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Post by Rob Allen on Nov 20, 2019 15:49:08 GMT -5
The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen by Hope Nicholson My wife got this book from the library a few months ago and I agree completely with your review.
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Post by Rob Allen on Nov 26, 2019 15:35:34 GMT -5
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 26, 2019 20:05:38 GMT -5
Very interesting in who they list more than anything. I think I'd choose Orson Scott Card, Charles Schultz and/or Harry Turtledove over Sam Raimi and the South Park guys, and there are ac couple I don't recognize, but very interesting.
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Post by berkley on Nov 26, 2019 20:21:04 GMT -5
Yeah, it's the kind of thing I would enjoy browsing through but I don't think I'd pay big bucks for it. And it isn't really a "history", is it? With the alphabetcially arranged entries for various writers and artists, it's more like an encyclopedia or biographical dictionary - but not those either, since the entries are more like little tributes from other artists and writers.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 26, 2019 22:30:49 GMT -5
Hundred Thousand Kingdoms NK Jemisin
I think I would have liked this alot more if I hadn't just read 'A Memory Called Empire'... it's not a bad book, but everything it tries to do with having a 'country mouse' come into a court to figure out her way, was done better there. This book, of course, has some gods mixed in, which is also interesting, but was also done better elsewhere (Katherine Arden's Bear and the Nightingale, to be exact).
The main character, Yeine, is pretty interesting, but I found it somewhat difficult to really root for her, since she was so fatalistic. She was so confident the whole time she was going to die.. what kind of hero is that?
I would liked to see a bit more of her world (which is promised in the next book)... we got absolutely nothing about the regular people.. just gods and spoiled aristocrats.
There was alot a bit too much space used for intimate scenes for my taste... I think that was meant to be a highlight, but it was both 100% predictable and far too long.
I do like the author's style, but this just didn't really work for me.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2019 22:55:53 GMT -5
Hundred Thousand Kingdoms NK Jemisin I think I would have liked this alot more if I hadn't just read 'A Memory Called Empire'... it's not a bad book, but everything it tries to do with having a 'country mouse' come into a court to figure out her way, was done better there. This book, of course, has some gods mixed in, which is also interesting, but was also done better elsewhere (Katherine Arden's Bear and the Nightingale, to be exact). The main character, Yeine, is pretty interesting, but I found it somewhat difficult to really root for her, since she was so fatalistic. She was so confident the whole time she was going to die.. what kind of hero is that? I would liked to see a bit more of her world (which is promised in the next book)... we got absolutely nothing about the regular people.. just gods and spoiled aristocrats. There was alot a bit too much space used for intimate scenes for my taste... I think that was meant to be a highlight, but it was both 100% predictable and far too long. I do like the author's style, but this just didn't really work for me. I haven't read her prose, but I did read the first issue of her Young Animal GL book for DC Far Sector last night and I had mixed feelings. I liked a lot of what was there, but there was just something I couldn't identify that felt was missing, but I attributed it to first issue syndrome and having to set so much up in only 20 pages, and from your reaction to this it seems the same feeling is present in her prose as well. -M
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Post by Rob Allen on Nov 27, 2019 3:19:36 GMT -5
Yeah, it's the kind of thing I would enjoy browsing through but I don't think I'd pay big bucks for it. And it isn't really a "history", is it? With the alphabetcially arranged entries for various writers and artists, it's more like an encyclopedia or biographical dictionary - but not those either, since the entries are more like little tributes from other artists and writers. Well, other writers and one artist - Pete Von Sholly did all the illustrations. Here are more details: A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS Compiled, Edited & Illustrated by Pete Von Sholly CATEGORY Fantastic Fiction PUBLICATION DATE June 2019 INTRODUCTION Pete Von Sholly COVER, ENPAPERS & INTERIOR ART Pete Von Sholly PAGE COUNT Volume 1 - 394 pages / Volume 2 - 394 pages EDITIONS Unsigned Jacketed Hardcovers — Volume 1 -ISBN 978-1-786364-25-8 [£50], Volume 2 -ISBN 978-1-786364-26-5 [£50] [Volumes 1 & 2 can be purchased together for [£90] Also available: 100 copies of a 2 Volume Set in an Illustrated Slipcase, signed by Pete Von Sholly — ISBN 978-1-786364-27-2 [£250] And a few sample pages:
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 27, 2019 17:35:34 GMT -5
I haven't read her prose, but I did read the first issue of her Young Animal GL book for DC Far Sector last night and I had mixed feelings. I liked a lot of what was there, but there was just something I couldn't identify that felt was missing, but I attributed it to first issue syndrome and having to set so much up in only 20 pages, and from your reaction to this it seems the same feeling is present in her prose as well. -M Definitely! I also read the 1st 2 of her later series..(The Fifth Season is the first one.. probably somewhere in this thread), and I felt the same... the ideas were good, but there was something a little off, and they main character had the same fatalistic bent... maybe I'm just to cheerful of a person to get her.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Nov 28, 2019 11:57:57 GMT -5
Killer's Wedge Ed McBain
This was a little different that the previous stories... while Carella is out on a case, the wife of a old arrest comes to the station with a gun and nitroglycerine to wait for Steve, so she can kill him.
