Tag: 2 Stars Page 5 of 9

Korian and Lucy by Zoe Kalo

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On July 13, 2016

In Fiction, YA/MG/Children's Books

Updated 8/9: The author contacted me about this, and assured me that it was an editing mistake on her part that soured me on this story, which is exactly what I hoped it was, and that it’s been fixed in the current edition. Which I think makes this a 2-Star story now (maybe higher): I’m not sure it tells us anything we couldn’t assume from reading the first novel — maybe some of the characterization will play a role in later books. Instead of being bad, this is now just inessential. Still, I recommend the first book and plan on reading the second.

Korian and LucyKorian and Lucy

by Zoe Kalo
Series: Cult of the Cat, #.5

Kindle Edition, 24 pg.
2016

Read: July 12, 2016

17 years before the birth of Trinity . . .

That line right there? The setting, words 5-11 of the story, are what killed it for me. Killed it dead.

Why? This is the story about Trinity’s mother and father, their brief affair, setting off the events of Daughter of the Sun. Which means, unless one of the types of magic involved in worshiping Egyptian deities involves Seventeen Year Pregnancies, (I can’t imagine any mothers I know signing up for a religion that consigns them to pregnancies that last that long) this is a flawed and hastily edited story. There are other chronological issues, but let’s stick to that one.

Just when you’ve gotten comfortable in this story, just start getting to know the characters, the story just stops. It doesn’t end, it doesn’t resolve, it doesn’t leave on a cliff-hanger. It stops and says look for part 2! Are you kidding me?

This is racier than Daughter, easily. Where Daughter suggested, hinted, pointed at Trinity and Ara’s sexuality, this story throws it in your face. It’s not over the top, but it’s very tonally different.

It’s not all bad — the fling/affair/romance between Korian and Lucy had promise; we get the idea that Trinity’s beloved grandmother wasn’t really all the fantastic, but is more realistic; and the wheels are set in motion that will result in the events of Daughter in a mere 34 years or so.

If only this was a complete story. If only this actually made any kind of chronological sense. If only . . . I could’ve liked this as much as I liked the first novel. But, it didn’t. You’re better off not reading this one, folks. Check back for the second novel, but spend your time doing something else.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of this story by the author in exchange for my honest thoughts. Much to her chagrin, no doubt.

—–

1 1/2 Stars

Heroes and Villains: Pawn in the Game by Tara R

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On March 30, 2016

In Fiction

Heroes and Villains: Pawn in the Game Heroes and Villains: Pawn in the Game

by Tara R
Series: Heroes and Villains, #1

Kindle, 243 pg.
2015

Read: March 26 – 27, 2016


I’m not really sure where to start with this, to tell you the truth. Tara R has put a lot of effort into this, there’s clearly an ambitious story she’s wanting to tell. Sadly, she’s not the kind of writer (yet?) who can pull it off.

She has a hard enough time pulling off basic grammar, punctuation and vocabulary, much less a consistent voice and created culture. I’d given up on this thing by the end of chapter three, but was willing (and eager) for her to win me back — it’s been done before. It’s been done in the last week, but this novel just isn’t capable of it.

I’d try to describe the book a little, but I’m not sure I can — it’s a dystopian fantasy, a world full of despots using their subjects as cannon fodder. There’s magic, to a degree, there’s widespread suffering and abuse, there’s an idealistic revolutionary or two — but no golden age to hearken back to. Just an idea (with no observable origin) that the world could be better. But there’s no one on this world that’s ever seen a better world, so why they’d think there is one is beyond me.

That said, various people — royalty and commoners both, have senses of humor, moments of joy and joking, and even non-royals get dressed in tuxedos (because what epic fantasy doesn’t have guys in tuxes?). In fact, for a dytopian world, it frequently doesn’t seem that bad — except for the people talking about how horrible it is all the time. Again, there’s no basis for them to think so given that this is the way the world has always worked.

The various governmental entities, secret societies, and would-be insurrections just don’t make sense. Their operation isn’t coherent (nor do they fit the setting), their goals are confusing — and then you get the totally out of the blue and bizarre lecture on DNA and I just gave up. This is a barely educated society, and sure, our protagonist is founding secret schools all over the place, but it’s a mighty big leap to go from an agrarian-based culture in a near-constant state of war with only underground schools to people casually discussing genetic manipulation.

Could I have tried harder to understand everything? Maybe — but I was really searching for something to hold on to, I tried pretty hard. But other than curiosity, there was no reason to — there’s not a single character interesting enough to keep you going, to make you care whether they live, die, or are never mentioned again in any way by the author.

