Ricky Pine's Blog, page 135

Review: The Bone Labyrinth

The Bone Labyrinth by James Rollins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book, like the earlier Sigma adventure The Devil Colony, was sadly a little bit delayed - though not quite as much, being more like 16 months instead of 24. Somewhat embarrassingly, my library was cool enough to order it as far back as June 2015, only for the book to not come out for six months after that. Therefore, it's now officially the book I've had on hold for the longest time ever.

And what a book to deserve that honor....

The Flash: Of Speedsters And Sweethearts

***SPOILER ALERT***

I'm not too big on math. We haven't been on good terms in years. But today, I'll persuade her to help me demonstrate a few things re: last night's episode of The Flash in simple terms.

Barry Allen + Patty Spivot = Batty.

Batty on the CW + Batty in the New 52 = Ricky Ships It. <3

Batty + Sweetness = Happy Shippers Like Ricky.

Batty + Fighting = See Meme Below.

I still don't trust Harry, in any incarnation, because of this, BTW.
So, when The Flash ended last night with...

Review: The Magicians

The Magicians by Lev Grossman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is a kind of bizarre meta-look at a fantasy world like the kind we all grew up with - Harry Potter, Narnia, etc. - but filtered through the lens of millennials going to college. Yeah, yeah, sure, they're millennial characters, and that means they're automatically all unlikable assbites...or does it? They're just...complicated, is all. Complicated, and often, struggling to find a place for themselves in this world, magical or no...

Starling City Storm: A Sweet Little Splash Moment

I went into the writing of my second Spidey & Speedy fanfic piece, Starling City Storm, thinking it would be a great idea to ship the speedster with the Arrowverse's real Speedy herself, Thea Queen. I even made up my own ship name for it: Speedy + Flash = Splash. Catchy, huh? Well, nobody in the Arrowverse fandom seems to think so...yet. I dare you to read the following words and think they don't belong together, at least not in this alternate universe. :)


“Barry, could you...

Review: ARK-13

ARK-13 by B.B. Gallagher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

B.B. Gallagher's latest book is now freshly completed on Wattpad for your reading pleasure. Not unlike Project Sparta, it's got tons of high-stakes action, although this time Gallagher's trying his hand at a different genre - sci-fi as opposed to spy fiction, and with more adult characters as opposed to Sparta's YA. Especially in its second half, the book has a breakneck, cinematic pace, leading up to a major twist ending - one I admittedly s...

Review: Cruel Crown

Cruel Crown by Victoria Aveyard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I somehow managed to not realize this was a thing until today. Well, not really. I did see a few hints about Cruel Crown floating around the intarwubs, but I didn't really put two and two together and realize it was a compilation of the two Red Queen e-book novellas (so far), with a few bonus features included for good measure.

The two stories couldn't be any more different just because of their protagonists. One is Silver, one is Red....

Review: The Red and the Black

The Red and the Black by Stendhal
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A Wattpad friend introduced me to this old classic of French literature. It's from roughly the time of Les Mis, but is far less expansive in scope as it follows one principal character. It's lined with satire on the sociopolitical climate of the time, particularly where the Church is concerned, and it runs on the assumption that men of the cloth are, by default, hypocritical characters only concerned with looking important and knowle...

Review: The Searcher

The Searcher by Simon Toyne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I went into this one and found it pretty slow to start, not at all like Sanctus. So, for a little while, I thought this one would be a less worthy addition to the Simon Toyne canon. But after all, this is the author of one of the most underrated, "why isn't this a bloody movie yet?" books of the last five years, so I forged ahead. Eventually, the pacing and action did pick up, enough to overcome the book's relatively weak start, so it now...

Review: Welcome to Night Vale

Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've heard tell of the podcast on which this novel is based, often in the same sentence as such cult-classic weird TV shows as Twin Peaks and Gravity Falls. So I knew what to expect when I cracked open this book after finally finding a spare copy at the library. As far as Weird Small Town Paranormal Dramedies go, Gravity Falls is still my favorite, but this book helps make Night Vale a close second on the list of Weirdest Fictiona...

Review: Cross Justice

Cross Justice by James Patterson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another excellent, un-put-down-able, high-stakes Alex Cross story for the list. While not as harrowing as the Cross My Heart-Hope To Die duology, this story is still just as personal for Cross, because of the involvement of his family and his old hometown in North Carolina. And let's not forget the unexpected revelations regarding his family's history. They're deeply woven into the book, even within the seemingly unrelated side plot i...