Mer Barr
It's been awhile since I visited Pern, one of my favorite worlds as well as my introduction to science-fiction and fantasy.
Normally I don't like short stories but maybe my brain made an exception in this case because I could fit most of these into their right place in the Pern universe timelines, and none were a duplication of something I'd already read.
I wouldn't recommend this as an introduction to the universe as the stories span centuries and don't backfill for the mentioned people, places, and events.
One of my favorite books to pull off my shelves to reread once I've forgotten most of the plot.
I've not come across alot of books where a dragon in human form no less, is the main character. I was pleasantly surprised when rereading this as an adult that there were alot of references to Buddhism, which I had not yet been introduced to as a young adult.
This was so much better to read in sequence. The first read was when it initially came out which was several ?years? after the series ended and my memory of details was let go.
Great flow, great story telling, it is a bit tricky to remember that there is one story around a campfire within another story around a campfire. Warning, this book is still more world building, no progress towards The Tower.
This is one of my favorite books related to the Samurai genre, up there with the movie Seven Samurai. The plot is well designed, the characters have good depths and personalities, there are wonderful interactions between them, some nail biting action sequences and suspense. It also has strong females which I suspect were not that common when it was written.
But most of all I'm drawn to the idea of a ‘nightingale' floor and had the good fortune to read this before actually experiencing a floor that made unique sounds as people moved about the floor. I'm not sure I would want to live in a house that did alot of groaning but I grew to love the sound of that floor and miss it and the community associated with it.
It had a plot that, on average, moves along at a good pace; not stopping in one scene overlong. It does bog down or tangent to scenes and people that I didn't perceive as necessary to the main story.
It also brings in alot of political back-biting, which is something I don't like to read. But, about the time you're ready to hit the next track button, the author moves back to the main story and characters.
It has an interesting story-line, one I've not come across before, and it's this that outweighs all the things I mentioned above.
Nice graphics. It's colorful, the flow of the bubbles and images are organized nicely, and the pages are too “busy” unlike some of the graphics I've looked at for other artists.
It basically is just the versions of the first and ?fourth? of Kings books which deal exclusively with the gunslinger's personal memories. Since I'm already famliar with this whole plot I wasn't that enthusiastic to revisit it. It does fill in a few gaps related the Crimson King, Farson and Marten. And if you want to have some faces to see in your mind while you reread, or read for the first time, the series, this is a good way to do it.
I like a story that flows so this book never really grabbed my attention. It seems to be what ever thought just happened to hit the conscious mind at the moment and it was immediately put to paper.
I also got confused about who was who and who was related to who. She did mention these facts, but it's hard to stay focused when the book is being listened to on the daily commute when attention is pulled away frequently for other priorities.
It was very good for understanding what his personal feelings were and how they compared to what he was campaigning for. I wish we had similar insight and comparison in regards to today's politicians. Do they truly believe in what they're campaigning for? I'm just not sure.
It was a bit too indepth on the campaign trail; every speech, every stop; someone more interested in that aspect of a politician may like it, but that wasn't what I was interested in reading the book for.
Does a great job of giving detail without going too deep and stalling forward momentum.
I'm glad I read this because I knew very little of the history. I want to see these locks so checked out YouTube and there are mentions of
- 1 upgrade in 2015 [I've heard on the news recently another upgrade is about to be done],
- 2 or 3 other cross-isthmus channels being done to take on some of the demand [and money], and
- decline in rain to the area has impacted the number and size of ships, as well as how much cargo can be carried thru.
Maybe a new chapter should be added to include all these big changes.
Well worth the read.
Of course I'd first seen the movie and there seemed to be large gaps in the logic and mysteries as to why people acted or reacted the way they did. You could tell with reflection that the storyline had been cut to fit a specific amount of viewing time.
So I was really glad to have pretty much all the missing pieces filled in and then discover so much more to the story. Especially to see how the relationship between Scarlet and Melanie came about. This book also gave me an insight as to what a horrible experience it would be to live thru the aftermath of the destruction of your civilization. To get a sense of what it would be like today and to appreciate what I have.
This particular story is about a lifestyle I wouldn't care to live nor can I identify with the topics of discussion some of the characters talk about. So I found it a very uncomfortable read.
However, I can appreciate the need to break out of the confinements set by previous generations. Also the need to travel and experience new things (just not these types). I liked the way Kerouac writes; the story flows, it's not too complex to follow, and the words create clear images in my mind. I might consider reading something else of his.
The plot moved along nicely and it was convoluted enough that I couldn't easily guess what and who; which is how I like it. There were alot of names and interconnections that were hard to keep track of at times.
I thought the concept of passing along the manuscript to each successive author to add the next chapter quite fascinating and part of the appeal.