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hellhoundharry's reviews
290 reviews
The Book of Three, 50th Anniversary Edition: The Chronicles of Prydain, Book 1 by Lloyd Alexander
4.0
I am a bit on the fence about this book.
At first, I think it suffers from being "the first book" in a series. Which means we spend a lot of pages getting introduced to chacaters and the world. I assume the other books in the series doesn't suffer from this.
Other comments here on goodreads have hated this book for being too cliché or even a "lesser version of the Lord of the Rings". And to an extent I agree on that, the story is a bit cliché. However, I don't really see any resemblance to the Lord of the Rings? Where in Lord of the Rings is there a prophetic pig?
Still, I will defend this story. First of all, Lloyd has mentioned that he drew a lot of inspiration from legends of king Arthur and the Mabinogion, which one can tell. If you first read the Mabinogion, la Morte d'Arthur (or if that is too long, King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table will do just fine), George MacDonalds books like The Princess and the Frog, you will probably notice some similarities in the way Lloyd uses description and characterization. So I wouldn't describe this style as "Shallow", it's just different from, say, Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.
If you want an easy-to-pick-up fantasy tale about a farm boy who chases an escaped oracular pig and ends up in a plot to destroy the Good King (and our Farmboy has a lot of help from Sassy Princess, Eccentric King in Disguise, Wolf-Human Creature, Pissed-off Dwarf and Beautiful Prince),then I recommend you pick this up!
Not everything has to be Grimdark. :) And I love to read a cute fantasy story every once in a while!
At first, I think it suffers from being "the first book" in a series. Which means we spend a lot of pages getting introduced to chacaters and the world. I assume the other books in the series doesn't suffer from this.
Other comments here on goodreads have hated this book for being too cliché or even a "lesser version of the Lord of the Rings". And to an extent I agree on that, the story is a bit cliché. However, I don't really see any resemblance to the Lord of the Rings? Where in Lord of the Rings is there a prophetic pig?
Still, I will defend this story. First of all, Lloyd has mentioned that he drew a lot of inspiration from legends of king Arthur and the Mabinogion, which one can tell. If you first read the Mabinogion, la Morte d'Arthur (or if that is too long, King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table will do just fine), George MacDonalds books like The Princess and the Frog, you will probably notice some similarities in the way Lloyd uses description and characterization. So I wouldn't describe this style as "Shallow", it's just different from, say, Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter.
If you want an easy-to-pick-up fantasy tale about a farm boy who chases an escaped oracular pig and ends up in a plot to destroy the Good King (and our Farmboy has a lot of help from Sassy Princess, Eccentric King in Disguise, Wolf-Human Creature, Pissed-off Dwarf and Beautiful Prince),then I recommend you pick this up!
Not everything has to be Grimdark. :) And I love to read a cute fantasy story every once in a while!
Strömsöborna by Rosanna Fellman
4.0
Har inte tidigare varit så pigg på att läsa poesiböcker. Antagligen för att det är lättare att hitta dikter på nätet, på olika bloggar och dylikt. Väldigt få av de dikter man hittar där är faktiskt värda att läsa. Det är som att vada i en sjö av arga dikter, naturligtvis i frivers. Om så vaga ämnen att jag måste ha haft sex med poeten för att förstå allt svammel.
Så jag har hållit mig lite på avstånd från att läsa poesi. Men så kom jag över Strömsöborna nu och tänkte att jag kan ge den en chans.
Och jag gillade den verkligen! Rosanna målar upp en rad karaktärer som har sidor hos sig och tendenser som jag mycket väl kan känna igen både från mitt eget liv och från andras. Vi får ta del i flera historier, vi får möta flera karaktärer och lära oss om deras liv.
Detta gjorde att diktverket var väldigt lätt att ta till sig, och för det kan jag bara ge rosor!
Kanske jag borde läsa mera poesi, trots allt? Jag rekommenderar den till de som är nyfikna på poesi, men inte riktigt vet var de ska börja.
Så jag har hållit mig lite på avstånd från att läsa poesi. Men så kom jag över Strömsöborna nu och tänkte att jag kan ge den en chans.
Och jag gillade den verkligen! Rosanna målar upp en rad karaktärer som har sidor hos sig och tendenser som jag mycket väl kan känna igen både från mitt eget liv och från andras. Vi får ta del i flera historier, vi får möta flera karaktärer och lära oss om deras liv.
Detta gjorde att diktverket var väldigt lätt att ta till sig, och för det kan jag bara ge rosor!
Kanske jag borde läsa mera poesi, trots allt? Jag rekommenderar den till de som är nyfikna på poesi, men inte riktigt vet var de ska börja.
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean
2.0
I ran into this book while searching for a good book on chemistry, something for the layman who is a little bit interested in the subject.
I was recommended this book and.... I was unfortunately a bit disappointed.
While this book contains a lot of information on chemicals and the periodic table, it also contains a lot of rambling. I am a guy who wants the author to get to the point, especially when I am reading non-fiction.
Sams chapters usually starts with him telling a story. And then we get a little bit of information on the chemicals, it's uses, electrons and whatnot. And then we get yet another story which connects to the subject. The problem with this way of writing is I want to shake Sam and ask "Where are you going with this?" And by the time he finally gets to the point, I have forgotten what the hell the chapter was supposed to be about.
It's an easy read, I'll give it that. But I expected something a little bit more academic.
I was recommended this book and.... I was unfortunately a bit disappointed.
While this book contains a lot of information on chemicals and the periodic table, it also contains a lot of rambling. I am a guy who wants the author to get to the point, especially when I am reading non-fiction.
Sams chapters usually starts with him telling a story. And then we get a little bit of information on the chemicals, it's uses, electrons and whatnot. And then we get yet another story which connects to the subject. The problem with this way of writing is I want to shake Sam and ask "Where are you going with this?" And by the time he finally gets to the point, I have forgotten what the hell the chapter was supposed to be about.
It's an easy read, I'll give it that. But I expected something a little bit more academic.
Den snillrike riddaren Don Quijote av La Mancha by Gustave Doré, Jens Nordenhök, Miguel de Cervantes
3.0
Napoleon by Felix Markham
2.0
Well, it was interesting enough, but I feel I need to know more about the time and the world in which Napoleon got his stripes before I can really appreciate this book.
We'll Always Have Paris by Ray Bradbury
3.0
Not old Man Bradburys best work, but there were several gems in here!