Ricky Pine's Blog, page 91

Review: At the Edge of the Universe

At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think this one managed to fly under my radar for quite a while, but after reading it and double checking when it came out, I wish I'd gotten my hands on it much earlier, like back in February so I could've made this one pair with another slightly sci-fi-twisted (though not really) YA contemporary heartbreaker of a book - Adam Silvera's History Is All You Left Me. It would've made a terrific pairing, as both books...

Pitch Wars 2017: Pimp My Bio

Hey peoples. So, as a hopeful Pitch Wars mentee, it's time for me to take part in the #PimpMyBio blog hop, because as much as they said it was optional, I get the feeling (insert Honey Lemon voice) it's really...not. Or I just want an excuse to write some fun stuff about myself. Something like that.

As a YA paranormal/urban fantasy/contemporary fantasy/science-fantasy writer in need of publication, with over 150 queries under his belt, I'm thinking conventional routes might not cut it. Already...

Review: The Crown's Game

The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Recommended by at least two of our faves in YA fantasy - Sabaa Tahir and Sara Raasch, specifically - this book makes me think of the Grisha Trilogy right away, except unlike Leigh Bardugo, Evelyn Skye gives us a straight historical fantasy rather than make up a whole new country loosely based on tsarist Russia. And while Bardugo is super-duper-steampunk, Skye is more about the magic, and also the culture of 19th-century Russia, a place...

Review: Dove Arising

Dove Arising by Karen Bao
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been seeing this book on the shelves for a while at the library, and only now have I managed to finally pick up a copy and read it. Though I see that its GR average is pretty surprisingly low, that's not much of a surprise to me given how many elements it borrows from other YA books - notably Ender's Game, Divergent, The Lunar Chronicles, and even Legend - just try and tell me this book and Legend don't have similar cover art, especiall...

Review: Nemesis Games

Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I guess there's a rule that odd-numbered Expanse novels, Leviathan Wakes notwithstanding, just aren't as good as the even-numbered ones? (Wait, isn't that a law of Star Trek? And didn't they try to revise the official canon of which movie was which in the series to count Nemesis as an odd-numbered bad and then reverse it to count J.J. Abrams' awesome 2009 movie instead? But I digress.)

I picked this book up super-duper quickly after...

Review: Shatter Me

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Welcome to X-Men Shatter Me, story of a strange young woman named Rogue Juliette who can kill people just by touching them. And she hates herself for it, but can't do anything about it and wants to die, poor girl.

This novel is a tiresome cliche storm. This novel is awesomely cliche-riffic.

I loved it. Just loved loved loved it. I would read this book 1 2 1500 times. Really. Juliette was oh so relatable, a mirror to so much of me. And Adam wa...

Review: The Fall of the House of Cabal

The Fall of the House of Cabal by Jonathan L. Howard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As a member of the Cabal Cabal, I confess myself a tad disappointed in this fifth novel in the series. This, I think, largely stems from the novel's relatively unfocused, scattershot plot, in which there were simply too many characters (besides those Cabal brothers) to keep track of, and even as they trotted the globe, it was only too easy to forget, sometimes, what the stakes really were this time around. That sai...

Review: Wires and Nerve, Volume 1

Wires and Nerve, Volume 1 by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

At first, I thought this graphic novel would be an adaptation of the original Lunar Chronicles books - and then when I heard Iko would be the central character, I thought it would be another side, another story. Nope, just another story, a sequel to the original series with Iko as the star. And damn, she is so good in this lead role - Meyer should've given her more spotlight sooner! My only real complaints about this book ar...

Review: The Reluctant Fundamentalist

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Aimal Farooq recommended this author, and mentioned the movie based on this book of his. So when I got them both at the library, I decided to read the book first, and I think I made a wise choice. The movie, while not half-bad (and nor should it be, not when Riz Ahmed is the star!), loses a lot of the novel's poetic quality in its effort to expand, to build on the story Hamid gives us in under 200 pages. And while I someti...

Review: Cibola Burn

Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After Abaddon's Gate left me questioning my faith in the team behind James S.A. Corey and The Expanse, I'm happy to say that Cibola Burn restored that faith.

By taking the setting well beyond our solar system and bringing us to the most terra incognita place yet, and delivering some damn good apocalyptic thrills worthy of Ridley Scott's work on that most underrated classic Prometheus, I think the series bounced back up to the quality I...