...
Title: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Author: J.K. Rowling
ISBN: 1551925702
Format: Hardcover - 766 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 8/10
Execution - 7/10
This is the fifth book in the infamous Harry Potter series which has captured the psyche of the North American market by absolute storm.
The first time I was made aware of Harry Potter was either the large number of books on book store shelves or the many readers on my commuter train. At first I was adamant not to read any of the series, mostly since I believe anything that the general public goes gangbusters on can't be all that good, and because I sometimes like swimming against the current.
But a friend of mine loaned me a pirated copy of the first movie and my wife and I watched it on a lark. Needless to say, I was impressed enough in the movie to read the first four books in rapid succession and have preordered this the most current book in the series.
My first comment about the series is that it is well written and that it should not be seen as a 'children's' series, as adults can get as much enjoyment of the series as children do (not to mention some of the weighty concepts the books touch on/deal with). Secondly, it seems that as the protagonist of the series ages, so to does the age of the reader. It is as if Ms. Rowling is writting for an audience that is progressively getting older.
Now as for this book, I must say that it doesn't particularly stand out in any particular way but it is still an excellent read.
I was very impressed with the way that Ms. Rowling made Harry into a well rounded teenager (i.e. he is very angst ridden and comes to realize that his parents are fallible, something we all have to face and never is an easy thing to accept).
It is also rather interesting to note that despite the fact that Harry is a very powerful wizard, he can be rather dense when it comes to the potential actions of the enemy. I am slightly afraid that Ms. Rowling overplayed this as it becomes quite transparent to the reader what Voldemort is doing but Harry just can't see it until it is far too late. But then again, Ms. Rowling may have just been expressing her opinion of how teens can be engrossed in the wrong things and not see those things that are standing right in front of them (which isn't a skill exclusive to teens).
With the grand revelation of this book I am quite curious to see how she wraps up this series in the next two, which are, according to the author, the last two in the series. Also part of me wonders if the last book will end up being 1200+ pages in order to fulfill this.
For anyone who loves the stories of C.S. Lewis, Madeline L'Engle, Roald Dahl or L. Frank Baum I greatly suggest they augment that library with the books of J.K. Rowling.
Title: Millenium Rising
Author: Jane Jensen
ISBN: 0345430344
Format: Hardcover - 430 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 8/10
Execution - 6/10
My first introduction to the writings of Jane Jensen were as the Gabriel Knight computer games (Sins of the Fathers, The Beast Within and Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned) which both my wife and I are quite fond of and are well written and paced games.
Due to my interest in these games and their author, by surfing the internet to see if a 4th game was forthcoming, I came across the notion that she had written stand alone books of which this is one.
The overall premise of this book is that several world religious leaders all attend a 'prophetic' event in Central America and each goes on their way to change the world. Shortly after their pronouncements from "God" (whichever incarnation they individually saw) the events of the Apocalypse as written in Revelations begin to occur. The two protagonists of the book are a Catholic Priest from the Vatican and a reporter for the New York Times. And the book follows their investigation of the 'events and their meanings'.
This book has a very good overall concept however the manner in which it concludes is rather wanting. The biggest issue being that the author seems to be setting the audience up on a 'journey of discovery' but about half way through the journey she seems to abandon it and continues to just conclude the tale. I am uncertain as to whether this is due to the fact that a) the author didn't feel she could effectively conclude the discovery, b) that she was afraid to allienate a portion of her audience or c) if the editor didn't want to have bad press/sales because of the leanings of the author (she was brought up the daughter of a fundamentalist christian minister).
Also I happened to be reading this book during a very difficult time, as my father had recently passed away and I was having a crisis of faith (perhaps not the best time to read a book of the Apocalypse).
I would recommend this book to those that are fans of the genre or of Jane Jensen, but I would throw in a caveat of not to expect too much.
Title: The Rod of Seven Parts
Author: Douglas Niles
ISBN: 0786904798
Format: Hardcover - 348 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 7/10
Execution - 5/10
This is one of the LARGE number of books in the Forgotten Realms setting created by TSR Games and being continued by Wizards of the Coast.
The premise of this novel is that there is a powerful magic item (the Rod of Seven Parts) that a piece of falls into the hands of the protaganist of the story. The rest of the story is the character slowly learning what it is they have, collecting the rest of the pieces and having a climatic battle against a creature of pure malice and evil at the end.
