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cavalary's reviews
277 reviews
Exit to Eden by Anne Rampling
3.0
I had to struggle to read through the first half of the book. May be well written and I'm sure people into BDSM would love it, but such things put me off.
The second half is completely different and I found myself lost in it. Not actually lost in the story, but in some of the ideas behind it, when they were outlined... And in my own story, when it was just about the two of them...
So there I was, ten pages from the end, wondering whether it's worth four stars for just half a book, when she ruins it...
Ok, she did point out the real reason for marriage, when it's not done for money or other such interests: A voluntary confinement because the two know their commitment is not strong enough to keep the relationship going in the long run. Also, there is a hint about trying to mix their relationship and The Club in the future, but that's not covered in the book, so for all I know the author doesn't think it possible.
So say things are wrong, but do them anyway. No thank you; goodbye.
The second half is completely different and I found myself lost in it. Not actually lost in the story, but in some of the ideas behind it, when they were outlined... And in my own story, when it was just about the two of them...
So there I was, ten pages from the end, wondering whether it's worth four stars for just half a book, when she ruins it...
Spoiler
MARRIAGE!? WHAT THE FUCK!?Ok, she did point out the real reason for marriage, when it's not done for money or other such interests: A voluntary confinement because the two know their commitment is not strong enough to keep the relationship going in the long run. Also, there is a hint about trying to mix their relationship and The Club in the future, but that's not covered in the book, so for all I know the author doesn't think it possible.
So say things are wrong, but do them anyway. No thank you; goodbye.
The Vampire Armand by Anne Rice
4.0
Same awesome style, but everything else is simply not the same. Armand is not Lestat.
And besides that, I never liked Armand, at all! From what I got from here, as a human he wasn't half bad, but as a vampire... Power corrupts, and so does the desire to survive, whatever the cost.
1. Armand saying that Lestat fixed his eyes on them when telling them about his journey through Heaven and Hell, when he only had one eye at the time.
2. Marius making two new vampires apparently in a single day. From her other books I gathered that a vampire cand make a powerful offspring only once per century, and Lestat's blunders were enough proof of that. Not to mention that Marius actually took two days to fully make Armand, Amadeo at the time, so it's not his style to make two in one day even if he could.
And besides that, I never liked Armand, at all! From what I got from here, as a human he wasn't half bad, but as a vampire... Power corrupts, and so does the desire to survive, whatever the cost.
Spoiler
Two things bothered me about the writing though:1. Armand saying that Lestat fixed his eyes on them when telling them about his journey through Heaven and Hell, when he only had one eye at the time.
2. Marius making two new vampires apparently in a single day. From her other books I gathered that a vampire cand make a powerful offspring only once per century, and Lestat's blunders were enough proof of that. Not to mention that Marius actually took two days to fully make Armand, Amadeo at the time, so it's not his style to make two in one day even if he could.
The Legend That Was Earth by James P. Hogan
4.0
This one starts way better than it continues. The "technical" bits are great; in a few pages he can visibly shake the foundation of most important modern theories. Of course, he doesn't have proof, or if he does it wouldn't have been right to put it in this book, but you can't possibly prove him wrong either. Problem is, after a little while he gets caught up in the story and forgets about those parts and you can't really have good action and good ideas and ideals shown at the same time.
The action is pretty good and there are a few good ideas in the end, but the main ones bother me. One is that life's purpose is just to live it and using it to better yourself or the world around you should just be a matter of personal choice. The other, that no plans should be made, science should only look at the facts and ignore anything that it has no proof of, possibly accepting spiritual views to explain those parts until they have some facts to go on, without making theories and trying to prove them right or wrong afterwards, people shouldn't try to find ideal societies and then strive to achieve them but just let things go their own way and see where they end up and so on. Well, I have some problems with that...
The action is pretty good and there are a few good ideas in the end, but the main ones bother me. One is that life's purpose is just to live it and using it to better yourself or the world around you should just be a matter of personal choice. The other, that no plans should be made, science should only look at the facts and ignore anything that it has no proof of, possibly accepting spiritual views to explain those parts until they have some facts to go on, without making theories and trying to prove them right or wrong afterwards, people shouldn't try to find ideal societies and then strive to achieve them but just let things go their own way and see where they end up and so on. Well, I have some problems with that...
The Black Tower by Richard A. Lupoff
4.0
The start of a very interesting writing experiment. Six books written by five different authors, the first and last written by the same author, with a sixth as supervisor and editor.
It passes through the "real" world of 1868 rather quickly and adds fantastic details to it even sooner, so you don't really have time to notice whether it's pictured realistically or not, but that's all good; it doesn't matter anyway.
Clive isn't the kind of character that I could like. A stuck-up 33 year old officer in the British army, position achieved more thanks to his father's influence and his brother's achievements than his own merit, quite uncertain about his view on life, thinks it's very important to please his father and is going into the unknown in search for his missing brother even though said brother bullied him since birth and his death would make Clive his father's heir. Still, he goes and ends up in another realm, a multi-layered world known as The Dungeon, filled with creatures kidnapped from a multitude of worlds and times.
The various shapes and sizes of the creatures make for an interesting array, but there are still way too many humans for it to seem likely.
That being said, the story is rather nicely done, for such an odd mix of creatures and places.
