Category: Reviews

Master parent category for all my reviews: books, movies, television shows, restaurants, products.

Book Review: Lord of Emperors by Kay (4 Stars)

Lord of Emperors by Guy Gavriel Kay

4 out of 5 stars

Read in June 2010

The characters I related to best surprised me in this second half of the Sarantine Mosaic duology. I wept more than once for a chariot racer and for an obsessed, vengeful woman. Crispan, through whose eyes most of this tale was viewed, did not touch any of my heart-strings.

Both this novel, and its predecessor, Sailing to Sarantium, included phenomenal chapters filled with thundering horses hooves, dust and crashing chariots … just a pleasant day at the Hippodrome races. Continue reading “Book Review: Lord of Emperors by Kay (4 Stars)”

The CDC Debunks Hollywood Myths About Pandemics

http://io9.com/the-cdc-debunks-hollywood-myths-about-pandemics-1560897979?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_twitter&utm_source=io9_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Apropos considering I just wrapped up watching the first 13 episodes of the first season of Syfy’s Helix.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

Book Review: The Martian Chronicles by Bradbury (2.5 Stars)

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

2.5 out of 5 stars

Recommended by the GoodReads SciFi/Fantasy Book Club August 2009 Selection

Read in August, 2009

Synopsis (courtesy Wikipedia):

The Martian Chronicles is a 1950 science fiction short story collection by Ray Bradbury that chronicles the colonization of Mars by humans fleeing from a troubled and eventually atomically devastated Earth, and the conflict between aboriginal Martians and the new colonists. The book lies somewhere between a short story collection and an episodic novel, containing stories Bradbury originally published in the late 1940s in science fiction magazines. The stories were loosely woven together with a series of short, interstitial vignettes for publication.

My Thoughts:

This collection of stories about Mars reminded me of Edgar Rice Burroughs stories. But where Burroughs entertained with adventures and action, Bradbury expounded on various themes, mostly anti-war and anti-establishment.

Continue reading “Book Review: The Martian Chronicles by Bradbury (2.5 Stars)”

10 Shocking Ways the Second World War Could Have Ended Differently

http://io9.com/10-shocking-ways-the-second-world-war-could-have-ended-1558135375?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_facebook&utm_source=io9_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

A bunch of interesting WWII what ifs.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

Book Review: The Copper Crown by Kennealy-Morrison (5 Stars)

CopperCrownThe Copper Crown by Patricia Kennealy-Morrison

5 out of 5 stars

Read at least five times since the late 80s

Synopsis:

WHEN EARTH MEETS KELTIA WILL STAR EMPIRES FALL?

When lore became legend on ancient Earth and the powers of magic waned, the Kelts and their allies fled the planet for the freedom of distant star realms.

But the stars were home to dangerous foes, and millenia later, the worlds of Keltia still maintained uneasy truce with two enemy empires -the Imperium and the Phalanx. Then, at the start of the reign of Aeron, mistress of high magic and queen of all the Kelts, an Earthship made contact with her long-fled children. And while Earth and Keltia reached out to form alliance, the star fleets of the enemy mobilized for final, devastating war….

My Thoughts (Warning: Spoilers):

Every couple of years, I get the urge to pull out this novel and re-read it. Continue reading “Book Review: The Copper Crown by Kennealy-Morrison (5 Stars)”

Book Review: Tea with Black Dragon by MacAvoy (3.6 Stars)

Tea with Black Dragon by R.A. MacAvoy

3.6 out of 5 stars

Read in August 2009

Recommended to me by Janny Wurts

Synopsis:

Martha Macnamara knows that her daughter Elizabeth is in trouble, she just doesn’t know what kind. Mysterious phone calls from San Francisco at odd hours of the night are the only contact she has had with Elizabeth for years. Now, Elizabeth has sent her a plane ticket and reserved a room for her at San Francisco’s most luxurious hotel. Yet she has not tried to contact Martha since she arrived, leaving her lonely, confused and a little bit worried. Into the story steps Mayland Long, a distinguished-looking and wealthy Chinese man who lives at the hotel and is drawn to Martha’s good nature and ability to pinpoint the truth of a matter. Mayland and Martha become close in a short period of time and he promises to help her find Elizabeth, making small inroads in the mystery before Martha herself disappears. Now Mayland is struck by the realization, too late, that he is in love with Martha, and now he fears for her life. Determined to find her, he sets his prodigious philosopher’s mind to work on the problem, embarking on a potentially dangerous adventure.

My Thoughts:

I curled up with this book Continue reading “Book Review: Tea with Black Dragon by MacAvoy (3.6 Stars)”

Book Review: City of Bones by Wells (3.5 Stars)

City of Bones by Martha Wells

3.5 out of 5 stars

Read in November 2011

Synopsis:

In a place where an ancient holocaust devastated civilization and caused most of the world’s water to evaporate, a new civilization has arisen–where sand ships cross the deserts between city-states, where bones are used to work magic of all kinds. Charisat is the greatest of city-states, the Imperial seat where your status is determined by how high up the tiers of the city you live. Khat is a trader and sometime thief, one of a race genetically altered to survive in these new conditions. Elen is a scholar and a lady who is investigating the ancient ruins, looking for the secrets of their magic. Together they must solve a mystery involving a fanatical cult whose members are trying to unleash an evil that will topple Charisat–and from there, destroy the world again

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed Martha Wells writing, Continue reading “Book Review: City of Bones by Wells (3.5 Stars)”