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1149 reviews
Blackwater La riada by Michael McDowell
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Español -- English
Bilingual Review, scroll down for English
Reseña en Español
Ufff, Tengo sentimientos super complicados con este libro.
Cuantas estrellas darle a La Riada? 3? 3.5? 4?
No estaba muy segura que género era cuando la compré, y después me entero que es terror/fantasía y de un autor muy bien conocido-su magnum opus. Así que esperaba... más.
Por un lado los personajes me gustaron, aunque no sé si diría que son de lo mejor. Son todos igual de chismosos y molestos, y me parece que no todo el mundo es siempre así, incluso en un pueblo pequeño. Por otro lado, no se sentían demasiado... formados. Eran puro chisme y nada más.
La historia: interesante, muy buena ambientación. Quiero seguir leyendo? Si. Voy a seguir leyendo? No sé. Creo que le daré una oportunidad al segundo libro y veremos que pasa.
Y es que aunque la ambientación estaba muy bien hecha y las partes de misterio también, me sabe a poco el libro. Siento como si hubiesen agarrado un libro de 700 páginas, le hubiesen cortado los primeros 3 capítulos, le agregaran palabras en el medio, y dijesen: he aquí, el libro 1 de la serie.
El final: Cliffhanger. Es más, diría que ni eso. No termina. Termina el capítulo más como un serial que otra cosa.
El principio y el final están buenos, pero en el medio hay mucho de nada. Podría haber sido la mitad de corto de lo que era.
No sé, siento como que no compré un libro, si no un par de capítulos, y a mi no me gustan los serials.
Personajes: 2/5
Historia: 4/5
El libro? 3/5
English Review
Ooff, I have super complicated feelings about this book.
How many stars should I give it? 3? 3.5? 4?
I wasn't quite sure what genre it was when I bought it, and then I found out it's horror/fantasy and by a very well-known author - his magnum opus. So I expected... more.
On one hand, I liked the characters, although I wouldn't say they're the best. They're all equally gossipy and annoying, and I don't think everyone is always like that, even in a small town. On the other hand, they didn't feel too... developed. They were pure gossip and nothing else.
The story: interesting, good, spooky atmosphere. Do I want to keep reading? Yes. Will I keep reading? I don't know. I think I'll give the second book a chance and we'll see what happens.
Because although the atmosphere was very well done and the mystery parts too, the book feels lacking to me. I feel as if they had taken a 700 page book, cut off the first 3 chapters, added words in the middle, and said: here you go, book 1 of the series.
The ending: Cliffhanger. Actually, not even that. It doesn't end. The chapter ends more like a serial than anything else.
The beginning and end are good, but in the middle there's a lot of nothing. It could have been half the length it was.
I don't know, I feel like I didn't buy a book, but rather a couple of chapters, and I don't like serials.
Characters: 2/5
Story: 4/5
The Book? 3/5
Bilingual Review, scroll down for English
Reseña en Español
Ufff, Tengo sentimientos super complicados con este libro.
Cuantas estrellas darle a La Riada? 3? 3.5? 4?
No estaba muy segura que género era cuando la compré, y después me entero que es terror/fantasía y de un autor muy bien conocido-su magnum opus. Así que esperaba... más.
Por un lado los personajes me gustaron, aunque no sé si diría que son de lo mejor. Son todos igual de chismosos y molestos, y me parece que no todo el mundo es siempre así, incluso en un pueblo pequeño. Por otro lado, no se sentían demasiado... formados. Eran puro chisme y nada más.
La historia: interesante, muy buena ambientación. Quiero seguir leyendo? Si. Voy a seguir leyendo? No sé. Creo que le daré una oportunidad al segundo libro y veremos que pasa.
Y es que aunque la ambientación estaba muy bien hecha y las partes de misterio también, me sabe a poco el libro. Siento como si hubiesen agarrado un libro de 700 páginas, le hubiesen cortado los primeros 3 capítulos, le agregaran palabras en el medio, y dijesen: he aquí, el libro 1 de la serie.
El final: Cliffhanger. Es más, diría que ni eso. No termina. Termina el capítulo más como un serial que otra cosa.
El principio y el final están buenos, pero en el medio hay mucho de nada. Podría haber sido la mitad de corto de lo que era.
No sé, siento como que no compré un libro, si no un par de capítulos, y a mi no me gustan los serials.
Personajes: 2/5
Historia: 4/5
El libro? 3/5
English Review
Ooff, I have super complicated feelings about this book.
How many stars should I give it? 3? 3.5? 4?
I wasn't quite sure what genre it was when I bought it, and then I found out it's horror/fantasy and by a very well-known author - his magnum opus. So I expected... more.
On one hand, I liked the characters, although I wouldn't say they're the best. They're all equally gossipy and annoying, and I don't think everyone is always like that, even in a small town. On the other hand, they didn't feel too... developed. They were pure gossip and nothing else.
The story: interesting, good, spooky atmosphere. Do I want to keep reading? Yes. Will I keep reading? I don't know. I think I'll give the second book a chance and we'll see what happens.