All in all this is a typical book of its genre (modern pulp Fantasy) with my only complaint being that at the beginning of the book way too many of the introduced characters die, and for no apparent reason (which goes against the typical concept of Fantasy deaths being either a result of deserved justice or in an act of selfless heroism).
I would only suggest this book to be read as a rainy Sunday afternoon diversion. I read it myself as a prelude to a DnD campaign that I will be running that is based on the same premise, and that is probably the only reason I finished it (that I and don't like to leave books unfinished).
Sunday, December 05, 2004
Sunday, June 27, 2004
...
Title: The 80 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time
Authors: Jonathan Vankin & John Whalen
ISBN: 0806525312
Format: Over Sized Paperback - 718 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 8/10
Execution - 7/10
It has been sometime since I invested this much time in a non-fiction book. The reason this one caught my eye is because I've always been intrigued by Conspiracies and was watching a show of the same title on Tech TV. On that show they repeated interviewed Jonathan Vankin commenting on his being the coauthor of this book. I was intrigued enough to spend the $30+ CDN to own this book.
The book is a collection of 80 conspiracies that are listed as the 'greatest'. It covered varied topics from The Shroud of Turin, the sarin attacks of Shoko Asahara's cult "supreme truth" (Aum Shinrikyo), the fake moon landings, and of coarse the JFK/RFK assassinations and the 9/11 disaster.
At first I would say that the problem with this book is that the predominate number of these conspiracies are of USA origin. But after some reflection, that makes sense as 1) the authors are American and therefore have a bias towards their own countries views, 2) the proliferation of media in the USA provides more opportunity for conspiracies to flourish and therefore seem great and 3) the USA has an interesting penchant for going to great lengths to prove that their leaders are both corrupt and incorruptible (yes, this is meant to be contradictory).
Being a dabbler into conspiracy theory, I was aware of a fair number of the ones mentioned in this book; however there were some nice surprises. There were some I had never heard of before (i.e. the 'assassination' of Pope John Paul I) and some interesting twists on those I did (i.e. that Mark David Chapman was 'brainwashed' to kill John Lennon). Actually, the most interesting 'twist' is that with regards to 9/11 the authors choose to debunk all the theories regarding this they can. Essentially what they argue is "the bigger the disaster, the bigger the disbelief". They do discuss various 'issues' of the event, but seem to say "it was a huge tragedy and any attempt at conspiracy theory (denial) is both pointless and a waste of time, accept it and deal with the consequences".
My only disappointments in this book are 1) that some of the conspiracies are covered to quickly and 2) there is a certain expectation, on behalf of the authors, that the reader is well versed in the players of US politics (past and present).
I would recommend this book to anyone who has a burgeoning interest in Conspiracy Theory, but for an average reader this will seem like just that much nonsense.
Title: The Piercing
Author: John Coyne
ISBN: 0425054764
Format: Paperback - 261 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 6/10
Execution - 7/10
When I was about 10 years old, I remember seeing a commercial for a movie. In this commercial it alternates between a woman sleeping on a bed and a spider dropping from the ceiling. It ends with the girl sitting bolt upright and gasping, as if the spider had just jumped down her throat. When I found this book, which shows a woman in bed with a fearful look on her face, I thought I had found the novelization of the movie in question. I have since learned that the movie in question was "Deadly Blessing's" by Wes Craven and starring Sharon Stone (her first movie I hear).
This book is actually a typical 'b-rated' horror novel of the seventies. It covers one of my favourite sub-genres, which I refer to as the 'questions of faith' horror novel.
The story revolves around a young girl in the Appalachians, who is a member of an extremely poor family living in a shack and two priests of a small Catholic parish near by. She is experiencing the 'stigmata' (the wounds of Christ (whippings, crown of thorns, nails through hands and feet, stab to the side)) and the two priests are trying to help/minister her through these tumultuous moments. And as it typical of this subgenre, the priests are both flawed. The elder priest is to ready to accept this as an act of God and the younger priest is unable to fulfill his vows of celibacy (he's having sex with a college student from the college parish he used to run, and to just add more fuel to the fire she happens to be Jewish).
Needless to say the book if full of bad times for everyone involved.
Every once in a while it is good to read some mental bubblegum, and this was one of those times.
I would recommend this book to those who sometimes feel the need to sometimes read a 'b-rated' novel, just for the pure escapism of it.
