Allegiant by Veronica Roth

By

On January 7, 2014

In Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Allegiant (Divergent, #3)Allegiant by Veronica Roth
Hardcover, 526 pages
Katherine Tegen Books, 2013
Read: October 23-25, 2013

Given the phenomenon that the Divergent series has become — particularly amongst certain demographic segments — it’d be an almost impossible task to finish this series in a way that would please all readers. From what I can tell, she didn’t. But did she please this reader? On the whole, yeah. Despite an ending that many, many people disliked (I was fine with it, not crazy about it, but fine) Roth got the story wrapped up as she wanted, and ultimately, that’s what’s most important in this setting.

Yes, there was a lot more exposition and back story than you typically get in an end to a series. But Roth had a bunch of questions that Tris and her readers demanded answers for — and Roth answered most — if not all — of them. Which didn’t leave as much time for story as one would hope. It’s not 500 pages of info dump by any means, but there was probably more backstory in this book than there were in the other two. And really, other than the fate of the world, there wasn’t that much plot to take care of, so it sort of balanced out. Roth did bring every hanging plotline to a satisfying resolution, and didn’t introduce all that many to deal with within the pages of Allegiant.

Reading what I’ve written, it seems like this is a dull narrative. Not at all — there was enough action, enough mystery to keep you going. And in the moment, I didn’t have any problems with the amount of exposition, or anything else. It’s only afterwards, thinking about it that I started to have a “yeah, but . . . ” type of reaction. In the moment, it all worked — it all kept me hooked and waiting for what would come next.

Like many, I thought a good deal of the latter quarter was pretty predictable, but just because you can see an ending coming 5 miles away, doesn’t mean that it can’t be pulled off effectively — which is what Roth did.

I’m going to miss this world, and many of the characters, Roth had a thankless task before her here, and she managed to acquit herself pretty well. Looking forward to what she does next.

—–

4 Stars

Dusted Off: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

By

On January 7, 2014

In Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Insurgent (Divergent, #2)Insurgent

by Veronica Roth
Hardcover, 525 pg.
Katherine Tegen Books, 2012

A solid follow-up to a great book–not as good as its predecessor, but close enough.

I thought the plot meandered a bit, and several scenes between Tris and Four seemed to just be a repetition from the earlier. But the rest of the book was so good, those minor gripes are completely forgivable.

Am not sure what to do with what we learn in the last 3 pages or so–but I’m pretty sure we’re not expected to know what to do with it, so I’m okay with that.

—–

4 Stars

Dusted Off: Robert B. Parker’s Lullaby by Ace Atkins

By

On January 6, 2014

In Ace Atkins, Authors, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Robert B. Parker, Spenser

Robert B. Parker's Lullaby (Spenser, #41)Robert B. Parker’s Lullaby

by Ace Ace Atkins
Series: Spenser, #40

Hardcover, 320 pg.
Putnam Adult, 2012

I held off reviewing this last year so I could think about it some — I was afraid I’d be too influenced by the newness of Atkins’ take on Spenser, or maybe just a reflex fanboy reaction.

So I read it again this weekend in preparation for Robert B. Parker’s Wonderland, and am so glad I did. Atkin’s has captured the essence of Parker’s word — he’s not quite as good as classic Spenser (Valediction and before), better than most of what followed Small Vices — he’s the next-best thing to having the man himself. The plot is a bit more intricate, the descriptions are fuller — the font is smaller! — which definitely makes it meatier than Parker’s later work.

You can tell Atkins is a fan, and there’s a hint of fanfic about this — Atkins gets to play with characters he’s been reading for years. And who could blame him? Especially as well as he does it.

So glad that Atkins has picked up this mantle, hope he carries it for a good long while.

