Category: 3 Star

Book Review: The Beekeeper’s Apparentice by King (3.5 Stars)

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King

3.5 out of 5 stars

Read in August 2010

An enjoyable variation on the Holmes theme.  I discerned the major mystery and hidden mastermind behind it early (as I usually do), but missed the connection to the earlier mystery.

The characterization was better than most mystery novels I’ve read.  I especially enjoyed the fugue of an intelligent deductive teenage woman (Mary Russell) juxtaposed with a retired bored (and lonely) Sherlock Holmes.  The usual suspects cameoed:  Mrs. Hudson; Dr. Watson; Mycroft; and, even Lastrade (TNG version).

I may continue with the series, when I need a break from my normal heavier, layered reading.

Book Review: The Eyre Affair by Fforde (3.5 Stars)

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

3.5 out of 5 stars

Read in May 2009

A wonderful thing happened on the way to The Eyre Affair; I read Jane Eyre.  For that alone I will be eternally grateful.

Otherwise, it was an enjoyable but forgettable mystery set in a chaotic vortex of genres spanning paranormal, science fiction, alternate history, and time travel.  At one point, it even reminded me of Butcher’s Dresden series.

The puns, literary references and alternate history gaffs intrigued me and sparked quick forays of research to confirm or deny my suspicions.

I have the sequel Lost in a Good Book waiting in the wings to see what happens Next.

Book Review: Neuromancer by Gibson (3 Stars)

Neuromancer by William Gibson

3 out of 5 stars

Read in December 2008

It was difficult to stay focused on this novel, its story and it’s characters. If I could, I would probably give this 2.5 stars rather than 3 stars, but I’ll be lenient since was a triple award winner in the 80s.

However, it really hasn’t stood the test of time well. If I had read this when published, which would have been my first year in college as an engineer/math/computer science college student, it would have been cutting edge, or more appropriately, bleeding edge.

But the character development was lost in the weird heist-like saga of these individuals thrown together by an immoral and immortal AI manipulating them and the world. It was sad that I couldn’t care what happened to them or their acquaintances or their world. Some of the action was top-notch, but much of their motivations were harsh, raw and confusing.

I can see where Hollywood has reworked this idea many times over the last two decades, most notably The Matrix and Johnny Mneumonic and a spattering of television episodes (a couple of X Files and a Lone Gunman one that I can remember off the top of my head).

Book Review: This Alien Shore by Friedman (3 Stars)

This Alien Shore by C.S. Friedman

2.5-3 out of 5 stars

Read in February 2010

I guessed the criminal master mind behind this mystery cloaked as science fiction (more speculative fiction than science) within the first one hundred pages. The other 450 pages seemed to be a wild goose chase through inner and outer nets, space stations, nodes and multiverse rifts. Little or no character development left me cold and completely disconnected with the cast. In more than one case, a character was created and destroyed within a single chapter, never to appear again. Many questions unanswered and plot lines left tangled and dangled.

I kept pushing through this book as fast as I could, hoping it would evolve into something memorable or meaningful. I finished dissatisfied.

This was my first C.S. Friedman novel, but I have others on my shelf waiting to be read. I hope this was not the epitome of her writing career.

Book Review: Diplomatic Immunity by Bujold (3 Stars)

Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold

3 out of 5 stars

Ready in May 2010

I read this as part of the omnibus edition Miles, Mutants & Microbes and as the Beyond Reality book club series selection for May 2010.

On the return trip from their delayed honeymoon, Miles and his wife are diverted by Emperor Gregor to do diplomatic damage control duty in Quaddiespace. Since they are expecting twins back home on Barrayar (via the ultraconvenient uterine replicators), they are anxious to mop up the mess and be on their way. Like an onion, the layers of mystery unpeel slowing, revealing a deeper, more sinister meaning behind an otherwise manageable diplomatic gaffe.

I liked this story, but didn’t love it. After the last two superb novels, as encapsulated in Miles in Love, this one was a bit of a let down.

Book Review: Mirror Dance by Bujold (3.5 Stars)

Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold

3.5 out of 5 stars

Read in January 2010

I read this novel as part of the omnibus edition Miles Errant.

Miles’ six years younger twin brother, Mark, garners most of the screen time in Mirror Dance. Less lighthearted fun and more unhinged passion and desperation pervades while we focus on Mark. Miles’ fate remains unknown for much of the story.

I enjoyed Mark meeting Aral and Cordelia. Miles’ mother treated me to some wonderful scenes with Mark or that Mark overheard. Sadly, Aral suffers nearly the same fate as Miles. But no one suffers a fate worse than death better than Mark. At times, I feared I was reading a horror novel.

But all is well that ends well and Mirror Dance succeeds on that front.