The were lots of character bits in this one, while the regulars of the 87th try (and fail) to get some help. It was fun seeing how each of the different bulls tried in their own way to sort of the situation. I do feel like some suspension of disbelief is needed her... I don't think a room full of detectives would really fail to subdue a 32 year old woman with no special talent, nitro or not.
If you look past that, though, it's a fun installment.. you get the situation at the squad room, while Carella investigates a locked room murder/suicide.
Cotton seems to get some respect from McBain at last... as if he's finished hazing him and has let him into the department. No intro/epilogue in my copy of this one (the library had only a later large print version)... I missed McBain's commentary for certain.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Nov 29, 2019 17:02:51 GMT -5
Spock Must Die!James Blish, 1970 Finally got around to reading this one, basically the first of many (Oh. So. Many.) original, i.e., not-adapted-from-TV-episode-or-movie Star Trek novels. Not counting the YA book Mission to Horatius, it's also the first Trek novel I've ever read, and, well, I guess it was o.k. The central plot point is that an apparently perfect duplicate of Spock is created when Scotty devises an experimental, tachyon based transporter beam as part of a mission. However, it turns out that the duplicate is actually kind of an evil twin, and for a while the story is driven by the mystery of which one is which. Their mission, by the way, involves a trip back to Organia (last seen in the season 1 episode "Errand of Mercy") and a new outbreak of hostilities with the Klingon Empire. (Many aspects of the story, esp. the conclusion, don't jibe with most later Trek continuity as we know it.) Blish, a veteran SF writer, throws in a lot of high concepts and weighty philosophical discussions, like discussion of what the Trek transporters actually do to people (i.e., does it kill the person and then create perfect replicas?), and also some pop psychology that seems almost offensive from today's perspective (mainly involving the reason why the *white* women aboard the Enterprise are secretly sexually attracted to Spock - it kind of makes you do a double take). However, I liked some of the little tidbits he throws in at places, like when he lists a bunch of small animals from various parts of the galaxy, which includes something called 'gormenghastlies.' All in all, I suppose this one is worth reading mostly because of its historical significance as the first of its kind, or if you're a Trek prose completist. Otherwise, though, I can't say I'd give it a high recommendation. I hope the handful of other Trek novels I have sitting unread on my shelf (by Dorothy Fontana and Diane Duane) are better.
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Post by berkley on Nov 29, 2019 18:25:58 GMT -5
I've been slowly picking up some of these Star Trek paperbacks the last few years but haven't rtied reading any yet. When I was a kid, I read one or two of the books that turned episodes of the tv series into short stories, and also one original novel, Spock Messiah, which I remember liking a lot as a teenager, though I don't remember a thing about it and have no idea what I'd think now.
