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Review Date: 10/3/2007
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
"Another fun anthology edited by Martin H. Greenberg.
This is a collection of 16 short stories revolving around the concept of Hell and what exactly it is. Each story takes a different path down to the depths but each and every one is amusing. An angel forced by his own sin to work in a convenience store in Hell. Or a demon in being promoted into a supervisory role he doesn't want and isn't really qualified for. And my personal favorite Armageddon being held up by buracracy.
Definately a fun light read that will make you smile more than once."
This is a collection of 16 short stories revolving around the concept of Hell and what exactly it is. Each story takes a different path down to the depths but each and every one is amusing. An angel forced by his own sin to work in a convenience store in Hell. Or a demon in being promoted into a supervisory role he doesn't want and isn't really qualified for. And my personal favorite Armageddon being held up by buracracy.
Definately a fun light read that will make you smile more than once."
Review Date: 9/12/2010
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
"I really liked the way this book handled its vampires and zombies bringing a more scientific explanation to the table especially explaining the traditional shambling stumbling idiot zombie in a logical way.
That being said I was a bit disappointed in this book. As a non-romance paranormal and mystery junkie I was hoping this was going to be a bit more of a hard boiled noirish Harry Dresden/John Taylor type of book. Sadly it didn't meet that expectation. The vampyric aspect of Joe came across merely as a plot device and hindrance and while it did help create tension for the story and problems for Joe it almost seemed like any "disease" could have filled that bill.
I think the biggest telling point is less than a month after reading it I had to really stop and think about how the book ended and who the villain turned out to be.
I want to like Joe and there are a few interesting subplot points that I would love to get answers too so I will probably try the second book, but I don't know if I'll make it through the whole series."
That being said I was a bit disappointed in this book. As a non-romance paranormal and mystery junkie I was hoping this was going to be a bit more of a hard boiled noirish Harry Dresden/John Taylor type of book. Sadly it didn't meet that expectation. The vampyric aspect of Joe came across merely as a plot device and hindrance and while it did help create tension for the story and problems for Joe it almost seemed like any "disease" could have filled that bill.
I think the biggest telling point is less than a month after reading it I had to really stop and think about how the book ended and who the villain turned out to be.
I want to like Joe and there are a few interesting subplot points that I would love to get answers too so I will probably try the second book, but I don't know if I'll make it through the whole series."
Review Date: 8/31/2007
11 member(s) found this review helpful.
"It wasn't a bad story but it was most definately not the best of its type out there.
Anna is what is becoming the stereotypical strong female turned into something she didn't really want to be but dealing with it in the best way she can. But other variants of that type are more engaging. I just couldn't ever really sympathize with her as much as I would have liked to.
And worst of all for me every plot twist and device was telegraphed a mile away. You have to wonder how someone who is supposed to be a smart savvy bounty hunter can be so blind to the obvious.
Still overall its a decent read but if I had it to do over it would be a used/PBS purchase or library checkout rather than a full price purchase."
Anna is what is becoming the stereotypical strong female turned into something she didn't really want to be but dealing with it in the best way she can. But other variants of that type are more engaging. I just couldn't ever really sympathize with her as much as I would have liked to.
And worst of all for me every plot twist and device was telegraphed a mile away. You have to wonder how someone who is supposed to be a smart savvy bounty hunter can be so blind to the obvious.
Still overall its a decent read but if I had it to do over it would be a used/PBS purchase or library checkout rather than a full price purchase."
Review Date: 8/3/2007
7 member(s) found this review helpful.
"I first read this book and The Hero and the Crown when I was a preteen and I still absolutely adore both and have them as keepers and often go back and read them when I just want to relax with an old friend.
Harry is a great character who you want to smack upside the head or hug tight depending on the moment. I personally think that you should read Hero before this one but I know the author wrote them the other way around."
Harry is a great character who you want to smack upside the head or hug tight depending on the moment. I personally think that you should read Hero before this one but I know the author wrote them the other way around."
Review Date: 9/7/2007
"This was one of those books I just could not finish. It's very rare that I can't at least skim my way through the parts I don't care for and finish the story but this one was just way too convoluted for me.
On top of that this book should come with a bit of a warning. As the blurb says the main characters are "a strange new kind of human being, a race whose psychic powers will place them as far beyond their parent race as man was beyond the ape" what that blurb doesn't tell you is that they are also a new sex as well. Complete with new sex organs which are described rather graphically.
I am in no way a prude but the storyline almost seems to revolve more around the sex than the story of Pellaz, much to the detriment of the story."
On top of that this book should come with a bit of a warning. As the blurb says the main characters are "a strange new kind of human being, a race whose psychic powers will place them as far beyond their parent race as man was beyond the ape" what that blurb doesn't tell you is that they are also a new sex as well. Complete with new sex organs which are described rather graphically.
I am in no way a prude but the storyline almost seems to revolve more around the sex than the story of Pellaz, much to the detriment of the story."
