Tag: book reviews

Review – The Stone of Farewell

Posted February 27, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 3 Comments

Cover of Stone of Farewell by Tad WilliamsThe Stone of Farewell, Tad Williams

There are many things about this series which are just rather typical. You can predict a lot of the narrative beats and tropes, because it’s drawing from the same well of story as a lot of other epic fantasy. However, if you made it through the first book (a feat in itself just because of how long it is), you’re probably aware of that and on board for the characters. And I’m pleased to note that they don’t disappoint: Simon gets less annoying, Rachel the Dragon continues to play her part, Binabik’s background is explored somewhat, there’s more of Jiriki… and most importantly to me, remembering that he was my favourite character before, there’s more of Josua. Although, on this read-through, I might actually be preferring Deornoth…

In any case, the story barrels along at a reasonable pace, and though there are one or two sticking points, it never slows up as much as the first half to two-thirds of the first book. I remembered somewhat why I’d found a particular character so annoying, which was a little disappointing after rather enjoying their part (such as it was) in the first book.

Pryrates remains an excellent villain of the cackling evil laugh sort, doing evil things with little remorse. Elias is a little more grey-shaded, but really not much: this series up to this point has a pretty black-and-white view of morality, with the Sithi perhaps being the most subtle element.

I’m enjoying it very much for what it is: very much drawn from fantasy tropes, but with a solid cast of characters who don’t fall too easily into stereotypes.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Camelot’s Blood

Posted February 26, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Camelot's Blood by Sarah ZettelCamelot’s Blood, Sarah Zettel

When I first read this series, I mostly dismissed it as romance — back when I felt pretty dismissive of romance in general, I’ll admit. Reading it now, I’ve been impressed all over again by the work Zettel did to bring together different Arthurian threads and weave them all into a cohesive story. Reading the end of this book, I kind of want to read her version of how the story plays out.

On the other, I really don’t, because this is a good ending to the story of the four brothers from Gododdin, which lets you imagine they stay happy. And maybe they could, in this version… after all, who could stand against Rhian, Elen, Lynet and Laurel? Forget the men: they’re really the stars of these stories.

In terms of this book alone, I adore how Zettel humanises Agravain, after the rather unflattering portrait of him we get in the other books (apart from the odd moment where his concern and love for his brothers really shows through). And I love the insight on how Arthur and Gawain are both devoted to their whole kingdom, while Agravain only cares about his own land — and that’s why he makes a good king of it.

All in all, a worthwhile series, though if you’re not a fan of romance you probably won’t enjoy them as that is the main thread.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Virus X

Posted February 25, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Virus X by Frank RyanVirus X, Frank Ryan

This is a bit out of date now, in that there are emerging viruses it doesn’t touch on and scientific advances in studying them that it doesn’t include, but it’s still a fascinating glimpse into some of the emerging diseases of the last century or so, how the outbreaks were handled and what they mean. If you’re read David Quammen’s Spillover, it’s somewhat along the same lines, discussing many of the same diseases; it’s been a while since I read Spillover, so I found this a good refresher on the diseases mentioned and the early stages of their emergence.

If you find this whole subject a little stressful, this won’t exactly be reassuring; it does show that the world simply doesn’t have the infrastructure to deal with the kind of pandemics that are coming our way. We’ve been lucky so far — I’m honestly shocked there’s been nothing worse since this book was published.

Rating: 4/5

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Unstacking the Shelves

Posted February 24, 2018 by Nicky in General / 18 Comments

Good morning, folks! It’s been a good week for me — it doesn’t look like I read that much, but actually, The Stone of Farewell and Kushiel’s Dart are rather long, so I think this is pretty monumental.

Read this week:

Cover of Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams Cover of The Wanderer in Unknown Realms by John Connolly Cover of Camelot's Blood by Sarah Zettel

Cover of The Master Magician by Charlie N Holmberg Cover of Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey Cover of Unnatural Vice by K.J. Charles

Perhaps I’ll read just as much in the coming week, since I have suddenly got no books at all on my currently reading list, for the first time in many, many moons.

(Seriously, many.)

Reviews posted this week:

Ars Historica, by Marie Brennan. This is a great collection, written with Brennan’s usual skill, and made me really want to pick her Onyx Court novels back up (though you don’t need to have read them to appreciate the stories). 5/5 stars
The Laws of Medicine, by Siddartha Mukherjee. Short, but worthwhile; Mukherjee uses his experience as a doctor to posit some basic rules that govern how he practices. 4/5 stars
Five Red Herrings, by Dorothy L. Sayers. Not a favourite Wimsey story, but nonetheless it’s clever as heck. 4/5 stars
Libraries in the Ancient World, by Lionel Casson. Engagingly written, though most of the history wasn’t new to me. 3/5 stars
The Wanderer in Unknown Realms, by John Connolly. Kind of tailed off without using the background it had built up to the sort of effect I’d like to see. Creepy, though, with a good atmosphere. 3/5 stars

Other posts:

WWW Wednesday: The usual update on what I’ve been reading in the last week.

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Review – The Wanderer in Unknown Realms

Posted February 23, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of The Wanderer in Unknown Realms by John ConnollyThe Wanderer in Unknown Realms, John Connolly

I don’t quite know what to make of this book. It starts off well, and throughout it’s atmospheric and leaves me curious. The bit about the power of books is creepily powerful, and there’s some great description in the most uncanny bits. The main character is handled well, too, in my opinion: he has a past which he never has to elaborate on, but which nonetheless colours everything he does and says. But then you get to the end of the book and it suddenly… stops. As my wife pointed out to me, the ending is pretty classic horror stuff, with no closure, but… Then you’ve got the narrator, telling his story. To whom? How? Why? That aspect all rather broke my engagement with the story, because I like there to be a reason.

