I fancied something different and as many of you who know me are aware, I am a fan of Star Trek. Reading a novel about the Klingon's was a good choice.
I loved the novel, it was fun in every way. I'll start with the technicalities. There were no spelling errors, the pacing of the individual stories was perfect, it kept me gripped and interested throughout and I even enjoyed reading the Klingon language that peppered the book.
The story follows the crew of the ship Gorkon while they are on leave as the ship is repaired. Once I got used to the individuals names - there are a lot of names starting with K - I found the stories captivating. The characters are all different and the way they interact is beautifully written. All the stories are different and interwoven expertly with each other, keeping the reader wanting to know more... there were a few late nights reading with this book that's for sure.
The novel brought in some old familiar faces, Worf for instance, but I don't think the book needed to refer to a familiar character. The story with him in was good, don't get me wrong, but his presence wasn't needed.
All in all this was a good read and I'd recommend it to those who are familiar with the Star Trek universe. I was a welcome break from some of the other things I have been reading recently that's for sure.
Thursday 27 September 2012
Tuesday 18 September 2012
Wizard Rising - Toby Neighbours
I'm afraid to say that this book was average at best. There are a number of reasons for this and I shall go into those in just a moment. I'm going to start by saying something positive though. I like to find something positive in everything I read, sometimes this is easy, sometimes this is most difficult. Here goes...
I enjoyed the main character in the story most of the time I was reading about him. He was a well rounded individual with enough flaws and insecurities to be mildly interesting. He learns through the novel and there was some growth in there as well. I particularly liked the developing relationship between the hero and his father. It worked well for me. The world building was also decent. Neighbours had put some thought into it and it showed while I was reading. Well done!
Now down to the niggles and there are a few of them. I found more than a handful of spelling mistakes in the book that would make even my top year 5's cringe. To find them in a book I have purchased is a bit of an insult if I'm honest. There were multiple instances of words being duplicated, put in the wrong place or omitted, which made it hard to read in places. Continuity was a bit of an issue as well when the heroines hair changed colour half way through the novel, it started off black but became blond at the end of the novel. Another issue, the one that got to me the most was the phrase 'off of' as in 'get off of him'. It is sloppy and could be replaced with something much easier to read, for example, 'He couldn't take his mind from her.' What this book really needs is another final edit to pick up on these little mistakes. It would make the books grammar a lot tighter and it would be a better read.
Let's move on to another issue I have with the book; the plot. It all seemed a bit generic and dull, I've read a lot of independent novels now and a lot of them have very similar plots to other fantasy stories. I know you can only do so much but there are infinite possibilities and ways to put your own spin on a tale. This book falls a bit short of the mark, making it just another fantasy story.
The secondary characters were okay in places, dull in others. The antagonists seemed like generic conniving wizards without any real reason for their power hunger. It also seemed a bit silly describing a huge power struggle between them - taking sides and making alliances, when there are only four of them. It didn't seem to work that well.
Wizard Rising was not the worst book I have ever read, it's not even in the top ten, but it isn't the best either. Maybe after another re-write it will be but that's between the author and his words.
I enjoyed the main character in the story most of the time I was reading about him. He was a well rounded individual with enough flaws and insecurities to be mildly interesting. He learns through the novel and there was some growth in there as well. I particularly liked the developing relationship between the hero and his father. It worked well for me. The world building was also decent. Neighbours had put some thought into it and it showed while I was reading. Well done!
Now down to the niggles and there are a few of them. I found more than a handful of spelling mistakes in the book that would make even my top year 5's cringe. To find them in a book I have purchased is a bit of an insult if I'm honest. There were multiple instances of words being duplicated, put in the wrong place or omitted, which made it hard to read in places. Continuity was a bit of an issue as well when the heroines hair changed colour half way through the novel, it started off black but became blond at the end of the novel. Another issue, the one that got to me the most was the phrase 'off of' as in 'get off of him'. It is sloppy and could be replaced with something much easier to read, for example, 'He couldn't take his mind from her.' What this book really needs is another final edit to pick up on these little mistakes. It would make the books grammar a lot tighter and it would be a better read.
