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unapologetic_reviews's reviews
245 reviews
Doctor Who: The Price of Paradise by Colin Brake
4.0
I listened to the audiobook.
I actually like this one, which was a relief, since [b:The Art of Destruction|10778507|The Art of Destruction|Stephen Cole|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1299968744s/10778507.jpg|1193463], which I listened to before, wasn't all that good. The story is about a planet, Laylora, where things are going horribly wrong. The deeper meaning of the story is that when a foreign element is introduced into an ecological system, things go haywire most of the time. The plot is a bit predictable, but it is a lot of fun. The action scenes are exciting, and there is a real sense of danger for the Doctor and Rose.
It's read by Shaun Dingwall, who played Pete Tyler in the series. He does do a really good job of it, and has a nice, easy-to-listen-to reading. It is kind of funny to note that this is the last Rose story, and it's told by Rose's father.
Two characters are memorable in the story. One is Rez, the human man who arrived to Laylora on an escape pod. He is forever trying to fit in, and most of the villagers are supportive. His presence and how the others on the planet interact with him is an interesting aspect of the story. To me, what indicated that he was memorable was that I could emotionally connect to him at the end.
Another person I had the same experience with was Professor Petra Shulough. She is not a positive character in the beginning, but I warmed up to her by the end. She also developed in the story, which made her a non-one-dimensional person, which people in Doctor Who books often fall a victim to.
I recommend this story a lot, and it appealed to my environmentalist nature as well.
I actually like this one, which was a relief, since [b:The Art of Destruction|10778507|The Art of Destruction|Stephen Cole|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1299968744s/10778507.jpg|1193463], which I listened to before, wasn't all that good. The story is about a planet, Laylora, where things are going horribly wrong. The deeper meaning of the story is that when a foreign element is introduced into an ecological system, things go haywire most of the time. The plot is a bit predictable, but it is a lot of fun. The action scenes are exciting, and there is a real sense of danger for the Doctor and Rose.
It's read by Shaun Dingwall, who played Pete Tyler in the series. He does do a really good job of it, and has a nice, easy-to-listen-to reading. It is kind of funny to note that this is the last Rose story, and it's told by Rose's father.
Two characters are memorable in the story. One is Rez, the human man who arrived to Laylora on an escape pod. He is forever trying to fit in, and most of the villagers are supportive. His presence and how the others on the planet interact with him is an interesting aspect of the story. To me, what indicated that he was memorable was that I could emotionally connect to him at the end.
Another person I had the same experience with was Professor Petra Shulough. She is not a positive character in the beginning, but I warmed up to her by the end. She also developed in the story, which made her a non-one-dimensional person, which people in Doctor Who books often fall a victim to.
I recommend this story a lot, and it appealed to my environmentalist nature as well.
Doctor Who: The Resurrection Casket by Justin Richards
3.0
I've listened to the audiobook version.
The story is sort of interesting. Now the audiobook is abridged, so maybe it's better if I read the whole book, but I had some problems with it. On the one hand I felt that the parts on the planet were very hurried, while the part in space is a lot more detailed. It was also too much running about, and ended up not being all that interesting in the long run. Some elements of the steampunk aspect were nicely used, like when only steam was available or not, but otherwise it seemed a bit forced. The mystery element played out nicely, and the overall story was okay. It just wasn't as exciting as it could have been.
The reading by David Tennant was brilliant as always. Even the way he emulated the steam coming out from the robots was effortless, and sounded genuine.
The original characters didn't make much of an impact on me. Perhaps the ones that I could remember the most were Sally and Jimm. Though that is probably so as they are the two characters most central to the story. As characters, they weren't rounded to me, just plot devices.
The story is sort of interesting. Now the audiobook is abridged, so maybe it's better if I read the whole book, but I had some problems with it. On the one hand I felt that the parts on the planet were very hurried, while the part in space is a lot more detailed. It was also too much running about, and ended up not being all that interesting in the long run. Some elements of the steampunk aspect were nicely used, like when only steam was available or not, but otherwise it seemed a bit forced. The mystery element played out nicely, and the overall story was okay. It just wasn't as exciting as it could have been.
The reading by David Tennant was brilliant as always. Even the way he emulated the steam coming out from the robots was effortless, and sounded genuine.
The original characters didn't make much of an impact on me. Perhaps the ones that I could remember the most were Sally and Jimm. Though that is probably so as they are the two characters most central to the story. As characters, they weren't rounded to me, just plot devices.
