yacoob
It's just not good enough. I've seen the formula before (children tale in an adult-like setting), and this particular rendering of it is just not that attractive. Seven year younger Wroniec by Jacek Dukaj does the same thing with much greater success. Unfortunately - for Neil Gaiman - I've read Wroniec first.
It's just not good enough. I've seen the formula before (children tale in an adult-like setting), and this particular rendering of it is just not that attractive. Seven year younger Wroniec by Jacek Dukaj does the same thing with much greater success. Unfortunately - for Neil Gaiman - I've read Wroniec first.
It felt like a very good introduction to Rust. As in, when I was playing with Rust, it made for a very good reading. I had to stop my Rust adventure, so the motivation to finish this one dropped off inevitably.
Still a good read :D
It felt like a very good introduction to Rust. As in, when I was playing with Rust, it made for a very good reading. I had to stop my Rust adventure, so the motivation to finish this one dropped off inevitably.
Still a good read :D
As a person that enjoyed Ringworld as a kid, I really liked this one. It ties nicely into established timeline, shows known characters in new contexts and unfurls an interesting plot on its own. There's plenty of questions at the end of it, and I'm very curious to see if they're addressed by the end of the Worlds cycle.Looking forward to reading the next one :)
As a person that enjoyed Ringworld as a kid, I really liked this one. It ties nicely into established timeline, shows known characters in new contexts and unfurls an interesting plot on its own. There's plenty of questions at the end of it, and I'm very curious to see if they're addressed by the end of the Worlds cycle.Looking forward to reading the next one :)
エルフェンリート 5
Time to drop this on the floor.The whole series is one giant exploitation story, with seemingly deep characters. Sadly, the characters are as bland as British food - and if the characters are unrelatable, no amount of personal drama is going to be believable. I think I understand what author has tried to say, and what's the hook of this setup - it's just not presented in a manner that keeps me interested. Eden: It's an Endless World shows a similar set of problems (how cruel/selfish people are) in a way more palatable manner. Elfen Lied starts on a good note, and then wastes a good setup flailing around without any tangible purpose.
Time to drop this on the floor.The whole series is one giant exploitation story, with seemingly deep characters. Sadly, the characters are as bland as British food - and if the characters are unrelatable, no amount of personal drama is going to be believable. I think I understand what author has tried to say, and what's the hook of this setup - it's just not presented in a manner that keeps me interested. Eden: It's an Endless World shows a similar set of problems (how cruel/selfish people are) in a way more palatable manner. Elfen Lied starts on a good note, and then wastes a good setup flailing around without any tangible purpose.
It didn't quite blew me out of the water. Perhaps my expectations were too hyped. Having said so - I've enjoyed this a lot. It was a narrowed down, laser-focused slice of The Illuminatus! trilogy. Much more feverish in style, but still coherent, thanks to sticking to one particular topic and story line. Enjoyable, just... not as impressive as Illuminatus. Maybe it'd be different if the reading order was reversed for me?
It didn't quite blew me out of the water. Perhaps my expectations were too hyped. Having said so - I've enjoyed this a lot. It was a narrowed down, laser-focused slice of The Illuminatus! trilogy. Much more feverish in style, but still coherent, thanks to sticking to one particular topic and story line. Enjoyable, just... not as impressive as Illuminatus. Maybe it'd be different if the reading order was reversed for me?
I'm not a big fan of criminal stories - I think the only criminal novels that I've read were those written by Joanna Chmielewska, and I've read them primarily for the humour, and not the mystery. I've decided to read this book as a result of it popping up in search results for ‘and then there were none', for which phrase I've searched in a completely different context. The story of the title got my attention.The story isn't particularly gripping, but the writing had something intriguing. Plus - probably - a number of other things I've watched and read based its concept on the template established by this book. All in all, good fun.
I'm not a big fan of criminal stories - I think the only criminal novels that I've read were those written by Joanna Chmielewska, and I've read them primarily for the humour, and not the mystery. I've decided to read this book as a result of it popping up in search results for ‘and then there were none', for which phrase I've searched in a completely different context. The story of the title got my attention.The story isn't particularly gripping, but the writing had something intriguing. Plus - probably - a number of other things I've watched and read based its concept on the template established by this book. All in all, good fun.
Po Imperium sięgnąłem po ponownym przeczytaniu Opuścić Los Raques, wiedziony ciekawością odnośnie tego co jeszcze Maciej Żerdziński wymyślił. Szybko zorientowałem się że część z opowiadań z tego zbiorku już czytałem w “Fantastyce”. Dzięki przeczytaniu tych opowiadań pod rząd, łatwiej było wyłapać elementy wspólne.Nie zdradzając żadnych detali fabuły; bardzo ładne uniwersum. Sposób przedstawiania świata, prowadzenia fabuły i imiona przywodziły mi na myśl opowiadania Philipa K. Dicka - wydaje mi się że tak PKD by pisał, gdyby był zdrowy.Bardzo miła podróż, szkoda tylko że nie ma więcej - fragment powieści na końcu zbiorku wygląda bardzo obiecująco.
