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Caleb's Challenge
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Oh - finally got to 25. I think I'm about 12 books behind the pace for me target.
Currently reading another book in parallel with The Blade Itself. This one's a GLBT coming-of-age story - A Time Before Me.I have a thing for coming-of-age stories in general. I think it's because I still find it easy - even at almost 40 - to relate to teenagers making the very painful conversion to adulthood.
Finally finished The Blade Itself. It was only 500+ pages, but it felt like eternity. Still give it about 3.5/5, but I'm not rushing for the next in the series.Started The Blue Man Dreams the End of Time. Looked really interesting.
So - just finished The Blue Man Who Dreams the End of Time.I liked it, but it did have its moments. Firstly, the story really waited a long time to happen. This author loves introspection.
I also found some other flaws, like very repetitive use of words such as 'mayhem' and 'legerdemain' and some phrases such as 'wax ' and 'without ... irony'.
And lastly, something that annoyed me a bit was the all the characters seemed to speak with the same voice - another carbon copy of the author spewing out all sorts of rhetoric constantly.
I should have guessed that the author was a poet, but didn't find out until after I finished.
So - good read, but not great read.
Next!
I like the review but I think I'll avoid the book - I'm pretty character focused and I'd be annoyed.
It might just be me MrsJoseph. I found the review particularly difficult as I was struggling to articulate what was amiss.In fact you inhabit the main protagonist quite a bit throughout the story and you definitely get a feel for him as the book progresses, but once I started seeing the same phrases the protagonist was using as narrative coming out of the mouths of other characters it diminished that sense of the characters becoming individuals. They suddenly started seeming like mere empty vehicles to carry the author's prose.
At Amazon this book had three very strong reviews - all 5 star. One in particular was very explicit in what he enjoyed about the book. All of it makes sense, but it just didn't hit me the same way. Additionally, there is alot of social commentary within the endlessly expressed philosophies of the various characters either by dialogue or by projection through the narrator's introspections. But after a while you start to realise that there was little dialogue in the novel other than pontifications and justifications.
I guess this was a serious book that dangled what should have been an exciting plot in front of the reader and then performed a 'bait and switch' to deliver a sermon on capitalist greed, corruption and some fairly nihilistic views of the human race in general.
Interesting, but it just didn't work as much on me as probably intended.
No, I trust your review. I get annoyed when characters all have the same voice - it's lazy. There should be no confusion as to who is saying what - without the author writing "so and so said." But that's just my hang up. :-) I've been told I'm too hard on entertainment books, lol.Your review is rather good, though - I gave me a good idea of what you thought of the book and I trust your opinion. :-)
Thanks for that. I've been thinking about starting YAIR or Yet Another Indie Review website.I don't think I'm as clever and well-read as some of the other indie reviewers I've seen about the place, but I'm thinking that indie authors could use all the review and news sites they can get.
Problem is that it's quite a bit of work to get started and it requires an ongoing commitment and there's so many things requiring that of me that are not getting any of it. Do I want to add another to the list?
Caleb, I think you write excellent reviews. I'd follow you if you start a YAIR, but yeah, it is another commitment. The time I spend reading indie books is the time I would have spent reading free PD stuff anyway, so that time isn't a big deal, it's more of the extra effort each review requires, keeping up with your set frequency, and most time-consuming--going through all the samples and making a decision on what to select next! That's why I can't reply to all the authors who've submitted to my book blog, because I'd much rather be reading their books than responding with several dozen "Sorry, this is not for me" emails every couple of days.
I agree.
I finished Snapdragon Alley. Review is here.I'm actually going to count the whole Dragon City trilogy as one book in my challenge because they're all ridiculously short.
I just finished Broken by David H Burton. I like David's books and this one was good, but not really angled at me. It was a paranormal romance/urban fantasy which isn't really my thing.I was a beta reader this time and was happy to go slightly outside my interests to help out.