Doctor Who: Forever Autumn by Mark Morris
4.0
I listened to this as an audiobook.
Forever Autumn, as can be seen by the cover, is a Halloween story. I did wish I had kept it to Halloween, but I'm going through the books in publication order, and this was next.
The story itself reflects the mood of Halloween very well. There are cats, bats, a weird tree, fog, all the things that make Halloween a fun time. At times, it was genuinely frightening as well.
Will Thorpe reads the story, who played Toby Zed in "The Impossible Planet"/"The Satan Pit". He does a great job of it, and does justice to the characters.
I recommend reading it for Halloween, and then the atmosphere will be perfect.
Forever Autumn, as can be seen by the cover, is a Halloween story. I did wish I had kept it to Halloween, but I'm going through the books in publication order, and this was next.
The story itself reflects the mood of Halloween very well. There are cats, bats, a weird tree, fog, all the things that make Halloween a fun time. At times, it was genuinely frightening as well.
Will Thorpe reads the story, who played Toby Zed in "The Impossible Planet"/"The Satan Pit". He does a great job of it, and does justice to the characters.
I recommend reading it for Halloween, and then the atmosphere will be perfect.
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
4.0
I actually listened to the better half of this book. I was busy with baking and other stuff, so I ended up listening to the audiobook. Therefore, I may not have caught all the details.
This book finally breaks away from the "going to the games" format. I was actually glad for that, as it was getting a bit boring. It's hard to talk about the book without going into spoilers, but if someone read the second one, then it was obvious that there was going to be a war. The war is rather realistic, and unapologetic about it. People die. By the hundreds sometimes. Both sides do things that are cruel. I felt that was a very strong point of this book, that people get hurt, die, and sometimes those you care about.
Towards the end the endgame was done really well. It showed us a glimpse of the world that I'm sure we all wanted to see, without breaking away from the main point of the story.
I kept talking in my previous book reviews for the series about the genre, dystopia. The ending wasn't clear dystopic, but when I thought about it, I could see where it fit into the genre. It made me think about just what it means for the hero to fail. Since while the world at the end wasn't completely bad, it wasn't what Katniss thought it was going to be either. In the end, she really did fail, since she didn't achieve the goal that she set out to do.
Some of the reviews complain that Katniss wasn't the hero, the leader in the end that she could have been. I think those people saw a Katniss they wanted to see, not the Katniss that actually was.
In the beginning, she's a girl, who gets thrown into something horrible. She's not a trained soldier, not a sociopath, or a psychopath, so she's affected. The books take place in less than two years, so by the end, she's still not 18. From the second book, it is apparent that she has PTSD. She has nightmares, flashbacks, everything. She never gets the opportunity to get past it, to recover. She's constantly back in situations that just make it worse. It does get worse, then a bit better, but she never completely recovers. She is not the leader type. She's the hunter, the person who stays in the background, who avoids attention, and doesn't really know how to deal with it. There are trained soldiers who go through this as well, not to mention a girl who didn't have much of an emotional stability to begin with.
What she is, is very human. A regular human girl, barely out of childhood, motherless, fatherless orphan. She tries to do the best she can, protect those she loves, but she barely has any power. Most of us in this situation would probably just want to be with our mothers, and never leave her side. Compared to that, she's amazing.
I think her character is realistic, not a dream we want her to be.
Love at this point is really on the back-burner. Peeta is obviously the one Katniss chose, but getting him is not easy. She took time in realising who she wanted, and that is very real as well.
Overall, I really liked this book. It was a good finish to the journey, and went along the same feel as the previous ones. The ending felt complete. It tied up everything into a neat little bow. I have to admit, I cried a little.
This book finally breaks away from the "going to the games" format. I was actually glad for that, as it was getting a bit boring. It's hard to talk about the book without going into spoilers, but if someone read the second one, then it was obvious that there was going to be a war. The war is rather realistic, and unapologetic about it. People die. By the hundreds sometimes. Both sides do things that are cruel. I felt that was a very strong point of this book, that people get hurt, die, and sometimes those you care about.
Towards the end the endgame was done really well. It showed us a glimpse of the world that I'm sure we all wanted to see, without breaking away from the main point of the story.
