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.

Movie Review:: Fight Club

Title: Fight Club

Based on: Fight Club, by Chuck Palahniuk

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.

Review:: The Scar, by China Miéville

Title: The Scar

Author: China Miéville

Series: New Crobuzon, #2

Format: Mass Market Paperback

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Previously:

Perdido Street Station

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.

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:

The Bad Beginning

The Reptile Room

The Wide Window

The Miserable Mill

The Austere Academy

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.

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?

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:

The Bad Beginning

The Reptile Room

The Wide Window

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.

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.

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:

The Bad Beginning

The Reptile Room

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.

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.

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.

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.

Review:: The Tangle Box, by Terry Brooks

Title: The Tangle Box

Author: Terry Brooks

Series: Magic Kingdom of Landover, #4

Format: Hardcover

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Previously:

Magic Kingdom for Sale—Sold!

The Black Unicorn

Wizard at Large

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.

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:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

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.

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.