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ianbanks's reviews
955 reviews
The Dolphins of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
3.0
It's a rewrite of Dragonsong but with dolphins! This book marks, for me, the point where Ms McCaffrey was starting to run out of good stories and began to rely solely on her writing skill to put books together. Not much happens here except for Pern to gain another animal to have warm fuzzies over: McCaffrey makes a good effort to show consequences for the events of previous books (Aramina, I'm looking at you!) but it feels weak compared to the earlier books.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4.0
Thoroughly enjoyed the first two-thirds of this: I felt like it would be up there with similar books like The Long Walk and The Running Man (both by Stephen King) and I was getting a similar vibe to Ursula leGuin's short story The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas but I felt a little manipulated by the last third with all the rule-changing and plotting by the Game-makers. The symbolism of the Roman names could have been carried a lot further, I feel, without harming the story or the worldbuilding.
It redeemed itself quite a lot once the games were over with Ms Collins sowing the seeds of rebellion for future volumes.
It redeemed itself quite a lot once the games were over with Ms Collins sowing the seeds of rebellion for future volumes.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
4.0
I didn't enjoy this as much as the first but it moves at such speed I couldn't help but finish it in two sittings.
Good things: the pace is electric, the story leaps off the page and stuff just doesn't stop happening... and that cliffhanger...
Bad things: I didn't feel like I got to know any more about Katniss or Peeta or any other recurring characters. The new characters didn't feel especially special or striking to me, especially Finnick, whom we are meant to feel conflicted about. Also, the "science-fiction" part of the story didn't feel particularly effective to me: we know that our current governments have the ability to zero in on conversations through the use of trigger words in conversations so I found it a little difficult to believe that the plans of the resistance could be so easily fulfilled. Please feel free to convince me otherwise, though. In addition to this, what is the population of Panem: we are told there were only 8 000 people in District 12. How does a population of that size supply coal for the other 11 districts and the Capitol? Just how many people live in the Capitol? These are questions that the continuity freak in me is wanting answered.
But frankly, these are questions you only ask when you think about it later. Frankly, I just enjoyed the ride too much for it to bother me while I was reading.
Good things: the pace is electric, the story leaps off the page and stuff just doesn't stop happening... and that cliffhanger...
Bad things: I didn't feel like I got to know any more about Katniss or Peeta or any other recurring characters. The new characters didn't feel especially special or striking to me, especially Finnick, whom we are meant to feel conflicted about. Also, the "science-fiction" part of the story didn't feel particularly effective to me: we know that our current governments have the ability to zero in on conversations through the use of trigger words in conversations so I found it a little difficult to believe that the plans of the resistance could be so easily fulfilled. Please feel free to convince me otherwise, though. In addition to this, what is the population of Panem: we are told there were only 8 000 people in District 12. How does a population of that size supply coal for the other 11 districts and the Capitol? Just how many people live in the Capitol? These are questions that the continuity freak in me is wanting answered.
But frankly, these are questions you only ask when you think about it later. Frankly, I just enjoyed the ride too much for it to bother me while I was reading.
The Masterharper of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
3.0
Anne McCaffrey's Pern novels are either epic or domestic. The original trilogy (Dragonflight, Dragonquest and The White Dragon) are epics. The Harperhall novels are domestic. This one is a mix of the two. It starts out domestic with the retelling of Robinton's life and becomes epic when Ms McCaffrey starts rewriting what we know about Pern's history to ensure that Robinton plays a larger part in it to become even more awesome than he already is. Which really - in my not terribly humble opinion - only serves to make the series a little cosier and smaller in my eyes because it seems that just a handful of people are running Pern and contributing to its history and what gets done rather than what really happens with a continent and the various cultures that live on it. But it's Pern, which I would rather visit than just about any other place in fiction, and, thankfully, it's always readable for which I can forgive a multitude of sins.
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
4.0
I had the same problem with this that I had with James Cameron's Avatar and Titanic: terrific films but only when people stopped talking and started doing stuff.
This final volume starts out very slowly. There is lots of exposition. Lots. I can't help but think that Ms Collins could've found another way to get across that District 13 is more repressive than what Katniss is used to. But then you get to the plot and all is forgiven...
The Good: The action. The wringer that Collins puts Katniss through. The harsh consequences dealt out to supporting/ incidental characters because they are involved in a war. The idea that Katniss is a not a very nice person but is still a sympathetic character. The clues, becoming increasingly less subtle, that President Coin's administration will not be any better than President Snow's. The writing when Collins is on song and working at the top of her game.
The Bad: why is there so much exposition? It really does arrest the action and the plot and frustrates the reader. And how the hell does Katniss do what she does in the second last chapter and get away with it? Really. And how come we still haven't heard from the outside world, or is Panem all there is?
But, aside from my ranting, I really did enjoy this once it got started. I would definitely be interested in reading more from Ms Collins. But probably something in a different setting.
This final volume starts out very slowly. There is lots of exposition. Lots. I can't help but think that Ms Collins could've found another way to get across that District 13 is more repressive than what Katniss is used to. But then you get to the plot and all is forgiven...
The Good: The action. The wringer that Collins puts Katniss through. The harsh consequences dealt out to supporting/ incidental characters because they are involved in a war. The idea that Katniss is a not a very nice person but is still a sympathetic character. The clues, becoming increasingly less subtle, that President Coin's administration will not be any better than President Snow's. The writing when Collins is on song and working at the top of her game.
