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xkrow's reviews
71 reviews
Starter Villain by John Scalzi
2.0
Too, too much set-up. Sure, there's many "inciting incidents" but it doesn't feel like the book gets going until the 60% mark and then it rushes into a speedy end. Someone else mentioned this too, but yeah, Charlie's character definitely goes from a "fish out of water" protagonist needed for the set-up to the "active protagonist" needed for the ending with absolutely no justified transition in the middle.
Some funny bits, some not funny bits. More funny than not but not laugh out loud except for the "zoom" bit.
I actually found the whole concept sort of underwhelming. Most of the stuff the book spends time explaining are kinda just okay on the "cool" scale. Sure, it's trying to be realistic, but with hyper-intelegent cats and dolphins, you can do a lot more.
Not terrible though. Don't regret reading it on the overall. Thanks again for the copy Isaac
Some funny bits, some not funny bits. More funny than not but not laugh out loud except for the "zoom" bit.
I actually found the whole concept sort of underwhelming. Most of the stuff the book spends time explaining are kinda just okay on the "cool" scale. Sure, it's trying to be realistic, but with hyper-intelegent cats and dolphins, you can do a lot more.
Not terrible though. Don't regret reading it on the overall. Thanks again for the copy Isaac
Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
Definitely a downturn from the first book, largely due to the seemingly meandering middle. It was saved somewhat by the fact that I love Locke and Jean and the events were interesting. I think most of my problems could've been solved by transferring the first 200 or so pages of the book, when they're trying to complete their pull but get caught up and trained as their own "reminiscence" interludes. If this were the case, the pirate/land stuff would intermingle, leading to more questions and breaks. Also, frankly, it would give, even if artificially so, more time for a certain romance to blossom. Yeah. So, I don't have a problem with the material in and of itself, just in the way it takes up nearly 2/3 of the book when it certainly did not need to. But also: I'm not published author, so what do I know.
I suppose the above suggestion stems from me missing some of the more clever structuring and scene breaks that Lynch used in book 1. Here, I only really felt surprised by them in the last chapter. I will always love the way he opened some of the chapters in book 1 by throwing you into the moment and slowly catching you up to speed (chpt. 1 and 3 stand out particularly).
That last chapter is definitely a 10/10 though. Its what I was expecting a lot more of the book to be and I ROARED with laugher reading that last bit.
Also, I suppose it can sometimes be chalked up to Locke's more depressed demeanor, but I kind of missed him being clever during this book. There weren't a lot of times (outside of the first and last chapters) where I truly felt the highs of even the "suit heist" that he pulled of at the bank in Book 1.
Interested to see where it goes next, and hopefully Lynch can publish more soon!
I suppose the above suggestion stems from me missing some of the more clever structuring and scene breaks that Lynch used in book 1. Here, I only really felt surprised by them in the last chapter. I will always love the way he opened some of the chapters in book 1 by throwing you into the moment and slowly catching you up to speed (chpt. 1 and 3 stand out particularly).
That last chapter is definitely a 10/10 though. Its what I was expecting a lot more of the book to be and I ROARED with laugher reading that last bit.
Also, I suppose it can sometimes be chalked up to Locke's more depressed demeanor, but I kind of missed him being clever during this book. There weren't a lot of times (outside of the first and last chapters) where I truly felt the highs of even the "suit heist" that he pulled of at the bank in Book 1.
Interested to see where it goes next, and hopefully Lynch can publish more soon!
Hustling Verse: An Anthology of Sex Workers' Poetry by Justin Ducharme, Amber Dawn
2.0
Read for class.
A few had me interested/left me thinking. Mostly filtered through like white noise. Not a broad range of ideas, despite the number of poems.
Also, I'm not personally the biggest fan of poetry, so there's that too.
A few had me interested/left me thinking. Mostly filtered through like white noise. Not a broad range of ideas, despite the number of poems.
Also, I'm not personally the biggest fan of poetry, so there's that too.
The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
(May contain some spoilers)
Wow, that's a lot of action.
Gwynn is definitely good at writing it, but personally, it become a little TOO much when almost every other chapter's mid-point or climax was about a fight. It was harder for me to care when all of our main characters would keep coming out of fights practically unscathed, especially near the end.
