Ricky Pine's Blog, page 139

Review: Untold

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

This series is a little more lush and romantic than The Demon's Lexicon and its sequels, but that's not bad. The romance never gets too excessive (other than the occasional overuse of the words "solid" and "lean," but then I've been finding myself guilty of doing that same thing in my own writing from time to time), and the characters always stay interesting. And the action, while few and far between, really packs a punch when it happens....

Review: The Abomination

The Abomination by Jonathan Holt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've seen a few reviewers compare this one to both Dan Brown (for the Catholic conspiracy elements) and Stieg Larsson (for the European crime drama, although it's Southern European here as opposed to Scandinavian Noir.) I'd also like to throw in some comparisons to James Rollins (tough female carabinieri in the lead role) and Preston and Child (for sheer food porn. Seriously, Mr. Holt really loves going into detail when describing exo...

My 2015 Favorites: The First Annual Pinecone Awards!

2015 has been a great year in every segment of pop-culture to which I'm closely in tune. It's hard to pick a Top 5 in every category, but pick them I have. After careful consideration, Pinecones, I have my favorites of the year - the winners of the first-ever Pinecone Awards!

Let's get started with the most important category of all to writers like me...

BOOKS:

Honorable Mentions: More Happy Than Not, Career of Evil, The Sword of Summer, The Fate of Ten, Queen of Shadows

5. Although my reading an...

Review: Crimson Shore

Crimson Shore by Douglas Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Welcome back to the weird and wonderful world of Agent Pendergast - in his best adventure in years. I know, I've thrown that title around quite a lot in recent years, but compared to any other Pendergast book in a long time, this one's really outdone its predecessors big-time. Not only is it one of the more lush and lovely entries in the series - you can just smell the salt marshes and fish of its New England setting - but it's also o...

Review: Name of the Devil

Name of the Devil by Andrew Mayne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Chalk up another horror-tinged murder mystery of mayhem from Mr. Mayne. Let's just say that because I read this mostly on Christmas Day, I'm going to Hell for sure. It's like Grasshopper Jungle on Easter Sunday all over again.

I hope a third Jessica Blackwood book comes along soon - these obscure stories are too good to pass up.

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Review: The Shadow Prince

The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

At first, I found the Haden chapters to be the book's weak point, until he and his little entourage began their work on How To Pass For Human. Hilariously, they failed in a lot of key ways, and their initial reactions to just about everything - Teslas, iPhones, etc. - were amusing as Tartarus.

Then, as the book moved on and Haden and Daphne's interactions grew more interesting, the story really picked up. In particular - the revelatio...

The Force Awakens: Mr. Abrams' Magnum Opus

(PLEASE NOTE: While I'm sure most people reading this review will have already seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens, for those who haven't, I'm endeavoring to keep things spoiler-free.)

True story: today, I finally got to see the most hyped, most amazing, all-around best movie of 2015. And when I got home, my mom, because she's not quite as into Star Wars as I am, decided to ask about the group I saw the movie with, and - I kid you not - one of her top questions was, "So, any girlfriend pros...

Review: Tandem

Tandem by Anna Jarzab
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I wanted to like this one because of the glowing praise from Marie Lu, and also for its hooky premise of parallel universes. And indeed, the parallel universes are the book's greatest strength, as it allows for some seriously excellent world-building. But sadly, this one wonderful aspect is saddled with a tired, hackneyed plot and characters who just didn't engage me as well as they should have.

Ironically, I'm currently reading another book that...

Review: Sky Key

Sky Key by James Frey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The sequel to The Calling is written in the same bizarre style as its predecessor - it still feels like a slightly-less-metaphorical Shatter Me, but the action is still as insanely Matthew Reilly-like as ever. Sure, a lot of storyline details and tropes feel like they were also recycled from The Lorien Legacies, but that doesn't ruin the enjoyment at all for me. I'm fully invested in this trilogy - I need to finish it now.

Sun Key - I'm assuming...

Review: Angel Killer

Angel Killer by Andrew Mayne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I discovered this one when Andrew Mayne followed me on Twitter. His books looked interesting enough, so I followed him back and ordered this first book right away, as well as the second one.

I was not disappointed.

It comes in a larger-than-normal paperback like many lesser-known mystery novels I've seen - most of which are of the Christian-fiction variety. This one, though...not so much, not with the heavy use of Satanic imagery in the kil...