Want to read something just as good, if not better?
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YoDid you read the Riftwar Saga and love it?
Want to read something just as good, if not better?
Want to learn about life on the other side of the Rift?
You need to check this out!
It is a fantastic tale of honor, politics, and strategy. While some fantasy books have lots of physical battle, this story is mainly plotting, deception, and courtly games. Reading this is more like watching a puzzle being solved and wondering how things will finally come together in the end.
It is simply just a great and well crafted story!...more
I really enjoyed this book! Sometimes it was 4 stars and sometimes it was 5 stars, so this is really a 4.5 star rating. Very creepy and a very interesI really enjoyed this book! Sometimes it was 4 stars and sometimes it was 5 stars, so this is really a 4.5 star rating. Very creepy and a very interesting concept. The characters were great - whether good or bad. Best Joe Hill book so far and much different than his others. I would say that this one had the most shades of his father....more
A fast and entertaining read. You have to suspend reality a bit to enjoy this one, but that is what escapist reading is all about. This was the first A fast and entertaining read. You have to suspend reality a bit to enjoy this one, but that is what escapist reading is all about. This was the first in the series that I read, but I wish that I had read the others first because there were a lot of references to previous novels in this one (unfortunately, I believe some of the plot twists in the earlier novels have been ruined for me if I decide to go back and start the series from the beginning). If you like military action, espionage, and tech-suspense, then this book is right up your alley.
8/25/2014 - Second read update - re-read this in proper order and it tied up a lot of loose ends!...more
I enjoyed this book - but for how long it is, not a whole lot really happened. When I was done, I though "It really took 990 pages to tell that story"I enjoyed this book - but for how long it is, not a whole lot really happened. When I was done, I though "It really took 990 pages to tell that story"? There was a lot of really intricate military information that was not as interesting to me, but showed that Clancy put a lot of thought into that sort of thing - at times it felt like he had been working on this great idea for a military engagement, and somehow he was going to fit it into a novel somewhere. These parts greatly contrasted with the plot lines (of which there were several) so there was a lot of jumping back and forth from story to military stuff. Also, some of the plots lines came and went without me realizing they were over or that they were coming back. There is one major storyline (view spoiler)[ about the financial crash (hide spoiler)] that was suddenly over about halfway through the book. Another one (view spoiler)[vice president storyline (hide spoiler)] was a major part early on in the book but then disappeared until the very end until it came back in a single paragraph....more
This is probably the shortest time between reads for a King book I have ever doneUpdate - 8/25/2019 - Re-read
First read: 2 stars Second read: 3.5 stars
This is probably the shortest time between reads for a King book I have ever done. Also, it is the first time I have Re-read a book where the first time I read it was also tracked on Goodreads.
I tried to give this one an extra special chance this time. King had been quoted as saying this was his favorite of the Bachman Books. I really wanted to go into it and discover that my first experience was completely wrong. Unfortunately, while it was a little better, it still kind of drug on a bit and lots of why I originally didn't care for it remained true (see my original review below)
So, after a second shot, even though many sing this book's praises, it looks like it is going to remain "just okay" for me.
ORIGINAL REVIEW - March 2014
I expected more from this but it was just “meh”. I think maybe if I had lived in the early seventies and experienced the energy crisis first hand, this book would have had more meaning for me. I have owned this book for at least 25 years and I am just now finally reading it, but it is very far off from the story than I thought it would be. (view spoiler)[I expected this book to be about a man pushed to his limit making a final last armed stand against authority in his house before they destroyed it to put an interstate in. That ended up being only the last 8 pages of the book – and they went off rather unceremoniously. Instead most of the book is about the pathetic protagonist and how he feels like “the man” is getting him down. I felt no sympathy for him and I did not feel like he was doing great things to stand up for himself and his rights. He was basically just a big loser who decided to go out with a bang. (hide spoiler)]
This is not one I would recommend unless you need it to complete your reading of all of Stephen King’s works....more
I have decided to go back and reread all the Stephen King books as audiobooks this time. Ones I have read recently or that I have already reread I mayI have decided to go back and reread all the Stephen King books as audiobooks this time. Ones I have read recently or that I have already reread I may not do. I am starting at the very beginning with Carrie which I originally read on Kindle in 2014.
You might be saying, ”But, Matthew, that was his first book! You didn’t read it for the first time until 2014!?” There are a couple of reasons for that: 1. Carrie is referenced a lot in pop culture. Growing up in the 80s and 90s you really didn’t need to read Carrie to know the story. 2. I did have a paperback copy once (mid 90s or so). It fell apart when I was part way through. I didn’t get back to it until 2014. I know, I know . . . serious procrastination!
Well, I have now read it twice and it really is quite an amazing book. Lots of suspense and terrifying scenes crammed into a small package. In the intro, King said that he was working on this as a short story when it expanded into a novel – and I can see that. He was mainly a short story guy at the time, but a bit more started pouring out and he just couldn’t stop! It’s amazing to think the same guy that started with short stories and short novels ended up writing books like The Stand and It!
One thing that I think people who do not read King but who only know him as the master of horror through movies and hearsay are missing a lot. He is not just horror. Certainly there are many horrific scenarios in Carrie, but there is so much in there about humanity; how we treat each other and how our actions toward others may have a wider effect than expected. In a world where we are starting to treat other people more poorly than ever, Carrie could serve as a cautionary tale if you don’t just look at it as a creepy horror novel.
King started here, so should you? Carrie is not usually a book I recommend to people wanting to try King for the first time. I am not sure why this is, but I usually recommend The Dead Zone or Pet Sematary. After my second time through, I stand by this. I think that Carrie is something to try out after you have given a few of his other books a try. But, you can try it first, too, probably doesn’t matter – it is just my gut feeling that you should wait! ...more
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