Ricky Pine's Blog, page 129

Review: Pantomime

Pantomime by Laura Lam
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This quarter at CSUEB, I'm taking two classes with one of the school's most beloved English Department professors, who mentioned this book recently and got me to want to read it.

I was not disappointed.

What I've just read is something of a missing link between The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, with its fantastical circus setting, and A Darker Shade of Magic, with its alternate-world thing going on - not to mention its high concentration of LG...

Review: War Hawk

War Hawk by James Rollins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Because the library where I live is completely crazy, they've not ordered War Hawk yet, and so it's impossible to even put it on order. However, they have an ample supply on the "Lucky Day" shelf of new releases, and so I snatched the opportunity to pick up this book, our first adventure with Tucker Wayne and his war dog Kane in...two years now?

Taking inspiration from the life and times of Alan Turing (whom I can only picture as Benedict Cum...

Review: Zom-B Goddess

Zom-B Goddess by Darren Shan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First off - who else has looked at the cover and been reminded of Imperator Furiosa?

Second off - At last this book reveals the true motivations behind the Dowlings, who are now playing quite the Gambit Roulette with each other's viruses, and of course B winds up caught in the middle.

Third off - wow. I did NOT see that ending coming. Even down to the wire, Shan's got tons of surprises up his sleeve, and he deploys them by the megaton.

Last...

Review: Predator One

Predator One by Jonathan Maberry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Perhaps the most terrifying book Maberry has ever written, or will ever write. I'm saying this almost entirely based on the scenes with Davidovitch, in which we get to see how horribly he's been tortured - not only through pain, not only through knowing his family's lives are being altered, moment by moment, by agents of the Seven Kings - but also because of how he comes to take sadistic pleasure in what's happening to his wife in par...

Review: The Magician King

The Magician King by Lev Grossman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I can't help but feel that this second Magicians book suffered from a serious case of More Of The Same Syndrome, leading to a bit of a sophomore slump. Sure, training is officially over for Quentin et al. They're no longer studying magic at Brakebills, they're now officially full-fledged magicians. But they're still learning all sorts of spellcraft - and learning that the slightest mistake could send them pretty much spiraling into H...

Lady Smith

For the umpteenth time in my life, I've found myself crushed out on a beautiful and unattainable woman. (Well, maybe not so unattainable, but given my perfect undateability...) And in this case, I've felt the need to express myself about it through poetry. Though this may be an angsty practice, I still hope you Pinecones, at least, approve of my latest piece of work, the title of which is not meant to reflect any real names. I hereby present my latest lovesick geekboy poem: "Lady Smith."



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Review: Etiquette & Espionage

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Steampunk and killer ladies? I've been meaning to check this series out for a while, but only now was I able to find and pick up the first book at the library. Etiquette and Espionage didn't quite live up to my expectations, but it did find some good ways to subvert them. I didn't really think the school would be a big, cumbersome airship like it was in this book, but it sure keeps things interesting, knowing just how far the te...

Cage

It's been a couple of years since I wrote this poem - which got me extra credit in my poetry class way back in spring 2014. That's a time I just wanna remember so much (especially 'cause it's when the world was first graced with the presence of the Ghost Stories album from Coldplay and The Amazing Spider-Man 2), even if I was in a bit of a dark place at the time. And because I'm feeling like I'm in a dark place tonight (even with the aid of The Peanuts Movie), I've decided to share my ol...

Review: Yellow Brick War

Yellow Brick War by Danielle Paige
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank the Lord we didn't have to wait till 2017 for this one...

A year ago, I thought we were awaiting the end of a trilogy with Yellow Brick War. No longer is that the case - there's to be at least one more book after this one, so yes, Paige does end this threequel on a cliffhanger.

It's a short book - even shorter than The Wicked Will Rise, I think - so it was no problem for me to read the entire thing in only about half an hour in...

Review: Blue Lily, Lily Blue

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, for now I'm officially caught up on this series - but that'll change soon as The Raven King makes its way to library and bookstore shelves.

Like its immediate predecessor, the book is brought down by a mostly-wandering first half where nothing much happens. What does happen, however, is a good string of character moments - like Noah's spectral hissy fit in the counselor's office while Blue discusses her future and her co...