Tag: book reviews

Review – Old Man’s War

Posted February 25, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of Old Man's War by John ScalziOld Man’s War, John Scalzi

Old Man’s War was a reread, since when I read The Human Division, I didn’t entirely remember all the politics and so on, and decided I’d reread before I read The End of All Things. Besides, Scalzi’s books are good fun, and Ryan @ SpecFic Junkie was reading the books recently and encouraged me to do my reread too. So it was more or less irresistible, and definitely inevitable.

Old Man’s War is a fun ride: lightly written, with moments of pathos and depth as well. You get the aftermath of the main character losing his wife, you get the characters dealing with being thrown into a vicious war, you get them dealing with losing friends and comrades… It touches on humanity, what might make you inhuman, and identity. But there’s also plenty to laugh at, and John Perry is always ready with a smartass comment. “How are you feeling?” he’s asked, after a crash which ripped his body practically to shreds, and time spent regrowing his limbs in a tank.

“Broken up,” he replies.

There’s also interesting aliens and a wider world glimpsed around the edges, which don’t get dealt with as such here, but which play into later books — human vs alien politics, the situation on Earth, specific alien races which Perry’s units get involved with to a greater or lesser extent… And the Ghost Brigades, which become the main topic of the next book, especially reflect upon identity and embodiment.

A thought which occurs in closing: John Perry has the same first name as Scalzi, goes into the military and right away does well and gets promoted, makes the right decision in split seconds during battle situations, even manages to join a special unit and acquit himself well with them even though he has nothing like the same training and way of thinking, he always has the right sarcastic quip…

And I just checked on two people who I knew read both this and David Weber’s Honor Harrington (naming no names on who). Honor is apparently a Mary Sue for being a career soldier who does well in a difficult situation. John Perry is apparently just awesome, and perfectly believable. An ‘everyman’, even.

If that’s not ingrained sexism, I’m a bunny rabbit.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Rebel of the Sands

Posted February 24, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn HamiltonRebel of the Sands, Alwyn Hamilton

I think Rebel of the Sands is starting to get rather hyped, for its unusual combination of Eastern-type magic (Djinn) and setting (desert) and Western-type attitudes (gunslinging). It opens very strongly, immediately establishing Amani’s voice, and immediately introducing us to the kind of world she’s in, as well as one of the other main characters (and it is obvious their meeting is no coincidence and has a greater plot meaning). My immediate guesses on the plot weren’t bad, but I was a little out on several points, which speaks well of the way things were structured and set up — easy to follow, with the capacity to surprise, while every step and hint is clear in retrospect.

The world-building is pretty fascinating: the meeting of technology and magic, and the melding of attitudes toward both. The Eastern/Western mixture works surprisingly well and feels natural, rather than as if someone pasted the two together for a gimmick.

I wasn’t absolutely bowled over, though; the pacing to me seemed a little off, and the connection between Jin and Amani seemed to grow at least as much in off-page exchanges as on-page scenes. The pace certainly never stalls, but sometimes I could have done with a scene or two extra, so that the flow of the story and the flow of time aligned more. There were sections where I think days and weeks passed, but only a paragraph or two? I liked that the relationship between Jin and Amani grew slowly time wise, but it didn’t always feel as if we saw that growth happening.

Rebel of the Sands is definitely inventive and fast paced, and I’m looking forward to the next book. For a debut, it’s pretty amazing. I’m wavering about the rating, but I feel I’m just not enthusiastic enough to give it a four. But for sheer enthusiasm, Charnell @ Reviews from a Bookworm and Cait @ Paper Fury have you covered…

Rating: 3/5

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Review – City of Blades

Posted February 23, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of City of Blades by Robert Jackson BennettCity of Blades, Robert Jackson Bennett

I originally received this to review, and then a friend brought me a US edition of the paperback so I had matching ones. Yay! Don’t be fooled by the UK cover on this post; it’s just because that’s the version I had first. So if you read my recent review of City of Stairs, you’re probably not surprised at all to find that I loved City of Blades. The writing remains incredibly strong, and instead of resting on his laurels and giving us more of Shara, Bennett takes a supporting character from the first book and takes us to a different part of the world. We do get recurring characters — quite a bit of Sigrud, a few glimpses of Shara — and the Battle of Bulikov has a profound effect on the plot, but Turyin Mulaghesh really takes the stage.

