Currently reading
Just a Geek: Unflinchingly Honest Tales of the Search for Life, Love, and Fulfillment Beyond the Starship Enterprise
Side Jobs
A charming Christmas tale of a first contact which does not go at all as might be expected. Connie Willis weaves aliens, choirs and disapproving relatives seamlessly into her novella, and I loved it.
I found these stories disappointing. I bought the collection primarily for The Lottery, but this fell flat for me. If I hadn't already known what the story was about from having seen a TV adaptation, and having heard and read much about it over the years, I'm sure the slow reveal would probably have worked much better, but as it was it just read like a bunch of people talking. I didn't get any feeling of atmosphere or emotion from it all, not even from the lottery 'winner'. The other stories (I read about half of them) struck me much the same. Occasionally they were a little creepy, but mostly they just felt flat and lacking in emotion. I know it's difficult to build character in a short story, but I've read plenty of others that did it better.All that said, I generally prefer novels to short stories, so I may still attempt The Haunting of Hill House one day.
I found these stories disappointing. I bought the collection primarily for The Lottery, but this fell flat for me. If I hadn't already known what the story was about from having seen a TV adaptation, and having heard and read much about it over the years, I'm sure the slow reveal would probably have worked much better, but as it was it just read like a bunch of people talking. I didn't get any feeling of atmosphere or emotion from it all, not even from the lottery 'winner'. The other stories (I read about half of them) struck me much the same. Occasionally they were a little creepy, but mostly they just felt flat and lacking in emotion. I know it's difficult to build character in a short story, but I've read plenty of others that did it better.All that said, I generally prefer novels to short stories, so I may still attempt The Haunting of Hill House one day.
Book 5 of A Song of Ice and Fire, in which everyone's fortunes seem to go from bad to worse. I loved it. :) Can't wait for the next one!
Book 5 of A Song of Ice and Fire, in which everyone's fortunes seem to go from bad to worse. I loved it. :) Can't wait for the next one!
This is the first book in one of the best epic fantasy series around, A Song of Ice and Fire. It has also recently been adapted into the first season of an equally epic TV series, Game of Thrones, which I highly recommend watching if you haven't already. And if you're coming to the book series as a fan of the TV show, then the books will give you plenty of additional details and background to feast on.The characters and places that George R R Martin introduces us to in this book are richly and lovingly rendered in believable detail. The world of the books is a dark and often brutal one; good things do not necessarily come to good people simply because they are good, and the game of thrones of the title is a bloody one where every action has its consequences. The characters are rarely black and white, good and evil; what they are is people, with all the flaws and failings that real people have. They are also fascinating, interesting people, and you care about what happens to them. If you like your fantasy dark, gritty, political, epic and on occasions downright grim - and, obviously, I do - then I cannot recommend these books highly enough.
I'd give this 3 and a half stars if I could - it isn't quite a four star read for me, but 3 stars doesn't do it justice. Like some other reviewers, I found it slow going early on, and had to push myself to persevere, but I was very glad I did. Vernor Vinge can write alien intelligences and different cultures with an authenticity and a strangeness that few others achieve, and he does so wonderfully here, weaving the stories of the Qeng Ho, the Emergents and the Spiderkind together into a neat web of intrigue and action. It wasn't, for me, quite as brilliant as 'A Fire Upon the Deep', which he wrote first but which takes place after this book - but it's still a very worthwhile read, and adds insight to Pham's character which I hope will enrich a subsequent re-reading of 'A Fire Upon the Deep'.
I'd give this 3 and a half stars if I could - it isn't quite a four star read for me, but 3 stars doesn't do it justice. Like some other reviewers, I found it slow going early on, and had to push myself to persevere, but I was very glad I did. Vernor Vinge can write alien intelligences and different cultures with an authenticity and a strangeness that few others achieve, and he does so wonderfully here, weaving the stories of the Qeng Ho, the Emergents and the Spiderkind together into a neat web of intrigue and action. It wasn't, for me, quite as brilliant as 'A Fire Upon the Deep', which he wrote first but which takes place after this book - but it's still a very worthwhile read, and adds insight to Pham's character which I hope will enrich a subsequent re-reading of 'A Fire Upon the Deep'.
A grand sci-fi adventure in the spirit of the 'golden age' of sci fi to which it pays homage. I especially encourage any fans of E.E. 'Doc' Smith to give it a try. A very fun read with plenty of thrills and spills. I'm a big fan of Ryk Spoor's novels, and this latest was no exception.
In the interests of full disclosure: I bought this book primarily for one story, that being 'The Wild Fields' by Susan Nance Carhart, who I know slightly through a shared hobby. So far I have only read that one story, which is a wonderfully rich, evocative tale based around the myths and legends of Kievan Russian. It is well written, and pleasantly reminiscent of fairy tales I read as a child. Highly recommended.
Shepherd Book's backstory, finally told through this graphic novel. For fans of 'Firefly', that's really all you need to know.It's a must read for Firefly fans, but it also left me feeling oddly unsatisfied. Perhaps that's simply because I'd have loved so much to have this story unfold through the TV series, as it should have been. Also, Book's story turned out to be not what I had expected, and I think I was a little disappointed by that.All that said, however, it's a very good backstory, and it seemed to me to fit in just fine with what we know of Book from the TV series and film. If you want to learn the answers to the mystery of who Book was before he was a Shepherd, and you're not diametrically opposed to reading 'comics', then you should read this.
This is Phil and Kaja Foglio's novelisation of their ongoing Girl Genius webcomic (or rather, the first three volumes of it). The webcomic promises 'Adventure, Romance, Mad Science!' - and that's exactly what you get in this book. It's a lighthearted, fun romp through a world shaped by mad geniuses (those with 'the Spark') and their crazy inventions.If you already read and love the webcomic, the book won't offer any surprises in terms of plot, but what it does is flesh out the characters and offer more details, along with some backstory. I heartily recommend it.If you don't already read the webcomic, but you're into steampunk (or as Kaja Foglio prefers to call it, gaslamp fantasy), then I recommend both webcomic and book. Both tell the same story, so pick your preferred medium. Or do as I did, and read both!
As with Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne, this is a great companion to the game Dragon Age: Origins. If you enjoyed the game and the previous book, this is a must read. It sheds light on many things from the game, not least of which is the backstory of Duncan. It's also a cracking good adventure in its own right, and contains one of the best battle scenes I think I've ever read.
This book is a great extension to the game Dragon Age: Origins. If you loved the characters, stories, world and writing of that game, then this book is a must. One of two prequels written by the lead writer of the game, David Gaider, it delves into the backstory of Maric, King Cailan's father, and Loghain.As well as being an entertaining adventure in its own right, it provides fascinating insights into some of the characters, events and places that were encountered or heard about in the game itself.