Because although the atmosphere was very well done and the mystery parts too, the book feels lacking to me. I feel as if they had taken a 700 page book, cut off the first 3 chapters, added words in the middle, and said: here you go, book 1 of the series.
The ending: Cliffhanger. Actually, not even that. It doesn't end. The chapter ends more like a serial than anything else.
The beginning and end are good, but in the middle there's a lot of nothing. It could have been half the length it was.
I don't know, I feel like I didn't buy a book, but rather a couple of chapters, and I don't like serials.
Characters: 2/5
Story: 4/5
The Book? 3/5
Fight Write: How to Write Believable Fight Scenes by Carla Hoch
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
This is such an amazing book. I would say, even if you never have to write a single fight scene in your novel, if you're a writer, you should still read it. I found the things it says to take into account for fights are things you should just take into account for everything, even if here they are applied to the specifics of a fight.
Although somewhat briefly, it covers all the necessary basics from hand to hand combat, weapons, psychological warfare; through how not only size and knowledge affect how you fight, but also culture, location, weather, etc; up to some basic medical and law knowledge (related to death, injuries and fights, of course).
For such a short book, it's very comprehensive and simple to understand, and I was quite impressed.
Highly recommend it! It's one of those books that needs to be in every writer's reference shelves.
Although somewhat briefly, it covers all the necessary basics from hand to hand combat, weapons, psychological warfare; through how not only size and knowledge affect how you fight, but also culture, location, weather, etc; up to some basic medical and law knowledge (related to death, injuries and fights, of course).
For such a short book, it's very comprehensive and simple to understand, and I was quite impressed.
Highly recommend it! It's one of those books that needs to be in every writer's reference shelves.
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book on Novel Writing You'll Ever Need by Jessica Brody
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round by Jami Attenberg
inspiring
medium-paced
1.0
Sadly, this book did not resonate with me at all.
Maybe it was that it wasn't what I expected (I expected more tips, maybe a more guided approach, while this was more of just cheering on you in a non-structured, structured way), maybe it was the COVID mentions (dated), or maybe the anecdotes intertwined within it all, and I was never big on anecdotes because I always find them completely unrelatable (the opposite of what they aim to be). Whatever it was, it wasn't for me. The few tips that were there were typicap tips yiu hear elsewhere.
It came highly recommended and I ended up highly disappointed.
Biggest ick when I noticed the author rated her own book 5 stars too. Tsk tsk.
Maybe it was that it wasn't what I expected (I expected more tips, maybe a more guided approach, while this was more of just cheering on you in a non-structured, structured way), maybe it was the COVID mentions (dated), or maybe the anecdotes intertwined within it all, and I was never big on anecdotes because I always find them completely unrelatable (the opposite of what they aim to be). Whatever it was, it wasn't for me. The few tips that were there were typicap tips yiu hear elsewhere.
It came highly recommended and I ended up highly disappointed.
Biggest ick when I noticed the author rated her own book 5 stars too. Tsk tsk.
Shadow in the Ward by Ari Gray
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I should preface this by saying, it’s a great book, but it’s not a book I would recommend to everyone.
Author Ari Gray brings us into the world of a hard medical thriller set in a not too distant future, where AI is steadily being implemented into and threatening to take over the medical field.
During most of the book we follow mainly Dr. Seth Kelley, an emergency physician who is suffering from burnout, and who is hired into a new hospital that wants to bring AI to the forefront of patient care. Of course, it won’t be smooth sailing as it’s not long before things begin to go wrong…
When I say it’s a book I wouldn’t recommend to everyone despite being good, that is mainly because of the hard-medical side of it. The author goes very deeply into medical lingo and practices, often including long descriptions of what those are. On the one hand, it’s both interesting and I appreciate the author not just tossing medical words and leaving us stranded; on the other hand, this slows the pace down greatly as the descriptions (although very good and deep) take up a lot of time. A slow pace is not necessarily bad, but if you’re looking for a quick, snappy medical thriller, this won’t be it.
Ari Gray doesn’t stop at the medical descriptions, the author also delves deeply into how the AI works within this universe, and touches on the subject of AI sentience, bringing his own opinion on the matter to the table.
The descriptions, albeit long, were very enjoyable: some were quite dark and gruesome, some visually interesting (I really enjoyed the description of the machines), but just a few of them maybe went a bit too much into the hard medical side to my taste, making them feel a bit textbook like.
Dr. Seth Kelley is of course not alone in his fight, having a coder and medical student at his side as they attempt to protect humans from rogue AI.Of the characters, I felt like the one with the biggest change arc was Daria, but all of them had a reasonable depth to them, making them very human.
As the novel takes you through this tale of survival, it of course offers plenty of commentary not only on the perks and downfalls of AI, but on the state of the medical field as a whole.
Overall a very enjoyable read! I would give it a 3.5 rounding up to 4, because I did enjoy it, but it’s just a very technical book at parts, and slow paced because of it.
Recommended best for people in the field or who like very hard science books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail
Create Your Writer Platform: The Key to Building an Audience, Selling More Books, and Finding Success as an Author by Chuck Sambuchino
informative
1.0
The 3 A.M. Epiphany by Brian Kiteley
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Excellent, challenging writing exercises that can be used with new stories or in-work projects.