Title: The Legacy
Author: John Coyne
ISBN: 0425041832
Format: Paperback - 246 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 6/10
Execution - 5/10
Once again, when I was about 10 I remember a commercial for a horror movie called the Legacy. The commercial showed a lovely young woman sitting outside a bed surrounded by various hospital equipment and as the woman leans closer to the bed, a hideous hand/claw grabs her by the wrist. And this is the novelization of that movie.
I have seen the movie fairly recently (most interesting that Roger Daltry is in it) and thought, I wonder what the novelization is like.
Unlike some novelizations that actually add to the movie experience, this one does nothing but reproduce it scene by scene. There are a few scenes early on that add to the background of the host of characters, but they are few and weak.
Now the essential story is that an American architect is hired by a prestigious London hotel to redecorate their new hotel. She and her boyfriend head to London and have some time to vacation before the job. They bum around the country side on a rented motor cycle. As they bum around they get run off the road by a luxurious limo and the owner offers to let them stay at his mansion until the bike is fixed. However, as with most horror novels, this isn't just an idyllic country estate but actually the coven for five powerful people and their mentor. As the novel progresses the characters begin to die in very disturbing ways and the main character and her boyfriend have several close calls themselves. The ending has a nice twist, but happens to quickly to be truly effective.
I would recommend that anyone interested in this story might be better served by watching the movie (if you can find it).
Title: Forged
Author: Thomas M. Reid
ISBN: 1592630103
Format: Paperback - 316 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 7/10
Execution - 8/10
With the new Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition rules came a lot of new faces to the DnD industry. One of those new faces is Bastion Press with there campaign setting Oathbound. I have heard several good things about the Oathbound setting but didn't feel it warranted the $40 purchase for the main book, especially if I found out that it wasn't to my liking. Then Bastion decided to publish an independent novel that takes place in this new campaign setting. This is that novel. And actually this is only the first of a trilogy, which will be published one book per year for the next two years. I couldn't justify the $40 but perhaps a $10 novel would satisfy my curiosity enough to help me decide if the new campaign setting would work for me or my gaming club.
After 40 or so pages into the book I was mortified by the fact that several of the pages in the first part of the book had separated from the cover! And considering how carefully I read mass market paperbacks (you'll never see a crease in the spine of a book that has only been read by me) this was most unacceptable.
However, the quality of the story and the writing easily kept me going enough to finish this book (praying all the while that the bindings would last).
The book follows the basic premise of a standard campaign in Oathbound. The character is magically drawn from their native home/plane and end up on a world called Forge. The character has to adapt to several new concepts (i.e. heightened senses and emotions, magic, magical creatures, people of exotic races, and the world itself). Along the way the character interacts with several other characters and has to accept his new 'way of life.'
The author has a good grasp on storytelling skills and pacing. His story was rather graphic, but nothing that any other fantasy novel hasn't already covered. Actually his forthright nature was very appealing, mostly due to the rarity of such a style in today’s day and age, everyone seems preoccupied with symbolism or some such, as opposed to just stated what they mean.
I don't wish to give any of the concepts of the book away so as to avoid spoiling the freshness of the new campaign setting for someone like myself, who wanted to see what Oathbound was all about. I am fairly certain that for those of you that know Oathbound, the book will be a fair representation of the world.
All in all I would heartily recommend this book to any gamer and would also argue that any good reader of fantasy would be appreciative of this novel. Now to see if the other two books in this trilogy make for a good read as well.
Title: The 80 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time
Authors: Jonathan Vankin & John Whalen
ISBN: 0806525312
Format: Over Sized Paperback - 718 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 8/10
Execution - 7/10
It has been sometime since I invested this much time in a non-fiction book. The reason this one caught my eye is because I've always been intrigued by Conspiracies and was watching a show of the same title on Tech TV. On that show they repeated interviewed Jonathan Vankin commenting on his being the coauthor of this book. I was intrigued enough to spend the $30+ CDN to own this book.
The book is a collection of 80 conspiracies that are listed as the 'greatest'. It covered varied topics from The Shroud of Turin, the sarin attacks of Shoko Asahara's cult "supreme truth" (Aum Shinrikyo), the fake moon landings, and of coarse the JFK/RFK assassinations and the 9/11 disaster.
At first I would say that the problem with this book is that the predominate number of these conspiracies are of USA origin. But after some reflection, that makes sense as 1) the authors are American and therefore have a bias towards their own countries views, 2) the proliferation of media in the USA provides more opportunity for conspiracies to flourish and therefore seem great and 3) the USA has an interesting penchant for going to great lengths to prove that their leaders are both corrupt and incorruptible (yes, this is meant to be contradictory).
