Search
Search results
Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated Zoo in Books
Mar 15, 2018
Working in a library it's hard not to notice how popular (and prolific) James Patterson is. While I was skeptical of just how good anything could be when it's written by someone who spits out books at a dizzying pace, and who is probably handing much of the actual writing off to one of the other authors he seems to employ, I still figured at some point I should read something of his just to see what I thought. Being a completely standalone story, and of somewhat more interest to me than his typical "murder-of-the-month" fare, "Zoo" seemed like a good way to dip my toes in the water. It tells the story of the world's population falling victim to an uprising of animal violence and the scientist who is trying to warn everybody of the coming problem and its cause. It's a somewhat simple story, but it's told briskly and has a number of memorably suspenseful scenes. The science behind everything sounds relatively plausible, whether or not it really is I couldn't tell you, though I have my doubts. Either way, it was good enough to sell the rather dire and dramatic circumstances that unfold over the course of the novel. The characters are likable enough, but don't really feel all that fleshed out. On some other negative notes; the dialogue is sometimes quite bad and there are too many times where people make horrifically stupid decisions for reasons that I found it hard to believe would have been enough to get them to make them. That aside, it was fast paced and suspenseful enough to keep me reading. The short chapters make it feel like it's propelling along at a higher speed, even if it does seem like some sequences were ended too abruptly, negating any chance of building up real suspense. The end in particular, while logical to the story, felt pretty abrupt and left me feeling just a little unsatisfied. I enjoyed reading Mr. Patterson more than I expected I might, but I don't know that I'll be coming back for more any time soon.
Cyn Armistead (14 KP) rated Ready Player One in Books
Mar 1, 2018
Add this book to the short list of must-reads for every True Geek, right alongside [b:Snow Crash|830|Snow Crash|Neal Stephenson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320544000s/830.jpg|493634]. It's a gleeful homage to geekdom and pop culture.
Wade explains to the reader that he was born after humanity wore the world out and escaped to OASIS, a massive simulation that has replaced the internet and all other forms of entertainment. Nobody seems to spend time in reality any more, because it sucks. There are multiple wars going on over the few energy sources that are left. Poverty, hunger, and homelessness are rampant everywhere.
Most people who are fortunate enough to live indoors at all are like Wade, who lives with his aunt and her latest boyfriend in a three-bedroom doublewide trailer shared with 17 people. The trailer is at least near the top of a stack, which is just what it sounds like: a stack of trailers 10 or so high, so many across and wide, so that 500 or more trailers are held together with rusted scaffolding, chains, and whatever other reinforcements people have added over the years. Stack collapses are common.
Wade spends most of his time in his hideout, the back of an old van that's parked in a junkyard and crammed in a stack of vehicles. That's where he keeps his computer and other equipment, so he can attend school (in OASIS, of course) and spend time research The Contest, which is the center of his life.
The creater of OASIS, James Halliday, created The Contest in his will. Whoever wins it will inherit Halliday's vast fortune and control of OASIS. At the opening of the novel, it has been five years since Halliday died and contestants are ridiculed in everyday society as obsessive losers.
Wade's quest through The Contest and his fight to simply survive is far more interesting than I thought it would be. I'll also admit to being entertained by the 80s trivia that pops up throughout the book (integral to The Contest). I'm biased, as I was a teen during those years.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book. It's one of the very few that I'll be saving to re-read in the future.
Wade explains to the reader that he was born after humanity wore the world out and escaped to OASIS, a massive simulation that has replaced the internet and all other forms of entertainment. Nobody seems to spend time in reality any more, because it sucks. There are multiple wars going on over the few energy sources that are left. Poverty, hunger, and homelessness are rampant everywhere.
Most people who are fortunate enough to live indoors at all are like Wade, who lives with his aunt and her latest boyfriend in a three-bedroom doublewide trailer shared with 17 people. The trailer is at least near the top of a stack, which is just what it sounds like: a stack of trailers 10 or so high, so many across and wide, so that 500 or more trailers are held together with rusted scaffolding, chains, and whatever other reinforcements people have added over the years. Stack collapses are common.
Wade spends most of his time in his hideout, the back of an old van that's parked in a junkyard and crammed in a stack of vehicles. That's where he keeps his computer and other equipment, so he can attend school (in OASIS, of course) and spend time research The Contest, which is the center of his life.