If you’re a fan of John Connolly or of creepy crustaceans in horror novellas, this might be your thing, but I don’t think I’d recommend it in general.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Libraries in the Ancient World

Posted February 22, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 6 Comments

Cover of Libraries in the Ancient World by Lionel CassenLibraries in the Ancient World, Lionel Casson

Libraries in the Ancient World contains a not too surprising round of historical libraries, including of course the Palace of Ashurbanipal and the Library of Alexandria, but nonetheless I found it interesting to read about exactly who libraries were for and how they worked in various societies. Casson’s style is engaging, and I found it just overall the kind of relaxing read about a thing I love that fills an excellent gap without being wildly exciting or revelatory.

I know that seems like faint praise, but I really can’t think of anything else to say! If you want to look at the history of libraries, this makes a good start.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Five Red Herrings

Posted February 20, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. SayersFive Red Herrings, Dorothy L. Sayers

Five Red Herrings does a couple of things that really annoy me, like having a long section of people positing obviously wrong ways the crime unfolded, and the whole “the reader will of course know what the missing object was” bit — no, I don’t! I’m not a painter, I don’t have that education, and I don’t know how common it would’ve been in Sayers’ time, but knowing that fact has not lasted.

In any case, reading it this time, I did enjoy Five Red Herrings more than I did last time, perhaps. The introduction in the new edition drew my attention to the fantastic sense of place and character, and to appreciate again the way that Peter is embedded in the mystery, caring about the people involved. Plot-wise, it’s very clever again, literally written according to train timetables and precise distances between places. It might not be my favourite, but I can appreciate all the work that went into it. Sayers may not have thought her detective novels terribly literary or worthwhile, but hindsight says they are.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – The Laws of Medicine

Posted February 19, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Laws of Medicine by Siddhartha MukherjeeThe Laws of Medicine, Siddhartha Mukherjee

The description of this book weirdly states that one of the laws Mukherjee proposes is that “Rumours are more important than tests.” That’s not what he suggests: instead, he’s talking about intuition and putting two and two together so that you use the right tests in the right circumstances, reducing the number of needless false positives. He gives an example of realising that one of his patients who didn’t fit the profile was actually a drug addict, leading to being able to use a test for AIDs to figure out what was wrong with him. But doing the test for AIDs makes no sense when there are no risk factors: what really made things come together in this case was a little bit of intuition.

I’m definitely a strong believer in the power of intuition as a diagnostic tool in general. You should always check when you can, of course! But from my vague medical knowledge as a doctor’s daughter and a reader, at seventeen years old, I once realised from something about the way his face looked that someone I knew a little had a serious heart problem. I described what I saw to my mother (the doctor!) and she agreed with my intuition. But when he went to the A&E, they didn’t admit him and didn’t operate. He had an aneurysm, and yes, he died. I wish I could give that moment of intuition and insight to the doctor who saw him in A&E; I’m pretty sure my mother will agree that that intuition, that ability to connect the faintest of dots, can turn an academically good doctor into a great one.

(Yes, Mum, I know. I should be a doctor, but I’m a little old to go through medical school now and maybe my intuition will serve me well in a microbiology lab, too.)

So that rule in particular struck a chord with me, and made reading this worth it just on its own. The other two laws Mukherjee mentions are interesting and important too, but that first one was what really got my interest.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Ars Historica

Posted February 18, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Ars Historica by Marie BrennanArs Historica, Marie Brennan

Not all of these stories are related to the Onyx Court stories, but enough of them are to make me really want to pick that series back up. I love the way Brennan weaves history with fantasy in these books, and especially her self-imposed rule about not allowing faeries to be the primary cause of human historical events — that way, she avoids having anything too neat and convenient, and has to find clever ways to write her faeries in. And oh, she does.

I found pretty much all of these stories satisfying, and there were none that I felt were too long or too short; Brennan really has a feel for how to write a self-contained story, even in her more sprawling worlds like the Onyx Court.

Rating: 5/5

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Review – An Unseen Attraction

Posted February 16, 2018 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of An Unseen Attraction by K.J. CharlesAn Unseen Attraction, K.J. Charles

I read the last book in this series first, but it doesn’t matter too much, because they’re linked but don’t follow the exact same characters. This book features Clem and Rowley, and it’s a delight: Clem’s obvious ADHD and the way he and Rowley work with that in their relationship, and also the way that the sex scenes are not just “insert tab A into slot B”, but have feeling and thought behind them and don’t feel mechanistic at all. I’m not interested in the tab A/slot B type, but when it deepens characters’ relationships, and especially when it isn’t a mechanical write-by-numbers scene, it can still be worth reading — and such is the case here. I remember the same being true of An Unsuitable Heir.

It’s an enjoyable romance on its own, and the mystery adds a little, but I do think you might need to read all three books to really find the mystery satisfying. I need to read the middle book, and I’m honestly curious about how those two characters meet and get along, because from their appearances in this book and the third… nope!

If you’re not a fan of m/m romance at all, this won’t be for you, but if you’re looking for something in that genre which is thoughtful with rich characters, this should qualify admirably.

Rating: 4/5

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