Being a dabbler into conspiracy theory, I was aware of a fair number of the ones mentioned in this book; however there were some nice surprises. There were some I had never heard of before (i.e. the 'assassination' of Pope John Paul I) and some interesting twists on those I did (i.e. that Mark David Chapman was 'brainwashed' to kill John Lennon). Actually, the most interesting 'twist' is that with regards to 9/11 the authors choose to debunk all the theories regarding this they can. Essentially what they argue is "the bigger the disaster, the bigger the disbelief". They do discuss various 'issues' of the event, but seem to say "it was a huge tragedy and any attempt at conspiracy theory (denial) is both pointless and a waste of time, accept it and deal with the consequences".
My only disappointments in this book are 1) that some of the conspiracies are covered to quickly and 2) there is a certain expectation, on behalf of the authors, that the reader is well versed in the players of US politics (past and present).
I would recommend this book to anyone who has a burgeoning interest in Conspiracy Theory, but for an average reader this will seem like just that much nonsense.
Title: The Piercing
Author: John Coyne
ISBN: 0425054764
Format: Paperback - 261 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 6/10
Execution - 7/10
When I was about 10 years old, I remember seeing a commercial for a movie. In this commercial it alternates between a woman sleeping on a bed and a spider dropping from the ceiling. It ends with the girl sitting bolt upright and gasping, as if the spider had just jumped down her throat. When I found this book, which shows a woman in bed with a fearful look on her face, I thought I had found the novelization of the movie in question. I have since learned that the movie in question was "Deadly Blessing's" by Wes Craven and starring Sharon Stone (her first movie I hear).
This book is actually a typical 'b-rated' horror novel of the seventies. It covers one of my favourite sub-genres, which I refer to as the 'questions of faith' horror novel.
The story revolves around a young girl in the Appalachians, who is a member of an extremely poor family living in a shack and two priests of a small Catholic parish near by. She is experiencing the 'stigmata' (the wounds of Christ (whippings, crown of thorns, nails through hands and feet, stab to the side)) and the two priests are trying to help/minister her through these tumultuous moments. And as it typical of this subgenre, the priests are both flawed. The elder priest is to ready to accept this as an act of God and the younger priest is unable to fulfill his vows of celibacy (he's having sex with a college student from the college parish he used to run, and to just add more fuel to the fire she happens to be Jewish).
Needless to say the book if full of bad times for everyone involved.
Every once in a while it is good to read some mental bubblegum, and this was one of those times.
I would recommend this book to those who sometimes feel the need to sometimes read a 'b-rated' novel, just for the pure escapism of it.
Title: The Legacy
Author: John Coyne
ISBN: 0425041832
Format: Paperback - 246 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 6/10
Execution - 5/10
Once again, when I was about 10 I remember a commercial for a horror movie called the Legacy. The commercial showed a lovely young woman sitting outside a bed surrounded by various hospital equipment and as the woman leans closer to the bed, a hideous hand/claw grabs her by the wrist. And this is the novelization of that movie.
I have seen the movie fairly recently (most interesting that Roger Daltry is in it) and thought, I wonder what the novelization is like.
Unlike some novelizations that actually add to the movie experience, this one does nothing but reproduce it scene by scene. There are a few scenes early on that add to the background of the host of characters, but they are few and weak.
Now the essential story is that an American architect is hired by a prestigious London hotel to redecorate their new hotel. She and her boyfriend head to London and have some time to vacation before the job. They bum around the country side on a rented motor cycle. As they bum around they get run off the road by a luxurious limo and the owner offers to let them stay at his mansion until the bike is fixed. However, as with most horror novels, this isn't just an idyllic country estate but actually the coven for five powerful people and their mentor. As the novel progresses the characters begin to die in very disturbing ways and the main character and her boyfriend have several close calls themselves. The ending has a nice twist, but happens to quickly to be truly effective.
I would recommend that anyone interested in this story might be better served by watching the movie (if you can find it).