It passes through the "real" world of 1868 rather quickly and adds fantastic details to it even sooner, so you don't really have time to notice whether it's pictured realistically or not, but that's all good; it doesn't matter anyway.
Clive isn't the kind of character that I could like. A stuck-up 33 year old officer in the British army, position achieved more thanks to his father's influence and his brother's achievements than his own merit, quite uncertain about his view on life, thinks it's very important to please his father and is going into the unknown in search for his missing brother even though said brother bullied him since birth and his death would make Clive his father's heir. Still, he goes and ends up in another realm, a multi-layered world known as The Dungeon, filled with creatures kidnapped from a multitude of worlds and times.
The various shapes and sizes of the creatures make for an interesting array, but there are still way too many humans for it to seem likely.
That being said, the story is rather nicely done, for such an odd mix of creatures and places.
The Dark Abyss by Bruce Coville
4.0
The second part of this interesting experiment, written by a different author than the first.
The story continues very well and Annie does start to sound and think more like a human than in the first book.
This author fixes the impossible names from the first book, as in N'wrbb and 'Nrrc'kth, by creating characters with believable names, such as "an unpronounceable grumble", later referred to as Ka, or "a name that started with Mar and ended with a kind of fizzing sound made by lifting the upper lip and blowing through the front teeth", later referred to as Mar/fssh.
Better than the first, certainly, but there are still some problems. Still, great idea.
The story continues very well and Annie does start to sound and think more like a human than in the first book.
This author fixes the impossible names from the first book, as in N'wrbb and 'Nrrc'kth, by creating characters with believable names, such as "an unpronounceable grumble", later referred to as Ka, or "a name that started with Mar and ended with a kind of fizzing sound made by lifting the upper lip and blowing through the front teeth", later referred to as Mar/fssh.
Better than the first, certainly, but there are still some problems. Still, great idea.
Never Mind the Balkans, Here's Romania by Mike Ormsby
3.0
Having some curiosity about this ever since release, I jumped at the chance when I saw this edition given away for free and I'm not sorry I did. Of course, it's a collection of very realistic short stories and my main focus are high fantasy series, followed a long distance behind by a few other forms of literary escapism, so it's not anything I'd particularly like, as the rating shows, but that doesn't mean it didn't meet my expectations. At times, it even exceeded them.
As for the stories themselves, the vast majority certainly seem extremely real and paint a pretty accurate picture of "democratic" Romania. A few do seem to be akin to those pictures mentioned in "Buried", somewhat falsified, forced, in order to better present the desired concept, but the result justifies the approach and the overall image depicted still holds true. Things change, of course, and some did since the end of the period covered by the stories contained in the book, but in our case few of the changes are major, and even fewer for the better.
As for the stories themselves, the vast majority certainly seem extremely real and paint a pretty accurate picture of "democratic" Romania. A few do seem to be akin to those pictures mentioned in "Buried", somewhat falsified, forced, in order to better present the desired concept, but the result justifies the approach and the overall image depicted still holds true. Things change, of course, and some did since the end of the period covered by the stories contained in the book, but in our case few of the changes are major, and even fewer for the better.
A Girl's Tale by K.M. Shea
3.0
While for a while I was saying that reading this makes me think less poorly about my own writing, it seemed to improve somewhat in the later parts, though editing issues have been obvious throughout. It's a very light read, featuring action and scenes that don't quite stand up to scrutiny, the likely consequences often being brushed aside, but there seems to be little you can actively dislike and it can pull you in somewhat, particularly in the later parts.
It is interesting to see the fresh take on such a well-known story, and the author managed to avoid making a complete mockery of it. Because of what I said above about ignoring consequences and not standing up to scrutiny, I'd still consider it as something of a parody, but the reasons why it gets that third star have to do with some of the later portions and the fact that it can be taken as a somewhat bold, if rather amateurish, reshaping of a myth.
It is interesting to see the fresh take on such a well-known story, and the author managed to avoid making a complete mockery of it. Because of what I said above about ignoring consequences and not standing up to scrutiny, I'd still consider it as something of a parody, but the reasons why it gets that third star have to do with some of the later portions and the fact that it can be taken as a somewhat bold, if rather amateurish, reshaping of a myth.
Hawkwood and the Kings by Paul Kearney
4.0
It's a good idea to have these two lumped in a single book, seeing as individually they're short by high fantasy standards. Still, this reduced size is probably what makes the story somewhat fall apart at the seams at times, as the author is trying to cover too much action, and too much ground, in too few words, and some similar names and characters that are presented far too briefly certainly don't help.
On the other hand, this is more or less the only complaint I have, as otherwise pretty much all the right elements are there, presented coherently and in a way that makes sense. No complaints about the writing style either, and seeing certain scenes and actions that many others would perhaps focus too much on presented so matter-of-factly is, at this point, refreshing. In addition, at least so far, certain parallels that can be drawn between the story and "reality" seem to send a message that I can agree with. Whether I'll say the same after the next book as well remains to be seen.
On the other hand, this is more or less the only complaint I have, as otherwise pretty much all the right elements are there, presented coherently and in a way that makes sense. No complaints about the writing style either, and seeing certain scenes and actions that many others would perhaps focus too much on presented so matter-of-factly is, at this point, refreshing. In addition, at least so far, certain parallels that can be drawn between the story and "reality" seem to send a message that I can agree with. Whether I'll say the same after the next book as well remains to be seen.