It is simply, and perhaps too bluntly, a disappointing mess.

I’m giving it two stars because I didn’t actively hate it. Also, I do think that there’s something buried deep down here that’s worth looking at, and I really do think that in Tara R’s mind, this all makes sense — she’s clearly put the time and thought into it. But she just did not get that to the page. If you’re willing to put in the work, you might find the nuggets. But I wouldn’t recommend spending your time on it, it’s just not worth it.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of this by the author in exchange for an honest review, she hopefully doesn’t regret that exchange too much.

—–

2 Stars

Confessions of a Clumsy Christian: Unqualified by Jennifer Wilson

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On February 14, 2016

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

Confessions of a Clumsy Christian: UnqualifiedConfessions of a Clumsy Christian: Unqualified: Honest Answers to Real Questions About Being Good Enough for God

by Jennifer Wilson

E-book, 89 pg.
2016

Read:February 7, 2016

This was a tough one for me to write — in fact, I think I spent at least twice as long deciding what to write and then writing this as I did reading the book.

Jennifer Wilson had the kind of past that many of us have had — false starts with faith, personal problems, family problems, addictions, job woes, etc. — struggling from time to time with trying to be good enough to become a Christian — at some point, she realized she couldn’t and that God didn’t want someone who was good enough (who could be?), but someone “unqualified” to be a Christian. She talks about some of her problems, doubts and fears both before and after her conversion, in an effort to reassure others that “qualified Christians” just don’t exist.

Let’s get the easy stuff out of the way: Wilson writes in a charming, engaging manner — pleasant, breezy, conversational. This makes the book a quick and easy read — sometimes deceptively so, considering the topics covered. She comes across as very open and honest, very genuine.

There were plenty of typos and grammatical mistakes in the edition I read — none were too distracting, though, so you could get past it. You almost have to forgive the mistakes in the midst of an author telling you how often she has and continues to fail in various areas.

There are plenty of books I shouldn’t write — for example, novels that are supposed to go anywhere beyond the NaNoWriMo word count verification; books on care of felines; diet books — 2 of these may change in time, my fiction could improve or I could get in shape. If either happens, I’ll write those books. And at some point, Jennifer Wilson may be ready to write this book. She states, over and over again that she’s a new Christian. At one point, she describes herself as “barely an apprentice Christian.” I have to ask, why is she writing a book about it then? I’m not saying she shouldn’t ever — but maybe she should get some roots down. She wants to write about her past? Her coming to faith? Her struggles as a new Christian? Fine — more than fine, she’s helpful. But when she goes further than that, she gets herself in trouble.

John Murray once wrote, “The difference between truth and error is not a chasm but a razor’s edge.” I fear that Wilson spent so much time walking down the razor’s edge she must have really cut up her feet. For example, she advised a friend, “[God] is in pain, watching you, His precious daughter, suffer so much.” I don’t see any biblical writer speaking of God in this way. She writes, “God, my heavenly father, doesn’t want me, His daughter to suffer in pain.” Please tell that to Joseph, Job, Paul, and Jesus for starters. The Epistles are replete with instructions about suffering, about the purpose of suffering, of rejoicing in our suffering. I have to wonder, what God is she talking about?

Wilson’s clear that she doesn’t know the Bible very well — that right there should give her pause before weighing in on Biblical concerns, no?

I know she’s trying to be amusing in her writing — and she usually succeeds — but I think a little more care surrounding God, His works, and the ways He’s revealed Himself would be helpful. Self-deprecating humor, humor at the apparent vicissitudes of life, absolutely fair game. But there are some things that we ought to treat reverently even in the midst of irreverence.

There is a lot to be commended about this book — particularly when she describes her own struggles past and present. But the solutions suggested are frequently problematic, when not downright unbiblical. It’s written-well enough, I’m just pretty sure it shouldn’t have been written at this time. I wish Wilson’d waited until she was past the apprentice stage to write this. I’m not just saying that, I want to like this book — I’d like to recommend it to others, but I just can’t. Aimee Byrd (not just her, but she’s a good starting point) has been writing recently about the deplorable nature of Christian books marketed for and by women, sadly, this book is evidence that she knows what she’s talking about.

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. She probably had something else in mind.

—–

2 Stars

Stepdog by Nicole Galland

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On December 11, 2015

In Dogs, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Stepdog Stepdog

by Nicole Galland
Trade Paperback, 386 pg.

William Morrow Paperbacks, 2015

Read: December 9 – 10, 2015

I’m going to cut to the chase, if you want to read a blurb for the book, click on the cover or title above and it’ll take you to the proper website.

