Archive for June, 2011
Thursday, June 30th, 2011
As usual, I’m a little behind the times with this post, but, nonetheless, I couldn’t help but contribute to what has turned out to the hottest debate of the summer. To be fair, “hot” is relative to your own personal geekiness. So yeah, to me, it’s hot.
Joking aside, NPR recently asked it’s listeners to tell them their top 5 Science Fiction or Fantasy novels or series (excluding young adult, horror, or paranormal romance fiction). The nominations poll is now closed while some poor NPR interns compile the results that will ultimately decide the top 100 SFF novels ever written. Sounds cool, right? I thought so too.
On top of that, one of my favorite up-and-coming fantasy novelists, blogger, and all around geek, Patrick Rothfuss recently posted on his blog an extensive list of his top SFF recommendations after getting a couple of fan queries and being inspired by the NPR poll himself.
So, in that spirit, I’ve decided to compile my own list. No, it won’t be a top-100 list or even a top-40 like Pat’s…more like a top-10…but considering that Pat has read way more SFF novels than the average human and NPR has suggestions from thousands to readers, I think 10 is fairly appropriate.
My list only has 1 rule: I have to have actually read the book or series. So, going in, we know that this list is not all encompassing…it’s really just the best of what I’ve read so far OR what I would recommend to other SFF readers. Well, enough justification, here’s the damn list already:
- The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
- Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
- Dune by Frank Herbert
- Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
- The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher
- The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
- Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
- The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
- The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb
There are probably some obvious works that come to mind immediately that that I haven’t included. Most likely that’s because I haven’t read that book or series or, like Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time, I’m part way through and decided to reserve judgment. That is not the case, however, with 7, 8, and 9. I haven’t read the whole series for those, but I liked the first novel so much, I put on the list anyways.
Anyways, if you are interested in seeing the pool that I pulled my selections from, you can check out my “read” books list at goodreads.com.
Oh yeah, and what’s a list without some honorable mentions? Here are some other books that I liked a lot:
- The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
- The Gunslinger by Stephen King
- Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks
- Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind
- The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn
- The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
- Scott Pilgrim graphic novels by Bryan Lee O’Malley
Wow, that was pretty fun. I can’t wait to see NPR’s list. Happy reading!
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Thursday, June 23rd, 2011
Daemon by Daniel Suarez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I grabbed the audio version of this from the library knowing very little about the book, really only that it had been one of the picks on The Sword and Laser podcast at some point. I didn’t even read the back; I just snatched up, checked out, and started listening.
I really wasn’t sure what I got myself into at first. It felt much more like a technological thriller than science fiction. The novel is set at pretty much present day and technology plays a huge role, but, at least for awhile, it’s all plausible. It’s far fetched, yes, but still possible (or pretty close).
My background is in web design and development and I work at a shop that also does IT and software so the technological aspect appealed to me (more than I would have even realized). I thought the author did a good job explaining things in a way that doesn’t require readers to have a technical background. If you do though, it probably helps.
There were a couple of things that kept me from going for 5 stars here…
1) Grag is a disgusting individual. I was so repulsed at one point that I just stopped listening for awhile. I’m glad I started up again though, because it was really just one scene towards the beginning that got me and the rest wasn’t nearly so bad. I also understand that a villain is not supposed to be a pleasant person, but it just didn’t sit well with me for some reason.
2) When it finally did start incorporating the science fiction bent, it felt out of place. As I mentioned, much of the technology was far fetched, but backed by real technology that exists today, which made it plausible. So when it finally went beyond that, it no longer felt believable.
One thing that caught me by surprise was that this is just the first book in a series. I didn’t realize that going in. I thought it was a one-shot. Now, I have no problem with series, but I don’t get that excited about thrillers in general so a thriller series doesn’t hold a ton of appeal. It makes me wonder where the story is going. It certainly could have been just one novel so I guess things will really escalate in the next one.
Overall, I liked it, but I didn’t love it. It really was probably more of a 3.5 stars for me, but I rounded up. I may read or listen to the next one when it comes out, but it won’t be at the top of my list.
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Tags: Daemon, Daniel Suarez
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Monday, June 13th, 2011
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Do yourself a favor, stop reading this review right now and go buy this book. If you like Fantasy at all, you won’t regret it. If that isn’t endorsement enough, keep reading.
For the past several months, I’ve been hearing great things about Joe Abercrombie and The Blade Itself, most from Veronica on The Sword and Laser podcast (which is one of my favorite podcast by the way), but I was busy reading other novels. I put the novel on my “to read” list, received it as a gift for Christmas, and just finally picked it up in May. Now, I wish I had picked it up sooner!
