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The Pale King
Book
The Pale King is David Foster Wallace's final novel - a testament to his enduring brilliance The...
Goldeneye: Where Bond Was Born: Ian Fleming's Jamaica
Book
The top 10 Sunday Times Bestseller. "Completely fascinating, authoritative and intriguing." (William...
The Best of Wodehouse: An Anthology
Book
.G. Wodehouse was, by common consent, the most brilliant writer of English comedy in the 20th...
The Golden Bowl
Book
Henry James's highly charged study of adultery, jealousy and possession, The Golden Bowl is edited...
Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files: War Cry
5.5
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Book
A war is raging between the vampire forces of the Red Court and the White Council - a war that the...
David McK (3906 KP) rated Thrawn Ascendancy Book I: Chaos Rising in Books
Jun 21, 2022
Grand Admiral Thrawn
Mitth'raw'nuruodo.
The blue-skinned, red-eyed Imperial antagonist of Timothy Zahn's 'Heir to the Empire' series of Star Wars novels from the early 90's, and one of - if not [i]the[/i] breakout characters from that book.
Yet to make his appearance in live action (as an aside, I imagine maybe someone like Benedict Cumberbatch in the role), although he is one of the few characters to survive the 'great purge' when Disney bought out Lucasfilm and re-branded the old Expanded Universe as 'Legends', appearing in the later seasons of the animation 'Star Wars: Rebels'.
This is the first in a new trio of novels, with the opening text reading something along the lines of: 'A long time ago beside a galaxy far far away ...' which, in itself, helps set the scene. Beside a galaxy. So we're not in the realms of the Empire/The Rebellion here, or even in the realm of the Clone Wars, although we are - as the novel later makes clear when Thrawn encounters a key character from that period of time - in that particular era.
So, a prequel then? Maybe, but - I have to say- to me, this particular version of Thrawn just somehow *feels* different than that from the old EU. There's a certain Je Ne Sais Qua about that - I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's like meeting the identical twin brother of your best friend: they may look alike, sound alike and even dress alike but there's a certain indefinable *something* that's not quite right ...
Is it this version of Thrawn's political naivety? His seemingly not-quite-so-ruthless tactical genius? I don't know, but I will probably read more to see if/how the character evolves into that I am more familiar with.
Mitth'raw'nuruodo.
The blue-skinned, red-eyed Imperial antagonist of Timothy Zahn's 'Heir to the Empire' series of Star Wars novels from the early 90's, and one of - if not [i]the[/i] breakout characters from that book.
Yet to make his appearance in live action (as an aside, I imagine maybe someone like Benedict Cumberbatch in the role), although he is one of the few characters to survive the 'great purge' when Disney bought out Lucasfilm and re-branded the old Expanded Universe as 'Legends', appearing in the later seasons of the animation 'Star Wars: Rebels'.
This is the first in a new trio of novels, with the opening text reading something along the lines of: 'A long time ago beside a galaxy far far away ...' which, in itself, helps set the scene. Beside a galaxy. So we're not in the realms of the Empire/The Rebellion here, or even in the realm of the Clone Wars, although we are - as the novel later makes clear when Thrawn encounters a key character from that period of time - in that particular era.
So, a prequel then? Maybe, but - I have to say- to me, this particular version of Thrawn just somehow *feels* different than that from the old EU. There's a certain Je Ne Sais Qua about that - I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's like meeting the identical twin brother of your best friend: they may look alike, sound alike and even dress alike but there's a certain indefinable *something* that's not quite right ...
Is it this version of Thrawn's political naivety? His seemingly not-quite-so-ruthless tactical genius? I don't know, but I will probably read more to see if/how the character evolves into that I am more familiar with.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated As I Lay Dying in Books
Oct 25, 2017 (Updated Oct 25, 2017)
A timeless American classic
This is a classic among American literature - as with most of William Faulkner's novels, it can be hard work at times, but it is tragic, darkly funny and full of compelling characters.
It begins with the death and burial of Addie Bundren, the matriarch of the family. Members of the family narrate the story of carting the coffin to Jefferson, Mississippi, to bury her among her relatives. And as the intense desires, fears and rivalries of the family are revealed in the vernacular of the Deep South, Faulkner presents a portrait of extraordinary power.
