Category: Books

scalpel?

Posted on by Greig

Stiletto

Daniel O’Malley

stilettoStiletto is the long-awaited follow up to The Rook. As you can see in the linked review I was a bit worried about how sequels could add anything worthwhile to the world of the Chechquy.
I’m happy to report that this is a fun book in it’s own right. It earns much of it’s appeal from the way that it dives into the history and motivations of the Grafters (Centuries old enemies of the Chechquy) as the two groups enter formal negotiations.
Unlike the first book very little of this tale is told from the perspective of Myfanwy Thomas. Instead the lead characters are a junior member of the Grafters and the agent assigned as her bodyguard.
It certainly isn’t without flaws – there’s an unnecessary subplot and one of the action set pieces is rather confusing – but it is still very enjoyable.
I’d happily recommend it to fans of the first book, though I’d read The Rook first if you haven’t come to the series yet.

Rating: B+

confusion?

Posted on by Greig

Chaos Choreography

Seanan McGuire

chaos choreographyThe latest InCryptid book finds returning to Verity Price as our narrator and lead character.
Verity is offered a final chance to chase her dance dreams with a spot on an all-star season of the reality show she was runner-up on a few years back.
Her grandmother – the apparently ageless dimension hopping bounty hunter – Alice arrives as her backup just in time to help investigate a snake cult.
As fun as any of the InCryptid books. I particularly enjoyed going back to Verity as narrator.

Rating: B+

pho?

Posted on by Greig

Me, Earl & The Dying Girl

Jesse Andrews

me, earl and the dying girlI read this after watching the film adaptation. I really enjoyed the film and I started to wonder how much of the weirdness of the characters actually came from the source material.
It turns out that it’s a pretty straightforward adaptation of a wonderfully quirky novel.
Unlike the last book I read about a teenager with cancer this is significantly less manipulative of the reader’s emotions.
I recommend both the book and the film if you like heightened reality in your contemporary YA entertainment

Rating: A-

samir?

Posted on by Greig

The Twenty-Sided Sorceress

Annie Bellet

justice callingThis is a series of short urban fantasy novels. Sorceress Jade Crow has made a life for herself the remote community of Wylde, Idaho. Friends with the large shape-shifter population and making a living selling games to college students it’s a pretty decent life.
This all starts to fall apart when a shape-shifter Justice comes into town with a vision of disaster and her at the heart of it.
They’re all brief but they run efficiently through all sorts of genre tropes but in entertaining fashion.
I acquired the first book free from the Kindle store and I picked up all the other books in short order because they were reasonably priced.
Recommended for urban fantasy fans looking for a quick, fun but utterly predictable fix.

Rating: B-

Continue reading “samir?”

sundry?

Posted on by Greig

You’re Never Weird On The Internet (almost)

Felicia Day

you're never weird on the internetFelicia Day is an American actress most famous for roles in various SF and Fantasy TV shows. She was in Buffy, Eureka and Supernatural among others.
She has a dedicated fanbase for her own shows produced for the web. Her show The Guild was a pioneer web series.
This is her autobiography. It goes into great and sometimes funny detail about her home schooled childhood and years at college. There’s very little about her work on TV and film but lots of information about The Guild and Geek & Sundry (her YouTube channel/production company). I would have liked to have read her thoughts on what it’s like to work with Genre TV alumni like Joss Whedon.
The most welcome part of the book is the section on her struggles with anxiety and depression.
I have to say this is not a book where the author uses autobiography to exorcize their demons. It’s a quick read where Ms Day often reaches for the joke rather than the truth of the moment.
I picked it up for £3. I wouldn’t recommend paying more than that for it.

Rating: B

beetroot?

Posted on by Greig

Johnny and the Bomb

Terry Pratchett

johnny-and-the-bomb-largeThe final Johnny Maxwell book finds Johnny and his friends find themselves travelling to 1941 thanks to the contents of bag lady Mrs Tachyon’s shopping trolley and caught up in events as German planes bomb their home town.
Pratchett has a lot of fun playing with time travel paradoxes and the trappings of war time provincial Britain.
I first reviewed this back in 2003 and as then I think it’s just a very good book.
Very much recommended.

Rating: A-

steve?

Posted on by Greig

The Royal We

Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan

heather-cocks-jessica-morgan-theroyalweThis is a soapy romance novel telling the story of an American exchange student who falls in love with a future British King.
Basically it’s an AU version of the courtship of the Cambridges.
This book has been really popular with one of my online communities. Honestly I didn’t really enjoy it very much. I’m guessing it plays better if you’re American and have a really romanticized version of Royalty in your head.
I have no romantic notions regarding the Royals and very limited sympathy for them.
If you like a competently written contemporary romance about royals then this might be for you.

Rating: C+

unkar?

Posted on by Greig

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Alan Dean Foster

force awakensThe novelization of the latest Star Wars tale is a very enjoyable translation of a very enjoyable film.
As with all books of this type there’s a few things that make it into the book from the script that didn’t end up in the finished film. They’re pretty minor in this case for the most part but still worth checking out if you’re hungering for more after seeing the film
Recommended for fans of the film.

Rating: B+

alderman?

Posted on by Greig

Johnny and the Dead

Terry Pratchett

johnny and the deadThe second Johnny Maxwell book finds him living with his grandfather. His new short cut home takes him through the local cemetery.
This is a sweet tale of community activism and as least as much about how the living need the memory of their dead as about the fate those who have died.
Everything that makes Pratchett a great writer is in this book – his humanity, empathy, wit and intelligence.
I will repeat myself once again – everybody should read Pratchett.

Rating: A-

2015 Audiobooks

Posted on by Greig

This year I discovered downloadable library audiobooks and I also had an Audible membership that helped to expand my audiobook listening.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller narrated by Trevor White Rated A
An award winning satire of World War II this classic picaresque novel is superbly read by Trevor White. I’ve read this book twice previously and I got very different things from it each time. This time I really started to feel overwhelmed by the horror it all. The war, the insane bureaucracy, the corruption, and the abuse of civilians are all portrayed with vicious black humour but that doesn’t rob it of any of it’s power.

Dead Girl Walking by Chris Brookmyre narrated by Angus King and Kate Bracken rated A
Solid Jack Parlabane novel with the narration lifting it to greater levels. Bracken in particular is just brilliant narrating the diary entries of a naive Shetland violist thrust into the spotlight when she becomes a member of an upcoming band on their European tour.

Agent To The Stars by John Scalzi narrated by Wil Wheaton.
Reviewed before

Redshirts by John Scalzi narrated by Wil Wheaton
Reviewed before

The following titles were borrowed from the library. I’ve got some more promising titles to try out in 2016 than these less than impressive efforts.

The CEO’s Accidental Bride by Barbara Dunlop narrated by Laurence Bouvard rated C-
While the narration is decent (and the lead male sounds uncannily like Ashley Clement’s Darcy voice from The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet) the book is just awful.

Billionaire’s Contract Engagement by Maya Banks narrated by Harry Berkeley rated C-
I love “Fake Married” stories (this being a fake fiancee tale) but this is just painful.

Bride, Bought And Paid For by Helen Bianchin narrated by Susan Lyons rated D
Author can’t write for toffee. Also the happy ending makes no sense given the messed up forced marriage

The Tycoon Takes A Wife by Catherine Mann narrated by Harry Berkeley rated C-
It’s a terribly weak story with utterly forgettable narration doing nothing to help matters.

Bossman’s Baby Scandal by Catherine Mann narrated by Harry Berkeley rated C-
Again it’s a terribly weak story with utterly forgettable narration doing nothing to help matters.