Brandon Sanderson has always been one of my favorite authors. They are usually just fun books. This one was okay, but was a bit of a letdown. It is veBrandon Sanderson has always been one of my favorite authors. They are usually just fun books. This one was okay, but was a bit of a letdown. It is very much YA, in that the star is a teen, and she outclasses adults in every way, including telling the top general that her way is better than the years of experience, etc etc. So there is plenty of this that comes across as entirely unbelievable. It just seemed rushed compared to his other works. The characters were pretty thin, not much more than archetypes. But a lot of this stuff is fairly excusable for a YA book. It was still pretty fun for most of it.
The biggest annoyance I had was the AI character. It really annoys me when authors give AIs these quirky traits while also being logic based. It just comes across as super cringy dialogue. I am not in a hurry to read the second book, but I would still get it, although that AI character sounds to have a larger part in it and I'm not sure if I can take it.
The narrator did a good job with easily discernible characters and pacing. ...more
A good conclusion and continuation of the previous book. Mostly well paced and the story and characters are fun. It's definitely a younger aduience boA good conclusion and continuation of the previous book. Mostly well paced and the story and characters are fun. It's definitely a younger aduience book - they use sleep darts against rampaging murderous wolf-people, for instance. The illustrations are pretty good. ...more
Primarily moves to Ireland for some Druidic gods equivalent (more or less) to the Japanese Yokai. I feel like it could have done more with it, though.Primarily moves to Ireland for some Druidic gods equivalent (more or less) to the Japanese Yokai. I feel like it could have done more with it, though. That's generally how I feel about this entire series. It's just on the brink of being great, but never gets there. The art is fantastic though....more
While this definitely felt like YA, I quite liked it. There was some decent worldbuilding and I liked the mixture of monsters and their relation with While this definitely felt like YA, I quite liked it. There was some decent worldbuilding and I liked the mixture of monsters and their relation with humans, and the human relation with other humans. There are definitely some interesting power struggles, even if it's not really all that complex. There are some oddities and contradictions here and there that show it's not exactly a deep story, but they are generally easy to overlook. Easy reading and I'll be looking for the next one.
The audio narration was well done. Characters were easily discernible. ...more
Another great hazardous tales book. Second published but actually first one written and it might be one of my favorites. This takes a pretty narrow scAnother great hazardous tales book. Second published but actually first one written and it might be one of my favorites. This takes a pretty narrow scope to the Civil War, which actually helps the story telling. And William Cushing sounds like a really fascinating man to further research. John Ericsson too for that matter. These books are just so fun and an enjoyable way to learn about some neat history....more
Emily gains power, including over the voice, more or less. Removed the elf king. Navin is planet hopping and running into some giant trouble. Fun littEmily gains power, including over the voice, more or less. Removed the elf king. Navin is planet hopping and running into some giant trouble. Fun little sequence riding bikes down a mountain with jumps and other fun stuff (while being chased by monsters). Great volume, just wish it wasn't so long until the concluding book comes out....more
Another great Hazardous Tales book. This covers a lot of what lead up to and events surrounding the area to show what was going on with the Alamo. It Another great Hazardous Tales book. This covers a lot of what lead up to and events surrounding the area to show what was going on with the Alamo. It has some good maps of not only the area but the Alamo fort as well. As always there is a great use of humor to break up the terrible events, but this really does teach some interesting history. Love this series as a whole....more
The heroes try to find a lost city, continue to flee the evil Elves, make new allies, and fight off more monsters. This was a good volume, with increaThe heroes try to find a lost city, continue to flee the evil Elves, make new allies, and fight off more monsters. This was a good volume, with increased action. The main character learns new traits and skills. All in all, good progression. ...more
This is definitely the weakest of the trilogy, though it wasn't bad. There was barely any of the magic powers that I loved about the first two. There This is definitely the weakest of the trilogy, though it wasn't bad. There was barely any of the magic powers that I loved about the first two. There was also a lot more romance, which it made sense, but I care much less about. There was some pretty decent, though barely touched on, conspiracy at the end where things had to come together just right, which I always enjoy. It tied up a few loose ends from the previous books and kind of ended this one with potential opening to return to (though I doubt will happen). I really liked this world and I'd love for Holly Black to eventually write another, even if not with the same characters. Baron was just getting interesting and headed in an interesting direction as kind of a double agent of sorts. ...more
3.5 rounded to 4 stars A story of the downward spiral of a runaway 17 year old. She finds her boyfriend snogging with her mom so she runs away to NYC. 3.5 rounded to 4 stars A story of the downward spiral of a runaway 17 year old. She finds her boyfriend snogging with her mom so she runs away to NYC. Gets mixed in with a group of homeless people and gets into magical faerie drug, finds out about invisible faerie world within our world, meets and sort of falls in love with a troll, and fights a traitor. It was somewhat reminiscent of The Dresden world, though this was almost urban fantasy-lite.
