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The fact that some Star Wars fans actually didn’t like Stover’s adaptation to Revenge of the Sith answered a lot of questions I had about the popularity of some of their other titles. Out of all the books yet to be released and promised to us in the near future, I am most anticipating the third Caine Book, Caine Black Knife. Blade of Tyshalle goes away from the more and more common narratives where power is born through subtlety, yet it never falls into the gratuitous pits that many authors mistake as more relevant. I reviewed this book here (one of my first review attempts). In the end it’s 800 pages that never fail to hold interest, something not even the much-lauded Susanna Clarke pulled off in her most excellent debut - and honestly not many do. It’s good to see smebody still writing books that both kicks ass and features a character who kicks ass. |
Sometimes Amazon reviews tell the story: “However, most people (including myself) are of average intelligence and Mr. Ackroyd does not seem to have written this book with us in mind. Mr. Ackroyd’s use of the English language is polished but too intelligent for the average person to understand. He should have written at a more mainstream level.” Ignorance is not a problem it seems, people seem to know they are indeed rather daft, and in this case are proud of it? I don’t know, I have to admit I was rather ignorant of More and found it informative (admittedly I have no reference to question veracity), I tend to read biographies to find out about a subject and Ackroyd accomplishes that and does so in a manner that I found entertaining as well. |
I think VanderMeer’s recent Shriek: an Afterword is probably his most accomplished work, but this is still my favorite VanderMeer novel. My introduction to Ambergris, along with Mieville’s Perdido Street Station perhaps impacted what Fantasy I read afterwards more than any other books, and even more, was fundamental in my growing appreciation for short fiction. |
Isn’t Shepard one of the best writers in America? This collections contains some great stories like Only Partly Here , Jailwise and the title piece itself, and is really quite a massive collection. While most consider page turners to represent the best of reads, this is a collection one has to savor and take a break in between the stories as Shepard packs this collection with some of his emotionally exhaustive work to date, each lush in content as any novel. I’m not going to make a habit of linking reviews, but Niall Harrison reviewed this collection story by story and does it justice. |
TI love Neil Gaiman’s work, but not only does Moore supercede him in the comic industry, this book is more worthwhile than any novel Gaiman has ever written. |
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Lethem is a favorite of mine, and it would not be hard to believe this is many people’s favorite book. It’s an assured effort by somebody we expect such from; a prime example of SF and Westerns mixture in a tale of survival. Lethem has stood the test of time, and enough so he is no longer just stylish, he has become a standard. |
This is an interesting book as not only doesn’t qualify as novel of ideas, it’s beautifully written and is an alarmingly capable candidate as an introduction to SF, much the way Card was 20 years ago. Inherent with such a claim it has it’s opponents concerning the actual science behind the fiction, but the overpowering characters, and the themes they lead us through make this a novel impossible to ignore in the given time frame. |
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There has to be something said for a book that came out with this much hype (from both inside and out of the genre) and for the most part delivers, and in my mind did so exceedingly well. If we consider debuts, this effort by Clarke makes dogs out of the overwhelming majority. More than any other novel of 2004 it captured place (like Bowes did in 2005) for me, I wasn’t told where I was, I was transported there, and after he last page I still miss it. |
This is the first (and thus far) only Goytisolo work I have, something I have to remedy very soon. Eusebio’s story is told by twenty eight completely different story-tellers with equally diverse methods of narration - this is the Spanish multiple POV Chess Garden, or is the Chess Garden (which is on this list as well) the diluted Garden of Secrets? |
I have a weakness for books that have Japanese characters (Goto Dengo), however this books belongs. It’s better than a book than a simple book you enjoy, it’s a book that introduces new elements to enjoy. This like his Baroque Cycle could be maddening at times, but maddening in a confusing and exciting way not based on tedium - well not much anyway. |
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