This one took me a bit to really sink into, since it dJust shy of 5, but a wonderfully solid 4 stars!
So far, two for two with this Wayfarers series!
This one took me a bit to really sink into, since it doesn't continue the story with the main cast of the first book. (I have since learned that all of the books are separate stories in the same universe, so I can now manage expectations much better.) But after getting slightly further in, the chapters flew by. I liked having the two storylines hopping back and forth, since it helped to break up the pacing, and provide context for previous or upcoming story beats.
I loved getting deeper into the world building of this universe. I know it's still early days, but I'm curious if every book will have a sort of "deep dive" into one of the major species we know about. The way Chambers writes about culture and mannerisms is somehow both easy to visualize and cleverly imaginative.
Being totally honest, Pepper's POV was what kept me reading waaay past bedtime into the wee hours. If that was all this would have been, I would have rated it a very firm 5 star story for me. Something about Pepper's story really pulled me in, and I wanted every scrap I could get about it.
While I became much more interested and invested in the latter half, Sidra's POV would have been a (very good, mind you,) 3.5 star by comparison, in the first half. It was still a good read, I was just way more interested in Pepper's backstory. There were definitely a few times early on where I would start a Sidra section, and immediately glance at the bottom right of Hoopla to see how many pages were in the chapter before getting to switch back to Pepper.
If you liked Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, I think you'll enjoy A Closed and Common Orbit. It's a different story, but the vibes are very similar....more
This one was a slow burn starting out, but near the end decided to go hypersonic, and wrapped everything up in like 4 pages.3.5 stars, rounded up.
This one was a slow burn starting out, but near the end decided to go hypersonic, and wrapped everything up in like 4 pages.
I kind of enjoyed the slower build-up for this. Evan and Andy were actually kind of fun characters, and it was interesting to see how they handled situations in this one.
What hurt this one for me was the cuh-razy revelation for the ending. It's just SO out of the blue that it's yellow instead. Completely coo-coo bananas nonsense.
But, weirdly, it was also kind of fun? Hence the 3.5 instead of a flat 3.
If you can get past the usual Stine stuff (ending nearly every chapter with a fake-out scare, and even a (view spoiler)[ dream-within-a-dream trope (hide spoiler)] this time,) I think you can enjoy this....more
I liked this one much better than Welcome To Dead House, which surprised me.
I'd bet that kid Chris would have thought this was boA very solid 4 stars!
I liked this one much better than Welcome To Dead House, which surprised me.
I'd bet that kid Chris would have thought this was boring and plodding, but adult Chris really dug the slow burn and building tension. The writing has also markedly improved already, in my opinion.
Without heavy spoilers, I think I enjoyed it so much because it very clearly takes inspiration from a seminal horror movie I love, and definitely hadn't seen yet in 1992.
I was a huge Goosebumps fan growing up. I think it even may have been one of the initial foundations thay sparked my love of reading and hor3.5 Stars.
I was a huge Goosebumps fan growing up. I think it even may have been one of the initial foundations thay sparked my love of reading and horror.
But that was over 30 years ago (I felt my hands ache in protest even typing that out.)
Because of that, I have decided to do a re-read of the original 62 book run, and see what I think about them now.
The thing I remembered about this first book was that it was much darker than anything that came after, and that may still hold true. It's not like Stine's Fear Street, or Christopher Pike's middle-grade levels of horror, but there is some surprising body horror hints and spooky themes to this first book. I really also enjoy that Stine doesn't sugarcoat anything, and writes in a genuine way to the reader. I can't explain it as well as others, but the way it's written feels like a kid talking to another kid.
I recommend reading Scott Rhee's review of this book; he explains it much better than I can.
I think the thing that is going to be a bit of a struggle moving forward will be the writing. I know I am not the target audience for this anymore, but it is rough having the characters so spelled out and simple. The story kept me engaged, but nearly every chapter also ended on an obvious (to me, anyway,) fake-out cliffhanger.
I would still definitely recommend this to late grade elementary kids looking for a spooky book, though....more
Almost 4 stars, but I can't do a round up in this case.
I really, really wanted to like this, but this story really didn't do anything for me. Primer iAlmost 4 stars, but I can't do a round up in this case.
