Fiction – Page 38 – transmission

shades?

Posted on April 14, 2013June 25, 2013 by Greig

Mr Darcy’s Diary

Amanda Grange

This book retells the story of Pride and Prejudice from the perspective of Darcy.
Yes I only read this because I miss The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.
To be fair though this is a pretty enjoyable read. It helps that it’s an epistolary novel and that the language is less mannered than in the original novel.
I don’t really think the author consistently captured Darcy’s perspective and voice but it’s really good fun to see some of the famous sections of P&P told from his perspective.
I can only recommend this to people who love Pride & Prejudice or one of it’s adaptations. Otherwise you should read the original, or you know maybe watch The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

Rating: B

hellion?

Posted on March 28, 2013September 23, 2013 by Greig

Sandman Slim

Richard Kadrey

Stark escapes from Hell intent on the murder of the circle of magicians responsible for the death of his girlfriend and his exile to the demon’s arenas.
This is an enormously entertaining mix of urban fantasy and noir thriller. The protagonist is a likeable asshole that the author manages to avoid turning into a walking set of cliches.
There’s nothing truly original about this novel but it’s a lot of fun and lays enough groundwork for future sequels for you to care about the world he’s built.
If you want a well constructed piece of urban fantasy with an ass-kicking lead character then this is definitely a book for you.

Rating: B+

dumort?

Posted on March 17, 2013March 20, 2013 by Greig

City of Bones

Cassandra Clare

The first book in the Mortal Instruments introduces the protagonist – Clary – to a world filled with demons, monsters and the humans who hunt them.
It’s a very readable piece of young adult urban fantasy with a slightly dodgy romantic triangle subplot.
I blasted through this really quickly and yet I really can’t see myself reading any further books in the series. There’s nothing really wrong with it – I just don’t think it’s for me.
Recommended if you’re looking for a solid piece of YA romantic fantasy.

Rating: B-

rafters?

Posted on March 16, 2013September 23, 2013 by Greig

Midnight Blue-Light Special

Seanan McGuire

The second InCryptid book returns to follow Verity Price as she looks to defend New York’s Cryptid population from a Covenant purge.
Like the first book in this series (Discount Armageddon) this is a fun, action filled piece of urban fantasy.
It’s all wee bit generic but way too entertaining to quibble about it.
Recommended for urban fantasy fans.

Rating: B+

borogovian?

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Greig

Redshirts

John Scalzi

Even though this is the first time I’ve physically read this book I already knew the story as I listened to it as an audiobook first.
What initially looks like an affectionate parody of Science Fiction TV cliches (mostly Star Trek) turns into a rather meta piece about the reality of fictional characters.
The main novel rattles along at a good pace and is very readable – just less clever than it thinks. The three codas are interesting experiments. The strongest one is easily the best thing about the book.
Recommended if you like Scalzi or media parodies.
I also note here that I recently read the first episode of the serial novel that Scalzi’s releasing this year (The Human Division). While I enjoyed reading it I decided to wait for the completed work, due out in May.

Rating: B+

corsair?

Posted on February 16, 2013February 16, 2013 by Greig

It’s All Fun And Games Until Somebody Loses An Eye

Christopher Brookmyre

This is one of Brookmyre’s most enjoyable books – a crazed action film starring a Scottish granny.
Every time I read this I spend most of the time grinning my head off!
Recommended as top rank escapist fun.

Rating: A-

gutshot?

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Greig

An Abundance of Katherines

John Green

This is probably Green’s funniest and lightest book.
Colin Singleton is an ex-child prodigy who is addicted to anagramming and dating girls called Katherine. When the 19th of that ilk dumps him after graduating high school his best friend takes him on a road trip to stop obsessing over the break up.
I read it for the first time in 2009 and I enjoyed it then too (though I was apparently going through a phase of not actually reviewing and rating books at that point).
Recommended if you want a funny and sweet, sort of romantic, teen novel.

Rating: A-

estate?

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Greig

The Rook

Daniel O’Malley

I’m reading a couple of fantasy books at the minute but I’m struggling to get into them. So to change the pace I picked this up and immediately got sucked into it.
I’ve read it before and I think I enjoyed it slightly more this time.
It’s really entertaining supernatural spy romp with added amnesia to give it a twist.
Recommended to anyone looking for a nice piece of genre escapism.

Rating: A-

interiority?

Posted on January 13, 2013January 18, 2013 by Greig

Microserfs

Douglas Coupland

I’ve re-read this book quite a few times (and I reviewed it for this blog in 2006 and in 2003).
It’s a book with a lot of worthwhile things to say about creativity, family, friendship and love.
I still get a lot of enjoyment from it – no matter how dated the tech references get – the emotional core still resonates.

Rating: A-

anarchia?

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Greig

Pattern Recognition

William Gibson

This is one of my favourite books. I’ve reviewed it before on this blog (2007 and 2005).
This re-read was prompted by coming across a couple of chapters of the BBC adaptation of the story. While very well done it was, sadly, abridged. It really made me want to read the complete story again.
Talking about this book online I’ve discovered that some people don’t think it’s Science Fiction. While I’ve always read it as being a very subtle piece of alternative history I do recognize that it could be viewed as an entirely contemporary piece. However I would still argue that, if contemporary, it’s still Science Fiction about now.

Rating: A