tapestry100 (306 KP) rated Star Wars: The Rise of a Hero in Books
Aug 2, 2017
A very simplistic retelling of Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope told entirely around Luke Skywalker's actions in the movie, Star Wars: The Rise of a Hero is an extremely quick read and one that I think most adult readers will probably skip, only because it is so simplistic. However, for early readers who are fans of Star Wars, I think this would be perfect. Since the story is not bogged down by all the myriad details of the movie and is written in such a way as to make everything easy to understand, and is only told from one character's perspective, beginning/early readers should find this volume extremely accessible. And while from an adult reader's POV, I found the story a little too streamlined and the art a little too basic (I know Walt Simonson's art is generally very straightforward and linear, this is even more pronounced here and not up to his usual levels of detail, IMO), I know I'm not the target audience and know for the right reader, this will be a perfect reading experience.
Overall: <b>3.5 stars</b>
<i>A Tangled Web</i> by Mercedes Lackey (Light Fantasy)
A retelling of the Greek myth pertaining to Persephone and Hades, with some added Norse mythology. A cute story, if a little thin on actual plot. I'll probably forget it by next week.
<i>2.5 stars/5</i>
<i>Cast in Moonlight</i> by Michelle Sagara (Fantasy/Urban Fantasy hybrid)
Fascinating mythology and world-building, intriguing characters and races. If I hadn't already been interested in reading the Chronicles of Elantra series, this would have done it. Pretty much a perfect story that stands alone quite well.
<i>5 stars</i>
<i>Retribution</i> by Cameron Haley (Urban Fantasy)
A solid short story dealing with a sorcerer and enforcer for a mob boss. Has some interesting ideas and is a promising beginning to a new series. While it does have cursing, it feels authentic and fits the scenes and characters. This is definitely not a story for the faint of heart.
<i>3 stars</i>
I completely fell in love with Simon and Baez in Fangirl, so I was really excited to finally be able to read some more of their story.
I don’t think it quite lived up to my expectations, though. Through Fangirl, I can remember thinking that the Simon Snow books just sounded like a rip off of Harry Potter which I was okay with because it wasn’t the main plot of the book. But then reading Carry On was just like reading some Harry Potter fanfiction which I hadn’t been expecting and I found quite disappointing.
I was hoping for more of an original plot but this retelling of the ‘chosen one’ plot just really didn’t work as an ‘original’ story.
Overall I feel that it could have been written better. I enjoy reading fanfics which is why this is still a 3 from me, but for an author as good as Rainbow Rowell, it was a bit disappointing.
Rachel Maria Berney (114 KP) rated Norse Mythology in Books
Dec 4, 2018
Waypoints: Seascapes and Stories of Scotland's West Coast
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Adventure, memoir, storytelling and celebration of all things maritime meet in Waypoints, a...
The Mabinogi
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'Here at the turn of the leaf a horseman is riding through the space between one world and another...
Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan
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In the spring of 1839, the British invaded Afghanistan for the first time. Led by lancers in scarlet...
Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories, Retold by Elli Woollard, Illustrated by Marta Altes
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Delightfully retold in humorous verse, with beautiful illustrations throughout, this is a beautiful...
Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions
6.0
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Recently widowed Poldi moves to Sicily in order to quietly drink herself to death with a sea view....
Babushka's Journey: The Dark Road to Stalin's Wartime Camps
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This is the story of a grandmother, and what happened to her and to Eastern Europe in World War II....