The book was originally titled Hallowe'en Party when done in 1969. Venice has nothing to do with the original. This title is from the rep2024 Grade C-
The book was originally titled Hallowe'en Party when done in 1969. Venice has nothing to do with the original. This title is from the reprint to advertise the 2023 movie by this name. As for the original story, I don't recommend it. It is very verbose and too long. I speed read a lot and still had trouble. One paragraph in the post climax summation was actually two pages long. I did not read that either. But I picked it up in a roadside free library and will put it in another one. So no money lost.
The Burning Issue Of The Day (Lady Hardcastle Mystery #5) by T E Kinsey
2024 Grade C
As with most books in a series with the same characters, this one suThe Burning Issue Of The Day (Lady Hardcastle Mystery #5) by T E Kinsey
2024 Grade C
As with most books in a series with the same characters, this one suffers from sameness. Usually other characters and the situation are used to make up for the deficiencies. That did not work on this one. I could not read for long without getting bored (nice for naps) and it took me a couple of weeks to finish it. I won't be reading any more....more
I've wanted a copy of this book for my bookshelf since I first read it under the title Bug Hunt on the editing 1995 Grade B+ 2010 Grade B+ 2024 Grade B+
I've wanted a copy of this book for my bookshelf since I first read it under the title Bug Hunt on the editing service Scribophile. Writing and publishing a book can take quite a while as you can see. It is available on Amazon now.
The story is just plain fun. It is a bit like reading a SciFi action movie with many interesting characters and species. It often reminded me old SciFi monster bug movies, updated to Starship Troopers or Japanese animation levels. If it has any cons they would be that it is about 25% too long (I wanted to get to the climax earlier) and rather graphic on the gore in places. On the movies I keep in my collection, that have the same problems, I often edit out those parts. (This includes A budget films like Mission Impossible.) If the gore bothers you, well you decide if you want to read it. Otherwise it is a fun and pretty fast read. It has many places to stop but is easy to pick up again and makes you want to pick it up again.
I actually finished this a while ago but forget exactly when. It is book two in the series and, like many serialized stories, I see a same2019 grade B
I actually finished this a while ago but forget exactly when. It is book two in the series and, like many serialized stories, I see a sameness appearing. The adventure is good enough and the characters are still OK, but not a lot is added to the long story arc. It was not quite good enough to make me want to read another.
Merged review:
2019 grade B
I actually finished this a while ago but forget exactly when. It is book two in the series and, like many serialized stories, I see a sameness appearing. The adventure is good enough and the characters are still OK, but not a lot is added to the long story arc. It was not quite good enough to make me want to read another....more
I suspect this modern mystery might be a fun read. I just got bored in chapter 2 and abandoned it. Chapter 1 was quite interesting. Chapte2024 Grade Z
I suspect this modern mystery might be a fun read. I just got bored in chapter 2 and abandoned it. Chapter 1 was quite interesting. Chapter 2 was a data dump of the backstories of various characters in a setting from the past. I don't care for data dumps or flashbacks and gave up after trying various speed reading techniques....more
Book 4 in this series of cozy fantasies did not work for me. It was almost all cozy fantasy with no other story. I started speed reading 2024 Grade C-
Book 4 in this series of cozy fantasies did not work for me. It was almost all cozy fantasy with no other story. I started speed reading very early and never stopped. In fact, I speed read the so called climax even more. The protagonist was less effective than before and the morphing house sub-plot was never resolved. On top of that I did not like the new family character who seemed more annoying and boring than anything else. I won't be reading anymore of these stories.
This book was given to me for Xmas. Apparently there were claims that it is SciFi. It is NOT SciFi! It is a very well written fairly predi2024 Grade B
This book was given to me for Xmas. Apparently there were claims that it is SciFi. It is NOT SciFi! It is a very well written fairly predictable family drama.
