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Richard K. (richkaplanovitchsky) - , - Reviews

1 to 20 of 22 - Page:
The Alchemist's Code
The Alchemist's Code
Author: Dave Duncan
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
 12
Review Date: 6/20/2015


Dang that was a good ride. Better than volume 1. Impressive detail/imagining on Venice in 1600 or so. Proprio ben fatto!


American Century: Scars and Stripes
American Century: Scars and Stripes
Author: David Tischman, Howard Chaykin
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.3/5 Stars.
 5
Review Date: 10/23/2010


Gritty noir mixed with 1950s slimey history from the master Chaykin. Clear forceful drawings by Tischman. Did I say Sex?


Animal Man (Animal Man, Book 1)
Animal Man (Animal Man, Book 1)
Author: Grant Morrison
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 4
Review Date: 11/25/2012


poor art, weak stories, gaudy colors, great covers


Another Fine Myth (Myth, Bk 1)
Another Fine Myth (Myth, Bk 1)
Author: Robert Asprin
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 119
Review Date: 1/14/2016


Kind of thin. Weak fantasy world, weak action, limited romance. Maybe this book is good for middle school-high school readers. I found kind of irritating how much of the book was filled up with back and forth chatter between the youthful protagonist and his mentor -- chatter that was supposed to be humorous.


The Art of John Bolton
The Art of John Bolton
Author: John Bolton
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 2/14/2016


92 pages filed with big, glossy images of Bolton's fantasy paintings -- many of semi-nude, slim female vampires. This book does not cover the full range of Bolton's art and has virtually no text.


A Caress of Twilight (Meredith Gentry, Bk 2)
A Caress of Twilight (Meredith Gentry, Bk 2)
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.1/5 Stars.
 655
Review Date: 10/25/2014


Nowhere near as much sex or imagination as volume 1. I stopped halfway. But I think us guys experience these books differently


Colonial America: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
Review Date: 6/23/2014


Wow! Short, gripping, sweeping, sophisticated history that turns what you thought you knew on its head. Not just British North America but pre-columbus and French and Spanish colonial encounters with the native folk.


Communist Manifesto
Communist Manifesto
Author: Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 1/17/2010


This pamphlet is obviously a classic of literature and history. Marx and pal Engels mix brilliant writing with a powerful vision of change and utopia. If you haven't put this on your reading list (and hung a capitalist from a lamppost) you are not living.


A Crowning Mercy (Crowning Mercy, Bk 1)
A Crowning Mercy (Crowning Mercy, Bk 1)
Author: Bernard Cornwell, Susannah Kells
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
 7
Review Date: 1/1/2020


Gripping love story and illuminating historical fiction set during the Puritan Glorious Revolution in Britain in the 1600s. No doubt this is simplified history. For me, the heroine is too passive, and I found the moments when she is threatened a bit too scary and perilous. I like my protagonists to be more active and master of their predicament. Still, this was fun and, as I said, gripping.


Elminster: The Making of a Mage (Forgotten Realms: Elminster Series, Bk 1)
Review Date: 3/16/2017


Three stars, I say. Great descriptive language and engrossing fight scenes between wizards -- one after another after another for the last two thirds of the novel -- with very little suspense, character development, nor rich alternative universe.


Eyewitness Science Explorer
Eyewitness Science Explorer
Author: Kindersley Dorling
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 8/17/2014


Actually this is a hardback with 370 picture-filled pages


Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, Bk 2)
Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, Bk 2)
Author: E. L. James
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 644
Review Date: 8/23/2014


I suspect my review is a guy's perspective. This book sharply veered into serious "romance" territory and never got back to any place near "tantalizing sex" or "kinkiness." At least that's my experience when I put this book down halfway through, never to be picked up again. If you are into rapturous monologues like, "He loves me, yes he does. He doesn't love me, oh woe is me. Oh yes, he truly, truly loves me," then this book is for you and good riddance.


The Girl in the Spider's Web (Millennium, Bk 4)
Review Date: 6/10/2020


The first few pages were written poorly, but then an intriguing hero steps in with his fascinating son. Very quickly, however, that character is killed, and the rest of the novel is very scattered without any central protagonist to consistently engage in the details of the story and carry the plot forward. In some ways both heroes, Salander and Blomkvist seem marginal to the tale. Gosh is it tiresome to be told for the umpteenth time what an upstanding uncorrupt fellow is Blomkvist compared to everyone else.


Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, New Edition
Review Date: 10/1/2021


this is a classic text, referred to by many. The goal of this clearly written and lively original text is to explicate the bases for that modern imagined community -- the nation. essential reading for any scholar


The Invisible Man (Illustrated Classics Series)
The Invisible Man (Illustrated Classics Series)
Author: H. G. Wells, H. G. Wells, H. G. Wells
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 11/9/2014


A graphic novel illustrated by the great Alex Nino


Leonard Maltin's Family Film Guide
Review Date: 12/18/2009


Useful guide to films for kids viewing, with plot description and assessment for both younger and older kids. Goes over a lot of films you might not have thought of, including older ones.


Magician : Apprentice (Riftwar, Bk 1)
Magician : Apprentice (Riftwar, Bk 1)
Author: Raymond E. Feist
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
 49
Review Date: 5/8/2014


I thought this was a bit tedious. Not much exploration of the excitement and fear of the hero realizing he has magical powers, not much action, not much love.


Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Author: David B. Coe
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
  • Currently 4.2/5 Stars.
 7
Review Date: 6/17/2015


A novelization of the film -- for the first half of this volume, Coe writes up a storm, creating clever characterizations and embellishing the action. In the second half, the prose loses its life and its coherence. Maybe the author ran out of time and was speedwriting the rest of the film's plot. The actions seems abrupt and implausible when translated to the written page who were those weird kids in the woods, why did Marion come to fight on the beach, what was those ridiculous goulash about forcing King John to accept a set of rights? It all sped by too fast without adequate exploration.


The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel
Author: Baroness Orczy
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 43
Review Date: 4/6/2014


Just want to warn potential readers of the extreme anti-semitism of the book. For about 10-20 pages a character is depicted as a supposedly "loathsome" jew. True, there are some qualifying factors to this characterization, which I can't reveal since they'd be plot spoilers. Nevertheless, this stuff is pretty ugly.


Shadow of a Dark Queen (Serpentwar, Bk 1)
Shadow of a Dark Queen (Serpentwar, Bk 1)
Author: Raymond E. Feist
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 149
Review Date: 11/2/2014


I enjoyed reading this but won't order volume 2. Theres never much development or excitement about the protagonist. There's no drama about him mastering the world, gaining new powers nor accomplishing impressive deeds, despite being originally a poor, bustard child from the sticks. The fantasy too is fairly mundane and theres very little fighting excitement, despite most of the story centering on a troop of soldiers. I say 3 stars.


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