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Becbec (5 KP) rated Solar Bones in Books

Dec 13, 2017  
Solar Bones
Solar Bones
Mike McCormack | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The writing style (1 more)
Skillfully written
Should have ended sooner (0 more)
This is one of those books, a bit like Kent Haruf's books, in which not a lot happens. There is no full stop. I expected the full stop to be at the end but nope none there either. The author is very clever in how he manages to switch from one subject to the next without using a full stop. It is simply a man narrating his life. Not an original idea for a plot but well executed. There isn't really a big event until the end of the novel. You come to root for this man, ordinary and unremarkable as he is. Although i could see the ending coming i found it devastating. My only criticism was that it kept going after the 'big' ending but I suppose that's part of the writing style.
  
The End (A Series of Unfortunate Events #13)
The End (A Series of Unfortunate Events #13)
Lemony Snicket | 2006 | Children
6
8.2 (25 Ratings)
Book Rating
Writing Style (0 more)
Character development (0 more)
Mixed Feeling
I had quite mixed feelings reading these books. On the one hand, I loved the writing style. It was atmospheric. However, there were times when the repetitiveness was just too much.

I enjoyed the Violet, Klaus, and Sunny as characters and the three Quagmire triplets. The rest of the characters i hardly liked at all.


I think the book could be shorter. I liked the first three and the last four books but the middle could be taken out without much consequence. Towards the end I felt like I was just reading it because I had already come so far and I couldn't wait to finish them. On the other hand, I'm glad I read the ending because I enjoyed it.


I go into a lot more detail on my blog. Link is in my bio if you want to check it out.
  
The Girl on the Train
The Girl on the Train
Paula Hawkins | 2016 | Mystery, Thriller
9
7.6 (173 Ratings)
Book Rating
Great plot, keeps syou guessing (0 more)
Annoying main character (0 more)
Great suspense.
This is a good book and I would recommend it to mystery/suspense fans. However, I found the main character, Rachel annoying. She whines often and many times is just off the rail. But, I like the writing and believe this is done intentionally. Rachel hates herself, she is often angry with herself, she is hitting rock bottom, and why would the reader not feel the same way in light of a first person narrative. The writing makes you feel for Rachel, your embarrassed for her, confused, angry, upset, you pity her, in a way you come to understand her, and it adds to the narrative of the novel. You think you have it figured out (and you might the clues are there), but at times your not sure (Rachel is an unreliable narrator). This book is worth a read.
  
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Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Legion in TV

Aug 3, 2017  
Legion
Legion
2017 | Action, Sci-Fi
Writing (4 more)
Cinematography
Performances
Lighting
Direction
The ending of the first season (0 more)
A mind bending new take
This show was so fresh and offered an extremely interesting and original new take on the X Men universe. Dan Stevens and Aubrey Plaza are phenomenal as are the rest of the cast. The show was writing by the guys behind Fargo, so as expected it is a very well written script with sharp, meaningful dialogue and some genuinely shocking moments. There are some very experimental methods of filming used and for the most part they totally work with the surreal tone that the show achieves.
The only reason I can't score this a perfect 10 is because I found the ending of the first season to be very anti climatic after all of the clever, tightly woven build up. Still though, this is a great new show.
  
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Enyeh (71 KP) rated Foundation in Books

Sep 5, 2017  
Foundation
Foundation
Isaac Asimov | 1942 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
7.6 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Political intrigue, narrative structure, foresight (many aspects of plot) (0 more)
Writing style, plausibility of characters (0 more)
Asimov's Foundation series is a classic for a reason. His ability to construct a coherent political narrative across centuries, without sounding like a dry textbook from a parallel universe, is astounding. However, Asimov's talents lie in plot and narrative - not in writing style, dialogue, or characterization. He utilizes character interactions to describe most occurring events, but these interactions are simply not believable. You find yourself rolling your eyes, cringing away, even having to close the book for a moment to rid your mind of the image of Asimov as a greasy 15-year-old in his mom's basement, trying to write about human beings without ever interacting with them.

Sorry, Isaac. I'm sure that's not true of you.


All in all, the success of this book doesn't surprise me, but it was not easy to get through.
  
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Ross (3284 KP) rated Of Gods and Men in Books

Jan 31, 2018  
Of Gods and Men
Of Gods and Men
Stephen Aryan | 2018 | Paranormal
10
9.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
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.