Ricky Pine's Blog, page 136

Review: The Tournament

The Tournament by Matthew Reilly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Matthew Reilly does Something Completely Different in this book - it's lighter on his signature full-tilt high-octane action, and heavier on historical drama. It's also heavier on court intrigues in 16th-century Europe, particularly in its lush Constantinople setting. And, most unusually of all, it's heavier on sex. In fact, Reilly puts a disclaimer at the start of the book, warning that the book contains mature content - all of which...

Review: Passenger

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Maybe because I read this one right on the heels of finishing the wild and crazy Illuminae, I found this book really slow and plodding in comparison. Makes sense, given that this book is lighter on the action, not only compared to Illuminae but also to Bracken's previous Darkest Minds dystopian trilogy. This one's more about creating complicated sci-fi rules and building a nice little romance - which is Bracken's best yet, that's for su...

One Year Of Blogging, Etc.

Hard to believe it's been a whole year since I started my blog. You might remember that day better, though, because of the news that started it all - the news that motivated me to become a blogger. I'm talking, of course, of the announcement that Spider-Man was joining the MCU without Andrew Garfield. I hoped to get a trend going, hoped to spread the hashtag #Garfield4Spidey to support the un-cancellation of The Amazing Spider-Man 3. I failed, but I still keep that hashtag on pretty much...

Review: Illuminae

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

MY OFFICIAL ILLUMINAE PLAYLIST:

"No chance for fate, it's unnatural selection
I want the truth!"
-Muse

"Here we go, vertigo
Video vertigo, test for echo
Touch and go, in slow mo
Video vertigo, test for echo..."
-Rush

"Higher, don't let 'em know we're coming
Higher, tiptoe higher..."
-Imagine Dragons

"I don't wanna feel sorry for you
You don't have to make believe it's you..."
-The Cars, "You're All I've Got Tonight"

"Falling down can feel strange
No one rem...

Review: The Scions of Shannara

The Scions of Shannara by Terry Brooks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Just based on the original trilogy, plus this book, it feels like it just wouldn't be a Shannara book if Allanon and an Ohmsford or two weren't majorly involved in the action. This long-distant start to a new series is no exception.

On the one hand, it's a little more-of-the-same with the hunt for the artifact that started it all, the Sword of Shannara, all over again. But like The Force Awakens, this is a situation of everythin...

Review: UnBound

UnBound by Neal Shusterman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

And I thought this little Dystology was over and done with - but nope. Shusterman's got a few more surprises in store for us as he (and a team of co-writers) explore, in greater detail, the horrors of the Unwind world. In addition to showing some downright nasty stuff involving the deadly Burmese Dah Zey parts pirates, we also learn some of the backstories of characters like Risa (whose unwind order, we discover, was not an accident), and R...

Review: The Pharaoh's Secret

The Pharaoh's Secret by Clive Cussler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of Cussler's best books in quite a long time, for many reasons. Chief among them, for me at least, is the inclusion of Malta as a primary setting for what might be the first time ever in a Cussler book. And then there's the downright nasty threat from a freaky, freaky ancient Egyptian weapon that's designed to put its victims into seemingly incurable comas...don't ask. Those ancient Egyptians meddled in things that really oug...

Review: Every Crooked Path

Every Crooked Path by Steven James
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The original Bowers Files series may have ended with Checkmate, but now, Mr. James is giving us a new series of prequels set between Opening Moves and The Pawn. And what a way to start this promised "new chapter" - with SVU-level suspense and disturbing storytelling. It's supposed to be in the past, and yet much of the technology involved appears to still be in use today, giving this new Bowers book an oddly timeless feel. And on a...

Review: Byron : A Zombie Tale (Part 1)

Byron : A Zombie Tale (Part 1) by Scott Wieczorek
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was told this book would be a zombie tale in the vein of Warm Bodies or iZombie. Maybe not so much the former (although the movie is closer in tone to this book than the original Isaac Marion book), but the latter? A little more right on the money. Right from the get-go, the book gets into some gloriously grossgusting territory that also easily invites comparisons to that holy grail of zombie-based awesomeness, Zomb...

Review: Ten Thousand Skies Above You

Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For whatever reason, the first book didn't impress me too much. This book, however, is quite an improvement. Just when you think the multiple universes Gray's created have given up all the secrets they have to offer, along comes another serious - and seriously wild - plot twist to upend the whole thing and force the reader to question all their assumptions about this story world.

And of course the ending demands that I fini...