The creater of OASIS, James Halliday, created The Contest in his will. Whoever wins it will inherit Halliday's vast fortune and control of OASIS. At the opening of the novel, it has been five years since Halliday died and contestants are ridiculed in everyday society as obsessive losers.
Wade's quest through The Contest and his fight to simply survive is far more interesting than I thought it would be. I'll also admit to being entertained by the 80s trivia that pops up throughout the book (integral to The Contest). I'm biased, as I was a teen during those years.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book. It's one of the very few that I'll be saving to re-read in the future.
Bookapotamus (289 KP) rated Painless in Books
Jul 2, 2018
Very Cool Book!
Excuse me for a second, while I go barf. OMG this book. Holy heck the gruesome descriptions of blood and gore and guts was SO RAD. I found myself cringing and fidgeting and yes, even feeling a bit nauseous in some spots - but totally in a GOOD WAY! Painless was exactly what I wanted in a super-unique, creepy, shocking horror-thriller.
Greg Owens is in pain. A LOT of pain. He fell off a ladder on a construction job, injuring his back, and his entire life has gone to shit. He lost his wife, his kid, he can't work, he's addicted to pills. He's desperate, and can't find anything that will help him get relief, so he can return to construction, or any job he doesn't need "Pills to pay the Bills" in order to to work. His addiction is keeping him from his little girl and he's resorted to getting pills illegally from dealers, just to make it though the day.
Dr. Dante Menta is running an exclusive clinical trial. He's been working on a pain relief technique for years, and promises a complete cure of all physical pain. Sign me up, right? We meet all the patients involved in the trial who have arrived before Greg. There are even animal patients. Some of them are seeking relief from back pain, or car accident injuries, others from auto-immune things like Lupus - and even chronic migraine headaches.
The patients are taken in one by one to get the procedure and at first, it's exactly as promised and the results are impressive! But soon, shit starts hitting the fan. Patients are starting to act really strange, obsessive, destructive. Things start to go horribly, horribly wrong. And it's incredible awesome to watch!
I thought this story was really different and the premise was immediately intriguing - it was a quick read, but written really well, and explores a dark side of both how people deal with pain management and also Dr. Mentas obsession with his life's work to find a cure. I would love to see this translated to a horror movie, and I'd be first in line to buy a ticket!
Greg Owens is in pain. A LOT of pain. He fell off a ladder on a construction job, injuring his back, and his entire life has gone to shit. He lost his wife, his kid, he can't work, he's addicted to pills. He's desperate, and can't find anything that will help him get relief, so he can return to construction, or any job he doesn't need "Pills to pay the Bills" in order to to work. His addiction is keeping him from his little girl and he's resorted to getting pills illegally from dealers, just to make it though the day.
Dr. Dante Menta is running an exclusive clinical trial. He's been working on a pain relief technique for years, and promises a complete cure of all physical pain. Sign me up, right? We meet all the patients involved in the trial who have arrived before Greg. There are even animal patients. Some of them are seeking relief from back pain, or car accident injuries, others from auto-immune things like Lupus - and even chronic migraine headaches.
The patients are taken in one by one to get the procedure and at first, it's exactly as promised and the results are impressive! But soon, shit starts hitting the fan. Patients are starting to act really strange, obsessive, destructive. Things start to go horribly, horribly wrong. And it's incredible awesome to watch!
I thought this story was really different and the premise was immediately intriguing - it was a quick read, but written really well, and explores a dark side of both how people deal with pain management and also Dr. Mentas obsession with his life's work to find a cure. I would love to see this translated to a horror movie, and I'd be first in line to buy a ticket!
Ross (3284 KP) rated Nightmare Keep (Euphoria Online Book 2) in Books
Dec 4, 2018
Outstanding follow-up LitRPG fantasy tale
The follow-up to Death March continues straight on, with Chris being marched off to the eerie evil presence lurking in the nearby ruined village. From there on, Chris has a mission to accomplish and things are looking good for him, albeit with some hard work to come. Just as things start to look up, he is booted out of Castle Winter by a group of stronger players and has to find another way to complete his mission.
