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By Chad, on February 14th, 2012
It didn’t happen. Blocking didn’t happen. Consequently, photos didn’t happen. So, blogging about said knitting did not happen.
I’m sorry to those of you who come here for the knitting content (or really any other content besides book reviews). It’s just not happening at this time. My life has been taken over by the reading bug. I cannot escape…
Title: The Hunger Games
Series: The Hunger Games::#1
Author: Suzanne Collins
Format: eBook
Overall rating: 4 (out of 5)
Ok; let’s get the comparisons out of the way. Many reviewers have compared The Hunger Games to Koushun Takami’s Battle Royale. Sure, when I first read the description for The Hunger Games, the first thought that came to mind was: “This has been done before. This is going to be rip-off of Battle Royale.” I was wrong…
Don’t get me wrong, similarities exist between the two works, but I like each one for very different reasons. Battle Royale is written with a gritty realism – graphic, gory details, psychological suspense and a world not dissimilar from our own waking reality. There is a painfully honest despair and a deep emotional delving to Takami’s story, the extent of which I do not find in The Hunger Games.
I think that this has much to do with the very different target audiences for the two novels. While both works feature main characters in a similar teenage age range (often a telling sign of the intended reading audience), Battle Royale is definitely intended for adult readers in my mind, whereas The Hunger Games caters to a modern young adult audience. This is obvious to me while reading for several reasons: the more distant treatment of death and killing despite the gruesome premise; the quick-to-move-on attitude of characters; the lack of nuanced exploration of the obvious emotional dichotomies that were created throughout the story and the beat-you-over-the-head-with-the-obvious (Panem = Roman Empire anyone?) mentality. All this is not to say that the book was bad, just that it was painfully obvious that it was written for a young adult audience.
Despite this, I, as an adult, found the book engaging and readable. Collins does a good job of keeping up the pace of the novel (once you get past some of the introductory stuff at the beginning) and the story and world that she creates are engrossing. Her descriptions were able to bring an intriguing, scientifically advanced, post-apocalyptic America to life, even if descriptions of Capitol fashion did have me in the mindset of a Who-esque Dr. Seuss creation. I’m interested to see where the rest of the trilogy will go.
The cover art that appears as part of this review remains under the protection of the original copyright owner. It is used here in accordance with fair use guidelines. If you are the copyright owner and you would like this image removed, please contact me.
By Chad, on February 6th, 2012
So, I don’t want to put out knitting posts without some photos, which would require some blocking. Hopefully I’ll get to the blocking this week and have a chance to shoot some decent photos this weekend. Hang in there!
Also, in cause you couldn’t tell, I cannot stop reading! Should I be concerned about this?
Title: Ink
Author: Isabelle Rowan
Format: Kindle eBook
Overall rating: 4 (out of 5)
I will admit that the cover art was the first thing that drew me to this novel. I mean, how, I ask you, could I resist?
Next, the description intrigued me. Roman centurions, you say? Yes, please. Vampires? Lovely! Tattoos? I enjoy those… It sounded like it could be interesting. On the other hand, it also sounded like it had the potential to be a corny cliché-ridden disaster. Thankfully, what I found was a tastefully written novel that explores the nuances and nature of love, friendship and humanity through the story of a vampire romance.
If you’re looking for an action-packed read, sexual or otherwise, this may not be the book for you. While there is certainly a main story line that introduces situational tension into the mix, Ink really focuses on and shines in the areas of character development and exploration of its main themes. Rowan writes descriptive prose that is able to bring the characters, locations and situations to life, without being overly wordy. The relationships between the characters feel real and their struggles personal. Consequently, though, the pace of the novel drags a bit, especially around the middle sections.
Although this is definitely a character- and relationship-driven book, it also heavily focuses on the nature of vampires and, by association, humanity. Ink explores questions like: Can vampires retain their humanity? What constitutes humanity? Can vampires have relationships with other vampires and humans that aren’t about power? Can the essential nature of a vampire change over the vast expanse of their existence? Are vampires really so emotionally different from humans? In short, if you are not into vampires, you may find the whole thing boring.