The Bad: why is there so much exposition? It really does arrest the action and the plot and frustrates the reader. And how the hell does Katniss do what she does in the second last chapter and get away with it? Really. And how come we still haven't heard from the outside world, or is Panem all there is?
But, aside from my ranting, I really did enjoy this once it got started. I would definitely be interested in reading more from Ms Collins. But probably something in a different setting.
Enter Wildthyme by Paul Magrs
3.0
I've read a couple of Paul Magrs books before and was really looking forward to this one. Coupled with the fact that it's about a character he created for the Doctor Who range of novels in the 90s and is partly set in a bookstore I thought this would be right up my alley.
The Good: There is a wildly convoluted plot that only occasionally seems to get out of control. There a whole bunch of characters whom you might not like but are able to get a handle on at the very least. There are a wide variety of settings and ideas that keep the story sparking. It's well-written for the most part, feeling more than a little like Douglas Adams.
The Bad: After a while you get a little exhausted by the vast range of settings and characters that are thrown at you. I love a book in which nothing happens without a reason but Magrs throws so much at you that it can be difficult to keep up. THIS IS NOT A BAD THING, THOUGH! I just felt that here it got a little unwieldy. I also felt that some parts of the book were much better than others. Not an unnatural reaction, you say. Of course not, but it follows that there are some parts of the book that are worse than others. And - in this reviewers opinion - there were more than seemed usual in a book: the scenes in 1890s France, for example, just seemed a little superfluous as did the scenes at the Vincent Cosmo concert in 1973. Actually, they felt more rushed than anything: this is that rare book that perhaps could have dealt well with being a bit longer or split into two...
... which leads to my last grouse. This book ends with a very clear ending, but the story is in no way complete: villains are still at large, quests are unfinished, questions unanswered... this doesn't bother me except for the fact that at no point in the blurb, cover, title page is it made clear that this is Volume 1 in an ongoing series... which really does bother me because it changes my expectations of what I was getting out of this book. I may very well read future volumes of this, but I was more than a little miffed to discover that I'm not getting the end of this story. However, Mr Magrs is not the only author guilty of this so my overall rating and review are not affected.
The Good: There is a wildly convoluted plot that only occasionally seems to get out of control. There a whole bunch of characters whom you might not like but are able to get a handle on at the very least. There are a wide variety of settings and ideas that keep the story sparking. It's well-written for the most part, feeling more than a little like Douglas Adams.
The Bad: After a while you get a little exhausted by the vast range of settings and characters that are thrown at you. I love a book in which nothing happens without a reason but Magrs throws so much at you that it can be difficult to keep up. THIS IS NOT A BAD THING, THOUGH! I just felt that here it got a little unwieldy. I also felt that some parts of the book were much better than others. Not an unnatural reaction, you say. Of course not, but it follows that there are some parts of the book that are worse than others. And - in this reviewers opinion - there were more than seemed usual in a book: the scenes in 1890s France, for example, just seemed a little superfluous as did the scenes at the Vincent Cosmo concert in 1973. Actually, they felt more rushed than anything: this is that rare book that perhaps could have dealt well with being a bit longer or split into two...
... which leads to my last grouse. This book ends with a very clear ending, but the story is in no way complete: villains are still at large, quests are unfinished, questions unanswered... this doesn't bother me except for the fact that at no point in the blurb, cover, title page is it made clear that this is Volume 1 in an ongoing series... which really does bother me because it changes my expectations of what I was getting out of this book. I may very well read future volumes of this, but I was more than a little miffed to discover that I'm not getting the end of this story. However, Mr Magrs is not the only author guilty of this so my overall rating and review are not affected.
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
3.0
Filled with great wit and insight - it is Dickens - but a quite disappointing conclusion to a story that started brilliantly. I could have finished quite happily with "Poverty." A pity because I have surprised myself in the past by how much I have liked Dickens's writing.
Doctor Who: Human Nature by Paul Cornell
3.0
I've never been a huge fan of The New Adventures. Most seemed like a really good idea shoe-horned into the Doctor Who universe or The Doctor shoe-horned into a really good idea. Nonetheless, I am aware of how these books have influenced the rebooted series and how they changed the face of fandom as we know it now. And more than a couple of them were fantastic.
This one, as you probably know, was adapted by the author into a two-part story in the new show's third season. Quite a bit was changed but the essential story remained the same. It's a great idea and a cracking yarn with a lot to say about "important issues" and it does a good job of getting its setting and milieu right. My problems with it are that it does get bogged down with "issues" and it doesn't - and this is a purely personal thing, so feel free to disagree - quite get the Doctor right, either, although - as this is a situation the Doctor has never been in before - I could well be wrong.
When Cornell concentrates on the story, though, it is a great read.
This one, as you probably know, was adapted by the author into a two-part story in the new show's third season. Quite a bit was changed but the essential story remained the same. It's a great idea and a cracking yarn with a lot to say about "important issues" and it does a good job of getting its setting and milieu right. My problems with it are that it does get bogged down with "issues" and it doesn't - and this is a purely personal thing, so feel free to disagree - quite get the Doctor right, either, although - as this is a situation the Doctor has never been in before - I could well be wrong.
When Cornell concentrates on the story, though, it is a great read.