Dina
It took me long enough but this book is AMAZING. Stephen King made me cry like a baby and scared the living daylights out of me, all on the same page. The movie may be good, but this book is a journey all of its own. 1500 whopping pages of psychological drama, action, childhood memories and one of the scariest villains ever.
Full review at: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/stephen-king-it/
Find a full review (me raving about how much I love it) over at SFF Book Review
It's mid-year and this is still one of my top books so far.
What an interesting take on steampunk. The language blew me away and I still catch myself pondering about the characters and their intricate relationships. This is a beautiful book, beginning to end, and I wouldn't change a thing. In fact, I want to re-read it. Right now!
Und für die deutsche Rezension, einfach hier klicken. Dieses Buch sollte auf jeder Wunschliste stehen. Ich hoffe, es wird bald übersetzt und erobert den deutschsprachigen Raum. Dann habe ich noch mehr Leute, denen ich davon vorschwärmen kann. ;)
For a detailed review, go to SFF Book Review.
What a surprise. There I was, thinking after Slaughterhouse Five I'd never warm to Vonnegut and then he hits me with a novel like this! I won't say anything about the plot, it's too good not to read it yourself.
The themes and ideas in this novel are as breathtaking as they are believable - even though the whole thing is, at the same time, batshit crazy.
You can find a more detailed review of this over on sffbookreview
When I read this, I enjoyed every page and would not put the book down. However, there was one thing that bothered me while reading and bothers me even more now, a while after I've read this.
The side characters, in fact the entire group of “Old Farts” are cardboard cutouts only there to explain things to our protagonist and maybe die to show us how brutal this war can be. I didn't have time to get attached to them, I couldn't even really tell them apart.
Scalzi may be a great writer who know's how to keep my attention and make me want to read more, but this story? Very bad on the character side (and that's what I value the most).
Plot, story-telling and world-building: Absolutely brilliant.
For a more detailed review, check out SFF Book Review
Partly, I understand the hype. Rothfuss has an incredible way with words and makes even boring passages fun to read. This is definitely a page turner.
However, I am not blinded by good writing. There is almost no plot once Kvothe actually reaches the University and it reads as if the author didn't know how to give the story a climax. Which is why a strange and simply stupid plot point is magicked up at the end, just so Kvothe can be a “hero”. His own stupidity brought him into the mess and none of it is in relation to the story arc (of which I'm sure there must be one, hiding somewhere). Don't stone me for saying this. I do love his writing and will pick up more of his books (once they come out), but I just think this could have used a lot of fleshing out and editing to make it the great book it is sold as.
Erstmal zu meiner Ausgabe - das ist so ein Softcover, also ein Hybrid zwischen Hardcover und Taschenbuch. Das Format passt zwar im Regal nicht zu meinen anderen Glavinic-Büchern, weil es etwas größer ist, aber ich stehe total darauf, wie sich dieses biegbare Softcover anfühlt.
Zum Buch selbst: Charlie Kolostrum erzählt die gesamte Geschichte in der “man”-Form. Ein “Ich” kommt allerhöchstens mal in einer direkten Rede vor. Das alleine macht das Buch schon zu etwas Besonderem und hat auch den Vorteil, ganz großartig zu Charlies Hang zu Selbsthilfebüchern zu passen. Immer wieder werden auch Merksätze eingestreut, kleine Häppchen an Weisheiten oder wichtigen Leitsätzen, die Charlie im Laufe seines Lebens sammelt. Oft zitiert er auch seine Lebenshilfebücher und erzählt von den Psychotests, die er gemacht hat.
Die Geschichte folgt ihm von seinem 17. Lebensjahr bis er 30 wird und in wirklich jeder seiner Lebensphase passieren ulkige Dinge. Da er fettleibig ist und eine ziemlich nüchterne Sicht auf das Ergattern von hübschen Frauen hat, sind viele Lacher garantiert. Auch die Familiensituation, Tante und Onkel, die nur “die Tankels” genannt werden, seine Großtante Ernestine, über deren Wohlergehen sich mitten in der Nacht sorgt oder der befreundete Arzt, den er zu besuchen gezwungen wird - die alle sorgen für einen Riesenspaß beim Lesen.
Ich war keine einzige Seite gelangweilt und habe interssiert Charlies Werdegang, seine witzigen Eigenarten und seine romantischen Eskapaden mitverfolgt. Bisher gefällt mir dieser Glavinic-Roman am besten. Aber spannend ist ja auch, dass er mit den anderen beiden, die ich gelesen habe (Der Kameramörder und Carl Haffners Liebe zum Unentschieden), kaum vergleichbar ist. Glavinic schreibt immer komplett anders als zuvor, seine Protagonisten sind einzigartig und eigenständig. Hier hat mir aber vor allem der Humor gefallen.
Jetzt bin ich auf die Verfilmung gespannt. Der Trailer ist sehr vielversprechend und ich bin versucht, mir den Film sogar im Kino anzusehen.
As someone who came to the book only having heard the musical CD (yeah, i actually still bought that one on CD), I was positively surprised at the adult tone that Maguire has. This is not a children's book and it has little in common with the colorfull, cute version of Oz we know from our childhood movie/literature classics.
I preferred this dark, political version of the land and I enjoyed every page of gritty, sinister intrigue as well as the sexual undertones. If you've only seen the musical: Prepare for something very different, less comic but no less enjoyable.
Fully review here: http://sffbookreview.wordpress.com/2012/06/28/gregory-maguire-wicked/
Right after reading this, I would only have given it three, maybe even two-and-a-half stars. But if you let it sit a bit, the book actually grows better in your memory. Amazing story with fantastic ideas and compelling characters. I just didn't like the style much.
More detailed review here: SFF Book Review
Full review at sff book review.
By far one of the scariest and most important books I have ever read. Thinking about it still chills me to the bone. Not only does it offer a great and thrilling story, vivid characters, and fantastic writing, but it is also as relevant today as it must have been for Orwell when he wrote it in 1948. This is not a happy read, it will not make you feel good, it will not leave you much hope, but it will make you think and question our society. And that may just be the most important thing.
For a more detailed review, check out the SFF Book Review.
This is one of those books that drag incredibly in the beginning but pay off soooo much. I read about 250 pages, not really understanding the politics or the intrigue and I kept going only because I had grown to like Phèdre, Delauney, Alcuin and Hyacinthe. I cared for the characters first. When that big plot twist comes up, however, this is a rollercoaster ride of action, politics, intrigue, romance,... it's got everything.
And Jacqueline Carey's style may not be for everyone, but it is for me! I love her poetic, flowery language that makes the angelic people of Terre d'Ange (it's France) all the more ethereal and alien.
You'll need some time and you may have to push yourself through the first few hundred pages, but trust me: This will catapult Jacqueline Carey to the top of your favorite authors list. It did with me...
I wrote a full review at SFF Book Review.
I am currently reading book 2 in the series (and hoping very much for book 3 to come out next year) which reminded me that this is one of my favorite fantasy books ever and I haven't officially squeed about it.
The characters drew me in immediately and I cound't get enough of the dialogue. It was sooo good. There's swearing, there are allusions to sex, there are moments when people vomit for an entire night and Scott Lynch makes it hilarious and thrilling at the same time. Do you really need to hear more than fantasy con men?
Personally, I can not get enough of Scott Lynch's writing and if the next book doesn't come out in 2013, I'll be more than happy to re-read the first two. This is what makes fantasy great. Authors coming up with new things, mixing tropes and original ideas.
If you like fantasy and you haven't read this book, pick it up now.