier, Catholicism-heavy apocalyptic tale, Cradle and All.

Other than being about a massive shakeup in the Church, there's not much connecting the two stories at all.

The first half of the book is dreadfully unfocused and jumps from place to place with almost reckless abandon, to the point where I almost gave up on this book about 100 pages i...

Review: Crooked Kingdom

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"No visible means of support
Yeah, you have not seen nothing yet
Everything's stuck together..."
-Talking Heads, "Burning Down The House"

No mourners.
No funerals.

I remember when I first read Six of Crows last fall, I thought it was a good book, if a little slow at times. A second read, more recently, helped solve that pacing issue for me as I got into the characters a bit more. So, maybe a second read a year or so down the line might impr...

Review: Empire of Storms

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First off, this. That flaming blue-orange contrast cover with Aelin looking incredibly more beautiful and kick-ass than ever. Awesome.

Second off, the one and only proper reaction to that doozy of an ending:



So. Empire of Storms - the long-awaited fifth Throne of Glass novel.

Honestly, after Queen of Shadows with its Lovecraftian horror and demonic possessions every-freaking-where, I thought Maas had peaked. Maybe she has - the books sh...

Review: Six of Crows

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There's a reason why this book comes with Michael Dante DiMartino's seal of approval - it's a lot like Legend of Korra in a few ways, with its primary settings being two different cities in an alternate world. One, Ketterdam, being a sort of early 20th century steampunk city. And the other, an icy city in the northern wastelands of Fjerda.

It's also got a lot of Ocean's Eleven in its DNA, being a heist story as opposed to the magical war th...

Review: Cursor's Fury

Cursor's Fury by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The third book in the Codex Alera, I didn't remember it as well as its two predecessors. It's a zip-fast read like Furies of Calderon and Academ's Fury both, but it also feels, undeniably, like a bit of filler. However, it does introduce a few pretty important new details - like the formation of the Knights Pisces, and also the final twist, the one that I'd expected pretty much from the beginning.

I can't believe I'm halfway through this a...

Review: Separation of Power

Separation of Power by Vince Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So I was considering giving up on this series after Book 4, but thank God I went in for Book 5. Separation of Power brings the series up to the standard Flynn would later achieve in the two prequel novels, with a storyline that doesn't feel too over the top or too bogged down in politics. This book manages to bridge the gap between high intrigue and high action, and if the publication date of October 2001 is real, I'm surprised this...

Review: Separation of Power

Separation of Power by Vince Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So I was considering giving up on this series after Book 4, but thank God I went in for Book 5. Separation of Power brings the series up to the standard Flynn would later achieve in the two prequel novels, with a storyline that doesn't feel too over the top or too bogged down in politics. This book manages to bridge the gap between high intrigue and high action, and if the publication date of October 2001 is real, I'm surprised this boo...

Review: Dead Beat

Dead Beat by Jim Butcher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So I guess I must have forgotten that there was a scene in this book where Harry Dresden animates a T. rex skeleton.

Well, that was bloody awesome!

And of course the whole necromantic (yes, that's a word, so I have decreed it!) ride up to that point makes this one of the better books of Mr. Butcher's fine Dresden Files. Not for nothing was this the first in the series to receive its original printing in hardcover as opposed to paperback.

All the...

Review: The Wrath & the Dawn

The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked up this Arabian Nights retelling with most of my Arabian Nights knowledge being my many viewings of Disney's Aladdin when I was a kid. I do, at least, know the general framing device - a princess telling stories to her husband every night to stave off the death that's befallen all his previous wives, and deliberately not giving him the ending, so he'll have to keep her alive to know what happens next...

Curiously, this boo...