Tag: book reviews

Review – At the Edge of Uncertainty

Posted December 8, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of The Edge of Uncertainty by Michael BrooksAt the Edge of Uncertainty, Michael Brooks

I picked this up after attending the New Scientist “instant expert” workshop on consciousness. Michael Brooks introduced the lecturers and such, and chaired the Q&A session, and it was mentioned one of his books mentions epigenetics. Well, that’s possibly even more my thing than a workshop on consciousness, so of course I picked it up.

It’s an overview of the parts of science where we don’t quite know what’s happening. Where the story becomes blurred and you definitely don’t teach it in GCSE Physics, because even eminent scientists aren’t sure what to believe. It makes things we take for granted — the Big Bang, hereditary diseases mostly through DNA itself — a little shakier. So Brooks’ account is understandably speculative, just giving us a look at current thought in the field — the big ideas which could change the way we look at the world.

It’s reasonably easy to read, despite the big concepts, and I quite enjoyed it. If New Scientist works for you, then this is about the same level, to my mind. It covers a lot of areas of science and goes in-depth on none, so you certainly don’t need to be an expert. If you are finding the concepts a little difficult, I would suggest reading one chapter at a time and giving yourself time to digest the ideas — I did that with a couple of chapters.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Ancillary Mercy

Posted December 7, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Ancillary Mercy by Ann LeckieAncillary Mercy, Ann Leckie

For a while, I wasn’t sure how this book would or could wrap everything up, given the scale of the struggle that we began to see in Ancillary Justice. But I think, in the end, that comes down to the fact that the story isn’t actually about that struggle; this isn’t a never-ending epic struggle, it’s about one person — one fragment of a person, even, slowly becoming a person. It’s about Justice of Toren, and Breq, and then also about the people she interacts with: Seivarden, Ekalu, Ship, Station, Sphene… It’s about people and tangled loyalties and learning.

This makes the small stuff — the tea, the bureaucracy, Tisarwat’s purple eyes, Medic’s attempts to help Seivarden — all-important. So it’s great to see the bit where Seivarden and Breq negotiate mutual comfort; great to see the part where Seivarden struggles to apologise to Ekalu — and then later manages to really apologise to Ekalu. This passage was just so important, because it’s such a sign of how far Seivarden’s come, and such an important thing for people to realise:

“I’ve been thinking about it, and I still don’t understand exactly why what I said hurt you so much. But I don’t need to. It hurt you, and when you told me it hurt you, I should have apologised and stopped saying whatever it was. And maybe spent some time trying to understand. Instead of insisting that you manage your feelings to suit me. And I want to say I’m sorry. And I actually mean it this time.”

Now that’s the way to apologise, sincerely, even when you still don’t understand.

Also, this book does include glimpses of the wider world, beyond the Radch — mentions of the aliens, the presence of another Presger translator, etc. If you’re in this to see Anaander Miaanai go down, then I think you’ll be disappointed with the way the trilogy ends; if you’re in this for Breq and Seivarden and the people gathering around them, then this is an excellent ending.

Well, not an ending, but a good place to stop. You know that Breq will carry on, Seivarden will carry on, and they will still struggle and Anaander will still scheme and Tisarwat has a long way to go. But, “In the end, it’s only ever been one step, and then the next.”

Rating: 4/5

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Review – The Tombs of Atuan

Posted December 6, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula Le GuinThe Tombs of Atuan, Ursula Le Guin

This always used to be my favourite of the series, both for sheer atmosphere and because it featured a female-centred world, in complete contrast to the first book. It’s almost the opposite, in that way: Ged isn’t the POV character anymore, and instead we follow Arha/Tenar, seeing her experience in a different land, seeing Ged as an outsider. That latter is especially fun, because though he talks about not learning Ogion’s lessons, it seems that he really has. And there was always an attraction for the dark rituals, Arha’s dance in front of the Empty Throne, the drums struck softly at heart-pace. Le Guin didn’t just blindly throw together a bunch of superstitions and fake rituals: it hangs together as a cohesive whole, and the fact that even the characters find the rituals meaningless, strange, the significances lost in time… that also works for me.

One image that always sticks with me is that of Ged asleep on the ground, the small thistle by his hand. That image somehow epitomises the book for me: his serenity and trust, his link to the world around him, and also the way Tenar sees him, truly sees him, alive and in the world and not at all a part of the dark existence she led before… it’s hard to put into words, but that image does it.