What? You don't like romance? Parish the thought! lol!
It's not that romance itself doesn't appeal. In fact, I can be profoundly affected by romance in a novel as I'm an extremely romantic person.It's more that there is an attitude towards sex and the male (usually) body that doesn't really appeal to me to read and gives me the very strong idea that the passages are written for a woman's enjoyment, not a man's enjoyment.
I'm not sure why I don't like to get "hot and bothered" when I read because I generally like a book to escape the confines of the words and enter my nervous system. Maybe it's more because if I wanted to feel that way I would read something that was even more adult and direct than a young woman enjoying her man "of size".
As an aside, are all women even looking for that? I thought men were supposed to be the shallow ones.
Caleb wrote: "As an aside, are all women even looking for that? I thought men were supposed to be the shallow ones. "
You mean men "of size"? LOL No, not all women. Too far in either direction could be a problem. I think most women actually prefer "average" in that area. And that's all I can say without landing in the TMI zone.
You mean men "of size"? LOL No, not all women. Too far in either direction could be a problem. I think most women actually prefer "average" in that area. And that's all I can say without landing in the TMI zone.
^ What she said, lol!
OK - just finished Dweller by Jeff Strand. Gave this one 4 stars, but still trying to work out what to say about it in my review. What can you say about a story about 40 years or so of someone's life with a monster as a best friend.As you can imagine, it could be a little weird.
I think my main reason for giving 4 stars instead of 3 stars was that I really did begin to feel for the monster (less than the protagonist).
Finished Turn of the Screw by Henry James. I've given it 2 stars for the moment. It was OK, but it didn't really enthuse me.
Caleb wrote: "OK - just finished Dweller by Jeff Strand. Gave this one 4 stars, but still trying to work out what to say about it in my review. What can you say about a story about 40 years or so of someone's li..."Not sure how I'd feel about that...
Finished The Master and Margarita finally. I'm only a third through and I'm nearly halfway through the year. Not going so well.
Finished Generation Loss by Elizabeth Hand. She's such a great writer. I give this 4.5 stars.
I'm trying to read a book right now that I *think* you might like: Tomato Rhapsody: A Novel of Love, Lust, and Forbidden Fruit. I've noticed that you read a lot of thinking books...and the friend who recc'd this to me LOVES it. :-)
Thanks - I've put it on my wish list, but at $13 it's priced a bit high for me. I seems very witty and clever which probably means I will struggle.:)
Just finished The Ark of Adams by Jack Kane. Unless someone has a gun to your head, please do not read this book.An interesting story is ruined by an author who clearly has no grasp of writing. It was hard not to cry at times witnessing this senseless murder of the English language.
Wow, lol. That's pretty bad. I read an ARC romance that was not so loosely based on Star Wars. And not in a good way.
I produced a review for this novel on my website if anyone is interested. It goes into a bit more detail and gives some examples.I tried to spend some time at the start talking about what I liked so it didn't seem like an open attack on the author.
Papyrus Review
Oh yeah - I started an independent author review site recently. :)
Thanks for the feedback Loosheesh.I would like to say that my style is classic and elegant. However we all know that these are just euphemisms for boring. :)
I just finished reading your review. Wow. You have the patience of a saint! I couldn't have finished the book at all. :-)I think you should also post your review on GR, it will help promote your new site.
I really like the site, btw! I love how clear you are and I also like the explanations of ratings and the schedule. Be careful! You might end up flooded. :)
I have a request for one comedy and one Christian fiction novel so far, so the flood is a trickle for the time being.Christian fiction is a challenge. I'm not against reading it per se as long as the writing/story is good, but I am an atheist through and through and depending on how much of a sermon the book is, it's not going to resonate with me at all; quite the opposite.
For The Ark of Adams, I think I was determined more than patient. I read GraceKrispy's review and she only got about 70 pages in before she gave up and wrote a review quite similar to mine. Obviously me reading more pages didn't change the outcome. :)
I'm glad people like the site. I've been advised to put advertising on the site to make additional money from it. But I've seen sites like that - they're so messy looking.