Three damaged characters accidentally meet and form a functional unofficial family unit. When some criminals catch them, the shit hits the fan. Of course the police and family services people totally blow it as expected. They are more the bad guys in the story than the criminals. It would be a tragedy if a functional family unit were to be left alone to exist smoothly (I'm being facetious).
Personally I am very tired of damaged characters and backstories. I also think the book is about 25% too long, and after all that detail, the final chapter seems to lack enough transition. I did speed read some of the last 1/3 of the book. But there was never any doubt that I would finish it. The characters are very distinct, real feeling, and easy to identify with. It was so well written, smooth, & interesting that it was hard to put down at times. Oddly, it was a little hard to pick up again too, because I knew there was just going to be more of the same....more
A new dystopian novel. But instead of being about recovery from, or living in dystopian times, it is about preparations for the catastroph2024 Grade Z
A new dystopian novel. But instead of being about recovery from, or living in dystopian times, it is about preparations for the catastrophic event. The story actually starts with a Prologue about post recovery (I think) and then flashes back. Thereafter the chapters start with a day number. That number is a countdown till the apocalypse, as near as I can tell. It would have helped if I had figured that out sooner.
The prose was a little wordy right from the start and I never made an attachment to any of the characters. The story has a little science at the start about a long term sleep project and a deadly comet. Those kept me reading. But it seemed to be turning into a sort of government espionage story. The government did not want the secret reveled. When the second set of anti-government characters was eliminated in rather unpleasant and overlong chapters, I gave up. I did check the post comet area and tested speed reading, but I still did not like it.
"The Hidden" is a SciFi survival story with fabulous woNov 13, 2023 The Hidden by Romana Drew
2023 Grade A
"It's easy to die. Staying alive is hard work."
"The Hidden" is a SciFi survival story with fabulous world building and character development. It is a very real feeling story with the protagonist's sanity and life in danger. The author takes it right to the edge and then puts in just enough relief to relax the reader. Everything the protagonist does to survive is described succinctly so I never got bored. Yes there is tragedy too that fits exactly as needed. A Perfect Balance, and I suspect a difficult story to write.
Despite everything being alien, the story could happen now to a college student who was raised on a small farm with outdoor skills, if you could find a suitable uninhabited island to dump him on.
A lot of the tension relief is from the POV of other people on the planet and what they are doing about the protagonist and the villains who perpetrated the crime. It all ties together at the end into an exciting conclusion. It also fits between the other two novels of the long story arc but stands solidly alone as a self contained novel.
This is a true mystery in that the reader does not know who did it until the end. It is also a bit of a gritty period police detective st2023 Grade B+
This is a true mystery in that the reader does not know who did it until the end. It is also a bit of a gritty period police detective story because it mostly follows a "police" investigation in a harsh time in history. Thus some of the ways people are treated were not nice. It is not a cozy mystery.
The prose is economically written so it is easy and fairly fast to read. There is only some superfluous material in the 3rd quarter. The world is the USA 1936 White House which is interesting and described very nicely. The characters are quite vivid.
I found the book in a roadside free library - the best story I have found in one of those. ...more
Chapter one in this story is one of the best I have ever read - fun, surprising, upbeat. Sadly, the rest of the book has little in common 2023 Grade B
Chapter one in this story is one of the best I have ever read - fun, surprising, upbeat. Sadly, the rest of the book has little in common with chapter one and has a lower tone - downbeat and repetitive. I did speed read a little including areas repeating earlier material for new readers, and depressing areas full of sad angst. But it was still enjoyable with adequate character development and expansion of the magical world of Wisteria. The last chapter was just plain annoying, from the overlong standard celebration party to the ominous "to be continued" final sentences. It is not good to leave a reader in a downbeat state of mind.
Overall, I enjoyed the story, and it is worth reading. But I consider it disposable. ...more
I read five of the original "Psychotechnic League" books in the 1970s-80s, but I only have 4 and 5 in my collection. They are 1984 Grade A 2023 Grade A-
I read five of the original "Psychotechnic League" books in the 1970s-80s, but I only have 4 and 5 in my collection. They are no longer in print under the original titles. I wanted to read the start again so purchased this Kindle title hoping it had the same content. I think it does. The League future history series is indeed out of date as others have said. But if you ignore the dates, it is good. I had no trouble.
