Reviews, book thoughts and opinions of one omnivorous reader.
Archive for July 2005
I’ve been told numerous times that I should read something by Georgette Heyer, so I finally did. And I’m glad. This Regency romance, about a vicar’s daughter who goes to London to seek a good marriage is delightfully witty and humorous. The characters were definitely real people, and it’s obvious that many later romance authors borrow heavily from Heyer.
This is the sequel to Welcome to the Ark which I wrote about here yesterday. It tells the story of Elijah, one of the characters in the previous book, a stereotypically “special” seemingly autistic kid.
Elijah runs away during the end of the first book, and in the second he’s caught by members of a radical environmental terrorist group.
This book didn’t flow quite as well as the first one did. In the first book, I could at least relate to the characters and the themes, even though I hated that they were bombarding the story. This book, though, while an interesting enough story, didn’t do much for me at all. I guess I really don’t like to read about paragons of human purity and goodness, and that’s how Elijah comes across.
This book (and its sequel) are very quick reads, since they’re young adult novels. This particular book, by author Stephanie S. Tolan, tells the story of four very bright kids admitted to a mental hospital who form a “family”. The kids have special powers, and learn about the global interconnectedness of all people.
This was a reread for me, and honestly I didn’t like it the second time around. Not that I have a problem with the message behind the books–I’m as much a pinko Liberal socialist commie bastard as you’re likely to find. I just don’t really like for my reading to be so heavy-handed with the morals and preaching. Even if I agree with it.
But the characters did feel real to me, and I could understand their feelings of isolation and wish I could do the things they can do.
So I guess I’d say, if you don’t mind a little bit of preaching, check this one out. If you like a well-told story set in modern times with supernatural elements, there are probably way better books out there.
So I had a lot of time to read, and so I did. Here’s what I managed to finish.
I’m not going to post reviews because I read a lot and don’t really feel like doing more than summarizing.
Book 13: Sea of Silver Light: Otherland, Volume 4 by Tad Williams. A great way to close out the series though it did go on a bit too long.
Book 14: Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell. Quite funny and full of interesting facts delivered in a droll, witty style which I liked very much.
Book 15: Deerskin by Robin McKinley. An interesting story. The climactic moments of the book seemed very weird to me, and they didn’t make much sense, and the main character was something of a Mary Sue, but she gets raped by her own father, so I guess that’s a compensation.
Book 16: Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King. Definitely not King’s usual style, but a gripping read nonetheless.
Book 17: Trader by Charles de Lint. The things I hated about Onion Girl> and Spirits in the Wires weren’t there. It was a very well-told story, although I think I may be one of the few De Lint readers who could really despise his character Joe Crazy Dog, known in this book as Bones.
Book 18: Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. I really enjoyed this book. Not enough to pick up any of Maguire’s other titles, but it was an interesting story anyway, and makes me think of Oz in a completely different light. I didn’t really identify much with Elpheba, the main character and the aforementioned witch, but I didn’t despise her the way I did several of the other characters.
Currently, I’m alternating between George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones and the 12th anual Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror. The Martin I think I will like. It’s just that I really have to be in the right mindset, and he really hasn’t gripped me quite yet, though a few of his characters will keep me reading. More thoughts about this series as they come, I’m sure.
I actually finished this book last night but due to circumstances beyond my control couldn’t post about it until today.
In this book, the plot begins to move again, making the pace a lot faster than the last book. Once more, I was riveted. In fact, I managed to read the last third of the book in one sitting, and didn’t want to put it down even for a moment.
As always, the characterization and setting descriptions were wonderful, and I’m beginning to appreciate Tad Williams’s wonderful sense of humor. There were moments I laughed hysterically out loud.
My one disappointment with the book was that one of the main characters dies. The death makes sense, but, like this character’s best friend, I found myself wanting to cry. Then again, that’s a testimony to the amazingness of the writer, who has made me care about these characters for weeks out of my life.
Rating: 94/100