**spoiler alert** So I picked this book up in order to do research on what the current successful YA fantasy novel was about, and I have to say that, **spoiler alert** So I picked this book up in order to do research on what the current successful YA fantasy novel was about, and I have to say that, in the end, I was somewhat disappointed.
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Let me say first that while I'm not a supremely philosophical reader, I do tend toward more "complex"/adult authors, e.g. Ishiguro, Auster, and others. I'm also big on the lit. mag. scene ; for, example, I've got the 2009 Pen/O. Henry winners next to my bed. So the stuff I read tends to be rather adult oriented and striving to be "high literature."
With that intro out of the way, my first reaction to this book is that it was supremely simple. It's written like a newspaper article: very few lengthy paragraphs, which in turn means description is rather sparse. I don't necessary think of this as a bad thing. Certainly I think Faulkner is garbage precisely because he goes on and on and on and on with his descriptions.
And yet, due in part to the simplicity of the writing, the scenes and characters unanimously failed to pull me in deeper. A great many of the scenes have little to no context. The best example is a bit with a casino that's meant to be modeled after the Lotus Eaters. The trio of adventurers come across it seemingly at random, get pulled in, escape, and go on their way, and then it was entirely forgotten. I have no idea WHO set that trap up, who benefited from it, nor how it changed any of the primary characters. I couldn't really say how the scene served to forward the plot or characters whatsoever.
And so I come to the crux of the matter. The interweaving of myth and reality was quite enjoyable, certainly the best part of the book, yet the otherwise entertaining story was told in a way that completely lacked tension. At no point in the story did I feel like any of the characters were in real danger or that there was the slightest chance that they would fail in their quest.
The ultimate culmination of this occurs when Percy Jackson, a 6th grader, defeats Ares in single combat. Um... no? Since so many others have compared the book to Harry Potter (which is apt because the similarities are uncanny), I will say that Percy beating Ares would be like Harry beating Dumbledore in a duel. If that had happened in book 1 of Harry Potter, I would have lost all respect for dumbledore as a great wizard. Likewise, in Lightning Thief, my suspension of belief was broken to the point where I found the Gods completely toothless, who would fear them at all?
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It's an entertaining enough story. I just found it lacking emotionally....more
I think another reviewer said it best (gah, I want to use the correct "write it best" but it just doesn't work!) when they wrote this book is ideas ovI think another reviewer said it best (gah, I want to use the correct "write it best" but it just doesn't work!) when they wrote this book is ideas over plot.
The ultimate failure of a book is when I can't finish it. I'm at page 330 of 600, and I fully expect to never make it to the end. In short, I'm just not interested. The characters are BLAH. In one of the main protagonist's opening scenes, she beats on a guy with whom she'd been having some sort of love affair who also has no chance of defending himself. He slaps her or something, so she decides she's justified to uppercut him and knock him out so like blood is everywhere and she calls an ambulance. So I figured, not necessarily condemning her, she's a bully who doesn't really care much for people. This wasn't ever really redeemed or made into a likeable flaw/trait. And it's hard to stay in this book's mood when you WANT the main protagonist to actually lose. The narrative is constantly being interrupted by not very poignant flashbacks, and the prose is too descriptive, not at all snappy or to the point as I like it to be. If I want to read description, I'll pick up a Faulkner k thx.
Basically, there's better sci-fi out there. And there's certainly better Iain M. Banks out there. So why settle for this?...more
I really could just end my review there, but I am compelled to go on!
This book is set in this invented "grand space-opera" world lEntertaining enough.
I really could just end my review there, but I am compelled to go on!
This book is set in this invented "grand space-opera" world largely following the exploits of this elite human organization called the Culture. From all I hear, his previous Culture books are superior, which is good because this one wasn't that great. Not bad, just not great.
The science-fiction here is good. There's worlds with multiple layers and different cultures fighting between the layers and super mysterious aliens living at the center treated as gods and humans who turn themselves into snowflakes and what have you. On his imagination alone, I would rank it higher.
But story-wise... could have been better. The characters didn't really do alllll that much for me. I didn't really like them or dislike them, I wasn't rooting for anyone, nor rooting against anyone. In short, I felt disengaged from many of them.
