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!
Wednesday, 29 August 2012
Complete Works - H P Lovecraft
I needed to read something different. I've read a couple of really good books lately and to read another novel in the same genre would be unfair. I've wanted to read some Lovecraft to see what all the fuss was about and now seemed like a good time to do so.
I must indicate before I review the short stories that they cannot really be judged by modern standards, written between the late 1910's to 20's the language is vastly different to what we read now. Writing conventions were different and subject handling has also altered. to apply my modern standards onto a book written nearly one hundred years ago would be unfair.
At first, I struggled with the language of the short stories, some of which is rather archaic. The sentence length is typical of the writing period: long, which makes them difficult to fathom at times. It took a while to readjust to reading them but once I managed it, the language was indeed beautiful and a pleasure to read. It just took a bit more effort than normal.
The subject matter of the short stories seems to focus on several themes: dreams and the paranormal. The ends of the stories are left ambiguous and the reader has to make up their own mind as to what has happened. The narratives are generally first person accounts of events that have happened to the narrator; who ha a desire to pass on their account of what has happened. It made a refreshing change from the norm and I thoroughly enjoyed them.
I have some of the stories left to read but there themes will be similar to those I've already read and I know I will enjoy them. I hope you'll give these stories as go, once you get your head around the archaisms, its well worth it.
I must indicate before I review the short stories that they cannot really be judged by modern standards, written between the late 1910's to 20's the language is vastly different to what we read now. Writing conventions were different and subject handling has also altered. to apply my modern standards onto a book written nearly one hundred years ago would be unfair.
At first, I struggled with the language of the short stories, some of which is rather archaic. The sentence length is typical of the writing period: long, which makes them difficult to fathom at times. It took a while to readjust to reading them but once I managed it, the language was indeed beautiful and a pleasure to read. It just took a bit more effort than normal.
The subject matter of the short stories seems to focus on several themes: dreams and the paranormal. The ends of the stories are left ambiguous and the reader has to make up their own mind as to what has happened. The narratives are generally first person accounts of events that have happened to the narrator; who ha a desire to pass on their account of what has happened. It made a refreshing change from the norm and I thoroughly enjoyed them.
I have some of the stories left to read but there themes will be similar to those I've already read and I know I will enjoy them. I hope you'll give these stories as go, once you get your head around the archaisms, its well worth it.
Sunday, 19 August 2012
Prince of Thorns - Mark Lawrence
I've had a few misses lately with my choice of books, so when my kindle recommended this one I was a bit dubious. What a surprise this book turned out to be, from the first page the dark tone was set and carried throughout the rest of the novel.
The world building in the novel is subtle and puts me in mind of Paul Hoffman's The Left Hand of God, without being so obvious, Lawrence doesn't name any places after pies for instance but draws heavily on the religion of 'Roma' and the dead languages of this world. At least those are the two things that stuck out the most to me. He did it in a tasteful way and it doesn't detract the reader from the story, which is brilliant.
Technically, this book is a real change from my usual reads as well, it is written from a first person point of view. Everything you read about it seen through the eyes of the 'protagonist' and I use that word loosely in this case. There are no long winded descriptions as most things he comes across he has seen before, a brief sentence here and there is all that's needed and it works well. The reader is left to fill in the blanks, making this book a work of your imagination as well as the author's. I don't like to be spoon-fed details so this was a real treat to read.
The characters in the novel are dark, the whole outlook of the book is bleak, and the people populating it are no exception. It was hard to find a sympathetic ground with them to start with but as the story progresses and you learn the reasons why, it becomes easier. I was not altogether at ease with the 'means to an end' justification for the protagonist's actions but you can't love them all right?
All in all, this book was a superb read, I chewed through it in a few hours and I'd recommend you go and do the same. The language is easy to follow and the story well worth the attention!
The world building in the novel is subtle and puts me in mind of Paul Hoffman's The Left Hand of God, without being so obvious, Lawrence doesn't name any places after pies for instance but draws heavily on the religion of 'Roma' and the dead languages of this world. At least those are the two things that stuck out the most to me. He did it in a tasteful way and it doesn't detract the reader from the story, which is brilliant.
Technically, this book is a real change from my usual reads as well, it is written from a first person point of view. Everything you read about it seen through the eyes of the 'protagonist' and I use that word loosely in this case. There are no long winded descriptions as most things he comes across he has seen before, a brief sentence here and there is all that's needed and it works well. The reader is left to fill in the blanks, making this book a work of your imagination as well as the author's. I don't like to be spoon-fed details so this was a real treat to read.
