Review:: Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

Title: Slaughterhouse-Five

Author: Kurt Vonnegut

Format: Kindle

Rating: ★★★★☆

They say Kurt Vonnegut is a love him or hate him kind of author, and I have to admit that while I haven't extensively read him, I fall into the former category. Last time I read Slaughterhouse-Five I was in high school, but I didn't read it for high school. Coming back to it as an adult, it wasn't like I remembered at all (I remembered it being more like Catch-22), but it was a delight to read.

Well, maybe delight is the wrong word.

Review:: The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde

Title: The Eyre Affair

Author: Jasper Fforde

Series: Thursday Next, #1

Format: Hardcover

Rating: ★★★★☆

I loved this book more than I thought I would as I was reading through it. Much of it was rather predictable (at least to me), but that didn't tarnish its charm in the slightest. It didn't depend on suspense to make the story enjoyable, and actually managed in some ways to use this to a greater thematic advantage. Spoilers in the review.

Review:: Iron Shadows, by Steven Barnes

Title: Iron Shadows

Author: Steven Barnes

Format: Hardcover

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

This is, hands-down, the worst book I have ever read. The prose is awful. The plot is awful. The issues are treated in offensive and gross ways. The pacing sucks. I'm trying to think of something nice to say. ...wait for it. Nope.

Review:: Anathem, by Neal Stephenson

Title: Anathem

Author: Neal Stephenson

Format: eBook

Rating: ★★★★☆

Neal Stephenson doesn't pull any punches with Anathem. The worldbuilding is more intricate than you normally see in a standalone novel, the science is well research, and the attention to detail is astounding. Best of all, this novel is more than the sum of its parts; he manages to take all of this and combine it with a compelling plot and characters to provide the reader with more substance than you'd expect, even from nearly 1,000 pages.

Review:: Looking for Jake, by China Miéville

Title: Looking for Jake

Author: China Miéville

Format: eBook

Rating: ★★★★☆

China Miéville is best known for his novels, but in short stories he's able to play with his craft in ways that wouldn't work in longer fiction. He left me wanting and unfulfilled time and time again, but simultaneously positive there was no other way for things to end.

Review:: Liminal States, by Zack Parsons

Title: Liminal States

Author: Zack Parsons

Format: eBook (epub)

Rating: ★★★★☆

What is the worst thing you can do to a grief-stricken windower who has a death wish? Grant him eternal life. The only problem is, when you mess with forces you don't truly understand, you almost always get unintended consequences.