Title: Forged
Author: Thomas M. Reid
ISBN: 1592630103
Format: Paperback - 316 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 7/10
Execution - 8/10
With the new Dungeons and Dragons 3rd edition rules came a lot of new faces to the DnD industry. One of those new faces is Bastion Press with there campaign setting Oathbound. I have heard several good things about the Oathbound setting but didn't feel it warranted the $40 purchase for the main book, especially if I found out that it wasn't to my liking. Then Bastion decided to publish an independent novel that takes place in this new campaign setting. This is that novel. And actually this is only the first of a trilogy, which will be published one book per year for the next two years. I couldn't justify the $40 but perhaps a $10 novel would satisfy my curiosity enough to help me decide if the new campaign setting would work for me or my gaming club.
After 40 or so pages into the book I was mortified by the fact that several of the pages in the first part of the book had separated from the cover! And considering how carefully I read mass market paperbacks (you'll never see a crease in the spine of a book that has only been read by me) this was most unacceptable.
However, the quality of the story and the writing easily kept me going enough to finish this book (praying all the while that the bindings would last).
The book follows the basic premise of a standard campaign in Oathbound. The character is magically drawn from their native home/plane and end up on a world called Forge. The character has to adapt to several new concepts (i.e. heightened senses and emotions, magic, magical creatures, people of exotic races, and the world itself). Along the way the character interacts with several other characters and has to accept his new 'way of life.'
The author has a good grasp on storytelling skills and pacing. His story was rather graphic, but nothing that any other fantasy novel hasn't already covered. Actually his forthright nature was very appealing, mostly due to the rarity of such a style in today’s day and age, everyone seems preoccupied with symbolism or some such, as opposed to just stated what they mean.
I don't wish to give any of the concepts of the book away so as to avoid spoiling the freshness of the new campaign setting for someone like myself, who wanted to see what Oathbound was all about. I am fairly certain that for those of you that know Oathbound, the book will be a fair representation of the world.
All in all I would heartily recommend this book to any gamer and would also argue that any good reader of fantasy would be appreciative of this novel. Now to see if the other two books in this trilogy make for a good read as well.
Sunday, February 01, 2004
...
Title: Thieves' World
Editor: Robert Lynn Asprin
ISBN: 0441805787
Format: Paperback - 308 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 9/10
Execution - 7/10
Title: Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn
Editor: Robert Lynn Asprin & Lynn Abbey
ISBN: 044180585X
Format: Paperback - 299 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 8/10
Execution - 7/10
Title: Shadows of Sanctuary
Editor: Robert Lynn Asprin & Lynn Abbey
ISBN: 0441805868
Format: Paperback - 338 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 8/10
Execution - 7/10
As per the intro to the first book, this was an idea born of beer at a book convention in 1978. This was the first shared world concept for a Fantasy series. It had previously been done with Sci-Fi with Medea (the progenitor of which was Harlan Ellison, and he apologizes about this quite frequently).
I read this series first when I was 13 or so, and never made it past the 2nd book. I am pretty certain that this is due to the fact that the 2nd book ends with a flagrantly blatant portrayal of several homosexual men. At the age of 13 I am certain I was very uncomfortable with the idea. Actually, now that I'm 33 I am questioning as to why the author choose to portray the characters in this matter. I can't really see as to why this was necessary. Not to say that the characters can't be homosexual but why it was portrayed in the very "in your face" method that was chosen.
I need to thank the co-announcer of a web radio show I listen to (Smaug is the co host and the radio show is Mortality.net, a bi-weekly show concerning news and reviews for roleplaying games), for reminding me of this series. However, my wife isn't all that happy that I spent several days and $70 on eBay obtaining the 12 books of the original series, and have now spent $20 on the two new books of the current series.
The entire idea of this series of books (of which there are 12) is that they all take place in or around the 'city' of Sanctuary. This city is best desribed as the 'armpit of all fantasy worlds'. This is due to the fact that it is a 'backwater' city in its world and is filled with 1/3 thief, 1/3 scoundrel, 1/3 con-artists and 100% victims. It is the perfect setting for candlestine fantasy, underhanded dealings and where pimps and thieves can become hereos. Each author submits a story to this world. The first time an author writes, they tend to use characters of their own creation and involve characters of others creation. By the 3rd book there are 25 'main' characters (of which three have died/been reborn).
I find these books to be very entertaining and quite cohesive despite the fact there are 25 different stories written by 15 different authors (in just the first 3 books). The level of magic in these stories is more akin to the styles of Fritz Leiber and low level settings than the High Level magic of settings such as Forgotten Realms. This is quite refreshing, especially since magic seems to have a high price on the user. This creates more of a feeling of 'be careful what you wish for' and a greater moral cost for any magic. Not the shortcut that it seems to be in some of the recent 'bubble gum' fantasy.