The hero of the story is not a hero, just a trouble teen in a bad situation and she gets worse and worse as the story goes on, becoming a downright junkie. She steals to feed the habit. It's pretty bleak. The potion/drug they take sounds akin to heroin, but has magical properties that seem a little too strong. In one instance, a character turns a police woman into a furious dog, who is then shot by her partner policeman. I did like the aspect that it made people do what they want, like give them all the money from their wallet willingly, or eat rocks that looked like a snack. The actual faeries didn't really seem any more powerful than the humans on the drug.
The story itself was pretty good, but some of the dialog was just cheezy as hell. The bad faerie had one liners that reminded me of a bad Bond villain, something like "No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!" But it wasn't so bad that it really detracted from the book as a whole. This book seems like a good jumping off point for the character, but according to other reviews this one barely fits in with the rest of the trilogy and most of the characters in this one are no longer present. This one did have an unlikely happy ending. I will probably check into the other books of the series now as well. They make good filler books, quick reads, in between the usual epic fantasy and sci-fi I tend to like....more
The conclusion to this trilogy was very satisfying. This series got pretty dark with child slavery, addiction, abuse, murder, torture, etc. While it iThe conclusion to this trilogy was very satisfying. This series got pretty dark with child slavery, addiction, abuse, murder, torture, etc. While it is still young adult and doesn't get quite as nasty as some things I've read, there are definitely elements of grim dark.
This third one really narrows down the characters that are in focus with the majority of it just being on Jacob and Emma and their building relationship. Jacob learns more about his powers and what he can do without it feeling like a chosen one-fate driven character. The dialog was pretty real despite the crazy situations. The bad guy was a bit stereotypical madman for power type, but he really didn't play a huge part in the story.
The antique photos are a nice addition and I always looked forward to looking at them and how they incorporate into the story.
I would read more by Riggs if I came across them....more
The second book follows the peculiar children as they try to get help for Miss Peregrine, since she is stuck in bird form. This book is kind of a comiThe second book follows the peculiar children as they try to get help for Miss Peregrine, since she is stuck in bird form. This book is kind of a coming-into-his-powers book for Jacob. An awful lot of bad stuff happens to them, over and over and over. I think most people would lose hope at that point.
I really like the different peculiar "powers" and this one includes animals that can talk that are either just weird or extra intelligent or whatever. A few new peculiars came up in this one, a girl that can take damage without harm (the cover girl), a couple echolocation twins that have a banshee-like screech, a telekinetic, a girl that can create mass ice, and a few others. All of them seem pretty interesting and individual.
This is definitely a thrilling book and I liked it more than the first one. It ends on another cliffhanger and I look forward to finishing the trilogy....more
This book surprised me; I honestly had low expectations going in since it kind of sounded like a cheezy generic YA zombie book. I figured it'd be a quThis book surprised me; I honestly had low expectations going in since it kind of sounded like a cheezy generic YA zombie book. I figured it'd be a quick read with lots of smart ass quips. And while it definitely was that, it was quite fun and enjoyable. The characters weren't anything to speak of, fairly generic archetype teens - the loner girl, the popular cheerleader type, the nerdy techie, the tough badass trouble maker - but they were still decent. But the action and the pacing were really quite good. It's definitely a plot driven book that reminded me of a 3 act play with the locations having a strong presence. I could see this as being developed for a stage, actually.
