Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Review:: Iron Council, by China Miéville


Title: Iron Council
Author: China Miéville
Series: New Crobuzon, #3
Format: Hardcover
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Previously:
Perdido Street Station
The Scar

Perdido Street Station was definitely my favorite. While there was a lot I liked about Iron Council, I had trouble staying interested in the chaotic plot. Which doesn't make sense. I love it when Miéville has wild, crazy chaotic plots. Maybe it's just this series.


Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Movie Review:: Fight Club


Title: Fight Club
Rating: ★★★☆☆

I actually found that knowing the twist to Fight Club wasn't as awful in the movie version. In fact, the movie was good enough that if it hadn't been censored and had a weird ending change, it would have been four stars.

Monday, August 24, 2015

Review:: The Scar, by China Miéville


Title: The Scar
Author: China Miéville
Series: New Crobuzon, #2
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Previously:

Apparently I read The Scar, but never wrote a review. Probably because I was so underwhelmed. I absolutely loved Perdido Street Station and I love Miéville, so I was expecting a treat. Instead, I was kind of bored, actually. Maybe it's because there's so little to do with New Crobuzon or maybe it was because I didn't care about the characters. Regardless, it was a solid two stars.

Friday, August 21, 2015

Review:: The Ersatz Elevator, by Lemony Snicket


Title: The Ersatz Elevator
Author: Lemony Snicket
Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events, #6
Format: eBook
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Previously:

Gasp! This one very slightly deviates from the formula! An actual plot is starting to coalesce? Does it save the series? ...not really. Spoilers in the review, but if you've been reading these reviews so far, you should realize how little that can possibly matter with books like these.


Thursday, August 20, 2015

Review:: The Austere Academy, by Lemony Snicket


Title: The Austere Academy
Author: Lemony Snicket
Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events, #5
Format: eBook
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Previously:
The Bad Beginning
The Reptile Room
The Wide Window
The Miserable Mill

In some ways, this book was better, but in others, it was exactly the same. They're just so formulaic. I understand that some authors feel like that's important in middle grade/YA, but in my opinion, it's underestimating young readers. Sure, some kids may like it, but why not give them something that challenges them a bit?


Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Review:: The Miserable Mill, by Lemony Snicket


Title: The Miserable Mill
Author: Lemony Snicket
Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events, #4
Format: eBook
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Previously:

Well, this one wasn't as awful as the last one. But that's not saying much. We're dealing with the same formula, the same annoying narrator, and the same problems. Just with a different setting.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Review:: Chew: Taster's Choice, by John Layman


Title: Chew: Taster's Choice
Author: John Layman
Illustrator: Rob Guillory
Series: Chew, #1
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

If cannibalism and eating decomposing dogs bother you, then Chew may not be right for you. If those things don't bother you... then I don't know. They certainly didn't bother me, and I felt like I should have enjoyed Chew, but I didn't like it that much.

Monday, August 17, 2015

Review:: The Wide Window, by Lemony Snicket


Title: The Wide Window
Author: Lemony Snicket
Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events, #3
Format: eBook
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Previously:

So, I was trying to spread these out a bit, but apparently I'm in too much pain to do much but read middle grade books. So I don't have another review for you yet. (Hopefully soon, though.)

There aren't a lot of things that will, on its own, take a book down to one star. Usually, it's a combination of things. Well, I'd been putting up with a lot from Lemony Snicket, which has been discussed in previous reviews. But this one really, really pissed me off.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Review:: The Reptile Room, by Lemony Snicket


Title: The Reptile Room
Author: Lemony Snicket
Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events, #2
Format: eBook
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Previously:
The Bad Beginning

This one felt more like a proper three stars. I greatly enjoyed the premise of having a guardian that was actually a rather nice and interesting person. Plus, the whole Sunny playing with the adorable Incredibly Deadly Viper just made the whole thing for me. However... I'm afraid the series is really going to get repetitive and frustrating.

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Review:: Fables: Storybook Love, by Bill Willingham


Title: Fables: Storybook Love
Author: Bill Willingham
Series: Fables, #3
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this one. I mean, it was enjoyable, but the romance subplot felt really, really forced and squicky. The comic relief felt poorly timed and I felt like Bill Willingham didn't address most of the issues he laid out. It's like they were laid out just to be edgy.

Gonna stop me from going forward?

Nope.


Friday, August 14, 2015

Review:: The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket


Title: The Bad Beginning
Author: Lemony Snicket
Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events, #1
Format: eBook
Rating: ★★★☆☆

I know I read this series at some point as a kid, but think I only read the first three books or so. I recently saw them on Overdrive and figured "Hey! I'm really having trouble with my illness right now! These might be the perfect books to read!"

(yes, that's why I've been missing. too sick...)

And really, they were in a way. Quick, fun, enjoyable reads. Although, now I'm on the third by the time I'm writing this, and they're starting to get on my nerves... I think I'm going to have to start spreading them out.

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Review:: The Tangle Box, by Terry Brooks


Title: The Tangle Box
Author: Terry Brooks
Series: Magic Kingdom of Landover, #4
Format: Hardcover
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Previously:

At this point, we're moving from nostalgia reviews to just reviews. Or maybe I read this book and was bored so badly I just decided to quit. (Probably not, considering I was such a big Terry Brooks fan as a kid.) Anyway, this book was even more of a snoozefest, which is saying something for a solid two-star series. Spoilers after the cut.

Monday, August 3, 2015

Nostalgia Review:: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling


Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Author: J.K. Rowling
Series: Harry Potter, #7
Format: Hardcover
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Still good?
No.

Previously:

This book made me angry. Really angry. I didn't even realize how angry at first. It's not really an issue with the end itself (although I do have issues with that); it's an issue with the writing. I complained in a previous review about how the Pensieve is one of the worst writing cop-outs ever. So here's a cool story: when it takes 100 pages of exposition to make the ending make sense, you're doing it wrong.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Review:: Four Ways to Forgiveness, by Ursula K. LeGuin


Title: Four Ways to Forgiveness
Author: Ursula K. LeGuin
Format: Hardcover
Rating: ★★★★☆

It took me a while to get into Four Ways to Forgiveness. The first story was a bit sleepy, and I had trouble understanding the point of it all. But as this collection of four Hainish short stories progresses, the themes surrounding enslavement and gender politics become more clear. This is one of the books in which LeGuin bares her politics. As she so often does, she does it well.