Resolution Reviews
Mar. 3rd, 2007 11:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wook77Resolution Reviews. Same disclaimers as every other one. As one of these books came out less than 2 weeks ago, I'll remind that there are spoilers in here. BIG TIME spoilers.
Without further ado - 3 books and 1 movie. This puts me over 25% completed for the year.
Age of Discovery: A Secret Atlas (Part 1 of 3) by Michael Stackpole
I've been a big fan of Michael Stackpole since he wrote the Rogue Squadron series. Then, he added I, Jedi and I promptly went out and devoured everything he's ever written, including the Mech Warriors series. Ok, so the Mech Warriors things were lame but that's the world and not his writing.
I actually had an opportunity to meet Mr. Stackpole a few times and he's a very down to earth guy that lives up in Phoenix, actually. He is very intriguing and is always willing to discuss writing and all sorts of topics. He has this book, Talion: Revenant that I really want him to continue but I'm beginning to think that his promises of a continuation "someday" will never happen though he's posted little dribbles of it on his website.
Anyway, back to this book/series… A Secret Atlas came out about 2 years ago and I was tempted to buy it then but lack of money held me back. After book 2 came out, I was tempted again but, yet again, lack of money held me back. Then, my local library got the books in and the original publishing date of book 3 was in April. So, I checked both books out.
I love this series though the first book was a bit verbose and, at times, had loads of expositionary detail. Some of the conversations seemed forced and it was obvious that the author was trying to inform the reader just what was going on and who was where in their relationships. There was also a bit too much detail about the world that didn't seem to fall naturally into the story telling. The author also had a habit of repeating information which annoyed me.
The book featured a different POV each chapter. One chapter was one brother, another was a sister, then there was the king of one land and hten the king of another and so on and so forth. It worked well, meshed until you got to know all the characters and began to see how they all intersected. It's a technique that I've tried multiple times and it's also one I really enjoy so I give this a hearty thumbs up.
I normally say in these reviews – I saw the ending happening or I could predict this bit here. This book surprised me. I knew who the murderer was going to be (the back of the book told you that there would be a shocking murder) but I didn't see the victim. I like that he was able to surprise me.
This was, at its core, a coming of age story about two brothers and their sister. But it's also a hero story where the boys have to save the world though they don't know it. There's also plenty of other stories going on here, though. There's a scarred swordsman that has no idea what caused this HUGE scar. There's a little boy with a horrendous injury, a man that makes machines that do amazing things, an apprentice swordsman, a crazy grandfather, gods, princes, consorts, concubines, empresses, political intrigue, assassins and cartographers.
It kept me intrigued throughout. I'm just glad that book 2 was readily available.
8 out of 10
Age of Discovery: Cartography (Part 2) by Michael Stackpole
This book was better than the first. Though there was still the repetition of detail throughtout the book, there wasn't a whole lot of exposition. The characters flowed better and the two brothers, especially, grew up and pushed their own boundaries.
However, there were odd parts. The sister was murdered at the end of the book in a very brutal fashion and, somehow, she escaped death by having her soul go to this other world that her grandfather, the mad cartographer, created. I couldn't really suspend my disbelief. Also, her character annoyed me as she was so weak and girly and gullible. I wanted to bash in her face, basically, for letting people fool her. Supposedly, the way she died was so traumatic that she forgot she died? Yeah, um, ok, sure.
The one brother is a god incarnated as a mortal and that, actually, was believable. It was a slow process for him to discover just what he was. I'm curious about the other brother now, though.
This is where I whine. The initial release date for this book was in April. However, it is now JUNE!!!!! How the hell am I supposed to wait until June? For the love of God, people! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!
As far as the twist in this book, I did see this one coming in a "oh wouldn't it be ironic if the Lady of Jet and Jade was really the sleeping empress" sort of way. It was an offhand thought while reading the first book and I chuckled when that was the twist at the end of this book. It was well played, though, as the author was fairly ambiguous about it throughout the first two books. Once I saw the identity of the swordsman, I figured I was right. I didn't mind being able to predict this but I am anxious to see what happens after she revealed herself as it was left in a fairly tense place with one prince about to kill another prince.
There was one squick in here. The one prince gets injured and his hand/arm won't heal properly so they sew…. Ready and braced? They sew MAGGOTS INTO HIS ARM TO EAT THE DEAD FLESH AWAY AND OMG STOMACH CHURNING JUST TYPING THAT!!!!!!!!! EEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!
Ok, forgetting about that for now because omg ew, the book was better crafted even if the author put in some first person in one person's chapters.
8 out of 10
Innocence in Death by JD Robb
For those that have read my reviews before, you all know I'm a big fan of JD Robb. I love and adore her muchly. I love her under her real name (Nora Roberts) and I love her as JD Robb. She has a style to her that satisfies me every time.