Rating: 5/5

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Review – Raisins and Almonds

Posted December 5, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Raisins and Almonds by Kerry GreenwoodRaisins and Almonds, Kerry Greenwood

In my thoughts on Urn Burial, I wondered if one of Phryne’s lovers was ever going to be really exposed to danger, so that you don’t feel as if everyone around her lives a charmed life. Well, this one has a bit more threat to it — the confrontation chapter, in particular, was tense and a little shocking. I had the sense that it could’ve gone either way, and the desperation of other characters around Phryne who clearly believed that helped. The lengths they were prepared to go to, to save the character in question… yeah, I felt that more than I have for several books.

As for the plot itself, well — it’s typically dramatic, with Phryne getting tangled up in race issues again: this time not Chinese, but Jewish. I know that some people would probably call her a “Mary Sue” for being so adaptable to other people’s customs, but it makes sense with the character: her background, her generally accepting habits, the fact that she is definitely a lady.

One of the scenes was borrowed whole-cloth from Dorothy L. Sayers, which bothers me a little. I think often the homages are deliberate, but taking one of Harriet Vane’s lines to her future husband and putting it in the mouth of a character who will appear in one book, if the pattern holds? Hm. I don’t know if it was deliberate reference, unconscious plagiarism, or what, but it stood out like a sore thumb — Miss Lee joking to Phryne that she will always find her at home, when of course, she’s in prison and can’t leave. That line, in Sayers, tells us so much about Harriet, and yet here it feels wasted. Sigh.

Still, that’s a minor quibble, and for the most part this is a solid outing for Phryne.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – Dancing on the Head of a Pin

Posted December 4, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Dancing on the Head of a Pin by Thomas SniegoskiDancing on the Head of a Pin, Thomas E. Sniegoski
Originally reviewed 14th August, 2011

Like the first book of the series, Dancing on the Head of a Pin is a quick and easy read — fluff, almost. I mean, okay, there’s some gruesome bits, and it’s an apocalypse, but it’s still very easy to read.

I sort of wish there’d been more to the mystery aspect, and also that there’d been more of a build-up. Once you’ve dealt with the apocalypse, how can you go back to figuring out who the banker’s wife is screwing? Well, in real life, easily, but in fiction? I do wish there’d been some sort of reasonable escalation: now it pretty much has to be the apocalypse in every book.

The best character is Marlowe. Hands down.

Obviously, there’s unfinished business in this book, and I’m interested in how that’s going to play out. Not so interested I need to grab the next book right now, though.

Have to say, though, it still makes me think this is professional Supernatural fanfic, starring Castiel — uh, Remiel — the private investigator, and Dean — sorry, Steve — the human with a “profound bond” — sorry, “special bond” — with him.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Creative Colouring for Grown Ups: Mandalas

Posted December 3, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Creative Colouring for Grown Ups: MandalasCreative Colouring for Grown Ups: Mandalas, Various Authors

I think this might be my favourite in the series so far. Unlike most of the other Creative Colouring for Grown Ups books I’ve seen in this series, this has background colours, which can really set the mandalas off if you pick the right colours, and the paper quality seems to be even better, too. The designs are printed on one side of the paper only, too, so there’s even less chance of colour leaking than with other books, like the Japanese patterns book.

There’s a good range of patterns, too, with various different styles. I love colouring mandalas, so that might make me biased, but I’ve really enjoyed doing the designs in this one. Especially because I have new 0.4mm markers and they work quite well with the detailed patterns.

Rating: 5/5

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Review – Over Sea, Under Stone

Posted December 2, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 6 Comments

Cover of Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan CooperOver Sea, Under Stone, Susan Cooper

It’s time for a The Dark is Rising sequence readathon again! If you wish to join, you can do so via this blog. It’s the perfect time of year to reread the books, at least the second one in particular, with the winter solstice coming up. I always try and read them around this time of year!

With that said, here goes my millionth (ish) review of Over Sea, Under Stone. I’ve noted before that it’s basically an Enid Blyton adventure/mystery story, with Arthurian trappings. This time through, I noticed a bit more than that; despite the fact that it is much lighter than the later books in tone, for the most part, there are moments of darkness and fear: the moment on the top of the cliff with the standing stones, Barney captured, Barney in the cave, the last few pages before the epilogue… Because of that link to Arthur, because of the figure of Merriman, the seriousness that we see later in the story is still there. The Dark doesn’t go away safely in the way that the criminals always do at the end of a Famous Five book.