The action was definitely thrilling and suspenseful and unlike a lot of YA books (or books in general), people do actually die (view spoiler)[including a small child, gasp! (hide spoiler)] The ending was a tiny bit of a let down, just in it using a horror trope that gives it that little "but the horror continues!" twist even though it was kind of silly to do (view spoiler)[the repetition of the beginning, essentially (hide spoiler)]. It wasn't bad, though. All in all, I liked it and I'd be in for the next one.
The narrator did a good job with varied accents and voices. Note, there are definitely some british and scottish slang involved, though it is light. ...more
I wanted to read this book because it has become rather controversial lately. Since it was turned into a Netflix series, it's popularity has of courseI wanted to read this book because it has become rather controversial lately. Since it was turned into a Netflix series, it's popularity has of course skyrocketed. People are worried that it glorifies suicide and some suicides have been directly blamed on either this book or the show (more prominently the show I think, for obvious reasons). I have a direct connection since I have dealt with depression for much of my life and have been suicidal in the past. So I wanted to see if there really was something to this that caused the uproar. After having read it, my short version would be that it's simply the latest scapegoat. People want something to blame in tragedy.
The book has an interesting format in that it follows two timelines concurrently. On the tapes, Hannah talks about how she came to her decision to end her life, "blaming" a multitude of people for the things they have done. At the same time, you have Clay listening to the tapes, walking around to different locations, lightly interacting with a few people. His timeline really doesn't have much going on apart from his reactions and wishing he had done more, his love for Hannah, etc.
I don't REALLY want to get into the details of Hannah's reasons why, since everyone is different and depression can affect people in different ways (not to mention female vs male), but I guess I will give my perspective. I'm now 33, so I'm not exactly the demographic for this book to begin with, though I do still remember my teenage depression (still ongoing, though less severe). To me, her reasons were the most shallow silly things. Not once did I relate to her as depressive, she was taking a unusually strong stance to a few minor events. Possibly the author just didn't know how to properly convey this. These events could still lead someone in that direction, but on their own, any normal person would more or less brush them off. I think that's the books failing, in that there weren't the other signs of actual depression. I could write it off in that it was just Hannah talking about events, as opposed to an inner monologue, but there was still some of that. It just didn't seem to fit, to me.
The book was ok, nothing spectacular by any means. I wouldn't seek out more by the author, but I would read his work if I came across it. I don't think there is much/any worry of this book actually leading people to suicide, but people have different triggers. I wouldn't recommend it to someone that is suicidal because it's certainly not going to help anything, either. It's double timeline was interesting and done fairly well....more
I didn't really know much about this book, besides it becoming a movie, before I read it. I was pleasantly surprised. It's an older YA book, which isnI didn't really know much about this book, besides it becoming a movie, before I read it. I was pleasantly surprised. It's an older YA book, which isn't what I commonly read, but it's adult enough to warrant, for sure. I'd probably recommend for 15+ due to some language, scary scenes, violence, and some other stuff. Nothing really bad but probably not for under 10.
An interesting addition to the book are the occasional photographs, which are apparently genuine antique photos. It mentioned them in the back, and said there were occasional minor edits, so I wonder if they are the antique version of photoshop (was more common than most people think) or were the powers added in for the book. And that makes me wonder if some of the characters were based on the photos found, or later manipulation to create for the characters of the story.
I was surprised at the emotional depth in the first half of the book, when Jacob is dealing with the death of his grandfather. It was well done. The latter half gets a lot more standard YA semi-super-hero type book. It's still really interesting, but I definitely had to suspend a lot of disbelief and ignore some of the things that made no sense or contradicted, etc. It's still quite good, but I think the writing in the first half was stronger. It's an interesting take on time travel and the next book will get into that even more so, with what sounds like will be quite the adventure. I do look forward to getting to that one eventually....more
I don't generally enjoy books or movies featuring anthropomorphized animals, though I did always want to read this (or see the old animated film) as iI don't generally enjoy books or movies featuring anthropomorphized animals, though I did always want to read this (or see the old animated film) as it's highly recommended. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. The rabbits (and other animals) are only slightly anthropomorphized, at least. They don't walk around like humans and use tools and such. They are very much rabbits, and I liked that. There is a level of world building here that is interesting. The rabbits have their own mythology, language (sometimes a glossary would have been nice), games, and activities. I particularly liked the stories within the story, about their mythological hero rabbit.
