Ricky Pine's Blog, page 17

Review: Howling Dark

Howling Dark by Christopher Ruocchio
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

On to the second book of Ruocchio’s Sun Eater series, now with a little less gladiating and a lot more interstellar intrigue, with dashes of interesting action and promises of more of the reason behind Hadrian Marlowe’s massive in universe infamy. Sadly this one is a definite step down from the first book, because much of this one is a whole lot of words that don’t say much, with relatively little plot progres...

Review: Red Side Story

Red Side Story by Jasper Fforde
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've been waiting for about a decade now for Jasper Fforde to finally give us the sequel to Shades of Grey, and while he's been dabbling in some really oddball experiments the last few years - most of which have never worked out for me as a reader - I'm happy to report that his long-delayed return to Chromatacia is also the return to form, reminding me of exactly why Fforde became one of my favorite writers in my c...

Review: The Last Devil to Die

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Osman comes to a natural stopping point of sorts with this latest entry in the Thursday Murder Club series, promising that while there will be more stories to come, he'll be taking a brief hiatus and concentrating on another kind of mystery project in the meantime. For now, though, this book starts with some lighthearted Boxing Day dramedy - the club is trying to make a new friend in the community, but Mervy...

Review: The Bullet That Missed

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Now for the third mystery of the Thursday Murder Club, which I was able to read pretty quickly after finishing the second book in the series. Unfortunately, this one is definitely a step down from its two predecessors, because while I really loved the personal aspects of the individual club members' stories in those books, they just didn't shine as much in this one. (Instead, we get Donna and Chris really d...

Review: Empire of Silence

Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been kinda sleeping on these books by Christopher Ruocchio for a while, even though they're very frequently recommended, especially for Red Rising fans. I can also see why it gets a blurb from James S.A. Corey, because in a lot of ways, these books are cut from similar cloth to The Expanse - sprawling, epic visions of diverse humanity vs. a weird, sinister alien species, with the author being prolifi...

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...