—–

4 Stars

Dusted Off: Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham

By

On January 6, 2014

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Someday, Someday, MaybeSomeday, Someday, Maybe

by Lauren Graham
Hardcover, 344 pg.
Ballantine Books, 2013

Lauren Graham’s as entertaining a writer as she is an actress. Which makes her too talented for any one person to be. Her protagonist, Franny, is a struggling actress trying to get her break in New York in the mid-90s. And it’s nearly impossible to not see Graham as Franny — it’s beyond impossible to not hear Graham in the narration (frequently) and in the dialogue (always).

That’s not a complaint, it’s an observation.

This is fun, heart-warming, and laugh-inducing. A breezy read that’s well worth the time.

Heck, the last paragraph said by Franny’s agent about being faster, funnier and louder is alone worth reading the book.

—–

3.5 Stars

Saturday Miscellany – 1/4/14

By

On January 4, 2014

In Books, Calendar Items, News/Misc.

This is the biggest of my weekly collections of odds and ends (especially years’ ends) that caught my eye. Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

There were a lotta good reads in 2013, here are a few readers’ takes on the best of the year. I was hoping to have my list ready, but it’ll take another day or two:

And a couple of glimpses into 2014:

    This Week’s New Releases I’m Excited About and/or You’ll Probably See Here Soon:

  • Twenty Palaces by Harry Connolly is now in hardcopy! Should probably pick up a copy to go with the rest of the series.
  • Gryphon Precinct by Keith R.A. DeCandido — I enjoyed the first of these, need to get my hands on the rest
  • That’s it for this week, but next week has a few that look good, 2014’s going to be off to a great start

Kinslayer by Jay Kristoff

By

On January 3, 2014

In Fiction, Steampunk

Kinslayer (The Lotus War, #2)Kinslayer

by Jay Kristoff

Hardcover, 432 pg.
Thomas Dunne Books, 2013
Read: Dec. 6-13, 2013

It’s a law that the second part of a trilogy is going to be darker in tone than the rest and will leave things in a precarious position. The mark of a really good second part of a trilogy is that even as you expect that, the tone and direness of the events affect you as they ought, and don’t just seem as ways to advance the overall story arcs to get through the third installment.

Kristoff’s Kinslayer delivered on that. And then some — I’m not sure where I expected/wanted things to go following the calamitous events at the close of Stormdancer — obviously there’d be fighting between the Guild, the Kagé rebellion, and various groups trying to fill the void left by the death of Yoritomo. And, of course, Buruu and Yukiko would be smack dab in the middle of it. Beyond that, I really had no idea.

Which is fine and dandy, because I was pretty wrong — yes, there’s conflict between the Kagé, the Lotus Guild and various Shōgun, but not all-out warfare (mostly). And for the bulk of the novel, Yukiko and Buruu aren’t directly involved in that story — they are off on an important quest on their own, their storylines intersect with the rest at the beginning and end of the novels (like Luke and R2 off to Dagobah in another noted second part of a trilogy).

Don’t get me wrong — it’s not all doom and gloom. There are more than a few chuckles, some fun times to be read here. Early on in the book, I wrote the note, “the conversations between Yukiko and Buruu are fantastic — the playfulness, the teasing, the love — it’s like Temeraire with snark.” But then things started to turn — in the capitol, in the Kagé wilderness and even with the thunder tiger and his stormdancer. Yukiko is having trouble controlling her powers, there’s division in the rebellion’s ranks, and it seems that nobody in the capitol is telling the truth to anyone about anything. Betrayal courses through this novel. It’s raw and powerful.

What makes all the betrayal effective isn’t how it moves the plots forward, but because with established and new characters, Kristoff has created characters you can believe, characters you can empathize with, identify with, care about — no matter their allegiance in the conflicts. So that when plans go awry, trust is broken, loved ones abandoned (or worse), it matters to the audience.

True to form, things are bleak — if not worse — as the novel closes, but Kristoff has set the stage for something very exciting, and many things that I’m not even going to pretend to predict. Can’t wait for what’s next.