Let’s start with the positives, shall we? Galland can really put together a sentence. I found much of this charming and entertaining. And I’ll never not appreciate a Roddy Doyle reference (or two).

I wanted to like Cody. She’s a dog, I always want to love the dog. But she wasn’t so much a character as she was a furry obstacle to Rory’s desired lifestyle. I kept thinking about her like Skyler White or Carmela Soprano. But Skyler and Carmela were unjustly disliked by significant portions of the audience because they served as an obstacle to their criminal husbands (which was actually commendable) while being actual characters with their own interests and points of view. Cody actually did nothing but serve as an obstacle to Rory’s selfish interest.

I wanted to like Sarah, too. But see above (except for the canine part).

Maybe it’s too much of a stretch to paint them as the anti-Skyler/Carmela, but that’s where my mind went.

Jay goes from this guy to a supervillain in a novel that didn’t seem to be about that kind of thing at all in a heartbeat. Changing this from a slightly overwritten love story to an underwhelming crime story. The climactic action was way too overblown, the denouement was too quick and tidy.

Stepdog was close to being a perfectly charming read, and settled for being a minor disappointment.

—–

2 Stars

Pin Action: Small-Time Gangsters, High-Stakes Gambling, and the Teenage Hustler Who Became a Bowling Champion by Gianmarc Manzione

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On March 5, 2015

In Uncategorized

Pin ActionPin Action: Small-Time Gangsters, High-Stakes Gambling, and the Teenage Hustler Who Became a Bowling Champion

by Gianmarc Manzione

Hardcover, 336 pg.
Pegasus Books, 2014
Read: March 4 – 5, 2015
This is just not that good.

It started off promising, there’s a confidence to the writing, it’s a world I know nothing about — so I could learn a lot, it starts with a whole bunch of colorful characters, and Manzione’s passion for the subject is evident and real. But it didn’t take long for me to see that the confidence isn’t necessarily deserved, the cast wasn’t being used well, and I wasn’t going to learn all that much (at least not right away, it turned out), and while he cared a lot — I just didn’t. Eventually, around the half-way point, the book found its way and became tolerable — but, by then it was too late — Manzione had already lost me.

The first few chapters are a hodgepodge of stories about the “Action Bowling” scene in and around NYC in the 1960s. They center around wunderkind Ernie Schlegel, but Manzione spreads the wealth — telling stories about several bowlers of similar aptitudes at the time. But really, these chapters aren’t a stories of bowling, they’re stories about small-time gangsters (see the subtitle) — think of some of the small anecdotes in Wiseguy, told without Pileggi’s style. The bowling’s just an excuse for criminal and/or stupid behavior.

The last half of the book is all about Schlegel’s professional career — from the rocky start, to accomplished (but not championship heyday), to the last bits of glory. This is the best part of the book, no doubt about it. But Manzione has difficulty maintaining the story line, keeping the narrative tension going, and basically becomes rabid fanboy (I’ve got no beef with rabid fanboys, readers of this blog know I can go that way myself — but it didn’t fit here)

The greatest weakness of this book has to be the writing. Manzione has a tendency to “nest” stories in other stories that in other stories worse than Inception. It’d be pretty easy to lose track of the ball when he’s doing this. He frequently seems to operate on the philosophy: never use one sentence when you could use three instead. Throughout there’s an overuse/over-reliance on superlatives. And lastly, I’m not sure how many Ali/Frazier metaphors one book can take (but it’s less than this one tries)

One unexpected pleasure for me was that as a long-time listener to The Nerdist podcast, it was fun reading so much about Billy Hardwick.

Just can’t recommend this one, it wasn’t horrible, but I’m sure there are better books about professional (or gambling-enhanced amateur) bowling out there for anyone who’s looking for that.

—–

2 Stars

Plus One by Christopher Noxon

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On February 17, 2015

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Plus OnePlus One

by Christopher Noxon

Hardcover, 303 pg.
Prospect Park Books, 2014
Read: February 10 – 11, 2015
From The Next Best Thing to Landline to Funny Girl to this, I think I might have reached my limit about fictional TV writers. Sadly, this was the wrong one to go out on.

You could, I think, make the case that most of this book reads like the prequel to Landline from the husband’s perspective — and in many ways you’d be right, but still, you shouldn’t do that.* This is the story of Alex Sherman-Zicklin, the husband (and Plus One) of Figgie. Figgie had been wife, mother and struggling TV writer, who is now an Emmy-award show runner of a multi-Emmy-winning cable comedy. Which means all of the sudden, she’s the bread winner (winning far more bread than he ever did), so he quits the job he’s not happy about to be a “domestic first responder.”