Which is just fine with me, since she’s an amazing character. City of Blades gives us a lot more depth on that character: what made her the way she is, what drives her, what she fears, why she serves and when she’ll rebel. Her interplay with Sigrud and Shara is fun because it gives us a new perspective on them, too, and her relationship with new characters like Signe and Biswal allows us instantly to care (though not necessarily feel favourably toward them!).

And the plot, well. Again, Divinities are a key issue, which should surprise no one — and dead is not always quite dead when there are still miracles around. The mystery aspect revolves around a Divinity we haven’t met yet, but Mulaghesh’s experiences in Bulikov (and Sigrud’s knowledge of the Divine) is instrumental in figuring things out.

I don’t think I can actually say more without spoilers, so suffice it to say that City of Blades is just as awesome as City of Stairs, and a bit more heartrending into the bargain.

Rating: 5/5

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Review – Ms Marvel: Last Days

Posted February 22, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Ms Marvel: Last DaysMs Marvel: Last Days, G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona

Between the main plot and the extra material, this contains team-ups between Kamala Khan and both Captain Marvel and Spider-man. Awesome. Unfortunately, the extra material makes very little sense because it’s from Amazing Spider-man issues seven and eight… so pretty much without context. There are some funny bits, though, with Peter Parker teaching Kamala the ways of snark.

The main plot is better, though it is a tie-in with the recent timeline convergence event type thing which I know basically nothing else about. It’s interesting to see Kamala team up with Carol, although Carol is pretty bland here (why is her costume all grey?); Kamala’s excited questions and chatter are perfect. Expressions and art are perfect for the series, as usual: I love the faces Kamala makes.

Also, cute points like Kamala nursing heartbreak by eating tons of hotdogs and philosophising to the hotdog stand owner.

The family stuff is great here, too: we see Kamala’s brother come into his own a bit, defending his choices in life, defending his sister, and not wanting the same sort of life as Kamala. He’s happy as he is, and Kamran is entirely wrong that Aamir is at all discontented or jealous. That’s nice to see, and also the section with Kamala’s mother telling her she knows she’s Ms Marvel — much better than an ever-oblivious Aunt May situation, like Ultimate Spider-man. Aaaaand it finally resolves some of the tension with Bruno’s feelings for Kamala, with a very sweet scene in which they remain definitely best friends, with plenty of potential for more… if they survive.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Dead Man’s Embers

Posted February 21, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Dead Man's Embers by Mari StrachanDead Man’s Embers, Mari Strachan

Dead Man’s Embers is a mostly quiet story set in a small Welsh village just after the Great War, where everyone knows everyone, and you still might be more likely to go to someone who knows their herbs than to a doctor. It deals with the aftermath of war, in one thread, and of the development of understanding of not obviously physical illnesses and disabilities (featuring PTSD, dementia and what is presumably autism). It also deals with the tribulations of dealing with a family where you’re not always welcome, and of disillusionment with a loved figure from the past. There’s a touch of magic realism — can Rhiannon, Non, actually see people’s illnesses? Can the medium who speaks to her actually see something?

My answer would be yes, sort of, at least as far as Non goes. Her father calls her gift “diagnosis”, and I do believe that some people have that instinctive ability. I’ve only really had the experience once, looking at a man I admired and realising there was something wrong with his heart (and I couldn’t really say why: something about his face, the colour of his skin, the way he stood). He was dead within days, exactly as I had thought — but the doctor who saw him didn’t see what I saw, and sent him home. Some things do leave their marks, just like that, and that aspect of the story rang pretty true to me, no magic required.

The medium, well, I was less convinced, but strange things do happen and we don’t always know what to make of them, and that was more or less how it was handled here.

The love between Non and her family, the little points of conflict, all worked really well to support the mystery of what exactly happened to her husband Davey. It does get a little dramatic towards the end, with his realisations and confessions, but that works because of the solid support of Non’s fears and caring for him, and because his earlier traumatised state is well described. And there’s so many well-realised people — gossipy Maggie, steady Lizzie and Wil, capable and yet embittered Angela… People desperate for any kind of comfort, willing to believe anything, in the wake of a war which took so many away and changed Britain so much.

And it is so quietly, but so intrinsically, so very Welsh. Taken for granted is the fact that Welsh soldiers had to write home in English, which their families may not even have spoken. That notices of death came in English, and sometimes you’d have to go fetch an English speaker to read the news to you in Welsh. That Welsh speakers would’ve been forced to speak English, and punished if they did not. The “Welsh Not” is just a reality, not the horrible thing it seems to me.