However, this book, hands down, is the best of her "In Death" series. It has twists and turns in the main murder plot. Then there are the twists in turns in Eve's relationship with Roarke. Both have similarities, as most of JDR's books do. They're not exact mirrors and we don't really learn much more about Eve's childhood (like where the fuck her mother is or what all foster homes she's been in and if anyone actually ever gave a fuck about her in ANY of them) but her father does make an appearance or two to haunt her about the main case.
The main case is what really has me loving this book so much. Here's where it gets spoilery. The killer is a little girl that is psychotic and obsessive compulsive. She's creepy as fuck, her drive to succeed causes her to kill her teacher for daring to give her an A- on a report instead of an A or A+. Then, she kills another teacher to place the blame for the two murders on her principal. I totally didn't see this one coming, at all. I really thought it was the janitor or one of the other teachers, especially as Eve specifically says that she doesn't think it's one of them but there's evidence and yadda.
I would've liked to see more of some of the supporting characters, especially Mavis as she just had that baby but the plot and action didn't really allow for much interaction beyond what was given so I'll take what I can get and only hope that Eve is forced to feed the baby and maybe even babysit.
10 out of 10
Four Brothers
This movie came recommended with a line consisting of "hot guys and you know two of the brothers are fucking. Go rent it!!!". So, rented it, forgot I had it, rented it again and finally watched it. I'll be going out and buying this.
The action didn't stop and I was mildly pissed that the person rec'ing this didn't warn me for character death, something I have only gotten pissed off about once before. I hate spoilery warnings like that but when Jack died? OMG SOBBING He was crying out for Bobby and Bobby couldn't get there and just GOD, what a horribly sad death.
The motherfuckers that killed Jack get theirs though as the brothers take revenge on the gangster guy. He was, IMHO, a bit overacted/overplayed/over the top. He was an ass and I don't really see these guys taking some of his shit for as long as they did.
I thought Mark Wahlberg's character of Bobby was a complete dick but I also loved him because he was a dick. It made the tears more effective. I just would've liked to see a different resolution to the end as I don’t really see Bobby being A-OK with leaving everyone in the organization other than the head dude, alive. I mean, the dudes he was standing with at the end were the ones that ordered the gunmen to go shoot up their mom's house and that order ended up killing Jack.
I do, however, agree that Bobby and Jack were fucking. They're still fucking in my imagination as I don't think Jack is dead, even if they had a funeral and shit for him. I think, as I didn’t see a completely dead!dead body (like getting zipped into a body bag), that he's merely in the hospital and recovering from his like 50gadzillion bullet wounds and will be back to fucking around with Bobby in the near future. *nods*
10 out of 10
Without further ado - 3 books and 1 movie. This puts me over 25% completed for the year.
Age of Discovery: A Secret Atlas (Part 1 of 3) by Michael Stackpole
I've been a big fan of Michael Stackpole since he wrote the Rogue Squadron series. Then, he added I, Jedi and I promptly went out and devoured everything he's ever written, including the Mech Warriors series. Ok, so the Mech Warriors things were lame but that's the world and not his writing.
I actually had an opportunity to meet Mr. Stackpole a few times and he's a very down to earth guy that lives up in Phoenix, actually. He is very intriguing and is always willing to discuss writing and all sorts of topics. He has this book, Talion: Revenant that I really want him to continue but I'm beginning to think that his promises of a continuation "someday" will never happen though he's posted little dribbles of it on his website.
Anyway, back to this book/series… A Secret Atlas came out about 2 years ago and I was tempted to buy it then but lack of money held me back. After book 2 came out, I was tempted again but, yet again, lack of money held me back. Then, my local library got the books in and the original publishing date of book 3 was in April. So, I checked both books out.
I love this series though the first book was a bit verbose and, at times, had loads of expositionary detail. Some of the conversations seemed forced and it was obvious that the author was trying to inform the reader just what was going on and who was where in their relationships. There was also a bit too much detail about the world that didn't seem to fall naturally into the story telling. The author also had a habit of repeating information which annoyed me.
The book featured a different POV each chapter. One chapter was one brother, another was a sister, then there was the king of one land and hten the king of another and so on and so forth. It worked well, meshed until you got to know all the characters and began to see how they all intersected. It's a technique that I've tried multiple times and it's also one I really enjoy so I give this a hearty thumbs up.
I normally say in these reviews – I saw the ending happening or I could predict this bit here. This book surprised me. I knew who the murderer was going to be (the back of the book told you that there would be a shocking murder) but I didn't see the victim. I like that he was able to surprise me.
This was, at its core, a coming of age story about two brothers and their sister. But it's also a hero story where the boys have to save the world though they don't know it. There's also plenty of other stories going on here, though. There's a scarred swordsman that has no idea what caused this HUGE scar. There's a little boy with a horrendous injury, a man that makes machines that do amazing things, an apprentice swordsman, a crazy grandfather, gods, princes, consorts, concubines, empresses, political intrigue, assassins and cartographers.
It kept me intrigued throughout. I'm just glad that book 2 was readily available.
