Medical Tourism: The Ethics, Regulation, and Marketing of Health Mobility
Book
Medical and health tourism is a significant area of growth in the export of medical, health and...
OCR A Level Economics: Book 1
Book
This textbook has been produced in collaboration with OCR for use with the new 2015 OCR Economics...
International Dispute Resolution and the Public Policy Exception
Book
Despite the unprecedented growth of arbitration and other means of ADR in treaties and transnational...
Food Styling: The Art of Preparing Food for the Camera
Book
The authoritative and comprehensive guide to the art and craft of food styling Based on her 30...
The Evolution of International Arbitration: Judicialization, Governance, Legitimacy
Alec Stone Sweet and Florian Grisel
Book
The development of international arbitration as an autonomous legal order comprises one of the most...
The Economics of Immigration
Cynthia Bansak, Nicole B. Simpson and Madeline Zavodny
Book
Economics of Immigration provides students with the tools needed to examine the economic impact of...
Joe Goodhart (27 KP) rated Batgirl, Vol. 3: Death of the Family in Books
Nov 30, 2020
Gail Simone is a favorite writer of mine, as well as a sizable number of comic readers. I don't pick up everything she writes, i.e. Dynamite's RED SONJA series, but I do try to keep a lookout when a new series, or new writing assignment from her, is out. And, generally, she is all aces, except here!
This was a re-read for me, as I was reading BATMAN: DEATH OF THE FAMILY (which was AWESOME, btw!), and I wanted to get the whole story. I don't know what happened, but it just started to get on m nerves! I really, truly wanted to enjoy the second time, but just felt like bland potato salad!
Daniel Sampere's art, on the other hand, was flawless. All the characters, as well as the backgrounds, looked hella tight! I found myself more into the art that the actual story!
I am not 100% sure why I didn't like it. Mostly, I felt some of the characterizations were off, leaving to not give a fart about any of them! That right there is what makes a book, regardless of whether a comic or an actual prose work, the characters have to stand out and make you actually interested in them! Without factor, you have a book that will fail to attract attention, and ultimately, will fail, falling quite flat!
Ok, this is my closing part. This is where I give my final grade, as well as recommending, or trashing, the book being reviewed. Not gonna do it this time round! I want to say that you, yourself, should read this trade, seeing if you like it as much as the others seemed to, k'?
Muse
Book
Paul Dukach is heir apparent at Purcell & Stern, one of the last independent publishing houses in...
Ross (3284 KP) rated The Liar's Key in Books
Mar 30, 2018
I love Mark Lawrence's writing style - that is, his flowing prose and sense of humour. I love the world of the Broken Empire - a post-apocalyptic version of the world after the use of nuclear weapons (all very much implied) and where the sea level has risen, changing the geography of Europe. I like most of the characters (in that I like all aspects of some of them and some aspects of the rest of them if that makes sense).
The tricky thing is, I have mixed feelings about the way Lawrence lays his books out - to my understanding he has a high level idea of the plot but then just ... writes. He just lets it happen. Now, this isn't a car crash like it might sound, there are enough hints and pointers strewn throughout the book (or trilogy) to make it all hang together, but at times things happen that just don't quite feel right. I'm not sure if its a deus ex machine type thing or just his characters being spontaneous, but at times I found that the right thing happens despite no suggestions this should be so. Characters making illogical decisions etc.
This has been the case throughout all 5 of his books I have read now and it is starting to become an irritant. The thing is, I tend to enjoy the overall story and am glad I have read them, it's just that at times I don't enjoy the journey.
That was very much the case here - the book is considerably longer than its predecessor but without any tangible benefit from that extra word count. The first half of the book is quite a slow boring journey and except for meeting two new characters/companions and some minor plot points, there is very little purpose to it. Snorri, my favourite character from the Prince of Fools, is almost absent here - just a massive, injured, sulking lump. This puts the focus on Jalan, our thoroughly detestable narrator.
The second half sees Jalan separate from the group and head home, only to run off once again, almost without reason. There then follows a very dull section of the book where he seems to be getting ahead at last, making money on the derivatives exchange (makes Phantom Menace trade quota discussions seem positively riveting).
The conclusion of the book is excellent and points to an exciting third book.
The Adobe Photoshop CS6 Book for Digital Photographers
Book
ARE YOU READY FOR AN AMAZING NEW VERSION OF THE PHOTOSHOP BOOK THAT BREAKS ALL THE RULES? Scott...