The action is thick, fast and wonderfully narrated throughout the book. While the constant mention of which Skill, Spell or weapon is being used gets a little bit annoying, it adds to the gaming feel and allows you to see the characters' actions and how they chose them.
The story is excellent, barring some slightly confused metaphysical stuff right at the end, where the world becomes all hand-wavey and dreamy and you kind of lose the immersion a little. But the character development (literally, by completing tasks and winning fights, Chris gains XP and levels up) and interaction is top notch, totally nailing the language that would be used by gamers trying to be their character but also retaining their own personalities.
There are a couple of moments in the book where it seems Chris has just plain run out of luck, but something always arrives just at the right time for him to get out of his predicament. One revelation in particular was a little jarring where he managed to de-crypt a message and work out (or guess) what he had to do, which could have worked but was delivered a little clumsily in my opinion. In hindsight the smaller incidents are minor and did not detract from my enjoyment of this book.
Once again, the book is just cruelly short and leaves you wanting more. Luckily, there is one more book in the series so I won't be away from Euphoria Online for long.
Read as part of free trial on Kindle Unlimited (so for free!).
The action is thick, fast and wonderfully narrated throughout the book. While the constant mention of which Skill, Spell or weapon is being used gets a little bit annoying, it adds to the gaming feel and allows you to see the characters' actions and how they chose them.
The story is excellent, barring some slightly confused metaphysical stuff right at the end, where the world becomes all hand-wavey and dreamy and you kind of lose the immersion a little. But the character development (literally, by completing tasks and winning fights, Chris gains XP and levels up) and interaction is top notch, totally nailing the language that would be used by gamers trying to be their character but also retaining their own personalities.
There are a couple of moments in the book where it seems Chris has just plain run out of luck, but something always arrives just at the right time for him to get out of his predicament. One revelation in particular was a little jarring where he managed to de-crypt a message and work out (or guess) what he had to do, which could have worked but was delivered a little clumsily in my opinion. In hindsight the smaller incidents are minor and did not detract from my enjoyment of this book.
Once again, the book is just cruelly short and leaves you wanting more. Luckily, there is one more book in the series so I won't be away from Euphoria Online for long.
Read as part of free trial on Kindle Unlimited (so for free!).
Corey Richard Bennett (10 KP) rated The Lost Symbol: (Robert Langdon Book 3) in Books
Jul 19, 2019
Drags on after action ends (1 more)
Unsatisfactory ending
Contains spoilers, click to show
Okay, so the third book in the Robert Langdon takes Robert through Washington D.C. as he tries to save a friend, who has been taken hostage. With help from the hostage's sister, Robert unravels a secret path by the Freemasons. Long story short, Robert saves his friend gets the girl and learns truths of the Freemasons no else has.
So overall the story is typical Dan Brown. Twists and turns at every turn, switching views from each chapter. Robert does Robert stuff with figuring everything out in due time. (By the way, I can't read these without thinking of Tom Hanks being Langdon anymore).
But the one thing I want to focus on is the villain. He is by far the most compelling part of this whole book. Spoiler is he dies about 3/4ths of the book in and once he is gone, that dragging on feeling sets in. There is no trouble, no sense of urgency and the book dies off after that for me. But back to our villain. He is revealed to be Mr. Hostage's son who was once thought dead, but more like transformed into a whole different person. You learn that he came from money, went to prison, is left there by his father, fakes his death, and then tries to steal a family heirloom he feels will help him unlock the secrets of Freemasonry and being the perfect human. My one gripe is Dan Brown pretty much tells you it's not the son, and then says oh yeah it is the son. There's a difference from being sneaky, and just lying to create suspense. Oh well, but before his death, the son is cunning, stealthy, and barbaric (drowning an assistant for a key card). He is a very interesting character and you do miss him once he is killed.
Overall its an okay book, but Inferno or Da Vinci Code were better stories, but if you like U.S. History, it should kill some time for you and keep you enthralled for most the book.
So overall the story is typical Dan Brown. Twists and turns at every turn, switching views from each chapter. Robert does Robert stuff with figuring everything out in due time. (By the way, I can't read these without thinking of Tom Hanks being Langdon anymore).
