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the_dave's reviews
262 reviews
River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
2.0
I love the premise of River of Teeth, an alternate history where the US imports hippos to solve a meat crisis in the 1800's and that plan goes awry as the hippos become feral and dangerous. What's not to like? The characters. This novella is written well, the plot and action moves but I could not like any of the characters. They are introduced one way, but their characterization changes multiple times over the course of the novella that seems untrue to how they were introduced. Also, the plot of how the gang was to remove the hippos from an area was incredibly bad and the way that plan goes wrong is worse. This is a two star book for me as the writing is snappy and I love the premise, but everything else can go.
Carter & Lovecraft by Jonathan L. Howard
5.0
I absolutely loved this novel; it is a great mix of the mystery genre and Lovecraftian horror. The characters are rich and believeable, the plot is a lite mystery that moves, and the author does a nice job of integrating and emulating the style of H.P. Lovecraft's horror into his own writing.
After the End of the World by Jonathan L. Howard
4.0
Jonathan Howard's second novel featuring Carter & Lovecraft is an excellently paced horror mystery that only makes the series better. Both Carter and Lovecraft are more fleshed out, the unfolded world is appropriately messed up, and the writing continues to be of an excellent quality. The only reason this novel gets 4 out of 5 stars is that I wish the horror would come out more like in the first novel, this one seems to be more of an adventure/mystery. With that being said, I cannot wait for the third book in this series to be written and published, it is excellent.
Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca
4.0
An interesting look at the case that made Grace Humiston; lawyer, detective, and the first US district attorney that was a woman, famous. This is not a biography of the woman who solved many cases and stood up for immigrants during the 1910's but rather a look at her most famous cases and what made her take them. It is meticulously researched and well written.
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
5.0
Good Omens is one of my favorite books of all time. Charming and memorable characters, a great plot, funny moments, this novel is a good time all around. Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett have written a wonderful novel about the apocalypse, not a story of terror but of hope filled with humor and love. I can't recommend this novel enough.
Black Klansman: A Memoir by Ron Stallworth
5.0
This memoir is highly enjoyable and it is an intriguing look at a piece of history that could have been lost to time. Short and concise, the writing is a little dry but the content more than makes up for it as this story has to be read to be believed. This memoir resonates even today in this charged political climate.
The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
3.0
John Scalzi is one of the best science fiction writers living currently, his books are a blast to read and he creates believable and interesting universes better than anyone else. The Collapsing Empire is set up well; what happens when an space empire dependent on travel through a system called the flow is about to lose all of that? My problem with this new series is a feeling that I have been getting from the characters Scalzi has created lately, he is not very good at characterization. He is great at creating a charming rogue or a charming soldier, but that's it and even then those characters are basically the same. It worked well with Old Mans War and Redshirts, but it feels like every novel he writes you could interchange the characters and no one would notice. I wanted to like this book more, but I also want more out of Scalzi, I know he can do better than he has recently.
With that being said, I will still read the sequel to this as the universe is set up well, the writing is still great, and the plot is interesting.
With that being said, I will still read the sequel to this as the universe is set up well, the writing is still great, and the plot is interesting.