The content is a selection of short stories, novelettes, and a short novel. The league is in its early days, but it does have agents (the focus of the stories) trying to fix the societies on various planets. The content can be little harsh but that is the reality of the fictional history at this point. The stories are not gross enough to put me off. Except for a bit of repetition in the longest story, the writing is excellent.
I enjoyed Anderson's afterward where he praised Heinlein for inventing Future Histories and explained the reasons for the new release.
The book might not be worth reading repeatedly, but I do Recommended it....more
Reading these cozy mysteries is like relaxing in your most comfortable clothes. In other words, enjoyable. I love how the author includes 2023 Grade B
Reading these cozy mysteries is like relaxing in your most comfortable clothes. In other words, enjoyable. I love how the author includes period words and less used words such as "supercilious" - it describes so many people. The author also leaves out the common cliches such as the police not liking the amateurs. I might suggest changing venues or something in the next story though because the story did slip a bit this time.
As for the mystery I figured out the motive and two of the characters involved pretty quickly, but I did not figure out the twist to the whole story even when the final clues were presented. Perhaps that was because I did not believe the clue could be true. In the afterword the author confirmed the clue actually could not do what it is commonly believed. I am also a film fan of most eras and so have more knowledge of film history than many people.
Still it was an enjoyable book and worth buying....more
This is a romance (not my normal thing) but I liked the title and the premise of a person in a chemistry lab in love. So I tried it when A2023 grade Z
This is a romance (not my normal thing) but I liked the title and the premise of a person in a chemistry lab in love. So I tried it when Amazon offered it for free. The characters were adequate but the prose was massively introspective, and tedious. What I read of the story I found predictable. Those are the main reasons I abandoned it. As for the chemistry, after 40 years in a chemistry lab, to say it seemed a little off is putting it mildly. There was a lot of speed reading before I gave up....more
I thought I had a good one here in part one, but it fell apart in part two. Each of the six pMar 10, 2023 Over Her Dead Body by Susan Walter
2023 grade Z
I thought I had a good one here in part one, but it fell apart in part two. Each of the six parts is told from specific alternating points of view. In part one the two female leads and the story were very interesting. But part two switched to two male leads I found boring, and the first half was a repeat of part one. The second half turned into a tragic romance as near as I can tell and was boringly introspective. Massive speed reading took place throughout all of part two. I think the murder takes place in part three, but by then I was bored and checked the Table of Contents to see how long it was. I saw there was an epilogue and read that instead. It finished the the story quite well. My guess is the story was, in movie terms, a melodramatic Rom-Com Mystery which makes sense, because the author is a Hollywood writer/director. The prose was mechanically good and easy to read, but the story presentation was not my thing. It needed editing. I read 33% of it....more
Third person present tense prose and unlikable high school characters. I gave up at 1% mainly because of the prose. I could havMar 7, 2023
2023 grade Z
Third person present tense prose and unlikable high school characters. I gave up at 1% mainly because of the prose. I could have made my brain handle it but decided I did not want to make the effort. Sorry....more
I would put this in the light mystery category. A young London woman visits her rich aunt in Florida only to find her missing - and then 2023 Grade B-
I would put this in the light mystery category. A young London woman visits her rich aunt in Florida only to find her missing - and then a murder takes place. She has to solve the murder and find her aunt because the aunt is a suspect. The prose is very good and easily read. But the story and many of the characters are very stereotypical. Some automatic speed reading did take place. I did not solve the murder ahead of time, a good thing, but I did see many things the characters never mentioned. The character and world building were good (I did see some truisms from England that are not true in the USA. For example I do not think there is a standard "full American breakfast.") Overall it was a fun read even if not significant literature. I doubt I would read more in the series though....more
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