Book Reviews
May. 17th, 2009 07:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
guppiecatI've slipped so far doing book reviews that I've decided that I'm just going to give up. I apparently would rather read books than review them.
The ones I've taken the time to do in-depth are over here. What follows are extremely brief reviews of what I've read in the last month or so:
Fall of Light - Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Read it yesterday. Loved it. Then again, I've never anything by her that I didn't love, so there you go. It's another novel about the Family, which is just great. However, if you've not read anything by her before, this is not the one to start with.
Anathem - Neal Stephenson
Big and tomey, so I had been avoiding it. I shouldn't have. The language is difficult at times, but you get a sense that there's a reason. About half-way in, I figured out the reason and though the plot fell into predictable patterns, it was still fun to put things together. If you read it, it is VERY worthwhile putting a sticky note at the start of the glossary in back.
Bestiary - Guillaume Apollinaire
Stupid teenage arrogant crap. Should be avoided by anyone with a brain. Pictures are pretty though.
Firebirds Rising and Firebirds Soaring - Sharyn November (ed)
Excellent series anthology. Myth as myth was... a collection of stories that both divert and teach (and form) young minds. As with anything Sharyn November touches, it has a sparkle to it. Excellent gifts for developing adults. Also excellent for reading in a "just one story before bedtime" sort of way, regardless of one's age.
The Japanese Fairy Book - Yei Theodora Ozaki
FINALLY, I know how the jellyfish lost his bones. That has been driving me nuts. Also, never trust a badger.
Smell of Earth and Clay: East Greenland Songs - Lawrence Millman
Eskimos are insane. . . and deeply depressed.
In the Valley of the Ancients - Lou Cuevas
Another collection of native stories. These ones haven't drifted too badly, but they have drifted. Also, the gods can be mean.
Apocrypha - Catherynne M. Valente
Poems that I can tell are written extremely well, but alas, many of which are beyond me. Many years hence, literature professors will make excellent careers for themselves studying Valente. Until then, I shall just buy her prose and read it. The poetry is a bit too much work.
And It Still Is That Way: Legends told by Arizona Indian Children - Byrd Baylor
FANTASTIC!!!! This guy had the kids on reservations tell the stories and he wrote them down verbatim. There's no Western stylism forced on these stories. Some are told collaboratively and the voice feels communal. Some are fiercely individualistic. All are wonderful.
To think, I could have gone my whole life not knowing why coyotes weren't blue, about the brave mouse, why it is oh so very bad to be a rabbit and why sleeping on rocks can curse you for life. Such knowledge from such a little book!
Best line: "We don't have gods. We have kachinas. Kachinas are better."
X-Factor: Maddrox: Multiple Choice - Peter David + art team
Yeah, it's a comic book. A comic book about super heroes. Yeah, I gave them up, but it's Peter David. He made Hulk interesting!
I was surprised. It's a comic book about super heroes that have to battle deep depression. The characters that I grew up reading have grown up a bit themselves. It wasn't as powerful as it could have been, but it IS Marvel after all.
The Mystery of Grace - Charles de Lint
He's trying to get away from writing Newford stories. He's not really succeeding, but I'm sure it's a process. It was enjoyable, but not as good as many of his others.
The Dark of the Woods - Datlow and Windling
It's a Datlow and Windling collection. It's good. Classic stories retold. I would have enjoyed it more if I hand't known the base stories so well.
Pretty Monsters - Kelly Link
Kelly Link is awesome and should be read by everyone. The thing that most pissed me off here is that half the book is reruns. If you've not read her first two collections, this likely will not bother you.
The ones I've taken the time to do in-depth are over here. What follows are extremely brief reviews of what I've read in the last month or so:
Fall of Light - Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Read it yesterday. Loved it. Then again, I've never anything by her that I didn't love, so there you go. It's another novel about the Family, which is just great. However, if you've not read anything by her before, this is not the one to start with.
Anathem - Neal Stephenson
Big and tomey, so I had been avoiding it. I shouldn't have. The language is difficult at times, but you get a sense that there's a reason. About half-way in, I figured out the reason and though the plot fell into predictable patterns, it was still fun to put things together. If you read it, it is VERY worthwhile putting a sticky note at the start of the glossary in back.
Bestiary - Guillaume Apollinaire
Stupid teenage arrogant crap. Should be avoided by anyone with a brain. Pictures are pretty though.
Firebirds Rising and Firebirds Soaring - Sharyn November (ed)
Excellent series anthology. Myth as myth was... a collection of stories that both divert and teach (and form) young minds. As with anything Sharyn November touches, it has a sparkle to it. Excellent gifts for developing adults. Also excellent for reading in a "just one story before bedtime" sort of way, regardless of one's age.
The Japanese Fairy Book - Yei Theodora Ozaki
FINALLY, I know how the jellyfish lost his bones. That has been driving me nuts. Also, never trust a badger.
Smell of Earth and Clay: East Greenland Songs - Lawrence Millman
Eskimos are insane. . . and deeply depressed.
In the Valley of the Ancients - Lou Cuevas
Another collection of native stories. These ones haven't drifted too badly, but they have drifted. Also, the gods can be mean.
Apocrypha - Catherynne M. Valente
Poems that I can tell are written extremely well, but alas, many of which are beyond me. Many years hence, literature professors will make excellent careers for themselves studying Valente. Until then, I shall just buy her prose and read it. The poetry is a bit too much work.
And It Still Is That Way: Legends told by Arizona Indian Children - Byrd Baylor
FANTASTIC!!!! This guy had the kids on reservations tell the stories and he wrote them down verbatim. There's no Western stylism forced on these stories. Some are told collaboratively and the voice feels communal. Some are fiercely individualistic. All are wonderful.
To think, I could have gone my whole life not knowing why coyotes weren't blue, about the brave mouse, why it is oh so very bad to be a rabbit and why sleeping on rocks can curse you for life. Such knowledge from such a little book!
Best line: "We don't have gods. We have kachinas. Kachinas are better."
X-Factor: Maddrox: Multiple Choice - Peter David + art team
Yeah, it's a comic book. A comic book about super heroes. Yeah, I gave them up, but it's Peter David. He made Hulk interesting!
I was surprised. It's a comic book about super heroes that have to battle deep depression. The characters that I grew up reading have grown up a bit themselves. It wasn't as powerful as it could have been, but it IS Marvel after all.
The Mystery of Grace - Charles de Lint
He's trying to get away from writing Newford stories. He's not really succeeding, but I'm sure it's a process. It was enjoyable, but not as good as many of his others.
The Dark of the Woods - Datlow and Windling
It's a Datlow and Windling collection. It's good. Classic stories retold. I would have enjoyed it more if I hand't known the base stories so well.
Pretty Monsters - Kelly Link
Kelly Link is awesome and should be read by everyone. The thing that most pissed me off here is that half the book is reruns. If you've not read her first two collections, this likely will not bother you.
