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Schuylar L. (schuylar) - Reviews

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Anonymous Tip
Anonymous Tip
Author: Michael Farris
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 16
Review Date: 6/30/2015


This is an interesting book about a fictional case against child protective services entering a house to do an investigation illegally. Due to the mother's initial refusal to let them in, the two CPS workers lied about there being bruises on her daughter. It is a great uphill battle for the underdogs - the mother Gwen and the lawyer Peter Barron - and it is even more fascinating as the case progresses enough to even reach the Supreme Court.


The Children of Red Peak
The Children of Red Peak
Author: Craig DiLouie
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 2.8/5 Stars.
 5
Review Date: 3/24/2024


It was a great read until the ending. The ending ruined the book for me. The ending would have worked if it didn't stem from a cult that committed all sorts of terrible acts such as murder. Disgusting.


The Doll-Master and Other Tales of Terror
The Doll-Master and Other Tales of Terror
Author: Joyce Carol Oates
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 2.5/5 Stars.
 4
Review Date: 9/16/2023


I enjoyed "The Doll-Master" and "Big Momma" the most. These are the only two stories in the book that felt like tales of terror, with the former being the most chilling. The rest of the stories fell flat due to abrupt endings that don't work well. They don't even feel like endings.


The First Fast Draw
The First Fast Draw
Author: Louis L'Amour
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 36
Review Date: 10/23/2018


An enjoyable fast-paced western with great fast gun shooting.


Goosebumps Triple Header Book 2: Three Shocking Tales of Terror
Goosebumps Triple Header Book 2: Three Shocking Tales of Terror
Author: R. L. Stine
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 3
Review Date: 11/12/2012


Classic Goosebumps with three good stories. I liked all three of the stories with my favorite being the first one about a school of monsters. I do think that the introductions for each story by the three headed monster (cover) could be a little bit longer.


Hell House
Hell House
Author: Richard Matheson
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 101
Review Date: 7/22/2014


This is the best horror novel that I have ever read and I see why it is considered a classic. The horror is great, especially because of the vivid descriptions. I enjoyed the characters, but the scientist who didn't believe in ghosts got on my nerves. It wouldn't be a problem in real life, but it bugged me because it is in a ghost story. There is quite a bit of sexual scenarios caused by the ghost who haunts the house so for that reason and the violence, it is definitely only a book for adults and mature teens. I was always wondering what would happen next, such as what ghostly happening would happen next.


I, Robot
I, Robot
Author: Isaac Asimov
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 17
Review Date: 5/19/2023


This is the first work by Isaac Asimov that I have read. The short stories were fascinating for the most part, and the three rules of robotics was interesting. It is great that the stories included the strong female robopsychologist Dr. Susan Calvin. My favorite story is the first one that is titled "Robbie", and my least favorite story is the last one with the title "The Evitable Conflict". I felt that some parts, particularly within a few sections of dialogue, dragged on a bit too long.


The Kidnapping of Collie Younger / Outlaws of Palouse, (Tor Double Western, #19)
Review Date: 11/1/2018


The Kidnapping of Collie Younger is a weird short story with a very accepting kidnapped woman, who I think is delusional with Stockholm Syndrome.

Outlaws of Palouse is a little bit longer than the first story and is a fun action packed read.

The first story made me knock off two stars.


Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely Through a Never-Ending War
Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely Through a Never-Ending War
Author: Deborah Ellis
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 2/20/2015


A fascinating look at the experiences of children in Afghanistan. It is horrible what so many of the children have went through and are still going through, but they still manage to have optimism for the future. This is a great read for children and older to learn about the hardships faced in less fortunate countries.


A Killer Comes to Shiloh (Gunsmoke)
A Killer Comes to Shiloh (Gunsmoke)
Author: Cynthia Haseloff
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 10/19/2018


This is an enjoyable short western read. The main protagonists are likable and there is suspense about who the murderer actually is.


