Samuel Proulx
I have the audio CD; the recording quality is bad, the reading is bad, the effects are distracting, and I didn't enjoy the experience. If the plot had have been interesting, it might have all equaled out in the end; unfortunately, it wasn't. The writing was uninspired, the plot was slow, the technical details were so utterly incorrect as to be silly, and the book can't decide if it's science fiction or fantasy, and ends up just being silly.
This is a good book for reading and discussion in a church or other book group. I wouldn't bother reading it by yourself.
This feels like classic British science fiction, transplanted and updated for the 21st century. While it's a little careless with scientific accuracy, the story is compelling enough that this doesn't really matter.
I didn't like this book nearly as much as I was expecting to, and I'm having trouble articulating why. It is well-written, and well-read in the case of the audio edition. It does a good job telling Harry's story, through the eyes of some notable participants of the fandom. It's positive coverage of the fan community, something that is always good. And yet...I didn't like it. Maybe it's because I suspect that if I met the author in person, I wouldn't particularly like her. No, wait: that's too strong. I'm not saying I dislike her or anything, but for two people who are members of the same fandom, I think you would be hard pressed to find two people who have less in common. I was an anti-social teenaged male fan, and she was a 30-something professional female fan during the time the books were released. I was, and still am for that matter, a devoted Harry/Hermione shipper. Not because I have any problem with Ron, but because of how deeply I dislike Ginny (and how much I like Hermione). The anti-Ginny camp hardly gets a mention, putting all of Harry/Hermione down to evil Ron. I had never heard of Harry And The Potters, and didn't like what I heard when I looked them up just now, but I think The Butterbeer Experience and Lauren Fairweather wrote some of the best Harry Potter related music I've found. Yet, they get passed off with a one-line reference as Harry and The Potter clones. I never spent any time at all on The Sugar Quill or Harry Potter for Grownups, and my only involvement with Leaky was as a reader and listener. As an aside, I'd really like to see a source for the claim the author makes that Fiction Alley was only created because Cassandra Clare was banned from fanfiction.net for plagiarism. Even back then, there were lots and lots of perfectly good and ethical reasons not to want to have anything to do with fanfiction.net. All of the fanfics and fanfic authors she mentioned, I either didn't read, or didn't like. Not a single one of the fanfics I absolutely loved, and followed religiously, even got a mention.
I think writing this out has brought me to the reason this book doesn't sit well with me. The subtitle is “The true story of a boy wizard, his fans...” I think it should have been along the lines of “Harry: A History: The True Story Of One girls Life As A Fan”. Because as it stands, the book seems to be trying to sell itself as some kind of complete story of the fandom, and it just isn't. My experience, and thus I'm sure the experience of millions of others, is not in any way reflected by this narrative. Honestly, that really doesn't matter all that much. But I guess what turned me off of this book was that I was expecting some kind of unbiased recounting of the history of Harry Potter fandom, and what I got was a biography of Melissa Anelli. I'm much, much more interested in the former. So someone go and write that book, please.
I always feel bad giving small press books 1 star ratings. So let me make it absolutely clear that the poor rating was because this book is not at all to my taste, not because it is a terrible book. I rate books based on how much I enjoy them, and I did not enjoy this one at all.
With that said, I found this book confusing. My taste runs to linear stories, told from one or two points of view. I like stories that start at the beginning, and travel towards the end. As one of the characters said near the start of the novel:
“You showed up at the end of a really long story, okay? We don't have time to explain everything to you.”
If you read this book as a kind of self parody of our CNN run culture of fear porn, you'll get some enjoyment from it. If you try to take it seriously as an actual information source, forget it. Unfortunately, this book is not nearly as funny as [b:Everything Is Going to Kill Everybody: The Terrifyingly Real Ways the World Wants You Dead 6697553 Everything Is Going to Kill Everybody The Terrifyingly Real Ways the World Wants You Dead Robert Brockway http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320454952s/6697553.jpg 6893238]. But it isn't nearly as offensive and childish.
The internet hype machine indicates that this is some of the worst writing ever printed in book form. Now that it's available as an ebook, I decided to pick it up, ready to be amused. My reaction was...blah. I've come across much, much worse writing. Yes, it's silly and unoriginal. But I can name you dozens of fantasy series that are silly, badly plotted, and unoriginal. Same goes for characterization: lots of books get this wrong, and Gloria Tesch is no worse than some other self-published authors that have crossed my path. Sure, the writing is stilted, but it isn't stilted enough to be particularly amusing. In short, Gloria Tesch's awful promotional techniques, internet drama, movie and theme park delusions, and Youtube clips are all much more amusing in their badness than are her actual books.
I ran across this book when looking up words at wordnik.com; it was quoted in one of the examples sections. I didn't intend to actually read it. I'm almost 25, yet Boy Scout books can still capture my attention. This probably says more about me than about the book.
The writing style of this book makes it obvious just how dated these stories are. Do not go into this expecting political correctness; the way other cultures are portrayed is, while mostly harmless, utterly outdated. I was surprised, however, about just how many of these facts I already know from other sources to be correct. A few from The Straight Dope, but many, many others were plot points in Science Fiction I have previously read. It makes me wonder just how much of an influence, intended or otherwise, these cartoons were on scifi authors of the 1950's.
