Tag: book reviews

Review – The Return of the King

Posted January 31, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 6 Comments

Cover of The Return of the King by J.R.R. TolkienThe Return of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien

And so another reread came to an end — somewhat painfully. The first half of The Return of the King is just as epic and well-written as the rest. Aragorn shows his nobility and saves the day, epic battles are fought, the hobbits surprise themselves with their own valour, and the creeping dread of the Nazgul can be felt by characters and reader alike. The battles and the nobility of all the characters are clear, there’s tension and excitement, and some truly vivid images — like Denethor’s hands, holding the palantir, withering in flame.

Even the start of the second part works well: Sam and Frodo practically crawling through Mordor. The despair and the trudging and the dirt and defilement are as vivid as anything written before.

Even their triumph works reasonably well. But it’s as though Tolkien just didn’t know how to end the book. It ends on the Field of Cormallen, then again in Gondor. Then again at Orthanc, and Rivendell, and in Bree, and again in the Shire, and then yet again at the Grey Havens. Each scene makes sense, but it feels like it’s wrapping up… and then it’s as if Tolkien takes a deep breath and plunges on.

It feels a little untidy, even while it ties up all the loose ends. And when you get to the Scouring of the Shire, you just want to yell at him to give Frodo a break already. Thematically, it makes sense. It’s been hinted at from the beginning, and the plot is ready for it. But I don’t feel like the story is. It just doesn’t draw to a close gracefully. ‘And then another thing. And another thing.’ Like being told an anecdote that never seems to end.

I do love The Lord of the Rings passionately, in spite of all its faults… But I skimmed the Scouring of the Shire, this time round.

Rating: 5/5

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Review – Weird Dinosaurs

Posted January 30, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Weird DinosaursWeird Dinosaurs: The Strange New Fossils Challenging Everything We Thought We Knew, John Pickrell

Received to review via Netgalley; publication date 7th March 2017

Weird Dinosaurs is a fun and reasonably accessible look at some of the more unusual dinosaurs discovered (or sometimes rediscovered) in recent years. Perhaps they’re not that unusual if you follow dinosaur news — I certainly wasn’t that surprised by some of these — but it is an interesting summary of some of the latest in dinosaur news. Despite what you might think, there are still loads of dinosaurs being discovered, and this book really emphasises the possibilities out there. It’s quite likely we’ve barely scratched the surface. The dinosaurs we’ve found are most likely the really common ones, which would be more likely to be preserved long enough to fossilise. So there’s all kinds of weird wonders out there.

If you’re interested in dinosaurs, I think this is a worthwhile read. It covers dinosaurs with feathers and what kinds of dinosaurs we might expect to find with feathers; habitats where we haven’t always believed dinosaurs could survive, like the Arctic; dinosaurs with unusual morphology which we can’t quite figure out. It’s a good survey for the layperson, though sometimes I felt it got a little bit dry and wandering as it went into background details.

Favourite thing about this book: probably the history of the Transylvanian gay spy baron who nearly became king of Albania. Let’s not forget Franz Nopcsa.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet

Posted January 29, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky ChambersThe Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, Becky Chambers

I picked up The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet after much urging, expecting to read a chapter or two and then find time to do something else. Then I read the whole thing through. People who liken it to Firefly are right (only with more diversity). People who mention the loveable characters and LGBT relationships are also right. People who say it’s a feel-good sci-fi are right. And yeah, people who complain that it’s definitely soft SF are also right: this is about people who happen to be in space, not about people in space, if that makes sense.

It depends what you’re looking for. For me, all of that is exactly my cup of tea. Not that I drink tea. My cup of hot chocolate, perhaps.

Not all the characters are loveable, or faultless: that would be the wrong impression to take from this. Instead, they’re all understandable, and even the alien ones have, well, you can’t call it humanity… but compassion, decency. Sissix and Rosemary’s relationship is just lovely: negotiating around the fact of their differences, while finding common ground. The same goes for Jenks and Lovelace. I love the differences of the aliens, the fact that they do have different sensibilities to the humans. I’d happily read more of the adventures of almost every single character here (long may they fly together).

