http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7548071-freedom-incorporated" ;Freedom">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7548071-freedom-incorporated">Freedom Incorporated by Peter">http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3311063.Peter_Tylee">Peter Tylee
My rating: 4">http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/471706539">4 of 5 stars
I have to agree with some of the others on here when they speak of the preachiness of this book. The leftwing, anti-capitalist, tree-hugging, goin' green gobbletygoob was the entire undertone of this story and the main female protaganist made me a bit ill at times, but it bears saying that I made it past that and enjoyed the story non the less which speaks to me of the strength of the authors idea.
This book is sort of an end times story with all of the black holes and human chipping going on in it. But all I can ask for in a read is for it to be fast paced and make me want to finish. Peter Tylee did both.
View">http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4623501-kendell-watts">View all my reviews
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
from one extreme to the next
I am sitting here in my office staring at my computer screen. It is 6:10 am on Wednesday morning, and guess what. It's raining ... again. This is the eight day in a row it has rained here on my little piece of the map. Things are getting a bit soggy. The grass, which I had to figh tooth and nail to keep alive back during the dog days, now seems to grow uncontrollably. I can't keep the stuff down. I dropped the deck on the Dixie Chopper, last time I mowed it, to 2 inches and gave it a proper buzz, thinking that it would take a little longer for the unmentionable bahaia to rise again. But that was before the monsoons. Now I can barely find the mailbox in all that jungle. I can't cut it because the lawnmower--while hydraulic z turn-- isn't equipped with trolling motor and pontoons. And while it is tough to get out the driveway every morning, fishing off of the front porch is looking promising. I guess there is a silver lining to every grey cloud, as they say.
Point is, the drought is over, hurricane season is upon us. Lord help us all.
Point is, the drought is over, hurricane season is upon us. Lord help us all.
Friday, August 24, 2012
book review: Illusion by Frank Peretti
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12408735-illusion" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px">
http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1331936724m/12408735.jpg
" />Illusionhttp://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12408735-illusion">Illusion> by Frank">http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5544.Frank_Peretti">Frank Peretti
My rating: 3">http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/391349713">3 of 5 stars
I always do this. I do. I can't help it. I always get all jazzed up for a new Frank Peretti book only to end up with mixed emotions in the end.
Outside of his two DARKNESS books--which were both classics in their own right--every Peretti book I have read has had one thing in common. As bad as I hate to say it, its bad endings. Every one of his books seems to have some flaw or letdown at the end which leaves me disappointed in some way. I guess it is my own fault for getting up my hopes.
Illusion is no different. It has a solid, hollywood worthy, plot--however--there are some holes in the story which in my mind lead to an unbelievable, not in the good way, hard to follow ending. I don't want to do a spoiler review, so I will not give away any details, but the problem is that the reader is never sure exactly how the main plot element which makes everything happen in the book--actually works and why or what is the point. It also led me to wonder what made Mandy so special to the point of being able to do things with said plot point in which others, who were exposed to the same plot point, could not accomplish.
I just kinda went with it throughout the book, but looking back at it as a whole, I find the whole thing just a bit...much. The ending seemed to wrap up way to neatly. I didn't like that at all. To me it was one of the most abrupt and unsatisfying endings I can remember reading in a long time.
Overall, while I was reading it at least, I did sorta enjoy it. But looking back--ehh.
View">http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4623501-kendell-watts">View all my reviews
" />Illusionhttp://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12408735-illusion">Illusion> by Frank">http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5544.Frank_Peretti">Frank Peretti
My rating: 3">http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/391349713">3 of 5 stars
I always do this. I do. I can't help it. I always get all jazzed up for a new Frank Peretti book only to end up with mixed emotions in the end.
Outside of his two DARKNESS books--which were both classics in their own right--every Peretti book I have read has had one thing in common. As bad as I hate to say it, its bad endings. Every one of his books seems to have some flaw or letdown at the end which leaves me disappointed in some way. I guess it is my own fault for getting up my hopes.
Illusion is no different. It has a solid, hollywood worthy, plot--however--there are some holes in the story which in my mind lead to an unbelievable, not in the good way, hard to follow ending. I don't want to do a spoiler review, so I will not give away any details, but the problem is that the reader is never sure exactly how the main plot element which makes everything happen in the book--actually works and why or what is the point. It also led me to wonder what made Mandy so special to the point of being able to do things with said plot point in which others, who were exposed to the same plot point, could not accomplish.
I just kinda went with it throughout the book, but looking back at it as a whole, I find the whole thing just a bit...much. The ending seemed to wrap up way to neatly. I didn't like that at all. To me it was one of the most abrupt and unsatisfying endings I can remember reading in a long time.
Overall, while I was reading it at least, I did sorta enjoy it. But looking back--ehh.