Let's move on to another issue I have with the book; the plot. It all seemed a bit generic and dull, I've read a lot of independent novels now and a lot of them have very similar plots to other fantasy stories. I know you can only do so much but there are infinite possibilities and ways to put your own spin on a tale. This book falls a bit short of the mark, making it just another fantasy story.
The secondary characters were okay in places, dull in others. The antagonists seemed like generic conniving wizards without any real reason for their power hunger. It also seemed a bit silly describing a huge power struggle between them - taking sides and making alliances, when there are only four of them. It didn't seem to work that well.
Wizard Rising was not the worst book I have ever read, it's not even in the top ten, but it isn't the best either. Maybe after another re-write it will be but that's between the author and his words.
Friday 7 September 2012
The First time: True Stories of Virginity Lost and Found - Kate Munro
This book was offered to me via email from Amazon, I get them monthly and usually ignore them as they deserve but this one caught my eye. It's true stories of people's first sexual experiences. Maybe I was attracted to it because I'm nosy, a trait inherited from my mother! Nevertheless, my interest was piqued so I gave it a go.
Munro has collected stories from all walks of life, the stories are captivating. It is a subject everyone has an opinion on and Munro doesn't skimp on expressing those of the people she interviews. It was interesting to see the aspects of social history involved and how attitudes towards sex have changed over the last one hundred years. I enjoyed learning of people's different experiences of thier first time and reading of their different attitudes towards the event. A lot of emphasis was placed on the spiritual journey too and how one single event can shape the whole of an individual's life. I both agreed and disagreed with this but to be able to have such thoughts provoked by a text was a wonderful reading experience.
It was lovely to read the opinions of those much older than myself. To hear the stories of men and women in thier 70's, 80's and even 90's was a delight. Thier attitudes at the time were so different to my own it seemed so alien. The stories come from the spectrum of the world, from Muslim to Christian, men and women are both included, the experiences good and bad. Munro expresses that she has many stories that are not included in the book and I'd like to be able to read some more tales.
Although this book was written like an essay, I found it easy to read, unlike some of the books I read at university. The language flowed and I read this book in a matter of days. This is a quick review and I hope I can do the book justice. It made a great change to read a non fiction book and what started out as a nosy curiosity turned into a genuine good read. Give it a go, it really is a thought provoking book.
Munro has collected stories from all walks of life, the stories are captivating. It is a subject everyone has an opinion on and Munro doesn't skimp on expressing those of the people she interviews. It was interesting to see the aspects of social history involved and how attitudes towards sex have changed over the last one hundred years. I enjoyed learning of people's different experiences of thier first time and reading of their different attitudes towards the event. A lot of emphasis was placed on the spiritual journey too and how one single event can shape the whole of an individual's life. I both agreed and disagreed with this but to be able to have such thoughts provoked by a text was a wonderful reading experience.
It was lovely to read the opinions of those much older than myself. To hear the stories of men and women in thier 70's, 80's and even 90's was a delight. Thier attitudes at the time were so different to my own it seemed so alien. The stories come from the spectrum of the world, from Muslim to Christian, men and women are both included, the experiences good and bad. Munro expresses that she has many stories that are not included in the book and I'd like to be able to read some more tales.
Although this book was written like an essay, I found it easy to read, unlike some of the books I read at university. The language flowed and I read this book in a matter of days. This is a quick review and I hope I can do the book justice. It made a great change to read a non fiction book and what started out as a nosy curiosity turned into a genuine good read. Give it a go, it really is a thought provoking book.