I'm not saying 100% no to advertising, but first and foremost I need to make the place a good resource for readers so that the reviews have more value. Based on various discussions in forums, my feeling is that serious readers don't like advertisements getting in their way.
I think I'm finding in my life that everyone around me thinks that every possibility should be mined at the earliest opportunity. I don't know if it's that I'm getting older, but I prefer to remain focused on my core objectives and not get too distracted with possibilities. I'm not trying to be an internet tycoon, I'm trying to achieve something specific and I think I'll fail if I broaden my objectives too quickly.
As a parallel, I started going to gym again recently with a friend and I had some specific goals relating to weight loss and preventing back problems. I've got my eyes on that prize while my friend feels obliged to offer advice.
"Why don't you try and do this as well?" etc...
It's all well-meaning of course, but although I may be able to achieve other things as well, I want to make absolutely sure I achieve what I set out to achieve first. I can always add later.
Anyway - this is just another stream of consciousness from me. I used to call myself King Waffle. :)
I totally understand what you mean. :-)
Finally hit the 40 book mark. Well behind, but still enjoying my reading.
Two more books in fairly quick succession. Both The Second Coming and The Scavenger's Daughter were great reads.
OK - 2 more to add to the list.The Kinshield Legacy and The Black God's War.
I can highly recommend The Kinshield Legacy. I also liked The Black God's War, but I didn't think it was conceptualised or written quite as well.
OK - 2 more to add to the list.The Kinshield Legacy and The Black God's War.
I can highly recommend The Kinshield Legacy. I also liked The Black God's War, but I didn't think it was conceptualised or written quite as well.
The Kinshield Legacy review is here
Just finished The Survival of Marvin Baines last night. It was a cute little read about a man tackling a mid-life crisis - very badly.I would call it dark humour.
Finished The Island of Doctor Moreau. This was a pretty good book actually.
Just finished Scavengers by Cynthia Echterling. A would-be great post-apocalyptic story brought down by lack of proof-reading.My review is here
About a third of the way through compiling a list of errors for the book I just read to send to the author. Why can't I be more of an asshole?
Yay! 50 books for the year!Only 50 more to go before Dec 31st. :)
Solis was great by the way. Love Attanasio. Sophisticated and interesting. Always a pleasure.
Caleb wrote: "About a third of the way through compiling a list of errors for the book I just read to send to the author. Why can't I be more of an asshole?"there, there...it's just not in you to rip a stranger a new one...even if they deserve it. ;-)
OK - I know some of you love strong female characters. If you don't want to go all out romance or paranormal romance (or even pure smut), I would like to suggest Lindsay Buroker as an alternative.Just read The Emperor's Edge, a steampunk fantasy novel. Buroker seems to write great female characters. Although there's not any romance as such, there's some blushing here and there.
Yep. If all is well I should have a review by the end of the weekend.
That's it - last book read for the year. Only 59 and I was really hoping to get to 60. But that's OK - there's always next year.Now I need to finish my final review for the year as well. Have to finish it today - the pressure's on.
I have already published my final indie review for the year. It is a review on book 58 & 59 which was given to me as an omnibus edition.See my review here: The Whole Truth
Loosheesh wrote: "Caleb wrote: "That's it - last book read for the year. Only 59 and I was really hoping to get to 60. But that's OK - there's always next year."That's the spirit!
Congrats on the number of books..."
Thanks - it probably is more than last year. However, I didn't really keep count very well last year so it's hard to tell the difference.
It's always easier to read more when you aren't really reviewing. Plus the fact you have a blog attached - great stuff there!
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It's a good book although some aspects of it were a bit young for me I think. Anyway - as usual, I reviewed it on my Goodreads account. 3 stars.
Now back to The Blade Itself.