Review Date: 9/24/2007
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
"This was a fun if goofy twisted story. It had a lot of the tongue-in-cheek feel of a Piers Anthony Xanth novel or Spider Robinson Callahan's without the horrific puns. Two paranormal buddies Duke the werewolf and Earl the vampire are on a road trip and end up in a possible end of the world situation caused by a teenage girl reciting spells in Pig Latin.
Every part is played for laughs from the law enforcement in the town the humorously named Sheriff Marshall Kopp to the sorceress' minion whose one thought is pretty much what most teenaged boys think about.
It a fun light read and after reading the preview of the next book by this author I'm looking forward to another fun story."
Every part is played for laughs from the law enforcement in the town the humorously named Sheriff Marshall Kopp to the sorceress' minion whose one thought is pretty much what most teenaged boys think about.
It a fun light read and after reading the preview of the next book by this author I'm looking forward to another fun story."
Review Date: 11/16/2008
5 member(s) found this review helpful.
"I picked this book up and decided to buy it based mostly on the rave review that Neil Gaiman gave it and the fact that it was a World Fantasy Award winner. But I have to be honest here. I just don't get it. I don't understand why Gaiman adores it so much or why it's award winning -- maybe because it was ahead of its time when it was originally published in 1992? I even enjoy other books this author has written under a pseudonym. I just don't get the attraction of this book.
The story itself is cute but very hampered by the fragmented way its told. Each character's story is chopped up into bits and pieces. All the chance meetings and coincidences that make the story fall together in the end really felt a bit forced. And worse yet none of the characters are completely fleshed out. They are all characatures - the tragic heroine, the loser who just needs a little guideance, the crazy homeless woman, and all the various fairy clans are complete stereotypes.
The final straw is that after everything is over and done with and all the strange little plot lines are tied up the book ends very abruptly and left me wondering what happened."
The story itself is cute but very hampered by the fragmented way its told. Each character's story is chopped up into bits and pieces. All the chance meetings and coincidences that make the story fall together in the end really felt a bit forced. And worse yet none of the characters are completely fleshed out. They are all characatures - the tragic heroine, the loser who just needs a little guideance, the crazy homeless woman, and all the various fairy clans are complete stereotypes.
The final straw is that after everything is over and done with and all the strange little plot lines are tied up the book ends very abruptly and left me wondering what happened."
Review Date: 8/23/2007
"Definately not up to the standard of his other works. If you are looking for more Xanth or Incarnations of Immortality this book is not it.
Its a series of episodes in the hard luck life of the main character Fisk and nearly all of them are so absurd you can see them coming a mile away and wonder why he can't.
Since each episode is relatively short it reads pretty quickly but is not his best work by far."
Its a series of episodes in the hard luck life of the main character Fisk and nearly all of them are so absurd you can see them coming a mile away and wonder why he can't.
Since each episode is relatively short it reads pretty quickly but is not his best work by far."
Review Date: 8/3/2007
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
"I first read this book and The Blue Sword when I was a preteen and I still absolutely adore both and have them as keepers and often go back and read them when I just want to relax with an old friend.
I truly love Aerin, her stubbornness and the way she does what she knows is right and forget the consequences. Aerin and her faithful horse Talat are underdogs you can't help but cheer for.
This duology is one of the reasons I'm such an avid reader today."
I truly love Aerin, her stubbornness and the way she does what she knows is right and forget the consequences. Aerin and her faithful horse Talat are underdogs you can't help but cheer for.
This duology is one of the reasons I'm such an avid reader today."
Review Date: 7/7/2010
"I'm really of two minds about this book. The cover blurb describes the main character Aristide as a semi-retired computer scientist turned swordsman. That description is what caught my eye when I was considering this book. Unfortunately those two seemingly opposite jobs are almost incidental to the storyline as a whole. The swordsman aspect essentially disappears 1/3 of the way in the book.
Another problem I had with the book is that it almost seems like this book is part of a series or at least in a shared universe with other of his novels. There are numerous references to previous events - the Seraphim plague, the Existential Crisis and the Big Belch which all have direct impact on the story but to my mind are never explained well enough to fully understand their impact on the story and the universe as a whole.
I did enjoy the book though it was definitely not what I was expecting from the description. But in a universe of dozens of pocket universes with technology ranging from Iron Age to 35th Century and inhabited by essentially immortal people the story ends up being a standard space battle morality tale."
Another problem I had with the book is that it almost seems like this book is part of a series or at least in a shared universe with other of his novels. There are numerous references to previous events - the Seraphim plague, the Existential Crisis and the Big Belch which all have direct impact on the story but to my mind are never explained well enough to fully understand their impact on the story and the universe as a whole.
I did enjoy the book though it was definitely not what I was expecting from the description. But in a universe of dozens of pocket universes with technology ranging from Iron Age to 35th Century and inhabited by essentially immortal people the story ends up being a standard space battle morality tale."
Review Date: 4/13/2010
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
"I was so very excited to find this book at my local library so I wouldn't have to wait through my place on the wishlist and it turns out I'm very glad it happened that way. I really wanted to like this book. The whole concept was intriguing but it didn't live up to its promise for me.