Wednesday 5 September 2012
Eye of the Wizard (Misfit Heroes, Book 1) - Daniel Arenson
This book was a blessing of a find. I wanted to read some fantasy, as I often do, but fancied something a bit different and this book offered me just that. It follows the story of five characters and how their apparent flaws get them exiled from their homes. They end up banding together and having to save the world from a skeletal warlock whose lust for revenge seems to dominate his entire being.
I admit to being a bit unsure during the first chapter or so as I didn't know quite how to take the novel. Once I realised it was a comedy and written to be so, I started enjoying it. I enjoyed it so much I managed to finish it in a matter of days! Although I wasn't quite laughing out loud, there were a few snickers along the way. Arenson writes in a few cliches through the novel which normally would be a massive ranting point - as I have done in the past - but he uses them to his advantage. He pokes fun at the accepted norms of fantasy and does so very well. The antagonist of the novel is a walking cliche but that's what he is meant to be and as a result, is all the more amusing.
The language was a delight to read, simple and to the point, there are no long winded descriptions in the novel, a lot of this is left to the reader - just how I like it, I think even the ten year old kids in my class at work would enjoy this novel, its so easy to read! Not too many adverbs and the right balance between action and chatter.
There are five protagonists in the book and each one has different flaws. These flaws do cause the characters no end of problems, especially the warlock who gains a temporary deformity every time he casts a spell, like rabbit ears or a giraffe neck, yet somehow they manage to overcome their difficulties and still achieve their goals. The characters seemed balanced and well formed to me, I cared about what happened to them and even the odd repetition of phrases didn't bother me.
I only have two niggly points to make about the novel; the chapters seemed episodic to me, like the novel was written as a bunch of short stories and then formed into a novel later, they are consistent but I like a bit of a cliff hanger at the end of a chapter, not for everything to be well rounded - maybe a personal preference and don't let it put you off reading. The other is an even more minor point, one of the characters makes a curse on the Queen of England. It bothered me because it's set in a fantasy world, which means England probably doesn't exist, let alone have a queen, it grated me a little but not enough to put me off the novel.
I have heard there is a sequel to the novel so will be off to give that a read in a little while, this book is well worth it, it will have you laughing on the inside, if not the out!
I admit to being a bit unsure during the first chapter or so as I didn't know quite how to take the novel. Once I realised it was a comedy and written to be so, I started enjoying it. I enjoyed it so much I managed to finish it in a matter of days! Although I wasn't quite laughing out loud, there were a few snickers along the way. Arenson writes in a few cliches through the novel which normally would be a massive ranting point - as I have done in the past - but he uses them to his advantage. He pokes fun at the accepted norms of fantasy and does so very well. The antagonist of the novel is a walking cliche but that's what he is meant to be and as a result, is all the more amusing.
The language was a delight to read, simple and to the point, there are no long winded descriptions in the novel, a lot of this is left to the reader - just how I like it, I think even the ten year old kids in my class at work would enjoy this novel, its so easy to read! Not too many adverbs and the right balance between action and chatter.
There are five protagonists in the book and each one has different flaws. These flaws do cause the characters no end of problems, especially the warlock who gains a temporary deformity every time he casts a spell, like rabbit ears or a giraffe neck, yet somehow they manage to overcome their difficulties and still achieve their goals. The characters seemed balanced and well formed to me, I cared about what happened to them and even the odd repetition of phrases didn't bother me.
I only have two niggly points to make about the novel; the chapters seemed episodic to me, like the novel was written as a bunch of short stories and then formed into a novel later, they are consistent but I like a bit of a cliff hanger at the end of a chapter, not for everything to be well rounded - maybe a personal preference and don't let it put you off reading. The other is an even more minor point, one of the characters makes a curse on the Queen of England. It bothered me because it's set in a fantasy world, which means England probably doesn't exist, let alone have a queen, it grated me a little but not enough to put me off the novel.
I have heard there is a sequel to the novel so will be off to give that a read in a little while, this book is well worth it, it will have you laughing on the inside, if not the out!
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