Book Review: Brothers in Arms by Bujold (3.5 Stars)

Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold

Read in January 2010 as part of the omnibus edition Miles Errant.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Miles shakes the Cetagandans off the Dedarii Mercenaries’ tail and seeks sanctuary on Old Earth for repairs and recuperation. But something is rotten in London, where Miles repeatedly tries to collect the mercenary troops’ back pay and expenses. His investigation turns up a Komarran plot that threatens, you guessed it, the Barrayaran Empire at the highest levels. Believability was only stretched to the breaking point for one seemingly whimsical plot point that Miles pulled out of thin air to avoid an investigative reporter … which actually turned out to be true and bite him in the rear.

Miles managed to solve the various mysteries, save the Empire, get his mercenaries paid, get the girl, save his brother and salvage an almost enemy’s career. Too bad he missed out on touring Old Earth in all the excitement.

Book Review: Ethan of Athos by Bujold (3.5 Stars)

Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold

3.5 out of 5 stars

Read in November 2009 as part of the Miles, Mystery & Mayhem omnibus edition.

Miles is completely absent from this Vorkosigan series installment. Elli Quinn returns, with a new face and a new mission. The story is told mostly from the point-of-view of Ethan. Again, the theme swirls around genetics and reproduction, but definitely with a twist. The flip side of the female controlled genetic finesse of Cetaganda proves to be Athos, an all male planet rapidly running out of viable ovary cultures at their Rep Centers. When the batch of new ovaries is sabotaged, Athos sends Ethos to personally select, purchase and escort the replacements.

Even though I missed Miles, Elli and Ethan managed to keep me hopping and flipping pages. Nearly all the action takes place on the Kline space station. Mystery, torture, murder, galactic genetic experiments, political intrigue bordering on genocide – just about everything you’ve come to expect from Bujold’s imagination.

A fun, fast read and a nice addition to the Vorkosigan series.

Book Review: Furies of Calderon by Butcher (3.5 Stars)

Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher

3.5 out of 5 stars

Read in July 2010

The first half and the end (last chapter or two) reminded me strongly of young adult fantasy fiction. Only the core of the book dealt with mature adult choices and consequences. World building sacrificed to action for the most part. No one character grabbed me. Of the cast, Tavi and Isana rose to the top.

The burgeoning romance between Bernard and Amara stretched my belief. Why would a widower, a decade celibate, pine over a young teenager? Otherwise, Bernard proved to be a steady, upstanding, heroic figure for the plot.

I also became annoyed by video game-like healing and non-death. Basically, if you didn’t lose your head (think Highlander), you could survive even the most fatal of wounds, thanks to the water fury crafters. Without a real death threat for any of the main characters, I quickly became jaundiced to their fates.

Tavi, being fury-less, journeyed the farthest as a character, having the most obstacles to overcome by his wits, skills and strengths alone.

With respect to the Aleran Empire, which bears a shocking resemblance to the Roman Empire even down to the use of Latin names and words, I did not feel the political corruption at a visceral level, like I did in Gardens of the Moon or A Game of Thrones. The epic quality for this fantasy series didn’t manifest for me in this first volume of Codex Alera.

The vilest elements involved the backwater steadholder secretly torturing slaves right under the noses of his neighbors. I’m thankful Butcher restrained himself from showing or telling overmuch about Kord’s obsessions, leaving my imagination to fill in the horrifying blanks.

I may read the next volume, or not, depending on if it falls into my hands easily enough (like, say, through a swap or a mooch). I’m not compelled to follow Tavi through school at the Academy (yet another YA aspect I’m not fond of). The fate of another empire hinging on the seemingly untalented (magically speaking) young ‘chosen one’ lost it’s shine a couple of decades ago with Eddings’ Garion.

Book Review: Heart-Shaped Box by Hill (3 Stars)

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

3 out of 5 stars

Read in October 2008

Warning: Spoilers

This book re-confirmed why I gave up reading horror two decades ago. Yes, it was a fast read. It would even make a good movie. But it’s not great literature. And it didn’t scare me, or thrill me, and it definitely didn’t stretch my vocabulary.

Jude is a fifty-four year old mostly retired grunge rocker who has a penchant for twenty-something Goth girlfriends. He also collects occult, grotesque and/or macabre items, including a real human skull for a pen holder and a snuff video. Danny, his personal assistant receives an anonymous e-mail with a tip about a ghost for sale at an online auction site. Jude can’t resist the temptation and uses the “buy it now” feature to purchase a haunted suit for $1,000.00. Several days later, Jude receives a package containing a black heart-shaped box with the black suit in it. Soon after, the ghost makes an appearance.

Eventually, Jude and his girlfriend, Marybeth, figure out who the ghost is and the rest is their journey of discovery and quest to flee and stop the ghost. The ghost is the stepfather of Jude’s previous girlfriend, Anna. Initially, you’re led to believe that the stepfather is sent to avenge Anna’s suicide. The sordid past proves otherwise.

It’s sad that I’m not even shocked anymore when I read profanity, or about child molesters, pedophiles, rapists/murderists, etc. The media and Hollywood have desensitized me, I suppose. This may be fiction, but it saddens me that parts of this story could very well be the next headline in the news.