Saturday, December 19, 2015

Review:: The Grim Grotto, by Lemony Snicket


Title: The Grim Grotto
Author: Lemony Snicket
Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events, #11
Format: Kindle
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Previously:
The Hostile Hospital
The Carnivorous Carnival
The Slippery Slope

It appears that the charm of The Slippery Slope slipped away with this one. The orphans are swept downstream and end up on a submarine. Things are pretty predictable, and I just didn't feel engaged by any of it.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Review:: Shades of Milk and Honey, by Mary Robinette Kowal


Title: Shades of Milk and Honey
Author: Mary Robinette Kowal
Series: Glamourist Histories, #1
Format: Hardcover
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

I think I'm less angry at this book than disappointed. I went in expecting Jane Austen + magic and ended up really getting neither. While it is a Regency novel, and Kowal works towards Austen's style, much of the charm and all of the wit is missing. And the magic serves no real purpose in the world or the novel. It doesn't feel shoved in, but it does leave me a bit perplexed.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Review:: The Last Colony, by John Scalzi


Title: The Last Colony
Author: John Scalzi
Series: Old Man's War, #3
Format: Hardcover/Kindle
Rating: ★★★★☆

Previously:

From the beginning, you know everything is going to go wrong in The Last Colony. But because it's John Scalzi, you know everything will be okay in the end. This was more Ghost Brigades and less Old Man's War—less focus on humor and more on the issues at hand—but I think it's superior to it in a few ways.