Book Reviews #37 and #38
Aug. 8th, 2008 11:32 amCurrently Reading:
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren
Before I get to the reviews, poll results.
Four votes for "I don't care either way," three votes for long reviews, and one for short. That's pretty much what I expected, but I just wanted to make sure. Long book reviews are incredibly difficult, but here at my personal journal, why not?
So, here they come.
...gah.
I almost had my book post entirely finished. And somehow, I went back, and guess what happened?
I lost it.
All of it.
So hopefully you'll be all right with a shorter book post. This will just be a paragraph or two explaining if I liked it or not. Nothing too terribly fancy, but I don't feel like redoing that whole post again.
Book 28—The Six Sacred Stones by Matthew Reilly—Grade: B+
I really enjoyed this continuation of Seven Deadly Wonders. Even though it was, again, an action thriller rather than a character study, it kept me entertained and intrigued. This book had similarities to SDW, but was different at the same time, if that makes sense. I adored the action in this, and how it kept me turning the pages, but I felt the writing style might've been suffering a bit. However, I'll definitely be trying to get the next book in the series, considering how Matthew Reilly ended the book...
Book 29—The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini—Grade: A-
Out of the two books I just finished reading, this was my favorite, probably because I enjoy character studies much better than action thrillers. Of course, both are good, but this one was just quite a bit better. I loved the way Khaled portrayed the characters—Amir, the shy, sensitive, slightly cowardly man that grows into himself throughout the story, Baba, the multilayered father with boundaries and rules, Hassan, the Hazara boy that has the worst possible thing done to him, and all the other characters, too, that I can't remember the names of—because they all seem so real. Everything in this book seemed real, even though some people call certain things unrealistic. I actually found most everything realistic and, as a result, loved this book.
Certainly, for me, at least, Khaled Hosseini is an author to watch out for.
Currently Reading: Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel
Books To Be Read: Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Wow... so sorry for not getting these up sooner. I've just been busy lately, so I have barely been checking LJ or having a moment to spare to actually post something.
But now that I have a few spare minutes on my birthday to post, I decided now is the best time, in case I don't get an opportunity to later.
I know, I know, two posts in a day spams the friend-lists, but I just finished the second book of the Planet Pirates trilogy, and I had to do a book review on it.
Book: Sassinak, Anne McCaffrey
Genre: Science fiction
Length: 280 pp., according to my version
Grade: B
Barnes and Noble Summary: Sassinak was 12 when the raiders came. That made her just the right age: old enough to be used, young enough to be broken. Or so the slavers thought. But Sassy turned out to be a little different . . . and bided her time to become the fleet captain of a pirate-chasing ship of her own.
My Thoughts: I'm not sure what my opinion of this book is, frankly. It was written well enough, it had enough action, some suspense, some character development... but something was missing. I'm not sure what it was, but the book just didn't grab my attention the way it should.
Sassinak was the only character that was really developed and, honestly, her character didn't appeal to me. She seemed a bit like a Mary-Sue, and her character development wasn't all that intriguing. The description in the book says that she was "different," but I didn't get that... different-ness in the book itself, if that makes sense. It was said, but it just didn't seem believable to me.
However, through all that, I enjoyed reading the book. I only had one favorite part that really made me want to read on, so I probably wouldn't reread this anytime soon. I'm still going to read Generation Warriors, but only because I don't want to leave the series when I've already read two of the three.
So, all in all, it was a fairly good book, and I might pick it up again sometime.
ETA: Finished Generation Warriors, but didn't think I should do another post just for that particular book.
Book: Generation Warriors, Anne McCaffrey
Genre: Science fiction
Length: 207 pp., in my version
Grade: C
Barnes and Noble Summary: Lunzie, fresh from her adventures in The Death of Sleep, has discovered that the one good heavyworlder she ever met isn't so good after all...
Fordeliton, sent off to investigate the connection between the super-rich and the planet pirates, is now dying of a mysterious slow poision. His aunt's spiritual advisor wants to give him her "special cure."
Dupaynil, having made the mistake of pushing Sassinak too far, has been exiled to Seti space aboard a tiny escort vessel--where he's discovered that the crew are in the pay of planet pirates...
Aygar, the idealistic young Iretan, is out to prove he has brains as well as heavyworlder brawn... but there are plenty who'd like to blow them out before he can learn to use them.
Then there's Sassinak, ordered to report to FedCentral for the trial of the mutineer Tanegli. She'd been told to disarm her ship when it enters restricted space; she'd been told her crew can't have liberty or leave; and she'd been told to follow all the rules. You remember Sassinak...the only person who might be able to stop the disaster ahead has never been one to follow the rules...
My Thoughts: I think my reaction of "FINALLY!" once I reached the last page says it all, really.
Don't get me wrong, the book was well-written, but it wasn't just for me. I found myself skimming past the last one hundred pages or so just to get done with it, and ended up yelling at the book because I wanted it to be over already. My favorite parts were with Fordeliton and Dupaynil, as well as some scenes with Lunzie. Sassinak gets on my nerves, even though I have no clue why, and I just... really didn't like the book.
However, that's a matter of personal taste--it's written well enough, but it definitely wasn't for me.
Next Up: Liberal Fascism, by Jonah Goldberg