plish's reviews
19 reviews

Catalyst of Sorrows: Lost Era 2360 by Margaret Wander Bonanno

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Metamorphosis by Jean Lorrah

adventurous reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Survivors by Jean Lorrah

3.0

The story was interesting and I enjoyed more backstory to Tasha but I didn't like the needless and slightly inappropriate romance between her and Dare. Which isn't the first time this has happened in this author's Star Trek novels. Many of the descriptions of the female characters had me really bewildered. As others have pointed out, Lorrah's characterization of Data was out of touch. He was too emotional in my opinion. There were also so many references to the fact that Data is "fully functional" I get it! please stop reminding me!! Despite my issues with some of the writing it was still very enjoyable.

Power Hungry by Howard Weinstein

4.0

Reading the foreword and then the book, very clearly Weinstein was optimistic about our own planet solving it's environmental issues... Oops. I didn't mind that the message was so heavy handed as the show certainly had those episodes, like the one where Tasha gives a DARE speech to Wesley. It played out just like an episode would have. I think the "villain" could have been more fleshed out, his advisors as well. The author had a great understanding of the crew and wrote their dialogue perfectly. I'm still confused as to why the publisher put Troi on the cover? Oh well. Classic Trek.

The Captains' Honor by David Dvorkin, Daniel Dvorkin

2.0

The story was okay. What I really didn't enjoy were the excessive Roman history lessons. At times I really felt like skipping through the pages when they came on. The Magna Romans were so one dimensional. As someone else pointed out they were like Scooby Doo villains. And the ending was so... I hate to say it, lame.

The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video by Chuck DeLaney, Tom Schroeppel

4.0

Read for class.
Nice and simple. If only other professors could start assigning books like this. It avoided all the pitfalls of instructional books. Like the long and needless rambling. It really was the bare bones. The illustrations were cute and helpful. I enjoyed reading this.

The Runaway Jury by John Grisham

4.0

Growing up, I had seen the movie adaptation more times than I can count. I found the book much better- who doesn't. I was surprised to learn that the book is about a trial against big tobacco rather than gun manufactures, like in the movie. I found myself for the most part, very interested. But the book does begin to drag on. I also had some difficulty keeping track of ALL the jurors. The ending was pretty farfetched. But I'm able to suspend my beliefs in reality for this story. Overall, a pretty enjoyable read.

Star Trek 1 by James Blish

2.0

Kind of a slog. I found it to be quite uninteresting which made it difficult for me to finish.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

5.0

The Rainmaker by John Grisham

3.0

My biggest gripes are the little story lines and characters that fade in and out, some end up being important, others get fully dropped. The whole Kelly thing was really 0 to 100 and something that never made complete sense to me. She's also written with zero personality or redeeming qualities besides being pretty, meek, and loyal (all the usual womanly traits). Other than that it's a cute litigation procedural.