Category: Rated

rectangles?

Posted on by Greig

The Long Earth

Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

the long earth by terry pratchett and stephen baxterThis first collaboration between Pratchett and Baxter is the initial offering of a proposed trilogy.
The books events are spun into motion when a scientist mysteriously disappears leaving behind him instructions on how to build a device that allows people to ‘step’ to parallel versions of the Earth.
A vital point to make is that this is a pretty straight ahead science fiction novel mostly free from Pratchett’s trademark humour. Set your expectations accordingly.
This is a promising book but it does spend a hell of a lot of time setting things up and provides not much in the way of payoff. I do like the central character of Joshua Valiente a lot and I will be keen to pick up the sequel when it comes out.
I can only recommend the book if you’re prepared to commit yourself to the full series. If you’re a fan of Pratchett or Baxter (I’m a fan of both) then I think you really should make the necessary commitment.

Rating: A-

attic?

Posted on by Greig

Dave Gorman Vs the Rest of the World

Dave Gorman

What do you do when you get bored and have time to kill? Dave Gorman asked his followers on twitter if they fancied playing a game.
This book chronicles his travels all over the UK to play strangers, acquaintances and friends at various games from Monopoly to Darts with odd pub and board games thrown in.
Gorman has previous when it comes to taking on insane challenges – see Are You Dave Gorman? and Dave Gorman’s Googlewhack Adventure which are both very funny books (I’ve read them but they escaped being reviewed on the blog).
Gorman has a pleasing style and the book is genuinely funny but there’s just something tired and bored underlying the adventures.
Something screams “I want to stop doing crazy stuff and to settle down!”
Recommended if you liked his earlier books.

Rating: B+

smallpark?

Posted on by Greig

Where the Hell Am I? Trips I have survived.

Ken Levine

Levine is a hugely successful sitcom writer (his resume includes MASH, Cheers and a couple of Simpsons episodes) and this is a collection of short travelogues he initially wrote as emails to friends and family that ended up becoming a staple of his blog (which I recommend reading by the way).
It’s pretty lighthearted jokey stuff but it never really lights the heather on fire.
I got it for nothing, but certainly worth it’s normal low price if you particularly like his blog.

Rating: B-

nancy?

Posted on by Greig

Lemonade Mouth

Mark Peter Hughes

Lemonade MouthI came across the Lemonade Mouth film while looking for episodes of Phineas and Ferb (awesome kid’s cartoon) on the Disney channel. I gave it five minutes expecting to hate it and instead found it sweetly funny and filled with pleasant songs (well constructed teen pop, nothing revelatory).
So when I saw the book the film was based on for sale in the Kindle store on Amazon for a couple of quid I decided it was worth trying.
It differs from the film in that the characters less obviously photogenic and the music they play in the book sounds insanely off the wall, but most of the character’s themes and motivations are there.
In the book the story is told from the perspectives of the individual band members and some other people involved in the events related.
It’s a sweetly funny, very readable young adult book and I’m not surprised it translated so well into a tv film.
Recommended if you enjoyed the film or like charming young adult tales where misfits band together to become something greater. Personally I’m a sucker for that kind of thing.

Rating: B+

arisaig?

Posted on by Greig

Espedair Street

Iain Banks

Espedair StreetThe last review I wrote of this book is still a pretty accurate precis of the book and my feelings about it.
I get the impression that Banks was obsessed with rock music growing up. He must have been to have constructed this ur-myth of rock stardom. He takes elements from several real bands to make his perfect vision of musicial success, excess and hubris.
What struck me during this re-read was how influential this book must have been on my idea of what a band should be like and my understanding of the music industry. So many of the music crazy people I know have read Espedair Street and I can’t help but think that there has to be a generation informed and maybe even inspired by Banks’ charming but slight tale.
I’d still recommend this book to people but with the caveat that the 25 years since publication have rendered this a period piece and that it contains attitudes that seem wildly out of date now.

Rating: B

oof?

Posted on by Greig

How To Be A Woman

Caitlin Moran

Moran’s book is a funny autobiographical feminist polemic.
Each chapter illustrates an aspect of growing up and living as a woman using events in her own life.
Her anecdotes are usually hilarious, occasionally moving and nearly always enlightening.
I found much to admire in her take on feminism, but that’s not too surprising given how well it chimes with my own views.
It’s currently available as a cheap paperback or ebook and is well worth buying.

Rating: A-

syringes?

Posted on by Greig

Life After God

Douglas Coupland

This was one of the few remaining Douglas Coupland books that I hadn’t read.
It’s a collection of short stories, each one told in a series of short vignettes.
To be honest these are messy pieces filled with pre-millenial malaise. As such they come across as lazy and self-indulgent.
Coupland’s usual effortless style is the only thing making this collection worthwhile.
Unless you’re a fan of Coupland’s work in general I’d not recommend this particular work at all.

Rating: B-

pendant?

Posted on by Greig

War For The Oaks

Emma Bull

Back in 2008 when the tor.com website first started up they gave away a load of ebooks from the Tor catalogue to people who signed up to be members. This is one of those books.
I read it when I first got my hands on it, on a Palm pilot. Not the greatest reading experience but I did enjoy the book.
Earlier this year I had a sudden craving to re-read War For The Oaks and went scouring through the hard disks of various old PCs and I just couldn’t find it anywhere. A few days ago I was idly tidying up files on my iMac and lo and behold there was the ebook file.
Reading the book on the new ‘retina’ iPad is a world away from the Palm – it’s amazing the speed at which technology has improved.
Anyway back to the book. This is an excellent early example of urban fantasy. It’s particular strength is in the author’s understanding of music and the music industry, which I can tell is pretty much spot on.
It’s hard to get hold of in the UK, but I’d recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone looking for a good fantasy read – especially fans of urban fantasy.

Rating: A-

buttercup?

Posted on by Greig

Mockingjay

Suzanne Collins

MockingjayThe final volume of the trilogy puts Katniss and her loved ones through further horrors.
The onset of war burdens her with further guilt when she’s forced into unpalatable decisions from the resulting moral quandaries.
I raced through this book, desperate to find out how things turned out. While I’m happy with the ending, I felt that there were a lot things I would have liked to have known that were left out because we’re limited to only Katniss’ view of events.
Overall I think I’d recommend the series but I’m pretty sure that some readers will find a lot to annoy them about the books.

Rating: B+