The only complaint I have about this book is that all the tensions, all the plot entanglements, seem to dissolve very easily. Things turn out more or less how you’d hope, every single time, and with barely time to get worried about it. It reads more like a serial in that sense — a burst of tension to make you read the next installment, with the overall arc being somewhat backgrounded for most of it. It makes things seem a little too easy at times.

All the same, I found it very enjoyable, and I’m eager to pick up A Closed and Common Orbit. Thankfully, I did get it on one of my trips through London, since the bookshop I usually go to in Belgium has no plans to stock or even order it.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Throne of Glass

Posted January 28, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. MaasThrone of Glass, Sarah J. Maas

I find Sarah J. Maas’ work solidly enjoyable in the way I used to find fanfiction enjoyable (or still would, if I read much of it). It’s wish fulfilment — the beautiful, utterly capable assassin who has her pick of love interests; the decadent surroundings; even the books she has access to and the friends she makes. Let’s not forget that she’s also an accomplished musician, dancer, etc, etc. And that’s great. I enjoy reading this series, and I enjoy the whole idea of Celaena and the fact that she exists.

I’ve never really understood people who expected great literary merit from these books, or even a consistent approach to who Celaena wants to date, sleep with or throw off a cliff. I was alerted to that pretty early on in the instant switches between Chaol and Dorian, and from knowing that neither of those appears to be her ultimate love interest. (Sorry, Chaol fans. But it’s true.)

It’s fairly typical fantasy, with a kickass heroine, magic, Fae, a bit of mystery, a wicked king… It’s fun because it’s pretty unashamed about being that. I know people didn’t enjoy the latest book as much as they hoped, but me… I’m not getting my hopes up. I’ll just enjoy whatever Maas serves up — and stop if it takes a turn I dislike. Same as I would a fanfic.

Before anyone protests, this isn’t about disparaging Maas’ writing. There are some amazingly well-written fanfics and some amazingly badly written original novels. But the feeling of energy and creativity and fun I get is one I associate more with writing for fandom.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Prince Caspian

Posted January 27, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Prince Caspian by C.S. LewisPrince Caspian, C.S. Lewis

If this book is a blatant Christian allegory, I don’t know enough to notice — well, okay, there are some bits which are, but that’s always the case when Aslan is involved. Not surprisingly, perhaps, this is one of my favourites. I love Caspian and his rapid rise to maturity and understanding, and his determination to do right by his people. Even if those people happen to be talking badgers. The supporting cast, like Trumpkin and Trufflehunter, are fun, and of course, it also features the Pevensies. What’s not to love?

This one probably gave Tolkien the most heart palpitations as regards mixing-and-matching of mythologies (suddenly the Maenads appear following Jesus!), but in a way, I like that too because it’s quite a universalist spirit. Take what’s good and uplifting and illuminating from all kinds of mythologies, and live by that — that’s not my motto, but it could be.

It doesn’t feel quite as warm as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe does — to me, anyway — but it’s fun.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Armada

Posted January 26, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Armada by Ernest ClineArmada, Ernest Cline

Received to review via Netgalley; publication date was 16th July 2015

I thought this was going to be amazing. As you can see from the fact that I didn’t get round to finishing and reviewing it until now, it definitely fell short of my expectations. It felt like it tried to take the plot of Ender’s Game and tie in the nostalgia of Ready Player One, but it just… didn’t read as authentically geeky in quite the same way. Where I found Ready Player One charming, I ended up rolling my eyes. And I didn’t find any of the characters particularly interesting.

And while I may not be a big fan of Orson Scott Card as a person for his stated opinions about various topics, I think Ender’s Game was better structured and had more to say.

But now I want to reread Ready Player One and see if I still enjoy that as much.