I was also strangely annoyed by the excruciating level of detail the town of Snakavik was introduced with, just to be left behind after a few chapters? I felt like a false set-up to me, personally.
Another little annoyance was when near the end (keeping to vague), it was so, so blatantly obvious that a character's action was clearly a set-up for something coming up, and yup, it pays off literally in the next chapter. It felt a little too convenient and unnatural.
Getting the negatives out the way, here's some positives, cuz overall, I did like the book!
1) I think the worldbuilding it pretty neat, and Gwynn is certainly dedicated to not breaking the illusion. The material with the gods, the Gauldermanns and Seiðr-witches was neat. There is also the subtle stuff with particular word choices and terminology (bairn, thought-cage, the constant weapons and armor) that propel you into the world. Gwynn definitely knows his stuff.
2) I thought the characters were pretty cool! They can get a little one note when like a 3rd of your exposure to them is through their fights (seriously, why? I get the Vikings fought, but THIS much?) but each brings something new to the table so that was neat. Varg's slave-background contrasts well with Elvar's slave-capturing introduction, building a fundamental tension there, and then Orka is just pretty cool. She's also pretty funny ("I'm beginning to think that's always your first plan." Orka shrugged. "It is a plan I like").
3) On the overall, its a lot more set-up than payoff, but I'm interested in seeing where this goes, especially with the ending that changes the status-quo and reveals new info about our characters.
4) Despite my complaints about the fights, I also don't think there's a part of the book that's I'd describe as "bad" or genuinely "boring". It's pretty evenly spread out, but I definitely liked the more focused second halves of all of their arcs.
5) Clarity is also something I value in an author, and Gwynn's prose does pretty good in that department, never leaving you confused or wondering as to wtf is going on (unless, of course, that's the intention).
Wow, that's a lot of action.
Gwynn is definitely good at writing it, but personally, it become a little TOO much when almost every other chapter's mid-point or climax was about a fight. It was harder for me to care when all of our main characters would keep coming out of fights practically unscathed, especially near the end.
I was also strangely annoyed by the excruciating level of detail the town of Snakavik was introduced with, just to be left behind after a few chapters? I felt like a false set-up to me, personally.
Another little annoyance was when near the end (keeping to vague), it was so, so blatantly obvious that a character's action was clearly a set-up for something coming up, and yup, it pays off literally in the next chapter. It felt a little too convenient and unnatural.
Getting the negatives out the way, here's some positives, cuz overall, I did like the book!
1) I think the worldbuilding it pretty neat, and Gwynn is certainly dedicated to not breaking the illusion. The material with the gods, the Gauldermanns and Seiðr-witches was neat. There is also the subtle stuff with particular word choices and terminology (bairn, thought-cage, the constant weapons and armor) that propel you into the world. Gwynn definitely knows his stuff.
2) I thought the characters were pretty cool! They can get a little one note when like a 3rd of your exposure to them is through their fights (seriously, why? I get the Vikings fought, but THIS much?) but each brings something new to the table so that was neat. Varg's slave-background contrasts well with Elvar's slave-capturing introduction, building a fundamental tension there, and then Orka is just pretty cool. She's also pretty funny ("I'm beginning to think that's always your first plan." Orka shrugged. "It is a plan I like").
3) On the overall, its a lot more set-up than payoff, but I'm interested in seeing where this goes, especially with the ending that changes the status-quo and reveals new info about our characters.
4) Despite my complaints about the fights, I also don't think there's a part of the book that's I'd describe as "bad" or genuinely "boring". It's pretty evenly spread out, but I definitely liked the more focused second halves of all of their arcs.
5) Clarity is also something I value in an author, and Gwynn's prose does pretty good in that department, never leaving you confused or wondering as to wtf is going on (unless, of course, that's the intention).
Neuromancer by William Gibson
3.0
Won't score this, at least yet.
Gibson is clearly a talented author: this is clear from the first line of the book. His enigmatic descriptions and strange ideas never come off as obvious symptom of a weak writer. Instead, reading, you feel the blame placed on yourself, for your own inability to picture and understand the world he has crafted. A world so outstanding and brimmed with ideas that the genre, even today, is unable to leave its shadow. Not because they're trying to replicate it, but because they cannot imagine a genre without it. Neuromancer doesn't feel original or outstanding to someone coming off modern stories in the genre precisely because the ideas it generated have been reused without recycling; the same fight with artifical constructs, the "gangster" mentalities, the corporations. The "punk" has become the norm, seeping any true rebellion from the story telling.