Because of this uncertainty, I'm debating whether I should hold off buying any more until I actually try a few to see how I like them, but since that probably won't be for some time yet, I'll probably keep picking them up if I see any cheap copies. Or maybe I could search online for some review sites, I'm sure there must be some out there.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Dec 2, 2019 9:44:49 GMT -5
I've read a few Trek novels here and there (Mostly by Peter David)... they're hit and miss... what makes me sad is there's not effort to move the story along or do anything new, they're basically just more episodes of the show that kinda fit in the spaces in between. The few times they do develop stuff, it tends to just be that author (or sometimes a couple) that pay attention. Two Kinds of Truth Michael Connelly I've not loved the earlier Bosch novels I've read, because the supporting cast is so good on the Amazon show (which is simply not how it is in the books), that I found myself missing them more than enjoying the story. I grabbed this one because it was pretty directly adapted in the last season of the show, so I thought it would be interesting to compare.. plus, what a great title! I actual plot is pretty much identical, but the players are different... the book has Harry exiled from the LAPD and working in a small town as a free consultant... I can definitely see how his character would get there, but that's not where they're at in the show yet. The did make Cisco alot more interesting, though. I'd read a book about him for sure. There's also no Mickey Haller in the show, which is good, because I'm not a fan. He's a great contrast to Bosch, but I don't think I want him around. For those not familiar with the show, this is a pretty complex plot, with alot of things happening at once, but it all manages to come together and make sense. The really weird thing is Maddie and J Edgar are in the book, but doing completely different things than they do in the show... that was a bit jarring, but it makes sense with the world of the novels... in which alot more time has passed and alot more character development has happened. I'm not sure I want to go back and read them all in order, but I definitely will be happy to read a other ones
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 3, 2019 19:08:36 GMT -5
American Comic Book Chronicles: 1940-1944 by Kurt F. MitchellIn the interests of full disclosure I've been friends with the author for around 20 years. He and I have haunted the same places online for lo these many years. That said, I don't believe that has swayed my thoughts on the book in any way. This is the first volume in Twomorrows' ACBC series that I've read. Not that I've avoided them. I just haven't found them at the price I wanted to pay. That I paid full price for this is testament to the regard I have for the author. This series is not quite the norm for the books I've read from Twomorrows. While it still has a ton of great pictures it is more scholarly and is generally a "deeper cut" than the artist surveys or even the company surveys (MLJ, Quality) that we've seen from the publisher. No long creator interviews here. This is a deep and scholarly look at comic books in the first half of the 1940s. And not just the usual suspects. You're not just going to get the output of DC (at the time two companies Detective and AA), Timely, Fawcett, Dell and the big boys. Mitchell tries to look at all the publishers that were churning out books during a half decade that saw huge expansion comic books. And it's not just the super-heroes (a myopia that tends to appear in books about comics). There's plenty here about every genre from the 40s and those publishers (Fiction House) that really never even delved into super-hero funny books. If there's a complaint to be had in the book it's that it could induce information overload. And I'd recommend that you read it with a computer or smartphone handy because there is a ton of stuff you're going to want to look up, even if it's just to get a better look at some of the characters described in the book. What saves it from that possible downfall is the author's voice. Mitchell is able to distill a huge amount of information in a manner that is both informative and conversational. I'm definitely looking forward to the continuation of the 40s. And a big thanks to Kurt for reminding me of some books I knew about and had forgotten, not least being George L. Carlson's work in Jingle Jangle Comics. I first encountered some of those stories 40 years ago in a book on comics and had largely forgotten about them. It's time to find a way to revisit some long lost gems. (for those here at CCF, this is my review across various platforms).
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Post by Duragizer on Dec 5, 2019 18:24:23 GMT -5
Bridge to Terebithia (Katherine Paterson) I first read this book for school when I was in the 6th grade (1998/1999). While I remembered the basic plot and cover art (dunno why the cover artist for this edition depicted the kids as teenagers when they're prepubescents in the story), I'd completely forgotten the title. Fast-forward to recently. I'd known about the movie Bridge to Terebithia for years now, but aside from knowing it was a fantasy film about two young kids, knew nothing about the actual plot. So I finally looked it up. Lo and behold, it's an adaptation of that book I read in the 6th grade! When I stumbled across a copy in a thrift store not long afterward, I didn't hesitate to buy it, keenly interested in knowing how it stood the test of time. Well, this book got to me. I'm not one who's easily driven to tears, but those last three chapters made me cry. It's a heartbreaking novel, made all the more so by its tender beauty. I only wish Bridge to Terebithia was a couple chapters longer. It's a bit short-winded — I would've liked to have spent more time with Jess & Leslie before parting ways — and the conclusion just a little too abrupt. 8/10
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 7, 2019 13:07:55 GMT -5
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
I really enjoyed Kowal's short story "The Lady Astronaut of Mars" which won the Best Novelette Hugo in 2014. So I was interested to see the world that Kowal had hinted at in that story. This is obviously alt-history as a giant meteorite did not hit the Chesapeake Bay in an extinction level event in 1952. But if you look a little closer the point-of-divergence is earlier...and I'm still working out how that was relevant. One of the great things about the book is that the science, both the climate science and the rocket science appears to be reasonably accurate. Kowal certainly cites to a number of scientists and pilots who gave her advice and assistance in writing the book. So even if it's not all correct it reads as correct. This is also a book that could lead to Mary Sue characters (as much as I hate that term and feel it is almost always misused). But I'd say that Kowal largely avoids this. She writes strong female characters but they are usually different and they have their strengths and weaknesses as to the male characters. This is a good modern SF novel (really it's half a novel). If there's a failing it's probably the author's voice doesn't really compel me personally. But there's so much to like here and it's so well written and researched that I was fine with that quibble. Read it. It's good SF.
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