But the one thing I want to focus on is the villain. He is by far the most compelling part of this whole book. Spoiler is he dies about 3/4ths of the book in and once he is gone, that dragging on feeling sets in. There is no trouble, no sense of urgency and the book dies off after that for me. But back to our villain. He is revealed to be Mr. Hostage's son who was once thought dead, but more like transformed into a whole different person. You learn that he came from money, went to prison, is left there by his father, fakes his death, and then tries to steal a family heirloom he feels will help him unlock the secrets of Freemasonry and being the perfect human. My one gripe is Dan Brown pretty much tells you it's not the son, and then says oh yeah it is the son. There's a difference from being sneaky, and just lying to create suspense. Oh well, but before his death, the son is cunning, stealthy, and barbaric (drowning an assistant for a key card). He is a very interesting character and you do miss him once he is killed.
Overall its an okay book, but Inferno or Da Vinci Code were better stories, but if you like U.S. History, it should kill some time for you and keep you enthralled for most the book.
Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated The Ballad of Sandy McNab in Books
Jan 9, 2020
The Ballad of Sandy McNab by Colin Mackenzie is an interesting childrens book with a very different art style. The back of the book claims that this book will be available as a childrens song (I have not looked for it as of yet). The way the book flows definitely lends itself to being a song.
A little green crab is minding his own business in his home when a shark shows up. The shark tries to trick the crab into going outside by asking him to come out and play. When the crab refuses the shark breaks in and tries to attack him. The little crab is quicker than the shark and pinches it until the shark leaves. With the shark gone the little crab can live peacefully again.
It is hard to pick out just one thing as my favorite when I think the entire book is great. The little crab pinching the sharks nose made me smile and a whale swallowing the shark was an ironic twist I was not expecting. As for what I did not like, its not exactly a complaint this time but more of something that people should be aware of when getting a book (or anything really) that is not from their country. On two pages there was a word that just felt wrong to me. One was barmy which given the context I believe means stupid. The other was nippers which I believe to be claws. While this is not a problem with this book people (like myself) should be prepared for language differences.
Parents will enjoy reading this short book to their children and may find that is is difficult to read it without singing it or adding emphasis on the verbal patterns. Also as children get older this is a book that they will still enjoy reading themselves. I give this childrens book a 4 out of 4 rating like so many others. The story is not overly long or detailed and the author clearly took time to structure a story around the rhymes. It keeps a steady rhythm that is frequently hard to accomplish. The story itself is cute with a crab besting a much larger opponent.
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.come
A little green crab is minding his own business in his home when a shark shows up. The shark tries to trick the crab into going outside by asking him to come out and play. When the crab refuses the shark breaks in and tries to attack him. The little crab is quicker than the shark and pinches it until the shark leaves. With the shark gone the little crab can live peacefully again.
It is hard to pick out just one thing as my favorite when I think the entire book is great. The little crab pinching the sharks nose made me smile and a whale swallowing the shark was an ironic twist I was not expecting. As for what I did not like, its not exactly a complaint this time but more of something that people should be aware of when getting a book (or anything really) that is not from their country. On two pages there was a word that just felt wrong to me. One was barmy which given the context I believe means stupid. The other was nippers which I believe to be claws. While this is not a problem with this book people (like myself) should be prepared for language differences.
Parents will enjoy reading this short book to their children and may find that is is difficult to read it without singing it or adding emphasis on the verbal patterns. Also as children get older this is a book that they will still enjoy reading themselves. I give this childrens book a 4 out of 4 rating like so many others. The story is not overly long or detailed and the author clearly took time to structure a story around the rhymes. It keeps a steady rhythm that is frequently hard to accomplish. The story itself is cute with a crab besting a much larger opponent.
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.come
Yarn - Chat Fiction
Book and Entertainment
App
Yarn - Text Stories Ever wanted to snoop through people’s conversations and not feel guilty for...
Philosophy Now
Education and Magazines & Newspapers
App
Philosophy Now is a magazine for everyone interested in ideas. It aims to corrupt innocent citizens...
Fast Jets and Other Beasts: Personal Insights from the Cockput of the Hunter, Phantom, Jaguar, Tornado and Many More
Book
Over a thirty-two-year military flying career which spanned a period when the RAF regularly replaced...
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
8.2
Rate It
Book
'THE POLITICAL BOOK OF THE YEAR' Sunday Times SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE by director Ron...