Ricky Pine's Blog, page 133

Review: Truthwitch

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After being attracted to this one largely from the Twitter hype - everyone at the YA writers' cool kids' table loved this book to death, it seemed like - I am happy to report that while it doesn't quite live up to that hype for me, Truthwitch is still quite enjoyable for a number of reasons. Chief among them - the breakneck pace throughout. Although this book ended up taking me three days to read, that was only because I had very little ti...

Child Of Chaos: A Poem Inspired By Blue Moon

So, tonight, I've been fueled by java chip ice cream to catch up on the as-yet incomplete sixth and final installment of the Marvel fanfic series Blue Moon by Wattpad's very own @yourmybeautifulsoul, aka Sierra Daniels. As usual, I've wound up leaving off on a very shattering part of the story, which is par for the course for Sierra's writing. Not for nothing is she often compared to Joss Whedon himself, Pinecones.

During my binge-read, I found a section in the book where Sierra asked her...

Review: Fury

Fury by Steven James
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of my favorite TV shows ever is the gone-too-soon TNT series Perception. Although that show is, on the surface, an ordinary consultant-in-law-enforcement crime procedural with the twist that the consultant is schizophrenic, it didn't take me long to reinterpret the show as a secret example of magical realism. I honestly thought that Dr. Daniel Pierce was psychic (still do, in fact), and that the writers chose to paint him as schizophrenic but...

Review: Kinslayer

Kinslayer by Jay Kristoff
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is somewhat longer and more sprawling than its predecessor, which isn't really a good thing. Sure, there are a few really wild and crazy action sequences, and Yukiko and Buruu really make a great team - especially when Buruu starts making philosophical questions about why human mating is so messy and involves so much tongue. (I wouldn't know.) Unfortunately, these moments of fun and high intensity are saddled with slow spots throug...

Review: Unmade

Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't know why it took me so long to finish this trilogy, but now that I'm done with it, I have to say, I wish it wasn't done yet. Especially for the supporting characters, who really help make this series for me. I especially like the way Kami's brothers interact with everyone else, the adorable little guys. (What can I say? I'm a sucker for annoying younger siblings sometimes. Little ankle-biters.) And, in other news, my ship manages...

Review: The Isle

The Isle by Jordana Frankel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first book in this series came out...three years ago, I think? And for a long time, Goodreads had an entry up for this sequel, but it remained mostly empty because The Isle was just such a long time coming.

Come it did, though. And while it's been long enough that I've managed to forget huge chunks of The Ward, I also managed to remember a lot of stuff all over again while reading this book. I like how this one largely does away with th...

I'm An Overjoyed Flash Fan Today!

You would NOT believe how much I fanboyed when my friend @SpeedyElite gave me this today.

I've never been to a con, never met any celebrities in person. Speedy has, because she's cool like that. And this weekend, when she met The Flash's very own Jay Garrick, Teddy Sears himself, she got autographed pictures of Earth-2's favorite speedster.

Including one made out to me.

Yeah. I totally flailed and cried and screamed at this. No shame. No bloody shame.

Had I thought to wear my Flash shirt to go wi...

The Analog Kid: Alex and Fionna Meet For The First Time

Recently, my school held a flash fiction contest, with the winning entries being guaranteed certain cash prizes and publication in the school's literary journal. Naturally, I submitted an entry - a short story created from the Red Rain 'verse, never before seen. Naturally, I didn't win any of the top prizes or honorable mentions. (My friend and I agreed that it was because I did my own style and didn't go for the sort of stereotypical MFA-type crap people usually associate with literary...

The 100: An Open Letter To Jason Rothenberg

***WARNING TO ANYONE ELSE WHO MAY READ THIS: MAJOR SPOILER ALERT***

Dear Mr. Rothenberg,

Recently, I put out my list of the top 5 of everything of 2015, and The 100 (which holds the additional distinction of being the first and only CW show my dad will watch with me, which speaks volumes about its widespread crossover appeal) had no problem making the list. Unfortunately, I've fallen behind by two episodes, but because of the recent internet explosion revolving around last week's epis...

Review: Raging Sea

Raging Sea by Michael Buckley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I compared the first book to The Vicious Deep, but this one takes a far more apocalyptic turn more reminiscent of Falling Skies. The East Coast is gone (and, in at least one case straight out of the first Independence Day, a city gets nuked - "may our children forgive us"), and now, Lyric and her friends are traveling west, into more desert-y parts of the country - exactly what you would NOT expect for a story about war between humans an...