I kept talking in my previous book reviews for the series about the genre, dystopia. The ending wasn't clear dystopic, but when I thought about it, I could see where it fit into the genre. It made me think about just what it means for the hero to fail. Since while the world at the end wasn't completely bad, it wasn't what Katniss thought it was going to be either. In the end, she really did fail, since she didn't achieve the goal that she set out to do.
Some of the reviews complain that Katniss wasn't the hero, the leader in the end that she could have been. I think those people saw a Katniss they wanted to see, not the Katniss that actually was.
In the beginning, she's a girl, who gets thrown into something horrible. She's not a trained soldier, not a sociopath, or a psychopath, so she's affected. The books take place in less than two years, so by the end, she's still not 18. From the second book, it is apparent that she has PTSD. She has nightmares, flashbacks, everything. She never gets the opportunity to get past it, to recover. She's constantly back in situations that just make it worse. It does get worse, then a bit better, but she never completely recovers. She is not the leader type. She's the hunter, the person who stays in the background, who avoids attention, and doesn't really know how to deal with it. There are trained soldiers who go through this as well, not to mention a girl who didn't have much of an emotional stability to begin with.
What she is, is very human. A regular human girl, barely out of childhood, motherless, fatherless orphan. She tries to do the best she can, protect those she loves, but she barely has any power. Most of us in this situation would probably just want to be with our mothers, and never leave her side. Compared to that, she's amazing.
I think her character is realistic, not a dream we want her to be.
Love at this point is really on the back-burner. Peeta is obviously the one Katniss chose, but getting him is not easy. She took time in realising who she wanted, and that is very real as well.
Overall, I really liked this book. It was a good finish to the journey, and went along the same feel as the previous ones. The ending felt complete. It tied up everything into a neat little bow. I have to admit, I cried a little.
A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin
4.0
This book is the natural progression from the previous ones. It's a bit different in that we don't get to read about all the characters, just a few that are connected to each other. We also get to briefly see Dorne, which I found interesting.
It dragged for me a bit, but that could be because my two favourite characters Tyrion and Dani aren't in it. I missed them.
Some of the characters that I was sort of on the fence about, like Jamie and Sansa I grew to like by the end.
Brienne I just can't care about. I almost wanted to skip over her parts, and frankly, she didn't add much to the story in this book. Maybe in the grand scheme of things she'll be important, but if she gets killed off, I'm not going to be sad. We also get to get to know the people on the Iron Islands more, but frankly, I don't like anyone there and if one of Dani's dragons torched them all, more power to them. Roasted ironmen!
Cercei is pretty much THE villain at this point, so reading about her is fun. She's also one of the more important people that you actually know are important, so reading about her is like watching the news on a crisis. Feels like something that matters.
Arya I'm on the fence about, because sometimes she's just weird. You don't really know if she's nice or not or stupid or clever. Maybe she's in flux and could go either way. Same goes for Sam Tarly. Though maybe the problem with them in this book is that while a lot happens with them, it feels like filler mostly. There are some important things, but the detail with which they are treated feels forced and unimportant.
The story and the characters are still consistent and generally interesting. They also feel real, which is one of my favourite things about the series.
Overall, the book has highs and lows to me. If your favourite character is in it, it probably helps. I'm looking forward to the next one a lot more.
It dragged for me a bit, but that could be because my two favourite characters Tyrion and Dani aren't in it. I missed them.
Some of the characters that I was sort of on the fence about, like Jamie and Sansa I grew to like by the end.
Brienne I just can't care about. I almost wanted to skip over her parts, and frankly, she didn't add much to the story in this book. Maybe in the grand scheme of things she'll be important, but if she gets killed off, I'm not going to be sad. We also get to get to know the people on the Iron Islands more, but frankly, I don't like anyone there and if one of Dani's dragons torched them all, more power to them. Roasted ironmen!
Cercei is pretty much THE villain at this point, so reading about her is fun. She's also one of the more important people that you actually know are important, so reading about her is like watching the news on a crisis. Feels like something that matters.
Arya I'm on the fence about, because sometimes she's just weird. You don't really know if she's nice or not or stupid or clever. Maybe she's in flux and could go either way. Same goes for Sam Tarly. Though maybe the problem with them in this book is that while a lot happens with them, it feels like filler mostly. There are some important things, but the detail with which they are treated feels forced and unimportant.
The story and the characters are still consistent and generally interesting. They also feel real, which is one of my favourite things about the series.
Overall, the book has highs and lows to me. If your favourite character is in it, it probably helps. I'm looking forward to the next one a lot more.