He quickly becomes bored, gets a creepy-friend (also a Plus One), falls in lust with a butcher/food blogger, ignores his kids, and does several other deceptive, marriage-damaging things covering the range from pathetic to devious to potentially criminal. Which coincided with Figgy taking up with trust-destroying antics of her own. If this selfish loser had just talked to his wife about what was going on, almost everything that happened could’ve been avoided. Not that self-involved Figgy was much better, really — I don’t see what either of them saw in the other.

Alex, his Plus One pal (whose name I’ve already forgotten), and (to an extent) the butcher are characters — everyone else is pretty much a plot device or place holder. Even Figgy is more of a presence, maybe an obstacle, than a character.

Somewhere in there I was supposed to laugh, I’m sure, but I didn’t manage more than an almost-grin.

The last chapter, maybe two, saved this one for me and turned it from a book I really didn’t like to a book I don’t mind too much. It’s still not a book I’d recommend, just one I have no antipathy for.

—–

* That’s two books in as many months that I’ve compared to Landline — just when did this become the standard by which I judge all fiction?

—–

2 Stars

iZombie, Vol 1: Dead to the World by Chris Roberson, Mike Allred

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On January 22, 2015

In Comics, Fiction

iZombie, Vol. 1 iZombie, Vol. 1: Dead to the World

by Chris Roberson, Mike Allred

Paperback, 144 pg.
Vertigo, 2011
Read: January 20, 2015
Color me underwhelmed.

I love the concept. A non-mindless Zombie has to keep eating brains so she doesn’t become the shuffling, mindless kind. She’s got a friend who’s a ghost, and another who’s a were-terrier (possibly the idea I enjoyed most), and works as a grave digger so she has easy access to “fresh” food. I enjoyed her friends, and wish we’d spent a little more time with them.

But the execution didn’t live up to the potential. I thought the writing was slow and a little unclear a couple of times — but some of that was intentional, I realize, as Gwen’s supposed to be learning what’s going on, but some of the lack of clarity was just poor writing.

I don’t demand dazzling art, I get that not everyone is George Perez, Mark Bagley, or Ryan Ottley, but I’d like something more than competent. People seemed stiff, generic and lifeless. I could only differentiate between two characters because of their skin tone! Not confusing at all.

In the end, it was good enough that given the chance, I’d read the next collection, but I’m not exerting a lot of effort to do so. I’m mildly curious about a few things — and can understand why some would be attracted to this, but it left me feeling cold.

—–

2 Stars

Poison Fruit by Jacqueline Carey

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On November 11, 2014

In Fiction

Poison Fruit (Agent of Hel, #3)Poison Fruit

by Jacqueline Carey
Hardcover, 437 pg.
Roc, 2014
Read: October 7 – 10, 2014This one just made me mad.

Yes, there was some very good character development. Some of the backup stories that we’ve been waiting 3 books to get resolved, gets resolved. There’s even a great, epic climactic battle. Daisy gets to be kick-ass on more than one occasion.

But…but…but. It started with her being terrible, careless and incompetent.

And even then, I’m getting ahead of myself. Things start off with Daisy and her closeted werewolf partner, Cody, investigating what seems like a pretty run of the mill case (from the point of view of the reader, not the people being terrorized by the supernatural person). While they’re moving on that, there’s some follow-up on the events of the last book — namely a class action lawsuit against the local governments due to the pain and suffering that the bystanders and spectators weren’t protected from.

Now basically, due to miscellaneous shenanigans, if the settlement reached is too large, the city of Pemkowet will have to sell off a bunch of land — Hel’s demesne. And things will get bad from there. So, basically, it’s all about stopping the trial — or winning it. Which will be difficult as the opposing lawyer can bend the wills of whomever he wants.

So, what do Daisy and the rest do? Highlight to see the spoilers if you want: They cook up one harebrained scheme that may work, and then they wait months for the trial to start. That’s it. And sure, the scheme works — for a day or two, until the opposing lawyer proves he’s not an idiot, figures out what they’re doing and stops it.

Could they have come up with other things to try? A back-up plan, maybe? Could they have investigated just a smidgen to figure out who was behind these antics and maybe find a way to stop things before it got to trial? Nope.

So because they don’t do enough, a big battle between Daisy and the eldritch community and the people that Daisy couldn’t bother herself with investigating, and it is an awesome battle featuring nifty and tragic things — like any good climactic battle would. And trust me, I’d like to spend time talking about and thinking about how great a lot of what happened at that battle was, but I can’t. Because the only way we got there was through Daisy neglecting her duties as Hel’s liaison. It’s not apathy, and I give her too much credit for being distracted by her love life (and how distracting can it be, really, with one date a week?).

