Ricky Pine's Blog, page 122
July 1, 2016
Review: False Hearts
False Hearts by Laura LamMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
"You don't know if it's fear or desire
The danger of a drug that takes you higher..."
-U2, "So Cruel"
"The dream is collapsing."
-Arthur, Inception
Funny that I should read this book today right after I started a new chapter of my own work, a chapter in which the villain is revealed to the reader (and the narrator) as a US Senator - and closet fundamentalist Mormon leader - who owns an entire town in Utah full of people loyal to him and his warpe...
June 30, 2016
Review: Foreign Agent
Foreign Agent by Brad ThorMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Thor's definitely got a gift for high action, but when it comes to storytelling, I got a pretty strong sense of "been there, done that" from Foreign Agent. I mean, you can only do so many stories about ISIS and Russian terrorists before you start turning your one-story-a-year series into so much 24 on repeat. Not to mention the fact that this book takes place largely overseas, thus making it feel a bit detached compared with some of Thor's...
June 28, 2016
Review: Kill Shot
Kill Shot by Vince FlynnMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Welcome to Part Two of the Mitch Rapp prequel. The first book had the setup to his future career, and this book features his first major roadblock. Betrayal aplenty, assholes in power, and Rapp on the run.
In this book, Rapp's personality shows a hell of a lot more, and perfectly validates the casting of Dylan O'Brien in the upcoming movie of American Assassin. He's really channeling his inner Tom Cruise here, not to mention his inner Mr. Rees...
June 26, 2016
Independence Day: Resurgence - "On Behalf Of Planet Earth, Happy Fourth Of July!"
NO SPOILERS FOR RESURGENCE, BUT SPOILERS FOR THE ORIGINAL INDEPENDENCE DAY ABOUND WITHIN.
It's become so normal for our people to hate anything old Roland Emmerich puts out - and even his older, classic works (with the possible exception of Stargate) are fair game for snarkers and sporkers. What, is it so wrong for us to enjoy seeing large casts of characters show massive heroism in the face of planet-breaking disasters time and again?
"They like to get the landmarks!"
Thank God Emmerich, D...
It's become so normal for our people to hate anything old Roland Emmerich puts out - and even his older, classic works (with the possible exception of Stargate) are fair game for snarkers and sporkers. What, is it so wrong for us to enjoy seeing large casts of characters show massive heroism in the face of planet-breaking disasters time and again?
"They like to get the landmarks!"Thank God Emmerich, D...
Review: The Epidemic
The Epidemic by Suzanne YoungMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
***SPOILER ALERT***
Eerily, I read this one not long after picking up Stephen King's latest, End of Watch, which also deals with suicide - or so it appears, as the deaths in King's book aren't technically suicides, being supernaturally and externally influenced. King did, however, mention the concept of suicide clusters, which of course got me thinking about The Program and all the rest of the books in this series.
With the conclusion of the...
June 24, 2016
Review: Redemption
Redemption by Debra DrizaMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I forgot how long it had been since I read the first two books in this trilogy - in pretty quick succession, too, if I remember correctly. Because of that long gap, it took me a while to get up to speed when starting this third and final book, and as a result, I found it a little hard to keep focused on the first half of the book or so. But then the second half, when Mila and company make their way to an elite boarding school linked to the c...
June 23, 2016
Review: Before the Fall
Before the Fall by Noah HawleyMy rating: 1 of 5 stars
If you went into this book thinking that just because it comes from the creator and head writer of Fargo, it would be something in the same mold...you'd be dead wrong.
That's probably my biggest disappointment, the fact that Before The Fall lacks the larger-than-life, philosophically waxy, creepy delights of the FX anthology series - or the classic 1996 film it's based on. In its place, Hawley instead serves up a platter full of loathsom...
June 22, 2016
Review: The Crystal Bridge
The Crystal Bridge by Charlie PulsipherMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is two high-stakes adventures in one - the first, a YA fantasy involving a pair of teenagers and their space-time-continuum-breaking egg-shaped device, with which they find their way to an alternate world full of elves who don't call themselves elves, and the second, a techno-thriller where one man works on a computer so powerful it starts to develop a mind of its own.
In other words, it's the logical offspring of Warc...
June 21, 2016
Review: Ruined
Ruined by Amy TinteraMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I thought Tintera did a great job with her sci-fi dystopian debut, the Reboot duology - especially given its always-fascinating use of the undead. This book shifts into fantasy and yet stays a little more grounded in reality, because even though there are characters with powers, they're mostly supporting characters, while the book itself deals largely in inter-kingdom intrigue and one of the main characters disguising herself as the crown prince...
June 20, 2016
Review: End of Watch
End of Watch by Stephen KingMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
The first book in this trilogy, being a straight-up crime thriller, was quite outside of King's comfort zone. In retrospect, it kinda showed in the tangled mess that was that book's storyline.
Finders Keepers had a more streamlined story, and I found that book a massive improvement because I connected so much better with it. Especially with the character of Pete Saubers.
For End of Watch, the paranormal hints at the end of the second book c...