The narrative, told from each character's perspective, yet often about the same event, left the reader to interpret the underlying motive or conflict of feelings within the Bundren family. It is intriguing but requires careful reading of the dense prose.
It begins with the death and burial of Addie Bundren, the matriarch of the family. Members of the family narrate the story of carting the coffin to Jefferson, Mississippi, to bury her among her relatives. And as the intense desires, fears and rivalries of the family are revealed in the vernacular of the Deep South, Faulkner presents a portrait of extraordinary power.
The narrative, told from each character's perspective, yet often about the same event, left the reader to interpret the underlying motive or conflict of feelings within the Bundren family. It is intriguing but requires careful reading of the dense prose.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Dust (Dust, #1) in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Dust by Joan Frances Turner
Genre: Adult fiction, Zombie
ISBN: 9780441019281
Pub date: September 7, 2010
Rating: DNF
Dust was a great idea, had great potential for a plot, and had great characters. But all I was reading were run-on sentences, fragments, and comma splices. Although I understand that writing novels allows for more creativity and independent writing style, I had trouble understanding it because it was so hard to read.
I hate not being able to give this book more than 35 pages (ARC) but in all honesty, a book that is hard to understand and frustrates me is not one I can enjoy anyway, no matter how good the story is.
Dust is published on September7th. Check out some other reviews before making a final opinion.
This review is copyright Haley Mathiot and Night Owl Reviews.
Genre: Adult fiction, Zombie
ISBN: 9780441019281
Pub date: September 7, 2010
Rating: DNF
Dust was a great idea, had great potential for a plot, and had great characters. But all I was reading were run-on sentences, fragments, and comma splices. Although I understand that writing novels allows for more creativity and independent writing style, I had trouble understanding it because it was so hard to read.
I hate not being able to give this book more than 35 pages (ARC) but in all honesty, a book that is hard to understand and frustrates me is not one I can enjoy anyway, no matter how good the story is.
Dust is published on September7th. Check out some other reviews before making a final opinion.
This review is copyright Haley Mathiot and Night Owl Reviews.
Ruth Frampton (577 KP) rated Diary of a Femen in Books
Apr 10, 2018
I love graphic novels, they are a way to quickly submerse myself into the world and visions of the author/illustrator. Diary of a Femen opened my eyes to a whole different world and awakened in me the realisation that as much as the world has progressed in the past 100 years since women in the UK gained the vote, the opinions, comments and actions of men and women are keeping a faster pace of progress at bay, definitely a novel to make a girl think! Whilst at times I got a little confused between the characters being followed once it focused on to a single narrative line I rapidly became engrossed and willing femen on.
Would I recommend this book? too right I would, men and women should read, think and talk about this book and the issues it raises.
Would I recommend this book? too right I would, men and women should read, think and talk about this book and the issues it raises.
David McK (3906 KP) rated The Furthest Station (Peter Grant, #5.5) in Books
Feb 19, 2019
I read the first entry in Ben Aaronovitch's Peter grant series (Rivers of London) a few years back.
It was an OK read, but didn't really grab me enough to want to go out and pick up others in the series.
However, this novella was recently on sale on Amazon Kindle a while back for something like 99 pence, so I thought I would give it another go. And what is immediately obvious is just how much I've missed by skipping those full-length novels in-between Rivers of London (#1) and this (# 5.5).
Which is probably why I struggled to get into this: as before, I found this an OK read (once I got past the initial "who's s/he now? What're they talking about?" confusion, but nothing that would pull me back into the world of PC Grant
It was an OK read, but didn't really grab me enough to want to go out and pick up others in the series.
However, this novella was recently on sale on Amazon Kindle a while back for something like 99 pence, so I thought I would give it another go. And what is immediately obvious is just how much I've missed by skipping those full-length novels in-between Rivers of London (#1) and this (# 5.5).
Which is probably why I struggled to get into this: as before, I found this an OK read (once I got past the initial "who's s/he now? What're they talking about?" confusion, but nothing that would pull me back into the world of PC Grant