Po Imperium sięgnąłem po ponownym przeczytaniu Opuścić Los Raques, wiedziony ciekawością odnośnie tego co jeszcze Maciej Żerdziński wymyślił. Szybko zorientowałem się że część z opowiadań z tego zbiorku już czytałem w “Fantastyce”. Dzięki przeczytaniu tych opowiadań pod rząd, łatwiej było wyłapać elementy wspólne.Nie zdradzając żadnych detali fabuły; bardzo ładne uniwersum. Sposób przedstawiania świata, prowadzenia fabuły i imiona przywodziły mi na myśl opowiadania Philipa K. Dicka - wydaje mi się że tak PKD by pisał, gdyby był zdrowy.Bardzo miła podróż, szkoda tylko że nie ma więcej - fragment powieści na końcu zbiorku wygląda bardzo obiecująco.
It's pointless to read this book unless you're a fan of Known Space. About 70% of this book is written as an alternative perspective of events from Crashlander and The Soft Weapon. It'll probably be very hard to understand the events, if you haven't read the previous stories. If you did, and if you like Known Space, you'll most likely be delighted. It introduces new ideas and threads, stitching together episodes functioning previously more or less independently.
It's pointless to read this book unless you're a fan of Known Space. About 70% of this book is written as an alternative perspective of events from Crashlander and The Soft Weapon. It'll probably be very hard to understand the events, if you haven't read the previous stories. If you did, and if you like Known Space, you'll most likely be delighted. It introduces new ideas and threads, stitching together episodes functioning previously more or less independently.
This was quite enjoyable. Granted, I'm rather invested in Known Space universe, Ringworld specifically - and this novel was promising some answers in that area. There are few answers, but a lot of setup towards eventual answers. It's well written, and at times it was quite gripping - I couldn't put it down easily. If I were to nitpick on anything, short chapters would be the main thing. Sometimes it felt a little bit like an adventure movie, with frequent cuts and non-stop action.
All in all, definitely worth reading if you are familiar with and like Known Space. As a stand-alone book it probably isn't strong enough to keep reader's interest, too many outside references.
This was quite enjoyable. Granted, I'm rather invested in Known Space universe, Ringworld specifically - and this novel was promising some answers in that area. There are few answers, but a lot of setup towards eventual answers. It's well written, and at times it was quite gripping - I couldn't put it down easily. If I were to nitpick on anything, short chapters would be the main thing. Sometimes it felt a little bit like an adventure movie, with frequent cuts and non-stop action.
All in all, definitely worth reading if you are familiar with and like Known Space. As a stand-alone book it probably isn't strong enough to keep reader's interest, too many outside references.
This is a review for the first 10 issues or so - can't be bothered to hunt down exact volumes. Neat idea - I love “what ifs”, and it's more familiar ground (Marvel, not DC). Tapers off as the series progresses, obviously.
This is a review for the first 10 issues or so - can't be bothered to hunt down exact volumes. Neat idea - I love “what ifs”, and it's more familiar ground (Marvel, not DC). Tapers off as the series progresses, obviously.
It's probably 4/5 if you like magic realism. I've reached for this book after watching the movie adaptation, expecting science fiction; it really isn't SF. That doesn't mean it's a bad book, though.The story is very emotive; there is little in terms of hard facts and world building and way more in impressions and feelings department. Had I had to compare it to something, I'd say it's contemporary H.P. Lovecraft, with the unspeakable horrors dial turned all the way down to 1. Or maybe: more scary Kelly Link. There are places to go and people to see in this book, but they're dispensable and not really plot points. The narrative is compelling and pleasantly twisted, but in the end, there's little in terms of actual story development. The ride is nice, the landscapes are beautiful, but at some point you notice that the train tracks seem to be forming a loop.Anyway, I think the movie built cleverly on the few pieces that they've extracted from the book, and achieves more coherent image of the setup. The book... it's worth reading, but if you're looking for a larger setup of the story from the movie, you'll not find it.