I would certainly recommend these books to any reader of fantasy and probably will 'borrow' several ideas from this setting for my on going gaming group. (Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, isn't it?)
Title: Thieves' World
Editor: Robert Lynn Asprin
ISBN: 0441805787
Format: Paperback - 308 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 9/10
Execution - 7/10
Title: Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn
Editor: Robert Lynn Asprin & Lynn Abbey
ISBN: 044180585X
Format: Paperback - 299 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 8/10
Execution - 7/10
Title: Shadows of Sanctuary
Editor: Robert Lynn Asprin & Lynn Abbey
ISBN: 0441805868
Format: Paperback - 338 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 8/10
Execution - 7/10
As per the intro to the first book, this was an idea born of beer at a book convention in 1978. This was the first shared world concept for a Fantasy series. It had previously been done with Sci-Fi with Medea (the progenitor of which was Harlan Ellison, and he apologizes about this quite frequently).
I read this series first when I was 13 or so, and never made it past the 2nd book. I am pretty certain that this is due to the fact that the 2nd book ends with a flagrantly blatant portrayal of several homosexual men. At the age of 13 I am certain I was very uncomfortable with the idea. Actually, now that I'm 33 I am questioning as to why the author choose to portray the characters in this matter. I can't really see as to why this was necessary. Not to say that the characters can't be homosexual but why it was portrayed in the very "in your face" method that was chosen.
I need to thank the co-announcer of a web radio show I listen to (Smaug is the co host and the radio show is Mortality.net, a bi-weekly show concerning news and reviews for roleplaying games), for reminding me of this series. However, my wife isn't all that happy that I spent several days and $70 on eBay obtaining the 12 books of the original series, and have now spent $20 on the two new books of the current series.
The entire idea of this series of books (of which there are 12) is that they all take place in or around the 'city' of Sanctuary. This city is best desribed as the 'armpit of all fantasy worlds'. This is due to the fact that it is a 'backwater' city in its world and is filled with 1/3 thief, 1/3 scoundrel, 1/3 con-artists and 100% victims. It is the perfect setting for candlestine fantasy, underhanded dealings and where pimps and thieves can become hereos. Each author submits a story to this world. The first time an author writes, they tend to use characters of their own creation and involve characters of others creation. By the 3rd book there are 25 'main' characters (of which three have died/been reborn).
I find these books to be very entertaining and quite cohesive despite the fact there are 25 different stories written by 15 different authors (in just the first 3 books). The level of magic in these stories is more akin to the styles of Fritz Leiber and low level settings than the High Level magic of settings such as Forgotten Realms. This is quite refreshing, especially since magic seems to have a high price on the user. This creates more of a feeling of 'be careful what you wish for' and a greater moral cost for any magic. Not the shortcut that it seems to be in some of the recent 'bubble gum' fantasy.
I would certainly recommend these books to any reader of fantasy and probably will 'borrow' several ideas from this setting for my on going gaming group. (Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, isn't it?)
...
Title: Crossroads of Twilight
Author: Robert Jordan
ISBN: 0812571339
Format: Paperback - 822 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 7/10
Execution - 6/10
This is the tenth book in a series wherein the average page count doesn't drop below 700. That is like reading twice as many standard trade paperbacks.
This series has literally hundreds of characters and is has such depth of world development that it often requires the reader to read a book summary of the previous novels in the series once the new one is released, in order to be fully up to speed with the events.
After reading the HUGE event that left off the 9th book of the series, I was expecting some serious 'dominoes' to fall in this book. However, this book decided to focus on several events that were well disjointed from this seminal event and kinda left me lacking.
I have read several disparaging reviews of this book on the internet and have several friends who seem VERY dissapointed by it. I think this may have made the dissapointment a little smaller for me as my expectations had been lowered.
I will say that given the number of pages the author had in this book, there really did not seem to be any major events until the last 10 pages. Even the seminal event of the previous novel was glossed over and was almost made anticlimatic.
This book was very much a filler and I feel that this is because the author is attempting to setup very, very particular events to occur and he needed this book to setup all the necessary precursors to these events.
My greatest dissappointment is that the next book in this series that the author choose to release isn't the 11th but a prequel. And apparently he is going to release another prequel before he releases book 11.