View">http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4623501-kendell-watts">View all my reviews
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
book review: The Detachment by Barry Eisler
My rating: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/391349960">4 of 5 stars
This was Eisler's best work of the last few books he has produced. It was good to see him get back to his roots with the inclusion of Rain and Dox. However, as with his last few attempts, there are several spots in the story where he goes way overboard with his leftist agenda trying to force feed his opinions to the reader. Two, out of the blue, references to George Bush are just an example. As far as characters go, I love the way he rounded out Larison as well as the usually antics of Dox--who really made the entire story go. Trevin was not so fortunate. He was painted as a sneak and, other than at the gym, seemed in over his head the whole time. Rain also was way too passive in this book. He was almost like a different completely character than his previous appearances. Overall this was a nice read, reminiscent of his earlier books. If Eisler would just tone down some of his cooky left-wing ridiculousness, it might have been a five star effort.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4623501-kendell-watts">View all my reviews
This was Eisler's best work of the last few books he has produced. It was good to see him get back to his roots with the inclusion of Rain and Dox. However, as with his last few attempts, there are several spots in the story where he goes way overboard with his leftist agenda trying to force feed his opinions to the reader. Two, out of the blue, references to George Bush are just an example. As far as characters go, I love the way he rounded out Larison as well as the usually antics of Dox--who really made the entire story go. Trevin was not so fortunate. He was painted as a sneak and, other than at the gym, seemed in over his head the whole time. Rain also was way too passive in this book. He was almost like a different completely character than his previous appearances. Overall this was a nice read, reminiscent of his earlier books. If Eisler would just tone down some of his cooky left-wing ridiculousness, it might have been a five star effort.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/4623501-kendell-watts">View all my reviews
Sunday, May 13, 2012
book review: Horns by Joe Hill
I can honestly say that I have not been quite so disappointed in a book in a very long time. I am a fan of Joe Hill. I love his writing. Heck, I even own my very own copy of Heart Shaped Box. I could not wait to get my hands on horns. It only took me to the first flashback to regret that feeling.
That is the main problem with the book. The story goes through one flashback after another. It is very hard for the reader to keep up with what is actually happening in the moment and what is a memory. Another sticking point, is that some of the flashbacks seem more like fillers than anything else. Most do absolutely nothing to further the story. Even the side characters have a flashback in the book, it is all time consuming, disjointed, and quite jarring to the pace of the book. More than once, I thought to myself, "Oh, just get on with it." That is never a good sign.
The other problem I have with the book is the main character himself. When Igg dicovers his power, he basically does nothing with it, other than talk to snakes - which, in the end do not help him at all- and scare away some teenagers. He hangs around in the woods all book long, for the most part, and gets his butt handed to him at least three times by the baddies. It just makes no sense. Another thing that makes no sense is the ending, the reader is left having no ideal what actually happened to Igg. Even when he finally does beat his arch-rival it is without any fanfare. The source and scope of his power changes too much in the story as well. Some characters who were effected in the beginning were not in the end. Some folks who saw the horns at one point seemed almost like they couldn't at other times. It is a little tough to explain without giving away the plot. But needless to say, by the end, the reader has no ideal what Igg can or can't do. That in itself pretty much ruins the whole book. I give it 2 stars - at best.
That is the main problem with the book. The story goes through one flashback after another. It is very hard for the reader to keep up with what is actually happening in the moment and what is a memory. Another sticking point, is that some of the flashbacks seem more like fillers than anything else. Most do absolutely nothing to further the story. Even the side characters have a flashback in the book, it is all time consuming, disjointed, and quite jarring to the pace of the book. More than once, I thought to myself, "Oh, just get on with it." That is never a good sign.
The other problem I have with the book is the main character himself. When Igg dicovers his power, he basically does nothing with it, other than talk to snakes - which, in the end do not help him at all- and scare away some teenagers. He hangs around in the woods all book long, for the most part, and gets his butt handed to him at least three times by the baddies. It just makes no sense. Another thing that makes no sense is the ending, the reader is left having no ideal what actually happened to Igg. Even when he finally does beat his arch-rival it is without any fanfare. The source and scope of his power changes too much in the story as well. Some characters who were effected in the beginning were not in the end. Some folks who saw the horns at one point seemed almost like they couldn't at other times. It is a little tough to explain without giving away the plot. But needless to say, by the end, the reader has no ideal what Igg can or can't do. That in itself pretty much ruins the whole book. I give it 2 stars - at best.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
book review: The Hunger Games
As you probably know by now. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a worldwide phenomenon. With the opening of the movie, this book has been introduced to the entire world, and boy has it ever taken off! To say it is the next Harry Potter or Twilight, I would guess, at this point, is a safe bet. However, seeing as I loathed both of those franchises, I was a more than little hesitant to get invloved in this one. Oh how I was wrong! I will prefacate this by saying I have only read the first book in the trilogy - and I have heard that the remaining two aren't nearly as strong.
The Hunger games, at its heart is a wonderfully painful story. It is about teenage love, unwavering loyalty and struggle, mixed with a bleak outlook for the future of mankind. Hollywood and their machine have turned this into an advertising blitzkrieg. None of that would be possible if it weren't for a great book to base it all on. That is exactly what The Hunger Games is...a great book. It is one of the best I have read in a long time. It is written on a YA level, so as not to be too sappy or wordy - which I love, and it was a fairly quick read, which left me thirsty for the next installment.
Overall, I say that Suzanne Collins deserves every bit of the praise that will be coming her way... She has authored one of the best YA books to come down the pike in years.
The Hunger games, at its heart is a wonderfully painful story. It is about teenage love, unwavering loyalty and struggle, mixed with a bleak outlook for the future of mankind. Hollywood and their machine have turned this into an advertising blitzkrieg. None of that would be possible if it weren't for a great book to base it all on. That is exactly what The Hunger Games is...a great book. It is one of the best I have read in a long time. It is written on a YA level, so as not to be too sappy or wordy - which I love, and it was a fairly quick read, which left me thirsty for the next installment.
Overall, I say that Suzanne Collins deserves every bit of the praise that will be coming her way... She has authored one of the best YA books to come down the pike in years.
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