If you're already interested in the recent history of Journalism, this book is an enjoyable read. However, it isn't particularly earth shaking. If journalism isn't one of your interests, give this one a pass. If you are going to read it, I especially recommend the audio version. It's read by Dan Rather himself, and that does add a little extra something.
I read this one entirely in one sitting! It's classic science fantasy action adventure, but with Victorian space merfolk, basically. If you enjoy books like Starman Jones, or the Seafort saga, you'll probably be entertained by this. If I hadn't already spent my e-book budget for this month, I'd go on to book 2 in the series right away, assuming it's already published; I refuse to look, in case I get tempted to spend money I shouldn't.
This is a standard, paint-by-the-numbers fantasy. I don't mean that to be as critical as it sounds. Get yourself a drink, sit out in the sun, and read and enjoy it for what it is. Not every work needs to be groundbreaking. The tropes this author uses are handled with skill, the writing gets out of the way and does it's job, and the plot will keep you entertained.
The potential for this to be a really good science fiction novel exists. Unfortunately, it's just potential. In order to achieve that, it would need:
1. Another round of editing. A few tense shifts, some head hopping, and some grammar mistakes need to be shaken out. The beginning of the book could use a little work, especially keeping in mind the old writer's saying “show, don't tell”.
2. The book needs to decide what it wants to be. Mostly, it looks like a coming of age science fiction adventure novel. But then, out of nowhere, two characters start quipping about man salad (in the context of eating...ewww!). This does not belong in a young adult novel. Then we suddenly get a bunch of romantic angst that feels quite out of place. This could be a good young adult coming of age adventure, a good science fiction comedy, or a good romantic hero story. But it can't be all three at once.
3. The setting needs more thought. It has futuristic technology. But it also has modern day things like Google, Snickers Bars, and new releases of modern video game series. It also apparently has events based on Roman history. A war is in progress, but who is fighting and why are never really covered. They're just generic rebels.
If those three things could be fixed, this would be at least 3 stars, probably 4. But alas, this e-book is already published.
This was the first science fiction book I ever read by myself, in grade 3 or so. When I discovered it had recently been digitized, I just had to give it another read, to see how it holds up now that I'm in my 20's.
In spite of the vast number of books I've read over the years, I found myself surprised at just how well I remembered the plot and characters from this one. That in itself is the mark of a good story; it isn't every book whose characters and plot stick with you for any length of time.
However, it really is a popcorn book. It's light simple reading, without any life lessons that would challenge even a 4th grader. The action is well written, the plot progresses quickly, and the characters are memorable. But the morality, political opinions, and emotional conflict are over simplified.
Despite its flaws though, it is a fun read. And sometimes, fun is enough.
This book is a lot more about Walter Schirra than about space. Thankfully, he's a colourful enough character in his own right. If you're interested in mission details or technical information, this isn't the book for you. But if a collection of largely personal stories, along with some personal opinion on the state of manned spaceflight, is down your alley, you'll be happy with this one.
The advice for adding more physical activity into daily life contained in this book is quite valuable. The advice on food, however, not so much; cost and practicality take an extreme back seat in these sections.
This novel felt a lot like science fiction that might have been published in the 60's, after having first run in several parts in a magazine like Analog. I mean that in a good way. Today's preference for 15 book series, where each book is several hundred thousand words, often results in wordy and slow moving writing. Reading something that is tightly plotted, fast moving, and resolves everything at the end, is rather refreshing. I did find the pace a little alarming at some points, especially when one short chapter covers over 50 years, but I'm glad I stuck with it. The author knows what he's doing.
Some of those transitional scenes are, in my opinion, the best writing in the book. It seems obvious Carl Frederick started out writing short stories, and still enjoys doing it. However, even when writing longer passages, his writing still holds up quite well.
I purchased this book mostly for the setting; as a Harry Potter fan, I wanted to read another young adult book set in a modern British boarding school. This book did, largely, give me what I wanted. The plot and writing weren't really anything special, but as with most of the BBC Audiobooks I've listened to, the book was well enough read that I didn't really mind.
This is the most depressing thing I have read in a while. But if you're at all interested in North Korea, this is quite a good book. The audio edition is worth it, mostly to hear the names pronounced correctly.
It can be dry at times, so if you don't have an abiding interest in space travel as I do, you might not enjoy this one.
Just when I thought Piers Anthony had forever sunk into a relme of countless unoriginal (if still amusing) xanth novels at publisher behest, I came across this small print offering. In fact, I own the ebook edition, though ebooks don't seem to yet be listed on librarything (why no fictionpress search option?). For the price, this long volume, first in a series of three, is well worth purchasing. Following the adventures of a country boy forced into becoming king of a planet, It continues in Mr. Anthony's unique style of average seeming characters having grand adventures of epoch proportion. The key addition to the formula is an absolutely staggering amount of sex. While many don't find Piers Anthony's cartoonish style of sexy softcore pornography appealing, I find his sexual views refreshingly different from run of the mill lay and slay fantasy sex. If you're comfortable with Anthony's sex in his other novels (Firefly, Refugee, and Cluster come to mind), you'll enjoy this less popular offering; you might even come to feel, as I do, that this represents some of his best work. However, if you find Anthony style sex unappealing, give this book (and probably the entire series) a pass.
Too much information (and not the right kind of information) to be a useful quick-reference, and too little information to be a fully fledged guide to the subject. As a ham myself, the ARRL has much, much better guides on the subject, useful to hams and non-hams alike. I really can't think of the kind of person who would find this particularly useful.