Fortunately, I enjoy vampires. I was moved by the complex relationships between the novel’s three vampires as well as between the vampires and their various human relations. I heartily hope that a sequel is in the works.
The cover art that appears as part of this review remains under the protection of the original copyright owner. It is used here in accordance with fair use guidelines. If you are the copyright owner and you would like this image removed, please contact me.
By Chad, on February 2nd, 2012
Be forewarned! This book borders on erotica; so, naturally, I touch on the subject in my review. There’s nothing vulgar in the review. I promise. If you think you might be offended by this, though, don’t read it!
Title: Away Team
Series: Starship Cadet Missions::#1
Author: Mark Alders
Format: Kindle eBook
Overall rating: 3 (out of 5)
My first thought regarding how to sum up this novel was to describe it as a “scifi lite, erotica heavy” space opera. Away Team is most definitely a melodramatic romance (as in the literary genre of heroic adventure tales, although there is plenty of the other stuff too) set in space; hence, I think that the term space opera is a fitting label.
Upon reflection, though, I think that “scifi lite” is not really a fair description. The scifi concepts (like photosensitive, self-repairing [possibly living?!] ship building materials and virus-inspired attack strategies) put forth by Alders are interesting; but ultimately they’re not explored as in depth as I would like. The presentation of these ideas felt a bit shallow; the inspiration was there but the explanation wasn’t. In-depth world building may be a bit much to ask for in such a short novel, though. Perhaps the series will flesh out some of these concepts as it progresses, brining the scifi aspects on par with the erotic ones.
Which brings us to the “erotica heavy” monicker. I still think this is a pretty apt description. Although, I’m also led to believe by other reviewers and descriptions of Alders’s other works that this novel might be a little on the “erotica lite” side for Alders… I thought the sex scenes were written well, dancing the line between sensually romantic and all-out pornographic, although there were a few inexplicable anomalies (such as going numb from the waist down during sex being somehow construed as a pleasurable thing…) and some personally annoying vague anatomy references (“his warmth” topping my list). All said, sex took up about half of the text, not that I’m saying this is a negative thing; however, this is pretty “erotica heavy” to me.
There were a few other minor annoyances:
- The military aspects of Away Team were a bit on the generic side. For instance, the cadets filled out stereotypical military roles such as the geeky science officer, the cocky pilot and the physically-oriented commander. Also, I’m not sure that kissing in a high pressure situation as a bonding experience is a typical military activity…
- Awkward time transitions were also a problem. There were plenty of times that hours or even days passed from one paragraph to the next, without so much as a transitional word or sentence. On the other extreme, some chapter breaks took place in the middle of a single continuous scene.
- Unbelievable love-at-first-sight – I’m not a big fan.
- The name Sonny rubs be the wrong way… Every time I came across it, Sonny and Cher popped into my head. It was unfortunate.
- I’d bet my left nut that I don’t need to elaborate on this point. [Hint: read the book!]
Then there was the biggest annoyance of all:
Good god, where was the editor?! Away Team was riddled with grammatical errors and typos, ones that cannot be explained away by Alders’s Australian origins. They are not Aussie-isms; they’re just plain wrong. There’s nothing like grammatical errors and typos to take you right out of what would otherwise be fast-paced action, sexual or otherwise. Mark, if you’re reading this, have that conversation with your editor; he/she really fell down on this one. I’d be more than happy to make edits if you want to send me the text. For each red mark, you can deduct a percentage from your editor’s fees for your next book… It could save you a lot of money.
So, wow, it seems like I went a bit overboard on the negatives there for awarding a three star review. The truth is though, I did like this book and will most definitely be checking out future installments in the series as well as Alders’s other works. Most of the negative aspects were born out of personal pet peeves and not horrendous writing. Ultimately, Alders has created endearing main characters who are involved in a realistic feeling relationship (albeit with a somewhat unrealistic but enjoyable sex life) and space adventures. I’ve fallen in love with Ely and Emerson and, really, what reader could ask for more than that?
The cover art that appears as part of this review remains under the protection of the original copyright owner. It is used here in accordance with fair use guidelines. If you are the copyright owner and you would like this image removed, please contact me.
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find the addict elsewhere
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