My best description is that it almost feels more like Quentin's LiveJournal or BlogSpot entries than a book. He never seems happy and is always complaining about something. I know that Grossman's version of magic is difficult on the par with Quantum Physics or Chaos Theory but you would think that it would make it all the more sweet when a spell was mastered but Quentin just reports his success matter of factly with no joy.
Everything about Quentin, Brakebills and the other students just seemed gray and flat. Sadly there was so little life or color in this book for me that I gave up on it. I never made it to Fillory."
My best description is that it almost feels more like Quentin's LiveJournal or BlogSpot entries than a book. He never seems happy and is always complaining about something. I know that Grossman's version of magic is difficult on the par with Quantum Physics or Chaos Theory but you would think that it would make it all the more sweet when a spell was mastered but Quentin just reports his success matter of factly with no joy.
Everything about Quentin, Brakebills and the other students just seemed gray and flat. Sadly there was so little life or color in this book for me that I gave up on it. I never made it to Fillory."
Review Date: 9/17/2007
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
"A decent collection of short stories with the premise of Sherlock Holmes interacting with various sci-fi elements. The book is divided into 3 categories. Holmes in the present(His time), Holmes in the future (Anytime after what would be his lifetime) and Holmes after death (Just what it sounds like).
None of these stories hold a candle to Conan Doyle of course but they are amusing for the most part. One story has Holmes being contacted by time travellers to find out why the Titanic DIDN'T sink, another has him solving serial murder cases in modern day California and future Mars and still another suggests that Holmes was never a flesh and blood man but was the first computer program rudimentary AI.
Of all the stories only one was what I would consider weak. That being Dogs, Masques, Love, Death: Flowers by Barry N. Malzberg. This one story's connection to Holmes is so tenous as to be almost nonexistant and the whole story is a bit disjointed.
But overall the collection is a fun light read for those who enjoy both Science Fiction and the stories of the Greatest Detective of all Time."
None of these stories hold a candle to Conan Doyle of course but they are amusing for the most part. One story has Holmes being contacted by time travellers to find out why the Titanic DIDN'T sink, another has him solving serial murder cases in modern day California and future Mars and still another suggests that Holmes was never a flesh and blood man but was the first computer program rudimentary AI.
Of all the stories only one was what I would consider weak. That being Dogs, Masques, Love, Death: Flowers by Barry N. Malzberg. This one story's connection to Holmes is so tenous as to be almost nonexistant and the whole story is a bit disjointed.
But overall the collection is a fun light read for those who enjoy both Science Fiction and the stories of the Greatest Detective of all Time."
Review Date: 3/4/2008
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
"Sequel to Unshapely Things.
I eagerly awaited this sequel and I have to say I wasn't disappointed. As a fan of both Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden and Simon Green's John Taylor I have found another fun magical/paranormal hero to root for.
Connor is still coming to terms with the damage that had crippled his ability to work magic but is actually becoming much more of a hero without his powerful druidic magic than he was with them. The story takes you from the heart of the Guildhouse to a troll's lair (where else but under a bridge) and everywhere as Connor helps his homicide detective friend Murdock investigate the death of a young man as the rest of Boston focuses on the murder of a high profile Elvish Ambassador.
There's more fun and snark between Connor and Meryl as well as the standard craziness that always seems to ensue when Stinkwort AKA Joe is around.
I picked this book up last night and read pretty much straight through and I hope the author is already writing the next one and that this series is as succesful as The Dresden Files or Tales from the Nightside because I'm hooked."
I eagerly awaited this sequel and I have to say I wasn't disappointed. As a fan of both Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden and Simon Green's John Taylor I have found another fun magical/paranormal hero to root for.
Connor is still coming to terms with the damage that had crippled his ability to work magic but is actually becoming much more of a hero without his powerful druidic magic than he was with them. The story takes you from the heart of the Guildhouse to a troll's lair (where else but under a bridge) and everywhere as Connor helps his homicide detective friend Murdock investigate the death of a young man as the rest of Boston focuses on the murder of a high profile Elvish Ambassador.
There's more fun and snark between Connor and Meryl as well as the standard craziness that always seems to ensue when Stinkwort AKA Joe is around.
I picked this book up last night and read pretty much straight through and I hope the author is already writing the next one and that this series is as succesful as The Dresden Files or Tales from the Nightside because I'm hooked."
Review Date: 3/4/2008
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
"Lead character Connor Grey has a similiar feel to Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden or Simon Green's John Taylor. But has his own distinct personality. He's the exact opposite of both Taylor and Dresden in power scale -- He's a crippled druid who uses what little power he has left to help out his friend in the police department. For someone who was once a rising star in the Fey Investigations Bureau that is a very bitter pill to swallow.
I found it an engaging read that made it hard to put down once I started it. And I love the cheekiness of one of Connor's fey friend's Stinkwort AKA Joe the pyksy (pixie) is an absolute hoot."
I found it an engaging read that made it hard to put down once I started it. And I love the cheekiness of one of Connor's fey friend's Stinkwort AKA Joe the pyksy (pixie) is an absolute hoot."
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