Ricky Pine's Blog, page 15

Review: The Man Who Died Twice

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For this second novel of the Thursday Murder Club, it’s a 3.5 rounded up to a 4 almost entirely on the basis of Ibrahim’s story arc. While I’m pretty salty with Mr. Osman for sidelining my favorite character so soon in this book with a violent mugging, I’m also very happy that Ibrahim’s friends rallied around him like they did, and that the book explored his odd friendship with Ron - as well as Ron’s grands...

Review: James

James by Percival Everett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's been a while since I read Huck Finn in high school - about the only Mark Twain I've actually read, as a matter of fact. But this reimagining from the point of view of James, the enslaved Black man whom Twain had Huck only know as Jim, very much stands on its own. I've still not yet read much of Percival Everett's work besides Erasure - the source material for American Fiction - but this seems like a perfect addition...

Review: The Cartographers

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this book, but I guess this - plus that one climate fiction magical realist type book I read last year, I need to look back to remember which one - is a sign that maybe I shouldn't take book recommendations from a certain coworker. (Okay, that, plus that Louise Penny series - I could barely make it through one or one and a half books of that one.) But this book, which should've been right...

Review: The Last Uncharted Sky

The Last Uncharted Sky by Curtis Craddock
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sadly, I can see why this series overall didn't make much of a splash on the fantasy scene these last few years, despite the glowing recommendations in the blurbs from the likes of Brandon Sanderson. As interesting as this series always has been, and as unique, it's a classic example of diminishing returns - even this book, with its biggest plot shake ups yet, just falls kinda flat. Honestly, having gone ...

Review: The Thursday Murder Club

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked this one up after seeing the later books in the series vaguely out of the corner of my eye on Lucky Day shelves at different Fort Vancouver Regional Library branches, and also after hearing that Chris Columbus was going to be directing a film adaptation for Netflix with Steven Spielberg producing. I didn't really pay much attention to the cast announcement at the time, other than remembering that...

Review: When Among Crows

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Veronica Roth has been on quite the kick of novellas (and shorter than average) novels these past few years, and now she's got one of her most densely packed novellas yet. Densely packed with Polish mythology - her mom's side of the family being Polish, she turned to them for more inspiration - and also borrowing on her experiences with chronic pain as she did when writing Carve the Mark, it's as meaty a story as...

Review: Colton Gentry's Third Act

Colton Gentry's Third Act by Jeff Zentner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Though he's not done with YA just yet - he's got a new collaborative novel in verse with Brittany Caravallo scheduled to come out this summer- it's interesting to see Jeff Zentner make a pivot into the adult literary fiction scene. He still has a foot in the YA door with this one, however, since it makes frequent use of flashbacks to the title character's younger days and his initial romance with high sch...

Review: Five Broken Blades

Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This one, sadly, is an official DNF for me. It sounded like it could’ve been great for me, with its premise of disparate assassins forced to collaborate to kill a king who absolutely bloody deserves it. Unfortunately, I didn’t get far because of the book’s peculiar structure - it jumps from POV to POV every chapter, and the chapters are all quite short, and all the POV’s are almost indistinguishable from each oth...

Review: The Silverblood Promise

The Silverblood Promise by James Logan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Take that rec from James Rollins seriously - and James Islington too, while we’re at it. James Logan makes a real great trifecta of Jameses in the modern realm of fantasy greats, with this first well crafted entry in a new series of Mediterranean inspired intrigue and trade and war games…and the disgraced young noble turned card sharp forced to investigate some uncomfortable truths in the heart of the worl...

Review: Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When I was in high school, one of my favorite books was Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks, the story of a boy destined to be the greatest supervillain on the planet, except for the fact that everyone at the university for evil geniuses is so dysfunctional that they can't help but plot against each other until they're all killed off.

This book tries to take a similar premise and ra...