This makes me wonder if he has written himself into a corner and doesn't know how to finish the series with the expectations that his fans and his previous books are generating.
Perhaps he can take a cue from another favourite author of mine, Neil Gaiman, when he commented at his ending of his fan favourite Sandman series that this was his series and his ending, and that he knew he couldn't make everyone happy with regards to the ending and that the only advice he could offer to those that didn't like the ending to just go ahead a write their own.
Oh well, hopefully Robert Jordan won't take so long with the series that he will perish before he can properly finish it, as odds are his publishers will pay some unknown author a pittance to finish it or some egotistical prig will decide to take on the mantle and 'run with it'.
Title: Crossroads of Twilight
Author: Robert Jordan
ISBN: 0812571339
Format: Paperback - 822 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 7/10
Execution - 6/10
This is the tenth book in a series wherein the average page count doesn't drop below 700. That is like reading twice as many standard trade paperbacks.
This series has literally hundreds of characters and is has such depth of world development that it often requires the reader to read a book summary of the previous novels in the series once the new one is released, in order to be fully up to speed with the events.
After reading the HUGE event that left off the 9th book of the series, I was expecting some serious 'dominoes' to fall in this book. However, this book decided to focus on several events that were well disjointed from this seminal event and kinda left me lacking.
I have read several disparaging reviews of this book on the internet and have several friends who seem VERY dissapointed by it. I think this may have made the dissapointment a little smaller for me as my expectations had been lowered.
I will say that given the number of pages the author had in this book, there really did not seem to be any major events until the last 10 pages. Even the seminal event of the previous novel was glossed over and was almost made anticlimatic.
This book was very much a filler and I feel that this is because the author is attempting to setup very, very particular events to occur and he needed this book to setup all the necessary precursors to these events.
My greatest dissappointment is that the next book in this series that the author choose to release isn't the 11th but a prequel. And apparently he is going to release another prequel before he releases book 11.
This makes me wonder if he has written himself into a corner and doesn't know how to finish the series with the expectations that his fans and his previous books are generating.
Perhaps he can take a cue from another favourite author of mine, Neil Gaiman, when he commented at his ending of his fan favourite Sandman series that this was his series and his ending, and that he knew he couldn't make everyone happy with regards to the ending and that the only advice he could offer to those that didn't like the ending to just go ahead a write their own.
Oh well, hopefully Robert Jordan won't take so long with the series that he will perish before he can properly finish it, as odds are his publishers will pay some unknown author a pittance to finish it or some egotistical prig will decide to take on the mantle and 'run with it'.
...
Title: From Hell
Author: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Eddie Campbell
ISBN: 0958578346
Format: Over Sized Paperback - 560 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 9/10
Execution - 9/10
I first became aware of this book well AFTER the movie starring Johnnie Depp (of the same name) was released. To find out that this movie I really wanted to see was based on an Alan Moore graphic novel was most revealing and made me want to see the movie all the more.
However, I haven't gotten around to seeing this movie yet as I felt it would be better to read the book first and then determine how the movie was interpreted from the book.
I was quite surprised when began to read the book for two reasons: 1) the movie is "investigated here by a Scotland Yard sleuth (Johnny Depp) who uses opium, laudanum, and absinthe to fuel his semiprescient visions of the slayings." (Amazon.com quote) but the book has no mentioning of such an investigator. and 2) the premise for the story seemed very familiar to me and then I remembered the movie of 1979 called Murder by Decree wherein Sherlock Holmes follows the Whitechapel case to a similar conclusion to the one of this book.
What I learned from the rather well detailed appendix of this volume, is that both the 1979 movie and this book are based upon a theory of the Whitechapel Murders that was written by Stephen Knight (Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution).
This book was EXCELLENT. From the artistry of Eddie Campbell wherein you can almost feel the grit of 1880's London, to the writting of Alan Moore that even made the appendix an entertaining jaunt into history.
Based upon my enjoyment of this book and what I have gleaned from friends about the movie of the same name, it will be some time yet before I watch the movie so as not to overly sully my memories of this book.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who can get over the fact that it is "a comic book". Especially for anyone who is a bit of Ripperologist, who I certainly think could get some deeper meanings from this book that I may have missed.
Title: From Hell
Author: Alan Moore
Illustrator: Eddie Campbell
ISBN: 0958578346
Format: Over Sized Paperback - 560 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 9/10
Execution - 9/10
I first became aware of this book well AFTER the movie starring Johnnie Depp (of the same name) was released. To find out that this movie I really wanted to see was based on an Alan Moore graphic novel was most revealing and made me want to see the movie all the more.