Admittedly, I wasn’t immediately wowed. In fact, it took me a little effort to get into the novel, but, once I did, I was sucked in. I think the biggest thing that slowed me down at first was the characters. I wasn’t immediately captured by major cast. They aren’t your standard Fantasy characters–there is no orphaned kid, no long-bearded wizard–and they took some time to grew on me. Once they did though, I couldn’t put the novel down.
Of all of the characters, I have to say that I was most drawn to Logen. The Bloody Nine. Damn. The guy is the definition of the term “badass.” However, I really liked all of the characters. They are so much more realistic that I’m used to. They are flawed; they are jealous, angry, and petty; they have regrets. But underneath it all, you can see that there is a measure of good in them. Perhaps it’s only a glimmer, but you can see it.
The novel is often referred to as a post-modern Fantasy and I think the way the characters are written is one of the key factors of that assessment. Nonetheless, the novel still has many of the classic elements of a typical Fantasy. There is still magic, wizards, knights, swords, and fighting. But the tone is different than most Fantasy novels and I like it. No, I wouldn’t want every Fantasy novel to be like this, but it is a nice change of pace.
Overall, I thought the novel was fantastic and I can’t wait to read the next one. I highly recommend this to all Fantasy readers!
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Tags: Joe Abercrombie, The Blade Itself
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Tuesday, June 7th, 2011
Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
After enjoying The Graveyard Book, I wanted more Neil Gaiman. I was also eager to increase my dose of graphic novels after falling in lesbian with Scott Pilgrim awhile back. The Sandman was the logical next step.
While I didn’t enjoy The Sandman Volume I: Preludes and Nocturnes as well as The Graveyard Book or Scott Pilgrim, I did still enjoy it. The story was bizarre and a bit twisted at times, but it captured me to a degree and turned out to be pretty good in the end. If nothing else, it left me intrigued enough to pick up Volume II at the local library.
One gripe that I sometimes have with graphic novels is the artwork. When I was a bit younger, I loved illustration and was none too shabby with a pencil by the end of high school, so I am sometimes rather critical of the penciling and colors. With The Sandman, I sometimes felt like the artwork was not in sync with the story. The artwork was often bright and somewhat absurd, while the plot was dark and twisted. However, it either grew on me or it got better with each issue, because it didn’t bother me as much by the end.
Overall, this wasn’t my favorite read of the year, but it was still a fascinating concept and has since lead me to pick up Volume II: The Doll’s House.
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Tags: Neil Gaiman, The Sandman
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Monday, June 6th, 2011
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I decided to listen to The Graveyard Book for two reasons: 1) I had heard a lot of great things about Neil Gaiman over the years, but I had never read anything by him and I wanted to rectify that; and 2) I was really sick of listening to the radio in the morning on the commute to the office.
The Graveyard Book is not Gaiman’s most well-known work, but the local library did have the audio CDs in stock and that made it the winner. Nevertheless, I don’t regret my choice at all. I thought the novel was brilliant! It really was a great story that was a lot of fun.
In particular, I found the characters to be very well-written, especially Bod and Silas. I also thought that the concept of a child growing up in a graveyard was very interesting. There are a lot of strange and exciting adventures that one could have in that setting and I found those portrayed in the novel to be very crafty and whimsical.
Despite that, I wouldn’t give the novel 5 stars, It was fun and enjoyable, but I wouldn’t put it among my favorites. It was, however, more than good enough to inspire me to read more works by Neil Gaiman.
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Tags: Neil Gaiman
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Thursday, June 2nd, 2011
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I needed a little time to digest the final book in the Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy before I could write a proper review. After some speculation, I think that I’m okay with the conclusion. I didn’t love it the way I wanted to, but it was fitting in a way.
It’s a little hard to go into much detail without giving away major plot points, but I think there are some things that I can safely mention. One thing I liked, throughout the series in fact, was that nothing was ever easy. Katniss almost always needed the help of others and/or some serious luck to accomplish her goals (i.e. survive). Even then, there was almost always a price to pay.
One thing I didn’t like was how depressing the story got over time. The first novel was actually fairly uplifting, but, by the end, things were pretty bleak and depressing. Katniss is not your typical hero and she didn’t always handle difficult situations very well, which could lead to extended periods of dreariness.
However, like the first two novel, Mockingjay was short and to the point. Collins doesn’t waste her words. Her sharp, crisp writing style really sucks you in and compels you to keep reading until you are forced to tear yourself away. That was mostly still true in Mockingjay, but not quite so much as in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire.
Though I was happy with the final novel for the most part, I couldn’t give it 5 stars. The Hunger Games was a 5 star novel for me and Mockingjay simply wasn’t as good. Even though the series loses a little bit of its magic as it progresses, I would still recommend it to anyone. It is definitely a well-written, engaging story that truly captures one’s imagination.
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Tags: Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
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