The characters in the novel are dark, the whole outlook of the book is bleak, and the people populating it are no exception. It was hard to find a sympathetic ground with them to start with but as the story progresses and you learn the reasons why, it becomes easier. I was not altogether at ease with the 'means to an end' justification for the protagonist's actions but you can't love them all right?
All in all, this book was a superb read, I chewed through it in a few hours and I'd recommend you go and do the same. The language is easy to follow and the story well worth the attention!
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Thinblade - David A Wells
This book wasn't great, in fact, I don't even think it was that good. I couldn't finish it due to a number of reasons although I did try my best to do so. It has it's OK moments but those are far outweighed by the books downfalls.
I'll start with the positive; most of the characters are well rounded individuals and a lot of thought has gone into their development. The protagonist is a carbon copy of your generic hero and as a result is dull, uninteresting and predictable. The support cast is far more interesting, there's an alchemist character, Lucky, who has all kinds of different tricks that he uses to aid the group. He also has a big interest in food and often hands it out to people while conducting his affairs, this little detail is what makes him a better character than all the others in the novel put together.
The relationships between the characters is shown very well in points though the novel, I won't go into it much but to illustrate my point there's this. After the hero thinks his father has been killed, someone shouts for 'Lord Valentine', at this point, our hero starts looking around, assuming the call was for his father, not him. It was a nice touch.
Some of the writing in the novel is very good, in fact, aside from the odd cliche here and there, its well written. What annoyed me so much I had to put the book down, was the constant repetition of the plot. I'm savvy enough to know what's happening the first time, one recap is OK, every time we meet a new character is just too much, it was like having it rammed down my throat and not to mention a little patronising. It got to a point where these little reminders would happen just before a fight. It destroyed the tension the author had created in previous paragraphs and interrupted the pacing.
Then there's the description. This book has more than it's fair share of description, of everything, all the time. It got boring to read. I don't really care what the guy fighting the hero looks like, where he came from or what he had for lunch. I care about how he gets killed. It's the same for every building they come across. Yes, I admit, its well written and some of its useful, but it could use thinning out to help the flow of the novel and to keep the reader interested.
You'd think with all that description that everything would be covered in the book right? Not so, there was an episode in the novel where generic hero has to rescue generic princess from generic bad guy. He does so after gaining a huge chunk of skills for free (he reads a skillbook... seriously?) and mullering the henchmen, great. What is omitted is how the baddie escapes. You just get a short sentence saying he got away. How? With all this descriptive power, you'd think Wells would be able to come up with something better than that. Most disappointing!
All in all, I wouldn't recommend reading this book in its current state. It needs another read through and the issues with it fixing before I even consider looking at the sequel.
I'll start with the positive; most of the characters are well rounded individuals and a lot of thought has gone into their development. The protagonist is a carbon copy of your generic hero and as a result is dull, uninteresting and predictable. The support cast is far more interesting, there's an alchemist character, Lucky, who has all kinds of different tricks that he uses to aid the group. He also has a big interest in food and often hands it out to people while conducting his affairs, this little detail is what makes him a better character than all the others in the novel put together.
The relationships between the characters is shown very well in points though the novel, I won't go into it much but to illustrate my point there's this. After the hero thinks his father has been killed, someone shouts for 'Lord Valentine', at this point, our hero starts looking around, assuming the call was for his father, not him. It was a nice touch.
Some of the writing in the novel is very good, in fact, aside from the odd cliche here and there, its well written. What annoyed me so much I had to put the book down, was the constant repetition of the plot. I'm savvy enough to know what's happening the first time, one recap is OK, every time we meet a new character is just too much, it was like having it rammed down my throat and not to mention a little patronising. It got to a point where these little reminders would happen just before a fight. It destroyed the tension the author had created in previous paragraphs and interrupted the pacing.
Then there's the description. This book has more than it's fair share of description, of everything, all the time. It got boring to read. I don't really care what the guy fighting the hero looks like, where he came from or what he had for lunch. I care about how he gets killed. It's the same for every building they come across. Yes, I admit, its well written and some of its useful, but it could use thinning out to help the flow of the novel and to keep the reader interested.
You'd think with all that description that everything would be covered in the book right? Not so, there was an episode in the novel where generic hero has to rescue generic princess from generic bad guy. He does so after gaining a huge chunk of skills for free (he reads a skillbook... seriously?) and mullering the henchmen, great. What is omitted is how the baddie escapes. You just get a short sentence saying he got away. How? With all this descriptive power, you'd think Wells would be able to come up with something better than that. Most disappointing!
All in all, I wouldn't recommend reading this book in its current state. It needs another read through and the issues with it fixing before I even consider looking at the sequel.
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