Gave up after about a hundred pages. Maybe someone else will be able to get something out of this play, but I don't really care about a story about HaGave up after about a hundred pages. Maybe someone else will be able to get something out of this play, but I don't really care about a story about Harry Potter being a terrible parent....more
The Locke Lamora series is rapidly turning into one of the most impressive and creative fantasy series' I have read in a long time. At this point it iThe Locke Lamora series is rapidly turning into one of the most impressive and creative fantasy series' I have read in a long time. At this point it is difficult to summarize what is going on without giving quite a bit of it away, but seriously, check it out....more
The second in the Raven's Song series, this was an extraordinary work of heroic fantasy. Really fantastic.The second in the Raven's Song series, this was an extraordinary work of heroic fantasy. Really fantastic....more
A good end to a good YA series. Quality is such a subjective thing, but I couldn't help feeling all the angst and uncertainty and build led to a slighA good end to a good YA series. Quality is such a subjective thing, but I couldn't help feeling all the angst and uncertainty and build led to a slightly-less-than-entirely-satisfying ending. It was exactly what the end should have been, I think, but after three books of build I couldn't help but want just a bit more....more
A good follow-up to the first book in the trilogy, though it felt a little incomplete. The story sets up a quest in the first hundred pages that they A good follow-up to the first book in the trilogy, though it felt a little incomplete. The story sets up a quest in the first hundred pages that they never actually go on, put off to make the core of the third novel, apparently. Still, I enjoyed it, and it is high-quality YA....more
What a beautiful, brutal, haunting book. Abandoned by the Battle Lord, his father, when he was just eleven at the gates of the warrior-monks of the SiWhat a beautiful, brutal, haunting book. Abandoned by the Battle Lord, his father, when he was just eleven at the gates of the warrior-monks of the Sixth Order, Vaelin al Sorna nurses his resentment and hate, channeling it into his training. As the long years pass, he grows into a renowned warrior fighting the heretic Deniers in the service of the True Faith, despite growing doubts about the rightness of their cause, Vaelin will become a legend in his own right, unveiling intrigue and webs all the while, truths that threaten everything he believes and loves. This is the sort of book that is worthy of the term "epic," spanning at least a decade of Vaelin's life as well as training, military campaigns and secret conspiracies. The book even ends with plot-twists set up in the first hundred pages. Quite the page-turner, if sprawling fantasy is your thing. I am eagerly waiting to dive into the next two....more
A Darkling Sea was an interesting read that kept my attention the whole way through, but felt like a lot had been trimmed out in the editing process iA Darkling Sea was an interesting read that kept my attention the whole way through, but felt like a lot had been trimmed out in the editing process in terms of story. The final third of the book in particular felt like it was lacking something. Nevertheless, it revolves around the story of three alien races and their interactions on the world of Ilmatar, covered by a mile of ice and below that a sea. The Terrans, earthlings, are studying the sentient race of Ilmatarians, something akin to crab-whales, and the Sholen are another alien species that comes to oversee the Humans in their interactions to ensure that they are not interfering with the natural evolution of the Ilmatarans. Classic sci-fi stuff, and of course everything goes south. A good read if you're into hard SF....more
What a gloriously charming book. Scott Lynch has done the seemingly impossible and debuted (amazing, I know) with a fantasy novel that is utterly origWhat a gloriously charming book. Scott Lynch has done the seemingly impossible and debuted (amazing, I know) with a fantasy novel that is utterly original, captivating, full of energy and never lags, and is chock full of humor and charm. Locke Lamora is an orphan gifted in the art of the con; bought by the Thiefmaker, he is soon given to Father Chains, a con man and thief posing as a priest, and grows up educated in the ways of the con. He sets out an elaborate con to trick a nobleman out of twenty-five thousand crowns, and inadvertently gets swept up in a tale of intrigue, with a plot so full of twists and turns you'll have whiplash. If you're looking for hilarious and charming con men, magic aplenty, pirates, thieves, fantasy gangsters, and the pacing of Mission Impossible and Ocean's Eleven, this might be your book....more
J. K. Rowling's mystery/crime series just keeps getting better. I rarely have the experience of being unable to put a book down, but all three of thesJ. K. Rowling's mystery/crime series just keeps getting better. I rarely have the experience of being unable to put a book down, but all three of these novels have done so. I started this novel and simply never stopped. There are novels I put down but want to pick up again; this one I was unable to set aside. I really think Rowling is one of the finest writers of our time....more
A fantastic and delightfully complex fantasy trilogy by Brent Weeks, all the more impressive because it was his debut novel series. Azoth is an orphanA fantastic and delightfully complex fantasy trilogy by Brent Weeks, all the more impressive because it was his debut novel series. Azoth is an orphan living in the slums of Cenaria and who dreams of bigger things. He wants to apprentice with Durzo Blint, the greatest wetboy (read: assassin) in history. But to say that this is the story of Azoth's training to be an assassin utterly sells short this captivating and dark trilogy of novels. They are filled with a strange mixture of sweetness and grimdark tragedy, put together in compelling and heartbreaking ways. It took me a while to work through the nearly 1200 pages of this omnibus set of all three novels, but never was I bored. The last two hundred pages were read all in a rush, because I couldn't put the darn thing down.
If there is a flaw in the books, it is that the editors hand is clearly visible in trimming material down. Oftentimes editors are helpful in keeping worldbuilding manageable, but I actually felt like I was missing pieces of the story, or that various plot threads needed expansion. I was never really confused by it, but another fifty to a hundred pages stretched between the three novels might have helped. Overall, really good. Looking forward to starting Weeks' second series, the Lightbearers....more
A great mystery novel set in the days leading up to Martin Luther King Jr's assassination in Memphis in 1968. A fascinating novel.A great mystery novel set in the days leading up to Martin Luther King Jr's assassination in Memphis in 1968. A fascinating novel....more
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