Ricky Pine's Blog, page 131

Review: The Gangster

The Gangster by Clive Cussler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Isaac Bell adventures are a bit hit and miss for me sometimes (although they're favorites of my dad, who's always into the historical stuff - and hell, this is the Cussler series he's most caught up on at this point.) This one had a bit of both hit and miss involved, so it gets a three star rating from me. It would probably have been two stars if not for the climax involving President Theodore Roosevelt - that's always a way to boost...

Review: Endsinger

Endsinger by Jay Kristoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mister Kristoff's trilogy hit a bit of a sophomore slump for me, despite dialing up the humor a bit. Taking a more action-intensive approach to Endsinger helped this series get back on form for its conclusion. Here we get so many great battle scenes, the increasing danger of the land being irretrievably ruined forever by the blood lotus, and once again, a frantic pace that doesn't really allow for too many gaps in the action.

That ending, tho...

Review: Dorothy Must Die: Stories Vol. 2

Dorothy Must Die: Stories Vol. 2 by Danielle Paige
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was afraid that this book would be absolutely required reading before Yellow Brick War, which would have been a disaster for me because my library has not yet ordered this (or even the first Stories collection), and the only library that has this book in the Link+ system that normally lets me special order from beyond Alameda County is in San Diego. No way will I order a book from that far away...but thankfully, I wa...

Review: The Raven Boys

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, so I tried this book once, about two years ago, and I couldn't get beyond page 20 or so at all. Maybe I was caught up in other things that demanded my attention more, maybe I wasn't connecting with the material. It got to the point where, while writing the first draft of Red Rain, I praised Shiver enough to turn it into an excellent in-universe movie, while having my protagonist Alex Snow utterly unable to read The Raven Boys...

The Nerdy Girl Express: Stitchers and Feelings

Recently, I wrote a short but personal article about the Freeform fan-favorite series, Stitchers, which I decided to share with the fine ladies at The Nerdy Girl Express. They happily agreed to put up my article, "Stitchers and Feelings," on their site today, in honor of World Autism Awareness Day.

You may now read my NGE guest post in all its fine glory here.

Happy weekend, Pinecones! :D

Review: Across the Universe

Across the Universe by Beth Revis
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This book isn't really all that bad - after all, it has its fair share of thrills and chills, especially in the early parts when things start going wrong for Amy's cryogenic voyage. But said thrills and chills really don't add up to much, if at all, and eventually they get replaced by new plot threads that seem thrown in more for shock value than anything else - the Season, anyone?

So, in the end, I've found myself forced to just give...

Batman v Superman: Snyder's Super-Anti-Heroes

If there's one thing we know about Zack Snyder, it's that his movies are filled with top-notch CGI, tons of slow-mo, IMAX camera work, and are supremely dark, sometimes just for the sake of darkness.

Mr. Snyder's latest, Batman v Superman, is no exception. It appears, based on the largely negative response from the critics, that people in some circles are growing tired of his continued insistence on delving into the grimdark side of what comic book movies can be - and I don't quite blame them....

Review: Their Fractured Light

Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The final novel in this trilogy brings everything full-circle with all the rifts and hyperspace and dreadful stuff that Monsieur LaRoux has been doing because he's a futuristic Corrupt Corporate Executive. And, helping conclude this adventure is another pair of young lovers - although this time they're less star-crossed and more ass-kicking, which I liked. (Not as much as Tarver and Lilac, but better than Flynn and Jubilee.) I al...

Review: Orphan X

Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

After two attempts to get into this book - which looks so promising based on the sheer number of pop-cultural badasses name-checked in the dedication - I think I have to conclude Orphan X just isn't meant for me. Once again, DNF. For now.

View all my reviews

SupergirlXTheFlash: More Crossovers, Pretty Please?

***SPOILER ALERT***
Even before Supergirl started airing, I wanted to see it as an official part of the Arrowverse. Now, that day has come, after many months of waiting, with the long-time-coming crossover with The Flash.

SHIP!
I'm happy to report that this episode delivered in every possible way - and that, even more cool, it echoed my own Spidey & Speedy fanfic trilogy in a lot of ways. Namely, the presence of multiple villains for multiple heroes - in this case, one of SG's most...