Rating: 2/5

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Review – The Toll-Gate

Posted January 25, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Toll-Gate by Georgette HeyerThe Toll-Gate, Georgette Heyer

I don’t normally get along with cases of instantaneous love, but some authors can make me go along with it. Heyer is one of them, and this mystery/romance works well. Both the male and female lead are capable and likeable, and they treat each other with respect (unlike in, say, Faro’s Daughter). All in all, it’s an appealing combination, and Heyer shows off her research in her use of thieves’ cant and dialect. If your favourite Heyer novels tend to be the ones with mysterious highwaymen, capricious noblemen who don’t mind pretending to be commoners, etc, then it’s definitely one for you — more like The Talisman Ring than The Grand Sophy.

The only problem for me was that I’m not very knowledgeable about period-appropriate dialects and thieves’ cant. Some of it I didn’t follow very well, and at times it does hinder you in understanding exactly how a certain character gave themselves away, etc. But for the most part, it becomes obvious if you keep reading.

Heyer writes with humour and flair, as ever, and the afternoon I spent devouring this was well worth it.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – A Little Princess

Posted January 24, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson BurnettA Little Princess, Frances Hodgson Burnett

As a kid, The Secret Garden was the most magical thing I could think of. For some reason, I never read A Little Princess back then. Perhaps I would have liked it more then; as it is, I found it preachy and tedious. It’s very… Victorian: a child is in good circumstances, has a fall from grace, but her own merits of character finally result in a restoration. Unlike Mary from The Secret Garden, Sara Crewe is tediously saccharine and goody-goody.

I don’t really see why other people love this so much — especially if there’s no element of nostalgia. At least The Secret Garden’s Mary has character — Sara Crewe feels like, well, a Mary Sue. I am a little scared to ever reread The Secret Garden, now…

Rating: 2/5

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Review – Slade House

Posted January 24, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Slade House by David MitchellSlade House, David Mitchell

I want to enjoy Mitchell’s books, but it annoys me that they’re all connected. I don’t know if that makes sense, but it’s how I feel all the same; it seems so consciously literary and over clever, in many of the cases. Granted, I’ve only read this and Cloud Atlas, but I’ve seen a chart. A chart, for goodness’ sake. So I was a bit annoyed when reading this, because I came to the phrase ‘the bone clocks’, a reference to the title of another of Mitchell’s books. I don’t want to have to read all your supposedly stand-alone books to understand all your characters!

Pet peeves aside, the different voices were interesting, though not always as distinct as I’d like. I figured out the “mystery” of it pretty fast, and thus wasn’t surprised by things which rather surprised the characters themselves — the trouble of having seen it happen to another character before them, I guess. There’s a creepy atmosphere about the book, though that works best in the earlier sections: later, I’ve got too good an idea of where things are going.

It was fairly absorbing, but if it had been much longer I might have got bored. There’s only so many cycles you can go through before it all becomes rather obvious, and repetitive to boot.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – The Horse and His Boy

Posted January 23, 2017 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Horse and His Boy by C.S. LewisThe Horse and His Boy, C.S. Lewis

This was one of my favourites of the Narnia books as a child, and reading it now, I’m not sure why. The story is okay, though it’s mostly set outside of Narnia. I suppose it’s the setting that really lets it down: the Calormenes are blatant stereotypes, and Calormen itself is an obvious exoticisation of a Muslim country. I do give it some credit for having a female lead in Aravis — a female lead who can ride and hunt better than the male lead, who is brave and clever, though not perfect. (She’s self-centered and selfish, as well, without giving thought to the consequences of her actions.) It’s even better that she is a Calormene, even though she’s presented as rather an exception.

(For example, Lasaraleen is Aravis’ friend, but Lewis doesn’t have nearly as much time for her. It’s just the same as the way he later dismisses Susan: Lasaraleen is feminine, interested in clothes and makeup and men, and so he dismisses her. I’m not sure it was narratively necessary to make her seem so silly. Wouldn’t it have been more interesting if Aravis was tempted to stay with her because she’s sensible and smart and reminds Aravis of the enjoyable aspects of her life in Calormen?)

Anyway, it’s still fairly fun, and one of the least openly allegorical books. So, a rather lukewarm three stars.

Rating: 3/5

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