The Laws of the Skies
The Laws of the Skies
Author: Grégoire Courtois
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
 4
Review Date: 9/10/2023


This was marketed as similar to Lord of the Flies. The Laws of the Skies feels like a very inferior version of Lord of the Flies. It essentially boils down to young children dying in the wilderness, which is fine for a novel, but the actions and thoughts don't quite match with 6-year-olds. The POVs of both the adult and kid characters change without warning, including often right in the middle of the same paragraph. I had to do multiple double takes to realize that it was some other character's POV. It is a short read at the very least.


The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek
The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek
Author: Rhett McLaughlin, Link Neal
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 2.9/5 Stars.
 4
Review Date: 9/11/2023


This is a suspenseful, yet often humorous, book about a town's reform school that has had student deaths. The humor comes from the main characters at times with their dialogue - two teenage boys who attempt to free their friend from the reform school. With that humor also comes horror, and it is not clear for a while if the causes at the school are supernatural in nature.


Midnight Storm Moonless Sky: Indigenous Horror Stories (Indigenous Horror, Vol 1)
Review Date: 3/12/2024


This is a well-written book by a new author. In some way, each short horror story has to do with the Blackfoot tribe. The stories go everywhere from just weird to scary. My favorite story in the book is about a boy who eats a wolf, resulting in him transforming into a killer wolf creature. My second favorite story has to do with a man from England attending a party with Blackfoot tribe people that are not as they seem.


Naruto (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 2
Naruto (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 2
Author: Masashi Kishimoto
Book Type: Paperback
  ?
Review Date: 12/26/2011


Naruto is my new anime and manga joy. Naruto is one of the big three - One Piece, Bleach, and this. One Piece is my favorite, but I like Naruto a bit more than Bleach.

In this edition, things heat up between Zabuza and his subordinate Haku and later on the cells of young ninjas apply for a higher rank, but it won't be easy.

I like that the vicious bad guy Zabuza actually showed a soft side.


Naruto, Volume 14
Naruto, Volume 14
Author: Masashi Kishimoto
Book Type: Comic
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 10
Review Date: 3/3/2012


Things get heated up in this graphic novel in the first between Orochimaru and the Hokage. The fighting is intense and I always wanted to see the Hokage fight when I started the series. I watched the anime episodes of this fight so I know what happens later on and it is a sad conclusion.


Object: Matrimony: The Risky Business of Mail-Order Matchmaking on the Western Frontier (Footprint Dream Trip)
Review Date: 11/4/2018


This is a good read, but I was hoping for at least some organization by subject, mail order catalog publications, and year. It seems like the author threw random related stuff together to publish this book.


One Piece, Vol. 83
One Piece, Vol. 83
Author: Eiichiro Oda
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.5/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 10/19/2018


The Whole Cake Island arc gets more interesting in this volume. Readers will learn more about the Emperor of the Sea Big Mom and Luffy starts his fight with her underling (and son) "Thousand Arms" Cracker. It certainly won't be an easy fight.


Promise to a Dead Man (Avalon Western)
Promise to a Dead Man (Avalon Western)
Author: Kent Conwell
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 7/22/2014


This is the first western that I have read and it is a great book. The cowboy action, great characters, and the villains made this fun to read.

The main character Davy Nelson is a nice guy, but I do like that he will only resort to violence when it is necessary and it's usually to protect people that he cares about.


Scraps of Paper (Avalon Mystery)
Scraps of Paper (Avalon Mystery)
Author: Kathryn Meyer Griffith
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4.5/5 Stars.
 3
Review Date: 2/2/2014


This is an enjoyable murder mystery novel. All of the characters were fun to read about - the main character Abigail, the ex-cop Frank, the strange elderly Myrtle, etc. The book takes place in a small town and I could relate to everybody knowing each other, people knowing everybody's business right away, and how much of an inconvenience those things could be - and in this case, a murderer in the small town who finds things out quickly.


Strange Bodies: A Novel
Strange Bodies: A Novel
Author: Marcel Theroux
Book Type: Hardcover
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 5/11/2023


A man, who is supposed to be dead, relates throughout the book how he isn't actually dead. To find out the unique way that the novel reinvented the plot of Frankenstein's monster, I absorbed the book quickly.


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