Lastly, I am indebted to Kristoff for the Character Reference pages at the beginning and wish that more serial fiction people did something like that — an easy way to re-orient yourself in this strange world. If only there was a pronunciation guide, too. But now I’m getting greedy.

—–

5 Stars

2014 New Year’s Reading Resolutions

By

On January 1, 2014

In Books, Calendar Items, News/Misc.

Since I was 7, books and reading have pretty much dominated my life, so it’s not too surprising that the only New Year’s Resolutions that I can come up with revolve around them. Here are a few to get things kicked off:

  • Come up with a response for all the people who say things like, “I notice you’re reading a lot of novels lately” — as if they’re a second-class (or worse) thing to read.
  • Think more about what I read (this blog helps, but I need to do more)
  • Enjoy what I’m reading more — the process, the moments, the words.
  • Re-read more. I think I re-read 6 books last year, not even 5% of my total. I’ve got shelves and shelves of things that I want(ed) to read again — I should do that.
  • Do a better job here — in the reviews/rants as well as in branching out — posts about books/authors, not just about a particular book.

On the more micro-side — books in particular — I still don’t have a “big” aim or goal like I have most of the last few years, but I have a few smaller ones.

… all in 190 books or so.

Enough blather, gotta hit the books.

Happy New Reading Year!

By

On December 31, 2013

In Calendar Items, News/Misc.

I’ve really abandoned things around here lately, haven’t I? Between the busy-ness of the holiday season, kids being home from school and demanding attention — and the silly, ego-driven need to read a few more books to meet my year end goal (with a few hours to spare), things were just too busy for me to update this. I did try to do a Saturday Miscellany post last week, but couldn’t find enough to make up a post (not going to be a problem this week!).

Anyway, 2013 was pretty productive for me: 190 books (down from 206 last year) and a few short stories, graphic novels, and whatnot — mostly good, some great, a few not; a whole new blog (this one here, in case you were wondering)’ a bunch of reviews (not as many as I’d hoped). Which basically boils down to a lot of time spent with books — just about my favorite way to spend time.

Thanks for those of you who’ve read this, are following this blog. Hope you’ve had a good 2013, and may we all have a better 2014.

2014

Dusted Off: A Fistful of Collars by Spencer Quinn

By

On December 30, 2013

In Authors, Chet and Bernie, Dogs, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, P-U, Spencer Quinn

A Fistful of Collars (A Chet and Bernie Mystery #5)A Fistful of Collars

by Spencer Quinn
Series: Chet and Bernie, #5

Hardcover, 320 pg.
Atria Books, 2012

Little makes me as happy as a good Chet & Bernie story — and this one fits the bill. Quinn avoids some of the pitfalls of his other books — certain scenes/plot points that are becoming more than threadbare are absent here.

The main storyline was pretty predictable, but it was well — and entertainingly — executed. The subplots are the key to this one, and most of those were handled deftly.

Good, solid entry in this series with one of the best narrative voices around — give this one a read!

—–

4 Stars

Dusted Off: To Fetch a Thief by Spencer Quinn

By

On December 30, 2013

In Authors, Chet and Bernie, Dogs, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, P-U, Spencer Quinn

To Fetch a Thief (A Chet and Bernie Mystery, #3)To Fetch a Thief

by Spencer Quinn
Series: Chet and Bernie, #3

Hardcover, 307 pg.
Atria Books, 2010

What can I say about this? Read it. Love this series. At this point, I think the only “voice” I enjoy reading more in this world than Chet is Archie Goodwin, and Chet’s still with us, so he could pass Archie.

On my first read, I didn’t love it as much as the first — but slightly more than the second — in this series. I think Quinn did a bit more with Bernie’s character than he has in the past — Bernie could probably carry his own story w/o Chet now (Heaven Forbid). Less Suzie, more Charlie and the ex. Good subplot involving the latter two.

Good mystery, nice action, etc. like always. I just love these books, wish I could articulate it better and get more folks to read ’em.

—–

4 Stars

Page 592 of 632

Previous

Next

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén