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g_r_frank's reviews
45 reviews
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
2.0
Read it just because it is such a well know sci-fi book... I found it kinda like reading a semi-interesting history book that was about this person and then that person. I mean... I even like history books but since there is really just a new set of characters ever so many chapters as the decades roll by it is hard to really care about them. As far as the ideas presented... the changing of history and the things that influence it, that was kinda interesting, but it felt like a chore to read. Not my cup of tea. I don't expect to read any more of the series.
On Writing and Worldbuilding, Volume I by Timothy Hickson
3.0
I think this is a good reference for beginning writers/authors to get their feet wet on basics of world building and story construction. It has simple short chapters with overviews and examples, but be aware that the examples are also very specific to many movies, books and pop culture stories with which you may or may not be familiar. For instance there is a LOT, maybe an excessive amount, of "examples" that use "The Last Air Bender". That is fine for someone familiar with the story but a bit less impactful for those not familiar with it. There is also a lot more focus on the Fantasy genre', than any other. Several chapters deal with magic systems and how to develop ideas ... which I just skipped because that is not really my interest, but I suppose they would be good for others. All that said, it does have some good basic structure and ideas for new writers to get started with and could be useful, although there might be better books, this is short and easy read (as long as you know the examples he uses - harry potter, air bender and other more recent stories- with a few more classical stories it can be insightful for new authors). One last concerning comment, this is the author's first published book. Congratulations on that... but, seems like a book giving advice on story writing and development should have a published fiction novel before advising how... so... there is that.
The Atlantis Gene by A.G. Riddle
5.0
The way this book knitted a lot of science, history and intrigue together made it very enjoyable. Be prepared to write down characters on your bookmark as you encounter them. There are a lot and it helped me to remind myself who was who. But I loved the complexity of the story. I have read all three of this series and enjoyed them all for different reasons. They all may not be everyone's thing... this one is very fascinating for the intrigue action, the historical, mythological and scientific elements he tied together.
The Atlantis World by A.G. Riddle
4.0
I read the previous two books of this series and it was interesting to hear how it all wrapped up. I have to admit it did keep me reading and was not a "chore" but It was a lot different from the previous two books. It did feel like it was kind of an information dump using the "memories" from the data storage to allow the characters to live out the pre-history back story of the novels... It was an interesting way to do it but in the end I kinda wondered if I needed to know all that backstory. I wonder if the series would not have been a bit better if some of it was left to imagination. But in the end I did enjoy the whole series. Just expect this to be a different read from the first two books. (The author even mentions this in the author's note at the end.. so I guess he realized it too. Maybe it was a bit of an experiment. One unusual thing about the author's style that I first thought was odd, but eventually came to appreciate, was the very very short Chapter breaks. Some were incredibly short!. It was strange to have so many but it was kinda nice to have sort sections so I could take a break at a natural stop points when I had only short time periods to read.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
5.0
I read Project Hail Mary faster than anything else I’ve read in quite a while. Weir’s storytelling just drew me in and I could not put it down! I’ve read both of his previous works (The Martian and Artemus) and I would rank this up with the level of The Martian in regard to a fun and engaging read! Artemus was interesting, but I would say this is the better of Weir's two books after The Martian.
The storytelling method Weir uses to revel the current story, and the connected backstory, is very clever. He reveals things “just in time” by alternating back and forth to the main character’s recall of his forgotten past. This keeps the backstory hints closely connected to current story solutions. The “ah-ha” connections this creates for the reader are very satisfying. I found myself constantly assuming things about the character’s past which the character himself was assuming, to only later learn of a twist or new revelation about his assumptions. This made the story a fun walk along side the main character which felt very much like I was living it out with him in real-time. Project Hail Mary has a similar “problem/try again/find a solution” feel to The Martian. I really loved that about his first novel and loved it here too.
All the characters are terrific. I love the humor in some of the two main character’s interactions as they get more established and get to know each other better. The main alien character is wonderful! He’s definitely very non-human in appearance and thought patterns - very strange at first - but I started getting a feel and love for his character as the story progressed. I think readers will easily learn to understand his personality and reactions quickly and even empathize with him in spit of his very in-human appearance.
The action and pacing is great. There are more than a few times when I thought, “good, they’ve solved that problem” when another seemingly insurmountable problem comes up. In this way it is very much like the beats of The Martian. The fun is in seeing how the problems are resolved.
There are a few minor things here and there that I felt it were a little too TELLING - characters explaining things that maybe they would not really do in real life - but these are minor and few and far between.
There’s one thing (I won't give any spoilers here) that I did feel were kinda... unresolved... or maybe I just missed it, but the tying up of promises/problems and answers/solutions is handled very well. The one thing I still wonder about is maybe not really in need of an answer.
Overall, I loved this book and think Andy Weir has hit a home run again. I'm not sure if this would translate as well into a movie like The Martian did, but it made for an excellent novel and a very fun read!
The storytelling method Weir uses to revel the current story, and the connected backstory, is very clever. He reveals things “just in time” by alternating back and forth to the main character’s recall of his forgotten past. This keeps the backstory hints closely connected to current story solutions. The “ah-ha” connections this creates for the reader are very satisfying. I found myself constantly assuming things about the character’s past which the character himself was assuming, to only later learn of a twist or new revelation about his assumptions. This made the story a fun walk along side the main character which felt very much like I was living it out with him in real-time. Project Hail Mary has a similar “problem/try again/find a solution” feel to The Martian. I really loved that about his first novel and loved it here too.
All the characters are terrific. I love the humor in some of the two main character’s interactions as they get more established and get to know each other better. The main alien character is wonderful! He’s definitely very non-human in appearance and thought patterns - very strange at first - but I started getting a feel and love for his character as the story progressed. I think readers will easily learn to understand his personality and reactions quickly and even empathize with him in spit of his very in-human appearance.
The action and pacing is great. There are more than a few times when I thought, “good, they’ve solved that problem” when another seemingly insurmountable problem comes up. In this way it is very much like the beats of The Martian. The fun is in seeing how the problems are resolved.
There are a few minor things here and there that I felt it were a little too TELLING - characters explaining things that maybe they would not really do in real life - but these are minor and few and far between.
There’s one thing (I won't give any spoilers here) that I did feel were kinda... unresolved... or maybe I just missed it, but the tying up of promises/problems and answers/solutions is handled very well. The one thing I still wonder about is maybe not really in need of an answer.
Overall, I loved this book and think Andy Weir has hit a home run again. I'm not sure if this would translate as well into a movie like The Martian did, but it made for an excellent novel and a very fun read!
Contact by Carl Sagan
4.0
I remembered enjoying the movie that was a made from this novel so I wanted to read Sagan's original story. It has been many years since I saw the movie but I do know they cut down the story, the number of characters, and a few other things for the screenplay as is usual. I think the simplifying for the movie might have actually helped the story a bit. The novel did seem to have a lot of places where Sagan just wanted to monologue like he was doing his Cosmos show, so much that you started to wonder if this was a narrator or the main character thinking. Since this was written in the 70s it also assumed the Soviet Union would still be around in the years 2000, rich humans were living in fancy orbital luxury stations and a few other things that never came to be before Sagan died. Those "unintended alternate universe" elements are kinda interesting from the standpoint of seeing into what Sagan thought the future might hold. On the whole it was an interesting novel and worth the read but it felt like it was front loaded with a lot of things that could have been edited out and streamlined like the movie was.
Expiation by Drew Wagar
5.0
This is an amazing, emotion-packed, and satisfying conclusion to the Shadeward series. Incredible settings and challenges face all the characters that have been introduced in the first three books. The dangers and peril of their concluding journeys was felt deeply as I read the final challenges of this strange world. After all the main and side characters have been through, the tension was high. This concluding book has excellent writing, excellent characters and in the end you feel the emotions of the characters like you have known them all your life. All the plot lines are wrapped up with satisfaction, if not with a hint of sorrow and nostalgia.
If you have not read this series I urge you to give it a try. Whether you love fantasy or sci-fi... or just love a good character adventure, this has something wonderful for everyone. I love sci-fi and enjoy fantasy adventure but even my wife who is not so big on sci-fi loved these books for the characters and story.
If you have not read this series I urge you to give it a try. Whether you love fantasy or sci-fi... or just love a good character adventure, this has something wonderful for everyone. I love sci-fi and enjoy fantasy adventure but even my wife who is not so big on sci-fi loved these books for the characters and story.
Fifty Degrees South: The battle at the end of the world novella by M. M. Holt
3.0
I picked up this book because it sounded like a fascinating premise - the age of sail technology encountering extraterrestrial creatures and ships. I have to say I loved the overall adventure and the detail and obvious research the author must have put into what it would be like to be on a sailing ship. However there were a lot of distracting typos, editing issues and toward the end I think the plot kinda made some strange leaps and assumptions.
I know this is kind of a "prequel" and short introduction to his other books, and maybe I should have read the others first. Maybe that would have helped me understand the ending and accept it better so my impressions might not be what other readers who previously read other books in this series will get out of this.
Overall it was a fun read but beware that this seemed like it could have had a little more editing and review before release, and it probably would help to have been familiar with the other books in the series first.
I know this is kind of a "prequel" and short introduction to his other books, and maybe I should have read the others first. Maybe that would have helped me understand the ending and accept it better so my impressions might not be what other readers who previously read other books in this series will get out of this.
Overall it was a fun read but beware that this seemed like it could have had a little more editing and review before release, and it probably would help to have been familiar with the other books in the series first.
Enervation by Drew Wagar
5.0
Book three of the four book series SHAEWARD... Events ramp up into a very action filled and dramatic pitch in this volume. The three main characters and the associated others around them get caught up in a war that could lead to the destruction of all. This, being the next to the last of the four book series leaves you with a bit of cliff hanger, but if you are not hooked yet... Hey, at least book four is out now and you can continue on to the end!
Excellent actions, descriptions, world-building and characters!
Excellent actions, descriptions, world-building and characters!
Arklight Recondite by G.B. Holley
5.0
This second novel in the series turns the corner from focusing on the human-side mystery of the first book, to the characters learning about two alien species, ancient Earth history interactions with the aliens, and information about the nature of the universe. The action in the book ramps-up to take on a global alien-invasion feel, but still tells the story from the perspective of the prime characters of the first book. The unveiling of many mysteries and the characters in the book are very compelling. I found myself continuously drawn to read on. The deaths of some characters also gave me a strong emotional tug, which meant they were very real to me as a reader and I felt genuine sorrow at their loss. This was very well handled in my opinion, not just done for shock value.
There were a few chapters in the middle of the book that seemed to slow the pace down a bit, and may have felt a little bit too information heavy in a "tell" vs "show" sort of way, but I guess it helped the pacing of the story to not get too action heavy. There were also a number of places in the story where I felt characters were traveling back and forth between two locations over and over, to the point that it got a little confusing. There were multiple boats, locations and maybe a few too many characters at times which were a little hard to track in my mind. A few characters had similar sounding names which was also a little confusing. I suggest writing down a few notes here and there on your bookmark while reading, to keep track of them.
Despite those few minor criticisms, I was very happy with the story. It was compelling me to keep reading as the adventure intensified and got more and more interesting the further I read. I'm ready to jump right into book three!
There were a few chapters in the middle of the book that seemed to slow the pace down a bit, and may have felt a little bit too information heavy in a "tell" vs "show" sort of way, but I guess it helped the pacing of the story to not get too action heavy. There were also a number of places in the story where I felt characters were traveling back and forth between two locations over and over, to the point that it got a little confusing. There were multiple boats, locations and maybe a few too many characters at times which were a little hard to track in my mind. A few characters had similar sounding names which was also a little confusing. I suggest writing down a few notes here and there on your bookmark while reading, to keep track of them.
Despite those few minor criticisms, I was very happy with the story. It was compelling me to keep reading as the adventure intensified and got more and more interesting the further I read. I'm ready to jump right into book three!