But anyways, that's just what I thought after reading and listening to other people's opinions. Now I gotta go find some place that can actually explain wtf happened in the story
Gibson is clearly a talented author: this is clear from the first line of the book. His enigmatic descriptions and strange ideas never come off as obvious symptom of a weak writer. Instead, reading, you feel the blame placed on yourself, for your own inability to picture and understand the world he has crafted. A world so outstanding and brimmed with ideas that the genre, even today, is unable to leave its shadow. Not because they're trying to replicate it, but because they cannot imagine a genre without it. Neuromancer doesn't feel original or outstanding to someone coming off modern stories in the genre precisely because the ideas it generated have been reused without recycling; the same fight with artifical constructs, the "gangster" mentalities, the corporations. The "punk" has become the norm, seeping any true rebellion from the story telling.
But anyways, that's just what I thought after reading and listening to other people's opinions. Now I gotta go find some place that can actually explain wtf happened in the story
Dark Age by Pierce Brown
THERE IS NOTHING IN THIS BOOK I DISLIKE, my current mood has simply shifted to the point where I don't feel excited to keep picking this back up. I will circle back for last book release, or whenever the mood strikes me again *disgruntled Gurney Halleck sounds*
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
A wonderful melody of characters that intertwine in expected and unexpected ways and that the story takes care to place across time in a superbly engaging manner. I'm a fan!
The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham
3.0
Lots of set-up, but the second half gets into some interesting elements that I'm intrigued in how they play out.
Geder is a spindly piece of shit, but defo my favorite.
Was not a fan of Dawson's PoV, some not interesting stuff.
Marcus and Cithrin are good.
Geder is a spindly piece of shit, but defo my favorite.
Was not a fan of Dawson's PoV, some not interesting stuff.
Marcus and Cithrin are good.
Iron Gold by Pierce Brown
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
3.5/5
Wow, the iron really is gold!
Brown has continued and evolved his series into something of a different beast than the earlier trilogy, and its quite nice to see! The biggest shift is of course having more than one PoV in the form of Ephraim, Lyria, and Lysander. They each bring something unique and interesting to the book and its interesting to watch this world through completely different sets of eyes. It can be easy to get caught up in (or bounce off of) Darrow's own idea of himself, but watching the legend through the eyes of 3 different characters was interesting, and adds to the doubt that is sown in his legend throughout this book.
The first 3/4 of the book has a lot of stuff happen, of course, but its surprisingly calm and slow coming off the heels of the trilogy. It really felt like Brown was taking his time in setting up this new era of his world (successfully so imo) before really letting himself loose and showing his fangs in the last little climax. Very excited for Dark Age!
Weird nitpick, but I thought having the democratic side of the Senate be named "Vox Populi" (more than being on the nose lol) was a little awkward to read. Later one, he refers to it just as "Vox" and it feels much smoother. Doesn't hurt the book, but again, that's what nitpicks are for.
Wow, the iron really is gold!
Brown has continued and evolved his series into something of a different beast than the earlier trilogy, and its quite nice to see! The biggest shift is of course having more than one PoV in the form of Ephraim, Lyria, and Lysander. They each bring something unique and interesting to the book and its interesting to watch this world through completely different sets of eyes. It can be easy to get caught up in (or bounce off of) Darrow's own idea of himself, but watching the legend through the eyes of 3 different characters was interesting, and adds to the doubt that is sown in his legend throughout this book.
The first 3/4 of the book has a lot of stuff happen, of course, but its surprisingly calm and slow coming off the heels of the trilogy. It really felt like Brown was taking his time in setting up this new era of his world (successfully so imo) before really letting himself loose and showing his fangs in the last little climax. Very excited for Dark Age!
Weird nitpick, but I thought having the democratic side of the Senate be named "Vox Populi" (more than being on the nose lol) was a little awkward to read. Later one, he refers to it just as "Vox" and it feels much smoother. Doesn't hurt the book, but again, that's what nitpicks are for.