I really, really wanted to like this, but this story really didn't do anything for me. Primer is a now a freshly minted teenager, and boy howdy do you know it immediately. All the tropes are there. I understand that this is pretty close to how actual tweens/early teens act, but that doesn't make it any more fun to read.
I adored Primer's first volume. It was a unique story, with a main character that felt different from all the archtypical superhero stereotypes.
This walks back a lot of what I liked in volume 1. It feels like a lot of edges got sanded and reshaped so she would fit in the larger D.C. box.
I will say, the art is still phenomenal. The bright splashes of color and watercolor stylings are beautiful to look at. I'd even say the art is what saves this from being an even lower rating. Here's hoping we get some more Primer in the future, because even with this disappointing sequel, I still enjoy the character and idea a lot....more
I came into this knowing two things: A: The film Edge of Tomorrow was loosely based on All You Need Is Kill, and B: The book and A breezy, solid 4 star!
I came into this knowing two things: A: The film Edge of Tomorrow was loosely based on All You Need Is Kill, and B: The book and movie were vastly different from each other outside of the main premise.
Edge of Tomorrow surprised the hell out of me, since I watched it on a whim without knowing anything beforehand. Once I found out it was kind of based on a light novel, I knew I would have to eventually read it.
Happy to say that it was pretty darn good! The book zips along at a quick pace. Everything keeps flowing, even at the expense of some potential character development, but I think it still works pretty well. There's enough to give you an idea of what is happening/changing within the characters, and I actually kind of like that your brain has to fill in the context.
My one big complaint, holding it from a 5 star rating, is that last 10%ish percent. The decisions and reasoning for the finale feel...forced? Like, the author knew what they wanted, but didn't know quite how to get there in the time left. So they tossed like, one paragraph of exposition, and called it good. I genuinely think I would have been fine with the outcome(s) if a bit more time was given to explain why what happens, happens.
Still a recommend though! I knocked this out in like, 5 hours total, so it's worthwhile if you enjoy Sci-Fi, or an interesting (if not as unique now-a-days,) premise....more
Just barely edging out to a 4 star, I think. There are some parts I really enjoyed, and others I could have definitely went without.
This may be my leaJust barely edging out to a 4 star, I think. There are some parts I really enjoyed, and others I could have definitely went without.
This may be my least liked of the versions of this story I've had so far, but that doesn't necessarily make it bad. The art is phenomenal, full stop. Some of the page spreads are absolutely wild, and there is some wonderful levels of detail. There are also some expanding of story beats that actually helped me make more sense of what was happening, especially in that last 5-10% that I wasn't a fan of in the light novel. I might still not fully like it, but I understand it much better now.
The bits I didn't like are almost all personal taste. A lot of the standard manga tropes are out in full force here. Lots of restating the same things over and over, with lots of exclamation points to really sink it in. A few of the character designs look like standard character archtypes, but it serves the purpose. Some fanservice is in there too, but luckily nothing too egregious.
Like I said, this is all personal taste. I'm sure I was fine with all this back when I first got introduced to manga, but after a couple of decades this style isn't really my cup of tea anymore. ...more
Okay, so I'm an assistant librarian, right? We have an elementary school next door, and classes come over once a week for a lesson and to check out/reOkay, so I'm an assistant librarian, right? We have an elementary school next door, and classes come over once a week for a lesson and to check out/return a book. Today I had a student come to check out book 3 of this series, and I did my normal small talk thing, asking him how he was liking the series and what-not. I said that I'm a bit of a video game dork, but hadn't read this one. He then immediately walked over to the shelves, grabbed book 1, and told me to get to reading. He said it was that good.