You know what Ivy Tamwood, Rachel Morgan, Toby Daye, Kitty Norville, Harper Blaine, Kara Gillian, or Anna Strong (to name a few of UF’s better female characters) would’ve done in this situation? Something. They wouldn’t have waited to see if Plan A would work, they’d have done what they could to prevent Plan A from being necessary.

Oh yeah, and the love story ends up concluding the way we all thought it would — with a little Deus ex machina thrown in to get it there. At that point, I didn’t care, really.

I was initially disappointed to find out that this would be the end of this series, but now I’m absolutely okay with that.

—–

2 Stars

Dusted Off: Loser’s Town by Daniel Depp

By

On August 21, 2014

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Loser's Town: A David Spandau NovelLoser’s Town: A David Spandau Novel

by Daniel Depp

Hardcover, 290 pg.
Simon AND Schuster, 2009
Read: November 8 – 12, 2012

Um, ugh. This is a really well-written, occasionally clever, disappointment.

See here’s the thing…in a detective novel, the protagonist, or if you will, the detective, should detect things. Spandau did nada. His violent associate (not really a Hawk, Joe Pike or Bubba Rogowski, but close enough) investigated; his boss did; his boss’ secretary did. Spandau? He sat around and mooned over his ex-wife, bullied his client, bullied his associate, bullied the bad guy, was a jerk to just about everyone. And then sorta cleaned up the mess at the end. But even in that, he was pretty passive.

Blech.

A passive hero — no matter how nice of a guy, how thoughtful, whatever — is not something you want to read.

—–

2 Stars

Treasure Coast by Tom Kakonis

By

On August 14, 2014

In Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Treasure CoastTreasure Coast

by Tom Kakonis

Kindle Edition, 304 pg.
Brash Books, 2014
Read: August 7 – 12, 2014

I really don’t like writing these kind of reviews. So let’s get this out of the way straight off: this was not a book written for me. Which doesn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate its strengths — and it certainly could’ve won me over (others I didn’t think were for me have), but it really didn’t. I certainly disliked it less by the end then I did at the beginning.

This is a book that’s very much a tale of two halves. In the first half we get introduced to several characters, all of whom (with one possible exception) are very unsympathetic, and there’s really only one of which I had any hope of becoming a tolerable character by the end of the book. It was a slog to get through, and I really had to force myself. It was a large number of ugly people doing ugly things to other ugly people. But aside from one excessive beating, the ugly things were pretty small — and all just to establish character (and lack thereof). It’s just about 150 pages of setup.

The second half contained most of these characters, though three of them vanished for all intents and purposes; but it moved faster — there was a point to the action, for that matter, there was action. Where the first half could be seen as potential energy, the second half was all kinetic. Sometimes that kind of book can work well — but you run a risk in putting all your eggs in the second half. It’s too easy to just walk away unless that hook is set well at the beginning. And Kakonis didn’t really accomplish that. The characters start interacting, the storylines overlap and intertwine. And all the “best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men” get busy fulfilling “Gang aft agley / An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, / For promis’d joy!”

While the first half was all set up — it set up a handful of characters and associated storylines that are just abandoned in the second. I didn’t understand that. Why spend extra time putting up dominoes that you don’t intend to knock over?

Ignoring the story problems, the language the novel was told in was deplorable. Orwell said, “Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent,” Twain put it more succinctly, “Don’t use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do.” If they’d read Kakonis, Orwell would’ve included “obscure slang” — thankfully, with maybe one or two minor exceptions were decipherable with context clues, but I had a hard time believing that most of these characters would have so large and varied a vocabulary. But beyond the general slang, was the vulgarity and ugly racism — I learned at least one new derogatory epithet for the police, a couple for females/female genitalia, and was reminded of a couple for Hispanics. Sure, I understand, that these characters were by and large uneducated, lower class, and criminals — not the type that you’re supposed to want to emulate in word choice. But this was just horrible, wretched. A real block to my enjoying — even tolerating — huge passages from the book. It seems to me that Kakonis was inspired by Elmore Leonard in the structure, tone and subject for this book. And Leonard wasn’t afraid to have racial/sexual epithets come out of his characters. But for him, it worked, they never came across as vile, just human.

So, yeah. Not for me — but I can see where some people might enjoy it. If the product description appeals to you, give it a shot. Hopefully it works better for you than it did for me.

—–

2 Stars

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