The book as a whole follows a small group of rabbits that leave their warren based on the advice of a psychic rabbit that foresees danger. They adventure on, coming upon other warrens and troubles, until they find a new place to make their home. There is a bit of tribal warfare involved. They see how different warrens (including farm rabbits) live differently and deal with it in different ways. This was done really well.
I have a bit of a newfound appreciation for rabbits now, even if it is just a story. It'll make me look at them slightly different, even I don't believe them to actually have some kind of society structure in the way the book tells. It does go to show how interesting the book can be. On that note, though, I wasn't particularly captured by the book. It was okay, not great. The narration also was kind of mediocre, so that probably didn't help. It was neither good nor bad. I could see reading this to my kids, but I wouldn't have the desire to read it again myself. I'd recommend it if you like light adventures or stories with animals. ...more
With Spider-Man, I think you have to kind of expect a few things. Unfortunately for this book, I'm not a big Spider-Man fan to begin with. This book cWith Spider-Man, I think you have to kind of expect a few things. Unfortunately for this book, I'm not a big Spider-Man fan to begin with. This book could have been a lot better. The characters were pretty weak, the dialogue was terrible and rather cheezy. The plot was really quite weak. Overall, I would skip this one....more
This book took a long time to read (8 or 9 months) because 1) it's really quite long for a young adult novel and 2) I read a chapter or two at a time This book took a long time to read (8 or 9 months) because 1) it's really quite long for a young adult novel and 2) I read a chapter or two at a time to my kids at bedtime (not every night). So my memory of the beginning might be a little hazy (especially with having read many other books while reading this one), but I think I recall most of it.
This is the first Rick Riordan novel I've read, despite him being very popular with the Percy Jackson series and other. It seems, looking at other reviews, this book is a little polarizing as it is basically PJ v2.0 with a different mythology as it's backdrop. For me, I had no reference to that so it was fresh so I quite liked it. The cast was surprisingly diverse considering the norse mythology is about as white scandinavian as it gets. I certainly wouldn't have expected a hijab wearing arab girl as a main character. The sign language using elf was an interesting alternative as well.
The characters were all quite enjoyable, including the villains. The banter and wittiness/jokes were usually pretty funny. The action was good and fast paced and exciting. The gods were done well, though I'd say under powered considering they are gods. Thor, as is so often portrayed (I'm not sure why), was kind of a moron that couldn't keep a hold of his mighty hammer (which he used to get the latest season of Game of Thrones). Odin was generally not present. Loki was up to his tricks and you never really could tell what his game was, but he seemed a good villain.
The set pieces and scenes were varied as Magnus &co goes on his adventure to rebind Fenris to prevent Ragnarok. Some of the side characters were pretty weird, but Riordan did a great job of fitting the mythology into the modern world.
The kids all really enjoyed it, though this book is admittedly a little long for them to keep their attention given their ages (certainly for the 4 and 2 year old. The 8yr old did fine and the 6yr old was kind of hit or miss for attention). They always wanted me to keep reading, but that might also be so they wouldn't have to go to sleep. And then they were requesting the next book as soon as I finished. I believe that one will be published in a couple months, so I'll probably get in a shorter book with them before we get that, but I'll definitely continue reading them the series. ...more
A decent short graphic novel on the true folk Irish hero of Brian Boru. I had never heard of this man before. Think Ireland's version of Braveheart/WiA decent short graphic novel on the true folk Irish hero of Brian Boru. I had never heard of this man before. Think Ireland's version of Braveheart/William Wallace. While different stories and situations, they have a lot of similarities as well. I can't vouch for the accuracy of the story, but it was a decent read. The artwork was a bit amateurish, but definitely good enough. Pacing was good throughout. I got the digital version via Amazon for free, promoted by the author. ...more
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