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ClareR (6238 KP) rated Practical Magic in Books
Dec 31, 2017
I'm pretty sure the film was nothing like the book....
Firstly, this isn't at all like the film. I'm really glad that I had a sizeable gap between watching the film and reading the book, because I'm sure I would be picking holes in either one or the other. I really enjoyed this though. The relationships between the three sets of sisters resonated with me in some ways (closeness vs wanting to get away!). I thought it interesting that they clearly had witchcraft knowledge/ ability, but didn't seem to want to use it! Why?! I'd be out there being my best Witch! I have to say that I actually preferred The Rules of Magic: the writing just seemed better. I suppose the author has written a lot of books between this book and its follow up=prequel. The story though is a great one.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust in Books
Jan 15, 2018
A great new addition
I'm not entirely convinced that we really need any more Dark Materials books, especially not a prequel, but this is still a very good book.
It's very well written and is an interesting tale, although it is a little bit far fetched. Malcolm is a good new character and is a bit of fresh air in comparison with Lyra as he's a lot less brash and overconfident. It's nice to see Lord Asriel potrayed in a better light than he is in the other books and there are some interesting new characters too. I felt the ending was a little abrupt and a bit of a let down, and I'm also not entirely sure that this is how I would've pictured Lyra ending up in Jordan college. Still it's an entertaining story and has left me dying to read the next one.
It's very well written and is an interesting tale, although it is a little bit far fetched. Malcolm is a good new character and is a bit of fresh air in comparison with Lyra as he's a lot less brash and overconfident. It's nice to see Lord Asriel potrayed in a better light than he is in the other books and there are some interesting new characters too. I felt the ending was a little abrupt and a bit of a let down, and I'm also not entirely sure that this is how I would've pictured Lyra ending up in Jordan college. Still it's an entertaining story and has left me dying to read the next one.
Ross (3284 KP) rated Of Gods and Men in Books
Jan 31, 2018
Enough hints to anticipate twists and reveals (1 more)
Short and concise
Fantastic taster of Aryan's writing and world
*** I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***
This novella serves as an excellent taster of Stephen Aryan's writing style and the world in which his other books take place. I haven't read any of his other work yet, but as this is a prequel I didn't feel I was missing out on any inside knowledge. If anything, this book serves as an expanded backstory to one of the main characters of the first series, Vargus.
I really enjoyed the entry into the world, Aryan's easy-flowing narrative and the short, concise self-contained story which contains some good, well described action scenes, good dialogue and hints at a larger world to be explored and does lead you to want to read more.
This novella serves as an excellent taster of Stephen Aryan's writing style and the world in which his other books take place. I haven't read any of his other work yet, but as this is a prequel I didn't feel I was missing out on any inside knowledge. If anything, this book serves as an expanded backstory to one of the main characters of the first series, Vargus.
I really enjoyed the entry into the world, Aryan's easy-flowing narrative and the short, concise self-contained story which contains some good, well described action scenes, good dialogue and hints at a larger world to be explored and does lead you to want to read more.
Cynthia Armistead (17 KP) rated The Iron Hunt (Hunter Kiss, #1) in Books
Mar 1, 2018
<i>The Iron Hunt</i> is a beautifully written book with some interesting twists on established fantasy memes. To some extent, I felt that I'd come in to the world on book 2 or 3, but as far as I know (and from what Amazon says) this is the first book of the Hunter Kiss series. There was a bit of Buffy and a little Witchblade, with other elements I'm sure I'm overlooking.
For once, it's good to see a novel in which an established couple has a seemingly-healthy relationship. Maxine and Grant have very different skills, but they work together well. That said, this is <b>not</b> a romance.
Edited to add: I just learned that there is, in fact, a prequel to this book in <i>The Wild Thing</i> anthology, which I hadn't heard of before. I'll certainly be looking for it.
For once, it's good to see a novel in which an established couple has a seemingly-healthy relationship. Maxine and Grant have very different skills, but they work together well. That said, this is <b>not</b> a romance.
Edited to add: I just learned that there is, in fact, a prequel to this book in <i>The Wild Thing</i> anthology, which I hadn't heard of before. I'll certainly be looking for it.
Steph (468 KP) rated The Wall of Storms (The Dandelion Dynasty #2) in Books
Jul 9, 2018
I am incredibly impressed with the amount of research that must have gone into this book, for politics, military strategy, engineering, physics, and more. That being said, to me the most important thing is characters and I think they fell a little short on this one. Parts of the plot were a little confusing and hard to follow as well. Jia's struggle for power/efforts to unite the throne seemed silly and it was difficult to see the political accumen involved. I was also surprised at how cold and calculating she became. The plot started off rather slow and seemed to end too soon with a lot happening far too quickly at the end. Ultimately this book read more like the first in a series with The Grace of Kings as a prequel. Nevertheless, I still admire the work that went into this book and the brilliance behind the ideas.
David McK (3801 KP) rated The Star Wars in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Based on George Lucas' original rough-draft for 'Star Wars', this is an interesting read not so much for the (somewhat disconnected) story, but to see how the movies grew out of the original rough draft: this is very different from those movie(s), albeit with some of the characters and place names still showing up but in a different manner - most noticeable, perhaps, in the characters of Han Solo and Darth Vader (and 'May the Force of Others be with you' just doesn't sound right, does it?).
Having read this, it's also now VERY clear that Lucas was to re-use elements of his original rough draft in the Prequel trilogy, particularly in the whole Princess-in-hiding section(s) that are included in both The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.
The art is impressive, but the dialogue/story? Not so much.
Having read this, it's also now VERY clear that Lucas was to re-use elements of his original rough draft in the Prequel trilogy, particularly in the whole Princess-in-hiding section(s) that are included in both The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.
The art is impressive, but the dialogue/story? Not so much.
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