It's probably 4/5 if you like magic realism. I've reached for this book after watching the movie adaptation, expecting science fiction; it really isn't SF. That doesn't mean it's a bad book, though.The story is very emotive; there is little in terms of hard facts and world building and way more in impressions and feelings department. Had I had to compare it to something, I'd say it's contemporary H.P. Lovecraft, with the unspeakable horrors dial turned all the way down to 1. Or maybe: more scary Kelly Link. There are places to go and people to see in this book, but they're dispensable and not really plot points. The narrative is compelling and pleasantly twisted, but in the end, there's little in terms of actual story development. The ride is nice, the landscapes are beautiful, but at some point you notice that the train tracks seem to be forming a loop.Anyway, I think the movie built cleverly on the few pieces that they've extracted from the book, and achieves more coherent image of the setup. The book... it's worth reading, but if you're looking for a larger setup of the story from the movie, you'll not find it.
Well, I must admit this one landed a bit flat after season 4. With all of the previous seasons I was eager to listen to “just one more episode” at the cost of my sleep, this one was more of a slow trot towards the finale. I'm not unhappy with how the story ended, but there were definitely bits of it that I was let down by. For example:
- The Jon/Martin pairing had all of the neccessary trappings spinning up, but once it landed, nothing has changed. Sure, there are love declarations and Martin plays the damsel in distress but I really felt like I'm missing some tenderness between them. Neither of them lowers the guard towards the other, their dialogues are still snippy and full of ironic remarks. Sure, it's the apocalypse - but they still sound like they're unable to fully trust each other. This might have been intended - plus, the author said that the relationship itself won't be much of a focus in the fifth season. Still, it felt like a bit of a weird situation.
- The statements felt less scary. I feel like before our current reality acted as a grounding framework. Something along the lines of “see, a normal world... EXCEPT THE DARKNESS EATS YOU!”. With the world turned to hellscape my perception shifted a bit, and some of the statements, felt like very elaborate indulgences. Most of the time they were still tasty morsels of horror, but they didn't fit as well, so to speak.
- After a most excellently performed twist in the season four finale, the plot of this season seems... very straightforward. “We'll walk up to the Eye and kill him” - well, guess, what, they do walk up to the Eye and kill who they wanted to kill. In that sense it ends up being Kill Bill, straight and simple. Web's shennanigans is half-expected, half deus ex machina. It's not a bad narrative - I just expected more of a ride after episode 160. And having majority of the exposition provided by all-knowing, all-powerful protagonist is just not as satisfying.
But I still enjoyed that season, a lot :)
Well, I must admit this one landed a bit flat after season 4. With all of the previous seasons I was eager to listen to “just one more episode” at the cost of my sleep, this one was more of a slow trot towards the finale. I'm not unhappy with how the story ended, but there were definitely bits of it that I was let down by. For example:
- The Jon/Martin pairing had all of the neccessary trappings spinning up, but once it landed, nothing has changed. Sure, there are love declarations and Martin plays the damsel in distress but I really felt like I'm missing some tenderness between them. Neither of them lowers the guard towards the other, their dialogues are still snippy and full of ironic remarks. Sure, it's the apocalypse - but they still sound like they're unable to fully trust each other. This might have been intended - plus, the author said that the relationship itself won't be much of a focus in the fifth season. Still, it felt like a bit of a weird situation.
- The statements felt less scary. I feel like before our current reality acted as a grounding framework. Something along the lines of “see, a normal world... EXCEPT THE DARKNESS EATS YOU!”. With the world turned to hellscape my perception shifted a bit, and some of the statements, felt like very elaborate indulgences. Most of the time they were still tasty morsels of horror, but they didn't fit as well, so to speak.
- After a most excellently performed twist in the season four finale, the plot of this season seems... very straightforward. “We'll walk up to the Eye and kill him” - well, guess, what, they do walk up to the Eye and kill who they wanted to kill. In that sense it ends up being Kill Bill, straight and simple. Web's shennanigans is half-expected, half deus ex machina. It's not a bad narrative - I just expected more of a ride after episode 160. And having majority of the exposition provided by all-knowing, all-powerful protagonist is just not as satisfying.
But I still enjoyed that season, a lot :)
This was first Culture book that I've read. For some reason it reminded me strongly of Larry Niven's writing.The book was interesting, the world of Culture - captivating (even if naive), but the whole story was missing a definitvie closure. The plot has just thinnest shade of Starship Troopers (the movie, not the book) satire - Contact's actions and machination seem a bit random at few times. Overall, a decent book, good writing and interesting concept. My biggest gripe was the fact that the game of Azad wasn't actually described in detail. I like games as much as Gurgeh!
This was first Culture book that I've read. For some reason it reminded me strongly of Larry Niven's writing.The book was interesting, the world of Culture - captivating (even if naive), but the whole story was missing a definitvie closure. The plot has just thinnest shade of Starship Troopers (the movie, not the book) satire - Contact's actions and machination seem a bit random at few times. Overall, a decent book, good writing and interesting concept. My biggest gripe was the fact that the game of Azad wasn't actually described in detail. I like games as much as Gurgeh!