Dead Man’s Embers is not my usual sort of book, but it cast a spell over me. I read it in an afternoon, unwilling to put it down.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Shiver

Posted February 20, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Shiver by Maggie StiefvaterShiver, Maggie Stiefvater

Hmm, what do I think of Shiver? I tried reading some other reviews to try and clarify my thoughts, especially since I know reviewers I often agree with (like Cait @ Paper Fury) love, love, love everything Maggie Stiefvater produces. And I see the comparisons to Twilight, and bear with me here — I think it’s actually kind of true. At least as far as the relationship between the protagonists goes. Because “I saw you naked when I was a wolf” is kind of not cool, and animal instincts only partly excuse it, since a wolf has no reason to stalk a human girl and memorise every move she makes.

But. The writing is much better. It’s called Shiver, and that atmosphere really does permeate the novel. You can feel the cold, the lateness of the year, the shortness of the days. The scent of the air. It’s definitely a sensual, sensory book — and that works especially well for the physicality between Sam and Grace.

I’m not always convinced by the characterisation of Sam, the way he thinks and the way he makes decisions, the kind of poetry he writes. I’m not exactly the authority on the way a teen boy thinks, and I did know some very sensitive people at that age, but it doesn’t quite ring true. It doesn’t even feel like the way an adult woman might think a teenage boy thinks, to me — it feels like Stiefvater just went for a “people are people approach”. That can work, but… society shapes all of us, and Sam isn’t really insulated from that enough for it to ring true.

As for Grace being boring, well, no, not really. I found her interesting because she was so down to earth and practical, because of her longing for the life of the wolves, because of the way she responded to her family situation. If all she thought about was ice cream and calories, people wouldn’t like her either. There are girls like her and they’re not boring — they’re just different, complex like anyone. People complain about frivolous teenage girl protagonists… and then apparently also about their opposites.

It’s not as if she’s inhuman. Her connection with Sam, with the wolves, her longing for that life… all of that feels real, and more absorbing to me than worrying about her looks or something (though there’s a place for that too).

I did enjoy Shiver, overall; Stiefvater certainly can write, even if I found this a little long for the plot (I got the “solution” before we were halfway through the book, and plot-wise it’s fairly thin). I don’t know if I’ll read the other books in this series. Maybe. They’re pleasant enough.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Camelot’s Blood

Posted February 19, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Camelot's Blood by Sarah ZettelCamelot’s Blood, Sarah Zettel
Originally reviewed in February 2010

I really love this book. I don’t remember how strongly I felt about it the first time, but I have a thing for second sons in fiction, second sons like Agravain — the quieter, grimmer ones, the dutiful ones with their hidden passions and their determinations. Agravain is a perfect example, and it’s also interesting that in this story, he and Laurel fall in love after their marriage, which comes of necessity and politics more than anything else. The four romances are much more differentiated than I remembered. In this one, I genuinely felt pain for Agravain and Laurel when they were separated, which is possibly because I found their situation more real.

The romance is still a little hurried in places, but I do like what we get of it. I also love the magic of this — Laurel’s magic, as she becomes unafraid and throws herself into it, doing what she has to do. I like how a lot of hints come together — the stain on Guinevere’s palm, for one thing, just that one tiny repeated detail finally finding meaning and explanation. Not something I noticed, on a single reading.

I found this somewhat unsatisfying as an end, the last time I read it. Morgaine is defeated, but Mordred is not killed, he flees. Reading it again, his defeat is pretty conclusive, and he runs like a child, but mostly I’m reminded of the fact that it’s still prophesied that he will bring down Camelot, and the threat of him isn’t neutralised at all. In one way, ending like this is very appropriate, because the quartet follows the sons of Lot, not the court of Arthur — but the court of Arthur and the importance of Arthur’s kingdom is important throughout the books, so it’s kind of odd that it ends without a real conclusion for that.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Death By Water

Posted February 18, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 7 Comments

Cover of Death by Water by Kerry GreenwoodDeath By Water, Kerry Greenwood

Ah, Death By Water is a satisfying one, for me. For all that I love the extended family that Phryne has made, it’s also interesting to go off and meet other characters, and visit some other environs. Death By Water takes us on a cruise and has a glimpse into Maori culture, and though I’m no expert, it seems respectful and interesting. Given the setting, the Maori village and so on is a bit like sightseeing, and the non-Maori white professor who has been practically adopted by the Maoris seems like wish fulfillment, but never mind, for the most part it works.