My final word: read his earlier books first and continue to this one only if you like them....more
This one, however, not so much. It was, well, weird. Seemed very unfocused; starts out as an exploration into I really liked the author's Forever War.
This one, however, not so much. It was, well, weird. Seemed very unfocused; starts out as an exploration into the future of modern warfare. Then into some sort of apocalyptic doomsday conspiracy thriller. Very superficial feeling.
From a sci-fi standpoint, I was never convinced he knew the science behind what he was talking about which is a big no-no!
Ah well. A basically enjoyable read, but I wouldn't seek it out....more
Totally awesome sci-fi book about a war which is fought at great distances, such that travel requires many light years. When the soldiers get back... Totally awesome sci-fi book about a war which is fought at great distances, such that travel requires many light years. When the soldiers get back... forty years have passed, a hundred years have passed.
Though this may seem fantastic and it IS the interesting/sci-fi aspect of the story, the author is a war veteran and he was really writing about how war changes a person. A person who goes to war comes back changed; the book only exaggerates this to make it more visible.
The ending was weird though. Had the feeling of a cheap sort of moral lesson, though an interesting psychological claim about differences and peace.
Failed to finish some time ago. Bored out of mind.
It reminds me of a Family Guy skit about British porn. A man and a woman are sitting there drinking Failed to finish some time ago. Bored out of mind.
It reminds me of a Family Guy skit about British porn. A man and a woman are sitting there drinking tea. The man says to the woman, "y'know we could have sex." And the woman replies, "Yes, we could." And then they keep drinking tea.
This book had just that mentality. A book about magic... that's boring? That's quite a feat, just not one I cared to finish (or recommend to anyone else)....more
I used to have a creative writing professor who would not let his students ever write science fiction or fantasy. He would say, before you can learn tI used to have a creative writing professor who would not let his students ever write science fiction or fantasy. He would say, before you can learn to write about other worlds, you have to learn to write about simple people and simple conflicts. In effect, it tended to make stories more boring than they had to be, but his philosophy was sound.
The best sci-fi and fantasy are character-driven stories about people with simple desires and simple conflicts that just so happen to exist in fantastical settings and become enmeshed in complex conflicts.
Spin is just such a story; it is an interesting philosophical exploration of what would happen to the earth & humanity if we knew our extinction was coming in forty years. That, and the sci-fi stuff if you like that, is the lace to this story. What kept me reading was the simple love story at the heart of the book.
Also if you liked the philosophical exploration here, then you should check out Children of Men. The movie, which is better than the book, but the book too....more
A terrible, terrible ending to the series. I frankly don't know what possesses people to think that this was somehow good.
Among my complaints: 300 pageA terrible, terrible ending to the series. I frankly don't know what possesses people to think that this was somehow good.
Among my complaints: 300 pages of doing nothing in the woods. Seriously, nothing. An abandonment of the mix of muggle and magic that made the previous books such a delight. Introduction of weird new magical elements, such as inexplicable wand shennanigans and the Deathly Hallows themselves. Failure to capitalize on plot-lines from previous stories, such as Sirius & the mirror, sub-vocal spellcasting, mind-reading and defense against, the mysterious initials near the destroyed horcrux. A COMPLETE and UTTER let-down of the story of Severus Snape, the only truly literary character in the series.
Simply put, as the last book in a beloved series, it's awful....more
Phillip K. Dick is known for his novels, but I think his short stories far surpass his longer books. Fine enjoyable stories for a bus-ride or a morninPhillip K. Dick is known for his novels, but I think his short stories far surpass his longer books. Fine enjoyable stories for a bus-ride or a morning snack or what have you....more
The inspiration for Bladerunner, this is, well, weird sometimes. For example, the main character Decker wondering about lead cod-pieces (to block radiThe inspiration for Bladerunner, this is, well, weird sometimes. For example, the main character Decker wondering about lead cod-pieces (to block radiation) and a very weird mass religion box-thing that involves some guy pushing a stone up the hill or something.
Still, a must-read for any sci-fi fan and a recommended read for anyone else. Phillip K. Dick was a crazy man--he believed that he possessed abilities of prescience and had been visited by time travelers or aliens or something--but he was damn creative and not far off from a prophet with some of his stories....more
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