However, I haven't gotten around to seeing this movie yet as I felt it would be better to read the book first and then determine how the movie was interpreted from the book.
I was quite surprised when began to read the book for two reasons: 1) the movie is "investigated here by a Scotland Yard sleuth (Johnny Depp) who uses opium, laudanum, and absinthe to fuel his semiprescient visions of the slayings." (Amazon.com quote) but the book has no mentioning of such an investigator. and 2) the premise for the story seemed very familiar to me and then I remembered the movie of 1979 called Murder by Decree wherein Sherlock Holmes follows the Whitechapel case to a similar conclusion to the one of this book.
What I learned from the rather well detailed appendix of this volume, is that both the 1979 movie and this book are based upon a theory of the Whitechapel Murders that was written by Stephen Knight (Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution).
This book was EXCELLENT. From the artistry of Eddie Campbell wherein you can almost feel the grit of 1880's London, to the writting of Alan Moore that even made the appendix an entertaining jaunt into history.
Based upon my enjoyment of this book and what I have gleaned from friends about the movie of the same name, it will be some time yet before I watch the movie so as not to overly sully my memories of this book.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who can get over the fact that it is "a comic book". Especially for anyone who is a bit of Ripperologist, who I certainly think could get some deeper meanings from this book that I may have missed.
...
Title: Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming
Author: Roger Zelazny & Robert Scheckley
ISBN: 0553354485
Format: Over Sized Paperback - 279 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 8/10
Execution - 5/10
Title: If at Faust You Don't Succeed
Author: Roger Zelazny & Robert Scheckley
ISBN: 055337141X
Format: Over Sized Paperback - 322 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 8/10
Execution - 5/10
Title: A Farce to be Reckoned With
Author: Roger Zelazny & Robert Scheckley
ISBN: 0553374427
Format: Over Sized Paperback - 292 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 7/10
Execution - 5/10
For a series that I spent several years trying to find I must say I wasn't truly impressed.
I had seen this on the shelves at my local bookstore for a very long time, yet didn't have the cash to pick them up at the time. As is the case with mass market paperbacks, they left the shelves not to return once I got the money.
But through the fotuitous offerings of eBay, I was able to locate these books and hastily bought them.
Given the premise of the novels (Good vs. Evil having a Millenial contest to decide the moral leanings of the human race for the next thousand years) I was expecting some funny commentary on Good, Evil and human beings foibals regarding either. Something akin to the book Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Instead I was given a series akin to the writings of Piers Anthony. Not to disparage Piers Anthony's writtings, but more to the fact that he has very good ideas that he either beats to death (Xanth) or he poorly executes (Steppe).
I was glad to have read more materials by my favourite author (Roger Zelazny) but was rather disappointed that such a good idea was so poorly executed.
Title: Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming
Author: Roger Zelazny & Robert Scheckley
ISBN: 0553354485
Format: Over Sized Paperback - 279 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 8/10
Execution - 5/10
Title: If at Faust You Don't Succeed
Author: Roger Zelazny & Robert Scheckley
ISBN: 055337141X
Format: Over Sized Paperback - 322 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 8/10
Execution - 5/10
Title: A Farce to be Reckoned With
Author: Roger Zelazny & Robert Scheckley
ISBN: 0553374427
Format: Over Sized Paperback - 292 pages
Rating: Overall Concept - 7/10
Execution - 5/10
For a series that I spent several years trying to find I must say I wasn't truly impressed.
I had seen this on the shelves at my local bookstore for a very long time, yet didn't have the cash to pick them up at the time. As is the case with mass market paperbacks, they left the shelves not to return once I got the money.
But through the fotuitous offerings of eBay, I was able to locate these books and hastily bought them.
Given the premise of the novels (Good vs. Evil having a Millenial contest to decide the moral leanings of the human race for the next thousand years) I was expecting some funny commentary on Good, Evil and human beings foibals regarding either. Something akin to the book Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Instead I was given a series akin to the writings of Piers Anthony. Not to disparage Piers Anthony's writtings, but more to the fact that he has very good ideas that he either beats to death (Xanth) or he poorly executes (Steppe).
I was glad to have read more materials by my favourite author (Roger Zelazny) but was rather disappointed that such a good idea was so poorly executed.
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