8 out of 10
Age of Discovery: Cartography (Part 2) by Michael Stackpole
This book was better than the first. Though there was still the repetition of detail throughtout the book, there wasn't a whole lot of exposition. The characters flowed better and the two brothers, especially, grew up and pushed their own boundaries.
However, there were odd parts. The sister was murdered at the end of the book in a very brutal fashion and, somehow, she escaped death by having her soul go to this other world that her grandfather, the mad cartographer, created. I couldn't really suspend my disbelief. Also, her character annoyed me as she was so weak and girly and gullible. I wanted to bash in her face, basically, for letting people fool her. Supposedly, the way she died was so traumatic that she forgot she died? Yeah, um, ok, sure.
The one brother is a god incarnated as a mortal and that, actually, was believable. It was a slow process for him to discover just what he was. I'm curious about the other brother now, though.
This is where I whine. The initial release date for this book was in April. However, it is now JUNE!!!!! How the hell am I supposed to wait until June? For the love of God, people! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!
As far as the twist in this book, I did see this one coming in a "oh wouldn't it be ironic if the Lady of Jet and Jade was really the sleeping empress" sort of way. It was an offhand thought while reading the first book and I chuckled when that was the twist at the end of this book. It was well played, though, as the author was fairly ambiguous about it throughout the first two books. Once I saw the identity of the swordsman, I figured I was right. I didn't mind being able to predict this but I am anxious to see what happens after she revealed herself as it was left in a fairly tense place with one prince about to kill another prince.
There was one squick in here. The one prince gets injured and his hand/arm won't heal properly so they sew…. Ready and braced? They sew MAGGOTS INTO HIS ARM TO EAT THE DEAD FLESH AWAY AND OMG STOMACH CHURNING JUST TYPING THAT!!!!!!!!! EEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!
Ok, forgetting about that for now because omg ew, the book was better crafted even if the author put in some first person in one person's chapters.
8 out of 10
Innocence in Death by JD Robb
For those that have read my reviews before, you all know I'm a big fan of JD Robb. I love and adore her muchly. I love her under her real name (Nora Roberts) and I love her as JD Robb. She has a style to her that satisfies me every time.
However, this book, hands down, is the best of her "In Death" series. It has twists and turns in the main murder plot. Then there are the twists in turns in Eve's relationship with Roarke. Both have similarities, as most of JDR's books do. They're not exact mirrors and we don't really learn much more about Eve's childhood (like where the fuck her mother is or what all foster homes she's been in and if anyone actually ever gave a fuck about her in ANY of them) but her father does make an appearance or two to haunt her about the main case.
The main case is what really has me loving this book so much. Here's where it gets spoilery. The killer is a little girl that is psychotic and obsessive compulsive. She's creepy as fuck, her drive to succeed causes her to kill her teacher for daring to give her an A- on a report instead of an A or A+. Then, she kills another teacher to place the blame for the two murders on her principal. I totally didn't see this one coming, at all. I really thought it was the janitor or one of the other teachers, especially as Eve specifically says that she doesn't think it's one of them but there's evidence and yadda.
I would've liked to see more of some of the supporting characters, especially Mavis as she just had that baby but the plot and action didn't really allow for much interaction beyond what was given so I'll take what I can get and only hope that Eve is forced to feed the baby and maybe even babysit.
10 out of 10
Four Brothers
This movie came recommended with a line consisting of "hot guys and you know two of the brothers are fucking. Go rent it!!!". So, rented it, forgot I had it, rented it again and finally watched it. I'll be going out and buying this.
The action didn't stop and I was mildly pissed that the person rec'ing this didn't warn me for character death, something I have only gotten pissed off about once before. I hate spoilery warnings like that but when Jack died? OMG SOBBING He was crying out for Bobby and Bobby couldn't get there and just GOD, what a horribly sad death.
The motherfuckers that killed Jack get theirs though as the brothers take revenge on the gangster guy. He was, IMHO, a bit overacted/overplayed/over the top. He was an ass and I don't really see these guys taking some of his shit for as long as they did.
I thought Mark Wahlberg's character of Bobby was a complete dick but I also loved him because he was a dick. It made the tears more effective. I just would've liked to see a different resolution to the end as I don’t really see Bobby being A-OK with leaving everyone in the organization other than the head dude, alive. I mean, the dudes he was standing with at the end were the ones that ordered the gunmen to go shoot up their mom's house and that order ended up killing Jack.
I do, however, agree that Bobby and Jack were fucking. They're still fucking in my imagination as I don't think Jack is dead, even if they had a funeral and shit for him. I think, as I didn’t see a completely dead!dead body (like getting zipped into a body bag), that he's merely in the hospital and recovering from his like 50gadzillion bullet wounds and will be back to fucking around with Bobby in the near future. *nods*
10 out of 10
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no subject
Date: 2007-03-04 05:22 pm (UTC)And I TOLD you, it would have ruined it! I have no blame in this. :D
no subject
Date: 2007-03-06 12:04 am (UTC)You totally have ALL the blame for this! ALL OF IT!!!