Well, I suppose I should trust his recommendations from now on, because I had a blast reading this. Sure, it's juvenile, and a some of the gross-out humor doesn't work on me as much as it would have 30 years ago. But the story is something I would have daydreamed about at in school, and some of the other jokes made me straight up laugh out loud. Ya'll know how rare it is to actually, physically laugh at a book for me? There's some fun little nods to game culture, like out-of-bounds areas and speed running, and the ending is actually making me consider grabbing book 2 to find out what happens next....more
Still digging what's happening! Glad to see Three again, although I do wish there was more interaction between them and MB. Also very happy to have anStill digging what's happening! Glad to see Three again, although I do wish there was more interaction between them and MB. Also very happy to have another longer story....more
I'll admit to being a little bummed that we're back to novella length stories, but this was still a fun book. Very detective-y, with some pretty neat I'll admit to being a little bummed that we're back to novella length stories, but this was still a fun book. Very detective-y, with some pretty neat turns. The ending wasn't like, a shocker or anything, but it was still interesting. I really enjoy seeing the way the Murderbot interacts differently with various bots, as compared with humans.
As for recommending: Let's be honest. You're up to book six; of course you're going to continue reading ...more
Phenomenal. I'd never gotten around to listening to the original Radio plays, but am a big Adams fan. A few weeks back I was cleaning the garage/basemPhenomenal. I'd never gotten around to listening to the original Radio plays, but am a big Adams fan. A few weeks back I was cleaning the garage/basement and thought, "What better time?"
SUCH a fun romp. I've read the Ultimate HHGTTG many a time, so it was fun to hear the little differences between the two. The cast was perfect, as well. Surprisingly close to the voices I gave them in my head all those years ago.
Oopsie! I had apparently finished this quite a while back, but completely forgot to review/update on goodreads, making me think I hadn't finished readOopsie! I had apparently finished this quite a while back, but completely forgot to review/update on goodreads, making me think I hadn't finished reading it. Used up a Hoopla borrow double checking. -_-
The story is getting MUCH more intriguing now. It's starting to snowball very quickly, and I'm excited to see how everything plays out (and how much gets resolved) in Volume 3....more
Absolutely loved it. I love that there is so much room for the story to breathe! If there is a downside, it's that now I know full novel lengths can wAbsolutely loved it. I love that there is so much room for the story to breathe! If there is a downside, it's that now I know full novel lengths can work so well in this world, and that now I have to go back to novella length stories....more
Short and sweet. It's pretty neat to have a story not told from Murderbot's POV, and see how humans think and feel in this universe.Short and sweet. It's pretty neat to have a story not told from Murderbot's POV, and see how humans think and feel in this universe....more
Alllmmmooossstt a 5, but just short of it for me. Don't misunderstand; this is WELL worth a read, I just can't put it on my Everest.
To echo/paraphraseAlllmmmooossstt a 5, but just short of it for me. Don't misunderstand; this is WELL worth a read, I just can't put it on my Everest.
To echo/paraphrase other reviews, I've never had so much fun while having nary an idea of what was happening.
There is definitely a plot, but it feels like we've just been dumped into it, in medias res style. Nothing is explained at the start. We don't know who we're following, why, or where we are. There is barely a speech bubble to be found, and transition panels are rare. You have to really pay attention to the art, and use context and the few bits of dialogue to parse things. This isn't a bad thing, because lemme tell ya something:
The art in this is wonderfully, beautifully, BONKERS.
The level of detail is insane, there is so much to look at, and the sheer scale of the world nearly gave me vertigo on a few panels. Thinking about how long it would have taken to just do one of the (many) establishing panels gives me anxiety.
You do eventually get the gist of what is happening, and a kind-of understanding of the world we're in, but to me that is secondary to just marveling at what Tsutomu Nihei accomplished here.
Give Volume 1 a shot if nothing else, to at least see this insanity....more
Oh, I really liked this one. The vibe is pretty different to the previous Murderbot stories, with this one practically a thriller. Some really tense iOh, I really liked this one. The vibe is pretty different to the previous Murderbot stories, with this one practically a thriller. Some really tense intrigue and action throughout, and a wild third act. I also really enjoyed all the little tidbits and incidental info happening in the background. This did an excellent job with world-building, and helped a lot with fleshing out the wider world that Murderbot lives in....more
This was a pretty fun arc, but definitely misnamed. This was my first exposure to Vengeance, and I REALLY dug her look and character. A fun Jim GordonThis was a pretty fun arc, but definitely misnamed. This was my first exposure to Vengeance, and I REALLY dug her look and character. A fun Jim Gordon story, recommended....more
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