The cast of this one is both charming and dastardly, in the right amounts, and I enjoyed watching Phryne playing each person off against the others and working out the mystery. It’s made that bit less predictable by the fact that there are new characters — we know how Jack Robinson will react to Phryne’s interference, but another detective might raise an eyebrow (and does). We know Bert and Cec are to be relied upon, but what about on a cruise ship where Phryne can’t rely on them for muscle? Etc.

It also helps that the book takes her away from Lin Chung, and though he’s referenced once or twice, he isn’t her sole interest. And the word “concubine” doesn’t occur once, also a relief (to me, anyway).

I can’t put my finger exactly on what makes this so much better than, say, Death Before Wicket, but it had the right feel somehow. And it did give me a chuckle by referencing the Attenbury Emeralds! If only the Honorable Miss Fisher would one day run into one Lord Peter… Maybe they even knew each other as kids, who can say?

(Well, I know it mentions Sayers and Wimsey as fiction in one of the books, but hush. Hush.)

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Colour Me Calm: Mandalas

Posted February 17, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 6 Comments

Cover of Colour Me Calm: Mandalas by Elizabeth JamesColour Me Calm: Mandalas, Elizabeth James

An okay book of around thirty mandalas to colour, printed on one side of the page only. The paper seems good enough quality — my markers aren’t bleeding through onto the next design, though they do bleed through the page a little — and there’s a nice range of fiddly bits and larger areas to colour, with some extremely detailed mandalas among the more simple ones. It’s not bad for the price, which was only a couple of pounds.

My only issue is that I immediately recognised the fifth to last mandala from another colouring book, the Creative Colouring for Grown-Ups book of mandalas. On a bit of checking up, it’s possible they both got the image from Shuttershock innocently, since both credit Shutterstock at the front, but it does make me wonder a little about where exactly the mandalas were gathered from and if due credit was given… in either of the two books, since both came out in 2015.

So, a lesson, I guess — if you design mandalas, check yours hasn’t made it into one of these books.

Rating: 3/5

 

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Review – Georgette Heyer: Biography of a Bestseller

Posted February 16, 2016 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Georgette Heyer: Biography of a Bestseller by Jennifer KloesterGeorgette Heyer: Biography of a Bestseller, Jennifer Kloester

If you ever feel like, as a writer, feeling like you’re a hack who doesn’t even write that fast, I do suggest you read this biography of Georgette Heyer — or just take a look at her publishing history. Holy wow. She started early and kept on going and going and going, producing books which people love to this day almost right up to her death. And yeah, she had a formula for the Regency books, in a way, but they still remained full of wit and humour which makes each one feel fresh, and she did venture beyond those bounds: she wrote a medieval historical novel, contemporary romances, short stories, a novel which is still used as an example for her portrayal of the battle of Waterloo…

She was a versatile, accomplished and prolific author. I feel like she’d have got on with modern writers like Kameron Hurley in her outlook (though not, goodness me, politically or morally) on writing as a job, and one where she had to keep to deadlines, pay attention to her income, and constantly stay ahead of debt and the Tax Man. She may have loved it and it may have been a craft to her, and I think that is apparent, but it was also work and she took it seriously, using it to support her family.

The personality of Heyer is a little elusive because she was a notoriously private person, giving no interviews. On the other hand, there is a wealth of letters written by her available, including some she wrote to fans and to her agent, so her personality shines through there: self-deprecating in a very proper British way, but proud of her work and her research where merited; conscientious about her commitments; blunt and to the point about her likes and dislikes, even when she’s trying to support a friend.

There is quite a bit of repetition on these points, including a recurring theme of Heyer claiming that she doesn’t write well in adversity, and Kloester pointing out that she does. There’s a bit of repetition about her deep relationship with her husband (and the fact that it was not especially physical). But overall it’s an interesting biography which shines a bit of light on Heyer, and has made me scribble some of her works down in my list to read soon. Something about knowing the context in which she wrote them and the feelings she had about them makes them more intriguing. And oh, Heyer, how dare you not just adore The Taliman Ring? It’s so much fun!

Rating: 4/5

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