I think it’s partly that which makes the books survive for me — under the concerns of the children, there’s that darkness and fear.

Another thing which gets me is how all the people act like people. Jane and Barney and Simon get scared, they get jealous of each other, they puff themselves up and act important… The adults are indulgent, complacent. And then there’s the poetry of the quiet moments, the moon on the water and the quiet dusty attic and… Yeah. Brilliant writing. Not as compelling as the later books, but even here it’s very fine.

Rating: 4/5

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Review – A Wizard of Earthsea

Posted December 1, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 4 Comments

Cover of A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le GuinA Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula Le Guin

This month’s challenge in the Book Club on Habitica is reading (or rereading, in my case) Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea books. I scarcely need the encouragement to come back and read them again, so of course, I was in for this. It’s interesting reading this first one as an adult, having gone through my own coming of age and seeing Ged as young — just seventeen! It’s also interesting because I’ve read some of Le Guin’s critiques of her own work: the lack of place for women, “weak as women’s magic”, the typical male-centred quest story. It’s interesting to think about what could’ve been changed, and how that would have changed the canon of fantasy.

At first glance, the world of Earthsea is relatively typical fantasy. Yet there’s a spirituality here, too, and Le Guin’s interest in anthropology — her references to the customs like Sunreturn and the Long Dance — give it depth. It’s definitely its own thing, not derived solely from the fantasy tradition. And I’ve thought of Ged’s flight away from and then toward his shadow in very personal terms for a while now: to me it echoes my struggle with my anxiety, the way that I was weak and unable to fight it whenever I tried to pretend it away or avoid it. I had to face it and admit it was part of me, as Ged does with the shadow he’s unleashed. And like Ged, I didn’t stop being scared of it, but I gained strength from finding the way to fight it.

(Don’t get me started on the parallels in The Tombs of Atuan between the forces of the Nameless and depression, abuse. Now that I’ve thought about it, I think I could write a paper on it.)

“Only in silence the word, only in dark the light, only in dying life.”

Rating: 5/5

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Review – Urn Burial

Posted November 30, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cover of Urn Burial by Kerry GreenwoodUrn Burial, Kerry Greenwood

If you know what to expect from Phryne Fisher, then this won’t really be a surprise. It’s not particularly remarkable among the other books of the series, bar a slightly less stereotyped version of a queer couple which even includes a bisexual; it’s Phryne, being awesome, not letting anyone get away with prejudice versus her Chinese lover, solving a country house mystery. The more I think about it, the more I see the various books as echoing, mirroring, making homage to other detective stories, particularly Golden Age ones. Which kind of adds an additional level of fun, if you try to play “spot the reference”.

As with the other books, I find it very relaxing and fun, even when the characters are in some danger. Cosy mystery — partly because I know Dot and Phryne and the other characters I care about are going to be alright. I wonder if, just once, Greenwood has Phryne sleep with the murderer unknowing, or has one of her lovers genuinely threatened… That might raise the stakes a little.

Rating: 3/5

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Review – Of Bone and Thunder

Posted November 29, 2015 by Nicky in Reviews / 2 Comments

Cover of Of Bone and Thunder by Chris EvansOf Bone and Thunder, Chris Evans
Received to review via Netgalley

Once I read some reviews pointing out this is essentially a novel about a fantasy version of Vietnam, “slyts” and all, I couldn’t unsee it. I found it surprisingly absorbing at first, though I’m generally not that interested in war stories. There are some amazing bits of description — mostly gross, but it still makes you really feel the world in which the characters live, the heat and dirt, the discomfort of riding a dragon, the futility of the fight.

But… the dull grind of it started to get to me. When they talk about this being anything like Tolkien, they really mean just because it’s got dragons. It’s basically a very thinly veiled version of Vietnam. Everything’s dirty and futile and there’s no justice in it. I couldn’t keep track of the characters, given their fantasy-fied names (which made me wonder if Evans actually bothered thinking about the language these people speak and what their naming conventions are, because I couldn’t really detect patterns), and I just… lost interest.

If you’re into war novels, though, it might be more up your alley. It’s definitely more Abercrombie than Tolkien in terms of tone, though. If you’re reading this for the dragons… to me, they were just a prop, a way of making the Vietnam War into a fantasy war.

Rating: 2/5

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